Flying into LGA, Sailing out of Bayonne

[JMukamuk]

Hello!

We are cruising out of Bayonne this fall (Oct 6th), and we are flying into LGA. I understand that EWR would be a much easier airport to fly into, but circumstances require us to fly into La Guardia. 

We haven’t booked flights yet, but we’ll fly in on October 5th, the day before we sail. I *think* we’ll arrive around 12:30pm. We will have our 4 kids, ages 3 through 10, with us. Because we have all the kids, I’m not going to stress about trying to “see the sights” by any means, even though we’ll have several hours available.  I’m totally fine with just hanging around in a hotel room for the evening.

What I need help with is primarily suggestions for hotels and transportation.

 

Hotels:

Would it be better to travel out to NJ and stay in a hotel there to make the morning we board easier? If so, what area should we look for and any specific hotel recommendations? If there are restaurants within walking distance (even just fast food, if needed), that’d be even easier.

Or should we try to stay somewhere in NYC to try to enjoy it a little bit more since we have the time? Would that make the following morning too stressful/chaotic? Would it be unrealistic to try to do anything with 4 young kids? If we did this, I’d want to be within walking distance of anything we try to see/do. I worry that public transportation will be too overwhelming with all the kids. 

 

Transportation:

Airport to hotel — I understand that crossing state lines can lead to a very costly drive, but I think trying to utilize public transportation with the kids and all our luggage would be foolish. I’ve seen some people recommend Dial 7 or similar. Would it be better to try to find a hotel that has a shuttle from the airport and stay right there (there seemed to be very few with shuttles, and those likely will not have quick access to restaurants, right?)? 

Hotel to pier: If we make our way to NJ the night before, is an Uber our best bet to get to Bayonne the next morning? What is we stay in NYC — still an Uber? I worry it’ll be hard to find an Uber to fit all of us and our suitcases. Is it likely we’d need two cars? 
 

Final question: Flying back home out of LGA, what’s the earliest flight you would book without stressing? Would 1:30ish be reasonable or is that still pushing it?

 

Looking forward to this trip, but sailing out of Bayonne is stressing me out! Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Got2Cruise]

You don’t state your budget but since you have time to search for a hotel I would try to find a place walkable to the waterfront in Jersey City NJ. This way you can walk around look at the NYC skyline from there. If the hotel has an indoor pool even better. You’ll need at least a suite that sleeps 6 if not 2 rooms. 
 

I would book the Dial 7 because you want a vehicle to hold 6 pax and luggage. You can always use Uber or Lyft as a backup. 

[navybankerteacher]

I would be interested in hearing about the “ circumstances” that would make flying from Kansas City to EWR not as workable for a family with four young kids as flying to LGA to get to/from a cruise from Bayonne.

 

They must be really special

[meadowlander]

3 hours ago, JMukamuk said:

Looking forward to this trip, but sailing out of Bayonne is stressing me out! Thanks in advance for any advice!

Your LGA return flight time of 1:30 pm is good, especially on a Sunday. I agree with using Dial 7 or a car service from LGA to your hotel and I would go from the airport to a New Jersey hotel on Saturday the 5th

 

There are no hotels in Bayonne. Closest would be in Jersey City but they may be more than you want to pay. I would avoid hotels in Newark and (in this case)those on International Boulevard in Elizabeth.

 

The best area (imo) with 4 youngsters would be in Secaucus, NJ. Look at the hotels in the Harmon Meadow Plaza mall such as Residence Inn, Courtyard, Harmony Suites & Sure Stay. Residence has rooms for 6. There are restaurants in the mall.

 

The Secaucus mall is less than 5 miles from the American Dream Mall in the sports complex in East Rutherford, NJ. Your kids would enjoy this mall more than a NYC visit. There are also hotels in East Rutherford, Lyndhurst, Carlstadt  & Hasbrouck Heights you can research but I think Secaucus would be best especially if you only want to rest after traveling with dining options nearby.

 

You will need Uber to the terminal in Bayonne on Sunday, estimating $35-50 for a group of 6.

 

Don''t be put off asking for help only to get responses questioning your decisions.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 16 by meadowlander

[markeb]

I'd agree wholeheartedly with going straight from LGA to New Jersey. Too many logistics otherwise.

 

I did a quick mock booking in the Secaucus area on Marriott, and none of their properties will allow that many people in a single room (at least online). You're almost certainly going to have to research a few places, probably suite type hotels (Residence Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, etc.) and call them directly to try to reserve two connecting rooms. Earlier is probably better. I know meadowlander said the Residence Inn had rooms for 6 and I believe them, but I'm not seeing anything on October 5 online. It may be a manager override thing...

[JMukamuk]

@navybankerteacher we have Southwest credits of about $1200 or so, and Southwest doesn’t fly to Newark. Unfortunately, it’s just a savings that we can’t disregard, especially when we’d also have to pay for luggage on other airlines. 

[JMukamuk]

10 hours ago, markeb said:

You're almost certainly going to have to research a few places, probably suite type hotels (Residence Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, etc.) and call them directly to try to reserve two connecting rooms. Earlier is probably better. 

Thank you! I have no problem putting in the effort to research which hotels would be able to accommodate, I just needed some help with narrowing down where to start! I will check out some of those hotels in the area.

[JMukamuk]

11 hours ago, meadowlander said:

Your LGA return flight time of 1:30 pm is good, especially on a Sunday. I agree with using Dial 7 or a car service from LGA to your hotel and I would go from the airport to a New Jersey hotel on Saturday the 5th

 

There are no hotels in Bayonne. Closest would be in Jersey City but they may be more than you want to pay. I would avoid hotels in Newark and (in this case)those on International Boulevard in Elizabeth.

 

The best area (imo) with 4 youngsters would be in Secaucus, NJ. Look at the hotels in the Harmon Meadow Plaza mall such as Residence Inn, Courtyard, Harmony Suites & Sure Stay. Residence has rooms for 6. There are restaurants in the mall.

 

The Secaucus mall is less than 5 miles from the American Dream Mall in the sports complex in East Rutherford, NJ. Your kids would enjoy this mall more than a NYC visit. There are also hotels in East Rutherford, Lyndhurst, Carlstadt  & Hasbrouck Heights you can research but I think Secaucus would be best especially if you only want to rest after traveling with dining options nearby.

 

You will need Uber to the terminal in Bayonne on Sunday, estimating $35-50 for a group of 6.

 

Don''t be put off asking for help only to get responses questioning your decisions.

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for all of this! I will start looking in Secaucus and see what I can find! 

[mjkacmom]

Car seat laws in NJ go up to age 7, we had to bring 2 backless boosters for our almost 5 year olds when we took a car service to the airport. Limos are exempt, I believe, and so are cabs while in nyc.

[JMukamuk]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:11 PM, mjkacmom said:

Car seat laws in NJ go up to age 7, we had to bring 2 backless boosters for our almost 5 year olds when we took a car service to the airport. Limos are exempt, I believe, and so are cabs while in nyc.

This is super helpful info, thank you! I’d been wondering a little about that. 

[navybankerteacher]

On 1/16/2024 at 10:04 AM, JMukamuk said:

@navybankerteacher we have Southwest credits of about $1200 or so, and Southwest doesn’t fly to Newark. Unfortunately, it’s just a savings that we can’t disregard, especially when we’d also have to pay for luggage on other airlines. 

If you are likely to travel in the future and those Southwest credits do not expire soon, you might consider reserving them for a different trip (sort of like money in the bank) rather than incurring avoidable hassle and additional small costs on this one.

[JMukamuk]

@navybankerteacher good point. I’m considering flying into Newark and then out of La Guardia when we head home. All of this input is very helpful!

[meadowlander]

45 minutes ago, JMukamuk said:

I’m considering flying into Newark and then out of La Guardia when we head home. All of this input is very helpful!

If you do fly into EWR then hotels in Elizabeth, NJ on International Boulevard would be a good choice as you will be close to Bayonne and these hotels are in walking distance of the Jersey Gardens mall, which will have dining options. Many hotels in Newark in the airport area have limited dining choices.

 

All hotel shuttles at EWR are met at station P4. Use the free air train (monorail) from your terminal to station P4.

 

Liberty Science Center in Jersey City is nearby if your kids want something to do. Also, ferries to the Statue of Liberty depart from Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

Edited January 22 by meadowlander