princeton123211

I don't believe it has Wifi-- it's fairly spartan. You usually spend such little time in it anyway.

Its a good point to make-- lots of stag and hen parties and the old part of down is quite noisy especially on the weekends at night. I much prefer to stay in the downtown area, which is adjacent to the old part and easily walkable, but it's much quieter for the most part and more central.

Was going to say the same thing-- those rates are not normal.

Same.

Honestly it doesn't really matter. Personally I would visit Venice first only for the reason that Venice is a lot of walking and I would have more fun if I were a bit more fresh for that. Athens there's a bit less to see and do and you can use aids like taxis a lot more than you can in Venice.

Balmoral's grounds are closed on most Mondays and Tuesdays in the off season (with an occasional Sunday) so it would make sense then that Mondays are closed in season.

You can certainly schedule a car service and they will be able to pick you up curbside. But honestly an Uber will be just as easy and might be a little less. In order to get picked up curbside at LAX you need to select UberBlack (UberX, XL, etc all have to pick up at the LAXit lot).

Cheapest will be via public transit-- take an Uber to Newark Penn Station and then NJ Transit to Penn Station NY. Then take LIRR to Jamaica Station and transfer to the AirTrain to JFK. This will take forever. Easiest will be by car service or Uber/Lyft direct from Bayonne-- was only $90 on UberX when I just ran it in my app. Another option you could take the train into New York Penn Station and then take a yellow taxi to JFK. The flat fare is $70 but with tolls and tip is usually just about $100.

First off-- things like Viator are not tour operators. They are third party aggregators. Expedia is to Hilton, what Viator is to an actual tour operator. Aside from booking and collecting a commission on your booking Viator has no direct control over your experience. Do some research and find out if an actual local tour operator has availability. It's also possible, like stated above, that it is just closed that day for any reason (it is still a working residence) and you might just be out of luck. At a minimum it might be worth booking the expensive cruise excursion if this is something that is important to you-- you can usually cancel them in advance if you are able to find a tour operator at a lower price.

Have you considered using something like ZipCar? https://www.zipcar.com/san-francisco You have to sign up for it in advance but you can buzz into and out of cars using your smart phone at any hour of the day. Cars are usually returned to garages where they have a reserved spot or sometimes they are located in their own spots on street parking lots. No going to a counter or anything like that. It's a lot of running around and will take a lot of time to do it that way.

I don't think I fully finished my thought. So Uber is reliable from Kahului to Wailea and even if you can't get an Uber back from Wailea (which you most likely can if you can wait 10-15 minutes) literally any hotel there on the beach will call you a taxi in a reasonable amount of time to go back. Four Seasons, Andaz, Fairmont, Grand Wailea etc all have taxis there or will have one in a few minutes for you. I would have zero concerns. So $175 per person is a stupid amount of money to spend on a bus to and from unless it's literally just you. If it's 2 or more people you will save money and have more flexibility using Uber or an Uber/taxi combo.

It's making that soda package on board look more and more attractive...

It is a big park. It's a nice park, but it's overall a big field. You can see parts of it from the Citadel. I wouldn't make it a priority with limited time.

Having done this many times I think the best strategy for a two day stay is to try and limit your rental car needs to one day and turn the car in at an after hours drop off when you are done with it. Rent your car the first day and you'll have plenty of time to drive around the island. Use day 2 to stay closer in at Waikiki and enjoy all the things there and some beach time. It will also save you a bunch in parking overnight which is very expensive.

Uber FROM Kahului is actually very reliable all the time-- near the airport and usually not more than a 5-10 minute wait. Coming back from Wailea it can be a bit patchy during the morning and early afternoon but becomes pretty reliable in the late afternoon and early evening as more drivers come on. Same can be said with Kaanapali area.

Dukes, Hula Grill, Leilanis, and Kimo's (RIP) are all shades of each other-- same food quality and similar menus across the islands. All the same ownership. Solid local chain.

I've used them just the one time in Amsterdam but have used them extensively in Italy, Greece, and Germany as well as a little bit in the US. Never had an issue. I really like being able to communicate and pay in the app and that everything like gratuity is included. No awkward exchanges with the driver at the end etc.

We used an app called Blacklane which I use all the time in Europe and connects you to local drivers. They handle all billing and things like gratuity are included. We did about 6 hours and went in a similar direction you are talking about turning around in Rotterdam. Cost was 400 Euro fully inclusive and was a Mercedes E Class. Highly recommended. It's not a tour, although the driver did speak good English and would point things out and provide some commentary.

Was just at the Ritz MDR two weeks ago. Had a very nice stay. Its an older Ritz, and shows its age in some places, but they look like they just finished a recent renovation and most pubic areas are very nice. Definitely have breakfast outside on the marina side if you can. Only real complaint were the guest room bathrooms which show the age of the hotel-- tiny and tub/shower combo which I really don't like at this price point. Other than that everything was top notch. Also make sure if you are looking for sun that you get to the pool early-- the way the building is situated the pool only gets sun in the morning and by the early afternoon everything is in the shade. They keep the pool so frigid that it's only pleasant to swim in when there is direct sun (but there is a nice hot tub). Great spot though to explore from though-- close to the airport, Santa Monica is easy to get to (we just used Ubers), and you get all you want out of a Southern California luxury hotel at half of what you would pay for luxury hotels in Beverly Hills.

I think a longer itinerary, with more exotic locations, on a nicer ship makes the HAL itinerary standout for me personally. Admittedly the Breakaway is not my speed in terms of size-- Nieuw Statendam carries nearly 2000 less passengers. I think here is where you answer your own question-- the ports where NCL visits (Rome, Cannes, Livorno, etc are infinitely easier, and frankly more enjoyable, to visit on your own. Egypt, Bodrum, etc are harder to do on a land vacation and this itinerary solves that.

Plenty of room on the train for luggage and its fast-- make sure to take one of the high speed trains as opposed to the commuter ones. It used to be called Thalys but then Eurostar bought them and I think it's something else now. Other option is take a taxi or Uber-- I've done it both ways and the train was much less expensive and more enjoyable.

And as someone who would not risk taking my passport out of a hotel or ship's safe while touring Italy I find it completely reasonable for them to ask for one in a train station and me being able to produce it. If you are in a train station, with a very few exceptions, you are travelling and will presumably be with your luggage and documents. Even if you are taking a day trip by rail away from a ship, in that case I would take it with me in the event of me not being able to return to the ship before it's departure. But if I am checked into an Italian hotel or on a day stop on a ship and not leaving the port/city we are in I don't find the risk in bringing my original passport with me, and it possibly being stolen, worth it.

I agree with Charles on the Taxi/Ferry combo-- it costs a lot more than using busses but with a limited amount of time on the island you can cover more ground and waste a lot less time in transit and waiting around. If you can budget for it, it makes a visit more enjoyable from my experience. Taxis are usually available in both St Georges, Hamilton, and the Dockyard. Most of the time a handful are at major hotels and major beaches like Horseshoe Bay. If you're not by one of these places there is an app called Hitch which allows you to call a taxi to you much like the Uber app does. You can pay within the app via credit card where very few taxis take credit cards otherwise. Can be super helpful if you are off the beaten path a little bit and need a lift back.

I wouldn't say red flag. For tourist things I would say Hotel Theodore wins the location prize but they're all reasonably close. I've had friends stay at the Pineapple and say that the rooms were miniscule in size. Hotel Max would most likely be the one I was the least enthusiastic about of the three if it were me. You are SO far out for next August-- like almost too early to book. Hotel prices right now are sort of "take it or leave it" for next year and actual pricing will most likely get loaded into their systems in the next month or so and possibly just after the 1st of the year. Personally I would sit back and wait a few months and look at booking direct then-- you might get some better perks for the same $132 than booking with Priceline. Worse comes to worse I'm sure this deal will still be available in Nov/Dec.

The early flight could tip it over to the SeaTac hotels but the Museum of Flight is at Boeing Field which is essentially equidistant driving wise from a downtown hotel or SeaTac (without traffic SeaTac is technically a tiny bit longer to get to from Museum of Flight than downtown). Personally I would rather be at a downtown hotel after disembarking but either would work. I just wouldn't weight the decision based on the Museum of Flight. Unless you really want to get further afield there is zero reason to do this-- Uber and Lyft will be easy to do in any of the areas we are talking about. The car will cost extra for parking, gas, etc on top of the rental fee and the time it takes to return the morning of an early flight. If you do stay at the airport I concur that the Cedarbrook Lodge is the best option-- nicest airport hotel at SeaTac by a mile. If you stay downtown there are a plethora of options at all price points but a super unique one would be the Edgewater Hotel that is actually over the water. Fairmont Olympic, Hotel Sorrento, and the Arctic Club hotel are my other favorites in the solid 4 star, but not 5 star pricing category.