weezieweeks

We have had those similar issues raised in Nevada. I will say the cab company car was old and junky and the driver was wearing dirty sweatpants and soccer sandals. The uber car was only a few years old and very clean and the driver was neatly dressed and professional. With both rides, we knew the price before committing to the ride. It is a personal choice, for sure!

FYI, while Uber may be very popular in NJ it is also very illegal in most places in the state. When you take Uber in NJ you run the risk of being driven by someone whose is not properly licensed or carrying proper commercial automobile liability insurance. It's very easy to undercut the fares charged by legal taxis when you're not paying for a taxi driver's license and insurance. Until this situation is remedied Uber is not a smart choice for transportation in NJ.

Danielle, we just cruised out of Bayonne and then stayed in NJ/NY for a few days. The cab from the ship to our hotel was 42.75. We used Uber to back to the airport. We were at DoubleTree in NJ and the Uber for my husband and I was just over $20.00. Uber is very popular in NJ. You need the app if you use it and you can read up on it. I just wanted to share our experience.

Hi Danielle. I am on this same cruise. You did not state which Embassy Suites you are talking about. I can certainly understand your anxiety, with not much time....did you join the "roll call" for this cruise? You should post this question there. You may find someone at the same hotel and do a "ride share" with them. Also, do you have an Uber App? This is another option to get to the port.

Good to know; thanks!

We just got off the summit and we asked for the first time off where X took our bags off. We docked at 7, walk off with all your luggage was 730 and the next time was 8 which we were in. ..we were sitting in our shuttle by 830 and off to the airport. ..got there about qtr after 9 ish as there was 1 lane closed on the bridge and a bit of traffic. .we had a 1215 flight and had plenty of time.

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We are planning to do the walk-off. We did it in Puerto Rico and even tho my husband is not an early riser, we both thought it was much easier and far less waiting. We do our best to only have one bag each and if we have a carry on, that it secures to big bag...

Carol, can you elaborate on your "Super Shuttle has a bad rep in the NY Metro area" comment? I signed on with a group (not arranged by me) on our Sunday, 10/2 cruise for transport from Times Square hotels to the Cape Liberty cruiseport. There are 19 of us, two shuttles, 10 on one and 9 on the other, and the shuttle service is Super Shuttle. Can you tell me what the bad rep is and whether or not I should be concerned--is a Plan B needed?

 

 

 

Also, at the end of the cruise, United has moved a flight up on us from 12:45 p.m. to 11:45 a.m. This too will be on a Sunday with the ship docking at 7:00 a.m. and the flight is leaving from EWR. I do not plan to walk off but hope to be one of the first off to claim luggage and I have a service lined up with a pickup scheduled at 9:00 a.m. We are also supposed to go through Customs in Bar Harbor (our first U.S. port back after having been in Canada). So my questions are these (1) will we still have to go through customs again in Cape Liberty (2) if we do, is it doable to get off the ship and through everything by 9:00 a.m. (without walkoff) to meet our driver at 9:00 a.m. and then have enough time to catch an 11:45 flight from Newark?

 

 

 

Thanks for any info.

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@franl24fan, I believe I arranged the transfer to ship when I reserved my airfare thru ChoiceAir. We are cruising on Celebrity this time. We only did one way as we are staying on in NJ after the cruise. When we cruised out of Galveston, we flew to Houston; I believe that time the shuttle was arranged as part of the reservation with Carnival and we used it both ways. I cannot recall what happened when we flew to Puerto Rico last year - must not have been memorable!!

Check your reservation details on website; there is usually an option.

Louise

Could you please provide more info on this. Was the transfer arranged thru Royal or thru your travel agent? Where was the pick up point, at the airport or did you need to have booked one of their hotels the night before to get the transfer. What was the cost per person? How far in advance could you book the transfer, maybe it is not showing up when my TA called because I am a year away from sailing, but I need to know my options before I commit to air fare. I would really like to try the Anthem, but not if the hassle factor of getting to the ship is too high.

 

I have been researching my options for several days (and last year before I cancelled my Anthem reservation out of frustration with lack of information) and find it very frustrating to figure out. Using trains or buses is not feasible for me. As a solo it is very expensive to get a taxi from EWR to port (I was quoted about $75 by companies mentioned on this thread.)

 

I am used to Florida ports where the hotels clearly show the stay/park/cruise booking option on their websites, with pricing. There are also many reasonable priced options to get to the port, either shared shuttles or taxis.

 

For the hotels mentioned on this thread and other sites, either the hotel website doesn't show the availability of a shuttle (whether included or at additional cost), the hotel front desk cannot give me the info when I call, the hotels have terrible reviews or are in isolated or unsafe areas.

 

I called the Hampton Inn Staten Island and was told the shuttle was only available for those who were parking there the night before. I explained I was flying into Newark, would need a hotel shuttle from the airport, stay the night before the cruise, then the next day would need a shuttle to the port. I don't mind paying for a reasonably priced room package that includes free parking, even without a car, as long as the shuttle was offered. Two different clerks insisted I had to park a car there to get the shuttle, which makes no sense. I can understand they don't want someone using the shuttle who hadn't stayed there, but that was not the case.

 

I sure hope I can arrange the transfer thru RCI, preferably without requiring also booking a super expensive hotel the night before the cruise. I am considering doing the post cruise Manhattan tour with drop off at EWR.

 

Thanks for any info.

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We arranged our transportation to the ship as part of our reservation...

I have read several posts but didn't find answer although I'm sure it's been answered many times before.

 

There are 6 of us flying into EWR the day of our cruise and need to know what is the most timely way of getting to Cape Liberty ? We are hoping not to miss the ship! Thanks!

Thanks so much!!

http://www.nycgo.com/venues/south-street-seaport

I am good with maps and am researching the apps. I appreciate the clarification so I can map out our sightseeing. We generally are on the go during the day and then get dinner and our room faces NYC so plan to enjoy the view before sleeping.

I missed the exclusion as well when I first looked, so don't feel bad. You asked a really good question.

 

I'm not good with the apps.

 

You need to study a map. Start with the subway map - http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf. If you look closely, the PATH train routes are blue dotted lines coming into Manhattan from NJ.

 

Midtown is generally between 34th St and 57th St and includes Times Square, Empire State, and Rockefeller Center among many other things. Downtown is generally below the Holland Tunnel and Canal Street and includes the World Trade Center, 911 Memorial, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty among other things.

Thanks so much! I did not see the exclusion, so appreciate that information!

Sorry to ask, but what is the difference between mid-town and downtown?

I am seeing some apps to put on my phone; any recommendations?

Louise

I went back to read the PATH website to read the fine print and it appears that holiday weekends are excluded.

 

During the following holidays, PATH will maintain regular weekend service to 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue PATH Stations:

 

Labor Day Weekend

Veterans Day Weekend

Thanksgiving Weekend

 

This means that you will be able to get to 33rd St from Newport, but it also means that you have to go to Grove St to transfer to the World Trade Center train. So for the weekend and holiday you might want to plan to do things in midtown and save the downtown things for the weekday when there is direct service from Newport to World Trade. IMO it's not a big deal - what's important is that you understand the available service on any given day.

Thanks for the info about the taxi dispatcher and the links!

In the last couple days that I was reading some of the posts on here, I became suspicious that the PATH would not be available. Do you know if it will also be closed on Monday, which is Labor Day?

We do not have a firm schedule for sightseeing; I will need to find out how far the train is from our hotel or if there are other options to get around. I am looking at NJ Transit website...I think I am seeing the Hoboken/WTC route that I am to take...

We are hoping to see the 9/11 memorial, SOL, Ellis Island/museum and are open to other places, as well. An earlier post had detailed some routes to see a few things at once.

We are staying in JC until Thursday when we fly back to Vegas.

Cape Liberty has a taxi dispatcher who will get you a cab. You cannot hail a cab at Cape Liberty - all the non prearranged livery transportation goes through the taxi dispatcher.

 

What are your sightseeing plans on Sunday? Are you aware there is currently no PATH service from the Doubletree (Newport station) to 33rd St on weekends due to track maintenance? You can still get to Manhattan, but you must take the Hoboken-World Trade Center train to Manhattan and take the subway to midtown Manhattan.

 

http://www.panynj.gov/path/full-schedules.cfm

http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf

 

Please note that all of the lower Manhattan subway stations are physically much closer together than they appear on the above map, so you can pretty much get a train to wherever you want in midtown.

Thanks for the info about the taxi dispatcher and the links!

In the last couple days that I was reading some of the posts on here, I became suspicious that the PATH would not be available. I see that the PATH schedule for Labor Day is Saturday schedule, so assume it will not be available on Monday, either.

We do not have a firm schedule for sightseeing; I will need to find out how far the train is from our hotel or if there are other options to get around.

We are hoping to see the 9/11 memorial, SOL, Ellis Island/museum and are open to other places, as well. An earlier post had detailed some routes to see a few things at once.

We are staying in JC until Thursday when we fly back to Vegas.

Cape Liberty has a taxi dispatcher who will get you a cab. You cannot hail a cab at Cape Liberty - all the non prearranged livery transportation goes through the taxi dispatcher.

 

What are your sightseeing plans on Sunday? Are you aware there is currently no PATH service from the Doubletree (Newport station) to 33rd St on weekends due to track maintenance? You can still get to Manhattan, but you must take the Hoboken-World Trade Center train to Manhattan and take the subway to midtown Manhattan.

 

http://www.panynj.gov/path/full-schedules.cfm

http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf

 

Please note that all of the lower Manhattan subway stations are physically much closer together than they appear on the above map, so you can pretty much get a train to wherever you want in midtown.

Transportation from Cape Liberty to Doubletree in Jersey City - info/advice? We are staying on after our cruise on Celebrity Summit. We get off the ship on Sunday, September 4, 2016. Would a cab be our best bet? I saw numbers for 3 companies in earlier posts; call them or is there cab lines like in Vegas? I am hoping we can drop our luggage at hotel and then get to the sightseeing. Thanks. Louise

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Look at the Doubletree in Jersey City. $199 plus tax ($189 AAA rate). Other reasonable options would be the Marriott Courtyard and Candlewood Suites. These hotels are in the Newport area of Jersey City with PATH access to both midtown and downtown. There is a waterfront boardwalk with spectacular views of the city. You can also go to the top of the Westin and have drinks.

 

http://www.panynj.gov/path/maps-schedules.html

 

Cab from the port to the accessible light rail to Jersey City is the public transit option to get to the Jersey City hotels for $2.25/pp. http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/LightRail/sf_lr_hblr_map.pdf

 

Staying in NJ will substantially reduce your transport costs from the port to the hotel and from the hotel to Newark airport. You can also rent a car in Jersey City which you can't do at the port.

@138east - Thank you so much for the hotel recommendations in Jersey City!! We booked at Doubletree - instead of the $189/rate, we booked the NYC view via Military rate and got it for $210.00 (which does include breakfast). Now the real planning begins!

Louise and Rob

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weezieweeks, Can I suggest flying in a day before your original plans, just think about it, anything can happen, flight delays, flight cancellations, flights rerouting due to weather, and coming from Vegas chances are greater Red eye or not especially flying into one of our major ports here on the North East (NJ, NY). Getting a hotel one extra night is like having insurance that you won't "miss the boat". Just trying to be helpful, I heard way to many stories.

@Seaworthy01, Good points all around; we already booked airfare...

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Let's take this step by step. First things first. You need a hotel for 4 nights. What's your realistic budget? What airport are you flying out of on Sept 8? Do you have to stay in Manhattan? The reality is that wherever you stay, you are going to have to be prepared to walk and use public transit to get around - train, subway, and/or bus. This requires organizing your sightseeing by areas so you're not running all over the place. You've gotten a good start on that by identifying the sites in downtown Manhattan you want to see.

 

You're sailing out of Cape Liberty in Bayonne NJ (Summit?), which is not conveniently located, so you are going to have car service expenses. Are you flying in the night before? Are you flying into Newark Airport? Where are you staying?

 

Car is definitely out unless you do a short rental to drive down to the shore. You arrive back the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so driving anywhere before Tues or Wed is out.

- We are flying into Newark airport on the red-eye from Vegas, and have transportation to the ship. We also fly out of Newark on Sept 8th at 2:30pm, so have ample time to get to airport. Some of my thinking for the rental car is that on Sunday, when we get off ship in morning, we can stow luggage and see a sight or two.

- Staying in Manhattan is not required, as long as we can get around - generally we would go out during the day and not really be out at night - either get dinner, bring dinner back to room, etc. My husband needs to get good rest to be on the move during the day. I would say I would like to keep it under $200/night - without a car rental I have more room for hotel. We have plenty of foodie experience in Vegas, but getting some NY bagels, pizza, etc, would also be fun. I read some posts about hotels in Staten Island having great views of Manhattan at night - but then read that you can get "stuck" there with bridges closed...

- I think it would be best for us to find lodging that is accessible to transportation - I do worry about the subway as my husband has a hard time with stairs.

- A short rental to go to the shore sounds great - we could do that on Wednesday - thanks!

I think Coney Island might satisfy our East Coast Ocean fix....

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Thx so much! We have not yet booked any lodging. The posts on here are very helpful, so any hints are welcome!!

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We are cruising Aug 28-Sept 4, getting off ship at Cape Liberty...we are not flying back to Vegas until Sept 8. So far, we want to see 9/11 memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, some church and cemetery I forgot name of just now. I know there is lots of stuff close together...We are planning to rent a car - just not sure how good of idea that is or if it's more hassle than it's worth. We do want to check out Atlantic Ocean/coastal areas...I did vacation in San Francisco/Bay area and did great without a car...Thoughts? TIA!

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