Nitemare

We did an excursion where you had to get on your butt to slide down a hill of snow.  Hard to do that without sitting down.

18 hours ago, Funbobby68 said:

Heard about Ellen’s stardust diner , will for sure have a snack there 

I'd suggest a drink, instead.  The food isn't great and is expensive

Gayle's Broadway Rose is a newer version with better rated food and shorter lines

Go here:  https://www.re.is/tour/flybus/

Pick the cruise terminal as the pickup area, it will change the drop off to KEF.  I am seeing $36.38 as the fare per person.  I don't think there are additional fees but I didn't go all the way thru the booking

8 hours ago, Renmar said:

@Rubyfisch Tanks for the info, much appreciated.

We are with the 4 of us, my DW- our son- our DIL and myself so I think it would be fair if one of the young ones get the car.

And yes, we will make sure that the ship is spic & span 😉.

 

Theo

An alternative would be to get yourself over to the Rowes Wharf Water Taxi station in Boston.  Buy a ticket for a later water taxi ride to Logan Airport, the ticket price includes luggage storage.  Leave your bags with them and explore Boston to your heart's content.  They are right near Faneuil Hall and the Freedom Trail, etc.

Or, most hotels will hold your bags for a nice tip.  $20 for 4 bags should do it.

@princeton123211 is right, the flat rate taxi works out to about $100 to anywhere in Manhattan with tolls, fees, and tip.  Uber can be a little less or could be quite a bit more.  Nice thing about cabs is you follow the signs to the curb where they pick you up, while ubers require more walking to find their location

There are no "day passes" for the subway.  Pay per ride or you can get a weekly pass that works out when you take 13 or so rides in a week

16 minutes ago, CountessP said:

I am on NCL and they told me you need 5 hours.  Our ship arrives at 4AM, my flight is at 9:40AM.  I booked the transport via NCL.  They have my flight info and approved the transport request so I am confident the 5 hours is enough time.  More importantly, I booked NCL transport (75pp) because I am told getting a taxi can be challenging since here are far more passengers than taxis available.  Hope that helps in your decision making.

If there are two of you, then their bus makes sense.  For more than 2 a taxi would be a better deal.  Flybus is also a good option, probably better than the NCL transport as it would take about as long but would be much less expensive

The "take our shuttle" suggestion is BS and is just a cash grab.  Like their bus will be faster than a cab or have an alternative route???? Shameful

You might want to ask about toilets on TripAdvisor's Iceland forum.  I haven't been in nearly 5 years -- back then, all the gas station toilets were free, as were many others.  It was mostly in remote areas that you had to pay.  But you will get current and more specific info there from folks who have visited more recently

I agree with @ljandgb.  Any of the larger companies, like Troll, will be familiar with disembarking cruise passengers and would likely have a baggage storage solution for you

1 minute ago, Ellis1138 said:

 

Do you remember if the pay toilets would take USD?

If there is a basket they would take USD.  If it is a slot, then local only 

1 hour ago, CQG67 said:

Glad to hear this.  It’s always been such a vibrant city.  My last visit was really great and we walked all over the place - never saw anything threatening or scary.  That was a few years back though.  I have talked to a few people who have been recently and they tell a somewhat different story.  Maybe depends on where you wander. No matter what city - four older women alone should always be cautious.  

Let's see, we walked from the east end of Canal street by the river, along the bottom of the island, up to midtown (45th street?) along the Hudson, across to midtown (as far as 5th avenue).  Probably walked every street and avenue from 5th to 9th and from 50th to 36th.  Also walked Broadway from Tribeca to Midtown and 5th and 7th avenues from midtown to Tribeca.

So I can say those areas were clean and felt safe for us two staying on an AARP rate.

It was tough to get restaurant reservations and theater tickets were harder to get than our other post covid visits, so I guess one could say that was a negative?

It's about an hour by taxi from anywhere in the city to the airport.

It is important at KEF to arrive 3 hours prior to an international flight

6 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

And Head of the Charles Regatta which drives hotel prices into the stratosphere and availability is very low. This year Oct 18-20. 

yes, but the OP here isn't coming that weekend.

We actually arrived in the Boston suburbs (Metrowest) on Marathon Monday (bad planning on our part) and our hotel was very fairly priced.  Truly expected it to be worse and full of runners. 

Easy to get to the subway, too, from there.  To the airport or into the city for touring.

On 4/15/2024 at 5:16 PM, 1025cruise said:

I wouldn't consider the Hampton Inn Chelsea an airport hotel. But if they have a shuttle....

Drove by there this past weekend, as we journeyed from a Deer Island walk to the Market Basket Mothership.  The Mrs. was surprised to see all the hotels there, more surprised when I told her it's where folks visiting Boston on a budget stay.  "But it's so far away and not pretty and hard to get to town from here" she said.  I nodded in agreement.

October is expensive due to Leaf peeping and college Homecomings and conventions.

On 4/17/2024 at 12:14 PM, CQG67 said:

Thanks. I believe you honest.  I just know last week when I typed in cruise schedules out of Manhattan pier they listed the enchanted on the 19th which had me really confused since it was also listed to leave out if the Brooklyn port.  I’ve always understood red hook was the main Princess port.  Today it’s not posted there any longer.  It was there I promise.  If I remember last time we sailed out of red hook we passed the Statue of Liberty which was pretty awesome.  We are flying into jfk only the night before (I have NO desire - sadly- to subject myself to what that city has become.)  It’s a shame.  We are staying at a Hilton right by airport and then getting driven to red hook next morning.  I was told that trip should only run around $100 and a 25 minute ride. It’s a Saturday so no work traffic. Same thing going from port to airport.  Almost same distance and also a Saturday.  I have Uber app on my phone and guess it’s safe there daytime. And there’s four of us mean old ladies! 

You really SHOULD see the city, it's vibrant and alive and pretty darn special.  We were there 2 weekends ago for 4 days and it was amazing.  Clean, fewer homeless than we expected, the subways were running on time and are cheap, and we walked and walked all over the place.

Ignore what you see on curated TV and websites and ask people who have been there

Some Quincy hotels have dedicated shuttles for their guests to the airport and cruiseport.  Ask them before you pay for an alternative

The Omni Parker House is right on the Freedom Trail and is one of the most historic hotels in the country.

The Hyatt, assuming it's the one downtown, is fine, but nothing special and the neighborhood is awfully quiet at night

On 4/24/2024 at 9:21 AM, Jetdriver787 said:

As an epilog to this story, my son has booked a limo’ in order to impress the girlfriend! 🤷‍♂️ So they can enjoy adding to the congestion whilst we await their arrival stress free! 🙏🏻

As long as HE is paying, then more power to him.

I was going to suggest you give him the simple directions to take public transit into Manhattan, and then discuss the steps from there to NJ afterwards

I'd expect the starboard side to have more sun, which might be nice in the North Atlantic

What is the question?

I am not sure anyone has made a chart. And if we did have the info, do you really need info on  every tender port in both countries?

Which ports are YOU going to and what time of year is the trip?

On 4/22/2024 at 3:48 PM, kazganymede said:

We've already purchased DKK, NOK and other currencies on our Wise card, but cannot purchased ISK from Australia. Can anyone from Aus suggest a card where we can purchase ISK so we won't be hit with fees every time we buy something? I've heard that cash is not really a viable alternative as many vendors don't use it and can't give change. However. we'll still exchange some cash for kroner.

5 trips to Iceland so far and the only 2 times I've needed cash were for a pay toilet, where there was a basket and a sign asking for cash in 5 or 6 different currencies (AUD wasn't one of them) and once when we bought tomatoes from a tray in front of someone's house and there was an honor box.

We use our credit card for everything, we have one with no foreign fees which is great, but even if you have to pay 2-3% extra, the convenience is worth it and not worrying about adding funds or being stuck with cash at the end of the trip (we unloaded the rest of our ISK on unnecessary stuff at the airport and didn't get any on our last visit)

To confirm, it's too late in the season for much chance of Northern Lights.  It just doesn't get dark enough long enough to see anything.

Checking out some Golden Circle sites or visiting the Reykjanes Peninsula would be my suggestions

Jokulsarlon is amazing.  But a one day trip to there and back is SO much bus time!  And you pass by glaciers and national parks and waterfalls and other gorgeous things

There are great South Coast 1 day tours that don't drive all the way to the lagoon that I would recommend over a Jokulsarlon trip.  And the Golden Circle is terrific.