Elizabeth, NJ hotels and car service to the port

[Lois R]

Hi friends, this will be the first time sailing from Cape Liberty in MANY years for me. I know back in the day there were multiple hotels near the Jersey Gardens Mall. Anyone recently stay in this area and would recommend a place for 1 night pre-cruise? AND I need to get to the port the next morning.

Any reputable suggestions would be appreciated😀 I don't mind paying extra for a private car. 

Oh, one more question......at the end of my cruise, are there cabs available at the terminal? My flight home from Newark leaves at 12:30pm.

 

Thanks for any help😀

[meadowlander]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi friends, this will be the first time sailing from Cape Liberty in MANY years for me. I know back in the day there were multiple hotels near the Jersey Gardens Mall. Anyone recently stay in this area and would recommend a place for 1 night pre-cruise? AND I need to get to the port the next morning.

Elizabeth, NJ hotels on International Blvd are within walking distance of the Jersey Gardens mall which will have dining options. There is also an IHOP nearby and I think Ruby Tuesday has reopened. Some of these hotels have cruise shuttle service for a fee, otherwise Uber of Lyft.

 

All hotel shuttles at EWR are met at station P4 of the air train(monorail).

 

While car services are allowed to pick up disembarking passengers at the terminal at Cape Liberty, taxi service is from a parking lot. After passing facial recognition follow signs for the parking garage and exit right. Once outside, walk up to the road. Near the glass doors entrance of the parking garage will be a crosswalk. Go across 2 crosswalks to the parking lot where taxi service is located. There will be a dispatcher as cabs are not always waiting for passengers. Allocate a minimum of 15 minutes. Your taxi may arrive sooner just as it may take 30 minutes or more. There used to be a shared taxi shuttle to EWR, do not know if it still exists or only private cabs.

 

Edited March 3 by meadowlander

[Lois R]

Thanks so much🙂 Would you know of a car service that would pick me up at the hotel to get to the ship?

Oh I missed that....you mentioned Uber and Lyft. What if I told you I have never used them before?

[meadowlander]

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

Thanks so much🙂 Would you know of a car service that would pick me up at the hotel to get to the ship?

Oh I missed that....you mentioned Uber and Lyft. What if I told you I have never used them before?

If you are reluctant to use Uber/Lyft, Dial 7 or Carmel are 2 limo companies recommended on this board. I think you will pay more for either than using Uber/Lyft or taxi. Some of the hotels on International Blvd have cruise shuttle service, would be cheaper than a limo.

[Lois R]

9 hours ago, meadowlander said:

If you are reluctant to use Uber/Lyft, Dial 7 or Carmel are 2 limo companies recommended on this board. I think you will pay more for either than using Uber/Lyft or taxi. Some of the hotels on International Blvd have cruise shuttle service, would be cheaper than a limo.

Good morning, thanks for the help. You are correct.......I called Embassy Suites and they charge 22.00 for a shuttle to the port. Haven't spoken with any other property yet.

[princeton123211]

On 3/2/2024 at 6:39 PM, Lois R said:

Oh, one more question......at the end of my cruise, are there cabs available at the terminal?

Just keep in mind that taxis in that area of New Jersey are generally horrible-- old, miserable cars on their last legs and the charges are considerably higher than Uber/Lyft or even sometimes car services like Dial7 or Carmel. Caveat emptor. 

[Lois R]

11 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Just keep in mind that taxis in that area of New Jersey are generally horrible-- old, miserable cars on their last legs and the charges are considerably higher than Uber/Lyft or even sometimes car services like Dial7 or Carmel. Caveat emptor. 

Hi,😀 thanks for the heads up. I will keep that in mind. Celebrity offers a transfer for 27.50 but it says flights must leave after 1:00pm. My flight departs at 12:30. I will figure out my best course of action.

[mjkacmom]

On 3/2/2024 at 8:28 PM, Lois R said:

Thanks so much🙂 Would you know of a car service that would pick me up at the hotel to get to the ship?

Oh I missed that....you mentioned Uber and Lyft. What if I told you I have never used them before?

I think your best bet is yo learn how to use Uber/lyft, it’s really very simple and a good resource to have when traveling.

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I will figure out my best course of action.

Best course will be Uber/Lyft. Easier/higher quality than a cab and much less expensive than car service. Easy to use. Just download and put your info and credit card in ahead of time. 

[Lois R]

Thank you both. I appreciate your input. 

[Turtles06]

On 3/3/2024 at 9:38 AM, Lois R said:

Good morning, thanks for the help. You are correct.......I called Embassy Suites and they charge 22.00 for a shuttle to the port. Haven't spoken with any other property yet.

 

We've stayed at that Embassy Suites a couple of times.  It's nicer than the typical Embassy Suites because the rooms have exterior windows, they don't face onto an atrium/hallway.  And, as you've learned, the hotel has a shuttle to the port.  (We've always driven, so we've never used the shuttle.)

 

On 3/2/2024 at 8:24 PM, meadowlander said:

There is also an IHOP nearby and I think Ruby Tuesday has reopened.

 

Decent IHOP (or at least it was, pre-pandemic).   Has that Ruby Tuesday actually re-opened?  It was far and away one of the worst restaurants we've ever been to, and we even gave it a second try on a later trip -- same experience.  Simply dreadful service and food. 

[njhorseman]

24 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 Has that Ruby Tuesday actually re-opened?  It was far and away one of the worst restaurants we've ever been to, and we even gave it a second try on a later trip -- same experience.  Simply dreadful service and food. 

It has reopened. There are actually some decent reviews on Google since the reopening, but I'm always skeptical of reviews in general posted on the internet. They almost always are five star or one star, rarely anything in between. 

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

It has reopened. There are actually some decent reviews on Google since the reopening, but I'm always skeptical of reviews in general posted on the internet. They almost always are five star or one star, rarely anything in between. 

 
Fool me once . . . 😂

[dazey]

We book the transfer from the airport day of cruise with Celebrity. I had to call Celebrity to book the shuttle to the cruise port as online would not allow me to see that; however, shuttle from ship to airport is listed under excursions. We arrive day before and stay in one of the airport hotels(one of the Marriotts) which offer shuttle to and from airport.  Next morning to take hotel shuttle to airport and then we take the Celebrity shuttle from airport to ship and then ship to airport.  We have always gotten to the airport well be 11 o'clock.  I will check out Embassy Suites as I did not know they provided shuttle to Cape Liberty.  

 

We have done it many times and it works well for us.  I do not do Uber so the other option would be a taxi but have not heard good thoughts about that choice.

[princeton123211]

8 minutes ago, dazey said:

I do not do Uber so the other option would be a taxi but have not heard good thoughts about that choice.

Uber or Lyft would save you a bunch of time with this and cost maybe half of what Celebrity charges for 2 people on the bus. 

 

That being said you are right to not use a taxi-- they're awful in that part of New Jersey. 

[dazey]

Appreciate your suggestion about Uber.  However, we are older and not great at trying new ways.  The shuttle comes to under $60 for both of us total each way  and when I inquired about a taxi it was possibly more. Also since we arrive a day early we have plenty of time before we can board the ship so time is not a concern.  I know, we are so out of touch but it works for us.

[Terbear12]

Which Embassy Suites? I'm not familiar with the area. I've never departed from Cape Liberty. We depart June 1 and are flying in the night before.

[njhorseman]

42 minutes ago, Terbear12 said:

Which Embassy Suites? I'm not familiar with the area. I've never departed from Cape Liberty. We depart June 1 and are flying in the night before.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Newark Airport, 95 International Blvd, Elizabeth NJ. It's the only Embassy Suites close to Newark Airport and Cape Liberty

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/ewreles-embassy-suites-newark-airport/?SEO_id=GMB-AMER-ES-EWRELES&y_source=1_MTQ4NTM0Ny03MTUtbG9jYXRpb24ud2Vic2l0ZQ%3D%3D

Edited March 16 by njhorseman

[Ashland]

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Suites this past October for our pre-cruise. Property recently completely renovated and very nice. Ruby Tuesdays wasn't open then and am surprised it has since then as it looked pretty deserted. IHOP was fine. Loved the location with a quick easy walk to the Mall.

[trivia addict]

We have used Carmel. We used it once from Long Island to Manhattan Cruise Terminablev and once  from LA to LAX. Found it very comparable  in price to Lift or Uber.
Each time reserved in advance and both times very satisfied.

 

[princeton123211]

12 hours ago, trivia addict said:

We have used Carmel. We used it once from Long Island to Manhattan Cruise Terminablev and once  from LA to LAX. Found it very comparable  in price to Lift or Uber.

Thats because Carmel is just an aggregator-- they don't own or operate any cars. All of their third party providers are the same drivers/cars you see on Uber or Lyft app. From an experience standpoint there's essentially zero difference between them.