Port Liberty--Driving Away

[Mysteryreader]

We'll be sailing out of PL on Jn 10. This is the first time we've ever driven to the cruise terminal. No worries about flight delays etc. Hurray! Unfortunately, we'll be leaving only a wk later. On previous cruises we've heard that pax who are driving can lv the ship whenever they want. True? Dh believes that if we're the first ones off, we'll get ahead of the rush and it'll be easier getting out. (And earlier to the Merge* ... oh joy.) I'm more of the don't-make-me-leave-one-minute-earlier-than-necessary mindset.

 

For those of you who have driven to/from PL, when's the best time to disembark?

 

*For those of you who aren't familiar w/ the New Jersey Tnpk, the Merge is the wonderful opportunity provided by the NJ Tnpk to sit, enjoy the scenery, and smell the exhaust of your fellow southbnd travelers while trying to squeeze hundreds of cars and trucks back into the toothpaste tube.

 

M/R

[cruisestitch]

Port Liberty uses a little shuttle bus to transfer you from the ship to the terminal. If you can manage all your luggage by yourself, with no assistance, and lift it on and off that shuttle, you can choose the "self-disembark" option, which puts you in the first group of people off the ship, ahead of those who would be claiming luggage in the terminal.

 

Can't help with advice about the Merge, but if you want to be the earliest group off, then tell the ship that you will be doing the "self-disembark".

[jerseygirl3]

We'll be sailing out of PL on Jn 10. This is the first time we've ever driven to the cruise terminal. No worries about flight delays etc. Hurray! Unfortunately, we'll be leaving only a wk later. On previous cruises we've heard that pax who are driving can lv the ship whenever they want. True? Dh believes that if we're the first ones off, we'll get ahead of the rush and it'll be easier getting out. (And earlier to the Merge* ... oh joy.) I'm more of the don't-make-me-leave-one-minute-earlier-than-necessary mindset.

 

For those of you who have driven to/from PL, when's the best time to disembark?

 

*For those of you who aren't familiar w/ the New Jersey Tnpk, the Merge is the wonderful opportunity provided by the NJ Tnpk to sit, enjoy the scenery, and smell the exhaust of your fellow southbnd travelers while trying to squeeze hundreds of cars and trucks back into the toothpaste tube.

 

M/R

 

Anybody can do self-debarkation and be off the ship first. However I don't think I'd be in such a rush. You are going to run right into the shore traffic.