Park and Cruise Hotel - Cape Liberty

[Queen of Oakville]

I made it to page 6 before finding a post from 2010, so figured it was safe to post this question!

 

Thinking of driving from Ontario to NJ rather than flying.  Any recommendations for a hotel near the port with free parking while we cruise? Any hotels  that shuttle or would we have to uber to the cruise port?

[Ashland]

Doubt it will be "free" for the length of your cruise. You might opt for a stay/park/cruise option that hotels offer. Most will include a shuttle to/from port.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Queen of Oakville said:

I made it to page 6 before finding a post from 2010, so figured it was safe to post this question!

 

Thinking of driving from Ontario to NJ rather than flying.  Any recommendations for a hotel near the port with free parking while we cruise? Any hotels  that shuttle or would we have to uber to the cruise port?

Assuming you'll be driving in the day before your departure check trinityreservations.com. They normally have several hotels available with packages that include a room, parking and shuttle service to and from the port.

Nothing is free. If parking is included it's been baked into the price you're paying for the package, as will the transfers between the hotel and the port.

[catspaw1]

Some things to consider is how long you can expect to wait for the shuttle & how many people does it hold? We are staying at a Marriott in Woodbridge NJ- 30 minutes south of the cruise port. We then pay to park in the garage at the port. The hotels in Woodbridge are substantially cheaper than the Newark area & have free parking. 

[megr1125]

There is no such thing as free parking. 

Try Trinity Reservations as CCers have used them for years and they have packages at a few hotels that include parking and transfers.(In the EWR/Elizabeth area)  Or book direct by looking at Marriott and Hilton websites.

 

That said, I'll often stay near EWR and drive to the pier.  And I live an hour away.  Also Woodbridge is an alternative, I just hate the traffic in that area. 

[catspaw1]

11 hours ago, megr1125 said:

There is no such thing as free parking. 

Try Trinity Reservations as CCers have used them for years and they have packages at a few hotels that include parking and transfers.(In the EWR/Elizabeth area)  Or book direct by looking at Marriott and Hilton websites.

 

That said, I'll often stay near EWR and drive to the pier.  And I live an hour away.  Also Woodbridge is an alternative, I just hate the traffic in that area. 

 

[catspaw1]

Megr, there is free parking at the Marriotts in Woodbridge. We are staying there in July for our cruise & we have stayed there before. We have never been charged for parking. We than drive up from the hotel & park in the cruise terminal. FYI I am a native NYer - born & bred & very familiar with the NY metro area. I drive home frequently.  IMHO there are neighborhoods in Newark I would not stay in. Woodbridge is half hour from the port without traffic - especially early on a weekend. Newark also has problems with car break-ins. Most hotels in Newark charge for parking that I have seen. Frankly I would not trust my car close to hotels near the airport.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, catspaw1 said:

Megr, there is free parking at the Marriotts in Woodbridge

I can assure you that @megr1125 knows all about the area and its hotels.

 

She wasn't talking about free parking for one night while you're staying at a hotel 20 miles from the port. She was addressing the OP's question, which was: " Any recommendations for a hotel near the port with free parking while we cruise?"

 

Parking near the port is an entirely different matter from parking in an outlying town. For example every one of the five hotels on International Blvd in Elizabeth, an area where many cruisers stay prior to their voyages charges their overnight guests for parking...anywhere from $10 to $25 per night.

[catspaw1]

Then I definitely misunderstood. I'm familiar with the hotels on International Blvd & would not trust my car there. That's why we stay in Woodbridge the night before the cruise. You are right that all hotels near the port charge as I had previously looked into that on a prior cruise.

[SUESEABE]

https://www.trinityreservations.com/hoteloptions.php

[megr1125]

On 5/15/2024 at 9:37 PM, njhorseman said:

I can assure you that @megr1125 knows all about the area and its hotels.

 

She wasn't talking about free parking for one night while you're staying at a hotel 20 miles from the port. She was addressing the OP's question, which was: " Any recommendations for a hotel near the port with free parking while we cruise?"

 

Parking near the port is an entirely different matter from parking in an outlying town. For example every one of the five hotels on International Blvd in Elizabeth, an area where many cruisers stay prior to their voyages charges their overnight guests for parking...anywhere from $10 to $25 per night.

Thank you  NJHorseman.  Your check is in the mail.  LOL

Edited May 18 by megr1125

[Queen of Oakville]

Thanks all.  Still haven't worked out our trip details yet.  I didn't even think about parkign at the port.  While we have sailed out of newark before, I barely recall the port.  We'll have a rental car so not to worried.  An option might be to return the return and have them shuttle us, like we would do at Port Canaveral.

 

 

thanks for the link to trinity

[megr1125]

On 5/15/2024 at 9:40 PM, catspaw1 said:

Then I definitely misunderstood. I'm familiar with the hotels on International Blvd & would not trust my car there. That's why we stay in Woodbridge the night before the cruise. You are right that all hotels near the port charge as I had previously looked into that on a prior cruise.

I've parked my car at those hotels at least 50 times.  Zero issues.  You do you, I'll do me.  I despise the traffic in the Woodbridge area.  I'll take my chances in Elizabeth.

I've lived in NJ my ENTIRE life. 

[megr1125]

1 minute ago, Queen of Oakville said:

Thanks all.  Still haven't worked out our trip details yet.  I didn't even think about parkign at the port.  While we have sailed out of newark before, I barely recall the port.  We'll have a rental car so not to worried.  An option might be to return the return and have them shuttle us, like we would do at Port Canaveral.

 

 

thanks for the link to trinity

YW and if you sailed out of Newark, you were not on a cruise ship.  Cargo maybe.  LOL  😉

 

[megr1125]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:12 PM, catspaw1 said:

Megr, there is free parking at the Marriotts in Woodbridge. We are staying there in July for our cruise & we have stayed there before. We have never been charged for parking. We than drive up from the hotel & park in the cruise terminal. FYI I am a native NYer - born & bred & very familiar with the NY metro area. I drive home frequently.  IMHO there are neighborhoods in Newark I would not stay in. Woodbridge is half hour from the port without traffic - especially early on a weekend. Newark also has problems with car break-ins. Most hotels in Newark charge for parking that I have seen. Frankly I would not trust my car close to hotels near the airport.

I'm not talking about Woodbridge.  Lifetime Titanium Marriott Bonvoy member and Cape Liberty is my home port.  Elizabeth is NOT Newark.  I hate Woodbridge, you hate Newark.  We'll agree to disagree but if you've been around CC for 20+ years like I have, you'd know I'm not an idiot.  

 

[catspaw1]

1 hour ago, megr1125 said:

I'm not talking about Woodbridge.  Lifetime Titanium Marriott Bonvoy member and Cape Liberty is my home port.  Elizabeth is NOT Newark.  I hate Woodbridge, you hate Newark.  We'll agree to disagree but if you've been around CC for 20+ years like I have, you'd know I'm not an idiot.  

 

My husband is lifetime marriott Titanium also & we stay at a lot of Marriotts. We stay so many nights we routinely get suite award upgrades.  The RI in Woodbridge is fine - have stayed there before with many cruises. Our first cruise was in the 1980s. Elizabeth Marriotts charge for parking but Woodbridge doesn't. Woodbridge 30 minutes from cruise port.  I am coming to NY again tomorrow. I still have family there so come up frequently. 

[catspaw1]

1 hour ago, megr1125 said:

I've parked my car at those hotels at least 50 times.  Zero issues.  You do you, I'll do me.  I despise the traffic in the Woodbridge area.  I'll take my chances in Elizabeth.

I've lived in NJ my ENTIRE life. 

The RI  Woodbridge is only a few miles off the Tpke so I really haven't hit much traffic. We stop at wegmans in Mt. Laurel on the way up to get dinner so we don't leave the hotel once we are there. No traffic leaving early am. I come home to NY via NJ every other month. Lived over half century in metro NY area. I'm happy with Woodbridge  & don't have to pay the higher hotel prices that were in Elizabeth. 

[catspaw1]

I just checked the Elizabeth RI- $25 plus tax probably- for parking. Hotel was more expensive also- around $50 plus taxes. Woodbridge only 15 minutes further away. Since I'm coming from the south, Woodbridge is first. I'll keep staying at the RI in Woodbridge as its just one night pre cruise so we don't have to drive up from DC the day of the cruise. That's what we normally do.

[ridgecrest]

We drive from Pittsburgh PA and stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Elizabeth.  We have found them to be the best value of those hotels on International blvd.  They have a Park & Cruise package that includes transportation to the port.  The rate covers up to 8 nights of parking with each additional nights at $10.  The longest we ever parked there was for 12 nights.

 

The hotel parking is gated.  Our experience with the shuttles have always been timely at both the hotel and port.  The only slight negative is that the shuttle reservations to the port are first come first served.  So you cannot book your shuttle time until you arrive at the hotel.