parentsof5

Are there Visitor Center's near the ships in these ports to pick up maps, etc.? Trying to determine how much I need to have downloaded to our phones if there aren't. 

Saguenay

Charlottetown

Sydney

Halifax

Bar Harbor

I was looking at the cabin options listed for bidding on under our cruise for comparison by looking at the cruise if I was booking it initially. It shows those same options are sold out - has anyone else ran into this? A glitch in the programming that makes you think there are cabins you can bid on, when they are all sold out?

Anyone been to the New France Festival before? I have the calendar, etc., but wondering how you felt everything worked. Is it easy as an English only speaker to roam around and just discover - music, foods, etc.? The calendar lists things happening at certain times, but the items listed aren't that crystal clear to me what they are. 

I saw the entrance fee at one point, and can't seem to get back to it - does anyone know if this is per day?

Thanks.

On 6/18/2023 at 6:47 PM, GTJ said:

Yes. This is what Hornblower, the ferry operator, says about it: "When choosing your time, this is your entry into the Security Facility not the entry time into the Crown of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The wait time can be several hours, particularly during peak season including summer, weekends, and holidays." There are three ferry vessels operating between Battery Park and Liberty Island. The ferry schedule itself is that vessels depart from Battery Park at 9:00 a.m., then every 25 minutes thereafter. It takes about 15 minutes to get to Liberty Island. Vessels return from Liberty Island starting at 9:25 a.m., then every 25 minutes thereafter. The return trip takes longer, 30 minutes, because returning vessels make an intermediate stop at Ellis Island. You're welcome to alight from the ferry at Ellis Island, and visit that island, too, at no extra charge, before returning to Battery Park.

 

It takes about 2 minutes to walk from your hotel to the subway station at West 28th Street and Seventh Avenue, and add one more minute to walk down the stairs, through the turnstiles, and onto the platform. (Be careful: There are separate entrances for uptown and downtown train . . . be certain to enter on the downtown side, which the same side of Seventh Avenue as the Fashion Institute of Technology is location.) At that time of morning during which you will be traveling, the "1" train will be transitioning from every 3 minutes to every 5 minutes. The travel time on the train, from West 28th Street to South Ferry, is 16 minutes. Allow two minutes to exit the South Ferry station; it is then about 6 minutes to walk from the South Ferry station through Battery Park to the ferry security facility. In total, it should take about 32 minutes from the front door of your hotel to the ferry security facility. You may want to plan on departing your hotel at 9:20 a.m., which would give you a few extra minutes prior to a 10:00 a.m. arrival.

Thank you so much!!

8 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

You will have to get on the security line for the SOL ferry, it can take more than an hour. I don’t see you having time for Broadway. Central Park is great and they have a cute zoo. I’d get car service no later than 4 am.

The more I read about SOL, the more I get confused. Our ticket is for 10 am. I had read that was the time we needed to be there for the security line - is that correct? Then from what you shared it could actually be 11 for actual departure? From West 28th Street and Seventh Avenue, what time would we need to catch the subway? 

Thanks for the time for the car service!

5 minutes ago, GTJ said:

I would say that Coney Island is an "it depends" type of visit. If the sole reason for visiting were the amusement rides, then I would agree that most of the rides are on the level of a carnival anywhere. The exceptions are the Cyclone and Deno's Wonder Wheel. The Cyclone roller coaster is a classic, though these days there are more thrilling rides elsewhere (though maybe not so many that remain made in such a traditional way). The Wonder Wheel is also a distinct type of Ferris wheel with movable cars. But as a whole, going to Coney Island strictly for being thrilled by amusement rides is likely to be a disappointment.

 

Coney Island is more than amusement rides, particularly for those who are appreciative of urban history and development in New York City. This is a small minority of New Yorkers, and probably an even smaller proportion of visitors (most of whom do not know or understand New York City), who would share this appreciation for Coney Island. For those who do have this interest, Coney Island is a great place; but for others a great disappointment. Among these sights are the parachute ride, relocated to Coney Island from Flushing following the 1939-40 world's fair. The beach and boardwalk, both of which inspired Robert Moses to develop Jones Beach as a commercial-free contrast to the debauchery of Coney Island. The beach and ocean breezes were such an attraction to earlier New Yorkers, especially on sultry summer days, that it resulted in the building of six railroads (1862-78) and the Ocean Parkway (1876), all connecting the city with Coney Island; four of those railroads continue in operation today as subway lines, and the parkway remains a vital avenue. These railroads and parkway are exciting to any transport enthusiast. The development of Trump Village--by Fred Trump, the father of our 45th president--completely changed the character and physical layout of much of Coney Island. Adjacent Brighton Beach is sometimes known as "Little Odessa" on account of it being world’s largest concentrations of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Other sights and points of interest in Coney Island include the New York Aquarium; Maimonides Park, home of the New York Cyclones minor league baseball; Nathan's hot dogs; Coney Island Museum (a cheap tourist trap at only $5 to visit); and some of the best pizza in New York at Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitana. In sum, there is a lot going on and to see in Coney Island, but only if you know where to look and can appreciate Coney Island for what it is. Just don't expect it to a well-cultivated tourist attraction.

For my husband and myself, we would like to visit some time for just about everything you mentioned. It is much more about the history and atmosphere of being there. Our grand would not appreciate that though, and the rides would be fun for him (he has never been to the large parks), but I think we will save it for another time. Thanks for all of the history - I am saving this info!

2 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Wow! That is an ambitious plan. Most of it can work. 

 

I don’t think you have enough time to get from your Statue of Liberty and 9/11 Memorial excursion to Broadway theaters by 2:00 pm. The time of Wed Matinees. 
 

The Lego Store is in Rockefeller Center near FAO Schwartz. Top of the Rock is also in Rockefeller Center. If you guys like to walk, you can easily walk from there to the Plaza. The Plaza is across the street from Central Park. 

The only reason I’d go to Coney Island was if you are all have riding the Cyclone roller coaster on your must do list. The rest of Coney Island is more like a carnival back home. Maybe save it for next time. The subway ride is very long going there and back. 

MoMa is walkable from the Plaza also. Maybe hubby and Grand can go to Central Park, you MoMa. 

 

 

Thanks for confirming what I really new about the Matinee. I just hoped I was wrong. 😉  And also for laying out Lego/FAO/TOR/Plaza/Central Park/MoMa. I had some of the connection, but not that all of them were "close", that is super helpful.

12 minutes ago, GTJ said:

I understand that Legoland is an amusement park upstate in Goshen, New York, a good sized journey for the day. Perhaps you're referring to something else? 

 

If you're comfortable using the subway for your departure from LaGuardia Airport, then walk uptown to West 34th Street and Sixth Avenue (Herald Square) and travel on the uptown "F" train to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue. At that station is a free express bus, route Q70, that will shuttle you to the airport.

Thank your for the subway directions!!

Lego Store would be a better word. I mis-spoke.

I am not too sure about taking the subway and a bus at 4 or earlier in the morning that day. If it was later in the morning I might be up for it depending on how much luggage we end up toting. 

We will be in NYC in August around our Princess cruise. We plan to arrive around 1:30 pm on a Tuesday and head to our hotel, Cambria on W 28th in Chelsea. That night we will take the subway to Yankee Stadium. It is my understanding the subway is a few blocks away. 

The next morning we have 10:00 am tickets to the Statue of Liberty (to access the Island and the crown) and Ellis Island. We plan to take the subway. While in the area, visit the 911 Memorial (not the museum). I would like to do a Broadway show this day, will it be possible to do a matinee? We will also probably do Top of the Rock and maybe Empire State Building that day. 

Thursday we are still contemplating. Coney Island is a draw for our 7 yo grandson to enjoy. I think it would be fun, too, however, using a couple of hours for travel alone in a short stay may not be the best use of time and will keep for another time.  I lean more toward fitting in some other places we are interested in, Central Park, Lego Land (I mentioned the grand who will be with us...), FAO Schwartz, HP Store (so a little shopping). If I could sneak into MoMA for a couple of hours, I would love that, but may not work with the husband and Grand. We will need to stop by The Plaza for our Grand and his obsession with Kevin and Home Alone. Really, this day would be very fluid and hitting a few things and anything in the area near where we are, Central Park is probably the key for the day. 

Friday morning we have a flight 6:30 AM flight at LGA. I am thinking car service (Dial 7 or Carmel). I am sure they will be able to help pick up time, but would appreciate your thoughts on what time we will need. The grand and I will have TSA Pre-check, but my husband does not. 

Any thoughts and tips appreciated. Subway navigation for our trip to Yankee Stadium and Statue of Liberty (NY Side) Ferry very welcome. We are from the mid-west and do not use public transit so this will be an adventure. 🙂 I have read Google Maps can be our friend. 

On 6/12/2023 at 11:27 PM, GTJ said:

The HoHo bus service does directly connect sights, but it just does not come often enough to constitute a good form of transportation. It is best used as a sightseeing route, perhaps alighting at a very limited number of locations, but it does not really do very well if you're looking for transportation alone. 

Do you know if you did use the HOHO for one loop to get an overview how long that takes?

On 5/22/2023 at 4:14 PM, ddaz said:

In Saguenay (La Baie), QE, we rental at car right at the port and drove out to Saguenay Fjord National Park where we hiked out to the Statue Notre-Dame du Saguenay (aka Our Lady of Saguenay).  The hike is not too difficult, but pace yourself going uphill.  The views are gorgeous.

What company did your reserve your car through?

On 3/16/2023 at 10:38 AM, Nitemare said:

If you end up with an obstructed view ticket, you can usually find a standing room location behind the grandstand.  They also DO mark REALLY obstructed tickets as such, so if you are directly behind a pole, just a row or two, you will know in advance.  If you are 3-10 rows behind and it is in line with Home Plate or the mound you might be disappointed.  Middle of Grandstand rows is rarely obstructed, same with first 3 rows or so as the pillars themselves are a few rows back
Avoid sections 6-12 and the box seats in front of them in Right Field as they face the Center Field wall and you have to crane your neck 90 degrees to see the action

 

Tell us the opponent and date, not hard to predict how big the crowd will be.  Tampa on a Tuesday is different than St. Louis on a Sunday.

 

With the new pitch clock, game length should be shorter.  3 hour games are probably the outside expectation with 2:45 or so the average I anticipate

It will be a Saturday game against the Tigers. 

On 4/8/2023 at 3:40 PM, geminiNZ said:

Hi cruisers.
Princess's cancellation policy, from their website, offers 100% refundable or 100% refundable - $100 deposits until close-ish to departure.
Could anybody who's recently cancelled and rebooked to take advantage of fare drops share their experience on how easy (or otherwise) that was please?
And did they refund quickly to your credit card? I don't want OBCs 🙂
Of course I would check that a cabin number we wanted was still available before cancelling
thanks!

I think we booked in February and in early March there was a significant drop. I did not have to cancel and re-book. Although I think by the rules they could have made me. It did take me FOREVER to get through on the phone. Was hung up on after a long wait, and the second call later in the day had me on hold for a long time again and had to talk to a second person (their process, not my request) and they made the change no problem. Definitely worth the $400 savings. 

5 years ago we did several price reductions and once did have to cancel and rebook. It was seemless. 

On 4/7/2023 at 9:56 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

We are dealing with this exact situation...although on a different cruise line.  But that doesn't matter...it is the US Gov. that has put these rules into place.  The minor in question did not have a passport so we have been scrambling to get it done before cruising in July.  Started the process in Feb.  Hopefully this is going to work out!

I think we are on a cruise later in the summer together?

We applied for a passport for our Grand turning in the paperwork locally Feb. 25, marked as received March 6. Marked approved on a Sunday, April 2. We did do expedited (I wasn't going to because the instructions said our trip was too far out, but the person that accepted our paperwork said we could, so we went ahead as I was waiting to book flights, etc. to make sure there were no issues getting it. I have seen others call and change to expedited that had trips coming up quickly.). We received it the 6th. 

Like you, I was reading all of those having struggles and it made me nervous even though it was so far out. 

5 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

5 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

but the food isn't predominantly French-- its Quebecoise. 

 

 

Any recommendations for local cuisine "Quebecoise"? 

There is a 4 o'clock game when we are in port. Ship sails at 10 pm. That seems doable, however, I am not familiar with travel time between the stadium and port. Obviously, we could miss the end of the game. Any thoughts?

We will be doing Princess Quebec City to NYC for our 30th. Every 5 years since our honeymoon we have found an old time photo place of some sort on vacation. (Where you dress in costume for a different era.) Have you noticed any of these places in QBC, Segueny, Charlotte Town, Halifax, Bar Harbor, or Sydney? We would like to keep up the tradition. 

I have read a couple of things on boarding, that you can board up to 5 pm and you to 9 pm. Then we spend the night in Port and have another day to explore QC. My question is, hopefully this would not happen, if you did not make it by day 1 (Friday for us), can you still check in and board the next day?

For verification, if something (KNOCK ON WOOD), we would be able to check in and board on the second day if we did not make it for the first day in Quebec?

17 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I believe that the Caribbean Princess balconies that sleep a 3rd or 4th passenger have cabins that pull down from the ceiling.  Just check out Cruisedeckplans.com to find out which cabins will accommodate additional passengers.  
 

just a warning for you, a balcony cabin will be very crowded with three passengers.  You may want to look into a mini suite or larger … or maybe book an inside cabin for one person across the hall from your balcony cabin.  

Thanks for the website, Cruise Raider. 

One thing I am considering is a bigger cabin, factoring everything else in. 🙂 I'm not super excited about uncovered balcony in the mini suites that are still available. We are a bit late in planning this trip and it is driving me bonkers. 

Will be traveling with our grandson and I am having a hard time easily figuring out which balcony cabins have a queen with the third bed as a pullman. Does anyone have a better way to search for that when booking online or have experience with that setup. I found the cabin I wanted based on location, however it indicates it is twin setup. Are some cabins not equipped to have the setup a queen, or is that just because we have a third passenger in the same room. (We have never shared before, so that part is new to us.)

I would also be interested in experience with the third bed being a rollaway. Comfort, if your bed was a twin or queen setup. How crowded was it. 

Thanks!

Thank you for the great review and pictures! We are going northbound on Coral next June. I do have one question - we have followed conventional wisdom and booked starboard for the northbound cruise, but I've seen some reviews that made a pretty convincing argument that port might be even better. I just wondered what your opinion is now that you've done the northbound in a starboard cabin?

I haven't seen those reviews, I would be curious what they found even better. Then maybe I can judge.

What I can share, I didn't have any complaints about being starboard. We had great views. When we were in Glacier Bay, we did approach Margerie from the Port. This worked in our favor. I wanted to see from up top as we arrived, and even thought it was drizzly and colder, we continued with that plan. We watched for a quite a bit, went down to the Promenade to get a little lower, and protected. Then when the ship flipped, we went to our cabin. It was so nice to still be able to enjoy her, but be on our sheltered balcony for the last hourish we were there.

It seemed like we always had a view of something. And that was always beautiful.

Just back from AK and it was worth it for us. I think I counted the other day 40 some portraits, of we which I really like 10 (that would be 250 right there), plus embarkation, port, dinner pics. The port days are a print where you can cut it a part and it is actually 3 pics of different sizes. The other 8×10's arent horid, just not my fav, so can give the kids one, my mom, my husbands dad.

One thing that did hapoen two port days we did not see a photog at the exit. There were two exits, and one photog.... and second formal night didnt see a photog in our dining room.

I forgot my chapstick. And my husband his dress socks. Neither of which we could get on the ship.

There isn't anything I regretted bringing.