Where to Park & Cruise for Anthem in NJ

[Pandabear90]

Hi all,

 

5 night Anthem out of NJ and trying to see what's the best route for us. We are local so we can drive day of and park at the lot by the port.

 

But it's $20 a day so that would come to $100 total.

 

I was reading and saw there were some hotels that did park and cruise and was wondering it would be better to stay over a night before.

 

I was wondering what's everyone take out that and which is the best price one that had a shuttle to the port?

Edited June 19, 2016 by Pandabear90

[DonnaK]

The convenience of parking in the garage at the port is well worth a little extra money. It's so easy to drop off your luggage, park, check-in (there are agents with iPads to check you in right at the parking garage), and walk into the terminal for boarding. No waiting for shuttles, no tipping the shuttle driver, etc.

 

At the end of the cruise, just walk to your car and you're on your way home within a few minutes.

 

I wouldn't do it any other way!

[Ocean Dancer]

The convenience of parking in the garage at the port is well worth a little extra money. It's so easy to drop off your luggage, park, check-in (there are agents with iPads to check you in right at the parking garage), and walk into the terminal for boarding. No waiting for shuttles, no tipping the shuttle driver, etc.

 

At the end of the cruise, just walk to your car and you're on your way home within a few minutes.

 

I wouldn't do it any other way!

 

I agree! We did the same.....2 hour drive for us.......seamless!!:)

[reallyitsmema]

Hi all,

 

5 night Anthem out of NJ and trying to see what's the best route for us. We are local so we can drive day of and park at the lot by the port.

 

But it's $20 a day so that would come to $100 total.

 

I was reading and saw there were some hotels that did park and cruise and was wondering it would be better to stay over a night before.

 

I was wondering what's everyone take out that and which is the best price one that had a shuttle to the port?

 

You need to look at the whole picture. Is there even a hotel in that area that you could stay at overnight for less than $100? Maybe the rate is less than $100, but by the time you add all the taxes, I doubt it would be. Even if you find something dirt cheap, is it somewhere you would even want to stay or is it a dive?

 

We are driving in the day before our cruise, but that is because we are sailing a holiday weekend. We only have about a 4 hour drive from Boston, but know Mass Pike traffic on a holiday weekend is crazy. It is worth the peace of mind to get to the area the day before and then we will just park at the port so we can hit the road home quickly after the cruise.

[Pandabear90]

You need to look at the whole picture. Is there even a hotel in that area that you could stay at overnight for less than $100? Maybe the rate is less than $100, but by the time you add all the taxes, I doubt it would be. Even if you find something dirt cheap, is it somewhere you would even want to stay or is it a dive?

 

We are driving in the day before our cruise, but that is because we are sailing a holiday weekend. We only have about a 4 hour drive from Boston, but know Mass Pike traffic on a holiday weekend is crazy. It is worth the peace of mind to get to the area the day before and then we will just park at the port so we can hit the road home quickly after the cruise.

 

Yea we are from LI, NY. I wasn't expecting the total price to be cheaper then $100, which is the price of parking. I was thinking a hotel + parking for 5 days and shuttle would be under $200. But I guess since you guys are noting all the hassle to take a shuttle and everything, I guess we'll just drive in morning of haha.

[Ocean Dancer]

Yea we are from LI, NY. I wasn't expecting the total price to be cheaper then $100, which is the price of parking. I was thinking a hotel + parking for 5 days and shuttle would be under $200. But I guess since you guys are noting all the hassle to take a shuttle and everything, I guess we'll just drive in morning of haha.

 

Panda, even if you stay at a hotel with free parking, you most likely will be on your own for the shuttle. Bayonne is a bit different when it comes to stay/park/free cruise shuttle............they left out the free shuttle:confused:

[reallyitsmema]

Yea we are from LI, NY. I wasn't expecting the total price to be cheaper then $100, which is the price of parking. I was thinking a hotel + parking for 5 days and shuttle would be under $200. But I guess since you guys are noting all the hassle to take a shuttle and everything, I guess we'll just drive in morning of haha.

 

Driving in the morning of the cruise would be my choice. Paying extra money to stay at a hotel and then add the hassle of a shuttle seems like a waste of money.

 

We would have driven in the day of from Boston if it wasn't a holiday weekend and if part of our party wasn't coming from NH. It is worth using points for two free hotel rooms to get the peace of mind of being in Elizabeth the morning of our cruise.

[Pandabear90]

Ahh okay, thank you guys for your feedback.

 

Now that you guys have made up my mind, can you help me with my other question here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2369453

Edited June 19, 2016 by Pandabear90

[baileymouse]

If I were you I would park at the port. These are my reasons:

 

None of the hotels are very close, so you'll have a ride back to the hotel to get your car.

 

There's only one very long road in and out of Cape Liberty, and it gets a lot of traffic on cruise day. You might be waiting around for a shuttle to pick you up.

 

The parking is safe,convenient and the garage is brand new. It's a good system.

 

My bookkeeper just got off Anthem the other day and he said parking here was extremely convenient. He was going to take car service from Bloomfield to Bayonne & back, but it was cheaper to park and it was quick & easy. He drove in early, walked around & saw the 9/11 Memorial, and when he arrived back he was in his car within 10 minutes of getting off the ship.

[Baron Barracuda]

Currently on the Anthem 6/16 sailing. Have sailed out of Bayonne numerous times, but first time using the new garage. It was surprisingly easy. Arrived at 10:30, dropped off the family & luggage, parked on deck 2 right near elevator and rejoined them within 10 minutes.

 

Have read of folks who stay at hotels on SI with free shuttle, however with Bayonne bridge frequently closed for construction the shuttle ride can take a while. You are also at the mercy of the shuttle schedule both arriving and departing, and traffic on the pier can be pretty rough. Also saw advertisement somewhere for L/T parking lots around $10/day with free shuttle, but can't remember where. Might have been signs along pier. Likely the same lots that server EWR.

 

Personally I'd rather get there on my own and relax. By the way, even arriving at 10:30 there were 600 people ahead of us waiting to board. Boarding commenced at 11 am and it took us 45 minutes to get aboard. Next sailing dw wants to arrive at 9am.

[DonnaK]

Panda - where on Long Island are you traveling from? (South shore?)

 

We're in Massapequa. You need to consider that the Bayonne Bridge is closed on weekends, and it is only open during rush hour during the week. It's not a big deal - when we arrive on a weekday, we plan to be on Staten Island and over the Bayonne bridge before 9am. If that's not possible, then we take the Goethals to the NJ Tpke north two exits to 14A and over the Newark Bay bridge to the port - it adds about 20 minutes or so to the drive.

 

If we are disembarking on a weekday, then we self-disembark and leave ASAP so we can be over the bridge before it closes at 9am.

[reallyitsmema]

Panda - where on Long Island are you traveling from? (South shore?)

 

We're in Massapequa. You need to consider that the Bayonne Bridge is closed on weekends, and it is only open during rush hour during the week. It's not a big deal - when we arrive on a weekday, we plan to be on Staten Island and over the Bayonne bridge before 9am. If that's not possible, then we take the Goethals to the NJ Tpke north two exits to 14A and over the Newark Bay bridge to the port - it adds about 20 minutes or so to the drive.

 

If we are disembarking on a weekday, then we self-disembark and leave ASAP so we can be over the bridge before it closes at 9am.

 

Based on your schedule and what Baron Barracuda just posted, this seems like a port that people get to fairly early. We are going to be stay at Embassy Suites by The Mills at Jersey Gardens. I was thinking it is going to be about a 20 minute drive from there to the port, which based on just looking at Google maps, is the 20 minutes you have to add on to your drive when the Bayonne Bridge is closed. I had originally been thinking leaving the hotel around 10am but now thinking earlier would be better.

 

We are new to this port so just wondering what your experience has been. We don't need to be the first on but don't want to be sitting in traffic for 2 hours either.

[138east]

Based on your schedule and what Baron Barracuda just posted, this seems like a port that people get to fairly early. We are going to be stay at Embassy Suites by The Mills at Jersey Gardens. I was thinking it is going to be about a 20 minute drive from there to the port, which based on just looking at Google maps, is the 20 minutes you have to add on to your drive when the Bayonne Bridge is closed. I had originally been thinking leaving the hotel around 10am but now thinking earlier would be better.

 

We are new to this port so just wondering what your experience has been. We don't need to be the first on but don't want to be sitting in traffic for 2 hours either.

 

My experience has been that earlier is better. It usually ends up taking about 30 minutes to get to the port. If you're early, you can go to the 911 memorial and enjoy the view of the harbor and take pictures.

[Pandabear90]

Panda - where on Long Island are you traveling from? (South shore?)

 

We're in Massapequa. You need to consider that the Bayonne Bridge is closed on weekends, and it is only open during rush hour during the week. It's not a big deal - when we arrive on a weekday, we plan to be on Staten Island and over the Bayonne bridge before 9am. If that's not possible, then we take the Goethals to the NJ Tpke north two exits to 14A and over the Newark Bay bridge to the port - it adds about 20 minutes or so to the drive.

 

If we are disembarking on a weekday, then we self-disembark and leave ASAP so we can be over the bridge before it closes at 9am.

 

 

Donna, we are from Port Jeff/ Mount Sinai!

 

Ahh okay that's good to know

[Merion_Mom]

PandaBear, I would find a family member or friend to drive me to the port and pick me up!

 

Or price an Uber. If it's less than $50 each way, use that. If not, just park in the garage.

 

So nice to have local options. :D

[mom2mnem]

Donna, we are from Port Jeff/ Mount Sinai!

 

Ahh okay that's good to know

 

We are leaving in 3 weeks and are from Miller Place. We are driving in day of and plan on leaving around 7-730 and. Since we are already North , we figured on the usual Northern route of the GW to the NJ tpke and avoiding the Bayonne bridge.

 

Lisa

[DonnaK]

Donna, we are from Port Jeff/ Mount Sinai!

 

Ahh okay that's good to know

 

We are leaving in 3 weeks and are from Miller Place. We are driving in day of and plan on leaving around 7-730 and. Since we are already North , we figured on the usual Northern route of the GW to the NJ tpke and avoiding the Bayonne bridge.

 

Lisa

 

If I lived on the North Shore, this is how I would go!

[mom2mnem]

Panda - where on Long Island are you traveling from? (South shore?)

 

We're in Massapequa. You need to consider that the Bayonne Bridge is closed on weekends, and it is only open during rush hour during the week. It's not a big deal - when we arrive on a weekday, we plan to be on Staten Island and over the Bayonne bridge before 9am. If that's not possible, then we take the Goethals to the NJ Tpke north two exits to 14A and over the Newark Bay bridge to the port - it adds about 20 minutes or so to the drive.

 

If we are disembarking on a weekday, then we self-disembark and leave ASAP so we can be over the bridge before it closes at 9am.

 

My DH is originally from Massapequa!

 

Lisa

[khia213]

Hi all,

 

5 night Anthem out of NJ and trying to see what's the best route for us. We are local so we can drive day of and park at the lot by the port.

 

But it's $20 a day so that would come to $100 total.

 

I was reading and saw there were some hotels that did park and cruise and was wondering it would be better to stay over a night before.

 

I was wondering what's everyone take out that and which is the best price one that had a shuttle to the port?

 

 

One other consideration: the park and cruise hotel lots are not necessarily secure. We parked in a hotel lot on one occasion for a ten day cruise. When we got back, multiple cars had been broken into the night before. We were lucky. The Port parking is safer.

[RaggieMom]

We are driving up from Tennessee the day before. Planned on staying the night somewhere around Allentown, PA. then finishing the drive early the next morning. Cruise is on 9/22, so it's a weekday. This bridge y'all keep talking about closing - should we be worried about it? Anything else we need to be aware of coming in from that direction? Any suggestions for a place to stay? Don't need fancy - just a clean room in a safe area to shower and sleep.

 

Thanks for all the great info.

Edited June 29, 2016 by RaggieMom
Added question.

[DonnaK]

We are driving up from Tennessee the day before. Planned on staying the night somewhere around Allentown, PA. then finishing the drive early the next morning. Cruise is on 9/22, so it's a weekday. This bridge y'all keep talking about closing - should we be worried about it? Anything else we need to be aware of coming in from that direction? Any suggestions for a place to stay? Don't need fancy - just a clean room in a safe area to shower and sleep.

 

Thanks for all the great info.

No, you won't be affected by the Bayonne Bridge. It connects Staten Island with NJ.

 

From Allentown, you'll just head east on I-78, over the Newark Bay Bridge. After the toll, follow the signs to 440 South and to the port. There's a lot of construction in the area, but it isn't too hard or confusing if you follow the signs.

Edited June 29, 2016 by DonnaK

[baileymouse]

No, the closing of the Bayonne Bridge won't affect you. Coming from PA, you'd be taking 78 east and you'll be fine.

 

Not sure about any hotels in that area, sorry. Enjoy your trip!

[bkrickles1]

we're from Smithtown and we always drive and park at the port. We're cruising 7/23 on Anthem and will do the same.

Last July we cruised with large group and my nephews decided to save a few bucks and park elsewhere and take a shuttle. Getting there worked well but when we returned, they had quite a wait for the shuttle to take them back to their car. This is common and isn't worth the savings.

It's fantastic to walk out of the terminal and be on the road within 5 minutes.

As far as route to the terminal from LI, I rely on the young lady on google maps to let me know the best way to go the morning of my trip.

We're a little crazy and get very excited so we'll probably leave the house between 7:30 and 8am the morning of our trip and get there too early, but as I said, we get very excited!

 

 

Donna, we are from Port Jeff/ Mount Sinai!

 

Ahh okay that's good to know

[robtulipe]

We are driving up from Tennessee the day before. Planned on staying the night somewhere around Allentown, PA. then finishing the drive early the next morning. Cruise is on 9/22, so it's a weekday. This bridge y'all keep talking about closing - should we be worried about it? Anything else we need to be aware of coming in from that direction? Any suggestions for a place to stay? Don't need fancy - just a clean room in a safe area to shower and sleep.

 

Thanks for all the great info.

 

When we drove to the Newark area from southern Ontario for our two separate Anthem cruises last winter we booked a hotel stay, park and cruise packages at the Newark Ramada Plaza Liberty Airport both times using

http://www.trinityreservations.com

For the dates of your 9 night cruise this would cost $214 total including taxes for up to four people in one room. This includes the room the night before at the Ramada, parking for up to 21 days in a fenced in, gated lot at hotel and shuttle service to/from ship. Hotel is just off I-78 in Newark, NJ, north of EWR airport and is only 8 miles from Cape Liberty.

We had excellent service from both Trinity and Ramada both times we did this. Both of our cruises were 12 nights ones so doing this was cheaper than the cost of parking only at the port. Also, like yourselves, we needed a near by hotel room the night before since we were driving down the day before our cruise.

Edited June 29, 2016 by robtulipe

[138east]

We are driving up from Tennessee the day before. Planned on staying the night somewhere around Allentown, PA. then finishing the drive early the next morning. Cruise is on 9/22, so it's a weekday. This bridge y'all keep talking about closing - should we be worried about it? Anything else we need to be aware of coming in from that direction? Any suggestions for a place to stay? Don't need fancy - just a clean room in a safe area to shower and sleep.

 

Thanks for all the great info.

 

Are you looking for a park/cruise or just a precruise hotel? We recommend the park/cruise Trinityreservations package at the Ramada on the East Coast board all the time. What we don't recommend is the cheap hotels around Newark Airport. Newark is a highly urban industrialized area and you must be selective about where you stay.

 

Don't know about Allentown. Hopefully someone from that area will post. There appear to be many offerings in that area for your date that are under $100. Port parking will be $180.