Cape Liberty Hotel with Free Shuttle and Free Parking?

Am I asking for too much? A clean, safe hotel with a decent onsite restaurant that has free parking and a free shuttle to the cruise terminal?

Check out Meg's blog. http://mojitomegcapeliberty.blogspot.com/

Nothing is free. You can price out Country Inns for a room, parking, and cruise transfer. They offer room/transfer packages for people flying in, room/parking for folks who want park/fly, but you have to get a price from them for room, park, and transfer.

Other hotels offer room/parking, but you have to pay for the cab to Cape Liberty.

^ I will second that - Country Inns and Suites in Elizabeth, N.J. (by the airport) was wonderful. Close to an outlet mall and several restaurants, and very clean with a full complimentary breakfast. Did not park there as we flew in, but they called a car service for us to go to Bayonne ($50.00 plus tip).

Hi...........what they said! And stay away from the best western and days inn.

You can also book a park n fly at some of the hotels then get a car service or cab, both of which are the same price...40-50 bucks.

We generally stay at the Courtyard Newark/Elizabeth on Glmicher realty way (next to the country inn)...there is a Ruby tuesday across the parking lot, an outlet mall across the street...and there was a diner which sadly seems to have closed......

check my blog, check some places and come back with more questions....:D

Meg - the Marriott Courtyard looks like just what we are looking for. Reasonable price for a decent hotel....thank you! And outlet shopping to boot....I am a happy girl! We will be driving there with two cars, will park our cars at the hotel while on the cruise and then will need to take a car service to the port. Do you know of a good car service that we can arrange in advance.....we will have 4 adults and 2 kids so I need to make sure they have something large enough for all of us.

Do you know what time you can board the ship? Trying to figure out the best time to leave the hotel so that we can get onboard early. Don't want to overdo it though because while my in-laws are always late, I tend to be early and if I keep them waiting around the cruise terminal because I said we had to get there early and then we can't get on the ship.....:rolleyes:

Thanks for your help!

The ship usually starts boarding around noon. However, whatever time you get there you will likely have to do some waiting, so your in-laws will just have to be prepared for that. The ship has to board 3000+ people in 3-4 hours, so the embarkation area is always busy. I travel with my elderly mother and we like to get there about 11 am. By the time you go through security, do your check in paperwork, and get your picture taken it will be about 11:30. They will give you a number for boarding the buses, so by arriving at 11 you will have a low number. You just take a seat, have some coffee, tea, or lemonade and cookies and read a magazine or book and wait for your number to be called.

The bus drives you the short distance to the ship and you board on Deck 2. The rooms are not available until 1 pm so you take the elevator to the Windjammer Cafe on Deck 11 for lunch. Find a table first to leave your stuff, then get your food, and have a nice meal. By the time you finish the Windjammer will be incredibly busy, so you want to move off to another area of the ship. You can go up to Dizzy's on deck 14 or down to the Royal Promenade on Deck 5. In the afternoon you want to check your dining room assignment, make any specialty dining reservations, and generally explore the whole ship. Be sure to check out the spa/fitness center - there is a huge indoor hot tub there (great if you're sailing in the winter from NJ), and locker rooms with a sauna, steam room, oversized shower, and lots of towels. Have a great cruise!

Thanks 138East that sounds like a great plan. Don't mean to paint my in-laws as impatient....I just did not want to head over so early and then be there before things actually got started. 11:00 sounds like the perfect time.

Just an FYI to anyone who may talk to Marriott Central Reservations when booking this.......they will tell you that you can NOT leave a car at the hotel when on the cruise. I called the hotel directly and they said not a problem just as long as we know that we are parking at our own risk....that they have security but if in the unlikely event something happened, they would not be liable.....which is what I would have expected.

That's odd about the parking. On their web site they offer a park/fly room rate, so you would think their central reservations would have that info as well.

I asked about park and fly because I thought this was odd too....she specifically said they no longer offer park and fly.

You better make sure you have the correct Courtyard Marriott......sounds to me like you might have the Courtyard Marriott Newark Airport.

JImbo:)

Carol.......you want marriott central ressies to KNOW stuff???:eek::rolleyes: whatsamatter wit you??? that's like wanting RCCL cust service to know!:D (see carol and i are buds..we can say that!;))

DDY.....

yeah...that CY is cool.........they don't have a p-n-f per se but they really don't care....wink wink. MAYBE the diner will reopen. it's right there so if not, you can do Ruby Tuesday. There are a few places in the mall too...or you can order in.

try www.blackexecutivecars.com

they bring SUVs...you may need 2. not sure if they have vans.

you could also call the EWR Airport marriott..as for the bellstand...tell them what you need...they will transfer you to a company that has transportation that i suppose uses space in the hotel. IIRC it is signature transportation but i forget. they were reasonable and had SUVs as well....(a bunch of us in Feb-138east a/k/a Carol & I were on the same cruise and I was working to get 20 people to the pier! this company was reasonable!)

Jimbo - I will call and double check to make sure Central Reservations didn't put me in the wrong Marriott....that would not be a good surprise.

Meg - thanks again. I will give them both a call and get the rates. I'm hoping we don't need two cars. If we do, it would probably be cheaper for us to just park at the port.

ddy123 - Could you tell us the exact dates you are cruising and for how long? Parking at the pier is $19/day, so if you are going on a 5 day cruise, it may be cheaper and much more convenient to park at the pier. The savings don't kick in until you go on a longer cruise. Also, where are you driving in from? Do you have any NY plans? I know Meg loves the Marriott, but quite frankly I don't think there is a lot of difference among the 3* hotels at the airport if you are just sleeping there. Usually one of the hotels is offering a good deal. I recently paid about $140 for two rooms at the Holiday Inn. What are you paying for the Marriott?

We are paying $91.00 plus tax for a King room and $99.00 plus tax for a 2 Doubles room......they have a 20%off on weeknds special going on. I thought that was a great price. We are only on a 5 day cruise but we have 2 cars because with 6 of us and all the luggage even our SUV won't manage it. So I figure we either pay $200 for parking 2 cars or get a VAN/limo service. I still have to price that out in order to compare.

The other thought I had but I think this is likely more trouble than it is worth is to leave one car at the hotel and have my husband make two trips to the cruise terminal. The first to drop me and my two girls off with our luggage and then go back and get his parents with their luggage. BUT I imagine the traffic to the terminal would make this not very practical and very time consuming.

Oh and I did doublecheck and we are at the Marriott Courtyard at 87 Gilmcher Realty Way.

I just reread your post and I see you said $140 for TWO rooms.....that was a great deal!

Could you tell me the date you will need a room for?

138East - thank you for being so responsive and helpful. One thing I don't do however is post my exact travel dates on public websites. I know I am probably being a bit overly cautious but unfortunately in this day and age I just don't think that is wise. I do sincerely appreciate all of your help though.

you really don't want to make 2 trips to the port! not that far but-ICK

carol.....i only like those hotels, as you know, since there is at least ONE other option for dinner...AND driving on 1 & 9 isn't for people not properly trained in Jersey lunatic driving like us!!:D:p;)

they HI isn't bad...you're just stuck with hotel food and you MUST pay attention to the roads, signs, directions and lunatics.!:eek:

ddy.....make sure to check senior rates and AAA rates if applicable too!

That's an interesting thought. It never occurred to me. It's difficult to give good advice without knowing the details. For the NY area the day of the week can be so important. Also, the room costs vary widely, so it's hard to compare costs when you don't have a date. Anyway, I priced the Holiday Inn and the Marriott Courtyard Elizabeth for June 5, which is one of the Bermuda sailing dates. On Priceline the Holiday Inn is showing at $56 + $15 parking, which would be $71 plus tax for a room with 2 queen beds. As you said the 2 doubles room at the Courtyard is $99. Honestly, I don't think you will find a huge difference between the hotels unless staying by the mall is important.

Personally, I would go with the least expensive 3*+ airport hotel and drive and park at the pier. When you disembark, you can wheel your luggage to the car and you're on the way home.

138East - thank you for being so responsive and helpful. One thing I don't do however is post my exact travel dates on public websites. I know I am probably being a bit overly cautious but unfortunately in this day and age I just don't think that is wise. I do sincerely appreciate all of your help though.

A range would be nice. Even if you posted your exact travel dates the chances anyone would find you or know who you are are zilch. 138east is only trying to give you better advice.

138east - You are so nice....I never expected you to go to the trouble of looking up rates for me! Thank you! I just looked up the rates and you are right, it is about $15.00 cheaper at the Holiday Inn. But that outlet mall across from the Marriott I think is calling my name....just don't tell my husband ;)!

Can't give advice without looking at the rates, which vary tremendously. The usual problem with Newark airport is that folks fly or drive in from somewhere less urban and want a cheap but nice hotel, easy access to see NY, and no concept of dealing with the metro area transportation. Keep watching the rates on all the hotels on Glimcher Way. Also, FYI the Holiday Inn is at Exit 14 and it is a quick ride down the turnpike to Exit 13a, which is where the mall is.

Has anyone placed a bid on priceline selecting the Elizabeth area... If so, does it limit the selections to the 3 or 4 hotels that are close to the outlet mall?

Thanks again 138east. I really do appreciate how much you have done! I will definitely keep checking to see if any cheaper rates pop up.