hotels outside of manhattan

[ladaallo]

Hello, I'm sorry if this is a repeat question but I'm having trouble finding an answer. We're driving from Ontario in March to go on the Bliss. from the Manhattan terminal. We're thinking it might be good to stay outside of New York the night before  our cruise in a less expensive/busy area  then drive in and park at the terminal the day of. Does anyone have any recommendations of where to stay the night before? I've never cruised from New York or been there so I'm a little lost on what the best bet is when you have your own vehicle there. Thank you!

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We're staying in Edison, NJ. It's about an hour to the port from there, so you can leave around 9am, which works well for us. 

 

We found a really good rate at the home2suites. It's a brand new hotel. 

 

Easiest thing is to just park at the port.  Expensive, but parking elsewhere and transport to and from the port just didn't save enough money for us to be worth it. But we're a family of 5. 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

1 hour ago, ladaallo said:

Hello, I'm sorry if this is a repeat question but I'm having trouble finding an answer. We're driving from Ontario in March to go on the Bliss. from the Manhattan terminal. We're thinking it might be good to stay outside of New York the night before  our cruise in a less expensive/busy area  then drive in and park at the terminal the day of. Does anyone have any recommendations of where to stay the night before? I've never cruised from New York or been there so I'm a little lost on what the best bet is when you have your own vehicle there. Thank you!

Sorry, misread your initial post. Thought you said Orlando! Ontario is the wrong direction for Edison. 

 

I would still stay about an hour away, which would be about 30 miles out. 

[Noxequifans]

A good number of choices in NJ and some offer cruise parking. But, be aware the morning rush hour traffic into Manhattan is terrible .... if that is the word. Allow much more time than you would normally plan on. 

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, ladaallo said:

We're driving from Ontario in March to go on the Bliss. from the Manhattan terminal. We're thinking it might be good to stay outside of New York the night before  our cruise in a less expensive/busy area  then drive in and park at the terminal the day of.

The tradeoff is that hotels will be less expensive than midtown Manhattan, but hotels in the immediate vicinity of New York (Jersey City, Hoboken, etc) won't be dramatically less expensive than staying in the city. Parking will be considerably less expensive for the overnight. 

 

The benefit of staying in the city is being able to see some of the sights and some great food the night before along with the proximity to the pier and not having to deal with traffic getting into Manhattan-- it'll be a much less hectic day of departure. Once you parked your car you also wouldn't need it until you moved it to the pier the next day to park for the cruise. Most of the people departing the Manhattan Cruise Terminal that stay outside the city do it so they can leave their car there-- given you are going to take your car into Manhattan anyway it might not make a huge difference if you found a well priced hotel option in the city that night. 

 

If you do stay outside of the city, as others have mentioned, build in some extra time for your commute in. If it's during the week there can be considerable traffic. If its on the weekend, it will be much quieter but you still can run into traffic. Assuming you are departing in the normal 4pmish window, don't drive into the city until at least after 10:30am to make sure you don't get caught in any sort of rush.  

[mking8288]

Take a look at the Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ area, good choice of major brand/chain hotels at very good, competitive prices ... Marriotts, Hiltons, Holiday Inns, etc. even lower if you are certain by finding/paying upfront for a non-refundable rate (good, if you have trip/travel insurance that cover unexpected changes, etc.) easily under $100 a night, all inclusive & no hidden/surprise "resort fees" in/around Times Square & midtown area on a weekend night.  Parking is usually free at these places further out in NJ, just 30 to 35 miles from the Pier, a 45 minutes drive on weekend mornings should suffice ... allow 1 hour, just in case - we travel out of the city/back in on weekend mornings via the GW Bridge mostly, fairly comfortable with the timeline.  Parking alone in the hotel districts in NY can easily run you $50 to $70 for that overnighter stay, SUV & minivan are usually surcharged. 

 

It's a long drive coming from Ontario - easily 7 to 8 hours + stops, unless you start out early north of the border - I am doubtful that you will be doing anything serious in the city, besides a good dinner (checked - Parsippany) rest & a good night sleep).  

 

These days, Google Map's Waze integration is excellent, 97.5% accurate - use that as your co-pilot to navigate.  It's easy back onto Rt-80 East for NY, I suggest sticking with the GW Bridge's upper level approach as many Canadian drivers do not have/use EZ-Pass eTolls (unles you frequently go across in Erie County on NY side) to use cash lane/tolls instead of zipping thru, keep left once on/stay left for the exit for Henry Hudson Parkway south, direct to cruise terminal parking.  

 

P.S.  Refill/top off your gas tank near/around the hotel as prices are better in NJ, stations are harder to find as you get closer to NYC unless you exit into Rt. 4 or local short-cuts; and, almost impossible to find in Manhattan once you come across the Hudson River.  

[julie1963]

We are also leaving from Manhattan cruise port in March (16th) and are driving from Montreal.

We have a reservation at Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park in NJ which is 20 minutes from the port.  We have the Park and Cruise Package which includes parking at the hotel for the entire stay and a shuttle to and from the port, breakfast is also included.

This package cost less than to park at the cruise port and we don't have to worry about traffic or parking.

 

[angelfish1971]

46 minutes ago, julie1963 said:

We are also leaving from Manhattan cruise port in March (16th) and are driving from Montreal.

We have a reservation at Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park in NJ which is 20 minutes from the port.  We have the Park and Cruise Package which includes parking at the hotel for the entire stay and a shuttle to and from the port, breakfast is also included.

This package cost less than to park at the cruise port and we don't have to worry about traffic or parking.

 

How were you able to get the Park and Cruise package?  I can't find anything on their website about it.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

49 minutes ago, julie1963 said:

We are also leaving from Manhattan cruise port in March (16th) and are driving from Montreal.

We have a reservation at Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park in NJ which is 20 minutes from the port.  We have the Park and Cruise Package which includes parking at the hotel for the entire stay and a shuttle to and from the port, breakfast is also included.

This package cost less than to park at the cruise port and we don't have to worry about traffic or parking.

 

 

1 minute ago, angelfish1971 said:

How were you able to get the Park and Cruise package?  I can't find anything on their website about it.

 

For our date, we're paying $130 for a hotel outside NY + $360 port parking = $490.

 

Park and cruise at Ridgefield park = $381 per room of 4.  

 

We're a family of 5, so that would be $762 for two rooms.   

 

To find the rate, put in your date, and then select a room.  You'll be given rate options. Scroll down a bit.  It's under the options to "Make it a package deal"

 

It's a good deal if you have 4 or less!  With 5 people, not so much.  I can't figure a way to get the 5th person a room and transport to the port for under $109.  And, if it were close in price, I'd choose parking at the port anyway so I wouldn't have to make an extra trip back to the hotel.

 

[angelfish1971]

I found it - thanks!  We have 4 people so we will probably go that route.  

[julie1963]

35 minutes ago, angelfish1971 said:

How were you able to get the Park and Cruise package?  I can't find anything on their website about it.

All the rates will be listed and you will see an arrow with 'more prices from $xxx'. Click on this and all the remaining rates will be displayed.

[ladybub101]

Please update us on what hotel you decided on. We will be driving from Ottawa Feb 2021 and cruising out of Manhattan as a family of 5 so advice would be great!

[angelfish1971]

Our other daughter is coming now so we will also be a group of 5.  That makes it so much harder!

 

[meadowlander]

13 minutes ago, angelfish1971 said:

Our other daughter is coming now so we will also be a group of 5.  That makes it so much harder!

 

Check hotels in the Secaucus, Hasbrouck Heights, East Rutherford area.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

12 hours ago, angelfish1971 said:

Our other daughter is coming now so we will also be a group of 5.  That makes it so much harder!

 

This puts you in the same boat as us. 

 

Easiest: stay at a hotel 30 miles from Manhattan for about $130 with tax. Then park at port. 

 

You can avoid driving in Manhattan by doing a park and fly at a Newark airport hotel, take the hotel shuttle to the airport, and the Carnival transfer from there. This will be  a lot cheaper than 2 rooms of park and cruise with shuttle service. Though, more than parking at port. 

[lenquixote66]

On 1/27/2020 at 11:02 AM, ladaallo said:

Hello, I'm sorry if this is a repeat question but I'm having trouble finding an answer. We're driving from Ontario in March to go on the Bliss. from the Manhattan terminal. We're thinking it might be good to stay outside of New York the night before  our cruise in a less expensive/busy area  then drive in and park at the terminal the day of. Does anyone have any recommendations of where to stay the night before? I've never cruised from New York or been there so I'm a little lost on what the best bet is when you have your own vehicle there. Thank you!

I lived most of my life in NYC and worked nearly all of the time in Manhattan .I never drove in Manhattan because traffic is horrible .I would suggest someplace in NJ.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I lived most of my life in NYC and worked nearly all of the time in Manhattan .I never drove in Manhattan because traffic is horrible .I would suggest someplace in NJ.

I’ve lived my entire life in NJ and have driven in Manhattan over 100 times starting at age 17. Depending on the time a day, it’s doable (actually during heavy traffic you aren’t going very fast). DH commuted by bus for 20 years, he always prefers to drive in and park when we go in.

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, mjkacmom said:

I’ve lived my entire life in NJ and have driven in Manhattan over 100 times starting at age 17. Depending on the time a day, it’s doable (actually during heavy traffic you aren’t going very fast). DH commuted by bus for 20 years, he always prefers to drive in and park when we go in.

Perhaps it depends on where in Manhattan you are .However,I chose never to drive there.I also never drove in the state of NJ .

 

[mjkacmom]

17 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Perhaps it depends on where in Manhattan you are .However,I chose never to drive there.I also never drove in the state of NJ .

 

I’ve driven in using the GWB, Lincoln and Holland tunnels (in my 20’s my now DH was in a band that played on Spring Street every Thursday night). I have family on LI and have driven through when traffic was backed up on the GWB. For people who drive on a regular basis, it’s really not that bad, especially now with GPS.

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I’ve driven in using the GWB, Lincoln and Holland tunnels (in my 20’s my now DH was in a band that played on Spring Street every Thursday night). I have family on LI and have driven through when traffic was backed up on the GWB. For people who drive on a regular basis, it’s really not that bad, especially now with GPS.

I drove from 1966 to 2003 and only in Brooklyn and LI.

I spent a lot of time in restaurants on Spring St