amberjohn Posted October 5, 2017 #1 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hello, Cruising on the October 31st, 2017 GEM cruise (11 night) out of NY. I am driving from south-west NH and was planning on driving down very early the day of the cruise. After reading suggestions on the boards most people have suggested going down the day before and staying close to port. I am heavily leaning toward doing a stay/park/shuttle at either "Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield" or "Hampton Inn, Ridgefield". Which one is the safest for my car? Which one has the better car service? Which one do you recommend? Also, if anyone has driven from south-west NH to these hotels, do you recommend any specific driving directions? Thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
138east Posted October 5, 2017 #2 Share Posted October 5, 2017 I'm assuming SW New Hampshire is someplace near Brattleboro and I91. From I91 south in Hartford you take exit 17 marked W Cross Parkway. This becomes the Merritt Parkway at Milford. The Merritt Pkwy becomes the Hutchinson River Pkwy at the NY/CT line. From the Hutch take exit 15 in New Rochelle to get on the Cross County Pkwy. Stay in the middle left lane, which will become the left lane when the road "scrunches". This leads onto the Saw Mill River Pkwy South which becomes the Henry Hudson Pkwy at the NYC line ($6 toll - if no EZPass they will bill you in the mail and you need to pay it!). The toll is worth every penny. You take the George Washington Bridge exit and slide over to the middle left lane. Follow the NJ Turnpike signs. Hilton Gardens From North: Take I-95 South to Exit 68 US46/The Ridgefields. Take the US-46 West exit. Take immediate right towards Challenger Road. Take to end. Make left turn on Challenger Road. Our Ridgefield Park, NJ hotel is on the left. Hampton Inn From North: Take I-95 South- Exit 68 to Route 46 East/Ridgefield. Hotel is immediately on right. These hotels are relatively new offerings. Folks have had satisfactory experiences at both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted October 5, 2017 #3 Share Posted October 5, 2017 According to a map, the two hotels seem to be pretty close to each other. If you are cruising out of NY, why not just drive part of the way, stay in CT, then drive the rest in the morning and just park at the pier? Seems to me that going to NJ would be out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corby114 Posted October 8, 2017 #4 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Hilton Garden Inn is a nicer hotel in a nicer area. Hampton Inn is located on Route 46 East, right next to the New Jersey Turnpike exit. Not that it really matters, I am a retired Municipal Police Lieutenant from Ridgefield, New Jersey, the first municipality east of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The Hampton Inn has had a few relatively large drug arrests at their location in the past six months. Drug dealers apparently like that location to spend the night there. Hands down, I would personally stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. Newer, nicer, and in a better area just east of the New Jersey Turnpike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corby114 Posted October 8, 2017 #5 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Both, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn are located in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, not Ridgefield, New Jersey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiserhopeful Posted October 9, 2017 #6 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Hilton Garden Inn is a nicer hotel in a nicer area. Hampton Inn is located on Route 46 East, right next to the New Jersey Turnpike exit. Not that it really matters, I am a retired Municipal Police Lieutenant from Ridgefield, New Jersey, the first municipality east of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The Hampton Inn has had a few relatively large drug arrests at their location in the past six months. Drug dealers apparently like that location to spend the night there. Hands down, I would personally stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. Newer, nicer, and in a better area just east of the New Jersey Turnpike. Thanks so much!! I was second guessing our reservation and I am glad I saw this. Does anyone know how reliable the transportation to port is from Hilton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corby114 Posted October 10, 2017 #7 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I have read numerous posts regarding the facilities and service provided at the Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. It appears that everyone that has stayed there was satisfied with the hotel, the parking, and the shuttle service to the Port Of New York. If you have specific questions about their service I would contact the hotel directly. Enjoy your upcoming cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrottfam Posted November 3, 2017 #8 Share Posted November 3, 2017 We just returned from a cruise and stayed and parked at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park. Had no issues with hotel, location, or shuttle service. Think Hilton Garden Inn might have more structured shuttle service, but Hampton was cheaper and we were very satisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bel_din Posted November 3, 2017 #9 Share Posted November 3, 2017 We just returned from a cruise and stayed and parked at the Hampton Inn in Ridgefield Park. Had no issues with hotel, location, or shuttle service. Think Hilton Garden Inn might have more structured shuttle service, but Hampton was cheaper and we were very satisfied. Can you tell me what type of shuttle service they provided? I'm booked in Dec. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnitaVacation Posted November 5, 2017 #10 Share Posted November 5, 2017 Can anyone tell me what the additional cost is for using park and cruise?? Do you have to book it special?? (I didn't see a park & cruise option in the booking section) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkcharoli Posted November 12, 2017 #11 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Can anyone tell me what the additional cost is for using park and cruise?? Do you have to book it special?? (I didn't see a park & cruise option in the booking section) Yes, we called the hotel directly to book the park and cruise package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberjohn Posted September 2, 2018 Author #12 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Has anyone done one of these hotel deals in the past year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaware32 Posted September 2, 2018 #13 Share Posted September 2, 2018 We are booked at the Hilton Garden Inn for the end of Oct. I was able to book the Park and Cruise package on their website . It did a few minutes of poking around the site but I did find the package . If I remember there was a link for special packages on the left side of the home page . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shidah Posted September 2, 2018 #14 Share Posted September 2, 2018 I stayed at the Hampton in March and did the package. Everything was good other than the shuttle service. They made us wait for everyone to get off the ship even though they gave us a time to meet. Some people either planned wrong or ignored the time, and those of us that followed the rules had to wait in the shuttle. The van was in poor condition, and parts were literally falling off the van when we finally drove back (muffler). If I stayed there again, I would Uber back and forth to the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberjohn Posted September 22, 2018 Author #15 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Hello, Cruising on the Sunday November 25th, 2018 on an Escape cruise (14 night) out of NY. I am driving from south-west NH and was planning on driving down very early the day of the cruise. After reading suggestions on the boards most people have suggested going down the day before and staying close to port. I am heavily leaning toward doing a stay/park/shuttle at either "Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield", "Hampton Inn, Ridgefield" or Fairfield Inn, North Bergen". Which one is the safest for my car? Which one has the better car service? Which one do you recommend? Also, if anyone has driven from south-west NH to these hotels, do you recommend any specific driving directions? Thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
138east Posted September 22, 2018 #16 Share Posted September 22, 2018 Hello,Cruising on the Sunday November 25th, 2018 on an Escape cruise (14 night) out of NY. I am driving from south-west NH and was planning on driving down very early the day of the cruise. After reading suggestions on the boards most people have suggested going down the day before and staying close to port. I am heavily leaning toward doing a stay/park/shuttle at either "Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield", "Hampton Inn, Ridgefield" or Fairfield Inn, North Bergen". Which one is the safest for my car? Which one has the better car service? Which one do you recommend? Also, if anyone has driven from south-west NH to these hotels, do you recommend any specific driving directions? Thank you very much! Given a choice, I would not pick the Fairfield Inn because of its location in a more urban area on the route 1/9 truck route. Directions are in post #2. I'm assuming you can get yourself to I91 from your SW NH location. Always check Waze for current driving conditions. What you really want to avoid is I95 through NYC and the intersection of I95 and I87 near the GW Bridge. If you do end up on I95 in CT, there is a cutover to the Hutchinson River Parkway at NY exit 21 just after exit 2 in CT. The $6 toll is worth every penny to avoid the I95 & I87 intersection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie1968 Posted September 24, 2018 #17 Share Posted September 24, 2018 We have stayed at Hilton Garden and was very pleased with the transfers to and from the ship...however the end of Oct we are going to give Fairfield Inn a try as it is $121 less....will let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberjohn Posted November 13, 2018 Author #18 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Booked "Hilton Garden Inn" for our 11/25/18 cruise since the prices were the same as the Hampton Inn which we stayed in for our cruise in October, 2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillyguy31 Posted November 14, 2018 #19 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in June, The service to and from the port was great and the hotel was perfect. Do it again in a heartbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shidah Posted November 22, 2018 #20 Share Posted November 22, 2018 For those that stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, did they let you pick anytime you wanted to get to the port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberjohn Posted November 22, 2018 Author #21 Share Posted November 22, 2018 I was told over the phone that I will have a choice of 9 or 11am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKane Posted December 3, 2018 #22 Share Posted December 3, 2018 We stay at the Hilton Garden Inn every for all of our cruises out of New York. The service has always been impeccable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kochleffel Posted December 14, 2018 #23 Share Posted December 14, 2018 On 11/21/2018 at 8:01 PM, Shidah said: For those that stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, did they let you pick anytime you wanted to get to the port? When I checked in, the desk clerk asked what time I wanted to be at the cruise terminal, and ordered a car service for an hour before that. It doesn't take an hour to get to the port on a weekend, and the driver was early, so I was at the terminal a full hour before I intended, which meant that I waited a while for security to open but was then among the first hoi-polloi passengers to board. For returning from the cruise terminal, the car service said to call them directly when I was in line to leave the ship. They'll pick you up across 12th Avenue (drop-offs are on the near side) and in the next block up. The area directly across from the terminal is a cab stand so most other pick-ups are in the next block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberjohn Posted December 14, 2018 Author #24 Share Posted December 14, 2018 That’s exactly how it worked for us to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codered Posted January 6, 2019 #25 Share Posted January 6, 2019 We used the stay/park/cruise at the Hilton Garden in Ridgefield Park last October. The hotel was nice, parking was safe and the case service was awesome. Highly recommend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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