Best Time To Arrive At Bayonne For Explorer

[F27TW]

Never sailed from Bayonne before, but on May 31, a large family group will be coming down via limo for this Bermuda sailing .. partner's son is gonna pop the question to his girl on board the cruise and wanted the whole immediate family to come along for the surprise.

We kinda all wanna get down there early and get on the ship before the love birds (since its a total surprise for the bride-to-be.. she doesn't even know about her and his families being there) ... so whats a good time to arrive at the port early-ish so as to be able to get on board the ship?

He plans on bringing her down separately a couple of hours after we are all on board.

Thanks in advance for the advice ! (And I sure hope she says YES after all this !!)

Edited March 9, 2014 by F27TW

[Bcshur]

Hello hello! First of all, congrats to the HAPPY COUPLE! :)

 

When I went out of Bayonne we got there around 12ish and there was many people already on the ship and enjoying the amenities. I would say anytime after 11ish is a good time.

 

You're going to love leaving out of Bayonne. The Verazano bridge clearance is only 15 feet, so it's amazing to see that.

[BND]

For all 4 of our trips on EX, we have arrived around 11:30.

[F27TW]

Hello hello! First of all, congrats to the HAPPY COUPLE! :)

 

When I went out of Bayonne we got there around 12ish and there was many people already on the ship and enjoying the amenities. I would say anytime after 11ish is a good time.

 

You're going to love leaving out of Bayonne. The Verazano bridge clearance is only 15 feet, so it's amazing to see that.

 

Thanks, BC!

 

Cant wait for the trip -- 11a sounds like a good plan ... we just wanna get on board and kinda hide out till we all assemble where he decides to ask her to marry him. Hope he does it early -- I know its a big ship but its gonna be kinda hard for 12 of us to hide for too long!

[vickila]

Be aware. Rooms are never available until 1:30 pm, the earliest. Nottoo many places available to hide. Vicki

[Bcshur]

The chances of running into each other are very slim. It's such a big ship! Have you ever been to Bermuda before? Bermuda is amazing! Hamilton is such a quaint little city with the nicest locals. You surely have to take the ferry over. Enjoy your trip! DH and I just booked a Med. Cruise and if it wasn't for trying to have children soon, I would totally be booking a trip to Bermuda for us. Enjoy! Explorer is my favorite ship. I remember being in a rain storm out at sea and going to the very front of the ship to dance in the rain. Ironically, the captain was waving to us; due to the way the ship is set up you can get to the direct front of the ship, like Titanic style. It's amazing!

 

Oh, I don't recommend dancing in the rain in a rain storm at sea; very slippery. But, carpe diem! :)

[F27TW]

The chances of running into each other are very slim. It's such a big ship! Have you ever been to Bermuda before? Bermuda is amazing! Hamilton is such a quaint little city with the nicest locals. You surely have to take the ferry over. Enjoy your trip! DH and I just booked a Med. Cruise and if it wasn't for trying to have children soon, I would totally be booking a trip to Bermuda for us. Enjoy! Explorer is my favorite ship. I remember being in a rain storm out at sea and going to the very front of the ship to dance in the rain. Ironically, the captain was waving to us; due to the way the ship is set up you can get to the direct front of the ship, like Titanic style. It's amazing!

 

Oh, I don't recommend dancing in the rain in a rain storm at sea; very slippery. But, carpe diem! :)

 

This will be my first time to Bermuda and on Explorer too -- so happy for the advice and insight here! Should be a great trip!

[138east]

If you want to hide 12 people and be outside, I'd go to deck 12 or 13 aft. Johnny rockets is on deck 12 and has outside tables, but is not open for embarkation so those tables should be empty. You could take food out of the WJ and go hang out there. The sports court is on deck 13 aft and there are benches there. For an indoor venue I'd go all the way forward on deck 5 to Maharajas Lounge.

[LovesCruising]

We have actually sailed Explorer 4X - I would try getting their even a little earlier - 10:30 is always our target - the road going into the port is 1 way in and 1 way out - traffic really starts to back up around 11.

[smalltimecruiser100]

When does the first shuttle bus depart to the ship?

Edited March 9, 2014 by smalltimecruiser100

[138east]

There is no set time for the "first" shuttle. It depends on whether the ship arrived on time and how soon they were able to clear the ship. Everyone is given a shuttle number, so the earlier you arrive, the lower the number you have and the sooner you will get on unless you have some sort of,priority boarding status. Ive seen it as early as 11:30 and as late at 12:30 without any special circumstances.

[geomoe]

Could you tell me what shuttle is being mentiooned here. Also is the ship within walking distance of the central parking garage or is there transportation from /to that central pkg garage

[mbjboyle]

so whats a good time to arrive at the port early-ish so as to be able to get on board the ship?

 

The tricky part about leaving out of Bayonne is the port traffic. There will be a fair amount of cars, vans, limos, etc. entering the port facility to pick up passengers, as well as a growing number of vehicles dropping passengers off. Traffic will build significantly as the afternoon progresses, so my recommendation is to arrive some time between 10 and 11 AM.

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE AND CONGRATS!!!

[BND]

Could you tell me what shuttle is being mentiooned here. Also is the ship within walking distance of the central parking garage or is there transportation from /to that central pkg garage

 

The shuttle is a bus that drives about 200 yards to where the ship is docked. Bayonne is a working commercial port area so no one is allowed to walk to the ship and the terminal isn't set up to load people directly like most are. It's a safety issue. There is no parking garage, but there is a parking lot which is located just across the road from the terminal. The road I refer to is the road that takes you to the terminal. Yes, it's easy walking distance from the parking lot to the terminal.

 

Also, check out the homeports thread. There's an entire thread about Bayonne/Cape Liberty with all the info you could want. Here's a link to the thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1693577

Edited March 9, 2014 by BND

[Iaminspired]

Could you tell me what shuttle is being mentiooned here. Also is the ship within walking distance of the central parking garage or is there transportation from /to that central pkg garage

 

Hi

 

We've sailed on the beautiful Explorer out of Bayonne 4 times. We've arrived anywhere from 10:30 to 1:30. I think earlier is better, we only sat in traffic once and it wasn't awful.

 

After dropping off our luggage, we park at the pier and cross easily to the port building through a gate. The earlier you go, the shorter the check in lines but then everyone needs to wait for the ship to be cleared and have a zero count before they start loading again.

 

Everyone goes buses for a very short trip down the piers. If you arrive early enough, you are given a card with a number on it. That is you bus number. Wedding parties, Special Needs and Diamonds are loaded first, then general boarding by bus number. There are lots of buses so it goes quite quickly, but people are impatient, can be rude and do try to squeeze to the door (perhaps they think that will speed up the process.)

 

If you are lucky, you arrive in time for short check in lines and the buses have already starting shuttling guests so you don't have a long wait for a bus.

[cmoose]

How exciting!! Be sure to come back and tell us how it went. Congrats!!

[F27TW]

Everyone ... thank you SO much for the replies .. can't tell you how much they've all helped plan this out ... some great info from you all!

And I do plan on doing a report of this trip too (it'll be my second one) ... and will fill you in on how it all goes! Getting excited for sure.

[138east]

The shuttle is a bus that drives about 200 yards to where the ship is docked. Bayonne is a working commercial port area so no one is allowed to walk to the ship and the terminal isn't set up to load people directly like most are. It's a safety issue. There is no parking garage, but there is a parking lot which is located just across the road from the terminal. The road I refer to is the road that takes you to the terminal. Yes, it's easy walking distance from the parking lot to the terminal.

 

Also, check out the homeports thread. There's an entire thread about Bayonne/Cape Liberty with all the info you could want. Here's a link to the thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1693577

 

There are currently two parking lots. Most people seem to pay for the parking and just park in the first lot. However, if you go halfway through the first lot and make a left towards the ship, there's a gap in the chain link fence which allows you to cross the access road to the other lot. There is a guy there who will stop traffic for you to do this. The handicapped parking is located in the second lot close to the terminal, but there is also a lot of regular parking.

 

The advantage to this is that you are on the same side of the terminal road as the terminal entrance and when you get off the ship it is easy to just roll your luggage to the ship. Flash money at a porter and they may wheel your stuff right to your car.

 

This could all change when they start constructing the new terminal for the Quantum, so watch the East Coast Board for updates on that as the year progresses.

Edited March 9, 2014 by 138east

[geomoe]

thanks so much for the info

[nc2sc]

Thanks, BC!

 

Cant wait for the trip -- 11a sounds like a good plan ... we just wanna get on board and kinda hide out till we all assemble where he decides to ask her to marry him. Hope he does it early -- I know its a big ship but its gonna be kinda hard for 12 of us to hide for too long!

 

 

ummm... as soon as she searches cruisecritic to preview her cruise, she will pretty much have an idea anyway. :)

You probably wont have to hide for long.

[CruisingChick]

There are currently two parking lots. Most people seem to pay for the parking and just park in the first lot. However, if you go halfway through the first lot and make a left towards the ship, there's a gap in the chain link fence which allows you to cross the access road to the other lot. There is a guy there who will stop traffic for you to do this. The handicapped parking is located in the second lot close to the terminal, but there is also a lot of regular parking.

 

The advantage to this is that you are on the same side of the terminal road as the terminal entrance and when you get off the ship it is easy to just roll your luggage to the ship. Flash money at a porter and they may wheel your stuff right to your car.

 

 

Our last cruise out of Bayonne, September 2013 we were stopped from going over the second lot across the road. They kept asking if we had handicapped sticker, we said no and then told them we have parked there on our past 6 cruises out of Cape Liberty. We asked if it was just all handicapped parking there now and they said no, but still would not let us cross over and made us park in the first lot. We have never encountered that before and like I said we have cruised out of Cape Liberty 6 times prior to that. They literally would not let us out of the first lot and cross over the road.

Edited March 10, 2014 by CruisingChick

[138east]

That's good feedback to know. I guess the best thing we can do is describe the possible options with the caveat that they can change the rules at any time, particularly when they start working on the new terminal.

[dodgeball24]

Best advice is go meet at either the maharaja lounge and pick the back right corner or deck 14 in the 19th hole which is isolated but they are allowed to smoke there just an fyi

[island lady]

Our flight (if indeed on time :rolleyes: ) does not get into Newark airport until

10:35. Will we have a big problem getting to the ship on time with our taxi?

[hansolosmom]

What an exciting trip! Hopefully everything goes well & there's a resounding "yes"

 

Explorer is a beautiful ship & there are plenty of places to hide. Just make sure he knows where you are hiding so you don't accidentally see each other.