Rubyfisch

It's lovely. We like to go up to Portland for the weekend and have done it a number of times. There are several options (some stop at all the islands, some don't), but all are a circuit from the same place. Here are some pictures from last spring:

In either direction, SL1 (to and from the airport) and SL2 (from the cruiseport) let you off inside the turnstiles at South Station, so you just walk down to the Redline platform - no additional fare needed.

I used to live in the apartment building next to that hotel, and echo what everyone is saying. Also, depending on what terminal you are flying into, you might actually have less walking with the T, even if you did take a black car. For example, in the C terminal, the taxi line, the limo pick up, and the Lyft/Uber area is on the Central Garage, whereas the Silver Line picks you up curbside. Lyft and Uber will be in the Central Garage regardless of terminal - not sure about the taxi and limos though. And the Silver Line will always be curbside.

It seems like they might also have vegetarian Indian options now as well - I've seen several posts on FB of menus with italics under the meat based Indian options saying there is also a vegetarian option available on request.

Here is a picture of Peaks Island from right by the cruise ship terminal from earlier today: Also, there are some pictures from the Promenade you can walk along from the dock: And this is the view from the upper path:

Have an amazing trip! I'm thinking of booking my first Holland America cruise and look forward to reading about your trip.

We go away to Portland for the weekend and love the Mailboat run - there are a couple of others as well that run slightly different routes (all from the same ferry terminal). We had a lovely afternoon walking around Peaks one day, so that is also an option. There is also a lovely walking path along the water on the main land. The art museum is a nice, smaller museum. It's a bit of a walk from the port, but definitely not impossible. The food scene is excellent. There is a lovely little cafe in the Maker's Gallery where you can get house made grilled blueberry muffins with honey butter steps from the dock. If you have other questions, let me know.

Honestly, waiting until about 20 to 30 minutes after the rooms open also tends to greatly reduce the crowds ...

I have the Refreshment Package booked, and it let me add the UBP to my cart - it didn't throw up the errors like when you try to double book excursions.

When I had the Refreshment Package and would ask for seltzer water at a bar, they would use the gun on Enchantment. So at least there, it was an option. I just wasn't sure if it was included in the soda package.

Does the classic soda package cover plain carbonated water from the gun on ships that don't have Freestyle machines?

On Enchantment in December, I had signed up for the 8 pm late seating, but it morphed into 7:45 to 8:00 pm per the app and Cruise Compass. I went to the 7:00 pm show, and then to dinner.

It was great on Enchantment in December. I think it is probably very dependent on the cruise director, the activities director, and their expectations for their staff.

I've enjoyed following your journey quite a bit. If you have a chance, would you mind posting some pictures of the salad bar and other lighter options in the Lido at dinner? I'm trying to plan a trip on the Zuiderdam with someone who has never cruised before and has some mild but annoying gastric issues that rich food can make worse. I haven't been on any Holland ships, so I don't have any readily available. I'm sure it's probably somewhat different on shorter sailings, but anything would be helpful.

There are plenty of places to get water (pretty much anywhere with food), but the appropriate way to refill is from a glass to your bottle, to avoid accidentally touching the dispenser. There are signs up about this. I've heard mention that some ships may have bottle filling stations, but I haven't seen it.

I totally don't understand it ... I only commented because I found the progression from available to sold out to gone mildly interesting. The ship's water is completely fine to drink.

They look like this folded up into the ceiling (this is on Freedom - our room had two).

At least on my current Vision cruise for later in 2023, the current pricing seems to be in between what the old two tier system was - and on my Enchantment cruise last December, the single tier was sold at what they had been selling Surf for.

It was the same in December of 2022 - I used to travel with my mother who used a wheelchair, so I tend to notice accessibility issues in traveling. There was an option for those who needed it to board on deck 1 at pier level, rather than hiking up the ramps, which are quite long and quite steep.

So I was checking the price of the Refreshment Package on Vision cruise in December this morning, and it showed the water as sold out. Now it's simply gone ....

This was pre-Covid, but my first cruise was on Serenade in Copenhagen. We flew in the day before, stayed in a little apartment, and headed out to see some sights before taking a cab to the ship around 1:00 pm. It was probably 1:30 when we got to the terminal. No lines, no waiting, right on the ship. Our room was ready, Windjammer and Park Cafe had calmed down, it was great. Now, would I do that in say Baltimore where I'm just cooling my heels in my hotel room ... Probably not. But for your family, that sounds perfect.

I'm a late traditional sort of person, and there are a handful of activities you do end up missing, but all-in-all, I think it is still the best option for me. And you can get to some or all of some of the activities, and if there is one you are dying to go to, go to Windjammer (or one of the other options) that night.

They did this on Enchantment sailing from Baltimore. Of course that didn't stop someone from scolding a woman and her well-behaved small child during the allowed hours ... I mentioned it was allowed from 4 pm to 6 pm, to which the complainer said "it shouldn't be."

The tunnels have been a mess during the closures this year, regardless of which way you are trying to go. In my experience, it's probably added 20ish minutes leave the airport heading home - I haven't been traveling to the airport when they are closed. The most obvious public transit from the Seaport to the Airport is the SL1, which unfortunately uses the same tunnels as cars.

They make announcements on the platform, and the cars are generally labeled. The conductors will help you get to the right place. You might want a throw blanket (particularly if you or your wife are the sort that gets cold). The lady sitting next to me on my last train ride had one of those $10 fleece ones, which seemed like a great idea, particularly as she was going from Baltimore to South Carolina as a result of the Southwest meltdown over the holidays.