princeton123211

Not a bad plan. Waikiki is fun but its not the nicest beach in Hawaii-- if you are going to other islands most likely you'll find a better beach experience. But its definitely worth going to Waikiki, walking around, and seeing it. Would highly recommend the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian for a drink-- right on the beach an very lively. Hula Grill is good and fun but keep in mind you can get basically the same thing at Dukes in Maui and Kauai (not to mention the one right there in Waikiki), the other Hula Grill in Kaanapali, Leilanis also on Kaanapali, and Keokis on Poipu Beach in Kauai. Not to say you shouldn't go but might be fun to try some of the diverse food scene in Honolulu and save the Hula experience for during the cruise. (Tonkatsu Tamafuji is one of the best pork katsus I've had outside of Japan as an example).

Less than you would think. I know that outside concession out front of the Royal Hawaiian the chair/umbrella set ups are limited to the guests of the Royal Hawaiian (and possibly the Sheraton) only. The public can do other things through them like outrigger canoe rides etc. I'm not aware of any day passes-- others might know more. Short of a day pass or a beach set up, the beaches themselves are public and fully accessible. You can bring a towel and sit on the beach. Things like the beach bars at the RH (Mai Tai Bar) and Moana Surfrider are very close to the beach.

Getting between Amsterdam and Rotterdam is extremely easy-- its like getting between New York and Philly on the train. Trains run frequently (the high speed Eurostar-- which used to be called the Thayls when I last used it on this route) takes only 39 minutes and is the best way to do it. They run slower speed trains but just take the faster nicer one-- fares are as low as $30 per person. Thats a shame because Rotterdam is quite lovely. You can actually stay overnight on the refurbished retired Holland America flagship SS Rotterdam which was a highlight of my time in Holland. Midcentury magnificence at its finest.

It's easily one of the worst drives you can do-- the traffic and roadwork on 95 is legendary. This is not sound advice. I work a week a month in Boston right now and you couldn't pay me to drive-- I nearly always take the train. The Acela is extremely fast, comfortable, and efficient-- easily the best ways to get between Boston and Midtown Manhattan. Driving can be 5 hours+. You go city center to city center on the Acela in under 4 hours. Taxis or Uber/Lyft to the MCT are very easy outside New York Penn Station.

Typically (but not always) ships that are disembarking/embarking with passengers dock at the Pan American Pier outside of town. Ships calling on San Juan for the day tend to dock at the cruise terminal in Old San Juan near the Sheraton.

You don't need a tour to do this one-- you can buy timed tickets easily to skip the line and the Doges Palace and St Marks basically follow a prescribed route so theres not a ton being part of a tour will do for you. Honestly trying to follow a tour group on some of the narrow passageways in the Doges Palace with a group might actually be more of a pain than doing it yourself.

In Kahului, since it is near the main airport, there tends to be a fairly steady supply of Uber and Lyft (Uber tends to have a bit more drivers but both are available). Other parts of the island the general rule is that Uber/Lyft service can be spotty (think 15-20 minute waits) and availability is better in the evening than the morning. But around the Kahului you should be fine with either at any time of day. For a shorter ride like this Uber/Lyft would be the way to go. I tend to only reserve a taxi for longer trips (like when I go from OGG to Kaanapali).

Caledonian and Balmoral as mentioned are great if you are going for the grand dame hotels. If you are looking to stay at a hidden gem take a look at The Witchery by the Castle. Rooms are eccentric gothic and it has a great vibe. Restaurant, while not what it was 20 years ago, is still consistently very, very good. Also hard to beat the location just at the entrance to Edinburgh Castle and Royal Mile.

Both can be wildly expensive (upwards of $1500 a night for an entry level room) but both are part of Marriott Bonvoy and are a magnificent use of Bonvoy points if you can find the availability. The St Regis is more modern-- wouldn't be my first choice but its a spectacular hotel. The Gritti Palace is old Venice at it's best and I would consider to be a bucket list hotel in the city to stay in. If talking about hotels of this caliber its also worth mentioning The Danieli. It used to be part of Marriott but is now undergoing a renovation to become the new Four Seasons. It is open during the renovation (they are doing one of the three palazzos that make up the hotel at a time so it shouldn't be a big disruption) so you have a chance to stay basically at a Four Seasons for less in the meantime. When it opens as a full Four Seasons I'm sure the rates will double. The St Regis and Gritti Palace are both wonderful hotels but just know what you are getting into and that there are ways to stay at both for less or even nothing.

Worth mentioning because I don't know your cruising experience but Hawaii is not going to be like the Caribbean if that's the comparison being made. There won't be vendors just sitting there waiting to take folks on tours in most places. I wouldn't "wing it" without doing some planning and arranging transportation with the exception of Honolulu. Prior to the fires in Maui, if tendering in Lahaina, you could just sort of do your own thing but now docking in Kahului requires some planning. There are private taxis which can be arranged in advance on every island. Uber/Lyft do exist but really only at critical mass in Honolulu and to a lesser extent Maui. Rental cars can be handy if you want to get off the beaten path. Just worth keeping in mind.

Not sure if thats a good reason to give up on it entirely if seeing some of the city was of interest to the OP. Boston is fairly compact for a major city and you can cover a bunch of ground easily in a short period of time by foot. Will you see everything? No. But personally I wouldn't hole myself up in a Logan Airport hotel.

Uber/Lyft are easy-- start checking the app before you disembark (in case its like 30+ minutes which it usually isn't). Fairly easy to time pickup. Taxis in that part of New Jersey are awful and I would highly advise against using them.

Assuming you are talking about Baltimore Penn Station (which is the one downtown) vs the Amtrak station at BWI (the nearby airport) the easiest way is by Uber or Lyft. Taxis in the city of Baltimore are sort of generally crummy. There is a Harris Teeter supermarket very close to the cruise terminal you could stop at on the way. I would just call two Ubers to make the trip. I've done a bunch of overnight trips on Amtrak-- unless you need something very specific or plan on consuming a lot of something the onboard selection of meals/drinks isn't bad enough or expensive enough that it would motivate me to go out of my way to bring my own supply. The hot food in the dining car is generally not bad for one night.

You could split into 2 or even 3 Ubers but that would be the only play there. In order to get 9 people and that amount of luggage into one vehicle you are firmly into mini bus territory. Even a van, which is typically what shuttle companies run, might be too small with that amount of luggage. I would look at limo companies that operate larger Sprinter vans etc. The only issue is that a lot of times these come with garage in/out minimums which can push the price fairly high. Personally I would just split the group up into a few Ubers-- it'll be less of a hassle and most likely considerably less expensive than finding one larger vehicle.

As others have said-- children can ride on laps without the need for car seats per the law (not going to get into ethics-- its a choice). You can get an Uber with a car seat. Traffic to either LGA or EWR will be reverse of the commute at that time of day so you shouldn't have much of an issue. I wouldn't book anything before noon though just to give yourself time.

If its anything like the Yotel in NYC the room is miniscule-- literally a coffin with a duvet. Location wise its not my favorite-- you are still a decent walk to most tourist things but not terrible. If you're ok with a 15-20 min walk to most things then it's fine.

Which airport? New York has three-- JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark. Generally for a car service Carmel or Dial7 work fine as is often discussed here. NYC yellow cabs offer a flat rate between Manhattan and JFK but are metered otherwise. Personally I just use Uber or Lyft.

What area/ hotels WOULD you recommend for two nights with touring pre cruise? It really depends on your budget. Personally I think one of the best overall hotels for touring, central location, ease of getting around, and general atmosphere is the grande dame Fairmont Copley Plaza. That being said that hotel can be priced on the low end around $250 a night but can be $500-600 a night during some times of the year for a basic room. Both Hilton and Marriott have a bunch of well located hotels that you could use points for during the busier season. For example he Westin Copley Place is right across the street from the Fairmont, and while lacking nearly any of the charm the Fairmont has, can be had for a bit less a night or you can use Marriott Bonvoy points. If you have a budget in mind I'd be happy to give a few specific recommendations.

I don't disagree with you but Summit was nice to have as a higher end "smaller" ship option. Now if you want to lower the passenger count you have to take Vision of the Seas which is a step down in quality and onboard options vs Summit. Then again Summit isn't small enough to dock at Hamilton so I guess the size didn't really make a difference like it did when Veendam was on the run.

Wow. No Celebrity Summit. Thats a bit of an end of an era.

If you are arriving on the 25th and overnighting onboard Infinity at Piraeus until the 26th your ship will clear Immigration upon arrival on the 25th and once that happens the gangway will be open 24/7 for you to come and leave. I think your TA is giving you the canned answer in case you were arriving the morning you wanted to transfer to a ferry. You should be able to disembark any time in the early morning on the 26th and easily make the ferry as the ship will have already be cleared the day before.

At Santa Lucia Station in Venice you step up several steps into the train (vs the door height raised platforms you often see int he States). This can be a challenge for someone who is wheelchair bound and was for my father in law. While most of the trains don't have wheelchair lifts (or at least I didnt see them on our journeys), the station does have portable ones that can be set up next to the train. This does have to be arranged when you arrive at the station through a desk they have set up for disabled passengers. For this reason I would give yourself extra time when arriving. The station itself is fairly accessible in that it is one one level.

Its essentially like walking from one outside door to the next in an airport arrivals/departures area. Its close and its covered both on the upper and lower levels. Super easy.

Most likely a smart idea-- Ubers/taxis etc will also be limited on Christmas Day. Hopefully they bus you to the other side-- the whale watching off Kahului on that side of the island isn't nearly as good as it is in Lahaina Roads-- the area between Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. If I had to guess, with Lahaina not an option, you will be going out of Maalea. Enjoy it-- being on a zodiac for a whale watch off Maui is one of Hawaiis great experiences.

We do it a few times a year and only on a zodiac-- by far the best way to do it. The closeness to the water is the best part for us-- you dangle your feet over the side and put GoPros into the water etc. All things you cant do on some of the larger boats that do the whale watching tours. Just too many people for us. The whales can get quite close but only by their own choice-- once a whale is spotted within a certain distance any vessel must stop their engines and drift until they pass. Sometimes the whales swim by and sometimes they can get very close as Bruce said. We've had whales get very close and go right under the raft but not touch the boat. They are very intelligent and aware of their surroundings-- you have nothing to worry about in terms of getting harmed by a whale in this scenario. They don't have any interest in colliding. Competitive pods, where the whales are a bit more boisterous, can usually be spotted at a distance and a captain would not put the raft in the middle of that. All this being said our favorite operator, Captain Steve's, lost both of his rafts in the fire. I haven't been back so haven't checked to see if they have plans on restarting their business. There were a lot of boats lost in the Lahaina fire. I would check and double check that any options you are looking at are actually operating as most of the good whale watching was out of Lahaina.