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Boston Pre Cruise help!!


ULCajunCruiser
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Hopefully sailing out of Boston next October, embarking on Sunday.  If we fly in on Friday afternoon or night, can anyone please make suggestions on how to get around and where to stay???    I know Boston is loaded with history, but if there is a must do for the Saturday we are there please share.   Any other recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.    Thanks in advance.

 

Bill

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First question, what date is your cruise. If its the weekend of Oct 23rd, find a hotel NOW and book it. Don't worry about cost. Just book it. That weekend is Head of the Charles, hotel rooms will be a premium.

In terms of where to stay, for tourist stuff, most people stay downtown. The Freedom Trail is great to kill a day and see a good part of the city. I like to time it so by lunch time I'm at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market where there are plenty of options. 

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4 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

First question, what date is your cruise. If its the weekend of Oct 23rd, find a hotel NOW and book it. Don't worry about cost. Just book it. That weekend is Head of the Charles, hotel rooms will be a premium.

In terms of where to stay, for tourist stuff, most people stay downtown. The Freedom Trail is great to kill a day and see a good part of the city. I like to time it so by lunch time I'm at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market where there are plenty of options. 

We sail on Oct 17th, having trouble finding hotels!!   Thanks

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14 minutes ago, delaware32 said:

Check the Aloft or Element in the Seaport area . May be far out but we also have had success using Hotwire .

 

Yes thanks.    Still to far out for Hotwire, but will keep checking.   Had tried several other hotels, those you suggested included, and got nothing more then no availability.

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On 8/1/2020 at 3:31 PM, delaware32 said:

Probably because many won't show availability until 12 months out .

It's also because a bunch of them haven't even reopened yet. One of our favorites (because of its half a block walk from Back Bay Amtrak station among other reasons), The Fairmont Copley Plaza, is only reopening this coming weekend. I think as more hotels figure out their short to medium term operating strategy, you'll start seeing more availability a bit further out.

 

I would stay off of Hotwire, Expedia, or most other third party booking sites-- with hotels hit as hard as they have been the deals, and the most flexible terms, are going to be booking directly with the hotels themselves. To save money they are going to try and cut out the middlemen. 

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8 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

It's also because a bunch of them haven't even reopened yet. One of our favorites (because of its half a block walk from Back Bay Amtrak station among other reasons), The Fairmont Copley Plaza, is only reopening this coming weekend. I think as more hotels figure out their short to medium term operating strategy, you'll start seeing more availability a bit further out.

 

I would stay off of Hotwire, Expedia, or most other third party booking sites-- with hotels hit as hard as they have been the deals, and the most flexible terms, are going to be booking directly with the hotels themselves. To save money they are going to try and cut out the middlemen. 

 

Thanks for this.   My first look or 2 showed pretty much nothing available and I semi-panicked.  Good to hear that there are reason s for this.

 

So in searching around, where abouts should I be looking???   There seem to be 10 or 20 different sections to search in.   I'm completely unfamiliar with Boston, though I see the cruise terminal and airport are fairly close to each other.   What area of Boston would you suggest I concentrate on??   We will probably be relying on public transportation, and will really only have that 1 day (Saturday) to figure out where to go and what to do.   Thanks

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12 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

I'm completely unfamiliar with Boston, though I see the cruise terminal and airport are fairly close to each other. 

Geographically yes, but they are across the harbor from each other. You really don't want to stay near Boston airport unless you have an early flight the next morning-- its a no man's land. The Seaport area is nice-- a bit manufactured (ie chain restaurants and more modern residential buildings)-- but nice. It wouldn't be my pick if I were from out of town and coming to get a quick taste of Boston. 

12 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

What area of Boston would you suggest I concentrate on??

If you have only one day I agree with the above poster-- concentrate on Copley Square, Back Bay, Faneuil Hall, or even the Financial District. All of these will put you within easy walking distance of most of the major sights. Hotels run the gamut from budget to 5 star. Some favorites for a little bit of a splurge are The Fairmont Copley Plaza (one of Boston's grande dame hotels and off a nice restoration), Four Seasons right on Boston Common, The Liberty (in an old jail in Beacon Hill) or Boston Harbor Hotel right on the water. Some more budget minded, but well located options are the Hilton Faneuil Hall, Park Plaza Hotel near Copley, or Club Quarters. 

 

12 hours ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

We will probably be relying on public transportation, and will really only have that 1 day (Saturday) to figure out where to go and what to do.

The good news about Boston is that most of it is very walkable-- very little public transportation needed. As many have mentioned on these boards, the Freedom Trail is a great way to spend the good part of a day and will take you on a walking tour of most of the major historical sights. A little trick is to not backtrack your steps from Charlestown Navy Yard and just take the water taxi back over to the aquarium to get you back to town. 

 

On the day of the cruise, assuming you stay in one of the areas of town I recommend, an Uber or Lyft will be the easiest and quickest way to get you and your luggage to the pier. A quick, 8-10 minute ride over. 

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On 8/1/2020 at 1:07 PM, ULCajunCruiser said:

 

Yes thanks.    Still to far out for Hotwire, but will keep checking.   Had tried several other hotels, those you suggested included, and got nothing more then no availability.

Yes keep checking.  I'm from the NE area but have moved South.  I'm booked to sail August 29, 2021 and hotels are just starting to pop up for booking.  Just found the Hyatt Boston Harbor which is close to the water taxi or commuting into the tourist areas.  I always recommend the HOHO Trolley for first time visitors (skip Cheers as it is a tourist trap).  Bring warm jacket as it does get cool between the tall high rise buildings. The Museum with Planetarium used to be great. A walk through the Boston Common and the Public Garden are nice but the swan boats will be put away by then.  Don't miss strolling through the North End and Faneuil Hall- lots of great food.

Have a great cruise.

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5 hours ago, Nanatravel said:

Yes keep checking.  I'm from the NE area but have moved South.  I'm booked to sail August 29, 2021 and hotels are just starting to pop up for booking.  Just found the Hyatt Boston Harbor which is close to the water taxi or commuting into the tourist areas.  I always recommend the HOHO Trolley for first time visitors (skip Cheers as it is a tourist trap).  Bring warm jacket as it does get cool between the tall high rise buildings. The Museum with Planetarium used to be great. A walk through the Boston Common and the Public Garden are nice but the swan boats will be put away by then.  Don't miss strolling through the North End and Faneuil Hall- lots of great food.

Have a great cruise.

The Hyatt Boston Harbor is at the airport. Not a good choice, located across from American Airlines cargo terminal.  Look for a hotel either at the seaport or "uptown" near the Common.

 

Darcy

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7 hours ago, Nanatravel said:

Yes keep checking.  I'm from the NE area but have moved South.  I'm booked to sail August 29, 2021 and hotels are just starting to pop up for booking.  Just found the Hyatt Boston Harbor which is close to the water taxi or commuting into the tourist areas.  I always recommend the HOHO Trolley for first time visitors (skip Cheers as it is a tourist trap).  Bring warm jacket as it does get cool between the tall high rise buildings. The Museum with Planetarium used to be great. A walk through the Boston Common and the Public Garden are nice but the swan boats will be put away by then.  Don't miss strolling through the North End and Faneuil Hall- lots of great food.

Have a great cruise.

Thanks for this.   A little disappointed about the swan boats!!   

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2 hours ago, WatchHill said:

The Hyatt Boston Harbor is at the airport. Not a good choice, located across from American Airlines cargo terminal.  Look for a hotel either at the seaport or "uptown" near the Common.

 

Darcy

Thanks Darcy, exactly what I'm looking for

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1 hour ago, ULCajunCruiser said:

Thanks for this.   A little disappointed about the swan boats!!   

We had a wedding in downtown Boston early in October last year and I too was very disappointed we could not enjoy this experience.

 

I've stayed at the Hyatt Boston airport hotel and faced no issues compared to the Hilton which has paper thin walls.  I'm hoping the Hilton Faneuil Hall on Broad St. is where I would like to stay but I am not paying $500 a night. Average hotel pricing in October should be about $250. Also taxi's are not as easy to hail these days, so you may wish to install Uber or Lyft ap on your phone.  I think we will have to do that before August. 2021.

 

If you find something, let us know so we can confirm it is in a good area.  They advertise many hotels as Boston, when they are up to 20 miles out of the city.

 

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24 minutes ago, Nanatravel said:

We had a wedding in downtown Boston early in October last year and I too was very disappointed we could not enjoy this experience.

 

I've stayed at the Hyatt Boston airport hotel and faced no issues compared to the Hilton which has paper thin walls.  I'm hoping the Hilton Faneuil Hall on Broad St. is where I would like to stay but I am not paying $500 a night. Average hotel pricing in October should be about $250. Also taxi's are not as easy to hail these days, so you may wish to install Uber or Lyft ap on your phone.  I think we will have to do that before August. 2021.

 

If you find something, let us know so we can confirm it is in a good area.  They advertise many hotels as Boston, when they are up to 20 miles out of the city.

 

Thanks very much.   I'll keep y'all posted, but looks like it'll be awhile before I can lock something down

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We very often book directly ie. The Aloft with Marriott . On occasion  when prices seem to be higher to save on our budget we have used Hotwire. In that case we were able to catch Lowes in the back bay for a great price . We generally sail from Boston on a repo the end of October .

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