help ASAP please! Re Cape Liberty Bayonne, NJ

[CVU]

When you guys say "check in" that is check in for the ship. I have not cruised in over 8 years.

 

SO we get to the terminal, check in and then just take a little bus to the ship, walk on board and were done?

 

Yes, our taxi dropped us at the terminal. We were in a long single line of cars to get to the drop off point.

It was very busy with passengers still departing at 12:00 and passengers arriving with luggage.

After some confusion as to where our luggage was to go, we walked inside the terminal building to line up to check in. It was quick and efficient.

They had coffee and cookies, in Jan/08, places to sit and we had a number for our shuttle bus. They called the number and we waited outside for the shuttle to take us to the ship to board. Happy cruising!!!

[Luv4dacruise]

oh I hate to hear that...I am doing this port for the first time Feb 2009...and I was hoping it would work, since I can drive to this one in 6 hrs....not have to fly!

Usually do Fla. ports..

I would not worry about it, as i said in my previous post, we have cruised out of here 3 times, we are also a 6 hour drive away. That alone, and not having to deal with flying, airports, the extra expense of the flight is well worth the "having to ride a little bus for 5 minutes".....Its no big deal at all, its all very organized. Have a great cruise!

[EGG]

Port Liberty is a converted Navy Terminal that was closed years back during one of the base closings. I understand there are plans to build a new terminal building.

 

I've cruised out of Cape Liberty twice and the shuttle bus is fast and convenient. There is a ramp that lowers on the bus. You can bring on luggage, but they do not let you do this on the way in because you can only take on luggage that fits in the scanners.

[Merion_Mom]

I HATED the Bayonne port. It was my family's first cruise (Aug 2006), but we were cruising with friends that are Diamond Plus (think that was it) members - and he said he'd never sail out of there again. Traffic was so bad it took 90 minutes to get from the start of the drive to the drop off point. They have one lane in until you get past the drydock site, then 2 lanes in - it's unbelievable - in a bad way. The actual cruise on Explorer was fantastic.

 

I have booked another cruise with my significant other, but we're flying into Miami the night before and departing from there. NJ and Baltimore are closer, but I will never again sail from NJ.

 

This only happens if you are too early to the port because the previous cruise passengers haven't left yet, or if the ship was delayed returning to port, and thus the previous passengers haven't left yet.

 

:D

 

Feel free to sail out of any port you like; Bayonne is not that much of a problem if you roll with the punches. It is driving distance for MILLIONS of people, and some of them want to cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship!

[Mike&Nancy]

oh I hate to hear that...I am doing this port for the first time Feb 2009...and I was hoping it would work, since I can drive to this one in 6 hrs....not have to fly!

Usually do Fla. ports..

 

Julie, we did it in February. It will work, no need to worry. :)

[aqhacruiser]

I would not worry about it, as i said in my previous post, we have cruised out of here 3 times, we are also a 6 hour drive away. That alone, and not having to deal with flying, airports, the extra expense of the flight is well worth the "having to ride a little bus for 5 minutes".....Its no big deal at all, its all very organized. Have a great cruise!

 

I agree and I've sailed out of Bayonne many times. We've never had a problem arriving or leaving the port and we find it very easy. The only time we had heavy traffic and some confusion in port was boarding on 12/2 and that was only because the ship was delayed from a storm. If the the ship is delayed there will be traffic as they must get the people off the ship before they let the next passengers on and this type of delay and hold up has been reported for every port not just Bayonne. RCCL can't control the weather. This was the first winter the Explorer sailed in the winter and we had a lot of storms, it happens in the winter here. The ship has also been delayed for medical emergencies which also can happen to any ship out of any port. Any delay will cause a traffic build up at a port as people wait for a ship to dock or to clear.

To the OP, yes, the buses are accessible and if you need a wheelchair when you get into port just tell a porter and a port staff person will come with a wheelchair, escort you into the terminal, thru check in and help you on the bus where a ship crew member will escort you to your cabin in another wheelchair from the ship. I've seen it done many times. RCCL CSR's are obviously confused..................as usual:D

Have a great cruise! :)

If someone would like an electric scooter you may call the special needs number and arrange for a rental. The ones on the ship as specially designed to fit thru ALL cabin doors so they can go in any cabin.

[aqhacruiser]

oh I hate to hear that...I am doing this port for the first time Feb 2009...and I was hoping it would work, since I can drive to this one in 6 hrs....not have to fly!

Usually do Fla. ports..

 

If the ship is not delayed its really not a problem and if it is you just have to wait to board and remember you are going on a great cruise!:) The one thing you do have to really consider is driving that time of year if the weather is bad so allow yourself extra time in case we do have a storm in this area and if the weather does look like it's going to be nasty you may want to consider coming in a day early and staying overnight close to the port. We expected a dusting on 12/2 and woke up to 4 inches of snow and it was coming down hard when we left for port but we only live a little over an hour from port so it was ok for us and there was less snow in Bayonne then here. If there is going to be a serious delay of a few hours, RCCL does make every effort to contact people and the TA's also try to contact their clients but they can't catch everyone. They will also post a serious delay due to weather on the website such as in the case of Noel or other hurricanes and you can check CC or the Explorer thread to see if anyone is posting from the ship with info about a delay. :)

[Amy from Delaware]

To the OP, yes, the buses are accessible and if you need a wheelchair when you get into port just tell a porter and a port staff person will come with a wheelchair, escort you into the terminal, thru check in and help you on the bus where a ship crew member will escort you to your cabin in another wheelchair from the ship. I've seen it done many times. RCCL CSR's are obviously confused..................as usual:D

Have a great cruise! :)

 

 

Thanks for the info, glad to know the buses are accessible! We won't need to get a wheelchair from RCCL. DH is fulltime wheelchair user so he's always got his own with him. ;)

 

One way or another, we'll wind up on the ship with all our stuff....I just wish that RCCL itself was more sure of their own procedures. If I didn't have CruiseCritic, I would be in a total panic after being told all the misinformation yesterday!

 

Can't wait to get on the ship and have a great cruise...we booked it almost a year ago and the anticipation is building every day!

[vickila]

As a Long Islander, we love Bayonne -- don't listen to RC -- it's as easy as pie. If driving in and parking, have driver drive up to let luggage off and passengers, then driver goes to park and can walk back or take shuttle. All go into small building to do data, come out, board ACCESSIBLE FOR SCOOTER OR WC small bus (different bus than parking shuttle) (can take some medical equip. if necessary) for a 2 MINUTE RIDE and wala there's a ramp or small stairway into the ship -- simple process. Love it.

 

Ship is very accessible. Just stay away from high volume areas -- like main area when there is a parade or captain's champagne hours. Also, consider renting a scooter -- we found wheelchair was like quicksand on those carpets -- long, long ship -- many venues. Have fun. V.

[sj25]

If the ship is not delayed its really not a problem and if it is you just have to wait to board and remember you are going on a great cruise!:) The one thing you do have to really consider is driving that time of year if the weather is bad so allow yourself extra time in case we do have a storm in this area and if the weather does look like it's going to be nasty you may want to consider coming in a day early and staying overnight close to the port. We expected a dusting on 12/2 and woke up to 4 inches of snow and it was coming down hard when we left for port but we only live a little over an hour from port so it was ok for us and there was less snow in Bayonne then here. If there is going to be a serious delay of a few hours, RCCL does make every effort to contact people and the TA's also try to contact their clients but they can't catch everyone. They will also post a serious delay due to weather on the website such as in the case of Noel or other hurricanes and you can check CC or the Explorer thread to see if anyone is posting from the ship with info about a delay. :)

 

thanks ...do you think we will have a problem to wait and if we see that Sat...the weather is going to be bad we would leave that morning and then try to find a place Sat. to stay ...do you think we would have a hard time getting a room? We go out on Sunday.

[PC2]

thanks ...do you think we will have a problem to wait and if we see that Sat...the weather is going to be bad we would leave that morning and then try to find a place Sat. to stay ...do you think we would have a hard time getting a room? We go out on Sunday.

 

Hi Julie: Hope you had a good day today. We sailed on the 2/15 Explorer and I think I saw someone on our roll call post that they had booked a room at the Country Inn and Suites, or whatever Hotel by the airport, just in case of bad weather. Then they were going to monitor the long range weather and right before, decide if they were going to take the room or cancel. You have either 1-3 days to cancel, depending on the hotel. You can always do that, just in case. I know several people from our 10/15 cruise who stayed there and I know one couple drove from NC. I think they left their car there, not sure, but I know the others either got transportation on their own together or the hotel got them a van, at a charge, of course. Last February had pretty good weather. Let's just keep our fingers crossed for 2/01/09.

 

Sandy