princeton123211

Would highly recommend the Marriott Quincy-- about 15-20 minutes outside of town and can be booked in advance sometimes for the low $100s. There is ample parking there but not sure if you can long term park there for a cruise. I've had to stay here a few times to visit a nearby company for work and while its not in Boston, you can get to Boston quite easily and inexpensively via Uber and its always very reasonably priced for Boston. I believe there are some private satellite long term parking facilities that service Logan in the Quincy area (although have not used one). Also, are you set on driving? You can easily take Amtrak from New Jersey to Route 128 Station and the hotel I recommended is a short 10 minute Uber. An advanced fare on Amtrak could be dramatically less expensive than driving/parking and much less headache. On return you could depart from Boston South Station which is a 5 minute drive from the ship.

Carmines is a fairly mediocre chain by NYC standards-- PLENTY of much better options. Don Angie, Carbone (although tough to get a reservation), Emilio's Ballato (no reservations but takes some planning to get there earlier), Rao's (nearly impossible to pull off as an out of towner), I'd even put John's of 12th Street (which is the weakest link of this list food wise but has tremendous atmosphere) as better.

They're pretty much at parity. Uber charges $16-19 usually from Logan to the Seaport. Taxis can cost on the lower end of that but if you get stuck in traffic, which can happen often with the meter running, it can cost more. Keep in mind Boston taxis have a flag drop of $2.60 plus you are paying the tolls for the Williams Tunnel. Uber pickup at Logan is also fairly easy with the designated zone. I find Uber there to be more efficient, better quality cars than the worn out taxis, and about the same cost.

Yes you are. But we won't hold it against you.

I would just do your due diligence on the Hilton a bit to make sure they invested in it-- it was always traditionally a budget hotel that was worn around the edges but made up for some of it in location.

Not sure where you read that about dry bread. Carnegie always had the same portions if not bigger and far more surley service. Katz's quality wise was and always has been better than Carnegie was. It's one of the few tourist traps that that even hardened New Yorkers still don't consider a tourist trap because of how good it is.

The Park Plaza Hotel was taken over by Hilton in the past few years (which I assume did some upgrades). Traditionally it was a very old hotel that, while lacking in higher end amenities, made up for it being extremely well located (across from the far more expensive Four Seasons and one block from the Public Garden and Boston Common). If Hilton put some upgrades in then would be my preferred location wise out of these two. It's not really in Back Bay-- sort of a transition area between Downtown, Chinatown, Copley Sq, and Beacon Hill-- which is a positive for getting around town especially on foot. Hyatt Centric has easy access to the waterfront but Faneuil Hall for me is always sort of the "Times Square" of Boston. Very touristy and not much local flavor. This would be another reason that the Hilton is better located-- you can quickly get to multiple neighborhoods on foot. Everything in Boston is easily walkable and I would recommend that be your plan. Things by the waterfront and Faneuil Hall are more touristy, government buildings, and financial district. Back Bay/Copley/Beacon Hill tend to be more local Bostonians and have a more neighborhood feel.

No, should be fine. If its a cruise line flight then you'll be ok even if there is a delay. If it's not I would consider coming in the day before. The hotels around LGA are pretty uninspiring. If I had to stay there my first choice would be the Aloft. Frankly using Uber or Lyft will be a break even to the Princess bus from LGA and will be faster and more comfortable. You could stay in Brooklyn closer to the pier with better options.

To the best of my knowledge there is no normal or assigned berths at Honolulu-- will just depend on the day as to which.

Agree with above but this is also what you are paying a professional driver for.

You are fine. Its 15 minutes to the airport usually. Even cruise line transportation (which I think is a rip off and completely unnecessary in Boston) will guarantee you to the airport in time for a noon departure. I would try and not be the last ones off the ship, as you have to account for a little more time for your daughter, but you are more than fine in terms of timing.

The last time we did the Hop on Hop Off in Dublin (was pressed for time with some folks who had never been to the city before) it worked fine until mid morning and then just got hopelessly mired in traffic to the point that it wasn't really even worth it. Personally I would go right to St James' Gate and tour Guinness and then head into town to walk around and see the sights without the bus. Sure, you might miss out on a drive by of Phoenix Park thats further afield, but any of the places on the loop in the city core you can easily cover on foot without the traffic.

What day of the week is it? Wednesdays and Saturdays tend to be 2pm matinees (although there are a lot of 1pm ones) and Sundays are 3pm matinees (and some can be on Saturdays as well). This will be day and show specific but it might be doable at 1pm (check run time of show), will be pretty tight at 2pm, and most likely not doable at 3pm.

The HoHo bus goes to the port and you can buy tickets onboard. That being said, Boston is a town much better done on foot than bus. The roads are narrow and a lot of the things worth seeing are better visited by walking.

Yes- Uber and Lyft work just as well as any other major US city in Honolulu. Outside of the city on the rest of Oahu service can be spotty.

When I use the apps I will outline the general route using Google Maps on my phone the day before to get a general sense of time and what it would take if we just drove through vs make the stops. For example with Hana-- I would Google Map Kahului to the pools the night before and it would tell me about 2 hours. Then you sort of keep that in mind as you go. The day visitor on the Hana drive can realistically stop at around 1/3 of the things mentioned and still make decent time and the other places we've used the guides (all over Hawaii, California 1, a lot of national parks etc) are sort of the same way. Its generally too much stuff unless you are spending several days somewhere (and when we do its even more rewarding).

The Uber will be a lot easier and take much less time than the Princess transfer. It will also most likely be less expensive for two people. You can call an Uber to one of the AirTrain stops to pick you up rather than having to go to the terminal proper.

Super easy to do. Way more time than you need. It should take you a little less than 45 minutes on a weekday morning like that to get to LGA from the MCT.

Personally I think a city bus is where dreams go to die, not necessarily the start of an “adventure”. But that could just be me.

Agreed.

As has been said there is no discernable companies-- its all independent operators. I personally prefer to go after breakfast or towards early evening (but before the higher evening costs kick in which I don't really consider worth it). The sweet spot is to do it during the day time but avoiding the hottest time of day midday as you are pretty exposed in the gondola. The set tariffs aren't negotiable down (although some goldoliers will try and charge you more so you can always refer to the published rates if that happens). You can negotiate with them for a slightly longer trip than the standard half hour which can be nice- usually its 40-45 minutes and an additional 20-30 Euro. A good spot to catch one is the rank outside the Hotel Bauer not far off St Marks. Usually not hard to get one there. Another option (although I wouldn't say replacement for a traditional gondola ride) is to take the Traghetto that leave right in front of The Gritti Palace Hotel and takes you across the Grand Canal and is super convenient if you want to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. It costs only 2 Euro per person and be prepared- it's not uncommon to stand on the crossing. Once over there you can also find one of my favorite places for Cicchetti in all of Venice-- Enoteca Schiavi. Actual Venetians still go there.

An Uber is going to be the quickest and easiest.

They are. You should do at least one. I've never waited nearly that long for any of them. The Breakers can be the most popular (with more people there, but not always) but there are others that are a little less busy. If there's a wait at The Breakers, Marble House is a great alternative. Its not as grand as the Breakers but its very opulent.

It is within the Dockyard complex. Are we talking about the museum or the dolphins? The museum is moderately air conditioned-- its an old building. Some of the areas in the lower area with vaulted stone ceilings are naturally cooler. The dolphin part is open air and not climate controlled at all. Yes-- the museum is the National Museum of Bermuda and is quite worthwhile. These two things are separate attractions that are just adjacent to each other. The museum can be walked through in an hour or less if you are skimming. It's not that large. If you are interested in history, yes. It's worth it. The separate dolphin experience I don't believe to be worth the significantly more than $18 they charge but thats my personal opinion.

Shouldn't make much of a difference for you-- on the opposite side of town and you have a clear corridor to get from Charlestown/North End back to South Boston.