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Posted

When Oasis comes to 'the Big Apple' this year, we've booked a cruise on her.  There were many reasons to book this one: check another ship of the bucket list, seeing all the amplifications, not port intensive itinerary (to be able to get to more enjoyment of/on the ship) but still goes to Perfect Day @ CoCo Cay (see those upgrades) , & most of all it's drive-able (from Western PA).  

This is our first cruise out of the Cape Liberty/Bayonne port area.  So any help & direction would be greatly appreciated.
We are considering:

  • Where to stay the night before? 
  • Outside of going into NYC, things to do in the area? 
  • If we were to rent a car what companies are close to port? (thinking of two-one way rentals: get car @ home to get to port, and then port to home)

Thanks as always to this great community of Cruisers, and hope to perhaps meet some of you aboard RC in the future. 

Posted

If you're going to drive in, you may want to look at the cost of those two one-way rentals vs. just paying to park your own car at the garage at Cape Liberty. Cost is currently $22/day, so depending on what Enterprise / Alamo / Hertz want to charge you, could be a break-even or maybe a little better. The garage there is covered, clean, and safe (it's inside the cruise terminal fencing / entry gate and has cameras everywhere).

As for where to stay, you can find some reviews of hotels near to the port at this page on Eat, Sleep, Cruise. You can also check out hotels at Newark Airport and in nearby Jersey City, but I can't really recommend any particular one as I live all of 40 minutes from the port and have never needed to stay in a hotel in those areas. I can tell you that staying in Jersey City will give you relatively easy access to the PATH train into NYC; there are a few stops in Jersey City, with Exchange Place probably being the closest to the hotels you'd most likely stay in.

Hope this helps!

Posted

The rate to park at the port has increased to $25 per day.  

There are no car rental facilities right at Cape Liberty.  Enterprise has a location close-ish.   

Newark airport is a $20 Lyft or Uber away from the port.  That's probably a worst case rental car scenario.  

Newark airport is home to many hotels.  All the chains are represented.  

Posted
2 hours ago, twangster said:

The rate to park at the port has increased to $25 per day.

Wow, that was a fast increase! It was $22 just back in October, and $20 last year. I'm curious what's spurring the rapid rise.

Posted
19 hours ago, DBeas0106 said:

Outside of going into NYC, things to do in the area? 

Being a NJ girl from Central Jersey.  Here are a couple of things I would do depending on your style.

1. Princeton is a really nice town to walk around.  See the university campus, have lunch or dinner.  It is quaint and probably 15 mins. off of the NJ Turnpike, exit 8A.  8A is about a 45-60 mins away from the port.  My family loves to do this just on a lazy day.  The Nassau Inn is beautiful and historic.  It was built in 1756.  You could stay the night prior there, get up early in the a.m., have breakfast and still be at the port by 10:30.

2. If you take the Parkway, and enjoy the beach, there are some great beaches in NJ that are not like the MTV show Jersey Shores.  Belmar is a great stop.  If you are a Springsteen fan, than you want to go to Asbury Park.  The Stone Pony is a bar that Bruce Springsteen is still known to come in and try out some of his music....never announced, just shows up.

3.  Red Bank is also a great walking town, and is known for their antique shops, but a little further out.  Maybe 75-90 mins from port.

4. If you like Horses you can do both the beach or Princeton in one day.  Go to Freehold race track.  You basically skirt through the state using Rte 33.  It runs perpendicular to the Parkway and NJTPKE.  IE go to the beach during the day,  take 33 and 45 mins later you are at the racetrack.  There is a huge mall right there, so in case you forgot anything you can pick it up there.  If you do the Princeton option, it is @30 mins. to the race track.  

5. Hoboken is another option.  It is the new hip place.  It has a train station that can take you into the city.  

We usually sail out of Bayonne if the itinerary and ship work.  Will be going on Oasis this summer.  We go up the night before and stay with family right off of exit 8A.  We typically leave at 9:30-10 (depends on the day of sailing) Leave too early on a work day you will hit traffic.  We are always at the port within 45 mins.  Drop off our luggage, park the car, and are on the ship by 11:15 with cocktail in hand.  It is true,  that unfortunately, the entry is a bottle neck, but at 11 it moves faster than it does @ noon.  

Finally, you need to go to a true diner in NJ.  There is nothing like a NJ diner menu.   Two of my faves are:  Porkroll and Cheese sandwich (nobody flame me for saying porkroll, not taylor ham....baha NJ joke) and the other is French fries with brown gravy.    

Hope that helps you regarding ideas outside the box.

 

Posted
7 minutes ago, ColoradoCruiser said:

like to see ground zero

I've been there. VERY depressing. May want to consider going before or after depending on how you think  it will have an effect on you. Do you want to be bummed out before the cruise or after? If you go before the cruise you will have the cruise to help you get over it. After the cruise, a ride home and back to work.....not so consoling IMHO. :27_sunglasses:

Posted
2 hours ago, ColoradoCruiser said:

My wife and I are coming from Colorado and would like to see ground zero.  How easy is it to get from the Newark airport area to ground zero? 

You'd need to take two trains to get there, or a rideshare/car service.

Posted
17 hours ago, ColoradoCruiser said:

My wife and I are coming from Colorado and would like to see ground zero.  How easy is it to get from the Newark airport area to ground zero? 

Super easy if you are comfortable with taking the trains.  Google Maps can be helpful with pointing you in the right direction if you aren't familiar with the different lines and stops.

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