princeton123211

At most Amtrak stations you can check your bags up to 24 hours in advance. The first Cascades service departs around 6am daily so presumably there will be someone there to check them well before that time. Where are you staying downtown? It's not a bad area near the station but there are far more interesting ones to walk around and eat. If your hotel is in one of those maybe it makes more sense to check your bags with the hotel and go to Kings Street closer to time of departure? If they like sandwiches, Salumi around the corner from Kings Street is very, very good. They make their own cured meats (mole salami is insanely good) and you can order them on sandwiches. I usually will stop here to bring something on the train with me as the onboard cafe on the Cascades is somewhat lacking.

Very true. I've seen The Savoy recently for as low as 650 GBP but not $500 US. If the OP has Amex Platinum or access to a Virtuoso agent they can get some nice value add with that which could bring the value down to their budget-- like free breakfast (usually worth in excess of $100 a day at The Savoy), $100 F&B credit, upgrade, and late checkout. But the rate is still going to be what it is.

I would build in some time to walk around St Georges-- frankly I consider that a lot more interesting than the caves (unless you are really into caves). Swizzle Inn doesn't open til 11 so you'll have to stagger a bit but is well worth it. With Swizzle not opening til 11 you're most likely going to be headed towards a late lunch in Hamilton if you do that (they are about 20ish minutes away by taxi). The Swizzle does have decent food but its more pub grub. If you wanted something more upscale you could head over to the Rosewood Tuckers Point (they have a fabulous burger) which could be on the way back to Hamilton (it's a tiny bit off the most direct route). If you do spend time in Hamilton most likely you'll be arriving to Horseshoe on the back end of the day. Was going to recommend this. It technically COULD be done in one day but its a lot of rushing around and the taxi fares will add up considerably. If you do what we talked about above and then stopped for leisurely time in Hamilton you would have the ability to take the ferry back to Dockyard for a lot less than a taxi from Hamilton to Horseshoe and then Horseshoe to Dockyard. This would let you slow down your day Saturday and maybe arrive into Hamilton 3-4pm and maybe catch dinner there and have lunch earlier elsewhere. If the glass bottom boat tour sunday is early enough you should have some time to spend an hour or two at Horseshoe (there are minibus shuttles so its easy to get back and forth) and then still have some time at Dockyard before sailing.

What you're describing is exactly The Savoy (which is also managed by Fairmont like The Plaza in NYC). It's your quintessential London grande dame hotel experience. There are more "British" options (Browns especially, Claridges, The Dorchester and The Connaught come to mind). The Savoy can be a little bit less expensive than those but it can also be wildly expensive depending on the date. Unless you have access to a good corporate rate it will most likely be above your budget-- but it is exactly what you describe you want. (And it also has a very nice pool which, as others have said, is rare).

Thats a shame-- its a lovely place. I've done the drive over the years in excess of 30 times and you find something new every time.

Not quite-- Hana is at least 2+ hours and sometimes more. And that's one of the more popular destinations. And Hana is a place I would be wary visiting (not on an excursion) on a day long port call without an overnight. Agree for the West side-- Kapalua is a little over 1 hour from Kahului if you don't run into any traffic. Wailea is 30-40 minutes. Whalers Village is 45-55.

In addition to what Horseman said there are also a few of the ultra luxe lines that offer one way Hawaii itineraries with their ships repositioning back through French Polynesia stopping in Hawaii. Seabourn usually does it with one or two ships. Regent and Silversea have. This will vary year to year and is luck of the draw.

Have used the app many times on the Hana road-- no issues anywhere.

Yes, but generally only from Vancouver. Foreign flagged ships cannot depart a US port to transport people directly to another US port like Hawaii. It requires leaving from a foreign port (like Vancouver) or visiting a distant foreign port along the way.

Surprisingly American doesn't have any directs despite PHX being a hub. Unless you want to see or spend time in Seattle it will take up a bunch of time unnecessarily. Train or bus take a bunch of time-- bus schedule for 3.5 hours and Amtrak Cascades (which I would do over the bus for comfort's sake) is 4 hours. Border delays can sometimes increase this time and can be common. Direct flight to Vancouver much better option. Air Canada, WestJet and Delta all provide options from PHX. Personally I would fly Air Canada-- more departures per day which allows for some flexibility in case of a delay or cancellation. WestJet is a low cost provider and both them and Delta only have one flight daily which limits flexibility.

No-- the app is downloaded in a place ahead of time where you have either cell or wifi service. Once downloaded it can operate with or without a signal. It relies only on GPS which works anywhere.

As has been said- no reason not to go to Whalers Village or Leilanis. But a little fun hack for Mamas (which still requires a trip to the Kaanapali area) is that one of the long time chefs from Mamas is actually at a little hole in the wall in a strip mall called Honokowai Okazuya & Deli just north of the beach. It's essentially a plate lunch spot but the fish dishes are dead ringers for Mamas-- especially the Mahi Mahi in capers. Absolute gem of a place-- just not the upscale sit down experience of Mamas.

100%. The only way they "heal" is if folks that are still there can earn a living and the only way to do that is to make sure as many people get to that side of the island as possible. We just spent the good part of a month at our place in Kaanapali and the encampments on the beach for the most part came down and things are very much back to business as usual. Everyone who wants to or has the inclination should be coming to the area to patronize businesses. Whalers Village and Leilani's are exactly as you left them mikjr and are completely business as usual. With you 100% Bear-- time to stop letting these fringe interest groups hurt the rest of the hardworking locals who depend on tourism for their incomes. Nothing to add to what you said.

Rockland is further north along the coast. They're both nice places-- Portland is more of a city where Rockland is more of a nice large town. Both have a lively waterfront with good restaurants and bars. Personally Portland would be my pick due to it's larger size but you are getting the same sort of flavor with both.

As Horseman said, its open. But the St Regis dominates a good portion of the beach now with their own chairs, service, and their infinity pools butting up on it etc which the public doesn't have access to. While it is all technically public there is a good 3/4 of the beach where you feel like a bit of an outsider if you aren't staying at the St Regis.

As others have said-- open. It takes you on the bypass above what's left of Lahaina. Once you get passed the Post Office headed North it's sort of like nothing ever happened. All the resorts, restaurants, shops, etc are open from Kaanapali up to Kapalua like normal. You will pass some sad reminders of the fire like burned out houses along Honoapiilani Hwy once you make the right from the bypass at Foodland.

No-- no hotels in Manhattan offer a shuttle. A few of the very, very high end hotels have house cars but usually don't allow you to take luggage in them so doesn't make a difference in this context.

In agreement here. We were driving back from Hana about a month ago and one of the bridges was being worked on after getting partially wiped out by a landslide. It was down to one lane but even then there were times where the road crew needed the entire bridge to work so you just sat there. We were stuck for about an hour and a half before allowed to proceed. The back end of the road, where you could have driven all the way around, is currently closed as well because of a landslide that took part of the road out so you are stuck going back in the same direction you came. Totally doable and enjoyable with an overnight in port but rolling the dice on a one day port stay.

All day long. Especially if that flight was from Boston Logan. Early in my career I lived in Boston and worked right next to South Station. My company's HQ was in Midtown Manhattan so a decent part of my Boston coworkers and I would frequently be back and forth to NYC. I would book the Acela every time. They would always book the shuttle to LGA. Every time the fog would roll in and the flights would cancel there would be a mad dash by everyone in Boston to book what remaining trains were left. I beat my coworkers to NYC nearly every time over a several year period on the train.

Keep in mind it's faster to get to/from Cape Liberty Cruise Port to Newark Penn Station downtown (vs Newark Airport Station where you went) and when you get to the station you don't have to waste time taking the airport monorail to the station itself. There are far more options of trains at Newark Penn including the much faster Acela that takes 4 hours to Boston. Newark Airport has a limited number of trains that stop there. We're all going to do what makes us happy and comfortable, but if you and I both left the ship at 8am at Cape Liberty with you flying from LGA/JFK (or even EWR for that matter) to Boston Logan and I took the next available train I could make from Newark Penn to Boston Back Bay I would beat you into downtown Boston handily.

But could be better used on a longer, more expensive trip. Boston to NYC on Amtrak is 3h 50m on the Acela and a little over 4 hours on the Regional-- not anywhere close to 5 hours. If you took it to Newark Penn (a short Uber ride to Cape Liberty) it would be a little over 4 hours on the Acela and 4.5 on the Regional. Typically, when you weigh the trip time going to Logan, being there at least an hour and a half early for security, the hour long flight, then getting from LGA or JFK to Cape Liberty the train will most likely be faster than flying and thats not considering that flights get delayed and cancelled from Logan far more frequently than the train gets delayed. I'm up in Boston once a month and I typically only take the train (from Philly which is 5 hours) because flying isn't any faster and it's a lot more of a hassle. Far more time to relax on the train.

Anytime I've prebooked a longer trip in the NYC area I always find that it can be a bit more expensive than if I just hit the button when I was ready to go. Drivers don't say a word about a JFK or LGA trip with Uber or Lyft to Cape Liberty. The only ones that get grumpy going to New Jersey are NYC taxis that cant get a paying ride back to New York.

As has been said you can absolutely walk around the Dockyard. While it is historic and interesting in its own right most of it is very touristy and essentially a large shopping mall attached to the cruise port. There is a very interesting museum. Personally it's not my cup of tea-- might not be a popular opinion here but I consider it sort of like Bermuda's version of Times Square. Not sure what excursion you are on but if you have the option to jump off and spend time in Hamilton or Horseshoe Bay on the way back to the Dockyard I would do that. A few hours in the Dockyard before you board is fine but I wouldn't devote an entire afternoon to it when I could be running around the island otherwise.

It's a very broad question (prob too broad) but the general answer is yes, it will most likely be less expensive to stay in Jersey than Brooklyn. To get to the BCT I would use Uber, set up a car serivce, or drive (if you have your own car with you). The issue with Jersey is that the hotel itself will be less expensive but your transportation costs will be higher. If you have your own car that will be less of an issue. In Jersey there are a ton of options and all depends on your budget. Lots in Jersey City, Elizabeth, around Newark Airport, as well as further out into the burbs. Brooklyn, at least in the tourist areas, will be on par or maybe a little bit less than staying in Manhattan. But the benefit here is that you're close by the next day and your transportation costs will be fairly contained compared to Jersey.

I got it for $550 through Amex Fine Hotels Resorts a little over a month ago with all the benefits. Granted it was only for one night and booked last minute before our flight back so not sure if it was a special they were running or not (because it's hard to tell that through the Amex portal). This time of year, according to their website, they are regularly at $670 which then goes up in the Fall and Winter.