Cruiser0987

2 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

If I were traveling with an 11 month old I would definitely park at the cruise port. Between the car seat issue and all the paraphernalia you'll be carrying for the baby the last thing I would want to do is wait for an Uber or a shuttle van or hope there's a taxi available.

While $30 a day sounds expensive it's actually significantly cheaper than the $45 parking costs at the Manhattan and Brooklyn cruise terminals. Vacant land is very scarce and valuable in the NY City area, which is why economics dictate a high price for parking.

 

Makes total sense. I appreciate all the advice so much! Now off to find a hotel that is right for us! 🙂

4 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

NJ law requires use of an appropriate car seat for children when riding in any vehicle that has safety belts.

So a child riding in an Uber or taxi or passenger van must use the same type of seat required if they were riding in the family's private vehicle.

Thank you! This is also VERY helpful! I’m unsure if hotel shuttles have car seats (I assume unlikely) which will probably lead us to paying for parking at the port. 

31 minutes ago, meadowlander said:

Cape Liberty parking is $30 per night/ $210 for a 7 night cruise. Yes it is high but for this area it is somewhat reasonable. There is no reputable off site parking alternative other than cruise packages from hotels.

 

The only other option I could suggest would be calling hotels in Secaucus, East Rutherford, Lyndhurst, Clifton areas (all 30 minutes or less from Cape Liberty). Ask if you could leave your car for the duration of the cruise (free or for a fee) and use car service/Uber to Cape Liberty. Not sure of the car seat requirement for your child. There will be surge pricing by Uber upon disembarking,

 

if your child will sleep most of the day, airport area hotels would be okay. If not Parsippany and especially Morristown would be a good area for a relaxing Saturday outside with a late afternoon/early evening arrival at the cruise package hotel. 
 

Do have gps. NJ road signage could be significantly better than what it is.

Thank you so much!!!

18 minutes ago, meadowlander said:

Better understand your reason for wanting to spend 2 nights in the same hotel.

 

Some of the hotels in the Newark area, especially near the airport, are in isolated areas with limited dining choices, some only having food delivered. Having your auto will be beneficial. As njhorseman indicated, hotels on International Boulevard in Elizabeth are more preferred than EWR area hotels located in Newark.

 

I would still suggest you stay Friday night in Parsippany, Morristown or Paramus area for more dining choices , more suburban areas, less driving on Friday (though likely to incur heavy traffic in Paramus and more options on Saturday of things to do. Your drive on Saturday to the hotel you will leave your car at should be less than 60 minutes from all these locations. Could you pack a separate single bag with items needed for Friday and or Saturday to simplify unpacking your 2 night pre cruise stay?

 

If you travel to Staten Island in NY, you are driving past Bayonne and Cape Liberty.

 

Do check the return schedule of the shuttle. The last cruise package I used had a single return shuttle from the port to the hotel. I waited 2 hours for the return shuttle.

I will definitely look into all those suggestions. I do really appreciate all the help! This is our first cruise outside of florida ports and we are not use to have a vehicle that needs parking. The port prices just seem a little crazy to me!

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

One additional thought. Is there a specific compelling reason for you to stay near Cape Liberty for two nights?

If  not you should consider breaking your trip up and staying elsewhere on your route the first night. 

The Cape Liberty area isn't a vacation destination and there are more pleasant suburban areas to stay,  depending on what your planned route is.

Thank you for the advice! We were only planning for a two night stay at the same hotel due to having a baby just under 1 and setting up two different hotel rooms for such a short stay seems like a lot. I wasn’t aware there may not be that much around but since we are driving we will have a vehicle. I could be wrong but I thought that Staten Island wasn’t too far?

1 hour ago, meadowlander said:

Could you not book the Friday stay directly with the hotel at a lower rate and book via Trinity with your stay commencing on Saturday which will allow for the 7 nights of parking beginning on Sunday?

 

Agree completely about not staying Friday and Saturday night in Bayonne area. Hotel/motel in Parsippany, Paramus, Rutherford would be better choice for Friday night with things to do on Saturday prior to checking in at the Saturday night hotel. Most especially  Paramus(mall capital of NJ) if you enjoy shopping. If you have children, American Dream mall in East Rutherford would appeal to them.

I never thought to try to tag on an additional reservation. I should give that a try for sure. 
 

The reason behind a two night stay is because it’s about an 8/9 hour drive from the Toronto area and with a baby under 1 the thought of unpacking everything for two different hotel stays seems like a lot especially considering we will probably arrive late the Friday. I will definitely look into other areas with things to do as well. I was under the impression Staten Island wasn’t too far away??

15 minutes ago, meadowlander said:

Check with Trinity Reservations. They should have parking packages for 7 and 14 nights. I would think any hotel you stay at for 2 nights prior to your cruise would include parking for those nights then begin the cruise night parking on the day of your cruise. A cruise sleep package, which includes parking cost for your cruise, is for more than 1 night parking unless your intent is to leave your car at the hotel, not being charged for parking the duration of your cruise.

Thank you! I’ve checked their website and it says they can only do hotel for one nights sleep unfortunately 

We are cruising out of Cape Liberty on November 26 but due to arrive on Friday November 24 driving from Canada. Most hotel and park packages only include one night parking. We also have an 11 month old and wondering if anyone has used one of these packages with an infant for the shuttle service and how that worked. Any tips, advice for a young family cruising out of Cape Liberty is appreciated 🙂 

10 hours ago, Fouremco said:

While you won't be able to fully complete and submit your ArriveCAN app until after you receive the results of your PCR test at the end of your cruise, there's quite a bit of information that you will need to enter. Whether you do most of it at home, my recommendation, or during the cruise, give yourself sufficient time and don't wait until you are walking down the gangway!

 

You will need to upload proof of vaccination. I don't recall whether you can take a photo of your printed vaccination docs with the app, but I simply uploaded the MOH files. Of course, to do so, you need to have copies of the files on your cell phone.

Does everyone travelling need to download the arrive can app and fill it out or is it just one per household?

Hi everyone!!

I am 2 days away from my honeymoon cruise aboard symphony of the seas. As this is my first cruise since covid I want to double check that we have all necessary things before heading to the airport. 
 

Our covid tests are booked for tomorrow, we have checked in with the RCCL app, downloaded the arrivecan app, and have printed both doses of our vaccine.

For those Canadians who have cruised in the past few months was there anything you wish you brought or needed that I’ve not already mentioned?

We are so excited but obviously anxious to get that negative test result tomorrow!

3 hours ago, CanacruiserKim said:

Yes, I saw that but when I tried to confirm with RCL directly I received both yes and no. If there's any Canadians who travelled on SOTS recently that would be great!

I will be on SOTS leaving this Saturday and can report back after our cruise. I was told that as long as they know we need the PCR we will receive it. It says in the website that for those who need it to reenter their destination it will be provided to. 

Me and my husband leave for Miami on Saturday for our honeymoon cruise on symphony. We are a little worried about having all the paperwork for customs and such but are super excited to go away! 
 

Was there anything you wish you knew before your first cruise post pandemic?

Just curious if there was the love and marriage game show during your sailing. Me and my husband sail leaving October 16th for our honeymoon cruise!

I was going to ask this question as well! We are very curious if it will be on the symphony ship next week as we are booked for our honeymoon and got married a week ago. We’re really hoping it is as it’s great entertainment!!

Wondering if anybody has seen it on sale for more than 30% off. We are not sure when to buy for our October 16 symphony cruise. We are Canadian so prices right now are $77 a day.

My Fiancé and I are booked on the Symphony of the Seas departing on October 16th from Miami. We will need to fly into FLL and are curious how the check in times that we select when doing the online check in process works when we have priority boarding due to my diamond status. We aren't sure if the time we select when doing the check in will be the time we are allowed on board or how that works since our flight will be arriving mid morning. 

Thanks for all your help!

7 hours ago, thjeepster said:

Nice!  Congrats.  Which sailing date is that one?

 

You will enjoy Symphony she is a great ship!....was just on her 2 years ago and loved it.....so much to do...so little time to do it.

We are sailing October 16! 

On 9/4/2021 at 11:59 AM, renza said:

I am an oasis class fan. I went on Anthem and was not my kind of ship especially for the Caribbean. The ship has many indoor spaces which is great for Alaska but not the. Caribbean. Symphony is such a beautiful ship, definitely pick the extra night on symphony. 

Thank you for the advice! We booked the 7 night on symphony yesterday and we are so excited!!

On 9/3/2021 at 10:33 AM, RedIguana said:

If it is his first time cruising, and maybe traveling out of the country, he may be more comfortable with St. Thomas, as it is not too much different than home.

We will be travelling from Canada. He has travelled before but never done anywhere in the Caribbean.

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You can go to the Royal Up site at any time to see if bidding is available - you don't need the invitation e-mail.

Thank you for confirming this! Makes me feel better about potentially switching cruises!

I am currently booked on the 6 night Odyssey of the Seas for October and for the RoyalUp email yesterday. We may be switching cruises and my question is will I get the opportunity to bid if I switch? I was under the impression that only some people get the email and therefore I may not get the same chance to bid if I change cruises. Can someone please help explain how it works?

7 hours ago, Coralc said:

Longer cruise is always better. My only suggestion would be to not overbook excursions. On our honeymoon cruise, we seemed to think that we had to book an excursion at every port. Big mistake! And one that we have never made again. We hardly book any tours in the Caribbean anymore.  Congratulations! 

Thank you for the advice! I have cruised the Caribbean many of times before but my fiancé has not cruised before! We are definitely going to try to not over book things and enjoy the stops as well as the ship!

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Can you splurge and do 8 night southern caribbean on Odyssey?  

That's my selection😁

Does itinerary matter?  

 

 

 

We originally had the 8 night booked and wish we could have done that itinerary however, I am not able to get that week off work so we had to switch our plans. I’m super disappointed about it but I know it’s hard to have a bad cruise with RCL haha. So regardless of our decision we will have the best of time!

Hello fellow cruisers!

I would love and appreciate any advice in helping to decide which cruise to take for our honeymoon in October. We are SO torn between the 6 night on the Odyssey of the Seas and a 7 night on the Symphony of the Seas. I love the idea of the new and beautiful Odyssey but really want to know if we should take advantage of an extra night especially for a honeymoon.

Please share all personal experiences and advice for 6 versus 7 day cruises and if anyone has done Symphony or Odyssey of the Seas. Thanks in advance for all the advice/help :)

This might be a silly question but where can I find the waivers? I didn’t see it in the online check in process. I’m leaving on oasis in a week and would love to have it done ahead of time.