Somerset Area for Precruise

We will be driving from Ohio and plan to park at the port since there are so many of us (11). We figure a shuttle might be complicated. On previous cruises we have stayed in Secaucus and Parsippany. The hotels in that area for May 30 are pretty expensive compared to what we've paid in the past. I'm now looking at Somerset since it's pretty much on the way from Ohio and the hotels are cheaper.. We will be heading to the port on a thursday morning so I'm sure we will encounter traffic. Just looking for input for the area, traffic and possibly a better option. We plan to drive I-70/76.

Do you mean I78 instead of I76? I have no problem with the Somerset area. What hotel are you looking at specifically? There should be no problem if you leave about 9:30 am.

I'm on a cruise, so internet is spotty. Post back and I will respond when I can.

Do you mean I78 instead of I76? I have no problem with the Somerset area. What hotel are you looking at specifically? There should be no problem if you leave about 9:30 am.

 

I'm on a cruise, so internet is spotty. Post back and I will respond when I can.

Hi Carol, I probably do mean I78 ha ha. I left my reading glasses at work ;p. At this time we are looking at Sonesta Suites. There's one listed for Somerset and South Brunswick. This is where I get confused on areas. We don't want to go to far out of our way off the highway.

Hi Carol, I probably do mean I78 ha ha. I left my reading glasses at work ;p. At this time we are looking at Sonesta Suites. There's one listed for Somerset and South Brunswick. This is where I get confused on areas. We don't want to go to far out of our way off the highway.

The South Brunswick hotel is far out of your way. You want the Somerset property, although even that hotel is about 9 miles from Route 78. You would have to get off 78 and take 278 for about 7 miles, then another 2 miles or so on local roads to the hotel. Check Google Maps or your favorite mapping program for exact directions.

As I mentioned on the other thread, give yourself about an hour to get to Cape Liberty from Somerset on a weekday morning. About 45 minutes would be sufficient on a weekend morning.

The South Brunswick hotel is far out of your way. You want the Somerset property, although even that hotel is about 9 miles from Route 78. You would have to get off 78 and take 278 for about 7 miles, then another 2 miles or so on local roads to the hotel. Check Google Maps or your favorite mapping program for exact directions.

 

As I mentioned on the other thread, give yourself about an hour to get to Cape Liberty from Somerset on a weekday morning. About 45 minutes would be sufficient on a weekend morning.

Thanks for this info. If it's that far of I-78 I might re-think this option. Any other recommendations that would be right off 78?

Courtyard by Marriott in Basking Ridge is very close to I 78, and 40 minutes to an hour drive to Cape Liberty.

Perhaps your previous hotel stays when going to Cape Liberty have been on weekends when prices in hotels near the major interstate highways tend to be much lower because the hotels cater to business travelers. If so you're going to find most of the major hotel chains charging more for a weeknight stay than you've paid in the past.

Courtyard by Marriott in Basking Ridge is very close to I 78, and 40 minutes to an hour drive to Cape Liberty.

 

Perhaps your previous hotel stays when going to Cape Liberty have been on weekends when prices in hotels near the major interstate highways tend to be much lower because the hotels cater to business travelers. If so you're going to find most of the major hotel chains charging more for a weeknight stay than you've paid in the past.

I did see Basking Ridge Hotels come up. I'll take a look at that. We don't mind up to an hours drive. We have previously done a thursday and a saturday cruise. I think what concerned me is that when I look at the travel websites (Hotels.com, Booking.com, etc) they say hotels are at 90% capacity. I'm worried about them filling up because of weddings and graduations that time of year so I'm looking now :-)

Sorry for all of the questions...but what about Bridgewater or Branchburg. Those come up as options for Basking Ridge.

I did see Basking Ridge Hotels come up. I'll take a look at that. We don't mind up to an hours drive. We have previously done a thursday and a saturday cruise. I think what concerned me is that when I look at the travel websites (Hotels.com, Booking.com, etc) they say hotels are at 90% capacity. I'm worried about them filling up because of weddings and graduations that time of year so I'm looking now :-)

Sorry for all of the questions...but what about Bridgewater or Branchburg. Those come up as options for Basking Ridge.

A problem with the hotel booking websites is the rather loose use of town names. Put in the name of a particular town and you're going to get a lot of listings that are actually miles from that town. So Basking Ridge may be fine, Bridgewater may be fine, Branchburg may be fine, but it doesn't tell you where the hotel really is relative to your route. If you're interested in a particular property I'd suggest entering the name in Google Maps to see exactly where it is relative to your route and get directions to Cape Liberty from the hotel to see how far you are from I 78 or other major highways and how far the hotel is from the port. If you're not sure what it all means then ask about the particular hotels here and someone can help you. The town names alone are insufficient to give you advice,

As for graduations and weddings...you may get some of the former, although Rutgers graduation is two weeks before you're traveling and Princeton University's graduation is the weekend after you travel, and Wednesday night weddings are rather uncommon. Midweek the hotels are mostly occupied by business travelers.

You could always make a reservation that can be cancelled without penalty so you know you have someplace but continue to look for something better.