Laguardia is cheaper?

[debk68]

Hi Everyone- I have been panning the boards to figure out what to do...While you are all giving great advice I think I am more confused!!!

We are considering the Explorer of the Sea on November 23-Dec1. THANKSGIVING week. We realize that for this week, we are late in planning. But most of the cruises we take we book 10 days in advance. So for us this is a long way out :o

There are 6 of us traveling. My mother in law is 76 we could probably not do public transportation. We only have carry on luggage. We do have plenty of time. We are flying from Denver the day before. Probably arriving around midnight. Non stop into Laguardia is about $50.00 pp cheaper than Newark.

Questions:
1. Is it worth it to fly into LGA?
2. Is is better to stay at a hotel near the cruise port or the airport?
3. recommendations for hotels with port shuttle? (Trying to be frugal without being disgusting)
4. Suggestions for transportation from LGA to a hotel, hotel to cruise port and then cruise port to LGA for return flight.
4. My mother in law is concerned that on the ship from New Jersey until we hit Florida it will be very cold. Thoughts?

thanks for your help, as you can tell I have never been to the New York area :eek:

[138east]

How many hotel rooms do you need? Date is Nov 22, right?

If you flew into Newark, what time would you arrive?

[138east]

1). It might not be worth it to fly into LGA because of the transportation costs to get 6 people between the airport and the Cruiseport. Hotels tend to be more expensive at LGA as well.
2) the Newark airport hotels are the "Cruiseport" hotels.
3). almost no hotels have a Cruiseport shuttle. Many of the ones that do have a shuttle charge you extra for a cruise package, so the shuttle is not free.
4). All your local transportation should be by car service.
5). The weather is unpredictable. The first and last sea days will be cool. It warms up as you go south.

[MarlboroBell]

Doesn't the Staten Island Hilton Garden Inn have a free shuttle to both Newark airport and Bayonne cruiseport? (Their website says they do...)

Your first priority should be to find a flight home that operates at a time and price you can live with. I just played with your dates and was amazed to find roundtrips for under $400 per person when you're coming home on the busiest travel day of the year. The downside of these trips is that the cheap ones tend to leave really late in the evening (9:30pm, arriving back in Denver around midnight, which will feel like 2am), so you have to decide whether you can live with that and what you're going to spend the day doing, especially as you'll have all your bags with you.

Once you've sorted that out, then the decision as to which airport to use may have been made for you. But if it hasn't, then just figure out transfer costs. It looks to me (at least on United) that at the cheapest flights, LaGuardia is $30 per person cheaper than Newark. But you could easily eat up that $180 on higher transfer costs and more expensive hotels. (Newark airport hotels are really cheap, hotels anywhere else are more expensive -- and cabbies charge an arm and a leg to cross the Hudson in addition to the tolls.)

If it were me, I'd pick the Newark flights, stay either at the Staten Island hotel or at Newark airport, and then maybe get a day room at Newark airport on your departure date while you wait for your 9:30pm departure. RCCL run shuttles back to Newark from the cruiseport at the end of the cruise, but they don't run shuttles from Newark to the cruiseport at the start. (Don't ask me why.)

[debk68]

[quote name='138east']How many hotel rooms do you need? Date is Nov 22, right?

If you flew into Newark, what time would you arrive?[/quote]

2 hotel rooms
Either airport would probably be between 10-12.

My DH did find a website that quoted the taxi at $71.00 from LGA to the cruise port. But I thought I read in the threads the taxi's can't cross state lines?


Thanks Again!!

[MarlboroBell]

[quote name='debk68']2 hotel rooms
Either airport would probably be between 10-12.

My DH did find a website that quoted the taxi at $71.00 from LGA to the cruise port. But I thought I read in the threads the taxi's can't cross state lines?[/QUOTE]

They can, but they're not bound by any particular fare structure if they do, and they tend to charge some fairly outrageous prices. I'd be quite surprised if you found a cab willing to take you from LGA to the Bayonne port for as little as $71.

[smeyer418]

[quote name='debk68']2 hotel rooms
Either airport would probably be between 10-12.

My DH did find a website that quoted the taxi at $71.00 from LGA to the cruise port. But I thought I read in the threads the taxi's can't cross state lines?


Thanks Again!![/quote]

in NY City Taxi has a specific meaning that is a yellow(colored car) metered taxi that is licensed to pick up people by street hails or from a taxi line at the airport-no prearrangement. They are NOT required to take you to Bayonne and if they do the fare is negotiated between you and the cab driver. they can but are not required to. They cannot legally pick you up in NJ however.
But there are car services/limos/livery cabs(normally black but any color other then yellow or lime green)no meter that make prearrangement to pick you up for a set fee(either by phone call or on line). This is probably what you found on line. Although technically they too need to be licensed to pick you up in NJ, this is mostly honored by its not being followed.

NY Yellow cabs ARE required to take people to EWR(the airport). the fare is meter plus $15 plus round trip tolls and tip. I have asked the NY Taxi commission to require the same thing for the Bayonne cruise terminal.

does the $71 include tip and tolls? probably not.

[138east]

To get a realistic price, you should get a quote from dial7 and Carmellimo for 6 people and luggage between LGA and Cape Liberty. I agree that the $71 quote is totally unrealistic for 6 people. The toll between NY and NJ is $13 alone.

The Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden on Staten Island are possibilities, but they can be risky for a late night arrival. Some folks recently arrived late and had to pay about $60 to get to Staten Island. So I'd probably advise against doing that. The airport hotels run shuttles all night because they have folks, particularly airline crews, arriving at all hours.

I know this sounds complicated, but you have to find a balance between time, money and stress. I really think that when you price all the pieces out, the price will be close which means you should definitely fly to Newark.

If you have to kill a day in Newark, you might want to plan your own excursion to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. If your rent a car that will hold 6 people and your luggage, you can drive to Liberty State Park and take the ferry out to the SOL.

[njhorseman]

You can't use site like taxiwiz or taxifarefinder to obtain a quote for an interstate trip, nor can you fit 6 passengers plus luggage in a taxi. Other posters have already explained NYC taxi cab fare rules.

If you contact a reputable car service such as

Dial 7 [url]www.dial7.com[/url]

or

Carmel [url]www.carmellimo.com[/url]

they will quote a fare probably somewhere in the range of $175-$250, plus tolls and tip for this trip. You will need a large SUV or a van to accommodate your entire party and their luggage.

[138east]

At $175 one way, I'm not seeing LGA as a good choice. Hotels will be more expensive as well and you're at LGA which is probably at least 45 minutes to an hour from Cape Liberty in good traffic.

For Newark I am seeing hotel choices in the $120 range incl tax. Independent Driver can probably be booked for about $60 for 6 people to go to and from the port. So your hotel and transportation expenses at Newark would run about $360 which is $60/pp.

[marco]

If you're not going to play "tourist" in NYC, I think a better option both financially and physically would be to fly in/out of Newark. Hotels are less expensive there and transportation to the ship (and then back to the airport after the cruise) will be less expensive and a shorter distance.

[debk68]

THANKS! I appreciate all your feedback!

My DH, just can't book a cruise 4 months in advance. He keeps waiting, then the price goes up and then down and then up...