Carmel Pickup at Cape Liberty

[cft8]

We are booked with Carmel for pickup when we return to Cape Liberty next week. (We have other transportation booked to the port from our hotel.) How do the pickups work? Will there be a driver with a sign as if we were being picked up at an airport? This may seem like a stupid question but I've actually never been picked up by a car service at port before - usually we just grab a taxi from the queue, but this time we decided that booking in advance worked better for our plans. I thought the confirmation, or the Carmel website, would have some detail, but it didn't. Of course I could call but with many people recommending them, I figured someone here would know!

[princeton123211]

I used to book Dial 7 or Carmel (I never found any major difference between them) from the port when we sailed occasionally from Cape Liberty but unless you are in the first group of self help disembarkation it can be a bit of a scene when you get curbside. You need to find them in the sea of cars. The last straw was when we couldn't find them and called and the driver was 15 minutes away in another lot. 

 

We just Uber or Lyft now-- easy to find the car and theres always someone there. Much easier. 

[cft8]

I appreciate the feedback, but we want to use a car service because we will know in advance what the price will be (with the possible slight exception of different tolls on different possible routes) and not get caught in surge pricing. It also gives us the option to pay in cash, so each person can chip in rather than one person putting the entire cost on the card. We've asked for a 9:30 pickup, so we should be toward the end of the crowd and hopefully that will alleviate the sea of cars.

 

When you did use Carmel, how did you know what car to look for? Do they call/text you with a description? Do you just have to walk up to every driver and ask them who they're there for?

[princeton123211]

They try with signs but all of the drivers for Carmel are independent contractors so it can really vary how thorough they are. Like I said, the last time we tried at Cape Liberty he was sitting in a McDonalds parking lot 15-20 minutes away waiting us to call dispatch for them to tell him to come in just because he couldn't be bothered circling in the traffic. Was a waste of time.