BostonBoy2

Hi, we are doing the eastbound transatlantic in August. We will be taking the train down from Boston the day before the ship departs, and we're wondering whether all the info on this page is still accurate - taking the ferry from Pier 11 to Red Hook looks great! We do know that the the Andaz Wall Street hotel is now a Hyatt. Sadly, it does get terrible reviews on Tripadvisor, so any suggestions as to an alternative would be welcome. However, the main point of this post is just to make sure that the ferry from Pier 11 to Red Hook remains the attractive option described here. Thank you!

Will do - glad I had this resource to reassure me! Thank you all.

Thank you for all these comments and suggestions. I guess the problem is that I can't figure out why anyone would want to stay in a Cunard hotel and pay their premium!

We are traveling on Cunard in late August, NY to Southampton. We will be taking the Acela train from Boston to Penn Station the day before ship boarding. I spoke to Cunard about a hotel reservation for the night before we board, and they gave me the same list quoted above - Hilton Midtown Marriott Marquis The Knickerbocker Marriott Brooklyn Bridge The Cunard rate is far above the non-Cunard rate. For example, the online rate for the Marriott Brooklyn is $384. Cunard quoted us $700 (!) We're thinking, why not simply take a cab/Uber from Penn Stat. to the Marriott Brooklyn, and benefit from the lower rate? We are not New Yorkers, so any advise much appreciated!

Cunard has several pre-cruise hotels that they book for you in Manhattan, They then transport you to the ship the morning of the cruise. However, their prices are far above the "street rate" for these hotels. And, it seems that it might be more economical to just stay in a hotel near the cruise port. The "Cunard hotels" are NY Hilton Midtown, NY Marriott Marquis, Knickerbocker. We will be taking the Acela down from Boston the day before the cruise, and the train stop is Penn Station/Moynihan. We could simply take a cab or Uber from there to a hotel near the cruise terminal. What do you advise?

Thank you so much! Just ordered this book on Amazon.

Early this year we booked. a Barcelona-Athens cruise with Windstar (Star Legend) for Sept. 2023. However, in the interim my wife has been diagnosed with a meningioma - a type of brain tumor. The medical professionals at MGH say that it is small and is not growing/non-malignent. They advise "watchful waiting" before brain surgery, which carries risks. However, my wife has had 2 (perhaps 3, we are uncertain about the first) seizures in the last six months. It was the second of these that led to medical evaluation and diagnosis. Visits to the ER after 2 of these did not result in any "treatment" per se. She was dehydrated and was treated for that, alone. She seems to recover from these seizures quickly - she is tired and a bit wiped out for 24 hours, but that's it. So, I am trying to decide about this trip. We do have cancellation insurance, so the cost is not an issue. We also have evacuation insurance. However, she wants to go. And, we are are taking our daughter and her boy friend ( very serious), so cancelling would be a big disappointment. The issue for me is what I would have to do if she had a seizure on the ship. She called Windstar and they told her that there is a doctor and two nurses on the boat, which is a bit reassuring. However, the idea of having to leave the boat to check into a hospital somewhere en route is frightening. I'd appreciate any thoughts on this situation. Thanks, in advance.

I'd love to be able to create the recipe for roasted zucchini bisque, which we had on a recent Holland America cruise. The menu has Rudi Sodamin's name beside it. Any idea how I can track this down? I know that some recipes are trade secrets, but I'm hoping that this one isn't. Thanks in advance.

We are going on New Amsterdam, leaving Port Everglades (FL) on Sunday. First time cruisers. We have a number of electrical outlet adapters we have brought on international trips in the past. Should we bring any on this trip? We have "U.S." devices (phones, ipad, CPAP machine ...). thanks in advance.

Yes - I'm looking for: "this is no big deal. Everyone does it - as in millions of people bring cannabis onto these cruise ships every year without incident. You should just do it, and not worry about it." That is exactly what I'm looking for.

Well, the reason I don't think this is a big deal/risk is because it seems that almost everyone in the U.S. is high on cannabis these days. With tens of thousands of people (many of them young) going on and off all these massive cruise ships every week, I have a hard time believing that many of them are not bringing cannabis on board. It's just a matter of statistics + human behavior.

We are about to go on our first HAL cruise (out of Ft. Lauderdale, 3/19). We are seeing all the promotions for "Have It All," but we are really a bit clueless on who to value this. It seems that the only way it "pays off"/saves any money is if you are a big drinker. I'd appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks in advance.

We are about to go on our first cruise (Holland America out of Ft. Lauderdale next week) We fly Boston to Ft. Lauderdale, cruise, then reverse flights. My wife depends on medical cannabis quite a bit, and is worried about not being able to bring it. (To be clear, she has a Massachusetts "medical marijuana card"). I know this is not permitted (despite the fact that medical marijuana is legal in both Mass. and FL. A quick Internet search warns that the cruise lines don't tolerate this. However, the risk seems exceptionally low My wife uses gummies (edibles), so there is no smoke or odor. In fact, I can't perceive any cannabis odor from the gummies themselves. To be safe we could wrap the gummies in some manner to reduce odor even further. Unless our bags are searched in depth or a pot-smelling dog was present, the risk of getting caught seems miniscule. And, I can't believe that thousands of people don't do this every day (especially out of U.S. ports), and that the cruises don't just look the other way. Please share your thoughts or experiences. Thanks in advance.

Wife and I are going on the Nieuw Amsterdam for a week in late March. This is the Ft. Lauderdale to San Juan 7 day cruise. We are first-time cruisers. There are two days "at sea." I'm trying to figure out how to handle phones/Internet on this trip. I need phone and wifi access to stay in touch with work - I have a phone and an iPad. I can have my workplace turn on international roaming for the phone (AT&T). I've done that a couple of times in Europe and it's worked well. I assume that will only work when we're in port. So, I am thinking of buying the ship wifi. Will it work for both devices? My wife has a phone, and would like to use it for email, telephone, browsing and to send photos to family members. I can turn on her Verizon international roaming, which I assume means she'll only get access when we're in port. Alternatively, I can buy the ship wifi package for her - I assume I can't share my ship wifi package with her, is that right? I'm thinking that I'm overthinking this, and that I should just buy two wifi packages, one for wife, one for me. Advice much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

This cruise, leaving March 19, goes to Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. There are two days "at sea." Could anyone that's taken this cruise recently let me know if there are any rough waters? I am very susceptible to sea sickness, and I'm wondering what precautions I need to take, or whether I need to take any at all. Thanks in advance.