navybankerteacher

I find it hard to understand why NJ folks think they have a right to clog NY streets and pollute NY air - without paying the same fees anyone from anywhere else is charged.

Unless it happens to be Pier 90 - they are both used by MCT - and neither are dedicated to any particular line.

The pier number doesn’t really disclose its location. Go to 711 Twelfth Avenue, New York, NY; at 54th Street - taxi drivers know how to get there. Lots of luck in avoiding long lines - that size of ship, boarding thousands of passengers (many of whom have little regard for assigned boarding times) means an almost unavoidably long boarding process.

How slow were those grandchildren? You’d think that by the second, certainly the third, time she tried it they would get suspicious.

Pacific islands generally - but close to home, Dawn Beach on the east side of St. Maarten, facing St. Barth’s, was the best I saw in the Caribbean.

The only way to make it palatable was to hide rhubarb in a mess of thawed frozen strawberries.

Isn’t it one of the basic cruise traditions - to come home with authentic “souvenirs” of places which were made thousands of miles away?

Who do you imagine would provide it (cruise line, port authority, someone else), and why would they do so?

Lots of LIRR trains from Penn Station to Jamaica, Queens - where there is a fairly easy change to the JFK AirTrain which goes to all terminals - workable, but the large bags you mention could be a bit of a hassle.

You might consider Windsor - about 10 miles west of Heathrow - a fair amount to see there.

I have never seen a “full size” pool on a cruise ship (about 30+ cruises, 25 ships) - and 20 people would make any of them pretty crowded. No one cruises to swim on the ship.

“Westchester” covers a large area, Pelham is a lot closer to BCT than, say Mount Kisco. A Westchester-based car service would likely be anywhere from $175 to $450, have never had a luggage problem with a specified Uber - not familiar with Dial7 or Carmel.

From the comments on this thread it might appear that the notion of door decorations itself is controversial.

Of course the person wanting the tour does not want to risk paying in advance - and perhaps not getting what he wanted. Similarly, a really good tour operator would not want to wait for the last minute to see if someone shows up at the pier. Why should he take a risk you’d not accept. So: you either take your chances on finding a worthwhile tour when you get off the ship - or you do your research and pay a reasonable deposit and have something ready to go.

I am able to ignore most graffiti on buildings (usually in run-down neighborhoods) - it doesn’t hurt me, although I am inclined to think that it rarely improves the ambience of an area. Of course, in New York, for example, you very rarely see it on Fifth or Park Avenues - or in up-scale neighborhoods generally. I wonder if door decorations on cruise ships are as common on the upper decks (where pricier suites are located) as on the lower deck, inside corridors.

I had the opportunity to ice skate on Mariner of the Seas - but passed: no skates my size=no bragging rights. Since I was only on that strange ship (I think one of my Navy ships, a DE, would have fit inside that Royal Promenade) in the first place to get from Rome to my step daughter’s in Houston that fall in time for Thanksgiving, I wasn’t that upset.

I would suggest you try to locate others on your cruise and share a van from CV to Rome - try talking it up on your cruise’s roll call - and then line up the appropriate size van with Romeinlimo or Romecabs. We have done this several times when boarding ship in CV after several days in Rome. Otherwise, you can take your own taxi or, to save money, take the train.

Perhaps coming from Montreal driving makes sense - but for many in the US Amtrak is easier and frequently less expensive (even for several travelling together) when the cost of driving is realistically figured, including that of parking. I was responding to OP who did not indicate where they were coming from. There are many in the US who seem unaware of rail as a reasonable alternative.

Perhaps if they understand the ramification of driving to Boston for a cruise they might reconsider how to get there. OP didn’t mention where they were coming from.

They are, in large part, British after all. Of course, there is a Houston couple with whom I am distantly connected through (failed) marriage - whenever they leave a restaurant they take with them all the bread, rolls, biscuits, etc. from the basket on the table (having asked just earlier that it be refilled).

True - at least in part because the New Yorker is likely to be a bit more cautious in the beginning because of the wide mix of folks. (Raised in Manhattan and lived there - other than USN time- until my thirties - and worked there until 60+/-.)

We took a QM2 Christmas/New Years cruise from NY to the Caribbean. The ship was very decorated and there was Carol singing on board. I would be surprised if Princess did not do something comparable - perhaps you could call a Princess cruise consultant - or have your travel agent do it if you did not book directly. As a rule, most activities in ports (particularly in a largely Catholic country like Honduras) will be largely closed down on Christmas Day.

You also do not want to drive to Boston - train or plane is the way to get there.

We’ve sailed a number of lines from a number of ports. Rather than the port seeming to have influence on the passenger mix, we have noted obvious differences between the demographics choosing to sail different lines.

This smaller ship port experience applies to virtually all ports (let alone the more comfortable on board experience). Especially noticeable when the only ship in port that day. While HAL quality has certainly slid over the past two decades, their ships remain “small” when compared with those of their sister lines.