Could someone give us a little info and advice on hotel, parking, sites to see in and around Cape Liberty, N.J.? Our family is driving down from Canada on June 2nd and our cruise on Voyager of the Seas is sailing on June 3rd, so we have one day to visit. Thanks.
Not much to see unless you go into NYC. There is a subway train from Bayonne in New York. Maybe a bus tour of Manhattan would give you an idea of the sights of NYC.
You can park at the pier while you are on the cruise. There are several brand name hotels in the area. Newark Marriot is nearby. Do not drive into New York. JT
Do NOT stay in any hotel in Bayonne NJ. There are some reasonably proced hotels near Newark Airport & the Meadowlands / East Rutherford NJ which are both close by. There is a new Hyatt in Jersey CIty. If you want to splurge, stay in NYC.
Good afternoon. I live in Bayonne, NJ aka Cape Liberty. We are a penninsula which is both adjacent via bridge to Staten Island and close to NYC proper.
1. There is no direct subway into NYC from Bayonne NJ. There are however, some buses that run directly into NYC, and/or take you to the PATH trains that run into NYC. The light rail also takes you into Jersey City, where you can catch the PATH train to NYC.
2. There are no hotels in Bayonne, NJ and it's done on purpose. (Won't get into that.. it might be changing ). There are motels. If you want to stay at a nice hotel, I suggest looking for one in the Newport area of Jersey City. There's a Doubletree and a Mariott Courtyard. Both are close to transportation into NYC and close to Bayonne via Turnpike or side streets.
3. There is parking at the cruise port, which last year was $12.00 per day. I'm not sure if it's changing though.
Thanks for the advice. What we are thinking of doing is staying a hotel in Newark which offers a park/sleep/cruise/fly package. If we want to visit in NYC, is it best to take a cab in or the train?- we got that we shouldn't drive.
Take the train into NYC. From Newark you can take a PATH train for $1 pp. The are clean, well lit & reasonably safe. A cab to NYC will be very expensive.
I don;t know much about Cape Liberty and I am from NJ, but if you go into the RCCL website and pull up Cape Liberty it will tell you what you can see at that port.
You don't need to go into New York for entertainment. You can take a ferry boat from New Jersey to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Near the dock is the Liberty Science Center, a major science museum that draws people from throughout the area. If you are going during the summer, you might want to check out the Jersey Shore. There's minor league baseball in Newark, along with performances at the NJ Peforming Arts Center. You can also go to the Meadowlands for Giants/Jets football, horse racing, Nets basketball or Devils Ice Hockey (well maybe next year). There's also Thomas Edison's lab in East Orange, Princeton and Rutgers Universities, and loads of ethnics restaurants and neighborhoods.
The PATH train at 1$ sounds great! That's probably what we'll do. As for visiting, my son really wants to see the Empire State Building and Trump Tower(if possible), and I would like to go to Canal Street, my husband would like to visit Ground Zero. Once in Manhattan, are things close enough to walk or is a cab best?
There's a PATH station in ground zero. It was under the World Trade Center but is now rebuilt. There's also a PATH station within a block of the Empire State Building (33rd st.) Trump Tower is 20 blocks or so from 33rd st. You could walk it, take a cab, or take the subway.
After you reach Manhattan, you can either buy $7.00 all day unlimited ride Metrocards valid on all subways and city buses, or Gray Line double-decker sightseeing passes for hop-on, hop-off lectured tours(check their web site).
Empire State Building is on 5th Ave near 34th St. That means it's 30 blocks from Ground Zero. Still want to walk? Trump Tower is also on 5th Ave. You can probably walk from The Empire State Building.
Don't forget to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Saks Fifth Avenue & Rockafeller Plaza.
Think about where you'd like to eat. I always recommend that people eat somewhere the folks back home have heard of.
Thanks for the Directions. Sounds like a lot of walking- and have 2 kids. We still have to look into Grayline - People have told us that cabs around NY are fairly reasonable. Is this true? By the way, any recommendations for a place for dinner (that kids would like and that would not be terribly $, this trip is costing us a fortune already). We will be staying in Newark for the night.
I am enjoying the information on this thread. I live in PA and will be coming to NJ to check out the VOS before my cruise in November. If we are at Port Liberty, where do we catch a ride to the statue of Liberty?
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Luv2,if you are staying in Newark by the airport,you can go to Ferry st in newark it is the Pourtogese [Spelt wrong]section.There are a lot of good resturants there and you get your monies worth .It is just about a five min.ride by cab.If you decide to go there ask the front desk where they recommend and see if they have any deals.
I am a retired firefighter from Newark,and we go to Peninsula.
All cab fares in NYC are standard. They will plastered all over everything & as long as you get in an official taxi you will be fine, provided you don't get stuck in traffic. The all day hop on / hop off passes will be your best bet.
It's not cheap but your kids & the kid in you will LOVE Mars 2112. It's near Times Square, actually on the corner of Broadway & 51st. It will be like going to outer space. Here's the web site: http://www.mars2112.com
Another good place for kids is Jekyll & Hyde -- 6th Ave between 57th & 58th Streets. Fair warning take your kids to the bathroom BEFORE they have to go b/c you have to "find" it; it's hidden.
If you have girls they may love a trip to the American Girl Cafe on 6th Ave by 49th street. I'm not sure how your husband will feel about this one.
Thanks again for the info. That Mars place sounds really neat. We have boys so American Girl would be out. We are in Newark at the Best Western, but I don't know if it's by the airport, I imagine it's not that far.
What is hop on, hop off? Is it for the bus ?
By the way, Philygirl, how early did you book the repositioning cruise? Is it to Miami?
We booked our cruise back on December 4th. By that time there were only a few cabins left and I am not sure how we got lucky enough to snag and aft balcony but we did. I have been told that there are some TAs out there holding cabins so some should become available closer to cruise time. If you can manage it, I would grab one of the cabins. The price was amazing. We got a family of 4 for $2800 in a JS balcony.
The cruise is 8 nights long and goes from Bayonne to Miami. We are hoping to book the same cruise (or one like it) again next year if you enjoy cruising over Thanksgiving.
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The Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island leaves from Liberty State Park, about four miles up the river from the Royal Caribbean Dock. They have eight boats a day so one should be ready when you are. Go to http://www.statueoflibertyferry.com/. Look for the part about "from New Jersey." I like the recommendation about Portuguese food on Ferry St. in Newark. Tom Cruise was just there filming War of the Worlds. New Jersey also has just about every chain family restaurant you can imagine. From the Newark Airport, you can head out Route 22 and hit Applebees, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Chuckie Cheese, Outback etc.
I looked up the Best Western in Newark and it is near the airport, maybe even on the airport property. Newark is an odd city in that almost all the good hotels are near the airport. If you are at the airport, the best way to get to New York City is to take the train from the airport. There's a train station on the airport property that will bring you right into Penn Station in New York., again really near the Empire State Building. You might consider a cab if you have a lot of people since you pay by the individual on the train and by the carload in a cab. The train is faster.
An alternative, since you have the car you are driving down from Canada, is to drive to Liberty State Park -- about 15 minutes from the hotel, 10 from the Royal Caribbean dock -- and take the Ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty has an excellent view of Manhattan had a great photo spot. Ellis Island has a large exhibit about the Peopling of America. Although it doesn't directly tie into Canadian History, it's quite moving. Also, since your hotel is at the airport, it's not far from the Jersey Turnpike and since you will be there in June, you could make a run to the Jersey Shore, about 90 minutes. I would recommend Seaside Heights, but other's familiar with the Jersey Shore might pour cold water on me with their own recommendations.
As I replied above; you can either buy $7.00 all day Metrocards valid for unlimited rides on subways and city buses, or you can buy all day "hop-on, hop-off" passes for Gray Line double-decker sightseeing buses with lectured tours (see their website).
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Cape Liberty-Help?!?
). There are motels. If you want to stay at a nice hotel, I suggest looking for one in the Newport area of Jersey City. There's a Doubletree and a Mariott Courtyard. Both are close to transportation into NYC and close to Bayonne via Turnpike or side streets. 
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