Has anyone cruised out of Cape Liberty, Bayonne NJ?

[gracie1]

I am looking at possibly booking a cruise going out of there but know nothing about that cruise area. I have only cruised out of Baltimore MD.
Do you park in the parking area and then have to take a shuttle over to the cruise? Are there any hotels nearby where you can park and leave your car at the hotel and pay?
Thanks for any info you can give me!!

 

[HeatherC]

We have sailed out of there. Very easy. But it is a working port, so not nearly as nice as the FL ports.

You basically pull in and park in front of the building. Unload your luggage with the help of a porter. Then you drive around the corner and pull into the parking lot. You can walk right back to the terminal since it is VERY close. You then check in and then they will start calling boarding. You then walk out theback of theterminal, hop on the bus and drive for ten seconds to the ship. For security, you HAVE to take the bus. The process is very easy and they run it pretty seamlessly.

Are you going on the Explorer or Celebrity? We love the Explorer. Did a ten night Thanksgiving cruise on her.

If youhaven't been, check out cruisecritic.com. Click on RCCL board and search Explorer. There is a thread called EVERYTHING EXPLOER which has a ton of info on the port as well as that ship. Even if you are sailing Celebrity, it is still helpful. Also check out the East Coast departure boards too.

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful time!

 

[Marionnette]

I am looking at possibly booking a cruise going out of there but know nothing about that cruise area. I have only cruised out of Baltimore MD.
Do you park in the parking area and then have to take a shuttle over to the cruise? Are there any hotels nearby where you can park and leave your car at the hotel and pay?
Thanks for any info you can give me!!

Parking at the wharf is pretty reasonable and based on the number of nights of your cruise (not the number of days). You can walk from the lot to the check in area very easily. You can drop your luggage off with the baggage handlers prior to parking so that you don't have to lug your bags with you. Once you are checked in, you may have to wait for your boarding time. Royal Caribbean has beverages, cookies and muffins for you in the waiting area. You will be boarded based on your boarding number which is assigned at check in. A shuttle bus will take you to your ship from there. When you return from your cruise, it's an easy walk to the parking lot from customs and you're on your way home.

 

[gracie1]

Thank you both so much for your help!! I will be going on the Explorer (I see their now doing the 7 night Bermuda cruise!!)
Are there any hotels that you recommend right near the cruise port? It's about 4 hours from where I live, so it is undecided whether or not we would just get up early in the morning and drive to it or go the night before and stay over.
What time is the latest you can board onto the ship?

 

[juliebean]

We've been thinking of going on the Bermuda cruise on the Explorer too, for our 20th anniversary. I've heard cruising is a great way to see Bermuda because the hotels are very expensive and you have 2 or 3 days to explore the island on a lot of cruises. Sounds like a great option, and I'm sure you'd have plenty of time to get up in the morning and go. Now I just have to wait a year - this summer is our 19th, that just wouldn't be right! Hope you have a good time!

 

[gracie1]

We've been thinking of going on the Bermuda cruise on the Explorer too, for our 20th anniversary. I've heard cruising is a great way to see Bermuda because the hotels are very expensive and you have 2 or 3 days to explore the island on a lot of cruises. Sounds like a great option, and I'm sure you'd have plenty of time to get up in the morning and go. Now I just have to wait a year - this summer is our 19th, that just wouldn't be right! Hope you have a good time!

Are you planning on going out of NJ?? Next year? Were looking to go next year as well, not until October 2010. I also hear going to Bermuda by cruise is the most affordable way to go.
Maybe we will be on the same cruise!!

 

[Marionnette]

Thank you both so much for your help!! I will be going on the Explorer (I see their now doing the 7 night Bermuda cruise!!)
Are there any hotels that you recommend right near the cruise port? It's about 4 hours from where I live, so it is undecided whether or not we would just get up early in the morning and drive to it or go the night before and stay over.
What time is the latest you can board onto the ship?

You should try to be on the ship at least an hour before it is scheduled to leave port. Many people try to arrive as early as possible so that they get more vacation time. Your stateroom may not be ready when you board but you can explore the ship, have lunch, get a bon voyage drink, etc.

We drove to the port the day of departure, so I can't help you with hotel recommendations. Try cruisecritic.com and look for the Explorer forum. I'm sure that someone will be able to offer you the names of a few affordable hotels in the area.

 

[ama223]

We were on the Explorer of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) in May 2010. We parked right at the dock and walked over with our bags.. the walk was very short.

We had a great time!! I definitely recommend going to cruisecritic like someone else suggested.

 

[juliebean]

Are you planning on going out of NJ?? Next year? Were looking to go next year as well, not until October 2010. I also hear going to Bermuda by cruise is the most affordable way to go.
Maybe we will be on the same cruise!!

Yes, we live probably an hour from the port, so it seems like such a good idea for a quick parent only vacation, I don't want to waste time flying or driving more than necessary. Our 20th is in August 2012, but I'm going to nursing school and might not be able to leave in August, depending on the hospital schedules - so we are just hoping to go sometime between May 2012 and November 2012 - so you never know, we might end up on the same cruise! We are also looking at the canada cruises, just to keep our options open. Have a good time!

 

[gracie1]

Yes, we live probably an hour from the port, so it seems like such a good idea for a quick parent only vacation, I don't want to waste time flying or driving more than necessary. Our 20th is in August 2012, but I'm going to nursing school and might not be able to leave in August, depending on the hospital schedules - so we are just hoping to go sometime between May 2012 and November 2012 - so you never know, we might end up on the same cruise! We are also looking at the canada cruises, just to keep our options open. Have a good time!

We have also looked at the canada cruise. I think they have a Bermuda & Canada cruise! That would be cool to be on the same cruise, and happy early anniversary!

To the other posters, thank you all for your information. I think we would just drive there the same day. It is only 4 hours away, so not a great big deal.

I wish Baltimore would do the 7 night Bermuda (they have the 6 night) so that way I would only have to drive 2 1/2 hours

 

[HeatherC]

Gracie...You will love the ship!

Can't recommend a hotel. We live in Ma and just left our house at 7am and were on the ship by noon. They begin boarding around 11 usually....unless there is a delay with customs or something.

I do know people on cruise critic recommend staying in Staten Island. Forget which hotel though.

Definitely plan to get on around lunch time. They will have the Windjammer open for lunch and you can explore the ship before everyone else arrives!

I also did the 5 night Bermuda cruise last April. It was wonderful!

 

[gracie1]

Gracie...You will love the ship!

Can't recommend a hotel. We live in Ma and just left our house at 7am and were on the ship by noon. They begin boarding around 11 usually....unless there is a delay with customs or something.

I do know people on cruise critic recommend staying in Staten Island. Forget which hotel though.

Definitely plan to get on around lunch time. They will have the Windjammer open for lunch and you can explore the ship before everyone else arrives!

I also did the 5 night Bermuda cruise last April. It was wonderful!

Thank you!! I have only done one cruise, and it was on the Grandeur of Seas (RCCL) that went out of Baltimore 3 years ago. We definately loved cruising. It was great.
Did you get to do much on the 5 night Bermuda? I heard that you miss out on things because your not at port that long. We were originally looking at the 5 night but decided we might as well do the 7 night so we are docked for 3 full days

 

[HeatherC]

We were lucky on the five night because we arrived in Bermuda sometime in the morning and didn't depart until evening the following night. Would have obviously loved longer, but it was longer than I originally thought.

We did the beach, took a tour to the other end of the island, had a bunch of rum swizzles, browsed in the shops and just relaxed. It was great.

Have a wonderful time!!! Makes we want to plan another cruise!

 

[gracie1]

We were lucky on the five night because we arrived in Bermuda sometime in the morning and didn't depart until evening the following night. Would have obviously loved longer, but it was longer than I originally thought.

We did the beach, took a tour to the other end of the island, had a bunch of rum swizzles, browsed in the shops and just relaxed. It was great.

Have a wonderful time!!! Makes we want to plan another cruise!

Thanks Heather. We are going to do the 7 night, and that way we won't feel rushed in trying to see everything. Did you happen to do any of the excursions? I was looking into the dolphin excursion but not sure if it's worth the money.

 

[chisnpeke]

We cruised on the Explorer out of Bayonne in August 2007. It definitely isn't as nice as Florida ports. We aren't good with the toll lanes so we had some trouble getting to the actual port but parking and getting into the building was easy. Actually, the boarding was too bad at all. It was the departure that I found frustrating because you have to ride buses/trams to get to the ship so it seemed unorganized on the way back. Hopefully it's improved since then because it's a convenient port.

We did the 9 night Bermuda and Eastern Caribbean. Great cruise!! Explorer is a wonderful ship!

 

[Chelley00]

We did the 9 night Bermuda and Eastern Caribbean. Great cruise!! Explorer is a wonderful ship!

We're doing this cruise in 79 days (but who is counting?)

Someone has posted a list of nearby hotels, some with park and cruise options, on cruise critic. Definately check the East Coast Departure Forum. Lots of info on there.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Does the ship dock at Kings Wharf or Hamilton? We did a cruise in 2004 that docked in Hamilton and it was great to be in the middle of the action and not have to take the water taxi to the city.

 

[gracie1]

Does the ship dock at Kings Wharf or Hamilton? We did a cruise in 2004 that docked in Hamilton and it was great to be in the middle of the action and not have to take the water taxi to the city.

It docks in Kings Wharf

 

[Marionnette]

Hamilton is no longer open to cruise ships. Almost all of them dock in King's Wharf now but there is a ferry to Hamilton and you can buy tickets for it right after you get off of the ship.

 

[lisaross]

Post back w/reviews..i'm leaving on this ship in July

We're doing this cruise in 79 days (but who is counting?)

Someone has posted a list of nearby hotels, some with park and cruise options, on cruise critic. Definately check the East Coast Departure Forum. Lots of info on there.