TSS Alex

5 hours ago, Emmabelle said:

 how do I get across 9A walking?  It looks like a major throroughfare? 

If you should need to do this, pedestrian crossings are at the south side of W. 50, W.52, and W. 54, and the north side of W. 55

7 hours ago, asbruce said:

Wondering if anyone else has experience with this type of sailing and can provide feedback on being able to arrange dining once on board.  

I was on Symphony's first interporting cruise, back in June of 2018. Sounds like things haven't changed.

Malta

Um - looked to see if their was a "Do Manhattan on your own" tour  (which there isn't). But there is a "Lower Manhattan & 9/11 Memorial" tour on the first day in NY.

11 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

Can I ask a dumb question though?  I am Canadian.  Why would you want our coke?  It is the same as yours as far as I know...

Not a dumb question. Canadian CocaCola, like most of the rest of the world, is made with cane sugar. In the US, it's made with high fructose corn syrup. It's a very noticeable difference.

Solarium and 270.

We spent a rainy afternoon in 270 while they were rehearsing for Spectra's Cabaret. As theatre people, this was one of the high points.

5 hours ago, Radio said:

She is coming along well. . . She is scheduled to arrive in Bayonne by 11am on Sunday, Nov. 7

The more I see the anticipated arrival time and the cutting back of Anthem's first trip, the more I wonder if someone didn't realize "Damn. We scheduled that first trip on the day of the NYC Marathon. Way too many people won't make boarding time."

An 11:00am arrival in Bayonne means passing the Verrazzano sometime after 10:00 - with many runners still on the bridge. Might get some good pics from the TV coverage - if someone swings the camera to the side.

8 hours ago, nc350 said:

I We are struggling to find a place that will allow us to prebook our test for the Saturday (we leave Monday). We can not use the home kits as they do not ship to Canada I am worried if I ship to hotel if they will actually get there and they will have them for us etc..... Anyone have any insight?

 

At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, there is a no appointment needed testing site at the Staten Island Ferry terminal on the Staten Island side. Rapid testing before 6:00pm gets results inside of an hour, PCR  results usually within 24 hours.

12 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Sailing on Celebrity from Cape Liberty. I suspect the answer is "no" as that's about 7 miles south of the Statue, and the ship would likely depart to the south on the way to Bermuda....unless it deviates north to give passengers a peek?

 

Anyone done a cruise from Cape Liberty? I think Manhattan is a mile or two north, but I suspect those ships also would not see the Statue unless the ship deviates north on that purpose.

 

Doug

 

In general, ships sailing out of Cape Liberty do not sail past the statue; however, you do stand a better chance on Celebrity than Royal.

As a lifelong New Yorker (and the last 30 on Staten Island), I do feel the need to pick on your distances. I'm lucky - I get to take a 30 minute "cruise" twice a day on the Staten Island Ferry - so I'm quite familiar with where things are in the harbor. Cape Liberty is about 2 miles south of the Statue. The tip of Manhattan is about 1.7 miles from the Statue. The length of the Upper Bay (from the Verrazzano to the tip of Manhattan is just under 7 1/4 miles.

And, yes, you can see the Statue from Cape Liberty. This is from Anthem while still moored at Cape Liberty.

20 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

Is she coming in at low tide?😉

Nope. High tide at 0435, low tide at 1104.

On 8/13/2021 at 12:37 PM, ace2542 said:

We would be getting into Brooklyn and transferring across to Bayonne on a SUNDAY. What would be the chances of getting a PCR test in 30 minutes on a Sunday?

Another alternative is the NYC run site at the Staten Island ferry terminal. No appointments needed and rapid tests done until 6:00pm.

I've used them a few times and have always been in and out within 15 minutes.

5 hours ago, billslowsky said:

Not in Bergen County.  They still have blue laws.

Yeah, but  - Bergen County is a tad out of the way for a transfer between  the Brooklyn port and Cape Liberty.

And for a couple of different things.

Just off the Jade  a week and a half ago. Balcony cabin had the world's smallest toilet area. Needed to find restrooms outside of the cabin for going #2. My 6' self just couldn't bend that way in the cabin (My 5' wife says no problem).

We arrived back in Civi a day earlier (due to propulsion problems). Ship excursion at Livorno was cancelled (obviously) and the refund was given to me in cash (along with the $50/excursion perk). Final night on board I was handed $700 US and then on the last day, another $52. I have never received a cash refund on a credit card charge. Ever.

Walks of Italy is definitely the way to go. The groups are kept to a relatively small size, which makes moving thru the crowds easier. We did this in June of 2018 and our group of 24 kept passing thru a group that seemed to number 250 (can't imagine being in a group that large). Seeing the Vatican with someone who knows what they're talking about is wonderful. Aside from pointing out the must-sees, he also showed us things you would not see if someone didn't point them out (like the Star(s) of David embedded in the floors of some of the galleries & where to stand to get a picture of your ticket fitting into the painting it comes from). We also used them for the Colosseum/Forum and the Rome Like a Local tour.

On 7/6/2019 at 3:33 PM, euro cruiser said:

There is a left luggage service at Terminal 3:  http://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en-/pax-fco-baggage-services

 

But why go to the airport so far ahead of your flight time?  

One would imagine that the OP has an 11:00 am check out from their hotel and doesn't want to spend hours in a car driving around Rome. And if I didn't know better, I'd swear I wrote the original post, as my wife and I will probably be doing the same thing (same flight,  but probably a different date).

6 hours ago, #1Nanna said:

 Thanks for all of the responses and info.  So I am looking at  3 hotels, the Hilton Doubletree financial district, the Hilton Garden Inn financial district or the Hampton Inn financial district.  Does anyone have an opinion or experience with one of the three? 

FWIW, the Hampton Inn has free breakfast daily - not necessarily the greatest, but certainly filling.

12 hours ago, John Bull said:

Sorry to intrude and add nothing helpful,  but there's a CC member who has a strap-line which goes something like ..... 

 

"If duct-tape doesn't fix it, you haven't used enough duct-tape"

 

That amused me.

OK, it doesn't take a lot to amuse me 

 

JB 

 

Depends on the original problem. The better quote is:

If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape.

If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.

On 5/11/2019 at 10:10 AM, TruckerDave said:

NJ Transit line form EWR into Manhattan. 

 

and the almost impossible one....locations of free bathrooms in midtown. 😬

OK TruckerDave (and everyone else) - The map in the original post has been updated with a new layer with the EWR Airtrain (and stops) and the NJT line from Newark Airport to Penn Station has been added. Hoboken connections to come at a later date.

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

  Coney Island will be off to the left of ship after you go under Verrazanno Bridge?  Correct?

Yes.

On 5/17/2019 at 6:50 PM, lenquixote66 said:

Is TSS Times Square Stores ?

Once upon a time, yes. But now, it's just my title at work - Train Service Supervisor. I work for NYC Transit, currently in an office position, but did spend time as a Conductor, Train Operator, and 10 years as an Instructor teaching new hires.  One of the job perks is the ability to take over operation of any train in the system "just because".

On 5/11/2019 at 11:21 AM, njhorseman said:

If I may make a suggestion for improvement of the accuracy of your map, you should relabel the cruise port in Bayonne with its correct name,  Cape Liberty . Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but there is a waterfront development with a ferry terminal not far away in Jersey City named "Port Liberte". My concern is if someone wants to take a car service or taxi to the Cape Liberty cruise terminal and they use the words "Port Liberty" instead they may end up with their driver taking them to "Port Liberte", not the Cape Liberty cruise terminal.

Done  - even though I find it unlikely that a car service/taxi would take a group of people and their luggage to a housing complex instead of the cruise port, because they use 'Port' instead of 'Cape'.

On 5/11/2019 at 10:10 AM, TruckerDave said:

NJ Transit line form EWR into Manhattan. 

 

and the almost impossible one....locations of free bathrooms in midtown. 😬

I've lived in the city for my entire life - free bathrooms at Grand Central and every hotel lobby, as well as most large stores.

I didn't put the EWR line in because it isn't just one straight run. But, I'll try to get it in next week.

Having made this trip using both routes, I'd rather pay the toll on the Thruway from Buffalo to Syracuse, then I-81 down to I-80. Route 20A (the connector between I-190  and I-390) becomes "Main St" for a number of towns and is prone to random summertime jam-ups for no particular reason. Once you're on I-380 (whichever way you choose to get there), wake up Waze or Google and see what traffic looks like on I-80 approaching the Delaware Water Gap (the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border). This is one of the strangest sections of road on your trip - 18 miles (29 km) that can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours to traverse. If it is severely backed up, you'll be re-routed down Route 33 to I-78, which will bring you straight into Newark.

16 hours ago, rcymmolly said:

Thank you so much for your insights.  I am going to book that early walk in the Vatican.  Did you do the breakfast with it, or on your own?

We didn't do the tour with breakfast - just picked up something on the walk to the meeting point (which is a bar that serves breakfast, or at least, what passes for breakfast in Rome).

My wife and I did three tours with Walks of Italy last June and have two more scheduled with them in September. We highly recommend them. For a first time trip to the Vatican, I would suggest booking a tour - it's just large enough that you could get lost in it and miss things you really want to see. We did the Pristine Sistine™ Early Entrance Small Group Vatican Tour which met at 8:00am a few blocks from the Museum entrance. The non-tour line was already very long at that time for a 9:00 am opening. The Walks tours all used a small radio and earphones, so you could hear what your guide was saying and not have to listen to all the other groups nearby (something I wish groups would use here in NYC). Their groups are also fairly small - it's much easier to keep track of 20 people instead of 200. The other plus is their guides - all qualified in their areas. Our guide at the Vatican had a degree in Art History, which results in off-the-cuff tours instead of "here's the company script, just recite it and don't answer questions".  At the end of the tour, he actually stayed around for a bit, answering any questions we still had.

We sort of did the gelato and sights tour on our own. We were staying across the street from the Pantheon (halfway between the Colosseum and the Vatican) , which is surrounded by restaurants and gelaterrias. We walked to the Trevi Fountain and then on to the Spanish Steps, before heading back through a non-tourist area, ie residential, which is quite a different look from tourist Rome.

Buy a camera with a bunch of SD cards and take pictures of everything - statues, signs, fountains, your hotel, the views.

Rome is filled with water fountains - bring a refillable bottle and fill up almost anywhere you are.

Don't be afraid to get off the beaten path - two or three blocks from almost any tourist attraction will see the prices on food drop to something affordable. If you see a 15 euro pizza on the menu, you're paying too much.