Princess to New England

[humboldt74]

Hello,

 

Were planning a New England cruise on Princess out of New York City, and would love to hear from anyone who has experience. How is the ship? The food? Was it easy to make all the connections? I have heard a few bad things about the Grand Princess and want to make sure before we book.

Were going out on the Diamond Princess to Mexico on the 26th of Feb. This will be the second time on the Diamond and we loved it.:)

[CruisinChris]

The Grand is fine. The secret hassle with sailing in and out of NYC is the Port. Just to prepare yourself mentally, things tend to be pretty inefficient. FOr example all luggage is hand loaded, piece by piece on and off the ships. THe port isn't set-up like others where the luggage goes into those big containers which forklifts put on and off the ship. This slows things down tremendously. Plus, cabbies hate going to the port. It isn't easy to get in and out for them, so if you're planning your own transportation, I highly recommend you hire a town car and have a cell phone to communicate with your driver.

 

All that said, sailing into or out of NYC is really special! You'll love it! I'm considering a New England cruise this fall as well!

[mringenoldus]

We will be on the Golden in mid-October from New York. I originally booked a mini-suite but decide that a balcony may not be used as much in the cool weather ao changed to an ocean view GTY. It will save some money - always a good thing.

 

I have been to Bar Harbor a few times but none of the other ports. In Bar Harbor there is a good deal of very quaint shops and tours to the Acadia Forest, which is wonderful. Don't miss having Tea and Popovers at Jordan Pond. They take reservations and I highly recommend making one as it may be very busy with people viewing the fall colors. I also love the Northeast Harbor but it takes about 25 minutes by car to get there.

[Knuklehead]

The first Princess cruise we took was on the Golden . It was the first cruise ever . Also the first and only time I've been to NY . I think late October . Right after 9/11 .took an inside cabin on short notice . I think it was about $650 PP . We needed to get a first hand look at the destruction like every one else . People on the street selling pictures of all the misery caused by these barbarians . Other than the gloom of being in the midst of the tragedy it was great . Indian summer . Almost balmy . Good weather the whole time .A little rain in Boston .Good Kayak trip and lobster lunch on the beach in St. Johns . Only used a jacket one night on the deck of the ship . Almost nothing better in life than eating lobster and drinking beer out on a pier in Bar Harbor in the sun . They had a comic on board by the name of Dave Heanan , he was an MC at Dangerfeilds for over 20 years . Pretty funny .Would sure like to know if he's well . Took a tender with him at Newport and we talked a bit . Nice man , he was trying to find out what happened to his son , who had had a lot of problems over the years and dissapeared . We stayed for a night before the cruise and two nights after at a place called the Skyline Hotel .Maybe $110 a night .Good staff . Modest, but nice enough , located near to Restaurant Row ( good luck choosing where to eat) and Times Square .Close enough to the port ( 2 - 3 blocks ) to walk our luggage to the ship . It was just a 7 day cruise so we didn't have a lot of stuff . Went to Little Italy , there is a big festival that time of year, ( I forget the name ) around Columbus Day , the restaurants move the tables on to the sidewalk and you can have a great Italian dinner on a warm summer evening in NY while thousands of happy people walk around the 5 closed off blocks . Use the subway to get there,you'll get stuck if you take a cab . Have fun . Life is short .

[makeup face]

humboldt74

The Grand won't be cruising to New England/Canada for 2005. The Golden or the Sea Princess are the two ships on that itinerary.

I have a question about Boston.... can you walk to the Quincey Marketplace from the ship :confused: And once you board the ship in New York are you allow to get on and off....like in San Juan :confused:

[coiran]

The ship and the cruise are very good - but, as Chris says, be prepared for New York - it ain't Fort Lauderdale!!

[Joy2Day]

Cruised out of New York on the Grand Princess this fall. Embarkation took 1.5-2 hours for security. We sure didn't want to get off the ship once we made it through the security line, checked in (painless and quick) then got a bite to eat.

 

In Boston, the pier is away from downtown. Some people (look in the Ports of Call forum for US ports) have walked downtown or to a bus/subway stop. Shuttles were also available at the pier for $10 (Red Line Trolley) or $12 (Princess) round-trip. The Red Line Trolley dropped us at the Customs House. The $10 fare included a $6 coupon for the regular Red Line Trolley.

[susancruzs]

I think the Sea Princess would be the one to take for that itinerary, just my personal thought. Smaller ship, less getting on and off issues! I did the New England cruise in 2001, we left New York on 9/10, a cruise I won't forget soon.

 

We were on the Royal Princess and being on a smaller ship was nice. I enjoyed all the ports, Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, St. John, Halifax, Quebec and Montreal, sailing in the St. Lawrence seaway was great, too. I'm going to do this itinerary again when I get some of my other dream cruises out of the way.

 

I've been on the Golden and like the Grand class ships, I just think for New England smaller is better. We waited until 2:00 to board the ship and New York and it was a breeze. Walked right onboard with no waiting. The New York facility is old, more like a warehouse but it wasn't built for the cruise market like newer facilities.

 

Enjoy! Susie

[humboldt74]

Well, thanks to everyones positive comments:D , we booked the Oct 15th sailing out of New York. Were going two days early so we should have no problems with boarding. Princess set everything up for us including a hotel in Manhatten. Thanks for all the advise.

[franzi56]

I believe that it is about a 35 to 45 minute walk from the Pier in Boston to Quincy Market.

[makeup face]

So humboldt74 will you be on the Golden along with me :D

[mringenoldus]

We are also Oct 15 Golden cruisers! I haven't done much planning as yet because we have a short Monarch cruise in March and our 25th anniversary trip to Kauai in June.

 

I canceled the AB gty for an oceanview gty cabin. Here in Arizona, we have no autumn and our on color is sandy brown - so I am very much looking forward to this trip. My husband doesn't know I've booked it yet - I'm going to surprise him!

 

Is there a roll call thread started yet??

Maureen

[cynbar]

I wouldn't try to walk downtown from the pier, it's quite a walk and not the most scenic neighborhood. The shuttle offered by Princess sounds like money well spent. And once you're dropped off, pretty much everything is within walking distance. Boston is a lovely city and designed for walking (or a short and inexpensice subway ride) ---- lots of history, scenery, museums, aquarium, Quincy Market, the North End for the best Italian food and pastries and atmosphere ---- I could go on and on. Have fun!!!!

[Joy2Day]

The day we were there, it was cold and rainy. When they told us about the coupon for the Red Line Trolley, we decided that was a much nicer way of seeing Boston than walking around in the cold rain. The only place we had a long wait for the trolley was reboarding at Quincy Market.

 

The cruise itself was great. I'd done a similar trip in 2003 on Royal Caribbean.

 

In Halifax and Saint John, it is easy to rent a car and drive out to quaint villages, though I recommend reserving the car in advance. In Newport, we caught the city bus/trolley from the Visitor's Center to the mansions and purchased tickets at the mansions. We were able to see Breakers and Marble House for less than $30pp.

[geoherb]

Here's a link to my review of our cruise to New England and Canada on the Golden in October 2002. We walked from the dock, but I would not recommend walking for most people.

 

The highlights of our cruise were sailing past the Statue of Liberty at sunset, Halifax (especially the tour of Alexander Keith's brewery), kayaking in Bar Harbor (leaving from the bar), and the Newport mansions.