meadowlander

There is nothing to do at the cruise terminal & you will not be allowed to stay indoors. Assuming storing luggage will be an issue, you can rent a car from the one rental agency in Bayonne, using the trunk as storage. Driving to Jersey City for the official Statue of Liberty ferry is an option as is the Liberty Science Center both in Liberty State Park. You could use public transit into New York City via PATH, leaving the rental at the 34th Street light rail station in Bayonne. The only other use of a rental I can think of would be to drive to East Rutherford, NJ where the football stadium is to spend the day at American Dream mall, though the mall's attractions are aimed at young people. You could use car service to a hotel in Jersey City leaving bags at a hotel then spend the day in Jersey City along the waterfront with spectacular views of lower Manhattan or use PATH into NYC. Options are limited, someone should open a luggage storage facility near the port.

October 2021 is when an increase from the daily rate of $25 to $30 was scheduled to occur but it never did. Hoping luck holds out with this announced increase but I am doubtful.

As stated, there are 3 cruise ports. Cape Liberty in Bayonne NJ, the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in NY and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in NY. If you are sailing Carnival, MCT is your cruise terminal. There are multiple options of transit from EWR to NYC. Easiest would be car service such as Uber/Lyft or Carmel Limo or Dial 7 Limo. If you can handle your bags there are public transit options via train & bus which will get you to NYC, you will then need transit (taxi) to the terminal.

12 noon EWR flight is more than enough time from Cape Liberty. The distance between the 2 is 10 miles.

Living in NC, it would be better for you to fly to Boston or NYC rather than drive to Baltimore?

Being the experienced cruiser you are from Cape Liberty, and depending on the location of your hotel, I agree with you in dropping the luggage first at the terminal. No need to be bringing it from location to location.

If you do use light rail, when you exit at 34th Street you will be on Ave E side. There is a small lot adjacent to meet car service. I suggest that you exit the light rail, use the overhead crossover (elevator or stairway) to the other side & wait in the larger 34th Street side parking lot which is better for transit to Cape Liberty. Taxi was set fee ($9) in 2022. Light rail from Jersey City is $2.25 or $1.10 for age 62 and up.

Thank you and thank you for not confusing visitors by comparing this motel to upscale hotels or educating me, as living close to the port I have no need for lodging.

A 6 pm flight means you are supposed to be at EWR at 3 pm, limiting your time to see NYC. If you can handle your luggage you could travel on your own into Manhattan via public transit but it would involve 2 trains to get there & 1 train back from NYC to EWR. You would not want to be on the 2 morning trains with luggage and commuters going into NYC, so you would board the 1st train after 9 am. The actual train travel time is 45 minutes, but allow up to 75 minutes with unfamiliarity and transfer, cost is $5.00 per person. The 1 return train would be from NY Penn Station directly to EWR airport station via NJ Transit. Cost is $15.75 per person, at least 3 trains per hour. From EWR airport station use the monorail (air train) to your terminal. The other issue is luggage storage. There are luggage storage facilities in NY Penn Station. You could check the site 'luggage hero' too. The only other option would be to rent a car from Enterprise in Bayonne, use the trunk to store your luggage and drive to a public transit lot for travel to NYC, returning the rental to EWR. Or drive to Liberty State Park in NJ for the official ferry to the Statue of Liberty then drive to EWR for your flight.

If you rent from Enterprise, they have a location in Bayonne but that location is closed on Sunday's. You are correct, taxi will be more available at EWR but with Uber/Lyft availability I do not think it is a advantage & there is taxi service in Jersey City. What is available in Jersey City is the NJ Transit Hudson Bergen light rail which will be easy to use, especially with no luggage. Use any light rail in the direction of 8th Street Bayonne, exit at 34th Street in Bayonne and then car service the last 2 miles from the light rail station to Cape Liberty. If you do use light rail, validate the ticket at the machine after buying it.

You originally posted "what about Hudson Plaza Motel in Bayonne?" in response to the op. You learned of this motel by using Google and know nothing of it which is further indicated by your use of a question mark. I responded more so that people traveling to Cape Liberty as opposed to yourself, are aware that this motel chargers hourly rates and all that implies. You felt the need to point out that other 'upscale' hotels offer hourly rates, which has nothing to do with a motel in Bayonne. If you truly need to be educated as what that means I can inform you but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I did not think it was necessary for me to educate you as you felt you needed to educate me, which by the way I never indicated I needed to be. I don't want visitors to think this motel is a viable option. I have no idea what point you are trying to make by comparing this motel to upscale hotels around the world. Maybe you will stay overnight there and you can inform the board of your experience. That would be helpful!

The Hudson Plaza Motel is not an upscale hotel, the word hotel is not in its name.

The fact that this 'hotel' offers hourly rates is all one needs to know.

Looking at the check in area, it is (still) to the left close to the restrooms and their entrance to the ship is in that area. For the rest, entrance to the ship is to the right of the check in area.

Since October 2022, at Cape Liberty in Bayonne boarding times are not being looked at much less enforced. Suite & Pinnacle members have a separate waiting area and board first, after that all board in order of which row they are waiting in regardless of C&A status.

I was waiting for someone to promote that hotel, certainly not you. Since they have hourly rates at that hotel, it might be of use for those disembarking and waiting for an evening flight out of EWR. 🤣 L O L

There will be enough chairs & loungers have umbrellas but I get on the island early to get one of the few loungers in shade at Oasis Lagoon.

Only a few of Amtrak's trains stop at the EWR station, which is why you are not seeing it listed as a stop. Yes, your exit is Penn Station in Newark not NYC.

Drive into the garage as directed by traffic personnel. If more than 1 ship is sailing from Bayonne, surface lots are used along with the garage.

Check Trinity Reservations for hotel/parking packages. I used Trinity years ago for the Best Western Elkridge property & was satisfied. I used Trinity March 2022 at a location in Baltimore, closer to the port. The negative with the Baltimore location was that the shuttle only left the hotel at 1 specific time in the morning & when it reached the port, that was the only return shuttle to the hotel. I waited more than 2 hours for the return shuttlle upon disembarking.

I do not think there is a dedicated handicap seating area in 270, though I never looked for one. The seating closest to the stage consists of chairs & couches. There are chairs with tables & bar tables with stools closer to the entrance. on deck 5. There is an elevator in the center of 270 that will provide access to deck 6 and the library.

Definitely the first floor. The second floor has limited seating along the railings that allow for a clear view to the lower level. There are many other seats on the upper level but without a view/good view of the lower level.

Ruby Tuesday & IHOP are the restaurants close to the Hampton.

Google luggagehero for storage locations in NYC

It does matter. Arriving prior to 10:30 will be beneficial. As I indicated, cars are temporarily stopped immediately before the luggage drop zone. Traffic will increase significantly by 11 am, as many prefer arriving at that time with the expectation that they should proceed into the garage and terminal with no waiting. Arrival times are no longer enforced at Cape Liberty as they were last year at this time. I was able to drive to the terminal last year at 12:30 with no waiting due to enforced arrival times. I would think if you arrive 1 pm or later, there should be little to no traffic in front of the terminal. If you are cruising before May, with only Anthem sailing from Bayonne, you will park in the garage. In May with 2 Royal ships, handicap parking in the garage receives preference. Take the parking ticket with you on the ship as you will pay for parking before getting to your vehicle when disembarking. Expect to wait in line to use the parking garage elevator(s).