Cruisin'4Us

Can you please suggest some hotels within a 30 minute drive of Cape Liberty. We will park in the Cape Liberty parking garage, so we don't need other transportation. Preferably, the hotel will have safe parking and a restaurant within walking distance. We just need a hotel that is relatively nice for about $200 or so for one night, 3 people. We are thinking of the Hampton Inn & Suites Elizabeth Newark Airport (formerly the Country Inn.) There is a Ruby Tuesday's next door. Thoughts? The Mills at Jersey Gardens mall is close to the hotel. I'm afraid to ask - what's the crime rate like in this hotel/mall area? Thank you!

Would you please tell us more? Which foods were the highs and lows, and at which venues were they? Also, thank you for the movie information!

Kiosk questions - Is the ticket kiosk in the cruise terminal? So, the kiosk provides a "paid" receipt to use when exiting the garage? Is there a long wait to use the kiosks? Is payment made by credit card only? Can parking be paid prior to embarking? This would streamline departure, but could cause other issues. Is the Pickup area inside the garage? On the first floor? Is there an option to avoid facial recognition, like a line with a human being? I'm sure someone will suggest swimming to shore prior to arrival, but we'd rather not get our luggage wet. Yes, we know that our ID's and passport's already have our pictures on it, we assume that Royal still takes our pictures to streamline boarding from ports, etc., and there are cameras everywhere. About 5 years ago, there were massive highway construction projects underway involving overpasses, etc., in the surrounding area. I assume these construction projects were just recently completed (only half joking)?

Do you recall which movies?

Thank you! Lots of great information.

We're traveling in 2024 on Liberty of the Seas. I'm sure many things have changed since our last cruise. What has been your experience (within the last 18 months) with the following ? While onboard, what are good ways to communicate with family when they are in different parts of the ship? Does the 2-device internet plan allow for better communication with family while onboard? Does the Chat feature in the Royal app work well on Liberty? Is an Internet Package required for Chat to work? Does Wifi calling to US mainland (voice only needed) with Voom/Starlink work well on Liberty? Does a VPN work with Voom/Starlink on Liberty? Does texting people on the ship and to US mainland work well? Is there a US Customs Service app that is useful when embarking/disembarking the ship from Cape Liberty (for US citizens with no air travel needed)? I vaguely recall an app for declaring the value of purchases abroad. What are the best percentage discounts that you have seen (within 18 months) for the: - Deluxe Beverage Packages (cocktails) (currently 20% off) - Refreshment packages (mocktails) (currently 10% off) - Shore Excursions (currently 10% off) - Cabana rental in Labadee (not posted yet) - Internet Packages (currently 20% off) - Photo Packages (currently 20% to 25% off) - Water Package (currently 20% off) About how long before sailing were these discounts offered? Are Black Friday sales good? Are Cruise Planner purchases charged immediately? Can purchases be cancelled within Cruise Planner, or is a call to Royal required? Are potentially higher Cruise Planner discounts still shown after a purchase is made? If you make a Cruise Planner purchase, and the discount increases, what is a good way to get the better discount? Thank you!