Flying into EWR on Day of Cruise from Bayonne

[ucfknight07]

Hi all...

 

I'm sorry if this question has been asked before. I'm looking for flights from Florida into the NYC area for the Explorer of the Seas cruise which leaves from Cape Liberty Cruise Port on Sat., November 21, and would like to try to fly in the day of the cruise. For those of you who are wondering why I'm flying from Florida to New Jersey for a cruise - I won the cruise, and unfortunately it's use it or lose it - no changes to the departure port :-( My fiance is currently interning and will have a difficult enough time trying to get off the days we need to go on the cruise, so in order to convince her to go on the cruise with me I'm trying to minimize the days she'll need to miss. I've found a couple flights into Newark which get in around 9:30 AM, which I am comfortable with. I found one, however, that is significantly cheaper, but would arrive at 12:00 PM.

 

My concern is that, all things considered, we may be risking making it to the port in time. The only experience I've had with Newark, we were about 4 hours late... which was due to "high winds in the New York area" according to the pilot of the flight. We were stuck on the plane at the gate in Orlando for an additional hour, then we taxied out, and just before we got to the runway we were diverted, parked on the side of the taxiway, and waited just under 3 hours before we got off the ground. Needless to say, I'm a little cautious when it comes to cutting it close flying in to Newark. And from what I know of Newark, delays are not uncommon.

 

Any suggestions? Because we are planning our wedding, we are trying to be budget-conscious and the lowest cost possible for our plane tickets is an important factor. I know we could fly in the night before, but as mentioned I'm trying to avoid that to cut back on the days we are gone and to save a little by not needing a hotel the night before.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[smeyer418]

If there are no delays the 12:00 is fine BUT EWR as you point out is one of the ten worst airports in the US(as are the other two NY airports) so personally unless there is a really large difference and you have bought trip insurance take the early flight.

[fredct]

Yeah, you never know for the NYC airports. The problem is that the regular schedule is jam packed, so anything that causes them to have to space planes further apart can lead to significant delays. Rain or fog and it can end up delayed an hour or two. Heavy rain or high winds and it can be the 4 hours you experienced.

 

The best news for you is that the Bayonne Cruise Port is an exceedingly short drive/taxi from EWR. Around 4 miles as the crow flies. And on a Saturday, traffic should not be an issue (P.S. You *can* take transit there, but it's out of the way and probably not any cheaper because of it).

 

It appears, according to the RC site that this cruise departs at 5 PM, right? Which probably means a boarding cutoff at 3 or so? I think noon is cutting it too close, especially if it's delayed and you want your luggage to make it too. If it was an 8 PM cruise, that'd be one thing, but not for 5 PM.

[ucfknight07]

The cruise does leave at 5:00 PM. That's my main concern, I guess, is the unexpected delays that you can't account for. I'm obviously trying to stick with EWR due to its proximity to the port, and because I'm not overly familiar with delays at EWR, I figured I might as well ask... Does anyone know if the time of year may have more of an impact? It's also the Saturday before the week Thanksgiving falls in, so I'm not sure if that would significantly impact anything...

[smeyer418]

The cruise does leave at 5:00 PM. That's my main concern, I guess, is the unexpected delays that you can't account for. I'm obviously trying to stick with EWR due to its proximity to the port, and because I'm not overly familiar with delays at EWR, I figured I might as well ask... Does anyone know if the time of year may have more of an impact? It's also the Saturday before the week Thanksgiving falls in, so I'm not sure if that would significantly impact anything...

take the early flight. The first flights out in the am from where ever you are coming from tend to be the ones that make it no matter what. the later in the day they have to rely on planes getting there and bad weather can screw them up...

 

cabs from EWR to Port liberty normally charge $40 plus tolls and tip...

[ucfknight07]

WOW... $40 just from EWR to Cape Liberty? I thought they were closer than that. Guess I'm not used to taxis in the NYC area...

[smeyer418]

WOW... $40 just from EWR to Cape Liberty? I thought they were closer than that. Guess I'm not used to taxis in the NYC area...

NJersey taxi's are more expensive per mile than the ones in NY City. a 4 mile ride on a NY taxi is under $15.00 but in NJ they charge more even for short rides....

 

FYI to get to the cruise terminal from the NY(LGA or JFK) airports will run close to $100 as they are not required to take you.(they are required to take you to EWR but that won't be cheap either.)

[ucfknight07]

Thanks for the info... I guess I'm a little familiar with NY taxis then... The time I spent in NYC we flew in to LGA. My most recent experience in February we flew to EWR, but I was just 'along for the ride' so to say and didn't have to worry about transportation from the airport to our destination.

[patseacruiser]

I see someone said as long as you're insured. So that got me thinking and I pulled out a policy and tried to read through the legalese. And I'm wondering if all policies are the same? Mine says that you're flight must be delayed at least 6 hours to put a claim in. I'm guessing that reserving a flight that will come in 4 hours before they pull the gangplank up means you couldn't have made it anyway with a 6 hour delay. Another interesting fact I discovered is that your ship has to be delayed 24 hours before you can put in a claim for missing your flight. So if your ship is delayed 7 hours and you miss your flight - no claim. Are all of them like this? Anybody read the fine print?

[smeyer418]

I see someone said as long as you're insured. So that got me thinking and I pulled out a policy and tried to read through the legalese. And I'm wondering if all policies are the same? Mine says that you're flight must be delayed at least 6 hours to put a claim in. I'm guessing that reserving a flight that will come in 4 hours before they pull the gangplank up means you couldn't have made it anyway with a 6 hour delay. Another interesting fact I discovered is that your ship has to be delayed 24 hours before you can put in a claim for missing your flight. So if your ship is delayed 7 hours and you miss your flight - no claim. Are all of them like this? Anybody read the fine print?

You are right you need to read the fine print. I said this above because people who try to fly the cheapest flight also rarely buy insurance. They don't think they need to spend the money for insurance- there are of course exceptions. Make the earlier flight for the peace of mind.

[megr1125]

take the early flight.

 

we are on that cruise too....lucky me, don't have to fly...but we're going up the night before anyway...

 

yes, cabs are expensive in NJ....but a car service is about the same price...

 

see you on the ship!

[ucfknight07]

Thanks all for your responses...

 

We're still trying to work out the details to everything... Hopefully we'll be able to make the cruise! If so, we'll see you on board, megr1125!

[patseacruiser]

So my question is - Did the OP fly in day of cruise, make the cruise, etc.? They never come back to tell us or did they post somewhere else?

[megr1125]

no idea...don't even remember what cruise it was

[138east]

Meg's the one who unfortunately didn't make the cruise (and she can't blame it on airline delays).