princeton123211

My personal favorite would be Oak Long Bar at Fairmont Copley Plaza-- its a Boston landmark in its own right and worth a visit. The Newbury Hotel and the Four Seasons would be honorable mentions. All three put you in great walking distance to Boston Common and Public Garden.

No, if you are fully vaccinated with one of their approved vaccines (which Moderna is) you do not need a test to enter Canada. You'll need to upload your fully completed CDC vaccine card into ArriveCan and manually enter the vaccine information. I wouldn't bother starting it until you have your completed CDC card with both doses on it. Once that's in you'll get a QR code but you won't have to show it at the border-- Canada will just link it with your passports. I'm in Montreal right now-- there is no indoor mask mandate in Canada.

This is solid advice-- unless the cruise itself is a huge deal for you, a first time bucket list trip to Hawaii is much better done staying on the islands and ditching the ship.

All beaches (or a portion of all beaches) in Bermuda are technically public. I believe the short answer to the question is no, but then it gets fuzzy. You can purchase and consume alcohol from a permitted establishment (much like anywhere) and I believe the concessionaire at Horseshoe Bay does possess a permit. There are a bunch of hotel establishments right on the beach around the island that sell alcohol. But I believe the letter of the law is that they be consumed immediately there and not taken off premises and on to the beach. The bottom line is unless you are making a complete nuisance of yourself and are discreet, no one will really say anything to you about it.

Unless you have your heart set on one particular hotel, also look around at other spots in Manhattan such as moving further north to Midtown. Private events that aren't published can cause spikes like that at certain properties-- its possible some bank is having their folks in for a few days over those dates and they have a large block at that particular hotel. The hotel is selling to the public high to either dissuade them to book in a sort of "take it or leave it". Thats the beauty of Manhattan-- even if you are tied to one specific brand or corporate family of hotels there are usually several options at different price points on any given night.

You are about a 45 min ride to Whalers Village or about a 35 min drive to Wailea. Personally I think there is more for a day visitor on Kaanapali Beach/Whalers Village. Uber from the pier will be about $70 each way. Easy to do on your own-- just pad your time a little bit getting back. If the ship offers or adds a "beach day" sort of excursion that provides transportation to either place its a no brainer to do that and not worry about getting back.

Uber was about $38 from the airport last time and works quite well in Quebec City.

Its very good-- but it is more casual and laid back than Harry's (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Its difficult to beat their views and the very open air concept which is nice. Food at the Fairmont for the most part is excellent and and very consistent. Marcus' would have been the perfect alternative. Having been to both a few times I would do 1609 if it were between that and Harry's, but if you are celebrating one, Harry's will be the more "special occasion" place of the two.

The other option is to make brunch reservations at a nice hotel and they'll be happy to store bags for the day and then head to the ship when you're ready. With a 4pm departure you will presumably be boarding no later than 1pm so you don't have a ton of time to really see much of Boston.

They both bookend Waikiki beach-- Kahanamoku Beach is by the Hilton Hawaiian Village on one end and Queen's Beach is on the far other end near the Zoo. Kahanamoku Beach is sort of partially sheltered by a sea wall and is not my favorite spot along the beach as a whole.

It will be dictated by the cruise line but check what time the previous cruise is scheduled to arrive. If its a late 11pm departure because the ship isn't arriving until noon, then you obviously won't be able to check in early. If the ship arrives at the normal 6/7am time slot, the previous passengers are going to be disembarking by no later than 10am and in all likelihood you can check in at the normal time and then go explore a bit. Personally I would make a reservation at a nice hotel in midtown for breakfast/brunch and have their bell staff store bags for the day which they'll be happy to do if you're eating there. Then proceed to the ship in the afternoon when you're ready/at the time you've been given to check in.

For a first timer I would take a Blue Flag taxi tour. They will be available as you disembark the ship at Royal Naval Dockyard or you can scour the boards here for the names of specific drivers. Much like a London taxi driver they undergo special certification to make sure they have a strong knowledge of the island. I believe it's a 3 hour minimum but most tours take about 4 hours and you get a great overview of the island.

This is one of those things that we're venturing into subjective territory but as a fellow Philadelphian I felt the needed to respond. Harry's is ok. It's a very corporate/chain steakhouse feel. There are better places on the island for a meal. Would be comparable to a Capital Grille back home-- they're not bad but there are usually better options. At least thats been our experience the two times we've been there over the years. It's a shame but Marcus Samuelson's restaurant, in the nearly adjacent Hamilton Princess, was better food than Harry's and a far more lively and enjoyable atmosphere. It was announced not too long ago that it wasn't reopening. In Hamilton itself I would personally pick Port o Call first-- its much more of a locals spot. I'm not sure if Waterlot Inn reopened (it wasn't when we were there during covid earlier in the pandemic, but others might know now) but that's also a favorite for steaks. Sul Verde at the Rosewood is very nice for high end Italian. I miss their formal dining room The Point which was renovated out of existence a few years ago-- but they still have the murals commissioned for Pan Am's offices on the walls in whats now known as The Brasserie which is also quite good. Harry's isn't bad, but it just feels like you could be anywhere.

Uber or Lyft in Seattle will cut down on wait times and make your trip much more predicable. I've found them much faster and easier in Seattle when I'm there over the past year or so. Taxis were already on the decline there pre covid and taxis haven't really recovered.

I guess what most people are getting at is the ambivalence towards using it when it is the most cost effective/highest quality solution for the use you are describing. There is a reason that Uber/Lyft decimated the taxi industry in the US.

Not to mention the massive fuel surcharges that the companies that operate these minibusses are charging right now-- we chartered a 16 passenger Mercedes Sprinter for work in NYC a couple weeks ago. Fuel surcharge was $150 on top of what was already a healthy rate in the several hundreds of dollars. And keep in mind that most companies that operate minibusses the size that the OP would need usually charge garage out to garage in-- adding a bunch of cost for time you aren't even utilizing the vehicle.

People love to hate on the Chateau Frontenac but if you had one night to stay in Quebec why wouldn't you want to stay in the city's icon if it fit in your budget?

It's a ridiculous gesture on cruises where 95% of things are already included. There's only so many people the extra cost spa can handle over the course of 7 days.

If you had said Cape Liberty I would have said absolutely without question. What day of the week is it? If the ship is on time and you self disembark from Manhattan it should still work-- make sure to be off the ship and through formalities no later than 9am. Short answer is in general terms it should be ok. But any outside factors such as the ship being late, getting stuck in a long queue for immigration, or bad traffic in the tunnels could make it a nail biter. If it's a weekend that gives you a little advantage over a weekday.

As mentioned, Carmel or Dial 7 are the big ones, but UberBlack will most likely be nicer vehicles and a more efficient pickup.

We fly into Seatac several times a year to visit family and only use Uber or Lyft now. The pandemic decimated what was left of Seattle taxis. Haven't been in the past few months so it's possible they have rebounded a bit, but Uber/Lyft are much nicer, similar in price, and they pick you right up on the 3rd floor parking garage.

I'm just surmising but I think everyone might be pleasantly surprised by October. It's the path of least resistance and some cruise lines have already said they are dropping testing requirements starting in August. It's the same fight airlines had with the US testing requirement. Bermuda understands that, while tourism isn't by far their main source of income, it isn't something that's worth making difficult.

You are sort of in an awkward situation in that you could stay at BWI where you're flying into but then have a longer commute to the cruise port, or you could take a car downtown and then be closer to the cruise port the day of sailing. What is your budget? Hard to make recommendation without that. Either way you'll have to go downtown to get to the ship so I would suggest just staying down there to get a richer experience.

I would say thats accurate about too much overlap, at least in the core of the downtown area. The HoHo tour will take you out to Charlestown Navy Yard/Bunker Hill as well as down into the Seaport area that the Duck Tour doesn't. The Duck Tour spends this time in the water between Boston and Cambridge. If you can live without the novelty of doing the Duck Tour, the Hoho tour will help you cover more ground and actually get off and see things. If you do the Duck Tour, use the time before or afterwards to just walk some of the Freedom Trail and touch up a few sites you won't get to see. Really no wrong answer but both of them together is a bit overkill.

An UberX is about $60 each way. The taxi is usually nearly similar but will be based on the meter so will depend on traffic, route, etc. Personally I would take the Uber.