GTJ

The title of this inquiry may be a bit confusing to at least some people. While Amtrak does own and operate some railroad stations, there is no "Amtrak station" in Vancouver. Instead, Amtrak is a subtenant within the Pacific Central station, owned by the Canadian National Railway, leased and operated by Via Rail Canada. Other subtenants of the Pacific Central station include Cantrail Coach Lines ("Amtrak Thruway"), Greyhound Lines, MTR Western ("FlixBus"), Pacific Western Transportation ("Ebus"), Rider Express Transportation, Universal Coach Lines ("YVR Skylinx"), and Wilson's Transportation ("BC Ferries Connector"). While there is a small sign in front of the station that enumerates several of the subtenants, including Amtrak, the large neon sign on the station reads "Pacific Central." It is important to distinguish the Pacific Central station because there are two other passenger railroad stations in Vancouver: Waterfront station, formerly used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and now used by commuter trains, and Rocky Mountaineer station, formerly used by the Canadian National Railway as a locomotive repair shed (there is also a passenger railroad station in North Vancouver, three blocks from the former Pacific Great Eastern Railway station). While some people may recognize Amtrak's subtenancy, the best means of identifying this particular railroad station, to persons in Vancouver, is to use the term "Pacific Central station." Although the morning Amtrak train, no. 517, does not depart the Pacific Central station until 6:35 a.m., it is important to arrive early because U.S. immigration and customs examinations are conducted at the station prior to boarding. Adequate time must be allowed by boarding passengers to complete this examination.

I am a bit unclear of the exact details of the working of customs clearing. The entirety of the vessel is not going to be unloaded at any given port (e.g., foodstuffs, items for sale in stores), but is going to be exported back into international waters and elsewhere. So it is really only those things that are unloaded for which customs examination is required. But things can be unloaded and imported into the country at any port. Additionally, I recall seeing for many years on the timetables of the Washington State Ferries that, for the M.V. Chelan, which operated between Sidney, B.C., and Anacortes, Wash., and which for some journeys would make an intermediate stop at Friday Harbor, Wash., passengers traveling exclusively between Friday Harbor and Anacortes without ever leaving the United States, would be subject to customs examination. The sum of all of this seems to be that there is a mixing of goods while onboard a vessel engaged in international commerce, and for that reason anything coming off the vessel is subject to customs examination at the port at which it is being removed. Yet, performing customs examinations at every port visited by a cruise vessel--looking into every purse, satchel, etc. being carried by alighting passengers--would seemingly not be practicable, and thus "perfunctory." I have not seen anything written on this, but I suppose that if I were to peruse the CBP regulations I might (possibly) find something. But is this your understanding?

I assume you mean Acadia National Park. Do note that while you may find information about bus service on the Acadia National Park website, neither the park nor the website operates any bus service. You might look at Downeast Transportation, which operates the free "Island Explorer" bus service that circulates throughout the park and the surrounding area, as well as other non-free bus services that circulate outside this area.

There are two substantial European cities in North America: Québec and Mexico City. Both have that marvelous feel to them. Both are worth a walking tour. My specific interests relate to transportation, so those things that appeal to me, and to many others, are the funicular railway, Funiculaire du Vieux-Québec, which climbs from the lower city, near Wharf 22 of the port, to the upper city, near le Château Frontenac; and the historic and beautiful Gare du Palais.

1. People routinely take things off and on vessels at all ports. At some ports much is taken off the vessel when some type of celebration is planned (e.g., wedding). Is there anything that makes you believe that there is something distinct about the port of Québec in particular that it would disallow passengers from bringing things with them as they explore the city for a day? In the absence of any such special provision, I would not anticipate passengers not being permitted to visit the city with whatever it is that they will be utilizing that day. 2. I expect the answer is that you are wrong. I would anticipate that many people will have spent the night ashore, perhaps overindulging themselves and not returning the vessel until the morning. Holly Golightly would not return to vessel until day break the next morning (see opening scene, Breakfast at Tiffany's). It is not expected that Cunard Line would impose a curfew on its passengers, that they all have to return to the vessel that same night by some particular time. 3. I imagine that there are going to be some people who have forgotten one of their pieces of baggage, and have to return to baggage claim to retrieve it. Do carriers routinely disallow passengers to retrieve their forgotten baggage so that such baggage may be discarded and destroyed? You will have already cleared immigration and customs in Halifax, so there should not be any issues with returning to claim forgotten baggage and clearing it through customs. 4. I think you answered your question with your first sentence: "I have a rather strange itinerary." That is to say, no one else has your itinerary. No one else has a need for a shuttle. I am quite confident that no shuttle will be provided just for you. Moreover, given that the vessels are operated by competing corporate owners, Carnival and Abercrombie & Kent, there is likely little desire to cooperate with one another in organizing a joint shuttle operation (in another context, Southwest Airlines purposefully avoids interlining checked baggage with competing air carriers). I think you have an ingenious plan, traveling on a vessel that "arrives" in Québec the day after your connecting vessel "departs" Québec, an itinerary one that could confound even some travel agents and confuse the computers that search out "impossible" itinerary connections. But with ingenuity comes self-reliance.

I have traveled a bit on the lower St. Lawrence River and Gulf, including: Les Dauphins du Saint Laurent (hydrofoil) from Montréal to Québec; Croisières Dufour (catamaran) from Québec to Tadoussac; Croisières AML from Tadoussac round-trip up the Saguenay fjord; Relais Nordik (cargo-passenger) from Rimouski to Blanc-Sablon; Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien from Montréal to Saint-Pierre (special voyage extended from les Îles-de-la-Madeleine); Norwegian Cruise Line from Québec to Boston; Société des traversiers du Québec from Québec to Lévis, from Tadoussac to Baie-Sainte-Catherine, and from Baie-Comeau to Matane; Traverse Rivière-du-Loup Saint-Siméon from Saint-Siméon to Rivière-du-Loup; Traverse Rimouski - Forestville from Forestville to Rimouski; Labrador Marine from Blanc-Sablon to St. Barbe, Marine Atlantic from Port-aux-Basques to North Sydney; and SPM Ferries between St-Pierre and Fortune. Alas, I have never traveled further up than Montréal, so both St. Lawrence Cruise Lines and Ontario Waterway Cruises are on my radar, as well as the other lines that also travel further up and into the Great Lakes region: American Queen Voyages, Pearl Seas Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Ponant, and Viking Expeditions. And within the Great Lakes themselves, Lake Express (high-speed catamaran), S.S. Badger (1953: last coal-fired passenger steamship in the United States), Muskoka Steamships and Discovery Centre (R.M.S. Segwun, 1887: oldest steamship in North America), and Owen Sound Transportation Company (M.S. Chi-Cheemaun and Pelee Island ferries). So many inland routes and vessels that the mass-market cruise lines would just assume to ignore.

Most trips between Washington, D.C., and Boston require a change of buses in New York City. There are, however, a few trips that operate direct without change. These are operated by Peter Pan Bus Lines, Greyhound Lines, and Cheng Ya/Tribal Sun. As to Peter Pan Bus Lines, schedule 5629 departs Washington, D.C., at 7:00 a.m., arriving Boston at 4:20 p.m. Also, schedule 5649 departs Washington, D.C., at 12:00 noon, arriving Boston at 9:30 p.m. These trips go through the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, with a 40-minute stop, but there is no need to change buses and having to deal with queueing at Port Authority. As to Greyhound Lines, there is a schedule that departs Washington, D.C., at 12:40 a.m., arriving Boston at 10:25 a.m. Also, there is a schedule that departs Washington, D.C., at 6:55 a.m., arriving Boston at 5:35 p.m. These trips go through the George Washington Bridge bus terminal in New York City, with a 5-to-15 minute stop, but there is no need to change buses. Generally, this bus terminal is less hectic than Port Authority. As to Cheng Ya/Tribal Sun, there is a schedule that departs Washington, D.C., at 11:00 p.m., arriving Boston at 9:00 a.m. This trip goes through the FlixBus parking lot in New York City, with a 25-minute stop, but there is no need to change buses. Generally, this bus terminal is less hectic than Port Authority. This service is operated under the FlixBus brand, which is the exclusive ticket seller. Amtrak has several Northeast Regional trains daily, that do the trip in about 8-to-9 hours, and several Acela trains that do the trip in about 7 hours. The overnight train may offer good value, but the only overnight train schedule now is not very attractive. Train 190 departs Washington, D.C., at 3:15 a.m., arriving Boston at 11:12 a.m. The train referred to by many as "The Federal," train 66, used to provide a more attractive schedule, departing Washington, D.C., at 10:00 p.m. and arriving Boston at 7:58 a.m., but since April 4, 2023, this train does not operate north of New York City due to Penn Station Access construction. It is a 10-hour journey by bus, which can be a bit tiring to some people. Ordinarily I would prefer to break up the trip with one or more intermediate stops. But I might consider one of these schedules if I were pressed for time. Or I might consider the extra cost of using a daytime train. My days of overnight bus travel are largely over (other than by using the executive class services available throughout most of México and limited parts of the United States), and so I would elect to travel with Peter Pan Bus Lines, which offers a pleasant daytime trip. In any event I would avoid Cheng Ya/Tribal Sun, which are Chinatown bus companies that do not have a particularly good reputation.

What is it that is being taxed? Ordinarily, taxes are imposed on sales, but the "sale" would have been made outside the taxing jurisdiction. A portion of the items purchased might be delivered within the taxing jurisdiction, but then there's the question of apportionment of the total sale (for which the entire sale, not menu prices, would control). Could Is it a use tax? But use taxes are ordinarily imposed on the consumer. The magnitude might not be great to any individual taxpayer, but the apportionment issue is an interesting challenge to the cruise line. I am reminded of decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc., 514 U.S. 175 (1995), and Central Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Mealey, 334 U.S. 653 (1948), both relating to the apportionment of taxes by interstate bus lines.

South Station consists of two buildings close by to each other, and which one day may actually be connected. The older building, opened in 1899, serves railroads, including Amtrak intercity and MBTA commuter trains. The newer building, opened in 1995, serves bus lines, including Greyhound Lines, Peter Pan Bus Lines, among others. For the time being, one must walk on the sidewalk outside to connect between the two buildings. Note that there is no single "Amtrak station" in Boston, and use of that term could cause confusion and/or misdirection. Best to use the term "South Station." Ordinarily I would be inclined to walk between South Station and the cruise terminal, at least if time permits and the weather is not an obstacle. Otherwise, "Silver Line" bus rapid transit service, route SL2, goes direct from South Station (below the older railroad building) to the cruise terminal in just a few minutes.

I would say it is not so much of a language barrier: it does not take much effort to understand the meaning of "nord," "sud," "est," and "ouest, or the word "arrêt" when printed on a red octagonal sign. More so it is the urban driving: driving in New York City is good practice for Montréal. Indeed, as a New Yorker I am very comfortable getting around Montréal on foot and using public transportation, and the highway traffic is just like home.

Alternatively, the "A" or "C" train from Port Authority Bus Terminal to Jay Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn. Walk two blocks south onto Smith Street, then free transfer onto B61 bus to Van Brunt Street and King Street. The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is just west of Van Brunt Street.

The event that one would desired to be insured against is the failure to make a same-day connection between a scheduled flight and a scheduled cruise, using ground transportation in-between. Trip interruption insurance covers unexpected events that cause a trip to be cut short, so that would, seemingly, provide for transportation of everyone from Newark or Bayonne back home, but they still miss their cruise and what they paid for it. Maybe trip delay insurance, but that just covers meals and hotels until they are able to resume their trip. Neither of these seem to be the coverage desired (and even if covered, insurance could not restore the portion of the cruise missed). Moreover, the insurer might well take the position that missing the connection was reasonably foreseeable--not enough time was allocated for the connection--and therefore the consequences would not be covered. I am not certain that I see insurance as a panacea. See http://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/trip-cancellation/travel-delay-trip-interruption-trip-cancellation.htm.

There are self-service luggage lockers in the bus portion of the Gare du Palais, far to the back of the station and on the left.

Yes, let us so hope. I don't regularly use taxis (I much prefer the reliability and ease of using public transportation), but when I do, the drivers have always played by the book. What is so startling with your experience is that not only are these drivers doing every wrong individually, but that there is a group, or at least several, who are acting badly. It just stuns me that such people would attempt to do these things, that I am searching for any reason why that would be (e.g., these are not yellow taxis). These drivers are bottom of the barrel and ought to be suspended for a long time.

That is incredible. We're talking about yellow taxis, correct? TLC regulations require that, excepting some unusual circumstances, that rear doors cannot be locked. "While on duty and operating for-hire, a Driver must not lock either of the rear doors except with the consent or at the request of a Passenger or for a reason specified in these rules." A strategy some people have used, when peppered with a driver request for destination, is to initially provide a false destination (e.g., Kennedy airport), and once moving state that the destination has been changed.

Transportation between Québec and Montréal is generally good. Both buses and trains depart from the same Gare du Palais in Québec, a very short distance from the port. Both buses and trains go directly to downtown Montréal and to Trudeau airport (at Dorval), allowing you to choose whether to stay at a hotel in either downtown Montréal or near Trudeau airport (at Dorval). There is also good regular local transportation between downtown Montréal and Trudeau airport (at Dorval). Note that the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel is integrated with the downtown Montréal railroad station, Gare Centralé, but there are many other hotels convenient to all relevant stations. Thus, you have many good options. Here's some details of the foregoing. Railroad service is operated by Via Rail Canada, www.viarail.ca, at the following times. Fare is $48.29-167.86 CAD tax inclusive, or $150.62-249.50 CAD tax inclusive in business class, to either downtown Montréal or Dorval. Days Mo-Fr Daily Daily Daily Daily Depart Québec 05:25 08:10 12:36 15:00 17:45 Arrive Montréal 08:37 11:26 15:54 18:11 21:00 Arrive Dorval 09:32 12:26 17:02 19:22 ..... Bus service is operated by Orléans Express, www.orleansexpress.com, at the following times. Fare is $75.59 CAD tax inclusive to downtown Montréal; $98.84 CAD tax inclusive to Trudeau airport. Days Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Depart Québec 06:30 07:30 09:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 13:30 Arrive Montréal 09:30 11:25 12:45 14:15 14:30 15:45 16:30 Arrive Trudeau ..... ..... 13:30 ..... ..... 16:30 ..... N.B. The 06:30 departure arrives at 10:45 on Mondays and Fridays Days Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily Depart Québec 15:30 15:30 16:30 17:30 18:30 19:30 Arrive Montréal 18:30 19:20 19:45 20:45 21:30 22:45 Arrive Trudeau 19:15 ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... Express transit bus service is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal, along route 747, http://www.stm.info/en/info/networks/bus/shuttle/747-yul-montreal-trudeau-airport-downtown-shuttle, from the Montréal bus terminal used by Orléans Express, from the Montréal railroad station used by Via Rail Canada, and from other bus stops in downtown Montréal, to Trudeau airport (at Dorval), at frequent intervals throughout the day, 24 hours hours daily, 7 days per week. Fare is $11.00 CAD non-taxable.

Be certain to plan your schedule carefully. The Hertz location in Corner Brook, closest to the port, opens at 9:00 a.m. (closed weekends). Allow at least 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours to drive from Corner Brook to the Western Brook Pond parking lot. Allow another hour to hike the 3 km from the parking lot to the pond (fast walkers could do this in 30 minutes). So your earliest arrival time at the pond, under ideal conditions, will be around 11:15 a.m. From mid-May through mid-October, the tour vessel departs at 12:30 p.m., arrival for is reasonable. In peak season, July and August, additional departures are at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. The tour duration is two hours. Thus, were you to travel on the 12:30 p.m., you would conclude your tour at 2:30 p.m. The problem is that your cruise vessel sets sail at 4:00 p.m., probably having everyone back on board at 3:30 p.m. Yet you need at least 2-1/2 hours to hike back to the parking lot, drive, and return the rental car. While it would be possible to get back to the vessel on time if you traveled on the 10:00 a.m. tour, or possibly even the 11:00 a.m. tour--assuming that you would be in Corner Brook in July or August--it seems unlikely that you could get to those tour timely given that the Hertz agency does not open until 9:00 a.m. The Enterprise car rental agency opens at 8:00 a.m., on weekdays, so that might make the 11:00 a.m. tour a possibility, but everything would have to proceed under ideal timing conditions (including the rental car agency opening on time, and the logistics of getting between the port and the rental car agency).

The "Highlights" excursion includes a city tour of Skagway preceding the trip by railroad from Skagway to Fraser. The "Motor Coach Tour" excludes the Skagway city tour portion. Otherwise, both include parlor car service by railroad one-way, and bus service in the opposite direction, between Skagway, Alaska, and Fraser, British Columbia. It is a problem with cruise line and other tour marketing people writing more creatively than factually. I wish that the tour descriptions were written in timetable format so that one could more readily understand the inclusions and exclusions.

Soliciting is unlawful for legitimate taxi operators. Never a good idea to accept such a solicitation. One amendment: Before getting in, you can request the driver to open the trunk so that you can place your baggage inside. That does not mean disclosing your destination while doing so, which you should do only once you're inside.

Were there yellow taxis that were refusing? Did you approach the driver from outside, and ask? Or did you first enter the taxi and then demand?

While you did not provide the details of the upcoming cruise, most sailings of Royal Caribbean International from Bayonne, New Jersey, that transit Port Canaveral, Florida, have the following itinerary. Sunday: Bayonne, N.J. Monday: at sea Tuesday: Port Canaveral, Fla. Wednesday: Coco Cay, Bahamas Thursday: Nassau, Bahamas Friday: at sea Saturday: at sea Sunday: Bayonne, N.J. Were you to miss the departure from Bayonne, Royal Caribbean International would likely not permit you to board the vessel at Port Canaveral because doing so would cause the cruise line to violate the Passenger Vessel Services Act and subject it to a fine. The violation would occur because, by embarking the vessel at Port Canaveral, and disembarking the vessel in Bayonne, the result would be the transportation of passengers between two distinct U.S. ports by a foreign flag carrier, constituting unlawful cabotage. (There would be an exception if the itinerary included a stop in Aruba, Bonarie, Curaçao, South America, or some other distant foreign port, and in that case you could be transported by foreign flag vessel, from Port Canaveral to Bayonne. But the itinerary does not, nor does any one-week cruise itinerary from the northeastern United States.) The amount of the fine is $941 per person, and thus your group of five persons would cause the cruise line to pay a fine of $4,705. It is possible that Royal Caribbean might allow boarding if you made it worth their while to accept the fine imposition (perhaps you offering to pay, say, $10,000 to Royal Caribbean International), but it would be within the discretion of the cruise line to do so. This would cause you to miss two days of your week-long cruise. Otherwise, you would not be able to board at Coco Cay either because there is no regular transportation available to that island. The only remaining option would be to fly to Nassau, and embark there on Thursday.One-way tickets between Newark and Nassau, purchased on short notice, would typically cost between $150 and $200 per person, or between $750 and $1,000 total for your group of five persons. Doing so would allow you to recover two days at sea from your week-long cruise At such point it may not be worthwhile trying to so salvage, depending on how much you have already invested in the cruise fare. Best thing is not to risk missing embarkation in Bayonne.

It may be that the Boston hack at the airport gets upset with a short trip because he or she may have waited a long time at the airport on a taxi line, with anticipation of getting a long distance fare that will have made the taxi line wait worthwhile. A short trip would shatter that expectation (but nonetheless it is improper for the hack to take it out on the passenger). In contrast, there is no long taxi line when hailing a taxi on a midtown street or at a taxi stand. It is just another ordinary fare. Moreover, it is the flag drop--presently $3.00--that constitutes a good part of the fare for local travel within Manhattan, and so there's not significant detriment against these short trips. It is a fair fare for a short and inconsequential part of the day's work.

It is worthwhile supplementing the comments above. While it is true that the Canadian national government is officially bilingual, the province of Québec is NOT bilingual. French is the official language in Québec. In Québec virtually all services are provided in French, not merely as a matter of preference but as a matter of law. Generally businesses may choose to also provide some or all services in English. But when traveling in areas without much English-speaking tourism, it can sometimes be difficult finding services in English. Ordinarily you would want to ensure that a business in Havre-Saint-Pierre would accommodate anglophones, though the bilingual website strongly suggests that this business can do so. Nonetheless, if you do not speak French then you might want to give the business a heads-up in advance. Even so, some people have reported--generally and not this particular company--that that tour commentary will be much more extensive in French, with English commentary being quite brief. Be aware that you may not receive as much in English as you would receive in French.

No reservations needed for passengers traveling on the ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen. Also, do consider the rest of your route from Tsawwassen to your hotel, the port, or wherever you are headed on the mainland. TransLink bus route 620 connects the Tsawwassen ferry terminal with the Bridgeport SkyTrain station. For a higher fare, Wilson's Transportation provides coach bus service from the ferry direct to the downtown Pacific Central station, and at certain times direct to either the Canada Place cruise vessel port or to a number of hotels in downtown Vancouver. Meet the Wilson's Transportation bus driver on board the ferry within the first 30 minutes of departure from Swartz Bay. This coach bus service is available for the following ferry departures from Swartz Bay: 9:00 a.m. (Pacific Central + Canada Place), 11:00 a.m. (Pacific Central), 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Central + hotels), and 7:00 p.m. (Pacific Central + hotels).

In terms of convenience, the Manhattan hotel plus ferry option would likely be incrementally better than a Brooklyn hotel plus bus option. The reason is that the ferry landing in Red Hook, Brooklyn, is immediately adjacent to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, while the bus stop in Red Hook, Brooklyn, is a few blocks distant and would require an additional less-than one-quarter mile (5 minute) walk to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Of course, that slight advantage in distance on the Red Hook, Brooklyn, end could be obviated if the hotel in lower Manhattan were distant from Pier 11, the location from where the ferry departs. Note that the bus departs from downtown Brooklyn, on Smith Street, between Livingston Street and Fulton Street, which is conveniently less than a one-quarter mile (5 minute) walk from the Brooklyn Marriott. Either option, lower Manhattan or Brooklyn, would be practicable. You would likely be best served by comparing hotels, choosing based on price, proximity to either Pier 11 or the the Smith Street bus stop, and the general surroundings of the hotel (i.e., lower Manhattan vs. downtown Brooklyn). Most buses in New York City these days are low floor, with no steps, and so bringing baggage with you on the bus has generally become easier. Sometimes rush hour crowding can make things more difficult, but the bus to Red Hook, route B61, is rarely crowded and unlikely to present those concerns. If you're able to manage your baggage on the subway, then you should be able to do so as well on either the bus or the ferry. There are no subway stations in Red Hook, Brooklyn. It would not be practicable to consider using the subway unless one is desirous of both (1) descending from the highest subway station in New York City, Smith-Ninth Streets station (87-1/2 feet above the ground), and (2) walking one and one-quarter mile from that station to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.