Driving from Canada to cruise Venezia.

[katesmum]

I am wondering if anyone has hotel recommendations. Would like to stay about an hour from Port and drive in and park day of cruise 

.

[latebloomer56]

Did you check the east coast departure board? Lots of information there.

Enjoy your cruise.

[ColeThornton]

29 minutes ago, katesmum said:

I am wondering if anyone has hotel recommendations. Would like to stay about an hour from Port and drive in and park day of cruise 

.

 

 

Lots of good hotel info here...

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/?

[lx200gps]

19 hours ago, katesmum said:

I am wondering if anyone has hotel recommendations. Would like to stay about an hour from Port and drive in and park day of cruise 

.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  I assume you are sailing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal ?  Keep in mind that there are three cruise ports in that area, in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. If Manhattan, then I would suggest staying in northern New Jersey as the hotels there are far cheaper than in Manhattan, then driving across the GW Bridge and down the Hudson on Embarkation Day to the MCT where you can park in their parking garage. Towns like Teaneck, Paramus or Teterboro are very well placed near the NJ side of the GW Bridge for "easy" access to Manhattan.  Parking right at the MCT is very expensive, especially when converted to our Canadian $$$s (though it's competitive with parking prices anywhere in Manhattan).  We've driven from Montreal down to both the MCT and Brooklyn a few times, VERY much nicer than flying ;o) When we sail from the MCT we stay just over the river in Weehawken NJ, park our car there and take the ferry across the Hudson right from the hotel, then walk a few hundred yards to the cruise terminal.  The parking at the hotel/ferry terminal is a bit more than half the cost of parking at the MCT and the NJ hotels are also far cheaper than in Manhattan.

[njhorseman]

20 hours ago, katesmum said:

I am wondering if anyone has hotel recommendations. Would like to stay about an hour from Port and drive in and park day of cruise 

.

If you're driving via Route 80 in New Jersey one possibility is staying in the Parsippany area. It's about 45 minutes to an hour to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal and there's a good variety of hotels and restaurants in the area.

[njhorseman]

43 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

I assume you are sailing from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal ?  Keep in mind that there are three cruise ports in that area, in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey.

FYI, since the OP is on the Carnival Venezia, they'll be sailing from Manhattan.

[katesmum]

Thank you very much for all your suggestions. We are sailing from the Manhattan cruise terminal. Also we  are coming from the Niagara Falls area of Canada so coming down the New York Thruway. This is our first time driving to a port. Always fly and sail from Florida locations.

 

[lx200gps]

3 hours ago, katesmum said:

Thank you very much for all your suggestions. We are sailing from the Manhattan cruise terminal. Also we  are coming from the Niagara Falls area of Canada so coming down the New York Thruway. This is our first time driving to a port. Always fly and sail from Florida locations.

 

No problem. One thought came to mind, re your drive down. The NY and NJ road system make extensive use of tolls, so as you get close to Manhattan you will be hitting "no-stop" toll plazas everywhere. If you don't already have one, you might want to look into getting an E-ZPass transponder for your car to simplify the process. I'll let the locals on here weigh in on its benefits  If you are driving from the St Catherines area, you should be able to find businesses selling the transponders easily, maybe as early as Buffalo. We got ours in Plattsburg, NY just over the border from Montreal.

 

https://www.e-zpassiag.com/

[njhorseman]

6 hours ago, katesmum said:

Thank you very much for all your suggestions. We are sailing from the Manhattan cruise terminal. Also we  are coming from the Niagara Falls area of Canada so coming down the New York Thruway. This is our first time driving to a port. Always fly and sail from Florida locations.

 

Are you planning to take The NY Thruway for the entire trip? That would be an unnecessarily long drive because you're effectively taking the two legs of a right triangle, first going east from the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area to Albany and then going south from Albany to New York City. Cutting across central NY State by going southeast from the Buffalo area instead you'd be driving on the hypotenuse of the triangle, which would save a lot of miles and undoubtedly time. Have you looked at a mapping program such as Google Maps for possible routing?

[meadowlander]

9 hours ago, katesmum said:

 Also we  are coming from the Niagara Falls area of Canada so coming down the New York Thruway. This is our first time driving to a port.

 

Check hotels in the Mahwah & Ramsey New Jersey areas. From the Thruway take exit 15 (follow signs for I 287 & route 17) then onto 17 where it splits from I 287.

 

You could check hotels in Paramus NJ which is the shopping mall capital of NJ. Garden State Plaza mall is the largest in NJ. Paramus Park mall is on par with an outlet mall if you are up to shopping after your drive.

 

Gas prices in NJ much cheaper than NY, note that it is illegal to pump your own gas in NJ.

 

From these areas you could chose the George Washington bridge option to MCT (most direct) or Lincoln Tunnel option based on traffic conditions.

Edited July 3, 2023 by meadowlander

[navybankerteacher]

4 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Are you planning to take The NY Thruway for the entire trip? That would be an unnecessarily long drive because you're effectively taking the two legs of a right triangle, first going east from the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area to Albany and then going south from Albany to New York City. Cutting across central NY State by going southeast from the Buffalo area instead you'd be driving on the hypotenuse of the triangle, which would save a lot of miles and undoubtedly time. Have you looked at a mapping program such as Google Maps for possible routing?

Good suggestion - there are pretty good interstates via Elmira and Binghamton, NY and Scranton, PA which would give a much shorter route than the NY Thruway.

[katesmum]

Thank you to all of you for your help.

Yes we are planning to map out our route on google. We will not be taking the thruway the entire way.

Looking at going via Binghamton and scranton ,PA.

 

Many thanks all your help is appreciated

[mleng]

@katesmum we are from Grand Island, NY, which is very close to Niagara Falls, so basically we are your neighbors across the border😀

 

We are planning to book a Carnival Venezia cruise at the end of Nov, and will do exactly what you are doing -- driving the day before, spending a night outside Manhattan, then driving to the terminal and park there the day of departure.  

 

While the idea of park&fly sounds good, I don't think it will be practical -- to carry all the suitcases onto public transportation will be a nightmare.  If you take Uber/Lyft from the hotel to the terminal, the cost will probably be quite high and offsets whatever saving you get from not paying for the $45 a day parking at the terminal.

 

When is your trip?  I would love to hear what you decide and how your experience is regarding the pre-cruise hotel. 

[meadowlander]

6 minutes ago, mleng said:

@katesmum we are from Grand Island, NY, which is very close to Niagara Falls, so basically we are your neighbors across the border😀

 

We are planning to book a Carnival Venezia cruise at the end of Nov, and will do exactly what you are doing -- driving the day before, spending a night outside Manhattan, then driving to the terminal and park there the day of departure.  

 

While the idea of park&fly sounds good, I don't think it will be practical -- to carry all the suitcases onto public transportation will be a nightmare.  If you take Uber/Lyft from the hotel to the terminal, the cost will probably be quite high and offsets whatever saving you get from not paying for the $45 a day parking at the terminal.

 

When is your trip?  I would love to hear what you decide and how your experience is regarding the pre-cruise hotel. 

There are 2 hotels in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey that have cruise packages  which includes hotel, parking and round trip shuttle to the MCT in NYC.

 

I think they are the Hampton and Hilton. No public transportation involved.

[mleng]

@meadowlander thank you for the input.  I just checked out the Hampton Inn prices.  It's actually quite reasonable.  $309 for a night for this package comparing to $150 for regular price.  So it's basically $160 extra.  

Have you used the Park and Fly package? I am curious about how the shuttle service is, especially on the return trip.  Will we have to wait a long time at the cruise terminal for the pickup?  

 

Also, there will be 4 of us, so we will drive down together in 1 car but need 2 hotel rooms.  Ideally we pay $309 for one room and the regular $150 for another room, but not sure if the hotel will allow that.  I can call and ask the hotel, but if you or somebody else has actually used the package, then I would really appreciate a first-hand account.  

 

[meadowlander]

4 minutes ago, mleng said:

@meadowlander thank you for the input.  I just checked out the Hampton Inn prices.  It's actually quite reasonable.  $309 for a night for this package comparing to $150 for regular price.  So it's basically $160 extra.  

Have you used the Park and Fly package? I am curious about how the shuttle service is, especially on the return trip.  Will we have to wait a long time at the cruise terminal for the pickup?  

 

Also, there will be 4 of us, so we will drive down together in 1 car but need 2 hotel rooms.  Ideally we pay $309 for one room and the regular $150 for another room, but not sure if the hotel will allow that.  I can call and ask the hotel, but if you or somebody else has actually used the package, then I would really appreciate a first-hand account.  

 

I have used cruise packages twice in Baltimore but not at these locations close to where I live. 

 

My first experience in Baltimore, all went well. The second time (at a different hotel) there was only 1 shuttle run on the day of boarding and disembarking. It was more than a 2 hour wait  for the shuttle after leaving the ship. Best for you to call the hotel and inquire as to their shuttle schedule.

 

Fairfield Inn in North Bergen NJ also has a MCT package. There have been few reports on Fairfield as they started their package just before covid. The reports on all 3 of these locations have been positive.

[mleng]

@meadowlanderThank you very much.  Fairfield Inn's package price is actually lower than Hampton Inn.  Coincidentally, I am a Marriott member and would love the opportunity to earn some points.  

 

If anybody else had first hand experience with Fairfield Inn, I would like to hear it.  Thank you in advance.

[kingston13]

Not sure if you would be interested in this (like if you want to do things in NYC) but if you come down the NYS Thruway you could book Yankee Trails Cruise Express and just stay in Albany night before.  The bus is $95 pp RT  and takes you to the pier and picks you up there at end of the cruise. You can park during the cruise at their office in Rensselaer for free. Just an option for you

 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, kingston13 said:

Not sure if you would be interested in this (like if you want to do things in NYC) but if you come down the NYS Thruway you could book Yankee Trails Cruise Express and just stay in Albany night before.  The bus is $95 pp RT  and takes you to the pier and picks you up there at end of the cruise. You can park during the cruise at their office in Rensselaer for free. Just an option for you

 

Sounds like a good idea - no driving on embarkation morning, save a lot on parking.

[kingston13]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Sounds like a good idea - no driving on embarkation morning, save a lot on parking.

I use them all the time and they are awesome

 

[lx200gps]

5 hours ago, kingston13 said:

Not sure if you would be interested in this (like if you want to do things in NYC) but if you come down the NYS Thruway you could book Yankee Trails Cruise Express and just stay in Albany night before.  The bus is $95 pp RT  and takes you to the pier and picks you up there at end of the cruise. You can park during the cruise at their office in Rensselaer for free. Just an option for you

 

Excellent resource, thanks for posting it. I'd never heard of them. We drive from Montreal, right through Albany, to either the Manhattan CT or Brooklyn CT, so this would be an excellent idea. LOVE the idea of saving a ton on the heavy parking costs at the cruise terminals. I do note though that the round trip price from Albany is $120/PP.

[kingston13]

11 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Excellent resource, thanks for posting it. I'd never heard of them. We drive from Montreal, right through Albany, to either the Manhattan CT or Brooklyn CT, so this would be an excellent idea. LOVE the idea of saving a ton on the heavy parking costs at the cruise terminals. I do note though that the round trip price from Albany is $120/PP.

must have changed recently because I used last month and have them booked for Aug 23rd but in any event they are awesome

[kingston13]

just realized - it may because I get picked up in Kingston not Albany area