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princeton123211

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Posts posted by princeton123211

  1. 22 minutes ago, keishashadow said:

    Seriously, it’s usually so much more than filling up in other places.  

    Just to make things easier, was considering if semi reasonable.

    Its going to be just as bad of a deal as anywhere else. Gas in Hawaii is more expensive overall, but the rental car companies just charge more for the gas service as a result. 

     

    Like others have said-- plenty of places to fill up on the way to the airport. 

  2. 14 minutes ago, newcruzer2 said:

    Any thought about either grand Hyatt or Hyatt regency

    Theyre both well located. The Fairmont Olympic has always been a favorite in that 4.5 star range-- it has a lot of character, rooms are decent size, and location is equally as good as both Hyatts. It used to be a Four Seasons a while ago (now managed by Fairmont) but still has that grand hotel feel without the FS prices. 

     

    The Edgewater is another favorite-- its built out on a pier. From what I remember its a little more expensive than the Fairmont or Hyatts will be. 

  3. Like Ferry Watcher said-- most will at least take your bags early and a 5 star hotel will also let you have access to their spa to change and freshen up if a room isnt available yet. 

     

    If you need a room early-- often times elite tiers of loyalty programs will allow you an early check in as part of benefits-- worth checking if you have that as part of your perks. American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders also get early check in and late check out (with a few exceptions) when booking a hotel part of their Fine Hotels & Resorts program. 

     

    Outside of these a lot of mid-tier hotels will ask you to book a hotel room for the night before arrival to guarantee that it will be available when you check in early the next day. 

  4. The taxi drivers usually have a sort of "best hits" tour that will take you anywhere between 2-4 hours. Some speak English well, some not so well and most in the middle. You can do things further afield like visit Hemingway's home outside the city which you need a driver for and will add some time onto that. 

     

    If you want something more formal it might be worth prearraging a taxi tour with an english speaking guide. Both the taxi hire and guide are generally very reasonable by US standards and will cost you a couple hundred dollars at most for an entire day of sightseeing-- dont bother with the wildly overpriced ship excursions. 

     

    Taxi to the Tropicana will be 20-25 CUC each way or less expensive if you arrange a round trip with a driver ahead of time and they'll just be waiting for you outside when its over. 

  5. Its allowed but it can be a little awkward-- its not like people are sitting on the street begging for them (they're pretty policed on that) so you're sort of forcing them on them. If you do bring gifts a more appropriate place to give them would be visiting a family's home B&B you're staying in (Casa Particular) or someone whos helped you in some way. The tour guides and taxi drivers make more money than a medical doctor does about 10 times over so they really wouldn't need them. 

     

    Items that are appreciated from what we saw are things like travel sized toiletries of things they cant get in Cuba or something useful like that-- they dont have much need or want for trickets from the US. 

  6. You dont necessarily need to fill up right next to the airport. We've driven from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki with a rental car (Jeep Wrangler), filled it up there, and made it to the airport with it still showing full. Just keep your recent gas receipt for the rental people when you drop it off in case it does move a click down and they wont charge you extra. 

  7. If you're covering all the major tourist spots on a tour you could spend the first day walking around and checking out some of Venice's cafe, bars, and restaurants. Harry's is a bit on the touristy side but very fun. The rooftop at the Hotel Danieli is also quite nice for breakfast or dinner. The bar downstairs in the lobby also has alot of character. The Gritti Cafe at the Gritti Palace is a wonderful place for lunch overlooking the canal. I'm sure people will chime in with their favorites but those have been some of our highlights. 

    • Like 1
  8. Hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Passenger Ship Terminal west of 10th Ave are a little dodgy still. Nothing horrendous but there are far nicer hotels a few blocks east towards Times Square. Its such a broad question-- there are literally hundreds of hotels within walking distance of the pier that range from youth hostels to five star hotels. They offer anything from single rooms to large apartment style suites. 

     

    As a generality, Manhattan tends to be one of those places that a two bedroom suite is actually more expensive than getting two separate entry level rooms at the same hotel. I'm sure there are exceptions but thats what I've seen there over the years. 

    • Like 1
  9. The Tropicana is alot more elaborate and iconic than the Parisian show at the Hotel Nacional-- having done both on separate occasions I would pick the Tropicana if I had to do one. If you want to see the Hotel Nacional on the way back after the Tropicana, its super easy to have your cab driver drop you there for a drink. The bar in the gallery is open 24/7.

  10. 1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

    Or book an Island tour.

    I agree with Charles-- book a Blue Flag taxi tour and see most of the island. Given that alot of stores will be closed and the ferry wont be running to St Georges, you'd have to get into a cab anyway, might as well see a whole bunch with a knowledgeable guide. You can have them drop you off in Hamilton at the end, spend some time in town and take the ferry back to the Dockyard. 

    • Like 1
  11. On 4/15/2019 at 12:01 PM, Old Timer Cruiser said:

    For being in a poor country I thought that we were being taken advantage of when it came to going to a restaurant. I wanted to go where Cubans would eat not the tourist place.

    The street food most Cubans in Havana eat is certainly cheap but it takes a bit to get used to. We primarily saw little pizzas and little hamburger like sandwiches (which we later found out were pork, not beef). We did actually try a pizza-- 1 CUC because they technically don't take CUC (I think it was a regular Cuban peso normally)-- it was...interesting. Even if you take away the pizza moniker and go in with an open mind, it was thin, chalky bread with a super sweet tomato paste on it with, not sure what the cheese was exactly but looked like mozzarella but didn't taste like it. And it had ham, pickles, and pineapple on it. Glad we did it, wouldnt go back. But it was cheap. 

     

    Not sure where you went but we did have a few lunches in tourist areas that came in quite a bit less than what you paid. 

  12. 23 hours ago, atb said:

    I guess you could call us luddites.  We have not embraced all the new technology required to successfully access Uber and Lyft.

     

    I can certainly understand and am not judging. I would just budget some extra time if taxis are the only way you'll travel because the taxi fleet in Boston is significantly diminished and primarily just hangs out at the airport and a few of the bigger hotels. There might be some cabs by the port with a ship docking there but certainly not a line around the block like there was even a few years ago. 

     

    It wouldn't surprise me if it were pretty much gone in the next few years. I was talking to a cab driver in front of my hotel a couple months ago about how fewer cabs I see and he said that they cant even get cab drivers to drive the cars there are because theres no money in it anymore. Alot of the drivers have moved over to the Uber/Lyft platform. 

  13. 6 hours ago, mac1_131 said:

    Similar to US pricing. They charge the tousists what they are used to paying.

    Well yes and no-- in touristy restaurants this is true (although it tends to be slightly less than what you would think the same meal would cost in the US). If you head to a Paladar (a self run mom and pop restaurants of which there are tons of) you'll find that the food is priced much lower than you would expect. 

     

    But even at La Guarida (a fine dining restaurant that came highly recommended and we enjoyed) I think entrees are only about 20-25 CUC and the side dishes were like 2 CUC. This is one of the most expensive restaurants in Havana and we found it very, very reasonable. We're also from New York originally so we might be a bit jaded as entrees in a fine dining restaurant can easily be $50-60 at dinner there. 

     

    Drinks are generally very cheap if you stick to the domestic rum which is quite good-- usually 2-4 CUC for a pour of Havana Club depending on where you are. 

     

     

  14. You can also go have breakfast at any number of the nice hotels on Waikiki and check your bags with the bell desk before eating and leave them there for a good part of the day before you head to the airport. We've done it a few times at the Royal Hawaiian, Halekulani, and Moana Surfrider hotels and its worked like a charm. Also makes it easy to get a cab or Uber right from the hotels front door to head to the airport. 

  15. Getting to the Omni Parker House is easy enough (although I think the brunch at nearby XV Beacon's restaurant and the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons are better hotel brunches). I used to live in Boston and now travel there a lot for work-- traditional taxis are a dying breed and there are significantly less of them on the road now than even a few years ago. Not sure if you are philosophically against Uber (which I could understand) and if so I would try using Lyft. But a lot of times due to the dwindling amount of taxis on the road, Uber and Lyft are going to be faster, cheaper, and usually nicer. 

  16. Had been following this thread because we are considering doing a Cuba itinerary in March 2020 when Inspirato charters Sea Dream I. Having been to Cuba a few times (both on board a cruise and once staying in a hotel for a few days) there is no such thing as a compulsory tour. The cruise lines push the myth to make sure you use their tour or purchase to upgrade but there is no US or Cuban law that states you need to go on a certain tour to satisfy. 

     

    The affidavit you have to have to sign gives you multiple options in terms of what you can select but most choose "Support of the Cuban People" these days and it is specifically designed to provide for unescorted travel in Cuba for Americans. Purchase a piece of art, buy a meal at a local restaurant thats not in a hotel, stay in a family run B&B (called Casa Particulars)-- all qualify. 

     

    The only thing the US State Department specifically forbids Americans to do is spend money in hotels/museums/restaurants owned by the Cuban Government/Military. A lot of places you go are and theres no real way to avoid this, but its also not something that they every check on. 

     

    But to satisfy the requirements of the affidavit's support of the Cuban people requirement, you do not need to take any sort of organized tour-- just try to satisfy the spirit of the requirement. If this is something that SeaDream erroneously pushes or requires we wont be sailing to Cuba with them because its flat out false. 

  17. Wont necessarily make it more expensive and sometimes when it is more expensive for the one way rental its not any more so than the Uber to the airport which would make picking the rental up at the port more convenient. I would compare-- both Avis and Hertz have agencies within a couple block walk from the cruise terminal from what I remember (we rented with Avis that time). 

  18. My experience dropping off a car in Waikiki was awful. Granted this was Avis, so your experience might be different, but there aren't many gas stations to top off the tank and finding the garages that it was located in was miserable-- nothing clearly marked. All this in alot of traffic. I circled the block for half an hour. Had I known that would happen I would have dropped at the airport. That being said, if things are clearly marked and easy to find, I would say that dropping off in Waikiki and hopping an Uber to the ship might still be easier and take less time. The cautionary lesson here is just do a little homework on the drop off before-- I wish I had. 

  19. We've had good luck at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess for lunch-- both Marcus' and Crown & Anchor. Marcus' is a bit more trendy and Crown & Anchor has more of the hotel staples (good burger, turkey club, salads, etc). Both are very good.

     

    We also go to the Hog Penny, a little pub on Burnaby St just up from Front St. Its a decent traditional pub. Its location is great for grabbing a few last drinks before the ship sails down the street from the Hamilton Dock. 

  20. Ive never seen alot of oversight in that regard getting off the ship in either the Dockyard or in Hamilton. Its been a really long time since I've been on Celebrity but years ago the room service cereal at least was delivered in the little boxes. This was on Summit to Bermuda maybe 3 years ago. 

     

    We've taken a sandwich from the lido off the Veendam in Hamilton before without a problem and have also taken coffee in a to go cup every day we were there and not had a problem. You'll be fine with cereal. 

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