princeton123211

Nothing scary about 83-- just a normal two lane road by Hawaii standards. It isn't even that windy and doesn't even come close to the cliff hugging you do on a road like the one to Hana on Maui. In fact most of the road is at sea level. Turtle Bay, if you stop at the hotel for lunch, can be a very nice place to stop and regroup. You can sit at their Sunset Bar and literally watch big surf go by you while you eat.

Parking in downtown and Waikiki overnight can run $50-70 so can easily wipe out any savings by renting at the airport-- sort of becomes one of those "who do you want to give the money to" things so keep that in mind.

Red Caps are available at most of Amtrak's major stations along the Northeast Corridor and they are available at Newark Penn. Let the conductor on your train know and they will have the Red Cap waiting for you on the platform when you arrive at Newark. I'm pretty sure if you gave them a nice tip they would help you over to the hotel-- its such a short distance.

No- not bad enough that I would go all the way into Manhattan and back out the next day if Manhattan wasn't part of your plans. Newark Penn is not necessarily dangerous-- its well policed-- but its not as updated or has the same level of facilities as New York Penn. The second floor walkway to the hotel makes it very convenient.

Moynihan Tain Hall is a part of Penn Station. It's a newer section that opened a few years ago and now handles the arrivals and departures of Amtrak trains. If you are using NJ Transit you will go out of the older section of the station. Everyones tolerances are different-- the older section is a bit dingy (which is why it was replaced by Moynihan for Amtrak) and doesn't have the same quality level of dining options but its well patrolled by police. I wouldn't say its any more dangerous-- its just not nearly as nice.

Why would anyone take a taxi for $60 to 34th St Station when an UberX is $10, an UberXL is $13? Even an UberBlack SUV is $42. Thats absolutely insanity on top of the fact that these are some of the rattiest, worst maintained "taxis" in North America.

Hard to beat the GB Rooftop which sits atop one of Athens' top hotels, The Grande Bretagne. Beautiful views of the Acropolis. Have had many memorable meals over the years here and its great. https://www.gbroofgarden.gr

I would take an Uber or Lyft but yeah-- you shouldn't have any issues. Just give yourself a little extra time in case.

Ships time is usually the time of its home port, or where you originally depart from. It's at the Captains discretion if the ship is kept on ships time or adopts the new time zone. A lot of Caribbean cruise stay on ships time which is Eastern Time Zone even when going into the Atlantic Time Zone which is where St Martin is located. Other cruises, like a crossing on the QM2, ships time changes an hour each day to account for the time zone changes. I would just assume that in your case ships time will be Eastern whereas St Martin will be one hour ahead on Atlantic Time.

Agree with Bruce though-- this is not a usual thing at Kona. No way to really predict beyond what your specific cruise line tells you.

When a ship overnights typically the tendering is a 24 hour operation just like a gangway would be open 24 hours on a ship overnighting at a berth. Check with your cruise line but you should be able to come and go as you please. Typically the tenders late in the evening are less frequent and possibly based on demand.

I think what Got2Cruise was getting at is that its just not an amazing area which I agree with. The TWA Hotel at Terminal 5 (actually on airport property vs all the others which are just off airport property) is fun. Its not quite a luxury hotel but its not a budget one either. But it has a bunch of on site dining and a really great rooftop pool that overlooks the runways. If you are planning on spending time at the hotel (vs just getting in late and sleeping) the TWA might be worth a look. I haven't stayed at the Residence Inn there but it looks new so usually when they are newer they are fine. If you are planning on leaving the hotel for anything I would maybe consider something else. If you are just going there to crash for the night then it should be fine.

Yes, you'll be able to get there. The marathon doesn't cut off parts of the city-- there are highways and alternate routes that allow movement. Also by the early/mid afternoon, when you would be boarding, the Marathon is already pushing mainly towards Long Island City/Manhattan/Bronx. The marathon route in Brooklyn is on Fourth Ave and coming from JFK where you would cross Fourth Ave is elevated over the marathon route. It can cause delays and traffic-- just give yourself extra time to get there but I don't think you would need to change a hotel for 4x to stay closer to the BCT than at JFK (and the Marathon is the reason those rooms are 4x on that date).

I honestly don't know but seems plausible. There are far more detailed and knowledgeable folks on here about NYC public transportation-- I just commuted on the PATH for enough years to know I wouldn't want to pile off a cruise ship with luggage and two 11 year olds and use it to get to NYC Penn. Pushing large bags through turnstiles etc. NJT direct to Penn would be the way to go.

UberXL to Grove St is about $30 so might as well just go to Newark Penn for the much easier transfer.

Don't take a taxi in New Jersey-- they are awful and overpriced. Take an Uber or Lyft. Much nicer cars and the pricing is usually lower than what the taxi drivers ask for. No, but there are faster and easier ones. Personally after a cruise I would just have the Uber take me right to Penn Station but it will be the more expensive option -- about $75 for an UberXL direct from the port. But I do like where your head is at about NJT-- I think its a good compromise on cost and time. Going direct from Newark Penn Station to New York Penn Station will be ALOT easier than taking the PATH and walking. Uber from Cape Liberty to Newark Penn Station will be around $40 plus the NJT tickets.

If you want a full service hotel by SeaTac its hard to beat the Cedarbrook Lodge. https://www.cedarbrooklodge.com One of the most pleasant airport hotels I have ever stayed at.

That's a shame-- I didn't know. Such a nice man.

It is. I guess there's not much they could do to stop them without a really good reason but they just aren't going to encourage them. Ive been fortunate enough to visit the island the twice I mentioned on cruise ships but also once on a friend of a friend's yacht. It's stunning how differently you are treated when visiting on a yacht-- it's like they know. Like you area wearing a scarlet letter coming ashore from a cruise ship.

Yes-- there are lots and garages (mostly in office buildings) that are close to the pier. You can google parking for exact locations. There is zero reason to go all the way back to the airport-- waste of time and money to get a ride back. Unless you have two definitive days of rental car need, our strategy is to pack all we want to do with the car into one day and just drop the car back after hours at the rental location in Waikiki. This way you avoid paying for parking all together. The parking near the pier downtown will be slightly less expensive than parking in Waikiki, which can be very expensive, so keep that in mind.

Many times. At first I was disappointed the little tiki bar hut was getting the axe but what they replaced it with, Hui Hui restaurant was such a great addition to the beach all was forgiven. They serve regular Mai Tais at the bar upstairs just like they used to. The bar is very casual and you can go in flip flops and swimwear just like the old hut. The last I heard when I asked about him in March was that Dale is still alive and well- just retired. Obviously I haven’t asked anyone since the fires so hopefully he was ok. There was a period of time during Oct 2020 reopenings that he came back- the hut was closed but the new restaurant wasn’t open yet. He was making Mai tais from a service bar just off the lobby where they used to serve breakfast. He decided he didn’t want to help open the new restaurant and retired.

HWAK is a good one. My only issue with the Royal Hawaiian one is that it can be inconsistent. If you go to the Mai Tai bar when they are slammed they sometimes can leave a little bit to be desired. When they are on, they are on though. If we expand beyond Honolulu the Mai Tai at The Kaanapali Beach Hotel is strong and very faithful to the original-- consistently excellent over the years. Current favorite is at the Westin, also on Kaanapali. The bartender at the pool bar named Junior has his own riff on it called the No Ka 'Oi Mai Tai. Its heaven (if you like orgeat).

Extremely easy to do. We rented a car from Avis in Waikiki (so we could drop off at Waikiki and avoid paying for a parking spot that night). We just took the H2 to Highway 99 towards the North Shore. You can visit the Dole Plantation along the way. From there we got on the Kamehameha Highway which is along the shore up to Turtle Bay. We had lunch at the Turtle Bay Resort right on the water (which I would recommend and is a great place to stop for an hour) but there are also plenty of food trucks along the road there just beyond. The surf viewing from the hotel is beautiful. From there we just stayed on the road back to Honolulu going all the way around. Its a pretty drive and a nice way to mix up a few days on Waikiki by doing something different.

To second what Bruce said-- the best whale watching will be from Maui and Kona in that order. I think it might be worth waiting a few months to see how things shake out. I'm sure as we get closer to whale season more will come into focus. It's possible that operators that didn't have their boats destroyed, and departed in and around Lahaina, might relocate to other places. My personal favorite operator, Captain Steves, had both boats destroyed. I agree that Lahaina won't be functional, but it's possible that whale watching trips will operate from other places like off the beach at Kaanapali as that reopens.

One of the easier things to do for a DIY beach day on St Kitts is to purchase a day pass at either the Marriott or the Park Hyatt. The Marriott is a bit closer to the pier and generally is less expensive. The Park Hyatt is a bit further but is smaller and more upscale (and more expensive). You can also get day use rooms at either resort, based on availability, and can be nice if you want to shower/change etc but will cost more than the day passes.