Mary229

We never had a bad neighbor just some weirdo that came up to the jogging track early one morning totally drunk. He proceeded to try to trip the joggers. Later I heard his behavior kept getting worse until he was finally put under house arrest and put off the ship at the next port

Acapulco is one of the few ports that I turned around and ordered a bus trip instead of doing independent hike about. It has become a less than desirable place to visit. What did they replace it with?

HAL should give basic shuttle and public transport info and a walking map of the environs. Having spent the last few days planning a trip I can tell you not all ports have adequate display on google maps. Being fairly independent onshore my only question much of the time is: is there a shuttle or public transport at the pier? It would be nice if they informed about public wifi locations too. The poor crew must feel harassed by the pied piper affect from all of the cruise advice columns saying "follow the crew to the nearest wifi"

I like long cruises so I start my list way out. At 2 weeks the guest room is completely taken over. I have traveled on business for years and it doesn't get any quicker for me with experience

My sis, my travel agent too, always arranges a private transfer usually with a city tour quickie. It usually is very affordable .

The tenderloin is good. Last cruise (24 days) we had Crème brûlée at least 12 nights. I love the meringue cookies on the Lido

The Seaport Hotel is almost walking distance from the cruise port.

Thank you:)

A little of both. Honestly I can't speak to the reliability of the shuttles at the Doubletree or Holiday Inn Express. My husband has stayed at the Best Western and he had trouble contacting their shuttle to pick him up after a late arrival. He killed a lot of time after a long trip waiting for shuttle transportation. He's now also stayed at the Howard Johnson's and Comfort Inn and took a pass on the Ramada. Comfort Inn is his favorite, but these are all basically 2.5* hotels.

 

 

Personally, my advice would be to check out the Seaport Area hotels and just pay for a cab. The Seaport Hotel would be my first choice followed by the Renaissance. They are all fine, but those two hotels are closest to the waterfront.

Thank you. :)

It is going to be difficult to get everything on your list. What kind of points do you have? The downtown hotels are very expensive and don't have shuttles. The airport hotels have airport shuttles but no cruiseport shuttles. The hotels in other areas which offer an airport shuttle and a cruiseport shuttle are in fringe areas. This would include the Doubletree in Dorchester, the Best Western Adams in Quincy, and the Holiday Inn Express in Dorchester.

 

If you want a nicer hotel close to the airport and the cruise port, you want to look at the Seaport District where there is the Westin Convention Center, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Seaport Hotel, the Element, the Envoy, and Aloft. These are about a $25 cab fare from the Airport and a $10 cab fare to the Black Falcon Terminal.

 

At the airport itself (on or very close to the Logan property) are the Hilton, the Hyatt Regency, and Embassy Suites. Cab to the cruiseport should be about $25. Other "airport" hotels with airport shuttles are actually in Revere, Chelsea, Winthrop, and Saugus.

Thank you, that is very helpful. My points are Chase Sapphire and I have enough for almost any hotel. Besides breakfast I am concerned that the shuttles may not be reliable and I will pay taxis anyway. By fringe, do you mean far away or not a good neighborhood?

We are leaving from Boston on August 2 and need a hotel Tuesday night. We are simply flying in and boarding the next morning so sightseeing is not on the plan either. It is all about convenience and having points I am not terribly concerned about the hotel price. I would prefer a hotel with a reliable, free or low cost, shuttle service. I noticed that most hotels do not offer a breakfast but if you know of one that does I like that option, too. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much for any input. :)

I agree with BJ. The main seasoning is modern commercial cuisine is salt When onboard I drink mint tea and eat melon, both are natural diuretics

I realise that the ship excursions are more expensive , but what I really want to know is wether it's cheaper to book online before cruise or on the ship

Not that I have ever noticed.

It is very easy to check ahead of time. The cruise lines' excursions have become closer to fair market price in recent years. On a recent cruise the 5% difference was a small price to pay to assure we would arrive back in time.

I like to look at shoretrips or others to find different experiences than offered by the line. I am a big fan of the free/tip based walking tours.

My sister is my agent. She is a very good agent but I usually do my own shopping, book through the line then transfer the business to her. Her staff is really good about watching for upgrades, deals and price drops. The biggest advantage is that she can advocate for a room upgrade more effectively than me

Once a day would be fine with me with the option to choose morning, noon or evening. We aren't in our room much but I do like it tidied up for the night.

Quote from Holland America (http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets/cruise-vacation-onboard/KBYG.pdf):

You may also receive arrival documentation from Immigration when arriving at the airport. Please keep

this available for check-in. The Front Office on board may require the collection of passports for cruises that travel from country to country to prepare for immigration formalities. You will receive a passport receipt upon collection of your passport, and will be advised on board when the passports will be redistributed.

He should call if he is concerned. It was from South America to San Diego. They held the passport the entire trip. I don't know if it was new protocol or geographic.

At the beginning of the cruise Holland gathered everyone's passport and they also offered a photocopy. They held the passport for the duration of the cruise. Call them and see if they are going to do the same for your cruise.

We photocopy everything and carry that along with emailing photocopies to our phones.

When I was on Holland last spring they kept everyone's passport. I photocopied ours and carried the photocopy in my wallet.

I enjoyed the train ride immensely when I went a number of years ago. In my opinion the train goes far enough and is a very scenic ride with lots of wildlife viewing

Last year we rode bicycles down the pass (van up of course) then peddled through town. That was definitely a lot of fun and it gave us time to walk the totem trails.

We like nicer accommodations and better vacations including longer cruises on smaller ships. The one thing I do miss is on many cruises catering to an older crowd the excursions can be bus oriented. I love the walk, hike and bike excursions but you won't find many on cruises geared to older folks. I have to book my own in advance even though I prefer the ease of using the cruise line's excursion desk.

When I have taken my mother on cruises I hand her the responsibility of selecting the excursions. It is our treat to her so she gets the planning.

Uhhhh.... you might want to set a budget, mom once left me quite a bill

I read an old thread the other day with a vent against old people. That is really small minded and bigoted.

When we cruise the ship is a means to an end not the end in itself so I really don't care what fellow passengers are thinking no more than I would when I am on an airplane or at a hotel.

We do get a table for 2 at dinner as that is our catch up time but we usually end up as part of a breakfast club and have a great time meeting people then.