navybankerteacher

Take the ferry back to Pier 11 in lower Manhattan, then the #2 train from Wall Street station (where you got off on you way to the cruise terminal) just one stop to Fulton Street, where you change to the A train to Howard Beach where you can change to the JFK AirTrain which stops at all terminals. p.s. How come you are flying in to LGA and out from JFK?

I think you are referring to the Dumbo ferry landing on the Brooklyn side of the river - not helpful to you. My suggestion is to take the #7 subway from Flushing to Times Square in Manhattan , then change to Seventh Avenue IRT #2 train (quite well marked) to Wall Street station - which is perhaps a five minute walk to Pier 11 (straight east on Wall Street) for the ferry to Red Hook - which is right next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Total time on subway will be just over an hour- add perhaps no more than an hour for the walk to Pier 11, the wait for the ferry, the crossing, the couple of minutes from the Red Hook landing to the cruise terminal. If your boarding time is 1:00 PM, start out from Flushing at 11:00 AM. Don’t ask about my thoughts about getting around New York by bus - of course, it can be done, but…

It really is absurd that there is no organized (or even suggested) way for people to be picked up at MCT. It is simply a free-for-all on connecting with your ride. Best bet is to review the street map and agree with your ride where, and when, for you to be picked up. Perhaps somewhere along the northbound side of 12th Avenue , or on one of the side streets - again east of 12th Avenue , working it out in advance with your ride so you can call him on your cell when you are at the agreed rendezvous point - because he will have to be lurking somewhere nearby waiting for your call; obviously it will not be possible for him to sit parked at that convenient point until you get there. It is impossible to predict what time you can get to what point. Someone in a position of authority at MCT should get his butt kicked for not coming up with a practical approach.

Good suggestion - you will want to park (perhaps IN, not ) near the theatre district - which will also be near multiple restaurants.

XXV

Have you REALLY walked to the Brooklyn cruise terminal from where you live in Flushing? And, why consider doing any of this, when a shorter subway ride will get you very close to the pier for the ferry which will bring you to within a few yards of the cruise terminal?

Most ports of call can be checked out on line or using library books - do your research to determine what there is in the neighborhood which appeals to your particular interests. If you take the time to think and to investigate you can usually come up with a plan that would better match your interests (and budget) than some drive-by tour. An exception might be something like getting yourself to Santiago di Compostella - a specific point of interest some distance from the port - but even knowing about it would require some advance thinking on your part. A major part of enjoying a cruise is the planning - don’t short change yourself, and overpay, by not planning.

Getting from Flushing to lower Manhattan by subway to access the ferry is easier (close to a half hour shorter time) than getting to Carroll Street - and it saves you the long walk in Brooklyn.

Of course -- seeing Pompeii and Herculaneum had been tops on my bucket list until largely satisfied on my first, second , and fifth trips to Italy.

We stayed at a Hilton on South President -- lots of great restaurants in immediate area - which struck us a generally safe. For your DC trip I'd suggest AmTrak both ways -- with a bit of advance planning you can self-guide. Pick your interests - lots of things to fill your day at the National Mall - Smithsonian, etc.

Back when HAL was a superior line (but more important when they offered the itineraries I wanted) I tended to favor them; 3 on Noordam - 2 when she sailed round trip in the winter from Manhattan to the Caribbean, and one from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, coming home from travel in Italy; also 3 on Zuiderdam - one from Fort Lauderdale to the Eastern Caribbean, one from Fort Lauderdale to the Panama Canal, and one from Quebec to New York. The winner was 7 on QM2 - 6 trans-Atlantics coming home from the UK and one from Brooklyn to the Caribbean over Christmas/New Years (sadly depressing). Now looking at multiple sailings on Oceania ships - because they offer what cruising is meant to be - but no longer is on the mass market, bloated Walmarts of the Sea.

The problem with focusing on one line to build up points is that it can blind you to real costs every time you book a cruise. Loyalty points rarely are worth more that one or two hundred (or even several hundred) dollars on any particular cruise - and if you check all options on all lines for the time you want to sail, you can frequently find significant fare differences, or better itineraries - sticking to just one line can often mean paying more in the long run while missing on itineraries you might have preferred

Google is your friend - but to save you the time: a chip butty is a sandwich - two slices of buttered bread holding French fries (what the British call chips) often with some condiment such as ketchup smeared on them.

I only go for premium seats on long flights - Trans-Atlantics, etc. so yes, I do rub shoulders with the Walmart people (as you call them) —- after all, I interact with them when shopping at Walmart, so why not?

And probably better prices. The airport is very close to the pier.

I have seen it regularly on Delta, United, American and Jet Blue - on every flight (about a dozen per year now) and several dozen before I retired.

Is there really a “right place” and right varieties of cheese, and French fries, and heavy gravy for that combination? Think about it for a moment: fried potatoes, covered with cheese curds, and then heavy gravy - all on the same plate at the same time. I cannot imagine any place, any time, where that combination, regardless of quality of ingredients, could be called “classic” anything —- except ultimate stodge.

Do you fly much?

Understandable, I suppose -- given your Ottawa location. (But thankfully not usually served on cruise ships; and questionable, at best, for anyone living below 49th parallel.)

Definitely stay in the old city - Hotel Ste. Anne, on rue Ste. Anne is a lovely, reasonably priced place. A lot of folks think about staying at Chateau Frontenac- which I think is a mistake - it’s fairly pricey, and it’d just about the one spot from which you cannot see one of the most attractive sights: the Chateau itself. Try maple pie for dessert some evening - but I do not recommend the Quebec national dish: Poutine, which is pure stodge - thick gravy poured over French fries covered with cheese curds (yuck!).

Just noticed this thread - my grandson, who stay’s with my daughter’s family on Little Cranberry Island off Bar Harbor in the summers, works on that mail boat every summer - he is saddened to know that when he graduates from college he will have to find year round work elsewhere.

XXIX.

As long as the product of any industry keeps “…selling just fine…”, it does not make sense to claim that the prices are insane. What would be insane for someone in business with the intention of making a profit would be to charge less than the market is willing to pay.

I really do not care how little luggage another cruiser has, nor with what he/she wears (as long as it is not flouting a published dress code which other cruisers are entitled to expect will be observed). My real concern is the tendency of “carry-on” only fliers to exceed reasonable limits - with three or four pieces which hog the available overhead space and block the aisles as they lug them on and off the plane. I do wonder why so many want to boast about their ability to do it: have they nothing else to feel good about?

Perhaps it is the American way - a lot of folks seem to feel that someone being lucky is bad luck for them.