Nitemare

Leaving Boston for Plymouth in the morning isn't going to see much traffic.  As soon as you get on I-93 South it should be quick, all the traffic is going TO Boston.

Those two hotels in Braintree aren't great.  I wouldn't recommend them to a friend unless they are on an extreme budget

3 hours ago, kibutzer said:

We are going to two areas with limited tourist info. We are tendering in both, any suggestions? 

For Husavik: What do you like to do?  The Diamond Circle is popular up there.  So are whale watches.  A trip to Myvatn, maybe.  Rent a car?

I don't know the other area

13 hours ago, canaturelover55 said:

Capt BJ,

We have booked a Golden Circle 3.5 hr tour for 130 US pp. This is not through our cruise line but through our agent. Do you know if the prices in town are much cheaper or the same ? We plan to do a Hop On Hop off the next day on our own.  ( 2 day stop)

Thanks

PS Any advice on Nuuk would be great if you've been there recently.

Sandra

Are you sure it's only 3.5 hours?  That barely is enough time to get from the port to the Golden Circle area and back, no time to see any of the attractions.

27 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

Price sounds about right .. I booked thru tip advisor but don't remember who specifically. It was 'small group' and over 7 hours .... included a stop and swim at Secret Lagoon ....

7 hours makes more sense.  I don't recommend using third parties like Trip Advisor/Viator, especially in places like Iceland where weather can affect plans 365 days/year, but I'm glad it worked out for you.

The Westin Seaport is the closest Bonvoy property to the cruise ship pier.  Quick cab or uber ride, or accessible via public transit from Logan.  20 minute walk to the pier, or a cheaper cab or uber

I agree wtih @GeezerCouple.  GYG is a third party provider and we try to avoid those, especially in places like Iceland where weather can always affect your plans.  Trying to communicate to a provider thru a third party when time is of the essence is much more difficult than dealing with them directly.

I know with the other third party that starts with "V" that you can usually see the actual provider on their website.  Not sure if it's the same with GTG, but I'd try to figure out the actual provider and book directly.

11 hours ago, Cruisehiker said:

Been tracking number of Greenland cruises on various forums over last couple of years. A high proportion have missed one or more stops. Current HAL Zuiderdam missed all three Greenland ports due to sea ice (not icing of ports themselves but packs of ice on approach) and then Stornoway too due to bad weather. It is not ice hardened and I think same true of many others on this route. Contrast to Antarctic where I believe only hardened ships allowed to visit. Also, contrary to green/media extremism, sea ice is rebuilding in many parts of Arctic. So always a high risk of missing a Greenland port, especially early in season. 

Sea ice is rebuilding because the ice is calving off of the glaciers, and it has to go somewhere, so it follows the currents.  Glacier coverage is smaller now than it has been in recorded memory.

All BECAUSE of Climate Change

that kind of footwear should be fine for those excursions, if it isn't raining.

If it is raining, and it rains about half the days in Iceland, you might be uncomfortable and wish you had low top hiking boots

3 hours ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

How are the temperatures in the Maritimes in late August.  What  would we need for clothes?

Any places in particular?  "The maritimes" is a huge area.

You can google things like "average august weather in Halifax" if you want to see actual historic data

3 hours ago, TheOldBear said:

The MBTA web site has a trip planner feature

The 'most direct' route starts with the silver SL2 line, changing to the green B or D trollies. There are other options, possibly with less walking. Base fare is $4.80 round trip.

B, C, OR D trolley will get you there.  They all take the same route to Kenmore Square station before branching off from there.  Kenmore is a bit closer tot he ballpark than the Fenway Park station is, which is only on the D line.

There is also the MBTA Commuter rail to Plymouth.  You will need a cab/uber to get to the Museum, though.

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

That does look interesting :).  Thanks for posting the link.  Looks like it might be worth the approximate $700 per couple.

 

Hank

We loved it.  We did it on arrival day, flying from the East Coast, figured if THAT wouldn't keep us from falling asleep on arrival, nothing would.  And we were correct

8 minutes ago, leaneff said:

I know these are totally different experiences, however we only have 3 Iceland ports and we really don't love being on buses or in vans for 7-8 hour tours.  Rarely is there enough time at each stop, and we just find we enjoy exploring the towns on our own more.  Thinking of cancelling my Golden Circle tour and exploring Reykjavik on our own, there seems to be so much there to see.  Having been to Yellowstone before, not sure the geyser will thrill us.  We also have an all day tour in Akureyri so we would see some of Iceland's natural wonders.  Is is really worth 2 full days in a car driving to do both of these tours?  Would love to hear from someone who has done both!

Do both bus tours.  Reykjavik is a very cute city, but you are unlikely to ever get to experience the wealth of nature Iceland has to offer again. The geysir is not as spectacular as Yellowstone, but it goes off much more often so you can get amazing pictures. 

We've been to Iceland 5 times and done the Golden Circle 3 of those visits, and the other sites the only time we were in that part of the country.  Breathtaking

23 hours ago, Beekman1915 said:

My wife and I are seniors. We decided to pay double with NCL to avoid switching buses with Flybush.  Due to going into Reykjavik and switching buses, the Flybush trip takes at least an hour and 25 minutes.  NCL takes you directly to the airport.  That trip takes about 45 minutes.

 

It costs $75/person.  The taxis I saw cost much more than that.

Taxis average $130-$150, and you don't have to wait for a bus to fill up or to get your luggage unloaded.  But the bus is certainly simple

That's my old neighborhood!  We ate at Larry J's once and never went back.  But that was a long time ago.  Smoke Shop is further, maybe 20 minute walk, and is excellent Q, and open late

What day of the week?  Fri/Sat gives you more late night options than other nights. I am assuming Fri/Sat, below:

Legal Harborside is about a 10 minute walk from your hotel and is open until 11.  It is the Flagship of the Legal Seafoods family and has an upscale upstairs and a more typical, but still special, downstairs menu.

Harpoon Brewery is a similar distance, they do serve food, not sure how late, though

SAVR is about 15 minutes away on foot, open until 11. Good looking menu, I've never been there, though

Seaport Social gets raves from friends, they are open past midnight

Strega is strong Italian, open to 11, so is Rosa Mexicano (but not Italian!)

We've eaten at Committee a few times, and they are open past midnight

Row 34 is one of our favorite Boston restaurants, and they are open until 11. 

1 hour ago, MAVIP said:

Very good! I checked a few and Sunny cars mentions different ages and even 65 . And difference in insurances.     https://www.sunnycars.nl/en/extras/age-rental/    I read the ins and outs on this page and it seems to depend upon the destination too.

 

Of course I wish you perfect excursions (and am a tiny little bit jealous of course) in the 3 ports! .

Sunny is not an Iceland company.   The .nl suffix means they are a Netherlands company.  Lots of good Iceland rental agencies, including Lotus, as mentioned by @Mr. Click

We have done 5 land tours of Iceland, ranging from 2 days to 10.  Driven on those good roads and on quite a few of the bad ones.  And taken a Superjeep tour a couple times on roads that had river crossings or deep snow on them

Getting a car with a little extra ground clearance is a great idea for Iceland, as it makes driving on those bad roads quite a bit easier

5 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Please donot tell friends over 75 yrs of age unless they ship their own car to Iceland. Carhire over 75 is not possible according to family and friends....

You might want to check that information yourself before you post it

31 minutes ago, Beekman1915 said:

My wife and I are seniors. We decided to pay double with NCL to avoid switching buses with Flybush.  Due to going into Reykjavik and switching buses, the Flybush trip takes at least an hour and 25 minutes.  NCL takes you directly to the airport.  That trip takes about 45 minutes.

Do you recall how much that cost?  A taxi would run about $130-150 and might be even more convenient.

On 6/10/2024 at 6:03 PM, powlan said:

Wife also recommended eating at Carmines. My favorite NY Italian restaurant. Then put me on a gurney back to the ship. 

Carmines is very popular with tourists for their portions and prices.  Not popular with locals who disdain the food.  SO much better out there for Italian, even some with big portions and reasonable prices!

When we lived in Boston we went to NYC most long weekends.  For years we stayed in or near Times Square as we revolve our visits around Broadway Shows.  For the last 10 years we've stayed in TriBeCa, down in the lower part of Manhattan.  Great subway access to midtown but so much quieter, with great restaurants and close walks to either river.  Quite close to the 9/11 Memorial, etc, but only 20 minutes by subway to midtown

Westborough was what I was going to suggest.  And maybe look into the Logan Express for parking and transfers if money is an issue.  It will be slightly annoying to take a bus from the lot in Framingham to the airport and then take transit or a cab/uber to the port, but it will be much cheaper than parking at the airport or at the port.  Then, when you return, do the opposite to get back to Framingham

Versions of this might work for @Keith At Sea and @Birdnutty

#1 has great advice.  Another option is to self tour the city and then take a taxi or the Flybus to the airport.  Or go to the Sky Lagoon in the city and then bus or taxi to the airport

17 hours ago, blackfly said:

We will be there next summer when there will be three ships in port at the same time with a combined passenger capacity of 6000.

I hope you are renting a car and can get the heck out of Dodge and see sites before they are overwhelmed with hundreds of people in nature spots that are best viewed by a few dozen at most!

11 hours ago, lionheart said:

Celebrity - if they are leaving at 7pm what would be a time to be on ship and check in? 

@ljandgb already gave you the best answer.  I asked you three questions to try to help you and you answered one of them, that's not enough info for anyone to help you.

It is a town of 500 people.  There really isn't much to "do" right there beyond viewing the beautiful fjords.  I'm surprised there is even one local tour company.

If I was taking a cruise with a stop here, I'd either snag something with the tour company or book something thru the cruiseline, who I am sure is getting all the tour guides from a wide area around Djupivogur to handle their excursions.

This is one of the reasons I always tell friends to do land tours of Iceland instead of cruises.  It is so much easier to explore the country by car than it is by tour bus.  Iceland is all about nature and solitude, not the cruise experience.  And we LOVE cruising but not in places like this.

I am not familiar with this tour.  I see that you have done some good research on TripAdvisor, the Iceland board there is very strong.   Maybe ask this question there where you have many more experienced Iceland travelers?