First time using BCT

[marymount]

We would like to drive from Ohio to New York’s Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, staying one night pre-cruise, but avoid driving around the city (don’t like to drive in big cities not familiar with) plus heavy hotel costs with their parking fees. Thinking of perhaps staying at a hotel maybe an hour away and then drive to port and park there the next morning. Could anyone give us a suggestion where to stay that would give us the least stressful way to drive to the port? Already looked into flying and staying near port and not fond of that option. Would this even be a realistic approach?

[njhorseman]

12 hours ago, marymount said:

We would like to drive from Ohio to New York’s Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, staying one night pre-cruise, but avoid driving around the city (don’t like to drive in big cities not familiar with) plus heavy hotel costs with their parking fees. Thinking of perhaps staying at a hotel maybe an hour away and then drive to port and park there the next morning. Could anyone give us a suggestion where to stay that would give us the least stressful way to drive to the port? Already looked into flying and staying near port and not fond of that option. Would this even be a realistic approach?

Regardless of where you stay the night before you're going to have to do some driving in the city. I can't say how much and what type of city driving is going to stress you out, but in either of the scenarios I've laid out below you wouldn't be driving in the heart of Manhattan .

You could stay in Ridgefield Park, NJ...possibly at the Hilton Garden Inn or Hampton Inn, which would put you an hour or less from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal . I you look at this map you'll see route choices that are on the periphery of Manhattan:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hampton+Inn+Ridgefield+Park,+U.S.+46,+Ridgefield+Park,+NJ/Brooklyn+Cruise+Terminal,+72+Bowne+St,+Brooklyn,+NY+11231/@40.7657823,-74.0611451,12z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x89c2f7713dc60907:0x9bfdaf3e37a656d9!2m2!1d-74.0148318!2d40.8447094!3m4!1m2!1d-73.9445062!2d40.8451574!3s0x89c2f69908c35679:0x195751cd08b7f1ed!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c25a608f28f8ff:0x3d0fc7b4341f3ece!2m2!1d-74.0148956!2d40.6821096!3e0

 

 

Another possibility is to stay on Staten Island at either the Hilton Garden Inn or Hampton Inn there, which are a little closer to the cruise terminal, but probably a bit out of your way if you're coming from Ohio and perhaps using I-80 ?

In this case you would avoid Manhattan altogether and be driving in Staten Island and Brooklyn, but traffic in Brooklyn can be bad too.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hampton+Inn+%26+Suites+Staten+Island,+South+Avenue,+Staten+Island,+NY/Brooklyn+Cruise+Terminal,+72+Bowne+St,+Brooklyn,+NY+11231/@40.6424707,-74.1218844,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c24cf0eb446f2d:0x429f0e108860f57b!2m2!1d-74.1788882!2d40.6130952!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c25a608f28f8ff:0x3d0fc7b4341f3ece!2m2!1d-74.0148956!2d40.6821096!3e0

Edited December 18, 2022 by njhorseman

[lx200gps]

We did almost exactly this back in September.  njhorseman's first routing is pretty much exactly how we drove down, though we stayed in Teaneck at a great big Marriott since we driving down from up north. The trip over the GW Bridge, down the west side  (right past the Manhattan Cruise Terminal) and through the Battery tunnel into Brooklyn is quite simple to navigate, and since we were doing it on a Saturday morning around 8AM, there was relatively little traffic.  Hotels in New Jersey are much cheaper than either Manhattan or Brooklyn and the drive to the BCT took less than an hour. I can highly recommend staying in NJ.

[navybankerteacher]

North Jersey recommendations (likely along I-80) of previous posters makes most sense.  You would be about an hour’s drive from cruise terminal, and face much less in-city driving than staying in a NYC hotel would involve.