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CAPE LIBERTY 411 (and NYC too) Version 4!!


megr1125
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We will be in NYC on a Saturday.

 

Is it reasonable to expect to be able to do SOL and MET in the same day? Or should we choose between these two destinations? I have only been to the MET once, but I LOVED it and would adore the opportunity to share it with my son. I've never been to the SOL.

 

I think you have to be realistic about how much time you want to spend in each location and how much running around New York you will feel like doing after spending the entire previous day driving from Ohio. My advice would be to pick either the SOL plus the Freedom Tower and the 911 Museum planning to park at Liberty State Park (and being sure to make the last ferry at 7:45 pm or even earlier) OR doing the MET and the EOS planning to park at Secaucus Junction and taking the train, which doesn't have such early time constraints. My best guess is that it would take you about an hour to go from the EOS ferry landing at South Ferry to walk to the #4/5 train, get to 86th St, and walk to the MET and the same amount of time coming back, so that's two hours "lost" time.

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We will be in NYC on a Saturday.

 

Is it reasonable to expect to be able to do SOL and MET in the same day? Or should we choose between these two destinations? I have only been to the MET once, but I LOVED it and would adore the opportunity to share it with my son. I've never been to the SOL.

 

The Metropolitan is open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays, so you could visit the SoL first thing in the morning, and then the Met in the afternoon/evening. It will be a long day, though.

 

The fastest way to get from the SoL to the Met is, as Carol says, the number 4 or 5 subway from Bowling Green station to 86th Street & Lexington Ave. However, depending on where you are staying in NJ, getting back to your hotel from the Metropolitan could be a bit of a haul. If you are taking train back from Penn Station, catch the M4 bus from 5th Ave & 80th Street (at the southeast corner of the museum; turn right when you come out of the main entrance) and take it to the end of the line (7th Ave & 32nd Street), half a block from Penn Station.

Edited by Post Captain
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The Metropolitan is open until 9 p.m. on Saturdays, so you could visit the SoL first thing in the morning, and then the Met in the afternoon/evening. It will be a long day, though.

 

The fastest way to get from the SoL to the Met is, as Carol says, the number 4 or 5 subway from Bowling Green station to 86th Street & Lexington Ave. However, depending on where you are staying in NJ, getting back to your hotel from the Metropolitan could be a bit of a haul. If you are taking train back from Penn Station, catch the M4 bus from 5th Ave & 80th Street (at the southeast corner of the museum; turn right when you come out of the main entrance) and take it to the end of the line (7th Ave & 32nd Street), half a block from Penn Station.

 

This works for a return from a late night, but on the front end parking at Liberty State Park for the SOL is no longer a good option. You would have to take the train from Secaucus Junction to Penn Station and the #1 subway downtown to South Ferry for the SOL ferry from New York. From Secaucus Junction to South Ferry could take you up to an hour depending on connections.

 

When you decide what you want to do, post back for specific directions for the options you have chosen.

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I have a question about getting from Candlewood Suites to Cape Liberty cruise port. The recommendations were to take the light rail to 34, then get a taxi the rest of the way...

What about Uber? Is this not recommended? Is Uber pricing the same as taxi. We use a lot on the west coast. Just curious.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

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I have a question about getting from Candlewood Suites to Cape Liberty cruise port. The recommendations were to take the light rail to 34, then get a taxi the rest of the way...

What about Uber? Is this not recommended? Is Uber pricing the same as taxi. We use a lot on the west coast. Just curious.

 

Bayonne can be hit or miss with Uber. Not everyone wants to drive to the port because it's one long, two lane road going out to the cruise port. The traffic can back up and then Uber drivers get ticked. Not sure of their pricing.

 

I've only used Uber from Bayonne once to get to work in Bloomfield and the person who picked me up was a NYC guy who had just dropped off someone at Newark.

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I have a question about getting from Candlewood Suites to Cape Liberty cruise port. The recommendations were to take the light rail to 34, then get a taxi the rest of the way...

What about Uber? Is this not recommended? Is Uber pricing the same as taxi. We use a lot on the west coast. Just curious.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk

 

From Candlewood Suites you want to be sure to take the 8th St Bayonne train and get off at 34th St. I've called a cab using the below numbers. However someone else posted that they got very quick service with Uber. If you call a cab, you can wait a bit for them to get there because most of the local taxis are busy at the port trying to get bigger fares. Try to arrive at 34th St between 10 and 10:30.

 

Uber will probably be faster and less expensive. The ship is only 2 miles from the light rail station and you should be able to see it. It's tantalizing - you're so close you can see it, but it's a long two miles to actually get there.

 

Bayonne City Yellow Cab

201-339-5000

 

Archie’s Cab & Van Service

201-858-8800

 

Campbell Taxi

201-339-8300

Edited by 138east
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138 EAST

 

Carol, I would like to see the Teardrop Memorial. I understand it is near the cruise port in Newark. I have read that your luggage in checked at the curb similar to the airport. Could we check our luggage and then walk to it?? Would that be possible or out of reach??

 

The Teardrop Memorial is right by the ship. The ship normally docks facing the harbor. The luggage drop off is towards the aft end of the ship. The Teardrop Memorial is just in front of the ship's bow.

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I just got back from being on Celebrity Summit for 2 weeks and have not seen if anyone has posted the new information about parking at Cape Liberty garage.

 

Now you take a ticket when you enter the garage, you park, keep the ticket with the entire length of your cruise then you pay using cash or credit card at a kiosk (machine) outside the garage when you return from your cruise.

 

I am not sure if this is the first sailing they have done this but there were parking attendants upon arrival and then at disembarkation at each machine helping people.

 

I'm glad there were people there at each machine to help, but wonder if after time they will disappear. It's a bit cumbersome to have to handle all this with all your luggage with you.

 

I was shocked because I try to keep up to date on things and I had not read about this change prior to sailing on 9/4.

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I just got back from being on Celebrity Summit for 2 weeks and have not seen if anyone has posted the new information about parking at Cape Liberty garage.

 

Now you take a ticket when you enter the garage, you park, keep the ticket with the entire length of your cruise then you pay using cash or credit card at a kiosk (machine) outside the garage when you return from your cruise.

 

I am not sure if this is the first sailing they have done this but there were parking attendants upon arrival and then at disembarkation at each machine helping people.

 

I'm glad there were people there at each machine to help, but wonder if after time they will disappear. It's a bit cumbersome to have to handle all this with all your luggage with you.

 

I was shocked because I try to keep up to date on things and I had not read about this change prior to sailing on 9/4.

 

You are the first to post about this change on this board. How many machines did they have and where exactly were they located? Did the machines take cash?

 

Quite frankly this sounds like an overall improvement to the process. In March I got to the port about 10:30 and waited a half hour in a very slow line to get into the garage to pay on the second level. I started near the garage entrance and it took the 30 minutes just to get up the ramp to level 2. When I exited, the line was even much more backed up! I would have been even more unhappy had I had to wait for a while on the port entry road just to make the turn to the garage and then wait 30 minutes.

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You are the first to post about this change on this board. How many machines did they have and where exactly were they located? Did the machines take cash?

 

Quite frankly this sounds like an overall improvement to the process. In March I got to the port about 10:30 and waited a half hour in a very slow line to get into the garage to pay on the second level. I started near the garage entrance and it took the 30 minutes just to get up the ramp to level 2. When I exited, the line was even much more backed up! I would have been even more unhappy had I had to wait for a while on the port entry road just to make the turn to the garage and then wait 30 minutes.

 

They had 3 machines - 2 credit card and one for cash. Not sure why the machines can't handle both.

 

They are outside the garage. They are located to the right of where the entrance doors to the garage is to get to the elevators.

 

We never had a problem in the past when having to pay upon entering the garage and then when you disembark you just go straight to your car and go home. We usually have arrived to the port between 10 - 10:30 am. I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes to pay, maybe once it was 10.

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They had 3 machines - 2 credit card and one for cash. Not sure why the machines can't handle both.

 

They are outside the garage. They are located to the right of where the entrance doors to the garage is to get to the elevators.

 

We never had a problem in the past when having to pay upon entering the garage and then when you disembark you just go straight to your car and go home. We usually have arrived to the port between 10 - 10:30 am. I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes to pay, maybe once it was 10.

 

10-10:30 is usually fine. I was delayed in March and arrived at 10:30. It was also a 3 day cruise, so lots of folks like me chose to pay the $60 to park. My next cruise is 12 days, so I will not be spending $240 to park.

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10-10:30 is usually fine. I was delayed in March and arrived at 10:30. It was also a 3 day cruise, so lots of folks like me chose to pay the $60 to park. My next cruise is 12 days, so I will not be spending $240 to park.

 

Will you be parking off-site or taking mass transit?

 

I find $240 to park a lot cheaper than aifare (x2) from NYC to whereever else the cruise ships are leaving from, plus parking at the airport, so I don't mind the $20 a day at all.

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Will you be parking off-site or taking mass transit?

 

I find $240 to park a lot cheaper than aifare (x2) from NYC to whereever else the cruise ships are leaving from, plus parking at the airport, so I don't mind the $20 a day at all.

 

After having snow encounters on my last two winter cruises from Cape Liberty, I finally decided to do a park/sleep/cruise through Trinityreservations at the Ramada for $219 all taxes included for a room, 13 nights parking, and round trip port transportation. I sail on a Tuesday, so I will drive down Monday. If snow is predicted, I will come down on the weekend and stay with relatives in Westchester and get to Newark somehow or go directly to Newark. I arrive back on a Sunday on a holiday weekend, so if it's snowing, I'll stay overnight and let my travel insurance cover the delay.

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After having snow encounters on my last two winter cruises from Cape Liberty, I finally decided to do a park/sleep/cruise through Trinityreservations at the Ramada for $219 all taxes included for a room, 13 nights parking, and round trip port transportation. I sail on a Tuesday, so I will drive down Monday. If snow is predicted, I will come down on the weekend and stay with relatives in Westchester and get to Newark somehow or go directly to Newark. I arrive back on a Sunday on a holiday weekend, so if it's snowing, I'll stay overnight and let my travel insurance cover the delay.

 

Okay, that's a good deal with parking and transportation to port.

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Okay, that's a good deal with parking and transportation to port.

 

IMO it's the best deal out there. I live 4 hours from Cape Liberty and don't want to drive the morning of the cruise in winter. The Amtrak schedule on the Sunday in the middle of the holiday schedule is sketchy - too early or too late plus I don't live near Amtrak, so I would have to have my husband do two round trips of about 1.5 hours each. I don't trust Amtrak enough to ride it the morning of the cruise, so when I add in a hotel and getting to and from the port, the cost of driving is competitive.

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We don't book cruises in the winter and we only live 58 miles from the port. The earliest we have sailed is March 7th and I was worried about that date.

 

Of course our last cruise on Summit on 9/4 we were all worried about Hermine. Celebrity called us the evening before to tell us we were leaving at 2 PM not 4PM and boarding would start at 9:30 am (which it didn't) but in any case we were lucky we were local. There were people flying in the day of the cruise that just made it.

 

Don't get me started on Amtrak. My son used them to go up and back to Syracuse for 4 years when he was in college. We had more Amtrak credits/free rides for delayed trips.

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They had 3 machines - 2 credit card and one for cash. Not sure why the machines can't handle both.

 

They are outside the garage. They are located to the right of where the entrance doors to the garage is to get to the elevators.

 

We never had a problem in the past when having to pay upon entering the garage and then when you disembark you just go straight to your car and go home. We usually have arrived to the port between 10 - 10:30 am. I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes to pay, maybe once it was 10.

 

Just an FYI, we just disembarked at Bayonne yesterday. There is ONE machine that takes cash and three that take credit cards, however, ALL of the credit card machines were broken! So there was ONE machine to pay. They did say you could pay the attendant when you exit though. Needless to say, the line to pay for parking was LONG! And we were a self carry group so I'm sure it got worse later.

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Just an FYI, we just disembarked at Bayonne yesterday. There is ONE machine that takes cash and three that take credit cards, however, ALL of the credit card machines were broken! So there was ONE machine to pay. They did say you could pay the attendant when you exit though. Needless to say, the line to pay for parking was LONG! And we were a self carry group so I'm sure it got worse later.

 

Uh-oh. It was bad enough waiting in line to pay when you entered the garage, but waiting in line to pay in order to get out would be a nightmare! Hopefully they'll get it straightened out soon.

 

It was too good to be true that the parking operation at Cape Liberty would run seamlessly.

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Uh-oh. It was bad enough waiting in line to pay when you entered the garage, but waiting in line to pay in order to get out would be a nightmare!

 

Exactly what I was afraid of.

 

I wonder when the machines broke since we just used them on Sunday 9/18 and yesterday was only 9/22. I could have sworn there only 3 in total. We would have never had that amount of cash on us to pay for 14 nights of parking.

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Exactly what I was afraid of.

 

I wonder when the machines broke since we just used them on Sunday 9/18 and yesterday was only 9/22. I could have sworn there only 3 in total. We would have never had that amount of cash on us to pay for 14 nights of parking.

 

Also an FYI it doesn't take anything bigger than a $50. I put in a $100 bill for a five day cruise and it spit it back out. The attendant said it only takes $50's or smaller.

You may be right about three machines in total but on Sunday only one machine worked.

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