Ought To Be Cruising

We took a tour in 2016. WE went places  that I didn't care to go.  It was a GREEN GABLES tour to me.. Green Gables was our last stop and only had time for about 30 minutes. I was very disappointed.  The movie took at least 15 min. which our tour guide insisted we watch.   We are going again next year and we are renting a car.  Make sure you take a GREEN GABLES tour. Ours was a North Shores Tour so we went many places. I hope my experience helps. Have fun.

Please give me a few choices for hotels near Path going into the city.  We would like to catch a matinee ,catch the HOHO and visit Central park

Thank you..

On 10/27/2018 at 6:12 AM, PelicanLvr said:

Will be on Summit in January.  Looking forward to reading your report!

So happy I finally found posting of your cruise.. We will be on the Summit Canada/New England   Oct, 2019.   So excited to read your reviews . Thank you for posting..

Is it possible to find a cruise that has sailed and returned?? Our sister cruise. Would love to see their adventures and to get  first hand opinions.

If you had a choice, would you take a city tour of Portland or the one to Kennebunkport?

WE went on a bus tour to Kennebunkport. Absolutely loved it . Toured the area, had an hour or so at dock side. Toured the country sides rocky coast and went by the Bush compound. The tour was around 5 hours.

There are no hotels really near the SOL ferry in NJ.

 

I would suggest using the Ramada at EWR for your base. For the cruise book the park/sleep/cruise through trinityreservations.com for $240 tax included which offers a room, 21 days parking, and round trip port transportation for 2 people. Book an extra night precruise with at the Ramada ( note: $15 parking may be charged). Sites like united.com and lastminutetravel.com usually offer the Ramada at a discount. This puts you in one hotel for your entire stay. The Trinity package is absolutely the best priced park/sleep/cruise option for Cape Liberty.

 

I know you're not keen on driving in the area, but driving to Liberty State Park in Jersey City is the very easiest way to get to the SOL and Ellis Island. The NJ Turnpike Exit 14 entrance is right by the hotel. You go 2 exits to Exit 14B on the Turnpike extension and follow the signs to Liberty State Park. Parking is $7. It's about a 10-15 minute easy drive trip mostly on the Turnpike. This ferry is much more low key and underutilized than the ferry from Battery Park in Manhattan, which can be a mass mob scene. You can get to the World Trade Center via PATH, but you will have a 15-20 minute walk to the Battery Park SOL ferry. PATH is easily accessible only from the downtown Newark hotels like the BW Robert Treat or from the more expensive Jersey City hotels in the Newport area. There is also a Ramada at Journal Square in Jersey City, but IMO this is a much more congested urban area to deal with.

 

Should you wish to go to Manhattan from the SOL, there is a ferry back to Liberty State Park for $7/pp which runs until 7:45 or 8:45 pm. This leaves from the World Financial Center Terminal on Vesey St near World Trade. http://www.libertylandingferry.com/

Sounds like a plan ..Thank you so much.

I would not stay in choice hotels in Jersey City. They are 1* and 2* hotels in a highly urban area that I could not in good conscience recommend plus they are not close to PATH. What is your hotel budget? To save money I would get within an hour+ plus outside Newark and then spend more money to be closer in the next night. Where did you stay in Newark the last time?

We stayed at BW before. I would be ok with $150. the location is more important than the hotel. We need somewhere near the ferry to the island. The night before the cruise we plan to stay where we can get a Park and Cruise.

Thanks

Judi -

It appears you're not sailing until Oct, 2019. Are you driving or flying from New Mexico? You really need a full day to do the SOL. It would be difficult to fly in early enough from New Mexico by plane to check into any hotel and then get yourselves to the SOL with enough time to enjoy it.

 

Please provide as many details as possible about what you're thinking. If you have a car (or RV?), the recommendation is to go from Liberty State Park where you can park for $7. Otherwise the recommendation is to go from Battery Park/South Ferry in NYC.

You are correct 2019. We will be driving but normally we secure parking when we get to town so we don't have to drive in NYC.

We will take a full day for both if needed. I will get tickets before we arrive.

Last time we stayed in Newark and rode the Path into NYC . Which was great, your advice, thank you. We usually favor Choice Hotels. I am thinking Jersey City what do you think?

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate it.

We only plan to tour The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island so where would be the most convenient city to stay over night before sailing on the Summit?

It looks like the walking tour starts at the Boston Common and ends at Faneuil Hall. To get to the Boston Common you take the Silver Line from Black Falcon to South Station and do the free transfer to the Red Line direction Alewife and go 2 stops to Park St.

 

I don't think a one day pass will work for you because you won't be taking enough rides. They are $12 and can only be purchased at certain locations. However, you should be able to get a Plastic Charlie card at Park St Station so that you can reduce your fare to $2.25 per trip. You will have to pay $2.75 when you get on the Silver Line for your first ride. https://www.mbta.com/fares/charliecard

 

The Boston Common, Swan boats, Cheers, and the Public Garden are all clustered together. Your tour will end at Faneuil Hall, so everything you have listed is doable and actually well clustered in a relatively small area.

Carol, in your opinion which is the better HOHO ?Old Town Trolley or City View?

Thanks,

Judi

Do you remember the Eagles song, Welcome to the Hotel California? From what I understand, some think the song was about a hotel in Todo Santos https://cabosanlucascruiseexcursions.com/excursions/todosantoshotelcalifornia/

 

I don't know if the song was based on this hotel but our friends did this when we did another tour (resort Day Pass) , and they came back with some nice souvenirs and said Todo Santos was beautiful.

I love that song ,, We may just book the tour to Todo Santos.

Thanks for answering.

We will be there in April.. Hoping to do things in port not really a ship tour.. What is Hotel California???? Do you know the name of the glass blowing co,??

We left on a road trip with our RV the next week. Went through the Smokey Mts. Within three months we moved from almost sea level in Louisiana to 7800 ft in the mountains of NM. LOVE IT!!! Cruise every other year and RV road trip the other. WE have been on five cruises and enjoying 11 years of retirement.

Thank you for the info. I didn't realize Key West was so far. We usually do a three day stay before a cruise to tour the area. I don't know if we want to spend that much time going south. I really want to see Key West.

Thanks again.

We are leaving out of Fort Lauderdale cruise port. Will it be possible to get a tour to the keys as a precruise tour?

Thanks Carol.. Sounds like I will be able to see the the memorial easy enough.

138 EAST

Carol, I would like to see the Teardrop Memorial. I understand it is near the cruise port in Newark. I have read that your luggage in checked at the curb similar to the airport. Could we check our luggage and then walk to it?? Would that be possible or out of reach??

138 East.. Thank you for the info. We will be following your directions.

I am staying at BW Newark airport. I need to get to Midtown 7th& 51st.on a Sat. morn can you tell me the best transportation .

Thanks...

We used Angel Express Transportation based out of North Brunswick NJ for our family of 8 and they were excellent. We used them 3 times: Elizabeth Hotel to Anthem' date=' Anthem to New York City & NYC to Newark Airport. Their prices were better than most companies, vehicles were spacious and immaculate inside and the 3 different drivers we had were always early and extremely friendly. They are a 10 out of 10 in our books and would highly recommend them! :D:D[/quote']

 

Sounds great.... Can you give an idea of the charges ??

New Mexico 8 you are very welcome. I am using the app so not sure when you are going. ..but I am going in august and will report back

Reporting back would be great .I am sure everyone would appreciate the info.

Cruzrbachoua ,Thank you very much for the the transportation info.

I sure will. We found out that the hotel we are staying at has a shuttle service from ship to airport. I knew that they had hotel to ship, but they said they do offer a ship back to hotel or ship to airport. Their shuttle picks up at 8, 9, 11, noon and 1. So we are aiming to try to catch that 9am shuttle to the airport. But will need to find out if we miss it and have to take alternative transport if we can get a refund. We are staying at the Country Inn in Elizabeth. I found a post from someone that said they just arrived back on 5/8 and the first time for non express walk off was at 8 am. I asked that poster how customs was on a Sunday. Will let you know what I find out.

What hotel are you staying at?? I would love to get a shuttle from hotel to ship..

Sorry, totally new to this so I hope I am doing this correctly.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for less expensive parking at Cape Liberty? Or is it better to stay in a hotel and leave the car there? We are only about 3-4 hours away.

Thanks!

We are using GREENBEE. It is off site parking. In a fenced area. They take you to the airport to catch your hotel shuttle . On the way back they pick you up at the airport and take you to your car. A little over $100.00 for 14 days.

We have used them before . The transfer back and forth to the airport and car went very smooth.

Thank you for the info. Carol..