princeton123211

This is getting silly. When's the last time you walked up Kekaa Drive through the golf course from Whalers Village? Big hill. You don't go there for Poke-- shocked you don't know that because you seem confident you know everything else.

I think its the big hill out of Kaanapali coupled with the need to walk along the highway that made me think it was further whereas the walk from Lahaina to Whalers is flat. Regardless-- they both are at least an hour walk with some (not all of it) along some pretty unremarkable stretches of road. Would highly recommend the OP use some form of transportation. Very few folks walk either of these. Kapalua is a different story. During the day up there Uber's can take a bit-- even at night I've had to wait 15 minutes for pickup in Kapalua. From our place in Kaanapali they are fairly available starting around 1-2 in the afternoon and are readily available in the late afternoon and evening. The OP should not have an issue getting one in Lahaina where the most of them are. Which is great, and I'll give you a honk and a wave next time I drive by you, but I think you have to also put it in the perspective of who you are giving advice to. Those of us who are fortunate enough to live there at least part of the year can spend way more time doing things that someone who is only visiting for 1-2 days, and may never come back, might think is a waste of time. If I was on a limited 2 day port call, on a once in a lifetime trip to Maui, and I followed advice and walked 2 hours each way along a highway to go to an unremarkable strip mall for chicken teriyaki (or their dreamy Mahi in lemon caper sauce) I might regret my decision not to hang out on the picturesque beach I had left.

We have very different definitions of walking distance. Walking from Lahaina to Whalers is one thing (which is far for a visitor with limited time-- doable but a chore), but walking from Whalers to Honkowai Okazuya is nuts. Its a taxi or Uber ride but well worth the trip for plate lunch or dinner. The OP needs to know that Uber is readily available if they want something more effiecient than public transportation from Lahaina-- it will be faster in the late afternoon/evening (5-10 minute wait in and around Lahaina) but will be still be an option earlier in the day if you give yourself about 15 minutes. You are not reliant on the bus.

Generally not in the way you might be thinking that you've seen elsewhere in places like the Carribbean. Taxis in Kauai exist but demand far outstrips supply on days with large cruise ships. You are best to arrange for a private tour or book a taxi that advertises tours in advance. Otherwise you might be stuck with an hours long line to get a taxi (which might not be willing or qualified to give a tour anyway).

I have not stayed at this Ace Hotel but have stayed at the Ace Hotel in Manhattan and also the one in Seattle. Since you mentioned you are seniors it is worth mentioning that the brand as a whole is geared towards the very young hipster demographic. The hotels themselves are a bit sparse, louder music pumped through, very small rooms (even for New York and some have bunk beds), boisterous bars right in the lobby etc. They are well run and clean but just know what you are getting into.

Have been there twice on a ship and both times no issues. It's an enclosed harbor that's protected by sea walls on all sides. It's also a ferry port with regularly scheduled ferries operating there. I can't see any reason, short of something catastrophic, that weather would prevent you from stopping there.

We used an app called Blacklane extensively in Italy this past summer and had great experiences. You can book ahead of time in the app and it provides an all in price (with gratuity). It essentially will then book you with a local company/driver that has been vetted by them and meets their quality standards. All communication and billing is done through the app. Couldn't be easier.

There are a bunch of tour operators that offer options. Roberts is one of the bigger ones. Its a very serious time investment-- some of the sunset ones that I've seen start as early a 1-2pm and finish 7-8pm. It also can get very crowded. Having been up there a few times I might be jaded but there are better places to watch the sunset-- would much rather be on the beach with a Mai Tai than in 30-40 degree weather freezing up there. If you don't want a helicopter tour the only other ways are by boat or fixed wing aircraft. Personally I would do the fixed wing option-- there are a few operators you can google for both the boat tours and airplanes. We used Wings Over Kauai before-- they operate some Cessnas and larger aircraft. Good experience. If you don't rent a car your only option will be to arrange for a private taxi in advance. Don't wait til you get there or else there might not be one available and Uber is very spotty in Kauai at best.

Its a nice hotel in a good location. The last time I stayed there it was managed by Kimpton (Maya Angelou yelled at me for talking on my cell phone in the lobby!) so not sure if much has changed since Royal Sonesta took over but I imagine its still as nice as I remember it. It's not my favorite hotel in town but its a very solid choice for someone who wants something that's upscale and boutique. You can walk to a bunch of things like Pike Place Market. Its a little close to Pioneer Square for my liking (not my favorite part of town) but you still have a few blocks of buffer between you.

To sort of clarify what everyone is getting at-- I seriously doubt you would find a proper limo company that would even accept a ride that is this short. As Nitemare said, the ship to the airport is like 10-15 minutes max. If you want something like a limo, just use UberBlack.

I cant tell you the differences between the two-- we only use iPhones-- but there was no noticeable slowdown with Google Maps-- functioned fine. The only time it slowed down was when we went through the daily allotted data. I mitigated that by only using WiFi while in the room in the morning and at the hotel for breakfast and usually would make it through the day. My wife tried not to use her phone a ton in case mine did slow down and we needed a backup.

Yes. Travelled extensively in Italy with it last year and for the most part a good experience. Just bills $10 a day and you get a text each morning when it kicks in. They do slow down your data after a certain amount so just make sure to connect to Wifi where it is sensible to do so (like your hotel room) as things like streaming, while they will work over the network, will eat your data up quick. Once you go through it, the phone's data slows down noticeably but this has zero effect on making or receiving calls. Data speed is then restored the next morning when the new day kicks in.

Stayed at the W on Bonvoy points and had a great experience. When I was making the comparison between that and the Marriott the W won purely on a far more central location. But I was very pleasantly surprised as to the quality of the hotel itself-- I'm not a huge W fan in general (usually small rooms and loud music in the US) and this was not that. Very large rooms, nicely appointed, received an upgrade/Bonvoy benefits, and some great restaurants on premise. It's across the street from the Royal Palace.

To dock in Venice proper, as mentioned Windstar, Seadream Yacht Club (which I would highly recommend), Star Clipper line. Its small but there are options. Even the small ship luxury lines like Seabourn or Silversea's ships are considered too large.

Just going through the thread here-- if the ship is overnighting the day of arrival into Quebec the ship essentially is your floating hotel that night. The ship will be cleared by immigration upon arrival and at that point you can come and go from the ship as you please until the next morning. Disembarkation the next day will be a lot less hectic than usual as there will most likely be a steady stream of folks leaving from the very early hours to catch early flights-- it wont be bottlenecked into a few hours like a normal disembarkation is with the ship arriving only an hour or so before. By all means do whatever makes you feel comfortable here but if you don't want the hassle an expense of getting a hotel room you wouldn't need one-- the ship would essentially be your hotel.

Second the poke at Foodland-- its some of the best on the island and where a lot of locals go for it. Also another favorite that comes highly recommended. Not going to be walking distance from either Lahaina or from the main Kaanapali resort area near Whalers Village so will be an Uber if they go there.

Correct-- once the ship clears immigration the day before (of arrival) you'll be able to come and go as you please and leave at any time the next morning. The airport is about 25 minutes away but I would budget 30-40 minutes just in case there is traffic if you are going during the morning rush.

Traffic flows fairly well at Cape Liberty-- its off on its own so there is no additional city traffic like you have at other NYC area ports. I wouldn't factor this into what time you choose to disembark.

Uber/Lyft wasn't great before Covid and its even worse after. Uber/Lyft outside of Honolulu in Hawaii is always difficult. I would not rely on it. Schedule a ride with a taxi ahead of time.

To njhorseman's point, there is a game to be played here and it's only done at a high end hotel's restaurant or bar that is off the lobby (vs a restaurant in a hotel that is accessed from the street). In Midtown for Italian you could do Harry Cipriani at the Sherry-Netherland but it is heinously expensive (but incredibly atmospheric). I'm at a loss to think of another Midtown hotel with a good Italian restaurant in it but I'm sure others might chime in. For something on the completely opposite side of affordability you could do Burger Joint at The Thompson on 56th (it's sort of hidden away but its one of the better burgers in NYC-- nothing fancy but inexpensive and they will store your bags). The Blue Bar and Lounge at The Algonquin in Times Square definitely will do it (checked a bag for a meeting there a couple weeks ago). My personal favorite would be at the King Cole Bar at The St Regis, although again this will be expensive drinks and food, although not as expensive as Cipriani. There are a bunch of options here that can be researched but there are four workable recs that are at the bottom and the top of what you could reasonable expect to spend and in a very desirable area to walk around in if you only had a few hours in town.

Never had any issues in the 2 cruises I've taken that stopped there or the numerous times we've taken the quick ferry ride from Long Beach to the island. You're only 22 miles off of LA-- weather is usually fairly docile.

Used to be there for business every few months. Personal favorites are the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth for midrange business class 4 star option or the Ritz-Carlton for a 5 star hotel- both have recently been renovated and are in great shape. The Queen Elizabeth is right above the main train station so super central to most things. The Ritz is in a very nice area of town not far from shopping the McGill University campus and is of a slightly higher quality than most Ritz’s you run into. If either of those work budget wise I highly recommend.

It will be inexpensive but it will also take you a little more than twice as long as taking an Uber from the airport. UberX will be about $60 door to door. Yes-- I would definitely Uber here given what you said. Also keep in mind once you get downtown you'll have to get across to the adjacent Westlake Center to the monorail and then upstairs with luggage. You're answering your own question. Frankly I would use Uber for all three of these unless you really want to spend the time riding the light rail. You can always take a monorail ride once you settle in if that was something you still wanted to do. I wouldn't be using public transport at 11pm.

Agree with you on Disneyland-- it would be a ton of running around and expense for what would essentially pan out to going on about 2 rides if you were lucky. Realistically you'll need to be at SNA by 330ish at the latest so you are really looking at an extended lunch somewhere. A no brainer would have been going over to the Queen Mary, which is in a soft reopening, but I believe those limited tours are sold out and it won't be fully open until April. Might be worth keeping an eye on that on the off chance it does open. You could see about getting a day rate at one of the nicer resorts along the coast in OC-- the Lido House in Newport Beach could be a fun option. You could use the pool and grab lunch etc and then it's a quick, easy drive over to SNA.

We used an app called Blacklane extensively in the Lakes District and Milan last June and had very good experiences. You book through the app and they connect you with local providers that meet their quality standards. Billing is done through the app and includes all tax and gratuities so extremely easy.