robbinsca

Pearl Harbor is a very moving experience.

We had a great time at Volcanoes National Park- just rented a car for that day.

We took the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour over Kilauea as well. Best chance to see molten lava in your lifetime.

Finally we went on a snorkeling tour with one of the naturalist societies. Sorry can’t remember the name if the organization now.

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Just a word of warning. Chchen Itza and Cozumel are not a great pairing as far as time at the port. We just returned from a cruise on the RCCL Freedom of the Seas. We met in the theatre for the ship’s excursuion at 7:40. We were supposed to be back aboard at 4:30.

We actually arrived back at 5:10. Not a problem since it was a RCCL excursion and they didn’t leave. However you need to consider that we were 40 minutes late, and our total time at Chichen Itza was only 50 minutes. The rest of the time was spent either on a bus or a ferry. There were no traffic delays, but the ferry probably was a bit slower due to choppy seas on the way there ( seasick meds didn’t help a lot of people).

We felt VERY rushed- the onsite guide was very good, but we never stood still. We had to completely skip one of the major buildings completely due to time restraints making it impossible to invest 10 more minutes. Others have made the same type of comments, but I would definitely recommend not taking what could have been a woderful excursion unless the ship allows at least 10 hours at Cozumel. Since the next day was an “at sea” day it certainky seemed that more time could have been allowed.

This might well be my favorite post of all time on Cruise Critic!

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Wrong Sydney, that Captain would be in a LOT of trouble!

Tom's Port Guides on the internet provides a lot of information- but I can't firsthand knowledge. National Park is pretty, but not much history/insight.

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Will be watching the responses to your question for the ports we have not been to.

We had a separate land trip that took is to Boston and Bar Harbor. Two ends of the spectrum. Bar Harbor is small and tough to do more than touristy things. The town is very walkable and has several cafes for a nice lunch.

Boston is not as big as LA, but has some of the same issues. If you stay downtown you won't need a car to get around. The transit system can get you around. If you want an American History side trip Lexington and Concord are a short drive away.

In Boston- go down to the Boston Common and hire a guide for the Freedom Trail walking Tour. Nice slow pace, and lots of history in a couple of hours. If you are a baseball fan you MUST try to go to Fenway Park. If I remember correctly you start in Boston the day we get off the Maasdam, and the Red Sox are out of town. Check the schedule, but you can at least take a day time tour through this great cathedral to baseball.

If you want to see a school almost as good as UCLA you can take a tour of Harvard Yard......close but it doesn't quite match up......Go Bruins!

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Don't know about Mobile but some hotels near other cruiseports offer free parking for the week if you stay overnght there. Might be worth checking a few places.

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We used the plan in Mexico with no problem last year. It was only $2 per day per line- very reasonable. Not sure where you are headed, but countries other than Mexico and Canada are listed at $10 per day. You only get charged for the days you actually use- and you get a text reminder prior to first use each day.

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Hi Folks

 

We are booked on the summit for the June 27th sailing 2017 spending American Independence Day in Boston overnight, and Canadian Independence Day in Nova Scotia overnight also.

 

On the list of celebrity excursions there is nothing related to Independence Day at all - just the usual excursions for those ports.

 

I was just wondering if anyone has done this itinerary in the past and if so, did Celebrity put anything special on? Either on board or ashore?

 

Many thanks

 

(Ps also posted in the celebrity forum)

 

 

 

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Lots of great things to do in Boston on the 4th. We found a fundraiser for a sailing club for kids that was situated right on the river near the Boston Pops bandshell area. We sat on deck chairs and enjoyed the fireworks after a day walking the Liberty Trail downtown.

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POA was one of our favorite cruises. It is different than most other cruises. You do have a port every day, and the ship almost seems secondary. There has been a drydock since we were on, so my info may be dated.

Specialty dining does provide better food- we loved dinner the first night at Jefferson's Bistro. The Italian restaurant was not worth it on any of our NCL cruises.

Easy to rent a car at the ports and do your own thing. We took one group tour, but enjoyed time with friends or by ourselves much more.

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We wanted the time on the POA early because we knew with a port every day we wouldn't be spending time onboard during the week.

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Like to party- go on Carnival. Like a little but classier experience- go NCL

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Great idea. I would find some pictures of the ship and destination and activities they can plan on and have them be items to find.

Closest I ever came was telling my kids we were going shopping one morning (moans and groans) and then turning off at the Disneyland exit. The attitudes chaned really quickly....we live <10 miles away but don't go that often.

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I can remember being in Naples and getting stuck in traffic due to one of the daily labor strikes there while on a private tour. We were panicked, but the driver got us close enough that we could jump through a hole in the fence, then another van from the company picked us up inside the port area and drove us over to the ship. I will never forget that. The driver said it was their policy that they would take us to the next stop (Rome) if they missed the ship.

The reason we made it...... the ship's tour was behind is in the traffic. We love the smaller private tours!

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As a Banker I would recommend not using any public wifi for your accounts. By the time you know there is a problem your money is gone.

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I only did it once, but it seemed to me that we got something like a 3-1 ratio on the money put down. Paid $250, got $750 toward a booking wihin a 3 year period. It was NCL, and they got our business the next time whereas I would have probably gone to another line based on itineraries. We could use any TA and select any itinerary- we just had a use it or lose it.

Go Bruins- beat the Cats!

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Around the British Isles, and Panama Canal. Of course I would be willing to go almost anywhere.

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You may want to consider just renting the car in Seward. We did this on our first trip to Alaska and found it to be an easy and pretty drive. Plus it solves your juggage storage issue. It may cost a little extra for the dropoff in Anchorage, but you save in other ways.

Can't remember the name of the company we used for the Kenai Fjords cruise, but it was one of the best things we did. It included a stop for a salmon lunch at their lodge along the way.

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Carry your suitcases off yourself and save the chance that yours are at the end of the line...

We always arrive and board as early as possible and then walk around the ship to familiarize ourselves. Then we have a late lunch and start relaxing.....

If you are going to be town for 5-6 days you will want to get a car, if you are only here a day or two cabs and public transportation should be OK. The age of your kids may dictate some destinations. If they are into dinosaurs go to the La Brea Tarpits, if they love movies and TV then Universal Studios is a great destination. Disneyland is different than Disney World, but many things are the same.

Spend a day at the beach, but some of the stops on a HOHO bus may not interest kids. Rodeo Drive is interesting, but would bore a kid to death.

One day - not Disney - i would do Universal and its City Walk for something you would not see back home.

Agree on all points with davesgirl

We used RIL in Naples and Florence and were very, very pleased with everything about the tour. Our group had 4 couples that didn't know each other banding together and one of us (might even have been me- I don't remember) went with Rome Cabs just in case RIL wasn't all that was advertised. All were done based on Cruise Critic recommendations.............and Cruise Critic has never led me astray. 3 Cruises down..............3 sets of great excursions without paying cruise line prices.

I didn't put it in the post.........I think our tour guide cost 100 euros, plus the tip.

We used Rome in Limo for Florence and Naples/Pompeii, but another person had booked us for Rome with RomeCabs. We were very pleased with both.

if I had to give an edge to one or the other I would probably lean to Rome in Limo.......because of the "famous" Jany. Jany must really be about 12 people, because there is an answer to all of your questions within minutes, not hours, after you email.

We had groups of 8 in each spot, so had a big van, but 8 is sure a lot better than 165 on the cruise line tours.

If you do use Rome in Limo for Florence get them to take you to the Gelateria called La Carraia. They had REAL gelato, not the factory stuff...........it was really, really good.