navybankerteacher

If you are still thinking about what to do, consider taking the train from Livorno to Lucca (or even renting a car or hiring a taxi) a closer, compact completely walled medieval city small enough to experience well in the time available. Going to Florence eats up so much time both ways that you will feel frustrated at being shown just how much there is to see with so little time to do it (maybe three to four hours). There are very long lines for the Academy (for Michaelangelo’s David) and the Uffizi gallery (for my favorite: Botticelli’s Birth of Venus) together with the trip from and back to Livorno, that you are likely to feel cheated. If you ever plan a land trip to Italy, save Florence for that, and use your Livorno port call for a practical trip to Lucca - or even to see the leaning tower at Pisa (which has little else to offer).

The fact is that, even during the September “height of the season”, most of the Caribbean on most days is not impacted by a hurricane. Typically 4 or 5 days might be impacted - and that would be in a limited, easy to avoid, area.

There really is no such thing as an “average” low price for any size cabin on any ship, or line.

Livorno is one Mediterranean port which has very little to offer. It is usually referred to as a stop at Florence - which involves a fair amount of time on a train or bus. Some folks go from Livorno to Pisa - not that great, but it gives you as much time as you need to see Pisa. I prefer taking the train to Luca (a lovely old walled city) much closer than Florence, and smaller, so you have a chance to see much of it. Florence has so much to offer that the few hours available on a Livorno port call hardly justify the train time — it really should be given several days on land travel —- but if your only chance to see any of it is while on a Livorno port call, go for it.

I suggest you go on line and check out various levels of cabins for various ships. The usually show the square footage for each cabin; but the price for a particular cabin on one sailing may be very different from what is charged for the same cabins on another sailing. Season, itinerary and demand all figure in; so there is no practical answer to your question, other than “it depends”.

We sailed RC Grandeur from Baltimore (about 5:00 PM if I recall correctly) to the Caribbean a few years ago - it is a fairly long way down the Bay - I would estimate that you should pass the bridge/tunnel around midnight.

Since it’s rebuilding, LGA is much easier to navigate than JFK - and EWR is least convenient. There are some inexpensive hotels in lower Manhattan which are very convenient to the ferry across to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal - near a lot of restaurants and interesting sites, as well as close to direct subway connections to east side and west side midtown Manhattan locations.

Amtrak from DC to Boston, if bought in advance, costs $36. Cheapest bus is about $33. For that $3 difference only an unthinking or uninformed individual would opt for the bus.

It is a fairly long way from Quebec to the Atlantic, so you will be in the “St. j Lawrence Seaway” for a long while. However there is very little to see - it is a very wide estuary as you head northeast from Quebec and you are unlikely to see much of anything but a whole lot of water. “

“September remember” is just a two word rhyme which has no particular connection to hurricane season or, for that matter, to Neapolitan pizza or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I am inclined to think the earlier poster who recalled some baseball connection was more correct than some of these silly hurricane references. I suppose it might be argued that it is a reminder that a quarterly estimated Federal Income Tax installment is due on September 15.

Obviously. No one NEEDS to cruise, it is a voluntary way of spending free time on a ship (and available funds). Depending upon one’s budget, the cruise can be bare bones - in an inside cabin sharing a crowded ship providing minimal amenities with other budget-minded passengers on few day round trip from Miami to the Bahamas, or a very comfortable longer itinerary, to interesting ports, enjoying good food and entertainment.

Yes - but that would involve two completely separate bookings — which is not what OP was discussing. There are a number of ships which make three or four day cruises from Florida ports to the Bahamas - someone could book two - with perhaps a week or so between to spend in Miami.

Cheer up: If your plane lands at 9:30 you are unlikely to get your luggage and be ready to pick up your ground transportation much before 10:00 - meaning that you shouldn’t expect to get to the MCT until 11:00 or so - by which time boarding should have commenced. Your cabin may or may not be ready, but there will be ample opportunity to get something to eat or drink and relax. When you return, you will probably head to the airport around 9:30 or 10:00, getting there close to 11:00 - time to check in and get some lunch. There is no way you will have that dreaded “6 hours” to sit at the airport. Your 3:30 flight will start boarding at 3:00 - perhaps four hours after you get to LGA and roughly three hours after you finish checking in and clearing security. They will be reading the ship for the next batch of passengers and will not want you hanging around —- or would you be happy to delay your boarding to let the previous lot hang around? p.s. I am on the 9/13 sailing to Bermuda - and am looking forward to it with reasonable expectations. Fortunately I live just about an hour’s drive from MCT. p.p.s. Your mention of a redeye suggests you come from California or someplace similar. Your choice of course, but that is a pretty good way to make sure you will not enjoy your first day of a seven day cruise.

It is not so much a matter of wealth — just a willingness to spend what it takes to get more than the absolute minimum quality experience. NCL and Carnival are generally recognized as budget lines — they must be expected to cut some corners on amenities.

I do not think ANY cruises are so set up. That would essentially require the ship to return to the same port during its itinerary. It really is a kind of dumb idea.

Actually, I believe September is ordinarily the very peak of hurricane season, when sea waters have been warmed throughout the summer months - the cooling only really starts in late September - which is why the season lasts through November.

Yes, IF there is a sufficient chlorine level, it is unlikely that any harmful agent could survive in a cruise ship hot tub. But, I am not going to believe that there is ALWAYS - with no exception, such a level maintained at all times. Frankly, having seen the numbers of people cycling through cruise ship hot tubs, often with beers in hand, I am reluctant to bathe in the waters they have left behind (think: large public urinals, disinfected of not).

A number of Mediterranean itineraries involve multiple embarkation/debarkation. By booking two separate itineraries; one ending at a port you want to see in depth, and another (not necessarily on the same ship) departing from that port several days later, you could accomplish OP’s aim. Other than by playing that convoluted game, I think not.

The last time I renewed was just about two years before my then-current one expired - so I don't know anything about not being able to renew more than a year early. I chose that time (knowingly "wasting" a fair amount of its life} at a real cost of about $20. I knew I had sufficient time before needing it, so I just bit the bullet. It took a bit under six months for the new one to get to me. Trying to squeeze full use out of an aging passport is a stupid bet -- if a need arises, you will spend a lot more $ on trying to hustle things -- or just have to delay wanted/needed travel. It is simple common sense to recognize, and allow for, the emerging incompetence of some elements of our government.

If “best= easiest, take a taxi or Uber. If “best” = least expensive, (assuming you are travelling light) walk a block east to Times Square subway station and take Seventh Ave. IRT down to Wall Street station, than walk a couple of blocks to pier 11 for ferry across to BCT.

I regularly see a fair number of “stray” dogs on St. Maarten — hard to tell if they are actually strays or just free roaming pets. There are lots of shopping opportunities in the Caribbean— also a lot of counterfeit goods being sold. You will probably be better off buying watches and expensive jewelry from trusted jewelers at home (other than as souvenirs). The two great myths cherished by cruisers seem to be about what great deals they get buying jewelry in the Caribbean and how they usually come out ahead in shipboard casinos.

Because all sorts of Spanish and Italian olive oil are available in the US, I would not be inclined to accept even the minor risk of spillage in my luggage.

XXXVII

I suspect you may have forgotten your schoolboy Latin — where X means. 10, IX means one less than 10 - or 9; so XXX means 30 and the IX (9) gives the total of 39. Next week we will discuss V, L, C D, and M.

It is absurd that there is no effort by the management to make debarkation work. MCT is set up to very easily accommodate embarking passengers while simply ignoring the fact that about a week or so later those same folks will have to make connection with ground transport.