Which Trolley in Boston?

[CaribbeanBound]

There are a number of city trolleys in Boston. I am interested in a HOHO that has a stop near the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal / Pier. Can anyone assist me with this? Thank you.

[138east]

It's the Old Town Trolley - look at their map. They have a new stop 16A which operates when cruise ships are in port.

[CaribbeanBound]

Perfect. Right you are. I was able to confirm this information here:

http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/massport-cruise-ship-terminal.asp

 

Thank you. That makes this easy!

[chatdad]

Do make sure you check the hours of operation for the shuttle. Old Town runs to 6pm. Booked via their website and assumed they'd run at least until 9 (my mistake). We weren't scheduled to get into port until 2pm (off ship at 3:30 - not by our choice, they got the shore excursions off first and the rest of us had to wait). Old Town refunded our tickets, no questions asked (via their website).

[CaribbeanBound]

chatdad...

Good notes.

 

Kudos to Old Town Trolley for their good business practices.

[cruzwpj]

I have never been to Boston and want to see the highlights, plus the JFK Library. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Did you book on your own or from a cruise tour package? Thanks

[138east]

Here's the trolley tour map - http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/images/boston-mass-map1.pdf and here's the JFK library - http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/General+Information/Visit+Directions+and+Public+Accessibility.htm

 

That would be a busy day. What time would you dock? If you are there all day, you could first take a cab to the library which opens at 9 am. Then you could take a cab back to the trolley stop at the pier (you might need to get the phone number of a cab company to call) or go directly to Stop 1 to save time. There are apparently 2 loops - the regular loop and the South Boston Loop which would include the pier. You need to transfer from one to the other at Stop 1.

[theshortchef]

My daughter moved to Boston (Cambridge specifically) in August. It was our first trip there so once we arrived in town, we did some shopping for her and some exploring for all of us. The city is beautiful BUT getting around is a nightmare! Don't try to do much because I guarantee you that you are underestimating your travel time by ALOT. You could put yourself in jeopardy of missing your ship!

[Nevertoolate]

Can tickets be purchased at the Stop l6 or do I go on line to do it?

Thanks.

[138east]

My understanding is that you can buy them online or you can just get on the trolley at Stop 16 and ride to Stop 1 where you would buy your tickets and transfer to the main trolley loop.

[travelbig]

The stop closest to the ship is #16A. Any one can get on at this stop, whether you have a ticket or not, and everyone has to get off at stop #1. At stop #1, if you have an e-ticket, you will have to get it converted to a regular ticket (for reboarding at stops) and if you don't have a ticket yet you can buy tickets at stop #1. The only benefit to buying on-line is the discount.

 

This is the info posted by someone a few weeks ago who had just been there.

[CruisenLexie]

The stop closest to the ship is #16A. Any one can get on at this stop, whether you have a ticket or not, and everyone has to get off at stop #1. At stop #1, if you have an e-ticket, you will have to get it converted to a regular ticket (for reboarding at stops) and if you don't have a ticket yet you can buy tickets at stop #1. The only benefit to buying on-line is the discount.

 

This is the info posted by someone a few weeks ago who had just been there.

 

Sounds like you could be wasting valuable time getting on and then off and waiting for people to buy or exchange tickets. Does anyone know if it is better time wise to just hop a cab and go it on your own? Are cabs available throughout the city to catch to get back to the ship? Were there cabs at the pier to pick people up?

[138east]

I think you have to work out the pace of your day. Stop 1 is at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market where a lot of folks like to get off anyway. To save some "valuable" time, you can purchase your tickets online so you have them that day. I know from comments on this board that many folks really like the new Stop 16A by Black Falcon. They are already spending $30+/pp to take the HoHo, so eliminating the $10-$12 cab fare each way to Faneuil Hall is a substantial savings. Also, most folks allow all day to do this - the basic round trip ride on the main loop is 1 hour 40 minutes so there is plenty of time to get on and off the trolley.

 

The bottom line is that you might save a little time taking a cab directly to Faneuil Hall, but probably not much. You would travel essentially the same route. IMO I would save the cab option for the end of the day if you get close to sailing time.

[CruisenLexie]

The ship dosen't come in till 10 and it is back on board by 6 so I just want to manage my time with that in mind. I was looking at the subway too but maybe we better just stick with the trolley. Thanks for the feedback.

[travelbig]

Here are the directions to stop 16A per a past cruiser. It isn't right at the ship.

 

Disembark thru the terminal and walk out Gate B. Turn left and follow the path to Drydock Ave. Go across Drydock Ave. and turn left and walk past First Trade Bank and Dunkin' Donuts. At the end of that building cross Harbor St. and go to the bus stop labeled "Drydock Avenue".

 

I made a copy of these instructions to take with me.

[CruisenLexie]

Thank you!!

 

here are the directions to stop 16a per a past cruiser. It isn't right at the ship.

 

Disembark thru the terminal and walk out gate b. Turn left and follow the path to drydock ave. Go across drydock ave. And turn left and walk past first trade bank and dunkin' donuts. At the end of that building cross harbor st. And go to the bus stop labeled "drydock avenue".

 

I made a copy of these instructions to take with me.

[RandMcnally]

The stop closest to the ship is #16A. Any one can get on at this stop, whether you have a ticket or not, and everyone has to get off at stop #1. At stop #1, if you have an e-ticket, you will have to get it converted to a regular ticket (for reboarding at stops) and if you don't have a ticket yet you can buy tickets at stop #1. The only benefit to buying on-line is the discount.

 

This is the info posted by someone a few weeks ago who had just been there.

 

Sorry to contradict, but you do NOT have to wait in line at the ticket booth to exchange an e-ticket unless you have multiple passengers on one ticket and you plan on splitting up and going your separate ways.

[travelbig]

Sorry to contradict, but you do NOT have to wait in line at the ticket booth to exchange an e-ticket unless you have multiple passengers on one ticket and you plan on splitting up and going your separate ways.

 

This is the info that was given by someone who had just used the HOHO. At this point it doesn't matter. All of us will do what we are told to do at the time. But thank you for letting us know there are exceptions.

[KroozFoolz]

We did not have to exchange our etickets, but our group stayed together.

Also, I wanted to mention that at the end of our day, the trolley took us back to the ship (rather than dropping us off at the 16A stop a few blocks away). Maybe because it had been raining, but that was a nice surprise.

We hopped on and off several times, so we had several different drivers. Each with a different personality, but all were very nice and knew their stuff.

[TheWog]

We did not have to exchange our etickets, but our group stayed together.

Also, I wanted to mention that at the end of our day, the trolley took us back to the ship (rather than dropping us off at the 16A stop a few blocks away). Maybe because it had been raining, but that was a nice surprise.

We hopped on and off several times, so we had several different drivers. Each with a different personality, but all were very nice and knew their stuff.

 

Glad you had a good time and they took good care of you.

[Excited to go crusing]

we had a bad experience with the old town hoho. We went to stop 16a ( I had our e tickets with us, we found the correct location for stop 16a, & I called on my cell phone, to make sure we were in the correct location. That was at 10am, when no trolleys had appeared by 10.20 am, I called again, to make sure everything was Ok, again I was told to hang on, at stop 16 a ( there were two cruise ships in dock) I called again at about 10.45 & got the same information, just wait. By 11am, I was really frustrated & called again, got a different clerk, who told me 16a was not in operation & to walk to stop 16. I instead decided to get a refund on my ticket, as I had wasted an hour & an hour of standing, leaves me less able to walk around looking for another bus stop. We instead walked back to the cruise dock & got the shuttle to Fanieul Hall for $3

[138east]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with the trolley and wasted all that time. Could you tell us more about the $3 shuttle to Faneuil Hall? That sounds like a good deal. The main trolley loop stops at Faneuil Hall. The trolley loop that comes to South Boston is a separate loop. It might be worth recommending that folks spend the $3 to get to Stop 1 on the trolley.

[Excited to go crusing]

there were shuttle vans at the dock, right where we got off the ship. we paid the driver, but you may be able to buy tickets on board, I'm not sure, we just saw one, asked & got on.

[RandMcnally]

there were shuttle vans at the dock, right where we got off the ship. we paid the driver, but you may be able to buy tickets on board, I'm not sure, we just saw one, asked & got on.

 

You got lucky. The "shuttle" van you refer to was most likely a gypsy operator who was not licensed to do business at the cruiseport. Licensed and insured taxis and shuttles typically cost more. I would never recommend using one of these gypsy vehicles because of the insurance factor alone, God forbid you get into an accident.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience with the trolley. I just spoke to the management there and was told they have had some issues with the beuracracy at the port this year, but it has since been worked out and they do indeed have stop 16A available. Hopefully they refunded your tickets no-questions-asked.

[travelbig]

We were in Boston on Oct. 31 and also had some problem with getting on the Trolley. We went to the described location for stop 16A and ended up having to flag down a Trolley which was going toward the ship area. He did a U-turn and came back to pick our group up. He then told us the location for stop 16A had been changed a couple of weeks prior. It was changed to a location closer to the ship and supposedly there is a rep from the company at the pier to guide cruisers to the stop location. We didn't see the rep, it would've been a lot easier if we had. If you know where to go, the system works great though.