Taxi Ripoff at NJ Port

[bluebeachbum]

Just got back from Summit on May 5.   Passengers were directed from the terminal (a long walk) to taxis.   Guy who seemed to be dispatching a long line of taxis asked each group where they wanted to go, for us it was EWR.   He said it would be $60 for taxi or $20 for shuttle which was at same spot.   We needed to make an early flight so chose the taxi.   It was about a 15 min. ride in a car which had no markings as a taxi.   Nothing inside or out.   Seemed like a private car.   When we arrived at the airport, taxi guy said that will be $90 including every thing!!  We did make our flight w/moments to spare & would not have made it on a shuttle.  

[hcat]

Hope you post on the Port Bd..East Coast Departures...glad you made your flight!

[jelayne]

We will remember this and  all Uber or Lyft.  Thanks for the warning.

[Loucat]

Aside from the scalping of the cost for the ride to EWR, taking  a ride in an unmarked car is a risk.Who even knows who was driving?  I wonder why the person directing pax to taxis allowed this vehicle in the line?

Good information for others debarking at Cape Liberty (Bayonne).

 

Taxi rates on the Internet from this port to EWR are quoted from $25 (low traffic) to $40 ( high traffic volume). These rates do not come near what you were told at the port. It is a 9.9 mile drive!

As another poster advised, it would be good to let others know about your experience on another Board.

[Alsmez]

That is insane! We live about 30 miles from EWR and can usually get a car for $75-80. I do thank you for your timely post, though - we were considering taking a car to the port for our upcoming cruise to save ourselves the hassle of driving, but given that the taxi pickup area is problematic I think we will just drive and park.

[dkjretired]

I would suggest you contact the Newark Taxi Commission since that is where the infraction occurred.   I don't know how they work but they might refer you to Elizabeth Commission depending on which terminal you were dropped off.  Airport is both in Newark and Elizabeth.  I would follow up with a letter to Celebrity, perhaps they might get a little better control of the outside contractors at the Pier.  Chances are Celebrity knows nothing about this.   What a shame we don't have that Celebrity contact on this board anymore. 

[Baron Barracuda]

Hope you got the "cab's" plate number.  Wouldn't have paid the extra $30.  Just threaten to call a cop, there are always several monitoring the drop-off lane.

 

For quite a while have seen posts on these boards citing cab fare to EWR at about $60.  It's outrageous, but that's monopoly pricing.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Baron Barracuda

[gerelmx]

In October, I paid $95 for a UBER to JFK with Highway fees and gratuities. Sure it was a illegal taxi.

[Covepointcruiser]

We paid $50 for a cab to the train station in Newark.   The cab was metered and we had bags he put in the trunk.    This was 4 years ago and is probably higher now.   I remember a lot of traffic.

 

[davekathy]

Thanks for the heads up. Cruising on the Summit 8 September. Still haven't made transportation arrangements from the hotel to the port and from the port to EWR. 

[miched]

Basically the same thing happened to us at the same port.   We were went into the taxi line.   We were the only passengers there.   We were approached by someone that told us the  taxi was across the road.   We walked over to where he said and seen it was a van and he wanted $20 each.  We said that we wanted a taxi.  He said that it was a taxi and would  be leaving in a few minutes as soon as he filled up the vehicle.

 

We walked back to the taxi line and now there was a line and also a taxi line attendant.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by miched

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We sailed out of bayone 4 or 5 times. While we never felt ripped off using a taxi we had some drivers who were clueless as to how to get from point A to B. Last time we used a car service from the hotel to port and then to the airport. We felt it was well worth the added expense.

[davekathy]

53 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We sailed out of bayone 4 or 5 times. While we never felt ripped off using a taxi we had some drivers who were clueless as to how to get from point A to B. Last time we used a car service from the hotel to port and then to the airport. We felt it was well worth the added expense.

Do you have the name of the car service? 

[Hlitner]

Perhaps there is a lesson here for future cruisers.  Scheduling a tight flight connection after a cruise always involves some risk (in missing the flight) and also severely limits one's transportation options.  As the OP said, they had to get to the airport in a hurry so were pretty much forced to take what was available.   If we had settled on $60 and the driver then asked for $90 we would have had a few "words" and given him exactly $60 without a penny tip!  But the OP did not have time to mess around...which was the fault of the OP.

 

On the other hand, somebody with a little extra time could have simply called Uber or Lyft which would have likely cost about $35 (prices vary with surge pricing).   The NYC area has all kinds of car services (many call them Black Cars) which are legal and licensed.  The Black Cars have their own fare structure so one should make sure they know the cost before they ride.  

 

Hank

[CHEZMARYLOU]

9 hours ago, davekathy said:

Do you have the name of the car service? 

We used Dial 7 Car Service and highly recommend them.  On time, polite and clean cars.

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We used Dial 7 Car Service and highly recommend them.  On time, polite and clean cars.

Thank you.

[Baron Barracuda]

15 hours ago, davekathy said:

Do you have the name of the car service? 

 

Do a web search and you'll find a number of limo companies that do point to point service in NJ.  With some you can get a price online while others require a phone call.  We used Empire to get from north Jersey to the Manhattan cruise port.  They sent Lincoln Town Car with well dressed driver.  Very professional and reasonably priced.

[dog]

Did Celebrity offer a bus transfer?

 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Baron Barracuda said:

 

Do a web search and you'll find a number of limo companies that do point to point service in NJ.  With some you can get a price online while others require a phone call.  We used Empire to get from north Jersey to the Manhattan cruise port.  They sent Lincoln Town Car with well dressed driver.  Very professional and reasonably priced.

I've also done that. When someone on CC post a favorable experience then I like to know who they used in the event they are the same services  I've been looking at. We'll need a ride from the Hampton Inn, Elizabeth NJ to the cruise port at Cape Liberty and from Cape Liberty to EWR. Thanks for the info on Empire. I'll check them out also. 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Did Celebrity offer a bus transfer?

 

I like your screen name. Just happens to be my nickname I acquired for some reason (😉) when I was in Vietnam. 

[TeeRick]

Contact NY/NJ Port Authority and report your experience.

[bluebeachbum]

Thanks to all who replied with helpful comments to future cruisers.   There was no security present.   There were 2 lines of taxis/cars.   Some did seem to be real taxis.   Before approaching the taxi area there was an area that seemed to be a pickup place for those waiting for their ride.   I do not know if the shuttles in the taxi area were from Celebrity.   I think they were as there was not another area they could wait.   I will try to follow up with the NJ taxi commission for that area as this seems to be highly illegal.

[Baron Barracuda]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

I've also done that. When someone on CC post a favorable experience then I like to know who they used in the event they are the same services  I've been looking at. We'll need a ride from the Hampton Inn, Elizabeth NJ to the cruise port at Cape Liberty and from Cape Liberty to EWR. Thanks for the info on Empire. I'll check them out also. 

Never needed a pre-cruise hotel in NJ myself but have read discussions on cc about a couple of hotels that offer free shuttle to and from pier.  Don't know about to / from EWR.  Might try searching the Royal Caribbean and East Coast Departures boards.

[twincheryl]

Carmel Limo is also easy to deal with and have a nice phone app as well.  Have used them several times for trips to NYC and will be using them again in June when we sail out of Bayonne.

[Northern Aurora]

20 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We used Dial 7 Car Service and highly recommend them.  On time, polite and clean cars.

  

 

We used Dial 7 Car Service in 2018, and also highly recommend them.  Not only was the car very clean and the driver polite, they were actually early for the pickup at Bayonne.