Robert Treat Hotel downtown Newark

A good budget solution for NY sightseeing sailing from Cape Liberty.

I want to share my recent experience staying at the Robert Treat Hotel in downtown Newark. I had been curious about the potential of this hotel for a long time and I decided to stay there before my recent Quantum cruise. Normally I take the same day cruise bus to Cape Liberty from Mass, but this time I decided to not risk the Jan weather and came down by train the previous day. I also wanted to board the ship as early as possible. As it turns out, this was an excellent decision because I arrived back in a major snowstorm.

Downtown Newark is still downtown Newark, but I was pleased to see how much it has been buffed up and how bustling Newark Penn Station was at 8 pm on a Thurs night. I was going to take a cab the few blocks to the hotel, but decided to wait for the hotel shuttle instead. Walking was not an option for me as a solo female traveler. Newark is still a highly urban area - IMO a place to be "heads up" and not wander around on foot. Having said that, I was surprised at my overall high comfort level. I saw a number of what appeared to be solo women travelers in the hotel.

The Robert Treat exceeded all my expectations. It is an older full service hotel property with ample sized rooms and inviting marble floored lobby and faces a nice sized park. The street outside was quiet with little car or foot traffic and no stores. My queen room had all the expected amenities including a safe. It was clean and had a super comfortable bed. Not my favorite decor, but that's certainly not any kind of deal breaker, just personal taste.

The hotel offers three major amenities - free breakfast, free parking, and a shuttle to Newark Airport and Newark Penn Station. The breakfast room/lounge was large with different kinds of seating. I don't remember everything that was offered, but there seemed to be the usual choices. I had a breakfast sandwich, coffee and juice. Hotel also has a fitness center.

Parking is free for hotel guests. Comments indicate it is valet. It is limited to hotel guests, which means that random folks from the outside cannot use the parking. The hotel shuttle leaves every half hour on the hour and half hour. I waited about 15 minutes for a pickup at Newark Penn Station, but traffic was virtually gridlock in that area at 8 pm. In the morning I took a 9 am shuttle and the ride to the station was about 5 minutes.

The public transit options from Newark Penn Station are excellent to go to New York Penn Station in midtown Manhattan, World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan, or Cape Liberty. NJTransit has about 4 trains per hour to NY Penn Station for $5. PATH offers similar service to downtown for $2.75. Seniors pay $2.25 for the train. Seniors must have a Senior Smartlink card to take advantage of the $1.00 senior fare on PATH. This requires an application, picture, and notarization. By comparison from Newark Airport it costs $12.50/pp to go to New York Penn Station by train and $11/pp to downtown NYC by PATH and you have to take a hotel shuttle and Airtrain to get to the Newark Airport train station.

I left the hotel at 9 am on the shuttle to Newark Penn Station, figured out how to use my Senior Smartcard, took PATH to Exchange Place, walked a half block to the light rail, and took the Bayonne train to 34th Street. The light rail fare is $2.10, $1.05 for seniors. The trip took an hour five minutes, was 100% accessible with luggage, and I had seats all the way. Normally at 34th Street I would have called one of the Bayonne taxi companies to pick me up, but I was able to have a friend pick me up with her car service since we were arriving at the same time. That was a piece of luck. A cab would be about $10 into the port.

Bayonne City Yellow Cab

201-339-5000

Archie’s Cab & Van Service

201-858-8800

Campbell Taxi

201-339-8300

If you want to sightsee in New York and sail from Cape Liberty, the Robert Treat could be a good budget solution. Rates can be very reasonable depending on the time of year, day of the week, and events in Newark. I paid about $95 tax included booking six weeks out for a Thurs night in Jan. I love the hotels in the Jersey City Newport section, but they are definitely pricier and require an extra taxi or car service fare of $50-60 from Newark Airport.

Carol...great information for everyone. Thanks.

PS...the real question (off topic as it may be for this board) is: How did you like the Quantum?

I know I loved Quantum.....had a great time! My car service made an extra stop for just a few more dollars...(my hotel called me a car-quoted $60 bucks...paid in cash with a tip....)

There are also a fairly new Courtyard by Marriott and a brand new Hotel Indigo in Downtown Newark, so those could also be other options...

One of these days I will stay in them and check things out...

Thanks for the review Carol. That is where we have our reservations for three nights prior to out cruise.

I also had a great time on the Quantum. Thanks to Meg the trip got off to a really good start with a last minute pickup from the light rail. Timing is everything!

My solo balcony cabin was fantastic. I had an enormous angled balcony within steps of the aft elevators on deck 6.

Balcony width - about 8 feet 4 inches

Balcony long side - 16 feet

Balcony short side - almost 11 feet

Dynamic Dining worked just fine for us. Deck 6 was close to all the public areas on deck 3, 4, and 5. I did the Northstar, the bumper cars, and IFly. I did some shows - the comedian, Starwater, and Sonic Odyssey - particularly enjoyed the innovative nature of the two shows. I even got into the short attention span appearances and shows by the Dreamworks characters on the Esplanade - few kids on board, so no big crowds for these short events. Diamond Lounge was well located, but the Concierge Lounge with its stunning aft views was a hike and a half at the rear of deck 12. Being D+ got me a bridge tour and a galley tour.

Didn't do much Windjammer, but did enjoy the outdoor aft seating. American Icon, Cafe 270, Seaplex Dog Shack, and Johnny Rockets were other lunch alternatives. Hamburger and onion rings were $4 and well worth it on a cold sea day.

Really enjoyed the experience of sailing on a brand new ship. However, I don't think I would enjoy being 100% solo. I knew a lot of folks on this sailing and was able to mix up the dining with folks I already knew, which really enhanced the overall cruise experience.