havoc315

1 hour ago, rockfsh said:

If you in the DOS, when are you contacted to make your choices?

I got an email at about the 130 day mark. You can also just call the concierge. 

40 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Very odd for sure. Some dates it shows up as available, other dates it doesn't even exist. Since Boston is a "seasonal" port, there haven't been too many reports for this season yet, but over the next few weeks we should be hearing from folks who have, hopefully, used C1 successfully. We plan to use it in mid-July as a drive up.

I could have sworn I read somewhere that it’s open for Friday bookings. 

It’s showing up for Friday morning to Friday mornings. 
 

It’s available to pre-book through ParkWhiz

19 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

It seems you like to drive - perhaps you are always fortunate with regard to traffic. When I travel for leisure, I want it to be easy, hassle free and reasonably economical - including ALL related expenses.
 

 

That’s what I want — easy, economical, hassle free. 
There is no universal answer that applies to every situation.  There are many trips where a train or a plane are easier. 
 

But which is a bigger hassle, waking up at 4:30am drive almost an hour in the wrong direction to get to a train.. or waking up at my normal time, 2 hours later..

Which is a bigger hassle… after the cruise, go back to my car and leave the city any time I want. Or to be tied to a train schedule. 
 

which is more economical, $175 to park plus $50-100 for gas and tolls, or $500-700 for trains and Ubers. 
 

I actually dislike driving. But I’ve done the drive to/from Boston well over 50 times, maybe over 100.  There was a period where I was doing it monthly. 
I often hit 10 minutes of traffic around Hartford.  Sometimes another 10-20 minutes getting into Boston. 
On average, takes me about 3:10.  Dit it a few weeks ago in 2:55.  It’s never taken me more than 4 hours.  
So if it takes 4 hours… I probably won’t love the traffic. But still faster, more economical, and less of a hassle than a train. (I actually hit far more traffic going in to Stamford than Boston. Stamford should be a 40 minute drive… last time I took the train from Stamford, it took me 1:20 just to get to the train station… which made me miss my train, but that’s another story). 

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I suppose you NEVER experience traffic delays on I-95, and that you would prefer to spend $300 on Uber vs. $128 to park at Stamford station, and that typical per-mile car costs don’t count,   So just continue driving.  My experience driving to/from Boston, and my preference for a good time vs a hassle cause me to think differently.

 

Enough.

I’ve accounted for all that. I’ve done both, driving and train. My experience over 28 years going to/from Boston 2+ times per year, is that driving is much faster, much more relaxing, and much cheaper 95% of the time. 
Can I hit traffic? Sometimes. Am I going to hit 3 hours worth of traffic both ways to even out the travel times? Very very unlikely. 
Do trains have delays? Absolutely sometimes. 
Hassle? Loading my car with 6-10 pieces of luggage just once, and then dropping it off at the port.. or lugging it into an Uber, then lugging it on to train, mugging it off train, lugging it back into another Uber before getting to port..

So less handle, hundreds of dollars less, hours and hours faster… Not close for me. 

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

If you book cruises a few months out, and check Amtrak prices that much in advance, it is a totally different scene.

 

If one of the points of the trip is to have an enjoyable time, avoiding I-95 in CT, RI and MA is something to consider.

Im looking 3 months out. Should be plenty of time. 
 

But even if the train fare was only $3 per person… it would still be more expensive and much more time consuming than driving. Because of the need to spend about $300 on round trip Uber to get to/from the train stations. 
 

looking now — 6 months out, November 1 to Nov 8, cheapest late morning tickets: I’m seeing $316 round trip for 4 people. 

23 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

I have just checked for a random date a couple of months out: Stamford CT to South Station Boston - prices were minimum $15 and maximum $33 per person each way (Northeast Regional, obviously not Acela) making four round trips TOTALLING  either $120 or $264.   Of course if one does not think enough to plan ahead (like booking other things the same time as the cruise) and buys at last minute prices, he pays what he deserves to pay. 
 

Also, an early train on embarkation day negates the need for a room (or rooms) for hotel night, overnight parking, and cruise parking.

I was giving this thought. My last 2 cruises out of Boston, I drove the same day. I left the house at 7am, I was parking at the terminal by 10:15. Total cost of parking, tolls and gas — $200-$250. 
 

I priced and timed my upcoming July trip. Anticipated costs of driving, about $250-$270. (Prices up since my last trip). 
 

By train: the most affordable train on the way there, and it still would get me to the port by about 10:15am — 6:17am-9:47am. 
That’s $30 per person. (You didn’t check the times of your $15 per person.. those are trains that get into Boston at midnight. Sleeping at the train station to save a few dollar before boarding a cruise isn’t my thing). 
I priced the Uber — $110 each way, 45-50 minute Uber ride. 
So I’d have to leave the house at about 5:20am.. 

So just getting there:

$110 Uber to train. 
$120 train fare

$25 Uber from south station to port. 
 

total 1 way, with cheap train: $255, about 5 hours door to door 

driving — $250-$270 round trip, 3- 31/2 hours each way 

Coming back in the train — cheapest late morning / early afternoon was $65 per person, so $260 total . Plus the same $135 in Ubers. 

So cheapest possible round trip costs on train: 
$650

More than double the price of driving. And almost double the time. 
 

Train is great if you live in easy access to a train line with direct service to Boston, and especially if you’re a small travel party. 
If you’re a larger travel party, and if the nearest train is really out of the way, then driving will usually make more sense. 

12 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Enjoy your drive.

I’ve done it 3 times this year thus far. It will probably be my fourth and last of the year. 

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

I have just checked for a random date a couple of months out: Stamford CT to South Station Boston - prices were minimum $15 and maximum $33 per person each way (Northeast Regional, obviously not Acela) making four round trips TOTALLING  either $120 or $264.   Of course if one does not think enough to plan ahead (like booking other things the same time as the cruise) and buys at last minute prices, he pays what he deserves to pay. 
 

Also, an early train on embarkation day negates the need for a room (or rooms) for hotel night, overnight parking, and cruise parking.

my dates in July have nothing that cheap except for a 6am train. 
$400 is the minimum for 4 people, and those times don’t work. 
 

I can drive without a hotel as well, but I’m getting there a day early to do things in Boston.  
 

But even if the times worked, even if it was $200… that would still be significantly more expensive than driving because of the multiple Uber rides. 
 

7 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I got $52 from Newark Penn round trip leaving that date and time frame. My daughter is a student at BU, so has done the trip frequently, train, plane and car. The only time she has done the drive in just under 4 hours each way was when she was flying from our home in NJ to Mexico and realized 12 hours before her flight that she left her passport in Boston, so drove almost 8 hours overnight. Her best friend’s family has a home on cape cod, she’s been there dozens of time, the traffic is always bad. We the most bizarre detour this time adding an extra hour.

Well, Newark Penn is about a 90 minute $200 Uber ride away for me. So that would add a lot of time and money to the trip!

I attended BU, and return for friends and alumni events frequently. I’ve never had more than 30-60 minutes traffic and often have smooth sailing. 

3 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

But the person on the train was happier and more relaxed than the driver 🙂

 

Flying into DC is a mess. You either roll the dice at DCA and hope there isn't a ground stop for some sort of VIP traffic or you go to Dulles where you still get delayed and you have a wonderful 1.5 hour slog into the city that should take 30 minutes. 

I’m driving in to DC next week, dreading it. 
Most of the time, I’m an advocate for train when it comes to DC.  But I have to pick my son up from college and haul all his stuff. 

15 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Sort of a general statement. For you, maybe. For most people absolutely not. 

 

 I was only talking about myself. It depends on number of people, distance from train station. 
If you are an hour away from the nearest train station, and 3-5 people traveling, driving is often much faster and cheaper. 
 

By the way — did a trip from NY to DC recently for a wedding. 3 segments of my family — 1 drove, 1 took the train, and I flew.  Because of flight delays, my 1 hour flight took about 12 hours. The driver won the race easily. Train was slightly behind the driver. 

15 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

I live in Philadelphia quite close to the 30th St Train Station. Takes about 5 hours on the train to Boston (I get off in Back Bay since it's closer to where I like to stay). If I drove, with zero traffic, it would take a little over 5 hours according to Google maps. There is never zero traffic-- its usually 6-7 hours door to door stopping for gas etc. 

 

Flying-- about 30 minute Uber to PHL. Check in 1.5 hour in advance. Block time of an hour. Then another hour getting of plane and getting to hotel from Logan. If everything goes perfectly its a wash-- commercial aviation in the NE doesnt usually go perfectly. 

 

What's not being said here is that even if it were a wash in cost and time, taking the train is so much more relaxing and easy than driving or flying. I would still take the train if it cost me an hour vs other means. 

1 minute ago, princeton123211 said:

I just ran it in my app and I got $51pp for the July 18th Regional in Coach from NYP to Boston. Is it the return that's priced high?

That’s exactly what I got. So that’s $204.. return was $70pp. So $484 total. 

2 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

How early do you book in advance? Amtrak now has a multi tier booking system-- if you book far enough out the prices on the "Value" fare are very reasonable. New York to Boston booked a month or two out is $35 at peak times. Have to imagine less from where you are if you are 3.5 hours driving to Boston.

Here is what I’m seeing from NY Penn for my dates:

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Please advise what station you are talking about - which is 3 1/2 hours from South Station, Boston.

 

Either Penn Station, NYC (which turns it into a $200 Uber) or Stamford, CT.  
The cheapest I’m seeing is $400 round trip, the more convenient times are over $500.

24 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

$500 for a 3 1/2 hour Amtrak ride? Which could probably mean no hotel cost, nor two Ubers pre-cruise, and no parking costs.  I suggest you spend a bit of time pricing and timing things out - just because you own a car does not mean you should ignore real costs of driving it .

 

p.s. A 3 1/2 hour Amtrak ride to Boston would probably cost about $25, so four round trips would be closer to $200 than $500.

???? Don’t know what Amtrak you’re taking. I’ve never seen a ticket for under $60 each way except for very inconvenient times. The cheapest for my dates was $65 each way, per person. 

9 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

$500 for a 3 1/2 hour Amtrak ride? Which could probably mean no hotel cost, nor two Ubers pre-cruise, and no parking costs.  I suggest you spend a bit of time pricing and timing things out - just because you own a car does not mean you should ignore real costs of driving it .

$500 for round trip for 4 people. That’s the cheapest ticket — about $60-$70 per person, each way. 
$50-$100 for Uber from home to train station. 
$500 minimum for train. 
$50 Uber from south station to hotel. 
$30-$50 for Uber from hotel to port. 
$50-$100 for Uber from port back to train station. 
$50-100 for Uber from train station to home. 
 

train cost: $780 to $900

Time; about 5 1/2 hours to 6 hours from front door to hotel 

Car:

Time: 3-4 hours

Cost:

round trip gas and tolls: About $100 to $150. (400 miles… I get about 36-40 mpg in my hybrid, so about $50 in gas round trip).
overnight parking for 1 night at hotel: $50-$70

Parking: already prepaid Black Falcon lot, $175 for the week. 
Total cost of driving: $325 to $395

Not even close. Driving is significantly faster and cheaper than the train. 
 

(could take the high speed train… but that only saves 20-30 minutes and costs twice as much)

8 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I drove to Boston on Thursday, gps said 3:45, took 5 1/2, filled up the tank there and back, our hotel charged $75 for valet parking. I’ve driven, flown, and taken the train, I’m sticking with the train from now on (booking well in advance for the lowest fares). We are 20 minutes from the train station.

mileage varies.  I do the drive to Boston 1-2 times per year. It usually is around 3 hours, never taken me more than 4. 
Total costs by train/uber are about $800.

Total cost of parking and gas: about $300-$350. 

On 3/25/2024 at 10:13 PM, navybankerteacher said:

Perhaps coming from Montreal driving makes sense - but for many in the US Amtrak is easier and frequently less expensive (even for several travelling together) when the cost of driving is realistically figured, including that of parking.  I was responding to OP who did not indicate where they were coming from.  There are many in the US who seem unaware of rail as a reasonable alternative.  
 

 

That assumes you have a convenient rail stop. 
For me, it’s a direct 3 hour drive. 
Versus — Uber XL for 4 people to Amtrak station, about 35-40 minutes away. Then a 3 1/2 train ride to south station, (for another $500 or so) followed by another Uber to hotel. Followed by another Uber to the cruise port the next day. 
 

And doing that all in reverse the next day. 
 

So train is much more time consuming and much more expensive than driving.

21 hours ago, vince_g said:

Vince Acevedo did 2 shows, with one of them being 18+.  The movies were Dune and Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

I’m doing this cruise in July. I’m disappointed in the clear entertainment cost cutting. In a 7 night cruise, just 2 production numbers, a single comic on multiple nights, and movie nights. 
 

Do you recall which nights were the 2 production shows?

6 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

It’s only eight miles so could be 20 minutes but with New York, you never know.

Haha. 20 minutes would be a record, maybe doable at 2am. It’s really 30 minute minimum. But on a weekend, assume no major accidents blocking traffic, should be no more than about 40-45 minutes.  
 

In weekday rush hour traffic, it’s over an hour. 

19 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

My TA is an admitted Disney Cruise Line fan, of which I'm definitely not.  I think if you have kids or teens, I believe Disney, Carnival and maybe even Royal works better.  NCL Haven?  Not so much.

 

As far as "drunk" or over served passengers, that's true of guests on ALL cruise lines (with the possible exception of Disney).
 

I feel like it’s a bigger issue on economy cruise lines that have adopted all-you-can-drink packages.  It specifically attracts people drawn to drinking heavily. Pay a budget price, get mediocre entertainment and food… but lots of booze. And I fear NCL’s entertainment cuts means relying more on the draw of lots of booze. 
 

One would hope to find less of that mentality in the Haven.  Not because more affluent people drink any less.  But simply because at the much higher price of the Haven, unlimited drinks wouldn’t be the draw at that price tag. 

19 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

 

 

 I've always been a proponent of moving another 75 feet to another bar if there are some at the bar who bother me.  It's not like there aren't enough bars on board.

 

Saw a guy lose his teeth on the table in front of him as he was passing out in the Retreat area on the Apex.  Appalling at the time.  Funny now!

 

On the Edge, a guy on my deck was ranting in front of a cabin door as I passed him.   I asked to see his key card.  Wrong cabin.  Tried to take him to the right one.  He was having none of it.  OhhhhKayyyy!  He followed me to the Concierge Desk ranting and raving they locked him out of his cabin.  Bless the patient Concierge.  It took him a minute but he finally showed the guest where his ACTUAL cabin was.

 

Point being, regardless of cruise or cabin type, all of us who have cruised for a while have similar stories.

On 3/29/2024 at 8:35 AM, Sthrngary said:

\

 

What a lot of folks don't get about CruiseCritic.com is if I know and issue, I may be able to avoid it.  If I don't know, I might fall right into it.  I also have cruise upper end lines like Oceania.  Two different animals.  NCL, Royal, MSC, Celebrity and Carnival are great for some trips.  Regent, Oceania, Seabourn, Silver Seas, and Crystal are for other trip.  Completely different expectation for both sets of cruising.  Some of what you wrote makes that clear. What is funny is sometimes, those other brands are about the same price as a Haven Suite.  You just have to be clear on which approach suit your next cruise vacation. 

 

When you think about it, its not that shocking that the price would be similar. In some ways, you get more from the big mainstream ship --

Comparing a Haven suite to a Oceania/Silver Sea etc:

On the true luxury line: You absolutely should expect superior service, superior food and alcohol.

But in the Haven, you will typically get a much larger cabin than the same price on those ultra luxury lines. A Garden Villa / Deluxe Owner's Suite may be around the same price as a basic balcony cabin on true luxury line.  

And of course, you get big ship amenities that typically aren't found on those ultra luxury lines.

But I do feel, in the long term, NCL would be wise to lift consistency and level of service in the Haven. 

I had a recent call with the concierge. At the 130 day mark, got an email telling me to call the concierge for dining reservations, etc. 

I’ll say the pre-cruise concierge was very friendly and helpful. Connected immediately, did my dining reservations, and proactively inquired about anything else I need. What mixers did u want for my bar set up (Garden Villa), did I need extra pillows, etc. 

We’ll see if all the requests and notes actually get fulfilled once on board. But the call was A+ service.