Manhattan Cruise Port to EWR Car service recommendations

Looking for recommendations from those who have used car service from Manhattan cruise port to Newark airport.

This would be for about 8:30AM on a Thursday in May.

Thanks!

Many have used these two car services ....Carmel and Dial 7.

I did some review type websites and I won't book with Carmel.

I did contact Dial 7 and they insist on a mini van for 2 people w/ 4 suitcases. I haven't experienced that before. I also asked about where they usually pick up and they said to check with the cruise ship as to where they dock. I am not booking with them, either.

I am getting some other quotes. I thought maybe some would share their experiences here.

Thanks for the response.

Many have used these two car services ....Carmel and Dial 7.

We used Carmel to take us from Manhattan to Brooklyn for our QM2 crossing. They were bang on time and very efficient. Would not hesitate to use them again.

Don't pay attention to general review sites like Yelp for car service reviews. Generally only people who have complaints will post there. These are very big companies that service thousands of passengers. Something will go wrong at times as with any business. If they carry 1,000 passengers today and there are three problems its likely you'll only hear about the three problems, not the 997 rides that went well.

Virtually everyone who posts on Cruise Critic about their experiences with Dial 7 or Carmel has had at least a satisfactory experience. That's why it continues to get recommended here. Some like one better than the other for various reasons...for example Carmel can be a couple of dollars cheaper than Dial 7 for some rides, but rarely we see a serious complaint, such as a scheduled pick up being missed, here.

I have used both Dial 7 and Carmel and was satisfied with both of them.

Dial 7. Never had a problem.

Thanks all for your input.

Can someone who has used Dial7 for transport from MCT to EWR please explain the pick-up process in simple terms at MCT? Where is the pick-up location? I can see the taxi stand right across the street from MCT on Google street view but I don't think car services can pick up there. Had a flight change to 1:20PM on a June Saturday. And also any actual taxi fares paid from MCT to EWR. Thanks!

The taxi stand across the street from both piers at MCT is for yellow metered (cabs)taxi's only. Dial 7 is not considered a Taxi in NYC parlance.

Once you are with your bags thru Customs and allowed to use your phone, you call the dispatcher, give your phone number (which is used as your reservation number) and they will tell you where to go.

Some people call before they enter the hall to get bags/pass into customs but remember this type of service there will be a waiting time charge at some point (I forget how many minutes) and you do not know how long to get bags or clear customs.

As a city resident, I have no issue meeting them across 12th Ave on one of the side streets and don't know if they will meet you on the 2nd (departure) level of the terminal or if there is a restriction to the lower level where the buses are. YMMV.

Once you are with your bags thru Customs and allowed to use your phone, you call the dispatcher, give your phone number (which is used as your reservation number) and they will tell you where to go.

Thank you Brighton Line! Would you recommend booking online ahead of time, or not knowing an exact time, wait and call? Would this be like Uber (except call instead of on a App), call to request a car when ready for pick-up?

Thank you Brighton Line! Would you recommend booking online ahead of time, or not knowing an exact time, wait and call? Would this be like Uber (except call instead of on a App), call to request a car when ready for pick-up?

I've always reserved online, then call when I have my bags but most of my trips are from airports when I'm avoiding surge pricing of Uber/Lyft. From the airport, the dispatcher even asks you what you are wearing to tell the driver.

Absolutely book online ahead of time to cut down on your wait time. Once the ship is in the Narrow you can call way before you are docked to update your arrival time or just check on your reservation.

Dial 7 has a lot of corporate accounts secretaries are always calling last minute to make changes, well according to my lawyer brother who uses them every day. Hence waiting time fee, or drop off fee $5 when I jumped out of the cab at a red light near the subway instead of his apartment he made me pay it back to him since that was not reimbursable. ;p;p;p