GTJ

Sounds like a great plan! I would use the sidewalk on the east side of Miner Street, as the walkway on the west side appears to be a bit too narrow. There's a pleasant promenade alongside Harbor Boulevard, north of East Sixth Street. Safety can be an issue in California because there are just so many motorists who do not pay attention to pedestrians while driving, but if you're attentive and not always looking down at a smartphone while walking, then I would not be overly concerned with safety. But a really nice way to begin a cruise!

I turned 60 earlier this year. A 2.3-mile walk with not overly-heavy baggage would likely take about 35 minutes for me, though I would probably allocate 45 minutes.

You got cheated twice. First, demanding an unauthorized amount for transportation to LaGuardia Airport. I would have refused paying anything more than the amount shown on the meter . . . which might possibly have been zero if the driver did not activate the meter . . . any "contract" to pay $100 would be unenforceable. Any problem, call the police. Second, paying for a second taxi. All taxis carry at least four passengers, and some taxis carry five passengers (and an additional passenger under age 7 carried on the lap of an adult seated in the rear. 35 RCNY §54-15(g). If there is no room in the back seat, then one passenger must be permitted to travel in the front seat alongside the driver. 35 RCNY §54-15(h). Any problem, call the police. Lesson: Don't ask for a "quote." Just get in, then provide the destination once inside. If the driver refuses to open the front door for a fourth passenger, then have that fourth person physically block the taxi from moving, and absence compliance call the police. Too many taxi drivers are willing to prey upon visitors to our city who are intimidated or otherwise unwilling to call the police.

Both of the cited websites are controlled by Alaska Tour & Travel, a responsible travel agent. In fact, the travel agency is the broker that arranges for the scheduled bus service known as "Park Connection," and is otherwise fair and competent in its advertisement and sale of tickets for that bus service and the various rail services available to all. I generally maintain similar skepticism with respect to third party travel agencies, but of them I would rank Alaska Tour & Travel highly. (Many other third party sites are less comprehensive or less competent.) I would rely upon Alaska Tour & Travel for research. I would likely purchase Alaska Railroad tickets from the Alaska Railroad, but I would purchase Park Connection tickets from Alaska Tour & Travel. I would purchase Princess Rail tickets either from Princess or from Alaska Tour & Travel, and I would purchase Wilderness Express tickets from either Wilderness Express or Alaska Tour & Travel (Wilderness Express is the dba for Premier Alaska Tours, which is also the operator of the Park Connection that Alaska Tour & Travel brokers itself). I don't believe that Alaska Tour & Travel charges higher fees, but caveat emptor, and confirm that to be the case.

If it were me, and absent rain, I would walk. Fifteen minutes, easiest thing to do, exceedingly reliable, and a pleasant stroll. Why anything else?

This makes no sense. Taxi rates within the city of New York are regulated and enforced by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. If the taxi driver refuses to accept payment based on the meter, do not pay the amount demanded. There are many police at LaGuardia Airport, and I would expect any of them would readily intervene for this type of unlawful activity. As to Carmel, as far as I can tell, it makes no promises about anything. It appears not to provide any transportation itself; it merely makes reservations with car owners. Others can provide more details on Carmel (its website says very little).

Probably yes, a visa will be required. The relevant United States law for the visa waiver program is codified at 8 U.S.C. §1187(a). It reads in relevant part, "The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State are authorized to establish a program * * * under which the requirement of paragraph (7)(B)(i)(II) of section 1182(a) of this title may be waived by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and in accordance with this section, in the case of an alien who meets the following requirements: * * * (12) Not present in Iraq, Syria, or any other country or area of concern (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C)—(i) the alien has not been present, at any time on or after March 1, 2011— * * * (II) in a country that is designated by the Secretary of State * * * as a country, the government of which has repeatedly provided support of acts of international terrorism; * * * (C) Waiver The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the application of subparagraph (A) to an alien if the Secretary determines that such a waiver is in the law enforcement or national security interests of the United States." The Secretary of State made such a designation, with respect to Cuba, on January 12, 2021. See http://www.state.gov/state-sponsors-of-terrorism. While the Secretary of State is empowered to waive this inapplicability, on the ground of law enforcement or national security interests of the United States, my understanding is that no such waiver has been made. Thus, the visa waiver program is not applicable to U.K. citizens who have been present in Cuba on or after March 1, 2011, absent certain exceptions not generally applicable.

Almost certainly, NCL will offer the most expensive and least convenient transportation options. The most convenient transportation, on May 8, 2023, likely at the best price, will be that provided by Alaska Cruise Transportation, from either downtown Anchorage or Anchorage airport, to Seward, with a one-way ticket offered for $65. It is possible that NCL will have reached an agreement with the Alaska Railroad for it to operate a chartered train, from Anchorage airport to Seward, on May 8, 2023, which is prior to the start of the regular railroad season (that begins on May 13, 2023), and if this posibility does come to fruition, then you will need to keep an eye on the NCL website because it, and not the Alaska Railroad, will be the only vendor for these Alaska Railroad train tickets.

It is an argument that has at least some merit. There's really two attributes that are at issue. First, the attribute of service the public indiscriminately. Second, whether the service when operated continues to be open to the public to join, or if the service is operated exclusively at the control and direction of the individual who had engaged the service. As to the former attribute, taxis are generally operated in the public interest, serving the public indiscriminately. In that regard taxis clearly are common carriers, and so there is a shared characteristic with buses and trains. But as to the latter attribute, a taxi is no longer available for public use once it is engaged by a passenger, and the taxi becomes controlled by a private individual, operating according to that person's direction, and excluding the admission of others to the vehicle. The same could true for a bus (or even train), something that would referred to as a charter bus, but charter buses are usually excluded from the category of public transportation. So while there is an argument here, I don't think that taxis can legitimately be called public transportation. Historically, hackneys had long been a part of the urban scene, and it was only in the late 1820s that some hackney operators evolved into omnibus operators, carrying multiple passengers along a route devised by the omnibus operator. Government initially regulated omnibuses as hackneys, and it would a few decades for a separate regulatory scheme to be developed and omnibuses being viewed as a separate type of transportation.So there is clearly a common history. Eventually, buses, and street railways following their initial introduction in the mid 1850s, became known as mass transportation, or mass transit, recognizing their distinction from hackneys in their capability to transporting many people--the masses--in a single vehicle. Sometime in the more recent past, I would say starting in the 1970s, the term "public transportation" began replacing "mass transportation" (and it was in the 1980s that the industry trad group then known as the American Transit Association became the American Public Transportation Association) in recognition of the changing environment--especially the introduction of paratransit and other alternative means of transportation--in which it was not the transportation of the masses that defined the industry as it was the transportation of the public in shared-ride vehicles. Even more recently there has been a disturbing trend in which government regulations are defining public transportation as transportation owned and operated by the public sector (or contracted to be operated by the public sector), excluding privately owned and operated transportation, that is open to the public, from the definition of public transportation. (This re-definition is usually to provide some competitive advantage to government-operated transportation systems, or to impose stricter regulation on privately-operated transportation systems.) I think that this re-definition is wrong-headed. In my view, and I think the view of most other transportation professionals, "public transportation" is shared-ride transportation that is open and available to the general public indiscriminately, regardless if publicly-owned or privately-owned. Shared-ride services generally offered to and from airports (e.g., SuperShuttle) are legitimately public transportation (even though some airport authorities classify them as taxi services rather than bus services). Taxis are generally excluded from the definition of public transportation because they are not shared-ride (they are exclusive to the person who has engaged the taxi) . . . though in a few instances taxis have operated as shared ride (such as the TLC taxi-share operation on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, or UberPool), in which case they legitimately are public transportation. Finally, I note that the term "public transportation" is defined by federal law (for the purpose of its funding of public transportation systems by the Federal Transit Administration): "The term “public transportation”—(A) means regular, continuing shared-ride surface transportation services that are open to the general public or open to a segment of the general public defined by age, disability, or low income; and (B) does not include—(i) intercity passenger rail transportation provided by the entity described in chapter 243 (or a successor to such entity); (ii) intercity bus service; (iii) charter bus service; (iv) school bus service; (v) sightseeing service; (vi) courtesy shuttle service for patrons of one or more specific establishments; or (vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility shuttle services." 49 U.S.C. § 5302(a)(15). This is a reasonable general definition (though I disagree with the exclusions of sub-pargraphs (i) and (ii)--which I believe were included in the definition only to exclude their eligibility for federal grant funding--and public transportation does include such services, as well as the transportation provided by airlines and cruise vessels).

I have also done the ferry between Whittier and Valdez, but in the opposite direction and many years ago when the route was being serviced by the vessel Bartlett (which by now is almost certainly no more: see http://www.newscenter.seattlecentral.edu/2019/01/30/longtime-ferry-vessel-leaves-seattle-maritime-academy). Upon arrival in Whittier from the ferry I also had a while to pass before my train would depart. At the time motor vehicles were not allowed in the tunnel, so the Alaska Railroad operated several shuttle trains throughout the day, between Whittier and Portage, comprised primarily of flatcars (for transporting motor vehicles and their passengers), with an ex-SP gallery car on the end for passengers without motor vehicles. Only the last trip of the day had a bus connection at Portage into Anchorage, and so I had the day to occupy myself in Whittier. I don't remember where I left my baggage, but during the day I did a little bit of hiking in the surrounding area. At departure time, I noted that the gallery car was separated from the locomotive by all the flatcars, and so there was no HEP available. Yes, the entire trip was made in the dark, though that was not so bad because it improve visibility out the widows (no reflections). That was also the first season in which the Alaska Railroad had resumed passenger service to and from Seward, and in doing so the railroad operated the service using a pair of nicely-refurbished Budd RDCs. I think I prefer the informality of the RDCs over the now-longer locomotive-hauled Coastal Classic. What's nice about the Glacier Discovery train that you will be riding is its truly unique double deck DMU, the Chugach Explorer. At one time the railroad would decouple the DMU from the other cars at Spencer, and run the single car by itself between Spencer and Grandview, but I do not know if that is being done today or it the entire train is sent to Grandview. I think that the railroad once had greater plans for the DMU, but it is being underused right now. There's a nice explanatory video here: http://youtu.be/e2eAkoH8SdM.

That explains the confusion! There is a large and politically-influential industry trade association known as the American Public Transportation Association . . . it represents operators of buses, railroads, and the like, and is only incidentally interested in taxis (typically as a back-up for paratransit systems serving people with disabilities, or as a back-up for peak-only transit services as a "guaranteed ride home" during off-peak hours). Most people in cities view taxis as being distinct from public transportation, and that, too, is my general perspective. When you arrive at the airport in Newark, signs will distinguish public transportation from taxis.

Sounds perfect! The railroad clerks do have more access than is made available to passengers online, so it sounds as if that is what was done . . . and at a proper fare. There's no real station facilities at Whittier, so it is likely that you'll just bring your baggage to the trainman at the baggage car, and hand it up to him or her. On the way back, when the train arrives in Portage prior to its return into Whittier, passengers will be afforded the opportunity to alight from the train and continue onward by motorcoach . . . which takes a quicker route and gets into Anchorage at 6:45 p.m. If time is an issue, then it is an option you might consider. Otherwise, I image you would prefer the comfort and convenience of remaining on the train for the full trip into Anchorage (notwithstanding the additional 2-1/2 hours travel time). There's not a lot to do in Whittier, so remaining on the vessel until 11:30 a.m., or as late as possible, is a good plan. This is not say Whittier is uninteresting; to the contrary it is both very scenic generally and unusual in that virtually all the residents of the city live in a single apartment building.

It looks like the railroad has a bug in their system that precludes purchasing tickets originating at the Grandview station. This may be because Grandview is "only" accessible by railroad, and therefore the Alaska Railroad might be trying to prevent someone from getting stuck at Grandview with no way out by limiting one-way ticket sales. (Not literally true, though, as one can always hike to or from Grandview, as rugged as the hike might be.) There is an online work-around by purchasing a round-trip ticket from Whittier to Grandview and return, plus a one-way ticket from Whittier to Anchorage. That would cost $103 plus $98, or $201 total, for the two tickets. However, the price for a single round-trip ticket from Anchorage to Grandview and return is only $158, which could be used for the same journey (but simply not traveling the outbound segment from Anchorage to Whittier). The full fare table for the route south of Anchorage is provided below, the source data for the table coming from the railroad's online ticket sales utility. My suspicion is that the Alaska Railroad does not have its entire tariff programmed into its online ticket sales utility. It may be that Alaska Railroad ticket clerks have the entire tariff available to themselves, and can also work around the above-noted bug. In other words, Alaska Railroad ticket clerks may be able to sell to you a one-way ticket from Whittier to Grandview for $62, plus a one-way ticket from Grandview to Anchorage for $85, for a total of $147 . . . which is only slightly less than a round-trip between Anchorage and Grandview. (Yes, there do appear to be fare anomalies for one-way travel between Anchorage, Girdwood, and Whittier. A passenger intending to travel one-way from Anchorage to Whittier would be best served by buying a one-way ticket from Anchorage to Spencer, and then simply alight from the train when it stops in Whittier. A one-way ticket between Anchorage and Whittier ought to be about $60-70, to be proportionate to other fares.) It may be best giving a call to a Alaska Railroad ticket clerk, and knowing from the fare table below that the fare should be no higher than $158 total, and that the actual fare should be $147, see if the clerk has access to all fares and can provide a better deal. Maybe not, but at least you would be talking to the clerk with some knowledge. I would not be overly concern with baggage. Most people travel with baggage, and whether you carry it with you in the passenger car or have it transported in the baggage car is a relatively minor detail.

I am not quite certain if I understand the concern. The southbound Glacier Discovery train comes into Whittier at about 12:05 p.m., discharges passengers from Anchorage and other points to the north, boards passengers to Grandview and other points to the south, and departs from Whittier at about 12:45 p.m. It arrives at the last stop, Grandview, at about 3:20 p.m., reverses, and begins its northward trek back towards Anchorage at about 3:30 p.m. On its northbound trip the train stops, again, in Whittier, from about 6:05 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., and arrives at the last stop, downtown Anchorage, at about 9:00 p.m. It sounds as though you're looking to purchase both a one-way ticket from Whittier to Grandview, and a one-way ticket from Grandview to downtown Anchorage. The train uses car no. 751, named the Chugach Explorer, a unique and distinctive double deck DMU built by Colorado Railcar (plenty of pictures and videos of the car can be found online), in which you might take your baggage with you, and it also carries a baggage car should your baggage be large. Is there some particular concern about traveling on this train?

A good plan for that type of situation. Many vessels arrive the day prior to the final disembarkation day, and so you will have completed all sightseeing the day before. But since you will be leaving the vessel around 7:00 a.m., it might be too early for there to be many taxis available at the port (I don't possess that specific knowledge of taxi availability at that hour to be able to advise). If your baggage is on wheels, you can walk to the station in about 15 minutes, so that could be a fall-back plan in the event there are no taxis to be found.

It sounds like you got snared by a gypsy cab. It may be that all legal taxicabs within the city of Québec must accept credit cards (I am not certain of the local laws within the city and the veracity of the port employee's assertion), but my suspicion is that did not actually use a legal taxicab. The law in Québec is that "[n]o taxi driver may require a customer to pay, in addition to the fare calculated in accordance with the rate structure, any charge other than a charge prescribed by regulation," the regulated fare being based on distance traveled. In some cases a taximeter may not be required, but in those cases the odometer is used to calculate distance traveled. In this situation I likely would have exited the vehicle without paying, or called the police if there were any resistance from the driver. I find it disheartening to hear stories of innocent tourists feeling obligated in some manner to these hucksters. We have the same problem with gypsy cabs in the city where I reside, and we get a bad reputation when they cheat our visitors.

How were you cheated? Did the taxi driver demand more than the metered fare? Did you call for police intervention?

Keep in mind, however, that the service is free only in summer, end of May through the end of October. Starting November 1, 2022, regular $2.00 fares apply.

Right on schedule . . . shortly after the end of the summer 2022 season!

But that's charter service, not regular service that an individual person would travel upon.

The RIPTA fare-free bus, route 67, regularly uses a replica trolley vehicle for service. I was not aware of any privately-operated replica trolley service. Can you tell us anything about the competing private company?

No, you were perfectly clear for all of us who know Québec. Ordinarily there should be. It is such a short distance. I assume that you're looking at Via Rail no. 37, departing Gare du Palais at 12:36 p.m., due in Montréal, at Gare Centrale, at 3:54 p.m. (It would be difficult trying to board the earlier train, departing at 8:10 a.m., though there are two trains later in the afternoon should you desire to do some sightseeing while in Québec. In that case, there are luggage lockers at the Gare du Palais, within the bus part of the station, and you might also leave baggage with Via Rail itself, all so that you can explore the city freely.)

The only tolls that one would encounter are those going to the Rockaways; otherwise there are no tolls for travel entirely within Queens. No toll should be payable to this hotel.

While there are a few places within the port where a vessel might dock, the main port area is about one kilometre from the Gare du Palais, an easy 10-minute walk. The same station in Québec for both trains and buses, and so if the Via Rail schedule in inconvenient then Orléans Express provides quality bus service to Montréal as well.

Not surprising, since Acela is priced so high. By choosing an Acela train, the fare between New York and Boston can be $152, whereas a regular train is only $31. The difference in travel time between an Acela train and a regular train is 16 minutes.