princeton123211

Uber works great in Quebec and is my first choice when I’m there. An Uber XL will fit all that easily.

You've sort of answered your own question-- there is no way that anyone here can give you an accurate read on that due to the unpredictability. Here on Maui the trade winds have significantly picked up over the last few days so there is some additional chop in the water around the islands that wasn't here even last week. Not so bad though as to prevent Fred Olsen's Borealis (former Rotterdam) from anchoring at Lahaina yesterday though. Temperature has been in the high 70s/low 80s. You'll have a 5-10 degree cooling off as you depart the islands into your numerous sea days and then you'll ease into the highs of 50s and lows of mid 30s that Vancouver is having right now over the course of the crossing. Sea conditions are completely unpredictable.

You're going to have to pick and choose a bit-- if you did all of this in one day you might not make it onto your cruise. That being said you can can drink in New Orleans basically 24 hours a day. This is all very touristy-- personally would skip it unless floats get you really excited. Cafe du Monde you are going to end up going to regardless of what I say, so just go when there is little to no line-- its not worth waiting for. Great bar that's well worth a visit-- if you want a seat on the actual carousel (vs in the lounge) go off peak. These are both a dime a dozen-- don't make a destination out of these two-- you'll find yourself walking by a bunch of similar bars you can just wander into. Worth a visit-- you can add Arnauds and Galatoires in the same genre. Antoines Hermes Bar is most likely my favorite of the old legacy restaurant's watering holes. Skip-- tourist traps. Get a hurricane but don't drink it at Pats-- take it around the corner to Preservation Hall to listen to a jazz set. They'll let you bring it in with you since they don't service alcohol themselves. Overrated but interesting. Wouldn't be on my personal list of places I'd go with one day. Yep. Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt (Waldorf Astoria)-- they also make a really mean Ramos Gin Fizz-- great historic bar. The bar at The Columns Hotel which is towards the Garden District. Commanders Palace, nearby, is a great spot for dinner but not a great spot just to drink as they don't have a great bar. For something fun and divey, Jake and Snakes Christmas Club Lounge is well worth a visit. The Polo Club at the Windsor Court hotel is another upscale favorite which is a nice respite from a hot day walking around the Quarter. In the same vein I would also include the Davenport Lounge at the Ritz Carlton-- great jazz when live music is scheduled there.

Also keep in mind that all Jet Ski rentals in Bermuda will be part of a guided tour where you follow a guide-- made that mistake once. The only self piloted option, where you don't have to follow a guide and can chose where you go, is to rent one of the Boston Whalers. Woodys is a great rec for the sandwich and will be close to you if you use BDA Watersports (which I think used to be called Somerset Bridge Watersports?). If they are the same we used them a few times and they do a great job. Art Mel's Spicy Dicy is, for lack of a better comparison, the Katz's Deli of Bermuda fish sandwiches, but it's located in Hamilton and not in a convenient part of Hamilton. They are famous for their version of the sandwich. The Crown and Anchor bar in the lobby of the Hamilton Princess also offers an excellent version of the sandwich.

There could have been some old razors in there too-- I believe the story is that it was once the site of the Dockyard's garbage dump.

From where? Cape Liberty, Manhattan, or Brooklyn? Also what day of the week?

Come to think about it, if you like good food, check out a hotel called The Hoxton in Brooklyn. Its fairly moderately priced by NYC standards and will most likely be in the range of what you're paying at LGA. Atop it is a restaurant called Laser Wolf which is one of the more acclaimed spots right now and selfishly from one my favorite restauranteurs from my hometown of Philly. The food is fantastic. If you land at LGA at 7:30 and Uber over there you could be checked in and eating by 9pm. The next morning you will cut your commute in half to about 20 minutes leaving you more time to walk around and not stress about getting to the pier.

You can get just about anything you want delivered via DoorDash, Caviar, or UberEats-- even things from Manhattan. You could also Uber to dinner-- there are some great spots in Brooklyn that are 15-20 minutes away from you without even having to go into Manhattan (although you could do that too). You could also stay closer to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in an area that has much better food than the LGA hotels. You are going to have to pay to Uber from your hotel to the pier anyway, whether it is the next day or half the way there the night before, so having a free airport shuttle doesn't really matter from a cost perspective. Staying closer to the pier would be way more interesting than the bland airport hotels around LGA. You'll have a ton of time the next morning/early afternoon. It takes about 30-40 minutes to get to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and you won't be able to board until early afternoon. Plenty of opportunity for a good bagel or nice breakfast somewhere.

Typically the cruise line will offer transfers that are at or sometime below what private providers have. Trieste is about an hour and forty five minutes away depending on traffic from VCE. Also are you planning on spending any time in Venice the first day or headed straight for Trieste?

No, there shouldn't be a lot of traffic on a Sunday. I would budget 30-40 minutes. I will defer this to someone with more local knowledge-- typically the only time I go to that part of town is to fly from LGA or the occasional Mets game at Citi Field. But it would help if you could define what type of food you are thinking-- something local or "good NYC food" is extremely broad. The city has thousands of different types of food from hundreds of different cultures. Something like great pizza or great Indian food would help folks give you a much better answer.

To be fair to the Getty, I believe the main location on the hill has always had timed entry, back to the late 90s, due to parking and the need to utilize the People Mover system to get up to the campus. I can't speak for what the Villa did prior to the main Getty Center opening. I could be wrong but I remember even in the early 2000s needing a reservation to go to The Getty and it was a hot ticket.

That spoke to me Scott-- I've done lots of unusual things here over the years, none of which I care to discuss in a public forum...

Traffic can pop up whenever for no reason at all, but the major issues will follow morning and evening rushes. Having the car already in Santa Monica will give you an advantage vs waking up the next morning in LAX and going from there. Neither the main Getty or the Villa are very close to the Petersen. The main Getty museum requires timed tickets that are specific to a date so you'll have to plan in advance for it and there is a monorail ride up and down which can eat some time.

Charles is spot on here.

If you do walk from Santa Monica to Venice make sure you do a stretch along Main Street and stop at The Galley for some drinks or a bite to eat-- one of LA's great little hole in the walls. Weird but fun little steakhouse. Total nautical kitsch from the 1930's that's somehow made it to today. Personally I'm a big fan of not moving around a bunch if I can avoid it. Yeah, the night of arrival will be a PITA but you wake up where you'll be home based for 3 days instead of running around. Plus you hit the first morning running with your car already in hand vs going through that process and wasting time when you can be at places like the Petersen. Plus LAX airport hotels are fairly uninspiring.

There are no hotels by the airport with shuttles to the port. That being said, the distance is very close-- about 10-15 minutes at most. It's an easy Uber or taxi ride if you do stay at the airport. The Hilton Boston Logan Airport is located on airport property but any other airport hotel in the immediate vicinity will run a shuttle (to/from the airport, not the cruise terminal). The alternative would be to stay in South Boston at a plethora of hotels that are in the immediate vicinity of the cruise terminal. The closest being the Hampton Inn Seaport District which is essentially adjacent to the cruise terminal.

The Raymond Flynn (Black Falcon) Terminal in South Boston-- all cruise ships dock here so not dependent on a specific cruise line. Very quick and easy-- about 10 minutes total. Maybe $15-20 total in an Uber or Lyft. Taxis will depend on availability-- there aren't as many in Boston as there once were. There is a ton to see and do in Boston depending on the time you have there-- lots to read on these boards and happy to answer any specific questions if you can narrow it down a bit.

Never has more been written about such a mediocre beach.

Sounds like a fun first day-- the Petersen is fantastic. Santa Monica has A LOT more going on than Marina del Rey. More restaurants, shops, bars, hotels, etc. Honestly the only reason I would opt for Marina del Rey with Marriott Bonvoy was if I got a good deal with $$ or points and was going to stay at the Ritz Carlton, which is nice, but still a bit dated. Otherwise it would be Santa Monica without even hesitating. The Proper, while I've never stayed there, is in a decent location, gets great reviews, and is walkable down Wilshire to the beach and promenade. Occasionally you can find a decent deal at the Fairmont Miramar which is along the same street as the Proper but in a better location-- that's always been a favorite. You can transfer points from Capital One into Accor to book free nights at the Fairmont or through a bunch of airlines. Hilton doesn't have super exciting options in my opinion in Santa Monica and IGH + Hyatt have hardly anything at all. Santa Monica has some fun independent hotels like Shutters on the Beach, Casa Del Mar, and The Georgian-- all of which tend to be very pricey except for The Georgian which is a bit more moderate. Shutters and the Fairmont Miramar are my favorite hotels in town if money were no object and you can also book them on points through Amex. I think if The Proper was what you were thinking your head is in the right place but you now at least have a little bit of a lay of the land. Definitely really consider staying in Santa Monica over Marina del Rey though.

Casino I'd agree-- but with everyone on a drinks package it might be better to get them off the ship for a bit too.

To your point, the only way I’d feel comfortable doing this on a cruise stop is to rent a car or have a driver (who will wait) take me there and back. You’ll be able to Uber up but you might not be able to Uber back. At the end of the day, it’s a giant LL Bean store. It’s neat- but not worth the amount of effort you’ll need to do it on a port day stop.

Under an amendment to the law in 2021 cruise lines can apply for extended hours while in port at Bermuda but I suspect there is a significant additional cost to doing so.

Agree with everything Charles said with one technical exception. You could, if you were willing to part with a hefty sum, book a night at the Rosewood. Their overall beach and beach experience (they have a huge beach club with restaurant, bar, pools, and beach services) is overall the most spectacular on the island. Hard stop. I also think the beach overall is nicer than Horseshoe. As a slightly less expensive alternative, if you were planning on golfing at all, a tee time at the Mid Ocean Club would also allow you access afterwards to their Beach Pavilion. While not as fancy as the Rosewood beach setup it still provides a pool, restaurant, and access to what essentially (although not technically) a private beach that has chairs, umbrellas, etc provided by the club. Obviously these are pretty niche options but they are available if you jump through some financial hoops and they give you access to one of the islands most spectacular beaches (formerly called Natural Arches) where there is hardly any people even on the most popular days.

With 4 nights in Venice before the trip most likely not worth it. Honestly you are going to be using the hotel for about 7-8 hours with the early morning wake up call you have and couple that with the fact that the hotel will be much more expensive than Mestre and you'll have to use an expensive private water taxi staying in Venice proper. I would absolutely go back in that afternoon/evening to walk around, do anything you missed, and eat/drink but your next morning will be easier (and less expensive) staying in Mestre. Frankly with 6am I would look to stay even closer-- there is a Courtyard Marriott at the airport itself which is super convenient.

If you're looking for nightlife, and not the very limited bit that's in the Dockyard, you'll need to head to Hamilton mainly on Front Street. There are a bunch of bars there open late that are frequented by both locals and crew. Also you'll have more upscale options at hotels like the Hamilton Princess that always has a fun bar into the later hours. Same with headed over towards St Georges-- the bars at the hotels like the Rosewood and St Regis are open later but that's a trek back to the Dockyard without the ferry. Just know that you'll be dependent on taxis to get you back later in the evening.