Nitemare

Problem with a South coast tour starting that late in September is you won't be able to see all the attractions before dark.

If you can get a big enough group together thru your Roll Call you might be able to book a private tour thru any of the usual providers at a reasonable price

Massport still controls a ton of open land in that area and since they have a vested interest in the success of the cruise industry in Boston, I would be shocked if they didn't continue to find acceptable parking solutions for travelers embarking in Boston.  Even if it means a shuttle.

Just like any other small van trip, toilets may be unavailable.  And peeing outside in nature is not always legal, so not so easy.  

Plan according to your abilities and accessibility

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

I'm interested in this as well, as we just booked our first ever trip out of Boston on Princess for next July. According to our friend Google, there are numerous parking lots near the Cruise Terminal, the closest being the ABM garage right down the pier next to the Port Police station.  It still shows on the ABM website as active so if it is shut down their website should be updated.  From what I'm seeing now, I think we will use the covered garage on Drydock Ave a block north of the terminal building, a 5 minute walk away.

Worst case scenario you'll find something convenient on Spot Hero or your favorite parking app.  Boston is trying to become more of a cruise port so I'm sure they will only make nearby parking easier each year

I agree with LJ.  Iceland is an amazing land vacation, easy to drive which makes it nice for a family with kids.

For the rest of your plans a ship makes more sense.   Maybe do a week in Iceland followed by a cruise or the other way around?

Blue Car Rental is the most recommended agency in Iceland.  And yes, insurance is VERY important.

When looking for tours, if you spell it Acadia you will find more options.

If you search for Arcadia, you'll get a long play by Tom Stoppard

17 hours ago, luv2gonow said:

Hi, wondering if anyone knows which direction sail is calmer?

or dosent matter?

thanks

Depend on the weather.  No way to predict more than a few days out

No rental depot has good reviews.  Most folks forget to write anything when nothing goes wrong.

Easy but not a short walk.  I worked in that area a few summers ago and walked from South Station to about half way to the cruise ship dock daily.  And sweated like crazy doing so.

Lots of construction, as @latebloomer56 mentioned, but it's fairly well signed and lots of crosswalks with walk signals

Þingvellir is great but it's mostly a natural site.  It is, of course, historic, but I don't recall seeing anything physical there from Viking times

Most of the other items I have seen, they are cool, but they are replicas.  As long as you are OK with that you should have a great time.

We drove past Snorrastofa on our way to a lava tube near Hotel Husafell , it struck us as being "another museum" (we aren't museum people when it comes to Iceland) that we didn't check out.

Not sure how many real Viking sites you will see as the snow and ice and volcanos and earthquakes in both locations tend to make it pretty hard for their artifacts to remain untouched.  In over a month (so far) in Iceland I have yet to see a Viking site. To be fair, I haven't looked for any but I've had 5 amazing trips seeing about 2/3 of the country so far, and if there had been a Viking site along the way I'm sure I'd have been told about it by a guide or read a sign about it.

Easy to take public transport or a cab or uber to the HOHO stop

1 hour ago, Yes_Dear said:

We were looking at the Loge Red Hook, is the walk doable with luggage?

It's a 10 minute walk per Google Maps.  You can "walk it" with Street View to see if there are any obstacles that might make it more difficult for you

The water taxis have offered this for a few years, it is not cheap, but it is well regarded.

An alternative is to leave your bags at a convenient hotel for a tip, but then you're responsible for your own transportation

Get in the cab first before you tell them your destination.  Be ready to take a photo of their license on the back of the seat if they refuse to take you.

On 8/6/2023 at 6:50 AM, Haljo1935 said:

We booked a hotel across the river. Others on this thread mentioned apartments as an option. Thanks for letting us know about AirBnB and Vrbo; the apartments I saw were on Booking.com. 

Apartment rentals in NYC are generally illegal no matter the platform.  You are much more likely to be scammed than you are to find a safe, LEGAL and convenient private rental in the city

15 hours ago, BlushPell said:

Well I just returned and wanted to add that there were plenty of taxis waiting….and NONE of them would take us to the train station. They were all waiting for bigger fares to the airport. There was one person who approached us right away to take us but ended up being a “gypsy cab” with no meter and was going to ask a ridiculous amount to ride in his “car”. 

 

I walked about a mile to the station and finally got a cab about a mile away after trying to get cabs along the way all refusing to take us. What a racket. I’ve never used Uber so I was hesitant to try it being so unfamiliar with it in large city but I will have to revisit learning how when I cruise again from NYC next month. I wish I could cancel the cruise but it’s too late, but I know I will never cruise again from NYC after this, it is just too much of a scammy hassle.

Talking to any driver who walks up to you at any tourist site is a mistake.  You'll never get a good deal that way and it may not be safe.

Go to the cab line.  Get in.  Tell them your destination.  They can't refuse. If they start to refuse, take a picture of their license on the back of the seat and they will take you to your destination.  They get lots of train station rides from the ports.

As #3 said, Iceland is best done by land.  Easy to drive, not many roads, very well signed, almost everyone speaks English.  

Seeing a glacier or a waterfall with no one but your family is incredible.  You can't get that on a cruise where you are either going to be on a bus with 40 other folks or even on a private tour with a guide.

14 minutes ago, Hezu said:

It is Keflavík Airport that is quite long way from the Reykjavík city centre, but there is also Reykjavík Airport that is within the city and I don't think it takes 45 minutes to get there from the cruise port. That airport concentrates in domestic traffic (+ some flights to Greenland), but if I looked right on Google Maps, there is couple car hire places next to the Reykjavík Airport. Another few (including that Blue Car Rental mentioned above) seem to be located in harbour area of Reykjavík and although the cruise port is located elsewhere, the distances between two are tolerable.

Good point.  Hard to tell from @imalori 's post which airport was meant

6 minutes ago, kaisatsu said:

There aren’t many glaciers left in Europe, so the question doesn’t come up too often. The amount that Briksdalsbreen has receded in the last two decades is pretty guy-wrenching, but since you can’t see it from the cruise port, the juxtaposition isn’t as obvious. Up around Svalbard, I think it would definitely feel the same, but we’ve only traveled on classic expedition ships in the north. (Our nicer-ship experience was also because it was the least expensive option at the time.)

Lots of glaciers in Iceland (still part of Europe) to see.  Easiest from land. Some are receding, others are actually growing but those are rare.

The point wasn't about luxury vs. global warming, though, and I think you know what I meant.

Tip rate is usually 20% or so.  More if the driver helps with alot of luggage.  A bit less if they drive wrecklessly or are rude or have the radio loud.

Downtown Reykjavik is where the cruise port is.  The airport is a solid 45 minute drive away.  Blue Car Rental is the preferred provider based on reports I read regularly on TripAdvisor, and we used them last time we were in Iceland.

When renting a car in Iceland consider insurance options CAREFULLY as roads can be a little rough and winds can be strong, and windshields can get damaged by gravel from roads and strong winds can literally sandblast the paint off of a car .

13 hours ago, rosewood jo said:

Did u use the rented waterproof pants, poles, boots?  Did the red ha keys fit true to size? Going  in Dec 2023

Yes, yes, yes, and I don't understand the last question.

My poles wouldn't stay locked open so they offered to replace them but we only needed them one day so I asked for and got my rental fee back on them

18 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

I feel like visiting Antarctica on a luxury ship is like Douglas Adams’ “Restaurant at the End of the Universe.” People pay a lot of money to enjoy the spectacle of our own destruction in lavish comfort. I suppose we should enjoy it all while we can, because that ice is melting and may not be around beyond the current generations, which means that level of comfort probably won’t be either. Also, it’s such an incredible privilege to be able to visit in the first place that I guess we might as well take that privilege to the max!

If you replace "Antarctica" with "Europe" does the rest of your statement change?

The price differential was small so the choice for us to go luxury was easy.