lx200gps

The flat rate scam only happened to us once, and the amount ended up, luckily, only being what we usually pay on the meter plus our usual tip. We've done those trips many times and know exactly what a metered ride costs. So when we reached FLL I simply gave him the flat rate and no tip. I once asked one of the Sheriff's Deputies who manage the taxi line at PE Terminal 2 about this scam, and he quite clearly told me that taxi drivers never do this and always use the meters. We're not due back to FLL until October, and I think we'll be using Uber to and from the airport for the first time. We always use Uber to and from hotels etc, but prefer taxis at the airport and PE as they are easier and faster to get. Crooked taxi drivers are something we can do without on vacation.

Technically, the closest hotel to the port entrance on Eisenhower is the Renaissance, at the corner of 17th and Eisenhower. It's definitely closer than the Hilton. The big new Omni will take the prize as the closest hotel when it opens up next year, as it's in the Convention Center.

Interesting that you say you were notified. SWMBO submitted her renewal application in early April, and we only found out she had been approved when we checked the status on the website and saw the approval letter dated 21 May. No formal approval notification had been sent. Thanks for the heads up on the 10 days, looks like we should be receiving it on the next few days.

Ubers come in all sizes (and price ranges), from little compacts that might struggle with multiple suitcases from multiple passengers, to massive super-SUVs that can carry even my wife's suitcases ;o) You shouldn't have any issues if you only have one or two bags

That's interesting. I was under the impression that, irrespective of a "Sale", any booking with a Plus or Premium Package automatically came with a refundable deposit as one of the perqs of the Package. Are we saying that for this 3 Day Sale ALL deposits would be non-refundable, even with a Package? Granted, the deposits with the Packages are usually only $US100/pp, but non-refundability would be a concern for us as well.

For the last few years, the OBC on this 3 Day Sale has been $US200/pp for our usual 7 day trips, so $400. Add to this the TA's little $50 OBC and the Shareholder OBC, it adds up to $US550 for a 7 Dayer. We have that on most of our current trips and our TA with the Agency will be checking all our other trips to see if re-booking them under the Sale makes sense. Assuming the price is the same as the Princess price, re-booking will add $400 in extra OBC.

Best of luck with that. We haven't been able to buy Princess's insurance, with their 100% CFAR coverage, here in Quebec for years. The state of New York also recently stopped allowing such insurance as well. Local insurance laws can be strange....

Assuming you're referring to the big agency's 3 Day Sale on Princess trips, our TA with that agency tells us it's coming June 6-8

I wait literally an hour or more every cruise day waiting for my wife to get ready to leave the room, go to dinner etc. What else would I do but watch a movie? I usually get through two or three each cruise just waiting..... ;o)

Agree, the Sale is not what it was years ago. In our experience, in the last few years, the Sale price has been pretty much just the going Princess rate, but bundled with decent OBC. For our usual Mini, for a 7 day sailing, the OBC is usually $US200/pp. Still, we always add two or three new trips each Sale.

Montrealer here. The two best areas to stay in the night before your cruise would be the downtown core or the area known as "Old Montreal", which is where the cruise terminal is located. Old Montreal is not very far from the downtown core anyway. Just grab a taxi or an Uber from the airport direct to the hotel. Further to the previous post, our preferred site when searching for hotels pre-cruise is Tripadvisor, their map view view option is a huge help in pricing hotels for specific dates by geographical location. If you can find a hotel that meets your pricing criteria, then staying in Old Montreal would be my preference. Depending on the hotel it could literally be a few minute walk to the ship on Embarkation morning, though the cobblestone streets can be tough on luggage ;o).

We used the taxi stand near Terminal 3 a while ago. There were no taxis actually waiting at the "stand" so we had to wait with a growing crowd until the taxis trickled in one at a time. The phone number posted on the sign was useless, the person at the other end knew nothing about that stand. Took us over 30 minutes to finally get a ride out. Next time, the LAX-It bus....

Yup. the official Boston Cruise Ship terminal is called the Flynn Black Falcon Cruiseport Terminal, 1 Black Falcon Ave, Boston, MA, just off the I90 and across the channel from Logan airport. Our last Princess trip used it, as will our next Princess trip this July. https://www.google.ca/maps/place/FLYNN+cruiseport+boston+Black+Falcon+Terminal/@42.3433781,-71.033504,17.33z/data=!4m10!1m2!2m1!1sboston+cruise+port!3m6!1s0x89e370825815a031:0x4c3e54cd24fc9f76!8m2!3d42.3435791!4d-71.0335127!15sChJib3N0b24gY3J1aXNlIHBvcnSSAQ9jcnVpc2VfdGVybWluYWzgAQA!16s%2Fg%2F1tgp1tk5?hl=en&entry=ttu

+1. We've had concierge access for many years and have never, ever considered using it. I do know that some very high status Aeroplan users will use AC/Aeroplan concierge services such as being escorted to the head of the boarding line for special boarding privileges before all other passengers, but that is Aeroplan related, not credit card.

Parking at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal is a popular subject over on the Easy Coast Departures board. The closest parking lots to the Terminal all run $30/day, which is decent when compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn's $45/day. Given the length of your stay, maybe look into a Logan Park 'n Fly package to save a few $$$s per day? Don't know if that will help or not though. For our 7 day in mid-July, we are simply showing up and trying each of the three closest lots and will park at the first one with availability. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/

Yup, that's him all right. And yes, it's a very big rule here on CC that Travel Agents cannot be named. Not sure why, many other business entities can be named and discussed ad nauseam, just not TAs.

Hands down the Buddy pass for us easily pays for the card, and the eUpgrades into Business are nice when they occasionally pay off.

I actually started a post about one TA who we use quire often, but had to delete it when I realized that, as a TA, he can't be named. His videos cover many cruise lines including Princess, and his comprehensive ship walkthroughs and particularly his cabin reviews are quite valuable.

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No problem, glad to help. If you do use the C1 lot, please report back and let us know how it went. The C1 lot is clearly the most convenient, so we would prefer to use it over the alternatives.

I checked the lot on Google Street View. here's a blow up of the C1 lot sign. Hard to read but the number agrees with the ABM phone number for the C1 lot, 617-482-2487 https://www.parkwithabm.com/c1-parking-lot

...and roll his eyes a lot and laugh at his own "jokes"

For a 15 day cruise, $450 is right on. For our 7 dayer in July I was quoted $210, so the rate is $30/day. Look on the bright side, at least it's not Manhattan at $45/day ;o( Here is the rate schedule for the ABM garage one block north of the cruise terminal. Price is the same $30/day

Despite the HUGE increase in hotel prices in the area for that October period, we lucked out. As soon as I found out we didn't have a valid reservation at the HP, I was able to grab the much-admired Riverside for a "normal" price before they also raised their prices. Sadly we arrive into FLL quite late so we won't be able to take advantage of the local sites and amenities, and will be heading to PE bright and early the next morning. For our following trip, in Feb, we are back at our regular Renaissance, 10 feet from Princess Terminal 2 at PE.

Welcome to Cruise Critic ;o) If you are absolutely set on traveling in the same vehicle, then a pre-arranged shuttle service would probably be the best option. If you are OK with traveling separately, then the cheapest and simplest would be to hire a pair of Ubers. We used Uber from SP to LAX as recently as last Feb and it was a no-brainer. Taxis are also a good option, there were plenty of them when we climbed into our Uber, but will be a bit more $$$. LA traffic can be rough but if you are leaving SP on a weekend morning heading to LAX, then the traffic should be OK. Weekday you would be traveling north during the morning rush hour, so be ready...... As pcur pointed out above, if you can fly into LGB it's a lot closer and easier than LAX