princeton123211

Alofts are generally fine-- they are cousins of Marriott's W Hotel chain so tend to be geared towards younger travelers with louder ambient music in the halls/lobby and minimalist design. Its essentially Marriott trying to make Courtyard by Marriott relevant to younger people by adding lively bars, live music, and more updated design.

How did this statement add anything of value?

I literally made the same comment and some moderator deleted what I said. Ridiculous.

It's a fun way to get back and forth but the major issue is how long the border crossings can take-- sometimes hours and that's added onto an already long train ride. I've taken the Adirondack before and I'll take it again, but anyone who is using this to connect with a cruise needs to know at least one full day and overnight, possibly two need to be padded into your schedule to do so as the train schedule and actual arrival times can be way off of each other on any given day.

Typically not in mid November. During the summer, when there are more land based tourists on the island, ferries can get tight but filling to capacity isn't usual. If for some reason it did you could always grab a taxi from Hamilton quite easily-- granted its about 45 minutes in the car and will cost much more, but better than missing the ship. But you should not have an issue with the ferry being full in November.

Download an app called Blacklane. Its a high end car service aggregator that does all the work for you. We used it extensively in Italy a few months ago and always had great experiences. All communication is done through the app and our driver was always there early and waiting for us. Just ran it in the app and a car service from the cruise terminal in Ravenna to Piazzale Roma would be 557 Euros in an E Class Mercedes or you can upgrade to an S Class Mercedes for 1154 Euros. The E Class (Business Class in their app) selection isn't cheap, but it will be less than the $800-1000 you are getting quotes for. Also their pricing is all inclusive-- tips, tolls, taxes, parking etc are included. You just get in and out of the car.

Best (and quickest) bet is going to be a car service to Piazzale Roma and then from there hire a water taxi which will take you to the canal entrance of the St Regis. Pro tip-- just wait and flag down a water taxi driver when you get there. We were staying at the St Regis' sister property, the Gritti Palace, last time and asked their concierge to prearrange a water taxi from the train station to the hotel (figuring this would make things run smoother) and it was marked up like 30% vs what the water taxi will charge you direct.

Uber really is the best option for a shorter trip like this and are plentiful in Honolulu. We usually only use Uber when staying in Waikiki. You can just select UberXL and you're provided with a van or SUV that can seat up to 6 and luggage if you are concerned about space.

It was my first time there in April after hearing about it for years-- so not sure if I saw glimpses of what was to come or what was the old menu. It was very good-- nice menu full of fresh salads, some pastas, sandwiches (we were there at lunch), and of course their pizzas. We were driving back the other way from Hana so was a convenient stop before heading towards Lahaina. Views are great and the garden terrace, with the little stream running through it and the pergolas, was very pretty.

Assuming you mean from Santa Barbara-- yes, very doable. Drive time is a little under an hour so will cost a bit. Uber is pretty good in SB and Solvang is covered in the service area (although a pickup might be slower than in downtown SB so factor that in.) We used Uber to go back and forth from SB to Montecito a few weeks ago and pickup times were reasonable even though we were up the mountainside a bit. I would be checking the Uber app for wait time about a half hour before you want to head back to make sure its not significant.

This is just baseless fearmongering. Ive been commuting into my NYC office a few times a month since last October. I take Amtrak into Moynihan Hall and then walk down 9th Ave to 26th St with luggage. Zero issues. Vigilance is needed in any major city-- but it is not a free for all in NYC, especially in that area of Manhattan. Not entirely-- it will rear its ugly head headed into NYC if you get off on the wrong end of the train and/or don't follow platform signs for Moynihan when getting of the train. But yes-- only boarding for Amtrak is in the new Moynihan Hall.

Gladly will second this. Went there for the first time this past time and wondered how we hadn't been there all the years we've been going to Maui. The main dining room and bar are cozy but the garden terraces below are amazing-- beautiful views down into the valley. Italian-ish menu with a focus on pizza from their wood fired brick oven right in the garden next to you. Would highly recommend if you are upcountry.

Agree-- train is the way to go here.

That's a fairly big blanket statement that's not really backed up by facts. The vast majority of places that most visitors/tourists will be in NYC are quite safe.

Newport is not a huge city and there aren't a ton of taxis readily available. If you need a car Uber/Lyft is most likely your best bet. That being said, Newport is extremely walkable.

Do you have a link to it? Never heard of sandy bottom. Did you mean glass bottom boat?

There's a lot to unpack here so I'm going to take it in pieces. Generally I recommend storing luggage at a hotel that has a formal bell service. I would not recommend storing luggage at a deli or bodega. Any nicer full service hotel will provide this-- usually we will have breakfast/lunch/drinks at them and tip the porter well. Based on what you said you want to see the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge might be a good candidate-- near Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, and pretty central to the things you said you wanted to see. Obviously hotels are open 24/7 so no need to worry about hours like some of the other options you were looking at. In terms of car services Dial7 and Carmel are usually recommended (I have not heard of or used Pre Luxury and have lived in and around NYC for a good portion of my life). Dial7 and Carmel are aggregators to third party contractors but are fairly consistent and will be a nicer car overall than taking a taxi. You also have taxis and Uber/Lyft as options. Transportation on demand in NYC is so plentiful that making prior arrangements isn't really necessary but you can if that makes you feel better. One isn't necessarily better than the other-- the car services companies will be a little more expensive, you'll need to make a prior reservation, but the car will be nicer than a yellow cab. The yellow cab offers flexibility of going whenever you want without needing to schedule ahead. Again, Uber/Lyft can give you the best of both worlds here. Yellow cabs have a flat rate of $70++ between JFK and Manhattan on the front end of your trip-- it can be a good deal vs other options at peak times. Also worth mentioning that car seats are not required by New York law for taxis/car services and children can sit on their parents lap. Obviously this is a very personal safety decision but wanted to make you aware in case that changes your thinking about bringing it. Uber actually has an option called UberCarSeat which will provide you a car seat for that ride. For this one I would either use the flat rate taxi or schedule an airport pick up which will be more expensive but give you some help with the driver meeting you in the terminal, assisting with luggage, etc. I would personally use Uber for these short trips. Car service companies are going to charge significantly more (they really dont want short trips like this) or use a taxi. I would use an Uber or taxi. Taxis will be easy to come by if you store your luggage at a major hotel.

Newport could not be an easier port of call to do on your own. It's relatively small, transportation is good, and most of it is walkable. I would have zero hesitation doing this on my own. Visiting the mansions on your own is easy and as you said, will cost less than doing it via the cruise line (who take a big commission). Those on organized tours and those with elite status with the cruise line or staying in suites will most likely have priority to the first few tenders. After that it's a matter of lining up. The tender into Newport should be fairly quick-- the ships generally anchor not too far off. As you leave the ship there will be a sign with the all aboard time-- meaning the very latest time that you would need to be back at the tender embarkation in Newport to make the ship. Generally we try and be back at least 45 min before this so we aren't on the last tender back.

It's covering a lot of the major highlights. Polynesian Cultural Center, North Shore, Pearl Harbor etc, and then the cruise. If you like organized tours this will be appealing. However there is nothing that they offer that you couldn't easily do on your own, at your own pace, and with the flexibility to deviate. Personally I would rent a car for a day and do the North Shore, Dole Plantation, PCC and then spend a couple days on Waikiki where I could Uber over to Pearl Harbor and then spend some time on the beach. I would find the constraints of an organized tour to be too much.

I agree that this is a bit of an overreaction. I've been to the city for work several times starting in 2021 and as recently as a month ago. 2021 was frankly a bit off and most likely where you are drawing your impression from. Recent trip was very happy to see that the city has come back quite a bit. Sure, there are a lot of homeless still but that doesn't make it dangerous. But foot traffic is back and things are open in a way they weren't before. Plus Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist area-- I wouldn't have any hesitation staying there. I usually stay in Nob Hill and that too was perfectly fine from my perception of safety standpoint. I did a bunch of walking and never felt unsafe.

Courtyard by Marriott Venice Airport-- there are a bunch right there that are independent hotels but this is newer and nice for a quick overnight. Would not recommend this hotel for any sort of touring of the city of Venice itself, but if you need a place to stay before an early flight it's a great choice.

In Boston I would also check out Neptune Oyster in the North End-- best lobster roll I've found in town over the years.

Agree with what Gardyloo said-- the one way drop costs are significant and now they usually just bake them into the rental cost so as to avoid having to call them a fee. This can cause your rental to be 2-3 times what it would be as a round trip from either downtown or the airport. I just looked on my Avis app and it was $300 for a one way from downtown to the airport vs $100 for the same card if you rented and dropped off at the airport. I agree with just taking an Uber to SeaTac and renting it there round trip. Your drop off at SEA will be a lot easier than if you rented round trip from downtown.

Don't walk this stretch from the cruise port to downtown-- it has very little historic character and is mostly a bunch of newer high-rises and chain restaurants. Save your walking for the Freedom Trail-- much better use of your energy and more importantly limited time. Personally I would take an Uber/Lyft to save time but you can also take the Silver Line SL2 line to South Station and walk from there. If you do the full Freedom Trail, take the MBTA ferry from Charlestown Navy Yard (where the USS Constitution is) vs backtracking over the same parts you walked back to the North End.

Given that most of these Sprinter van options are $120-150 an hour with a 3 hour minimum, yes, I think its very possible to put together something around $1300 and would be a much better value and more comfortable than the NCL transfer.