Trolley hop on & off in Boston offered as an excursion?

[NASCARFAN14]

I have booked Sept 5th on the Caribbean princess and have pretty much decided on all excursions. However, I went on Boston's web site and see that they have a trolley that takes you all over the city. If Princess does not offer that once on board, how difficult is it to book once off the ship? It looks like we will be the only ship in port that day. Will they pick up close to the ship?

[138east]

From the Old Town Trolley website:

"Boston is a beautiful city. Maximize your time by taking an Old Town Trolley tour. Whether you take the 1.5 hour tour purchased from your ship excursion desk, or take the 1.75 hour tour with on-and-off privileges purchased from Old Town Trolley directly, you will have time to shop, visit attractions, and find your way to some of our most famous landmarks." http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/trolley-tours-for-cruise-guests.asp

 

So if you buy it through the ship, it is a tour - no hop on hop off. I would suggest purchasing it on your own. If you don't want to walk the 1/2 mile to the Westin Hotel, I would suggest spending $2/pp to take the Silver Line to South Station. This is the stop before the Westin Hotel, so you would be able to board before the other cruise guests. I used to work near the Westin Hotel in South Boston, and I am not a fan of walking in that area - it's perfectly safe, but very boring - the area has been redeveloped and there are long blocks with wide streets to cross. Absolutely no charm and very hot on a warm summer's day.

[travelbig]

Old Town Trolley has added stop 16A which is very close to the pier, within walking distance. Go onto their site to "Contact Us" and ask for a map to be sent to you. Order the tickets on line and you can board at stop 16A with your e-tickets.

[swdke]

When using the trolley to hop on and off at various stops of interests, after getting off at any particular stop, when does the next trolley arrive to get back on and continue? How often does the trolley stop at each stop? Thanks.

[travelbig]

swdke,

To get accurate answers to your questions, why don't you e-mail them on their "contact us" link. They answered my question the next day.

[NASCARFAN14]

Thanks so much!

[RandMcnally]

When using the trolley to hop on and off at various stops of interests, after getting off at any particular stop, when does the next trolley arrive to get back on and continue? How often does the trolley stop at each stop? Thanks.

 

The Old Town Trolleys come by approximately every 15 minutes during the summer months. They also have extra trolleys on stand-by should there be an overflow situation.

[waiting2retire]

I find it hard to tell from the map on the website how much closer the new stop 16A is to the cruise ships. If you have taken the trolley tour since they opened up the new stop, can you tell me how long a walk it was from the ship? It makes the most sense to me to buy tickets online and board the trolley at the 16A stop, then reverse the process back to the ship. Never having been to Boston, I am hoping the trolley tour will be the best way to see a lot of the sights the city has to offer.

 

Thanks.

[travelbig]

waiting2retire,

If you google a map of Boston, the pier is on Black Falcon Ave. Compare that to the map of Old Town Trolley. I would think it is no more than a 15 min. walk. Haven't done it before, though, since this is a new stop. If you want a better answer, go to "contact us" on the web site for Old Town Trolley and ask that question. They will tell you.

[138east]

It appears to me that the Old Town Trolley map is a bit distorted. It looks like the new stop would be at the entrance of the Black Falcon terminal, which means that you would just have to walk the length of the pier to the exit area (which you'd have to do anyway).

[waiting2retire]

Thanks 138east. I didn't think there would be much saving with the new stop by the look of it on the map either, which is why I asked the question.

 

I am hearing impaired, so I don't like to use the phone unless I have to. Maybe I will have a friend call the number on their website as Travelbig suggested and see if I can get any more info.

 

Bonnie

[138east]

We'd be interested in the trolley's response. It's a new stop and we don't have any feedback on it yet. The HoHo is very popular - one of the most frequently asked questions - so it would be great to have the most up to date info.