havoc315

I got an email at about the 130 day mark. You can also just call the concierge.

I could have sworn I read somewhere that it’s open for Friday bookings.

It’s showing up for Friday morning to Friday mornings.

It’s available to pre-book through ParkWhiz

That’s what I want — easy, economical, hassle free. There is no universal answer that applies to every situation. There are many trips where a train or a plane are easier. But which is a bigger hassle, waking up at 4:30am drive almost an hour in the wrong direction to get to a train.. or waking up at my normal time, 2 hours later.. Which is a bigger hassle… after the cruise, go back to my car and leave the city any time I want. Or to be tied to a train schedule. which is more economical, $175 to park plus $50-100 for gas and tolls, or $500-700 for trains and Ubers. I actually dislike driving. But I’ve done the drive to/from Boston well over 50 times, maybe over 100. There was a period where I was doing it monthly. I often hit 10 minutes of traffic around Hartford. Sometimes another 10-20 minutes getting into Boston. On average, takes me about 3:10. Dit it a few weeks ago in 2:55. It’s never taken me more than 4 hours. So if it takes 4 hours… I probably won’t love the traffic. But still faster, more economical, and less of a hassle than a train. (I actually hit far more traffic going in to Stamford than Boston. Stamford should be a 40 minute drive… last time I took the train from Stamford, it took me 1:20 just to get to the train station… which made me miss my train, but that’s another story).

I’ve accounted for all that. I’ve done both, driving and train. My experience over 28 years going to/from Boston 2+ times per year, is that driving is much faster, much more relaxing, and much cheaper 95% of the time. Can I hit traffic? Sometimes. Am I going to hit 3 hours worth of traffic both ways to even out the travel times? Very very unlikely. Do trains have delays? Absolutely sometimes. Hassle? Loading my car with 6-10 pieces of luggage just once, and then dropping it off at the port.. or lugging it into an Uber, then lugging it on to train, mugging it off train, lugging it back into another Uber before getting to port.. So less handle, hundreds of dollars less, hours and hours faster… Not close for me.

Im looking 3 months out. Should be plenty of time. But even if the train fare was only $3 per person… it would still be more expensive and much more time consuming than driving. Because of the need to spend about $300 on round trip Uber to get to/from the train stations. looking now — 6 months out, November 1 to Nov 8, cheapest late morning tickets: I’m seeing $316 round trip for 4 people.

I was giving this thought. My last 2 cruises out of Boston, I drove the same day. I left the house at 7am, I was parking at the terminal by 10:15. Total cost of parking, tolls and gas — $200-$250. I priced and timed my upcoming July trip. Anticipated costs of driving, about $250-$270. (Prices up since my last trip). By train: the most affordable train on the way there, and it still would get me to the port by about 10:15am — 6:17am-9:47am. That’s $30 per person. (You didn’t check the times of your $15 per person.. those are trains that get into Boston at midnight. Sleeping at the train station to save a few dollar before boarding a cruise isn’t my thing). I priced the Uber — $110 each way, 45-50 minute Uber ride. So I’d have to leave the house at about 5:20am.. So just getting there: $110 Uber to train. $120 train fare $25 Uber from south station to port. total 1 way, with cheap train: $255, about 5 hours door to door driving — $250-$270 round trip, 3- 31/2 hours each way Coming back in the train — cheapest late morning / early afternoon was $65 per person, so $260 total . Plus the same $135 in Ubers. So cheapest possible round trip costs on train: $650 More than double the price of driving. And almost double the time. Train is great if you live in easy access to a train line with direct service to Boston, and especially if you’re a small travel party. If you’re a larger travel party, and if the nearest train is really out of the way, then driving will usually make more sense.

I’ve done it 3 times this year thus far. It will probably be my fourth and last of the year.

my dates in July have nothing that cheap except for a 6am train. $400 is the minimum for 4 people, and those times don’t work. I can drive without a hotel as well, but I’m getting there a day early to do things in Boston. But even if the times worked, even if it was $200… that would still be significantly more expensive than driving because of the multiple Uber rides.

Well, Newark Penn is about a 90 minute $200 Uber ride away for me. So that would add a lot of time and money to the trip! I attended BU, and return for friends and alumni events frequently. I’ve never had more than 30-60 minutes traffic and often have smooth sailing.

I’m driving in to DC next week, dreading it. Most of the time, I’m an advocate for train when it comes to DC. But I have to pick my son up from college and haul all his stuff.

I was only talking about myself. It depends on number of people, distance from train station. If you are an hour away from the nearest train station, and 3-5 people traveling, driving is often much faster and cheaper. By the way — did a trip from NY to DC recently for a wedding. 3 segments of my family — 1 drove, 1 took the train, and I flew. Because of flight delays, my 1 hour flight took about 12 hours. The driver won the race easily. Train was slightly behind the driver.

That’s exactly what I got. So that’s $204.. return was $70pp. So $484 total.

Here is what I’m seeing from NY Penn for my dates:

Either Penn Station, NYC (which turns it into a $200 Uber) or Stamford, CT. The cheapest I’m seeing is $400 round trip, the more convenient times are over $500.

???? Don’t know what Amtrak you’re taking. I’ve never seen a ticket for under $60 each way except for very inconvenient times. The cheapest for my dates was $65 each way, per person.

$500 for round trip for 4 people. That’s the cheapest ticket — about $60-$70 per person, each way. $50-$100 for Uber from home to train station. $500 minimum for train. $50 Uber from south station to hotel. $30-$50 for Uber from hotel to port. $50-$100 for Uber from port back to train station. $50-100 for Uber from train station to home. train cost: $780 to $900 Time; about 5 1/2 hours to 6 hours from front door to hotel Car: Time: 3-4 hours Cost: round trip gas and tolls: About $100 to $150. (400 miles… I get about 36-40 mpg in my hybrid, so about $50 in gas round trip). overnight parking for 1 night at hotel: $50-$70 Parking: already prepaid Black Falcon lot, $175 for the week. Total cost of driving: $325 to $395 Not even close. Driving is significantly faster and cheaper than the train. (could take the high speed train… but that only saves 20-30 minutes and costs twice as much)

mileage varies. I do the drive to Boston 1-2 times per year. It usually is around 3 hours, never taken me more than 4. Total costs by train/uber are about $800. Total cost of parking and gas: about $300-$350.

That assumes you have a convenient rail stop. For me, it’s a direct 3 hour drive. Versus — Uber XL for 4 people to Amtrak station, about 35-40 minutes away. Then a 3 1/2 train ride to south station, (for another $500 or so) followed by another Uber to hotel. Followed by another Uber to the cruise port the next day. And doing that all in reverse the next day. So train is much more time consuming and much more expensive than driving.

I’m doing this cruise in July. I’m disappointed in the clear entertainment cost cutting. In a 7 night cruise, just 2 production numbers, a single comic on multiple nights, and movie nights. Do you recall which nights were the 2 production shows?

Haha. 20 minutes would be a record, maybe doable at 2am. It’s really 30 minute minimum. But on a weekend, assume no major accidents blocking traffic, should be no more than about 40-45 minutes. In weekday rush hour traffic, it’s over an hour.

I feel like it’s a bigger issue on economy cruise lines that have adopted all-you-can-drink packages. It specifically attracts people drawn to drinking heavily. Pay a budget price, get mediocre entertainment and food… but lots of booze. And I fear NCL’s entertainment cuts means relying more on the draw of lots of booze. One would hope to find less of that mentality in the Haven. Not because more affluent people drink any less. But simply because at the much higher price of the Haven, unlimited drinks wouldn’t be the draw at that price tag.

When you think about it, its not that shocking that the price would be similar. In some ways, you get more from the big mainstream ship -- Comparing a Haven suite to a Oceania/Silver Sea etc: On the true luxury line: You absolutely should expect superior service, superior food and alcohol. But in the Haven, you will typically get a much larger cabin than the same price on those ultra luxury lines. A Garden Villa / Deluxe Owner's Suite may be around the same price as a basic balcony cabin on true luxury line. And of course, you get big ship amenities that typically aren't found on those ultra luxury lines. But I do feel, in the long term, NCL would be wise to lift consistency and level of service in the Haven.

I had a recent call with the concierge. At the 130 day mark, got an email telling me to call the concierge for dining reservations, etc. I’ll say the pre-cruise concierge was very friendly and helpful. Connected immediately, did my dining reservations, and proactively inquired about anything else I need. What mixers did u want for my bar set up (Garden Villa), did I need extra pillows, etc. We’ll see if all the requests and notes actually get fulfilled once on board. But the call was A+ service.