Where to stay 2/3 nights pre cruise from Bayonne?

[Bobal]

We'll be cruising on the RCCL Explorer from Bayonne with 2 teens, travelling from the UK. We want to take the opportunity to spend a couple of days seeing New York before we cruise but have a dilemma about where to stay. Obviously the cost of hotels in New York is much higher than New Jersey but I'm not sure how much hassle and travelling would be involved if we stayed in New Jersey and travelled in to the city.

 

Would you recommend breaking the bank and staying in New York or saving the cash for the cruise and staying in New Jersey and, if the latter, any recommendations on which area to stay? It doesn't need to be too close to the cruise ship port - access to New York would be more important.

 

We can fly into either New York or NJ.

 

Any suggestions are welcome - thanks :)

[greatam]

JMHO

 

Hotels in either Jersey City or around Meadowlands in NJ provide good opportunities to save a few dollars and still provide easy access to NYC. And the Days Inn in North Bergen NJ is supposed to have a shuttle (fee) to NYC. http://www.hoteldays.com/

 

The hotels in Jersey City provide access to both midtown NYC and lower Manhattan via PATH (which is fast and cheap). But quite a few do not have airport shuttles, so you will have to pay taxi fare (about $50.00 from the airport and $40.00 to the cruise port).

 

The hotels around Meadowlands provide access to NYC via bus or train. I KNOW for a fact the Sheraton provides free transport to the train station. But the train from that area runs a limited schedule at night, IIRC. And the Sheraton has an airport shuttle. The Sheraton is available on Priceline for about $100.00 per night. But with four people, you may not want to use Priceline-you may end up in a room with only one bed.

 

Overall, you will definitely spend more money IF you fly into JFK. Transfers to/from the airport or hotel in Manhattan to the cruise port can easily run $70.00 EACH way. Add in extra expense of hotels in NYC. If it was my trip, I would fly into EWR and save the money.

[Bobal]

greatam

Thanks so much - that's just the sort of info I was looking for :D