CAPE LIBERTY 411 - Version 3!

What is the best time on a Sunday to arrive at the pier. We are on the Summit on May 18th..Last year we were on line for about a 1/2 hour-is there a good time when the wait is less. Thanks for any advice.

It would probably help if you said what time you found the half hour wait. I am a big fan of getting to the terminal by 11am, maybe 10:30. That way, even if there is a wait to get on the ship (because it's not open for boarding yet) you should be on by noon or so. The disadvantage of getting there too early is that you'll have to deal with people who are still being picked up. If you go later, you'll deal with more people who are arriving.

Besides the cruise line transfer or taxi are there other options for transfer from EWR to Cape Liberty the day of departure? Will be driving and parking at EWR as we're doing a Canada/NE cruise in Sep which ends in Canada and flying back to EWR to pick up car.

Thanks in advance.

The only other option would be a car service. On a weekday it would be possible to take the train to Newark Penn Station, Path to Exchange Place, light rail to Bayonne 34th St and a cab into the port. This would cost a little under $40.

The only other option would be a car service. On a weekday it would be possible to take the train to Newark Penn Station, Path to Exchange Place, light rail to Bayonne 34th St and a cab into the port. This would cost a little under $40.

That seems a little complicated with luggage. Any idea what the price of just taking a cab airport/cruise port would be?

That seems a little complicated with luggage. Any idea what the price of just taking a cab airport/cruise port would be?

A taxi from EWR to Cape Liberty would cost about $50 -$60.

Besides the cruise line transfer or taxi are there other options for transfer from EWR to Cape Liberty the day of departure? Will be driving and parking at EWR as we're doing a Canada/NE cruise in Sep which ends in Canada and flying back to EWR to pick up car.

Thanks in advance.

I would not do a cab. You'll have to pay the charges while the taxi sits in traffic waiting to get into the port. Have you considered getting a hotel room from someplace like Trinity Reservations and doing a Sleep and Fly/Sail? Then you can book a transfer with Independent Driver. You could either use the hotel room before or after the cruise. Then when you get back from your flight, you can just take the hotel shuttle.

I would not do a cab. You'll have to pay the charges while the taxi sits in traffic waiting to get into the port. Have you considered getting a hotel room from someplace like Trinity Reservations and doing a Sleep and Fly/Sail? Then you can book a transfer with Independent Driver. You could either use the hotel room before or after the cruise. Then when you get back from your flight, you can just take the hotel shuttle.

We are from central PA so not looking at doing a hotel. I'm thinking just using the ships transfer may be the easiest and possibly cheapest.

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We are from central PA so not looking at doing a hotel. I'm thinking just using the ships transfer may be the easiest and possibly cheapest.

And how much is parking going to cost you? If you're going to use an airport lot, I can't imagine it will be any more expensive to do the hotel and get free parking. You can probably use an off-airport lot for less. I'm from NY and I've done a park/fly package to get free shipping. It ended up costing less than parking at the pier.

Oops, that should have been free PARKING :).

And how much is parking going to cost you? If you're going to use an airport lot, I can't imagine it will be any more expensive to do the hotel and get free parking. You can probably use an off-airport lot for less. I'm from NY and I've done a park/fly package to get free shipping. It ended up costing less than parking at the pier.

The OP has to figure out the economics of his particular situation to know whether a park/sleep would be cheaper than just paying to park. The cheapest park/sleep at EWR is Trinityreservations for $127 tax included at the Ramada. Cab and car service to the pier would run $50-60. Cabs between EWR are not metered - they quote you a price and that's it so no fear of a ticking meter. However, they can quote you whatever they want which is why we recommend making an arrangement ahead of time so the price is agreed upon.

There's also the question of how many days you need to park and where you choose to leave your car at EWR. It's a highly urban industrialized area, so you want to be sure you pick a place that has good reviews. You also want to get a quote that includes all the additional taxes.

For a no frills car service look at Independent driver - 888-816-0973 - no web site. Reservations can be made 4-6 weeks out. Reviews from cruisers have been good and quotes have been running $45 for up to 4 people to Cape Liberty.

Thanks to all for the wonderful information posted here. It is *very* much appreciated!

We're doing the 9-night NE/Canada cruise on Explorer out of Cape Liberty on Sep 11, 2014. Hotel booked for one-night pre-cruise stay at Courtyard by Marriott.

I'm now looking to book our airfare. Is a 1:40pm flight time home from EWR cutting it too close? It will be a Saturday, 9/20. Later flights, of course, are more expensive. I'd be fine with taking a cab from the ship to the airport to speed up the process. About how much would that be?

I know that no one has a crystal ball. All kinds of things can happen to delay the ship getting back to port on time. We've never flown home the same day so looking for opinions.

TIA!

1:40 should be fine. I believe Royal recommends flights after 12 or 1 pm. The airport is 11miles away and should be no more than 30 minutes in the middle of the day on a Saturday.

1:40 should be fine. I believe Royal recommends flights after 12 or 1 pm. The airport is 11miles away and should be no more than 30 minutes in the middle of the day on a Saturday.

Thanks, Carol! You are awesome answering everyone's questions so quickly. :)

One more question (for now ;) ), what is the expected cost of a cab from the port to the airport? I know it's been discussed. I seem to recall $50-60???

That's about right. You can wait until you disembark to make a decision. If you're off early ( and I think you will be), you also have the option of a shared shuttle to the airport for $16/pp.

Thanks to all for the wonderful information posted here. It is *very* much appreciated!

 

We're doing the 9-night NE/Canada cruise on Explorer out of Cape Liberty on Sep 11, 2014. Hotel booked for one-night pre-cruise stay at Courtyard by Marriott.

 

I'm now looking to book our airfare. Is a 1:40pm flight time home from EWR cutting it too close? It will be a Saturday, 9/20. Later flights, of course, are more expensive. I'd be fine with taking a cab from the ship to the airport to speed up the process. About how much would that be?

 

I know that no one has a crystal ball. All kinds of things can happen to delay the ship getting back to port on time. We've never flown home the same day so looking for opinions.

 

 

 

TIA!

We are on the same cruise. Please, join our roll call; we have a great group conversing and talking about this cruise. Here is the link

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1804930

We will be arriving on the Summit at Cape Liberty on May 4th. We need to rent a car for Sunday & Monday. We will be driving from the Pier to Jersey City on Sunday. We are however spending the night at a hotel in North Brunswick Sunday night to meet with a business associate on Monday. Lots of questions...

Is EWR the closest place to pick up a rental car?

If so, Is a car service the most efficient way to get to EWR?

How will the road construction impact our trip from EWR to Jersey City?

and later Jersey City to North Brunswick? And then the following day, North Brunswick to EWR???

Thank you VERY much for any guidance, suggestions & recommendations!

 

I'm now looking to book our airfare. Is a 1:40pm flight time home from EWR cutting it too close? It will be a Saturday, 9/20. Later flights, of course, are more expensive. I'd be fine with taking a cab from the ship to the airport to speed up the process. About how much would that be?

 

TIA!

We got off Explorer 4-10, took the shared van to EWR ($16pp) for a 12:50 pm flight. We were called off the ship around 9:26, we had our bags, were thru Customs and Immigration, and in line for the van shuttle by 10 am. We left the port at 10:11 am and were at EWR at 10:55 (traffic was bad for a Thursday). We are Diamond Plus so we had Green 2 tags. It took the self-assist people from 7:30 to 9:15 to get off. The regular departure tags start at 10:15. What C & A level are you and are you in a Suite? I have my departure schedule from our cruise.

We will be arriving on the Summit at Cape Liberty on May 4th. We need to rent a car for Sunday & Monday. We will be driving from the Pier to Jersey City on Sunday. We are however spending the night at a hotel in North Brunswick Sunday night to meet with a business associate on Monday. Lots of questions...

Is EWR the closest place to pick up a rental car?

If so, Is a car service the most efficient way to get to EWR?

How will the road construction impact our trip from EWR to Jersey City?

and later Jersey City to North Brunswick? And then the following day, North Brunswick to EWR???

Thank you VERY much for any guidance, suggestions & recommendations!

There are car rental places in Jersey City that are open Sunday mornings. However, you need to price it out to see what the cost of renting in Jersey City and returning to EWR would be versus just renting at EWR.

The cost of a car service to either EWR or Jersey City should be about the same. However, you are not familiar with the area, so you can definitely save some time if not money by renting in Jersey City.

Where are you going in Jersey City? Basically, you want to try to get on the NJ Turnpike Extension to get to the main turnpike to go to North Brunswick. The construction should not be a major factor on a Sunday if you stay on the turnpike.

We got off Explorer 4-10, took the shared van to EWR ($16pp) for a 12:50 pm flight. We were called off the ship around 9:26, we had our bags, were thru Customs and Immigration, and in line for the van shuttle by 10 am. We left the port at 10:11 am and were at EWR at 10:55 (traffic was bad for a Thursday). We are Diamond Plus so we had Green 2 tags. It took the self-assist people from 7:30 to 9:15 to get off. The regular departure tags start at 10:15. What C & A level are you and are you in a Suite? I have my departure schedule from our cruise.

If you don't have any high C&A status, you need to go to guest services early on in the cruise and tell them you need early departure because of a flight. Once you get your luggage tags, you need to verify that you do indeed have an early time. The objective is to get your luggage scheduled to get off the ship. You can always get off, but you need your luggage to be sitting there in customs waiting for you.

There are car rental places in Jersey City that are open Sunday mornings. However, you need to price it out to see what the cost of renting in Jersey City and returning to EWR would be versus just renting at EWR.

 

The cost of a car service to either EWR or Jersey City should be about the same. However, you are not familiar with the area, so you can definitely save some time if not money by renting in Jersey City.

 

Where are you going in Jersey City? Basically, you want to try to get on the NJ Turnpike Extension to get to the main turnpike to go to North Brunswick. The construction should not be a major factor on a Sunday if you stay on the turnpike.

Thank you Carol...going to Grove & Grand in Jersey City. And not too concerned about Sunday, as time is not critical. But Monday we will be on more of a schedule, so, on Monday afternoon, going from North Brunswick to EWR, will this be an issue? I take it there are no car rentals that service Cape Liberty...my google search did not present any.

I used to live right by Grove and Grand! If the price is right, I would look at the car rentals in Jersey City which are in the Newport area, which is only blocks from your destination. That would save you the aggravation of getting to the car rentals at EWR and then driving back on the turnpike extension to get off at Grand St.

I don't see you having a problem getting from North Brunswick to EWR on the turnpike. You can get off at exit 13A to access the airport and the traffic issue with the Skyway, if any, would be centered around Exit 14 or 15E.

If you don't have any high C&A status, you need to go to guest services early on in the cruise and tell them you need early departure because of a flight. Once you get your luggage tags, you need to verify that you do indeed have an early time. The objective is to get your luggage scheduled to get off the ship. You can always get off, but you need your luggage to be sitting there in customs waiting for you.

yes, and the lower the number, the earlier you get off. After self-assist, the tags start at Green 1 & 2 (they're called off together) and go all the way up to Green 54 being called off between 11:15-11:30 am!!!!! They opened up signing up for self-assist departure on Day 4. I imagine you can go explain you're early flight plans then too.

We got off Explorer 4-10, took the shared van to EWR ($16pp) for a 12:50 pm flight. We were called off the ship around 9:26, we had our bags, were thru Customs and Immigration, and in line for the van shuttle by 10 am. We left the port at 10:11 am and were at EWR at 10:55 (traffic was bad for a Thursday). We are Diamond Plus so we had Green 2 tags. It took the self-assist people from 7:30 to 9:15 to get off. The regular departure tags start at 10:15. What C & A level are you and are you in a Suite? I have my departure schedule from our cruise.

We are Diamond Plus and in a Grand Suite.

I've already booked the 1:40pm flight. I could have gotten an 11:40am flight for less but that would have made me a nervous wreck. LOL!

And, actually, your recent post about your stay at Courtyard by Marriott pushed me to go ahead and make a reservation there so thanks for that. :)

Also, thanks to you and Carol, I will be checking into the shared van shuttle to EWR. Sounds like a great option.

We are Diamond Plus and in a Grand Suite.

 

I've already booked the 1:40pm flight. I could have gotten an 11:40am flight for less but that would have made me a nervous wreck. LOL!

 

And, actually, your recent post about your stay at Courtyard by Marriott pushed me to go ahead and make a reservation there so thanks for that. :)

 

Also, thanks to you and Carol, I will be checking into the shared van shuttle to EWR. Sounds like a great option.

You should be fine with the later flight...I would be nuts with the earlier one...you'd worry a little too much....(you MIGHT have been able to make it but you're much safer with the later one..)

We are Diamond Plus and in a Grand Suite.

 

I've already booked the 1:40pm flight. I could have gotten an 11:40am flight for less but that would have made me a nervous wreck. LOL!

 

And, actually, your recent post about your stay at Courtyard by Marriott pushed me to go ahead and make a reservation there so thanks for that. :)

 

Also, thanks to you and Carol, I will be checking into the shared van shuttle to EWR. Sounds like a great option.

We will be on the QOS in January. Staying at the Fairfield next door to the Courtyard. How are you getting to the port from the Courtyard? Let us know what you find out about the shuttle. Thanks.