princeton123211

Didn't catch that-- yeah, they would be headed to the airport by noon anyway then. Doesn't make a ton of sense to try anything in Manhattan unless they were really motivated to. When we got off the Insignia from Bermuda a few years ago it was a leisurely disembarkation (compared to others we've had) and we were curbside by about 9:30. My guess is with a 3:30 flight they would let them get off the ship towards the end of the process.

I agree with you that a well located hotel on the Grand Canal with their own dock will be the best option. The only issue is that such hotels can be breathtakingly expensive. One of the best located hotels for what you describe would be the Hotel Danieli-- adjacent to St Marks Square and there is a private dock off the canal that leads you directly into the lobby. Again-- this will be very expensive but you couldn't ask for a better located hotel for someone with mobility issues seeing some of the major sights of Venice.

Correct. The ATM at an actual Canadian bank will be the best rate you can get and you wont pay the fees you do at commercial exchanges or onboard the ship.

Everything was destroyed. There is no pier, no infrastructure, nothing. The town is gone. I agree with BermudaBound-- I don't think folks really get the scope of the devastation. Its too soon to speculate but my guess is that your ship will not be calling on Maui in February and cruise ships will not be calling again for quite some time. Kahului is possible but NCL and Carnival will have priority as they already use Kahului. This doesn't exist. There is no pier or natural harbor that could accommodate this for a cruise ship. There is going to be zero priority to returning cruise traffic to Maui. My guess is the focus is going to be helping residents rebuild, get the resorts back, and rebuild Lahaina. Small luxury ships call and tender on the island of Lanai across the water but I couldn't imagine Lanai opening up to larger ships.

I agree with other posters-- off the flight (assuming it runs on time which doesn't happen a ton at LGA), getting luggage, finding the rep, getting into Manhattan-- you'll be at least 11am if not a little later and you'll just board. On the return you don't HAVE to take their return transportation. If you wanted to spend some time in Manhattan you could easily do so and just Uber to LGA when you were ready to head there. For a 6pm flight on a weekend I would leave Midtown Manhattan no later than 3pm. Obviously it will be an additional cost but you wont be sitting at the airport. LGA does have much better lounges now than it ever has with the ongoing rebuilding so not the end of the world there either.

Amen.

Yes-- there are many in town at physical banks but the closest one I found to the pier itself was in the lobby of the Westin Hotel which is right there by the ship.

A year will be far too long-- I don't think you realize how much locals on this side of the island depend on tourism and the devastating hardships and poverty it would create to turn it off for that long. Kapalua and Kaanapali are currently cut off and our place in Kaanapali currently doesn't have power. But they aren't destroyed. The Wailea resort area is essentially undamaged. I think you will see these resort areas get back to work within a matter of weeks. I agree with you that Lahaina will be a long road back. My hope is that they build it back thoughtfully that preserves some of the ambiance that we all enjoyed and not make it a Disneyland version of its former self.

Its like $70 + tolls and tip. So just about $100.

I live there in Maui part of the year-- I do realize the challenges. But there will be no choice but to find a way to restart tourism as soon as it is practical. That's the issue-- its the only real industry. People will need to work.

Cruise ships yes and agree, but I have to think that once the power/safety resources are back the priority will be to make sure that the Kapalua, Kaanapali, and Wailea resort areas go into overdrive to make up for lost tourist revenue.

So I will go back on what I said about saving money on not going through your hotel. In the instances where taxis are limited or the routes are limited due to events, paying the hotel premium can be a lifesaver. As an example, when we were in Venice last year, we came in the day of the Vogalonga which is a boating festival that shuts down large portions of the Grand Canal for a majority of the day. No water taxis would take us there but because we did book through the hotel (with a hefty markup) they provided a water taxi that was able to get us to our hotel dock on the Grand Canal. No idea what they did but got special treatment.

None that I am aware of with cruise shuttles but some of the boutique hotels in the lower Old City area are more or less within walking distance. Some of the more modern chain hotels like the Hilton and Marriott are further away and not within walking distance of the cruise piers. Then there is of course the grand dame Chateau Frontenac, which while technically not walking distance with luggage (mainly due to its position on the hill), is a quintessential Quebec City experience and quite close to the cruise terminals.

Just bite the bullet and hire a water taxi at the airport. Getting off an overnight flight from the States and onto a water taxi (which are more like little ornate water limousines) is pure magic as you head into the Lagoon and Venice itself. Plus its really the only option you have given the amount of luggage you'll have. Many of the nicer hotels in the city offer water taxi arrangements in advance-- I would advise against this as they are heavily marked up, sometimes several hundred Euros more. Just follow signs from the airport terminal to the water taxi dock and get one there (much like a taxi queue at a normal airport).

There is an Avis in the Sheraton Waikiki which is a small block away from you. Have rented there many times and is super convenient and easy-- especially if you just rent for a day and therefore avoid paying the exorbitant Waikiki overnight parking costs. Try and condense your rental car needs/touring into one day and you'll save a bunch. They close at 4pm but you can drop they keys off after hours so not an issue.

That's a shame-- 1:20 is sort of ideal. Given what you said about self disembarking and that its a Sunday I think that a noon flight should be quite doable. Figure you are in a car by 9 at the latest you'll be there just before 10. Not a ton of room for things to go wrong but not an impossible mission either.

The other option is just go to a nice 4-5 star hotel, grab lunch or a drink, and leave the bellman a nice tip. They are more than happy to store your bags for you and frankly I might feel better than some of the places that UseBounce uses like hair salons and retail stores. Your luggage will at least be securely tucked away in a hotel.

You're not wrong, but NCL and HAL definitely cater to different age brackets.

It will take you about 35-40 minutes with luggage. Just take any street from where you are at the pier to 9th Ave and then just take 9th Ave South and you'll be right at Moynihan's back entrance.

Personally I would be comfortable with 11:30. MSY isn't the biggest airport and things flow better now that they have the new terminal up and running.

Agree-- Torcello is a gem and oasis from the crowds (but don't tell too many people that!)

10:30am is most likely cutting it a bit close. If the ship docks on time and you self disembarked and carried your own bags off as soon as you could. And then have a car lined up for the half hour ride (without traffic which you'll prob won't have any on a Sunday morning) to the airport-- could you physically make it? Possibly. But you are also betting that literally everything goes perfectly.

It's easily one of the worst "beaches" on the island and there is an admissions cost to boot. Far better options unless you are pressed for time on the last day of your trip there (which is the only scenario I could justify going there). Bermuda has some of the nicest beaches anywhere minutes from where you are-- avoid this one if you can.

Very doable. The train on Canada's Via Rail (essentially their much nicer version of our Amtrak) is quick, easy, and the train station in QC (Gare du Palais) is close to the cruise ship docks. I wouldn't rent a car-- it would take extra time away from exploring both cities and won't save you time. Others have taken the bus but my first choice here would be the train. Train trip times are about 3 hours so I would leave in the morning (8am train gets you in right before lunch) and that should give you enough time to explore Montreal a little bit. Keep in mind that Montreal is much larger than Quebec City so you won't have enough time to do much but you can get a little flavor of the city. If you do take the train to Montreal I would suggest looking at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel for your overnight there. It is located right above the Montreal train station you come into and you can literally take an elevator from the station up to the hotel. It will provide you with the fastest way to drop your bags and go explore.

It's really due to neither-- its more that it is the only route to get you back to that side of the island (the road around the North end is not viable) and in the event of an issue, such as an accident etc, it can be shut down for hours. Even when there is heavy traffic it does move. This is more about the rare times that the road gets shut down completely. I live there part of the year and rarely have had an issue so I tend to discount it a bit. BermudaBound has had more issues and will advise that you exercise much more caution. The truth is most likely somewhere in between-- its not a regular occurrence but if it were to happen it could seriously impact your trip if, for say, you were headed back to Kahului on the day of departure. This is simply an exercise in risk/reward.