princeton123211

Ships got a lot bigger in the ensuing years. Even "small ships" of the major cruise lines right now are considerably larger than anything that was calling at Philadelphia in the past.

I just don't know why we're assuming a strict downmarket hotel budget on a ship where suites can go up to $4-5000 a person for a week.

I agree with going the night before but if I had to go the same day the train would be the only way I'd feel comfortable doing it. Very rarely is there a major delay on the Northeast Corridor and you wont hit anything like traffic like you will with a car or a bus.

My personal way of attacking this trip would be to try and wake up early in Detroit and take 76 across to Hershey, Pa. There are some great spots to stay there not too far off the highway ranging from the very posh Hotel Hershey, more reasonably priced Hershey Lodge, and a whole host of newer more budget friendly spots like Hilton Garden Inn etc. There's also a whole bunch of good dining packed into a relatively small resort area. Then the next day you are a relatively leisurely 2.5 hours to the port.

Your budget is at odds with your requirements in SF. The St Regis, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton all vigorously enforce their non smoking policies...for $700/800 a night. You could even find a solid 4 star hotel in the $300-400 range right in downtown or near the port-- the Fairmont (short Uber) and Argonaut are favorites. But for under $200 you aren't going to have many good options.

I've done the drive to Detroit a handful of times and frequently drive between Philly and Pittsburgh so have a little insight. You can take the slightly faster northern route on 80 and I agree with NJHorseman-- if you can make it all the way to Stroudsburg it puts you in a decent spot but its a long 8 hour drive from the D. You can also take the slightly longer southern route on 76, the PA Turnpike which gives some more interesting options. Some decent spots to stop there are Bedford (there is the Omni Bedford Springs Hotel which is very nice and family friendly, but also some more budget friendly options as well). That would be about 6 hours from Detroit and then 4 hours to Cape Liberty-- the shortest first day drive I would be comfortable with. The next option is stop in Harrisburg or Hershey-- plenty of great hotel options that run the gamut and 7.5 hours from Detroit and 2h 45m from Cape Liberty. If you pushed it the first day you could get to Allentown which is a little over 8 hours from Detroit and then only an hour and a half from Cape Liberty. That might be a big first day. The issue with that is Morristown/Parsippany is a 9 hour drive from Detroit-- that might be a bit more than a lot of people can handle.

It's nearly identical to other services like ZipCar and is owned by Toyota (and features Toyota and Lexus models). The upside here is that it is ideal for shorter trips where you rent by the hour. These services become more expensive than a traditional car rental for day long or and much more expensive for multi-day reservations. Whether it makes sense or not will depend on how you plan to use it.

Unless you want to spend time in Lahaina afterwards in which case I would say its much better to just rip the bandaid off and take an Uber from Kahului rather than try and get another Uber from Ma'alaea which takes more time and is more difficult. There's a lot more to do and see and do (and eat) in Lahaina after a 10am whale watch in Lahaina than Ma'alaea. If it's the OP's first time to Maui they should take that into consideration.

It works very well but you have a daily set limit on data at normal speeds. Once you go through this they slow down the data considerably, to the point that a normal webpage in a browser takes a bit, until the next 24 hours kicks in. You won't be able to stream much-- you'll really need to connect to wifi to do that unless its something short.

Click the button when you have your luggage. My experience at LAX is that they come very quickly. This gives you more flexibility in case your flight is early or late. There is no major advantage do booking early from a place that has as many available cars as a busy place like LAX does. Yes, any "black car" registered with the state as a livery or limo will be able to pick you up curbside on both Uber or Lyft. Uber as an additional level of service in LA called UberLux-- frankly this is overkill unless you want to be guaranteed to be in a nicer car which are typically a newer Mercedes S Class and occasionally something more exotic like a Bentley or Rolls Royce-- didn't want you to think that was the only option. Its significantly more expensive than UberBlack-- just book Black and get the curbside pickup.

You have to be careful with the satellite rental offices these days-- a lot have limited hours, limited selection of cars, and sometimes are closed on the weekends.

For Pearl Harbor just get two of them. They will also have traditional cabs in front of most major hotels. But coming back from Pearl Uber/Lyft will get you a ride faster. That's another half hour each way in the other direction of the pineapple plantation. If you did one or both of those things you'll be best off renting a car. I don't do many luaus (mainly just on Maui when we have family visiting) so I cant speak specifically to Oahu ones but there are a bunch that are in Honolulu proper and that would be my recommendation to make sure you get the most out of your short time there and not just spend the whole time in the car.

I mean you could do all that but you have a lot on your plate. Where did you book the luau? That might help us in terms of figuring out order. Also the area where you are staying might be helpful. Diamond Head you will need a reservation to go to so make sure you do that. The hike takes between 1.5-2 hours round trip (assuming you go right up and right down). You can make a day of Pearl Harbor and visit the USS Missouri/Bowfin and assorted museums or you can do the essentials like the USS Arizona Memorial. If you've toured one of the other Iowa Class battleships before you can skip the Missouri and save time. Reservations are essential for the USS Arizona Memorial as the boats that take you there are Navy run. You'll get a timed entry time. Frankly I would skip the pineapple plantation unless you really are passionate about pineapples. It's very touristy and consists mainly of a miniature train and some gardens. The plantation is about a 45 minute ride out of Honolulu (without traffic) each way. You would most likely just have to rent a car for this. In terms of transfers we just use Uber or Lyft in Honolulu like you would in any major city-- super easy and generally cost effective to alternatives. Renting a car can get pricey as parking, especially in Waikiki, is very expensive and there is a ton of traffic. You're not missing anything but I fear you are trying to do too much in a short period of time. There's also a bunch of great dining in Honolulu you should check out to see if anything is of interest (luau's are not generally known for their food quality). But just take some time to just relax, sit on the beach, grab a Mai Tai, and embrace the aloha spirit!

You should have enough time. Once you get off your tender walk south to Memorial Blvd and take that across town and it will put you at the top of the Cliff Walk-- about a 20-25 minute walk. As you pass Bellevue Ave roughly halfway through this you'll see the Tennis Hall of Fame which is worth a quick gander. If you want to grab coffee or something to eat or use the restroom, do it here. There isn't much at all as you get over to the neighborhood where the mansions are. Depending on the time you can walk the Cliff Walk until The Breakers opens. All mansions open at 10am so my guess is you will have some time to kill which you can do walking the Cliff Walk. Depending on what time you finish at The Breakers you can either take in another mansion-- Marble House is my personal fave-- or walk further south along the Cliff Walk. If you were to do that I would recommend just calling an Uber to get back to town. If you walk back from The Breakers give yourself about 45 minutes to do so. The White Horse is very close to where you tender in-- about a 5 minute walk back to the tender. Should be easy to grab lunch around 1pm and still have plenty of time to make one of the last tenders back by 3. Make sure to bring something warm. You'll be out there fairly early in the morning and nearly all of the Cliff Walk is exposed to the water. It can be windy and chilly this time of year.

Very safe and easy to walk to Julia St Terminal. It's a very touristy area so no issues there. You'll find its not difficult to procure alcohol in any form in New Orleans. The town practically runs on it. There is a basic liquor store thats near the terminal just past the Omni on the main drag that goes in front of the terminal. Basic corner store type of set up. Do make sure you get out and have a few drinks around town the night before-- it's a lot of fun. You are walking distance to the French Quarter. Walk over to the Hotel Monteleone and their famous Carousel Bar. There is a lot of good eating and drinking to be had. Your hotel is also next door to the Windsor Court Hotel which upstairs has one of my favorite bars in town-- the Polo Club.

The Audrain Museum there next to the Tennis Hall of Fame is well worth a look if you are at all interested in cars.

Everyone's experience with Turo will be different-- you aren't renting from a company, you are renting a private car from a private individual. Turo is merely facilitating that transaction like an automotive AirBnB. Our experience on Maui is that renting with one of the bigger companies usually works out better. More availability, better choice in car (Mustang convertibles and Jeep Wranglers are pervasive on the island), and more places where we can pick up and drop off. If you were tendering in Lahaina I could see if you wanted to find something closer but with POA docking about 7 minutes away from the main airport rental locations I can't imagine why you wouldn't just go with them for convenience's sake.

I've done the Hana road about 14-15 times over the years-- personally I enjoy just going all the way around and not covering the same ground we did headed out. You see the island change from lush forest to barren desert and its very pretty. At very least you should drive past Hana to the Seven Pools and at that point it's just fun to keep going. Some folks will tell you that it's dangerous or that the roads are bad-- its really neither of those things. You do hit some dirt roads and some narrow switchbacks along cliffs along the water so if you are a nervous driver it might not be for you but its nothing that most people can't handle. Along the way you can stop and see Charles Lindbergh's gravesite, several historic churches, as well as a few more waterfalls. Once you get to the part of the road above Makena Beach there is also a winery. One of the bigger advantages of going all the way around is that you don't hit the crush of traffic headed back-- relatively few people drive all the way around. If you do go all thew way around make sure to stop and get something to eat and drink. Once you get past Hana there isn't much at all in terms of food or gas until you get back around the other side. Also be respectful of the locals-- you are not in a touristy side of the island and they aren't always thrilled people are around. Stick to the road and only park in areas that are designated.

Tying this back-- does Queen Mary 2 bunker in Brooklyn on her own or is it indeed "Full Service" fueling?

It's not a bad walk-- about half an hour from the tender area to the beginning of the Cliff Walk near the Chanler at Cliff Walk hotel (which is a great spot to catch your breath for an early lunch or for cocktails on the way back). You basically walk south to Memorial Blvd and right over. At Bellevue Ave you'll be very close to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which is worth a stop just even for the architecture, as well as the Audrain Automotive Museum which is wonderful. If you wanted to walk the full Cliff Walk you could also always walk one way and Uber back from the furthest point towards Rough Point where Bellevue Ave doglegs.

I get what you're saying, and sometimes when flying in and out of LA with a 2-3 day stay I don't rent a car and just Uber around. If you aren't going many places it can work out but even the Ubers add up quickly there especially if you were sightseeing and covering different parts of the city. You also vastly overestimate the convenience and usability of the Metro for sightseeing-- to get to major tourist things like lets say Santa Monica to Universal City-- it takes transfers which take a bunch of time. Jumping in a a car or Uber is way more convenient. Options exist. Even nice hotels in places like Santa Monica or Beverly Hills, where valet parking can be $30-50 a night, there are garages right down the street that are significantly less if you're willing to spend a little extra time to use them. LA is a car town-- everyone drives everywhere. There are usually lower cost alternatives to parking just about anywhere and most restaurants/museums/stores you visit during the day will validate your parking for either free or significantly discounted-- don't forget to ask.

They identified it as the Best Western+ Plaza in the title of the thread.

Neptune Oyster in the North End is excellent for overall local seafood. https://www.neptuneoyster.com/. If you were looking for sushi, O Ya over by South Station is truly superb-- reservations mandatory. You are close and there are certainly a bunch of Italian restaurants but I find most of them just ok and very touristy. If I had to pick one in the North End it would be Lucca-- but mainly because of the great bar they have. My personal fave for fine dining Italian in town is Sorellina in Copley Square. For a cannoli in the North End I'm a Mikes Pastry guy (although they are good at Modern Pastry) and they are both a short walk from your hotel and worth a visit even for a snack. If you were looking for a nice bar to just casually eat at going to the Oak Bar at The Fairmont Copley Plaza is a distinctly Boston experience-- the food is good but the architecture and atmosphere is great. Nothing in Boston is very far from anything else. If you were going to walk to something Neptune would be my pick but anything here is worth a long walk or short Uber ride.

If you want to book something in advance, it's a shorter ride so something like Dial 7 or Carmel will suffice. Price is about $50 USD with tolls and tip additional. They are mid-range car service aggregators-- nothing fancy. If you want the full service, in terminal meet and greet, out to the car you are looking at more like $160+. Uber or Lyft are just as good of an option and don't require prebooking-- pricing around $60 USD all in. Taxis offer a flat fee of $52 to Manhattan from JFK but not to Queens (although it will be the least expensive option and most likely less than the flat fee and the least expensive option).

Charles gave some good advice above but to confirm, there are no traditional rental cars allowed at all on Bermuda-- either through usual rental companies or Turo. Just motor scooters or a couple types of two seater electric vehicles.