tropicbird Posted May 9, 2011 #1 Share Posted May 9, 2011 So yesterday I had the opportunity to experience the taxi/shuttle situation from the Cape Liberty cruise port twice. Why twice is another story that involves a bag being left behind :-) The first time I left with a group that got off the ship early in the disembarkation process. We were able to fairly quickly get a van/shuttle to the Newark (EWR) airport for $16/per person. No problems here. The second time was late in the disembarkation process. To make the story short, there were NO cabs and NO shuttles available. It took a minute or two to figure out, but I realized that ONE company has a concession (read monopoly) on taxis and shuttles leaving the terminal. They were woefully unable to provide enough vehicles to people needing to get to transit stations (airports, trains, etc.) and as a result people were missing flights and trains (the fact that the ship was 30-45 minutes late starting the process did not help but the main fault here was with the lack of available cabs and shuttles). Since this one company had a monopoly, you either had to wait for them or, as I did, wander over to the main road and pick up a cab that had brought folks TO the ship. This allowed me to make my connections, but I feel sorry for those who were no doubt stuck in that non-moving line for non-existent cabs. The purpose of this note is to hopefully warn folks in advance so that they may make alternate arrangements should they feel it to be beneficial. I only had this one experience, so this issue may not be the norm, but we were on a relatively small ship (Summit) so I cannot imagine the mess when Explorer docks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
138east Posted May 9, 2011 #2 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Thanks for the feedback - this is really good information. It sounds like the early disembarkers were just fine and the later folks had problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misty57 Posted May 9, 2011 #3 Share Posted May 9, 2011 So are you saying that absolutely no other companies are allowed to pick up at the port? Our flight leaves at about 1130. I was hoping to avoid taking the cruise shuttle ( we are on Explorer in September) and other ports we have been to always have a ton of taxis and shuttles available or we prearranged a shuttle to pick us up. Does any else have any ideas about the best way to get to the airport on time?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicbird Posted May 9, 2011 Author #4 Share Posted May 9, 2011 It did appear that only one company's cabs were allowed to service outbound traffic from the terminal. It was a very stressful experience to need to get somewhere and not to be able to within a reasonable time period. The staff on hand to load folks into cabs/vans were less than helpful in assisting passengers. Their responses were mainly along the lines of a "go stand in that line until it's your turn and don't bother me with any questions" kind of thing. If you have an 11:30 flight you should get an early departure tag, and if so, hopefully you'll be OK. At the beginning of the process there WERE enough conveyances, but once those were out "in the field" the company did not have enough "bench strength" to handle the demand. The RCCL transfers, and I shudder to say this, might be the best option from a peace of mind perspective. For comparison taxi cost to the EWR apt was $56+toll+tip. Shuttle van was $16/person. Not sure what the Celebrity transfers were, but I think it was somewhere in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
138east Posted May 9, 2011 #5 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I did a park/sleep and the recommended car service was Independent Driver 888-816-0973 Ext 0 - $40 for up to 4 people. We had a large group going back to the Fairfield Inn, but I'm sure they would do an airport drop off as well. We all arranged to have an early disembarkment and a 9:15 pickup - we were back in Newark by 9:45. These folks don't have a web site and don't take credit cards, but they seemed anxious for our business and were prompt in getting us to and from the port. They don't take reservations until 4-6 weeks ahead. I organized a group of 7 people from our roll call and it worked well for everyone at $10/pp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misty57 Posted May 9, 2011 #6 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsnake57 Posted May 10, 2011 #7 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I did a park/sleep and the recommended car service was Independent Driver 888-816-0973 Ext 0 - $40 for up to 4 people. We had a large group going back to the Fairfield Inn, but I'm sure they would do an airport drop off as well. We all arranged to have an early disembarkment and a 9:15 pickup - we were back in Newark by 9:45. These folks don't have a web site and don't take credit cards, but they seemed anxious for our business and were prompt in getting us to and from the port. They don't take reservations until 4-6 weeks ahead. I organized a group of 7 people from our roll call and it worked well for everyone at $10/pp. Do you have a link to their web site? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
138east Posted May 10, 2011 #8 Share Posted May 10, 2011 As I said they don't have a web site. The number comes from trinityreservations.com when you look at park/sleeps for Newark/Cape Liberty cruise port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patseacruiser Posted May 10, 2011 #9 Share Posted May 10, 2011 never mind i just found what i was looking for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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