Driving to Cape Liberty Port, need hotel advice

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We will be driving to Cape Liberty Port.  We are Marriott Reward members and will have a free night stay we can use, with certain restrictions of course.  The Courtyard Newark Liberty International Airport showed up in my search.  It would be free, but I know nothing about the area.  Is this a safe area?  If not, where should I look for a Marriott to stay the night before our cruise?  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

After searching some more, looks like the above mentioned Courtyard, the Springhill Suites Newark Airport, and the Renaissance Newark Airport.  Are these all in the same general area?  Is one any better than the other?  The Renaissance is a cat 4, and the other 2 are cat 3, but the Courtyard was renovated in 2017.

[fscool]

I did the Marriott Courtyard Newark Elizabeth on points.  I chose that one because there is a mall nearby and some basic food places (travelling with 2 kids so I needed easy choices).  17,000 points I believe.  I also considered the Residence Inn since it is right next door.

 

It's a relatively short and easy drive to the port from there.

[138east]

2 hours ago, fscool said:

I did the Marriott Courtyard Newark Elizabeth on points.  I chose that one because there is a mall nearby and some basic food places (travelling with 2 kids so I needed easy choices).  17,000 points I believe.  I also considered the Residence Inn since it is right next door.

 

It's a relatively short and easy drive to the port from there.

Just to be clear - you stayed at the Courtyard Elizabeth on International Way. There is also a Courtyard Newark Airport and a Courtyard Downtown Newark which are not at the Jersey Gardens Mall.  

[fscool]

Yes, on International Way.  It is officially called this:  

 

COURTYARD NEWARK ELIZABETH
87 International Blvd, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201 USA

[138east]

7 hours ago, fscool said:

Yes, on International Way.  It is officially called this:  

 

COURTYARD NEWARK ELIZABETH
87 International Blvd, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201 USA

Thanks for the precise address so that interested folks can be sure they are booking exactly what they want. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

21 hours ago, fscool said:

I did the Marriott Courtyard Newark Elizabeth on points.  I chose that one because there is a mall nearby and some basic food places (travelling with 2 kids so I needed easy choices).  17,000 points I believe.  I also considered the Residence Inn since it is right next door.

 

It's a relatively short and easy drive to the port from there.

I’m certain my husband won’t want to shop. Lol However, it may be nice to be close to restaurants. I’m not sure how late we will arrive. We are looking at using either 17,000 or 25,000 points for our stay. How far was it from the port?  We’re mainly looking for a convenient place to sleep the night before our cruise, as we will have a 9+ hour drive. 

[138east]

40 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’m certain my husband won’t want to shop. Lol However, it may be nice to be close to restaurants. I’m not sure how late we will arrive. We are looking at using either 17,000 or 25,000 points for our stay. How far was it from the port?  We’re mainly looking for a convenient place to sleep the night before our cruise, as we will have a 9+ hour drive. 

Where exactly are you coming from?  Date?

 

Exact distance from the port is not particularly a meaningful concept in this area since the closest hotels are 8-11 miles away anyway. The Marriott hotels are at the airport (Newark and Elizabeth), Secaucus, and Jersey City. Jersey City will be too many points I think. Secaucus will have better restaurant choices  

[megr1125]

I stayed there a couple weeks ago....I got a ride with my friend and took us MAYBE 20 minutes to get to the pier...it's not far and there wasn't much traffic...

[NCteacherlovescruising]

3 hours ago, 138east said:

Where exactly are you coming from?  Date?

 

Exact distance from the port is not particularly a meaningful concept in this area since the closest hotels are 8-11 miles away anyway. The Marriott hotels are at the airport (Newark and Elizabeth), Secaucus, and Jersey City. Jersey City will be too many points I think. Secaucus will have better restaurant choices  

We will be coming from the Charlotte area the end of August. We are undecided if we are coming a day early to do something the day before our cruise. 

[138east]

17 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We will be coming from the Charlotte area the end of August. We are undecided if we are coming a day early to do something the day before our cruise. 

What would you like to do the day before your cruise?  If you’re coming in two days early and planning to park at the pier, I would be suggesting different hotel options depending on what you want to do in Manhattan. You need to be close to good public transit unless you’re just doing the Statue of Liberty and the 911 memorial/museum in lower Manhattan where you can park in NJ and get to Manhattan on the SOL ferry and return on the Liberty Landing ferry. 

Edited February 10, 2019 by 138east

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 hours ago, 138east said:

What would you like to do the day before your cruise?  If you’re coming in two days early and planning to park at the pier, I would be suggesting different hotel options depending on what you want to do in Manhattan. You need to be close to good public transit unless you’re just doing the Statue of Liberty and the 911 memorial/museum in lower Manhattan where you can park in NJ and get to Manhattan on the SOL ferry and return on the Liberty Landing ferry. 

On second thought, I don’t think I want to deal with going up a day early. I’m a teacher and school will already be in session. If we leave after work, we would get there around 2 or 3 AM Friday night. That doesn’t sound like much fun. I will already be missing Tuesday-Friday for a Sun-Sun cruise so I don’t want to lose anymore instructional time. (Monday is Labor Day)

[138east]

So you’re driving up on Sat August 31 for a Sep 1 cruise?  Check the Newark Elizabeth Marriotts first. If you can’t get a room on points, we can start identifying Marriotts to the south along the NJ Turnpike if that’s the route you’re coming. On a Sunday morning there will be little northbound traffic, so IMO staying really close to the port is nice but not necessary. 

[may_bartram]

On 2/9/2019 at 4:46 PM, megr1125 said:

I stayed there a couple weeks ago....I got a ride with my friend and took us MAYBE 20 minutes to get to the pier...it's not far and there wasn't much traffic...

Can I ask if you stayed during the week or on a weekend? We'll be sailing on a Thursday and I am trying to figure out how bad traffic will be if we use points and stay at the same Courtyard.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 2/10/2019 at 3:23 PM, 138east said:

So you’re driving up on Sat August 31 for a Sep 1 cruise?  Check the Newark Elizabeth Marriotts first. If you can’t get a room on points, we can start identifying Marriotts to the south along the NJ Turnpike if that’s the route you’re coming. On a Sunday morning there will be little northbound traffic, so IMO staying really close to the port is nice but not necessary. 

Yes.  We have enough points for either, they are the same in both locations. Why the ones in Elizabeth?  Just curious because I know nothing about the area. 

[138east]

8 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Yes.  We have enough points for either, they are the same in both locations. Why the ones in Elizabeth?  Just curious because I know nothing about the area. 

If you’re coming north on the NJ Turnpike, the Elizabeth Courtyard at Exit 13A is the first one you hit. This is the one on International Blvd next to the Jersey Gardens Mall. This Courtyard has a restaurant, but there are also other food choices like Ruby Tuesday’s, Ihop, Applebee’s, Johnny Rockets, and the food court in the mall. 

 

The second Courtyard you hit is at exit 14. This Courtyard also has a restaurant and is located in an isolated enclave with Fairfield Inn, Springhill Suites, and the new Home2Suites.  There are no other nearby restaurant services in this area except at the Ramada and Doubletree if you can figure out how to find these hotels on the local roads. 

 

Since you don’t know the area, my opinion is that the Elizabeth Courtyard would be a more comfortable choice for you if it’s available on points. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 hours ago, 138east said:

If you’re coming north on the NJ Turnpike, the Elizabeth Courtyard at Exit 13A is the first one you hit. This is the one on International Blvd next to the Jersey Gardens Mall. This Courtyard has a restaurant, but there are also other food choices like Ruby Tuesday’s, Ihop, Applebee’s, Johnny Rockets, and the food court in the mall. 

 

The second Courtyard you hit is at exit 14. This Courtyard also has a restaurant and is located in an isolated enclave with Fairfield Inn, Springhill Suites, and the new Home2Suites.  There are no other nearby restaurant services in this area except at the Ramada and Doubletree if you can figure out how to find these hotels on the local roads. 

 

Since you don’t know the area, my opinion is that the Elizabeth Courtyard would be a more comfortable choice for you if it’s available on points. 

Thank you!  You’ve been quite helpful!

[bunzini]

We will be traveling from Ohio and will eventually be on 78 east.  Is there a good Marriott option fairly close to the port (within 30 or so minutes) that would be a good spot to stay the night before?

[138east]

9 hours ago, bunzini said:

We will be traveling from Ohio and will eventually be on 78 east.  Is there a good Marriott option fairly close to the port (within 30 or so minutes) that would be a good spot to stay the night before?

The Marriott Courtyard in Basking Ridge would meet your criteria. It has good reviews and is in a nice suburban setting just off of I78.