princeton123211

It's more just good old fashioned snobbery. The island itself is incredibly wealthy and doesn't need the cruise and day visitors relatively small revenue. Most hotel rooms are in the thousands of dollars a night. It's a huge yachting destination with owners and charter guests that spend lavishly when on the island. They just want to keep their bubble and limit what they see as the riff raff.

So you're about 2 hours by car service to Venice-- a bit longer by bus or cruise transfers. I would second what the previous poster said about Blacklane-- we've used their app multiple times in Italy and its been seamless. You can also take a train. Once you get to Venice proper it will depend where your hotel is. A car or mini bus for your group will drop you at Piazzale Roma and the train will end in Santa Lucia Station. From either of those spots the easiest way to avoid schlepping luggage is to take a water taxi. While expensive, anywhere from 70E to 120E depending on location, it will take you directly to your hotel (assuming your hotel has a private dock). Without knowing where you are staying its impossible to give definitive advice but this should help in a general sense.

Unfortunately it just comes down to the fact that St Barths doesn't really want the cruise ship business. They look very down their noses at cruise day trippers. Unless you have a hotel room on the island it can be very limiting. I don't know if there are any resorts that do day passes (there wasn't any when we were last there a few years ago) but worth a look. We did take the plunge on our second visit there and got a room for the day at one of the top resorts. It was breathtakingly expensive and at the end of the day not worth it. We spent most of our time by the pool (getting a room was the only way to do this). We had buyers remorse on the tender back. Going to be back on Seadream this winter. I think the plan is to go ashore, have a nice lunch on the beach at Eden Rock, walk around Gustavia a bit and then head back for a nice afternoon on the ship. Plenty of other islands on these itineraries that make it easier to do the things you describe.

I have. Its nice enough-- we did something similar to what you are talking about and went for lunch after watching the planes from the beach. Didn't buy a day pass though-- just went to try and have lunch. What I didn't realize was that its an all inclusive resort so they looked at us like we had three heads when I said we weren't staying there. I don't think I would fly to St Martin and stay there but it was nice enough for an afternoon from what we saw.

Coming down from Massachusetts, New Jersey would be out of your way. The most direct way to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal would be down through Connecticut, along the West Side Highway in Manhattan and then into the Battery Tunnel to Brooklyn. If you don't want to stay in Manhattan or Brooklyn I would tell you to look at White Plains/Westchester/Tarrytown area. You literally have to drive through it anyway to get to the BCT. Going to New Jersey will be at least an hour+ out of your way. Plenty of hotel options for all budgets and $300 is quite doable and the area is very nice for the most part. There is a hotel in Westchester called The Opus that used to be the Ritz-Carlton which sometimes is priced around $300 and is very nice. But you have a ton of options. The drive will be a little less than an hour to the BCT but its a nicer area than trying to get closer but not be in Brooklyn or Manhattan.

https://travelpro.com/collections/standard-carry-on-luggage-and-suitcases These are some of the best-- used by airline crew. They usually last me 7-8 years and I travel 150 days a year. You have to clear Immigration (Customs is a different thing related to goods and money that you most likely won't have to deal with) upon arrival into any country so given that your layover in Montreal is your entry into Canada, thats where you would clear immigration. The airline wouldn't book you on a connection you can't make so they assume that a reasonable person will be able to go through the immigration formalities given the timing of the layover. 2 hours is plenty of time-- I wouldn't worry about it. Flying will be faster but you can take VIA Rail from Montreal to Quebec City if the connection is stressing you out. It is about 3 hours through vs a much shorter flight.

It isn't beach season in December. Air temp will be in the high 60s, maybe the low 70s but the water temp is going to be cold. Keep in mind this isn't the Caribbean-- you are essentially a few hundred miles off the coast of North Carolina. Its a great, uncrowded time to visit but not really beach weather.

Its a super crappy "beach" built for convenience. If it works for you on your last day before you set sail-- I get it. But the short drive to Horseshoe, and the $ you'll spend for the ride to Horseshoe vs the entrance fee to one of the worst "beaches" in Bermuda will be worth it.

Its not huge by Caribbean resort standards. Its not boutique either-- somewhere in between. No, its not a far walk but it is very uneven especially once you are on the beach itself which (depending on erosion) can be a steep drop off to the water. Sometimes its a little more even and full without the dropoff. The resort has their own little section of beach tucked away and then you can continue walking to the part that is directly under the landing approach for the airport. There are two independent little bars on either side which will sometimes put the flight schedule on a chalkboard. You will be able to see the planes from the hotel itself-- they just wont be on top of you like they are when you are in the middle of the beach.

If you can carry it onto an aircraft you can carry it on in Boston. I have taken a standard rollaboard that I have brought on HAL in Boston twice with zero issue. Of course backpacks, handbags, etc are fine. A larger suitcase, which I imagine would cause issues on the gangway and in the ships public spaces before your stateroom is ready, needs to be checked pier side. Personally I was asking myself both times why I didn't just check the carryon pier side-- with staterooms not ready for a couple hours it was a pain to have with me.

You'll be fine at 12:30. 11am would be the earliest I would be comfortable with at MSY. It's a smaller airport so things move a little quicker.

You will definitely be at the Royal Naval Dockyard. Carnival, because they don't run as many ships to Bermuda as Celebrity/NCL/RCCL, will sometimes get bumped from docking (there are only two berths) and you'll need to tender-- it doesn't happen often but it does happen with Carnival. If you do tender you will still tender into the Dockyard though but you'll need to build that into your touring plans. Both Hamilton and St George's are fun and worth while. If you only have a full day I might suggest taking the ferry early to St George's and then just using a taxi to get from there to Hamilton and then taking the ferry back to the Dockyard from Hamilton. The taxi will cost a bit more but it will save you time and let you see both towns in one day. If you wanted to see a beach (and Bermuda has some of the top beaches in the world) but didn't want to do "beach things" you can grab lunch outside at the newer St Regis Resort on St Catherine's Beach just north of St George's. The hotel is right on the beach itself with ocean views and you also have Fort St Catherine right there.

Don’t book a water taxi in advance as it will be overpriced- just have the Hilton call you one and it will be much less than €100. More in the €50-60 range. Confirm cost before you leave the dock.

They absolutely can. Northern NJ taxis are literally some of the worst...ever. No idea why. As bad as your Uber was most likely the taxi you would have gotten would have been worse. Not to mention the taxis can be considerably more expensive than Uber/Lyft so you get to pay for the privilege. I would highly encourage the OP to take an Uber or Lyft and avoid a local taxi from Cape Liberty.

It can still be in the low 80s and high 70s in October. Everyone's water temp tolerances are different but you can still swim in October. This will depend on a few things. Assuming you mean "downtown" to be Hamilton (there are two main towns on Bermuda, the other being St George's but Hamilton is the capital and largest). If your ship is docking at the Royal Naval Dockyard (as most do) you will be a ferry ride, bus ride, or taxi ride away from Hamilton. There is no way to walk it-- the distance is about 17 miles overland and can take 45 minutes driving. The ferry is the way to go here. If you are in the rare group of small cruise ships that actually dock in Hamilton (Oceania Insignia being the main one that does this) then you can just step ashore and you will be right in the middle of Hamilton. You can also take a longer ferry all the way over to St George's on the other side of the island. St Georges is the site of the original British settlement and has a most historic feel than Hamilton. The food on the island can be quite good but I wouldn't put it in the realm of the world's great food destinations. If your ship docks at the Dockyard I would really recommend getting out of there if you are looking for better than average food. The options there fill a need but aren't the island's best foot forward. Some favorites of ours (not necessarily in Hamilton so check on a map for distances) in no particular order: - Waterlot Inn (may still be closed) - Island Brasserie at the Rosewood Tuckers Point (closer to St Georges) - Port O Call in Hamilton - Swizzle Inn (this is a pub and not a food destination but the rum swizzle is a must) - 1609 at the Hamilton Princess (honorable mention to Intrepid, which replaced a restaurant named Marcus' at the Hamilton Princess-- have not tried the new one but the old Marcus' was a fave) - Tom Moore's Tavern (back closer to St Georges) - Blackbeard's Hideout (near St Georges) - The Hog Penny (pub, but a good one right downtown) - Art Mels Spicy Dicy-- great example of the Bermuda fish sandwich near Hamilton

That pricing is from the airport to Venice (and is a little high even for that). It wouldn't be that much from the Hilton-- more like 65 Euro, which is still a lot, but not nearly what you think it is.

In agreement with NJhorseman. The only option you have to get the same or better beach amenities would be to pay extra for a resort day pass-- I believe Coco Reef Resort is one of the only doing the day passes these days. It will improve on the amenities at Horseshoe Bay but the beach isn't as nice as Horseshoe. The only way to do better really is to spend quite a bit. If you got a room for a night at the Rosewood Tucker's Point you would have access to their (sort of) private beach and their incredible beach club. This stretch of beach is as nice, if not nicer, than Horseshoe and is never crowded. The beach club-- with multiple pools, bar, and restaurant-- is the nicest on the island. So you can do better but you'll pay $1000+ for the privilage.

Agree with Bruce-- your quickest way to resolution is to contest this directly with your credit card company. The wheels of government grind too slowly with things like this.

Question is way too broad-- there are hundreds of restaurants and hotels. What's your budget for a hotel? What do you like to eat? It's really impossible to make a good rec for either without some additional info from you. Broadly speaking, if cost isn't a concern, my favorite hotels in the Quarter are The Ritz Carlton, The Windsor Court, The Roosevelt Waldorf-Astoria, and the Hotel Monteleone-- in that order. A lot of the best restaurants in town are actually outside the French Quarter. If you've never been to New Orleans before going to dinner at Commander's Palace in the Garden District is a great experience. Take a short Uber ride up to Treme to Willie Maes Scotch House for some of the best fried chicken of your life or nearby to Dooky Chase for dinner. Inside the Quarter jazz brunch at Arnaud's is a favorite with table side flambé desserts. Brennan's and Antoine's are old school classics.

While Insignia is from, I think, the early 2000s she got a top to bottom refurb right before the pandemic so is fairly new inside. Overall she's much more high end than the larger ships at the Dockyard, particularly with food. You are not making any concessions in experience due to her age and as mentioned her smaller size on this itinerary is a major benefit.

A fair point- you’re just paying RCCL a premium commission to take the same duck tour that anyone can book. If you book direct and board/disembark at the NE Aquarium you’re right there at Faneuil Hall which is what it seems like you want to do anyway. You’d just need to take a quick/cheap Uber from the ship to the Aquarium and back. Takes the guess work out.

I would go on the assumption that there would not be. This is a very upscale island that traditionally has not welcomed/supported cruise ships. I would find a tour guide or operator ahead of time and make arrangements to avoid disappointment.

This. Of all the cruises we’ve done to Bermuda Oceania’s on Insignia is the best overall from an itinerary standpoint (and the ship is wonderful too). Docking right in Hamilton and St George’s makes a huge difference and lets you spend more time enjoying things and less time on ferrys, busses, and taxis. It’s really nice just walking off the ship at night in Hamilton and going to the various bars etc,

Either taxi or Uber/Lyft. There isn’t any fixed rate on the taxi from LGA to Manhattan like there is from JFK so both options will be similarly priced when you factor in the fees the taxis charge. Personally I’d Uber here because I think the cars are of a higher quality than the taxis but honestly it doesn’t make a huge difference here.

The short answer is no. You would have far too many variables that could cause you to miss the ship even if you had a longer port stop. And then the fact that you have a shorter port stop. Traffic wouldn't really be the issue here-- the only possible way you could make this work is to take a Cape Air flight from Boston Logan to the airport on Martha's Vineyard. Cape Air operates small twin prop Cessnas and is lovingly/jokingly referred to those who use them as Cape Scare. You would not have time to drive to and take the ferry both ways. I would not attempt this.