LOS Cape Liberty check in arrival

[ChristieNJ]

Hi all!  I’ve unfortunately had a 6-year lapse in cruising so I was wondering now - I see we are given check-in times. What happens if we arrive earlier than those times at Cape Liberty?  Do they still let you board? My daughter has to drop us off early because she has to work so I was wondering if we will be sitting around or if they will let us board. 
 

TIA!

[Cruise a holic]

We did the Oasis last August, and will again this August out of Bayonne.  They are very strict about arrival times and boarding.  If you are in a suite however, you can line up and board early.  You might have to wait as they will not even let you line up before your scheduled arrival time.  Call and see if you can modify.  Good luck.

[ChristieNJ]

Thanks so much for the info!!  Much appreciated!

[Tree_skier]

11 minutes ago, ChristieNJ said:

Hi all!  I’ve unfortunately had a 6-year lapse in cruising so I was wondering now - I see we are given check-in times. What happens if we arrive earlier than those times at Cape Liberty?  Do they still let you board? My daughter has to drop us off early because she has to work so I was wondering if we will be sitting around or if they will let us board. 
 

TIA!

Keep checking the available check in times.  If there is a cancellation that checkin time will be made available.

[loug1601]

We have sailed out of Bayonne a total of 8 times since the restart. Only once we’re they strict concerning the boarding time, and that was when they had just resumed sailing. 
 

We generally get to the port about 10 am, with a 10:30 or 11 am boarding time. They seem to be letting all on without question. We are usually in a suite so have the luxury of arriving up to one hour before our scheduled boarding time, but no one ever asks when cabin type we are in. The just say “Welcome!” or words to that effect. 
 

I don’t think you will have any issues at all.
 

Of course, you won’t truly know until you get there. 
 

Happy cruising!

Edited May 30, 2023 by loug1601

[marci22]

We cruised last week and got to the port by 10am. We parked, went through security and checked in. They seated us in rows in order of arrival. By this time there had to be several hundred people sitting already. Our check-in time was 11am but they didn't even ask. They waved everyone in, saying, 'don't worry about your check-in times, just go on in!'

 

Getting off the ship was easy, too. Around 7am they were announcing '45 minutes to an hour' before they could let us off. By 7:30am they told us we could leave. There was a minimal line and most people seemed to still be at breakfast.

Edited May 30, 2023 by marci22

[ChristieNJ]

Excellent info!  Thank you all so much!! I mean, we kind of have no choice because of my daughter’s work schedule so we will just have to go with the flow! Lol

[DaniDanielle]

We had no wait last August.  They were not checking times.  We arrived around ten.

[Max and Ruby]

I have been at Cape Liberty 2x over the last 12 months and boarding that ship was a mess both times.  I was unfortunately boarding last June when Oasis had to pull away from the dock and was away for about 2 hours before we could board. We had 10:30, and could not board until 12:30.  What a mess!

 

Then in April  2023 (the week before Easter) again I had 10:30 check in time, but it turned out to be a surprise Coast Guard inspection.  Those with the 10 and 10:30 check in times were texted to now arrive at 1pm with all aboard at 1:30!  We guessed that was because boarding would be delayed due to Coast Guard. But why not just shift all  embarkation by an hour rather than make those who got early times last?  To top it off, the Coast Guard inspection was over early so those with the 10:30 check in could have arrived on time rather than wait.

 

So you just never know what is going to happen!

[marci22]

My final answer would be that, barring surprise inspections or unexpected equipment malfunctions, Cape Liberty boarding times are not actively enforced. 

[ChristieNJ]

Wow, some interesting experiences for sure!  And very different.  But ok...I guess it's a "wait and see" type thing, lol.  We aren't supposed to board until 1:30 but that will make my daughter very late for work after the dropoff.  Oh well, this should be interesting! lol

[reallyitsmema]

4 minutes ago, ChristieNJ said:

Wow, some interesting experiences for sure!  And very different.  But ok...I guess it's a "wait and see" type thing, lol.  We aren't supposed to board until 1:30 but that will make my daughter very late for work after the dropoff.  Oh well, this should be interesting! lol

 

We have sailed from Cape Liberty a lot and that port usually checks in early and boards early.  We have done two cruises from there since the restart and did not have our check in time checked either time.

[teddie]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We did the Oasis last August, and will again this August out of Bayonne.  They are very strict about arrival times and boarding.  If you are in a suite however, you can line up and board early.  You might have to wait as they will not even let you line up before your scheduled arrival time.  Call and see if you can modify.  Good luck.

We sailed out of Bayonne on the Anthem this past February.  No one asked or checked our arrival time slot. We found the entirre process to be pretty relaxed and casual.

 

Teddie

[Another_Critic]

We arrived at 11:35 for our 11:30 Anthem check-in.  The line was wrapped around the building.  Pretty obvious they weren't enforcing check-in times. 

[Cruise a holic]

We will be sailing again this august out of bayonne. I wonder what will happen regarding arrival times

[Jerseygirl1416]

Just sailed Liberty a couple of weeks ago. No one checked our arrival time appointments. We were there at the right time but by the size of the crowd I don’t think everyone was.

[shof515]

Sailed the Oasis a few weeks ago, no one checked or enforce the times. join a line and you will get thru security and check in

[Sunshine3601]

We have sailed out of Cape Liberty several times and check in time was Not checked since Spring of 2022.    Our last sailing was end of March and no one was checking then either.   

 

The line up of cars getting to the pier can take a while.   We have sat in this line up for 30 to 45 minutes depending on the time of day.    So if your Daughter is in a time crunch you might plan on getting to the dock somewhere around 10 am and hopefully avoid the traffic.   Worst case you may end up sitting in the cruise terminal waiting for passengers to be allowed to board the ship.  

Hope you Have a Great Cruise😃

[ChristieNJ]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have sailed out of Cape Liberty several times and check in time was Not checked since Spring of 2022.    Our last sailing was end of March and no one was checking then either.   

 

The line up of cars getting to the pier can take a while.   We have sat in this line up for 30 to 45 minutes depending on the time of day.    So if your Daughter is in a time crunch you might plan on getting to the dock somewhere around 10 am and hopefully avoid the traffic.   Worst case you may end up sitting in the cruise terminal waiting for passengers to be allowed to board the ship.  

Hope you Have a Great Cruise😃

Thank you!  I so need it. 🤪🤪🤪

[Giantfan13]

So let me add, that we also sailed out on Cape Liberty several times, the last being a few weeks ago on the Enchantment. We had the earliest possible check-in time, but it really meant nothing. Whoever was there was checked in. I even asked if they are enforcing the check-in times, They grinned and waved us thru. I can see if there was a real mob there and everyone wanted to check in ASAP, but that just wasn't happening when we were there.

 

Cheers

Len

[ChristieNJ]

39 minutes ago, Giantfan13 said:

So let me add, that we also sailed out on Cape Liberty several times, the last being a few weeks ago on the Enchantment. We had the earliest possible check-in time, but it really meant nothing. Whoever was there was checked in. I even asked if they are enforcing the check-in times, They grinned and waved us thru. I can see if there was a real mob there and everyone wanted to check in ASAP, but that just wasn't happening when we were there.

 

Cheers

Len

Good to know, thank you!

[gc]

39 minutes ago, Giantfan13 said:

So let me add, that we also sailed out on Cape Liberty several times, the last being a few weeks ago on the Enchantment. We had the earliest possible check-in time, but it really meant nothing. Whoever was there was checked in. I even asked if they are enforcing the check-in times, They grinned and waved us thru. I can see if there was a real mob there and everyone wanted to check in ASAP, but that just wasn't happening when we were there.

 

Cheers

Len

The Enchantment of the Seas out of Bayonne??  That would be a nightmare!!! 

[meadowlander]

12 minutes ago, ChristieNJ said:

Good to know, thank you!

As many have correctly pointed out, boarding times at Cape Liberty are no longer being checked, much less enforced. Sometime between May 2022 & October 2022, enforcement ceased.

 

Do arrive at the terminal by 10:30 am to avoid waiting to reach the terminal. All cars must pass the luggage drop zone before heading to the terminal. If there is a delay due to backup of vehicles, there is a bypass on the left  just as the 2 lanes curve towards final approach.of the terminal. You can be let off at an island with about a 30 yard walk to the terminal entrance.

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, gc said:

The Enchantment of the Seas out of Bayonne??  That would be a nightmare!!! 

Huh?  It should be much a faster process than Liberty, Anthem, Oasis.

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, gc said:

The Enchantment of the Seas out of Bayonne??  That would be a nightmare!!! 

Very unlikely you'll see Enchantment there much - that was a one-time TA embarkation.