nicole1211

Appreciate the suggestion, but dragging a 10 year old and 3 suitcases through the subway does not sound fun to me. [emoji23] I’ll stick with the taxi system and buses.

 

 

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Wholeheartedly agree that's the thing to do :')! Especially easier to LGA for you!

Several missing details. It is the Subway. You can pick it up on 8th Ave. I walk to the 42 bus and get off at Port Authority. You ONLY want the downtown Far Roakaway A train. Takes you right to the JFK Airtrain. 2.75. For bus coin only or Metrocard.

You can do that, but the most direct route is to take the 8th Ave E Uptown/Queens-bound to Jamaica Center. It's express and only 10 stops. Airtrain is right there as well and that ride is $5 in addition to your $2.75 train fare. However, they do a lot of construction on the weekends on all lines. A few weeks back, my usual hour long ride to JFK took two hours because I had to wait 30 minutes for an E and 20 for Airtrain. I wouldn't leave things up to mass transit cutting it so close. Hope that helps!

Here's what the five of us did recently in Portland. Walked to Holy Donut shop and each selected a donut. (Huge and delicious which we ate at a nearby small park bench). Continued walking up the hill and took the 11:00 Eastern Cemetery Tour. Continued along that street and visited the Old Observatory. Left there and walked to the end of street to stroll along the Eastern Promenade which eventually wound back at the ship. Had a late lunch in town. Made for a very fun day.

This is exactly what I have planned, with a brewery or two thrown in the mix. Glad it was a fun day and now I'm even more excited!

I'm impressed by your review! Sounds like you had a fun time and gave them some areas in which to improve. I'll keep your thoughts of the Italian restaurant in mind as I consider dining options on the Escape in two weeks. You could also teach some of the adults around here a lesson in spell and grammar checks. Good luck to you and your sister in school this year; hopefully you have a fun cruise to look forward to next summer!

Here are some awesome guides put together by Tom that he shared on Cruise Critic: http://www.tomsportguides.com/uploads/5/8/5/4/58547429/saintjohn-nb-05-30-2014.pdf

 

He has other cities in Canada too, explore his web site for more.

 

Tammy

Thanks for sharing, explore his site I did! I feel much more confident about our enjoyment of these ports, now.

We decided to rent a car, it's about $30 USD for the DAY!

What a great deal! Which company are you using?

8 days until our first cruise! So excited :D

Magic will be getting Alchemy when it goes into dry dock in February/March.

I know, wish our cruise was after the dry dock, but alas it is in 12 days! Don't get me wrong, very excited for it still, just curious if there is a spot to get similar cocktails!

Are there any craft cocktail bars / bars similar to the Alchemy on Magic?

Mine aren't any more plush but I wouldn't call them that. Been in the wash many, many times. I do like the bath towels.

Thank you! I will make room for my own! Good to know about the bath towels.

no need to waste luggage space bringing beach towels when Carnival provides them. I always forget my insulated mug

Are the beach towels large and plush (more like a nicer beach "blankets" at Target)? Debating on bringing my own towels as well.

I hope you have an amazing first cruise! I know I looked to so many reviews before this cruise and so I really wanted to pay it forward. If you have any specific questions I'll try my best to answer based on what we experienced. As I'm writing this up I'm trying to think of everything that happened because it is overwhelming when you are trying to figure things out, but we had such an amazing time. Everyone told us we would be hooked on cruising and they may be right!

Thank you so much! I see what they mean as the planning alone is getting me hooked!

Beautiful pictures of such an idyllic location. My husband and I hope to go in the next few years. I really enjoy your perspective as a new cruiser! Our first cruise is coming up in a few months and the seasoned vets' reviews, while entertaining and informative, can feel overwhelming for a newbie.