Anyone been on the Historic America Tour?

[meslwd]

My husband and I are leaving May 10th and we are going on the Historic America Tour, which ends up in New York, where we board the Caribbean Princess.

Has anyone done the Historic America tour? I would love to get some information on it.

Mary :)

[Ladyvdr]

I saw that advertised on the Princess website. It looks interesting. I would be interested in hearing what anyone says too.

[Talisker92]

The Princess website should have a description of the activities each day. It looks very interesting

[meslwd]

:) So I see some other people are interested in hearing about this. Anyone?

Mary

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Can someone give me a link? I can't seem to find it on Princess.com.

 

Jan

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Never mind! I found it. Jan

[end1946]

My husband and I are leaving May 10th and we are going on the Historic America Tour, which ends up in New York, where we board the Caribbean Princess.

Has anyone done the Historic America tour? I would love to get some information on it.

Mary :)

 

Yes, we did this in 2009:) The cruise portion was a little shorter as we did not go to Sydney or Charlottetown but the land portion was the same.

 

I have to say, without a doubt, it was our favorite vacation of all time...although we loved the cruise, the land portion of the trip was our favorite....it was fabulous and a trip I will never forget. If we could afford it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We went in a day early so we could see a little bit of Washington on our own, but really didn't need to as the tour covered it perfectly. Williamsburg was great and you have the whole day to explore...all the stops were great...the hotels were perfect. I can guarantee you are going to absolutely love it:D and I'm jealous...wish I could fit in your suitcase.

 

If you have never been to New York, you might want to add an extra day to your trip...when we got off the ship, we stayed at a hotel in Times Square for the night...what an experience for us. We took a day tour of New York City and walked around Times Square at night. Wouldn't want to go back...way to big for us, but something I am so happy we experienced.

 

Have a wonderful vacation:)

[mlj555]

It was wonderful and yes, the land part was the best but the cruise was great too. We were fortunate to have exceptional weather, good foliage color and just one choppy day. We had great hotels in convenient locations. Our tour guide for the land part was Bruce and he was amazing at bringing history to life. We got a refresher course in civil and revolutionary war history. We had a fun group and Bruce recommended various sights and restaurants when we were on our own. Our group of 46 sometimes got him involved in "happy hour" and we all had a great time. We had several gatherings on the ship as well.

 

We booked a late flight home (5 p.m.) so took a 4-5 hr. tour of NYC - mostly viewing things from the bus but a good overview if you aren't going to stay another day or more. You can only book this "exit tour" on the ship.

 

I agree, it was one of the best tours we have done. We had been to a few of the stops but much of it was new to us and we loved it.

[meslwd]

Thank you for your replies. Anyone else?

Mary:)

[Lanz]

I just received the brochure advertising this cruise, we are very interested, sounds great. Want to check out the hotels for the land portion but Princess usually does a good job partnering with hotels. I also need to know more about the CP, anyone have a cabin recommendation?? We do not like the open balcony cabins.

[Brummie318]

Hi there, 

My wife and l are thinking of going on this cruise tour in 2020 and would like to know what you actually visited on the 2 day Washington part of the tour? We are from the UK and have a lot of things we want to see. It would give us some idea of how many extra days we would need in Washington?

On 2/20/2011 at 6:18 PM, mlj555 said:

It was wonderful and yes, the land part was the best but the cruise was great too. We were fortunate to have exceptional weather, good foliage color and just one choppy day. We had great hotels in convenient locations. Our tour guide for the land part was Bruce and he was amazing at bringing history to life. We got a refresher course in civil and revolutionary war history. We had a fun group and Bruce recommended various sights and restaurants when we were on our own. Our group of 46 sometimes got him involved in "happy hour" and we all had a great time. We had several gatherings on the ship as well.

 

We booked a late flight home (5 p.m.) so took a 4-5 hr. tour of NYC - mostly viewing things from the bus but a good overview if you aren't going to stay another day or more. You can only book this "exit tour" on the ship.

 

I agree, it was one of the best tours we have done. We had been to a few of the stops but much of it was new to us and we loved it.

 

[salabc]

we did it in 2013 and it was great we had the impression to be in places ( apart washington and philadelphia) not so croweded by european

as far as we recall the actual stay in washington are 2 nights but the first night is arrival day and after the second night we left in the morning for mount vernon so the actual of tour of washington is 1 day

would suggest to arrive 1 or 2 days earlier

[skynight]

16 hours ago, Brummie318 said:

Hi there, 

My wife and l are thinking of going on this cruise tour in 2020 and would like to know what you actually visited on the 2 day Washington part of the tour? We are from the UK and have a lot of things we want to see. It would give us some idea of how many extra days we would need in Washington?

 

Washington DC. You could spend a week there, but I would say you could comfortably see the highlights in about 3 days. The Smithsonian museums, there are many of them, can take days. These are mainly centered around the National Mall. The Air & Space museum will take at least a half a day. The Smithsonian Castle has lots of American History, Americana, displays. This also can take a half day. There are art and natural history museums all part of the Smithsonian. Then there are other places like the National Archives, Capitol building, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials by the tidal pool, the Washington monument, the National Zoo and plenty more. Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home, is about 30 minutes away in Virginia. You can get around Washington by subway, the Metro. There are also plenty of city tour buses. The one day that Princess has is probably just a bus tour with some stops at the highlights. Bring your walking shoes.

[dickinson]

8 minutes ago, skynight said:

Washington DC. You could spend a week there, but I would say you could comfortably see the highlights in about 3 days. The Smithsonian museums, there are many of them, can take days. These are mainly centered around the National Mall. The Air & Space museum will take at least a half a day. The Smithsonian Castle has lots of American History, Americana, displays. This also can take a half day. There are art and natural history museums all part of the Smithsonian. Then there are other places like the National Archives, Capitol building, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials by the tidal pool, the Washington monument, the National Zoo and plenty more. Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home, is about 30 minutes away in Virginia. You can get around Washington by subway, the Metro. There are also plenty of city tour buses. The one day that Princess has is probably just a bus tour with some stops at the highlights. Bring your walking shoes.

 

I live in Maryland and have been to Washington DC many, many times.  I agree with the above info.  There is a lot to see and it takes time.  Some of the museums could take at least 2/3 of a day.  You generally would want more than two hours.  I would suggest adding on at least 2-3 days and more if you have the time and $$ (unless you think you will be back there again).

[famski740]

Just returned from Washington, DC last weekend.  Went with son's family (two young girls 8 & 9) during spring break.  Spent 3 and a half days their and saw a lot, but still wished we had more time.  Hope you enjoy what you are able to see and please, make sure your walking shoes are comfortable.

[BarbinMich]

We've been fortunate to have traveled extensively in the US and Canada via car (or by plane, if necessary) before we started our cruising plus we lived in the DC area for the first few years of our marriage (actually we met there).  But certainly doing a pre- or post-cruise tour would give folks, especially those from outside the US or even those who live in the western US, a sampling (emphasis on sample) of Washington and NYC.  These tours seem to be pretty expensive (i.e. more than we would spend on our own).  In the reverse situation, when we do a Transatlantic cruise we often spend a few days at the beginning or end whether that's Rome or Copenhagen (Southampton, we just fly in the day before).  We make good use of Hop On, Hop Off buses and/or a lot of walking for those "land" days.