Bayonne, NJ late flight time

[rowlady]

We will be returning to NJ port on July 3 on the Explorer of the Seas early in the morning (ship docks at 8 I think) but our flight home doesn't leave until 8pm. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how we can best spend our day. We are arriving 2 days before the cruise in order to visit NY so I am not sure we would want to travel into the city again. We are a party of 5 (2 adults and 3 teens) and have no car. We have a car service booked for now but really dont want to spend 10 hours at Newark airport! Is there someplace in NJ we could spend the day that we can take a car service/taxi to? Any ideas on what to do with our luggage? Any and all advice welcome..........

 

Debbie

[megr1125]

Maybe get a day room by EWR??/ you could pop over to jersey gardens mall for a while too

 

I would pick a couple hotels and call direct....i would pick the bigger hotels like the Newark Marriott, Hilton, Renaissance or Sheraton as they probably have people around later to clean rooms.......(dont call the 800 number, they won't know! call each hotel, as for a manager and see what they say...)

 

other than that, i am having a brain spasm.....

[138east]

Another option is to rent a car at Newark airport that is big enough for 5 of you + luggage. One of you could self-disembark, take a $15 shuttle to Newark airport, rent the car, and come back to pick up everyone else. This will save you some $$$. Take the day and do the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island leaving from the NJ side at Liberty State Park. Or go up to Secaucus and do the outlet malls. Anything is better than hanging around Newark Airport for 10 hours.

[rowlady]

Thank you for those suggestions - I hadnt thought about renting a car but that might be a good option. How far is Atlantic City from Newark and is it worth visiting in your opinions? Or is there some better area we could drive too that would be interesting? I grew up in NY so I have seen all the sights many times (and took my family to see them already too) and would definitely prefer to stay in NJ. The only thing I know about NJ is that it is the Garden State and I spent many Sundays with my dad in the Meadowlands watching soccer. If you had a car for the day where would you go?

 

One more question - 138east suggested one of us leave the ship and take a shuttle to the airport to get the car - how far is the airport from the port and where would we get the shuttle? I am liking the idea of sending dh to get the car while the kids and I lounge on board as long as possible :)

 

Thanks again for taking your time to help me..............

[njhorseman]

Thank you for those suggestions - I hadnt thought about renting a car but that might be a good option. How far is Atlantic City from Newark and is it worth visiting in your opinions? Or is there some better area we could drive too that would be interesting? I grew up in NY so I have seen all the sights many times (and took my family to see them already too) and would definitely prefer to stay in NJ. The only thing I know about NJ is that it is the Garden State and I spent many Sundays with my dad in the Meadowlands watching soccer. If you had a car for the day where would you go?

 

One more question - 138east suggested one of us leave the ship and take a shuttle to the airport to get the car - how far is the airport from the port and where would we get the shuttle? I am liking the idea of sending dh to get the car while the kids and I lounge on board as long as possible :)S

Thanks again for taking your time to help me..............

 

You don't have enough time to visit Atlantic City. It's about 120 miles from EWR, a 2 hour drive in each direction without traffic, and you're going to be there on a holiday summer weekend, when traffic on the Garden State Parkway will likely be at a standstill.

 

It's about 20 minutes from the port to EWR. You get the shuttle outside the terminal.

 

I'm not sure if your children are too old for this as a lot of the exhibits are geared to younger children, but Liberty Science Center comes to mind as a nearby place to visit. It's only a few miles from the port. You can check out their site at www.lsc.org to see if it has any appeal. Another possibility might be the outlets in Secaucus...a relatively short drive from the port and EWR.