Which Trolley in Boston?

[138east]

Thank you - that's good information to have for next year's cruises. Old Town Trolley is still getting their act together. They finally figured out that they might get a lot more business on "ship" days if they could pick folks up at Black Falcon instead of making them walk to the Westin or take a cab or the "T" to Faneuil Hall.

[Cruise_More_Often]

More kudos to Old Town Trolley from me! Our ship arrived in Boston at noon on the day Boston was celebrating Columbus Day with a huge parade. Six of us had purchased tickets online and were running up to the trolley as it pulled away (at stop 16A). The driver yelled that downtown Boston traffic was literally shut down, and all the trolleys were quitting for the day. We yelled back that we had our tickets and that the website never said anything about shutting down early. The driver, Frida, felt so bad for us that she picked us up anyway and gave us a wonderful 1.5 hour private tour of what she called "my Boston." Granted, we couldn't get on and off, but it was a wonderful tour. I wrote to the company and told them they should give Frida a raise--that she completely turned around our opinion of their company. We'll definitely go back for another Old Town Trolley tour when we're in Boston again.

[flashdog_1]

Is Old Town Trolley the only one that goes anywhere near the pier? I've seen ads for at least 3 companies and am really confused. Help! The best price I've seen is CityView Trolley.($28, senior $27 on line price).

 

Some companies offer a "free" harbor cruise, but their price seems to be a bit more. Has anyone combined the trolley and the harbor cruise? Thanks

 

Anyone?

[138east]

Good question. As far as I am aware, Old Town Trolley is the only trolley that goes near the pier.

 

IMO harbor cruises or Charles River cruises are not worth paying for when you are on a cruise ship to begin with. If you want to ride around the harbor, consider taking the MBTA ferry from Long Wharf to the Constitution in Charlestown for $1.70 /pp.

[travelbig]

Check out the routes for the City View Trolley vs. Old Town Trolley. Old Town Trolley has a longer route and will pick you up close to the ship. Go to "contact us" on their web site and request one of their map/brochures and they will mail one to you. If you don't use Old Town Trolley, then you will have to pay for transportation to downtown and back. Be sure to look for one of their reps at the pier to direct you to stop 16A.

[RandMcnally]

Is Old Town Trolley the only one that goes anywhere near the pier? I've seen ads for at least 3 companies and am really confused. Help! The best price I've seen is CityView Trolley.($28, senior $27 on line price).

 

Some companies offer a "free" harbor cruise, but their price seems to be a bit more. Has anyone combined the trolley and the harbor cruise? Thanks

 

Anyone?

 

Although all trolleys look the same there are some big differences between the companies. The Cityview trolley does NOT go anywhere near the cruiseport and they give you only a 1 hour tour. Old Town Trolley stops very close to the cruise terminal and they give you a 1 hour 40 minute tour, which includes the Copley Square, the Back Bay, Fenway Park and parts of Cambridge! Old Town is typically the most expensive (by a couple of $) but it is definitely worth it for a quality experience and they have a money back guarantee so you can't lose.

[jcfcruise]

Good question. As far as I am aware, Old Town Trolley is the only trolley that goes near the pier.

 

IMO harbor cruises or Charles River cruises are not worth paying for when you are on a cruise ship to begin with. If you want to ride around the harbor, consider taking the MBTA ferry from Long Wharf to the Constitution in Charlestown for $1.70 /pp.

 

We will be in Boston on Sunday Sept 19 2010. We dock @ 2 Pm leave @ 9Pm. Would the MBTA be running & does it take you to the USS Constitution (the ship itself)? Return to ship? How do we find out more about it? That is the only thing DH wants to see.

Thanks!

[138east]

The MBTA does run on Sunday, but at less frequent intervals. Unfortunately, getting there by public transportation from Black Falcon is time consuming and complicated - the MBTA trip planner estimated 66 minutes!

 

The Constitution closes at 6 pm, so you really don't want to waste valuable time exploring the MBTA on your way there. Of course you can take a cab directly from the ship to the Consitution, but another option would be to take a cab to Long Wharf and take the MBTA ferry boat over to the Constitution ($1.70/pp). This is ferry route F4 and runs every half hour on Sundays. www.mbta.com Long Wharf is close to Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall - there may be round trip transportation to this area offered from your ship.

 

When you're done with the Constitution, take the ferry back to Long Wharf and check out the eateries at Faneuil Hall. To get back to the ship, you can take the Orange Line from Haymarket to Downtown Crossing, the Red Line (direction Braintree) from Downtown Crossing to South Station, and the SL2 Silver Line bus back to the Black Falcon pier.

[jcfcruise]

Thanks 138east for your reply. We were planning on a taking a taxi, then I saw the post for the MBTA and thought that might be the way to go. Guess we will go back to taxi. Do you have any idea of taxi fare for the trip over & will there be taxi at USSCOnstitution to return to ship?

Thanks again.

[138east]

The taxi fare calculator is showing $16.60 - $19 with a 15% tip.

 

Don't know about the availability of taxis back to the ship. Why not try the water taxi back to the Long Wharf/Faneuil Hall area? It's a quick 10 minute ride through Boston Harbor - great view of the city. Cabs should be more available in that area.

[atb]

We are in Boston the middle of June - and planning on Old Town Trolley - does anyone have current experience - where are they stopping for 16A?

[RandMcnally]

We are in Boston the middle of June - and planning on Old Town Trolley - does anyone have current experience - where are they stopping for 16A?

 

According to Old Town Trolley, the location of that stop has changed but is still close to the pier. You would exit the cruise terminal and turn left onto Black Falcon Ave., follow to the end of the building and fenced-in parking area, turn left towards the water and right at the end of the fence.

 

From their website:

 

Since you are coming in on a Royal Caribbean ship you can also book the Old Town Trolley as a shore excursion, here's the link:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cruiseDetails/shoreExcursions.do;jsessionid=0000Kl2a8k_u0TgF00DmhrHCv1n:12hbiocus?packageCode=EN08N004&shipCode=&Day=&Month=&Year=&sailDate=&ActivityTypeId=&LocationCode=BOS&SortBy=Price&Submit222.x=47&Submit222.y=6

[travelbig]

We are in Boston the middle of June - and planning on Old Town Trolley - does anyone have current experience - where are they stopping for 16A?

 

If you go ahead and get a map/schedule you can see the stop locations. Besides telling you all the sites it encompasses, it will show you the many stops which coincide with the Freedom Trail. Nice to know for your planning. Go to the web site for Old Town Trolley and click on "contact us" to request a map to be mailed to you.

[westlab]

Which hop on/off has live narration as opposed to recorded narration?

[cruisetime25]

We're sailing on the Carnival Glory and am not sure where it docks in Boston but was wondering if I can follow these directions for seeing The Constitution.

[138east]

All the cruise ships dock at the Black Falcon Pier.

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey 138East, how far is the Oyster House Restaurant, by foot to Quincy Market? I might decide to have lunch at the Oyster House, later this month.

 

Virginia

[138east]

It's right by Quincy Market - it looks like 2 short blocks.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=map+union+oyster+house+boston&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Union+Oyster,+41+Union+St,+Boston,+MA+02108&gl=us&ei=gmGuTNCEGMSBlAfU973mBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ8gEwAA

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi, thanks for the info.

 

Virginia