Pre-Cruise Boston Hotel (Salem)

[krkheffe]

Hi, we are coming in for a Sunday departure cruise in Boston in mid-September.  We will likely come in some time on Friday and will really just have all day Saturday to explore.  We are interested in visiting Salem.  Any hotel suggestions? We will not have a car so will likely Uber or something to get there.  Thank you!

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, krkheffe said:

We will likely come in some time on Friday and will really just have all day Saturday to explore.  We are interested in visiting Salem.  Any hotel suggestions?

Hotel suggestions in Boston or in Salem? Personally I would rather stay in Boston and just go up and down to Salem for the day. Theres a number of ways to get there-- you can take a train from North Station, you can take a high speed ferry, or an Uber is like $60 each way. 

 

The ferry is particularly nice-- its a little less than an hour each way and you essentially get a free harbor island cruise out of it. 

 

There are Salem hotel options-- Boston just has a lot more going on, especially at night. Also make sure you visit the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem-- very worthwhile. 

[krkheffe]

2 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Hotel suggestions in Boston or in Salem? Personally I would rather stay in Boston and just go up and down to Salem for the day. Theres a number of ways to get there-- you can take a train from North Station, you can take a high speed ferry, or an Uber is like $60 each way. 

 

The ferry is particularly nice-- its a little less than an hour each way and you essentially get a free harbor island cruise out of it. 

 

There are Salem hotel options-- Boston just has a lot more going on, especially at night. Also make sure you visit the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem-- very worthwhile. 

Thanks for the reply.  Yes, Boston hotel is fine...I was just saying we want to visit Salem pre-cruise so not sure if location would matter because of that.  We will likely stay a few days post-cruise and visit Boston and possibly rent a car and go other places.  Hotel prices are quite a bit it seems.  I would like to keep it under 250 a night if that is possible.  We don't need anything fancy but obviously safe and clean.  I noticed a Holiday Inn in the Bunker Hill area or perhaps a Marriott we would be OK with but I know absolutely nothing about Boston. I think they were in the 200 price range per night.

[Nanatravel]

Salem, MA is at least a half hours drive from downtown Boston.  Renting a car may be your best option, so you could decide whether to go there before or after your cruise.  There is limited parking in downtown Boston; plan on approximately $60 a day for garage parking and it would probably be valet so add on the tips for that.  If you can find a day tour/trip to Salem, MA, that might be your best bet.

 

I know most Marriott's that are decent in September will be closer to $300 a night even before taxes & resort fees (they are not resorts, either).  Look at the Bostonian as it is pretty central in downtown. We have the Hilton Downtown Faneuil Hall booked for late August as well as the Bostonian.  I wanted to make sure I had a back up in case Hilton didn't come down into my budget.   If you have loyalty numbers with chains, this is the time to try to get discounts.  Boston is very busy in Sept./October.

 

You would want to stay in downtown and plan to walk, use the HOHO trolley buses to tour or learn to use the T (underground railway).

[Nitemare]

With exact dates it is easier to help with lodging.  Also let us know if "we" is 2 in 1 bed, or a family or what.

[princeton123211]

8 hours ago, Nanatravel said:

Salem, MA is at least a half hours drive from downtown Boston.  Renting a car may be your best option, so you could decide whether to go there before or after your cruise.  There is limited parking in downtown Boston; plan on approximately $60 a day for garage parking and it would probably be valet so add on the tips for that.  If you can find a day tour/trip to Salem, MA, that might be your best bet.

Renting a car for this is not the best option unless they plan to explore outside of Salem. As you mention the cost of parking is significant in Boston and there are easy, fast, cost effective ways to get to and from Salem without a car: train, Uber, or a tremendously scenic high speed ferry right from downtown. 

[princeton123211]

9 hours ago, krkheffe said:

Hotel prices are quite a bit it seems.  I would like to keep it under 250 a night if that is possible.  We don't need anything fancy but obviously safe and clean.

You are going to be pretty pressed on that budget in the heart of the city. The Seaport District or Cambridge, both a little bit outside of the center of town, will be closer to that. A 3-4 star hotel in the middle of the city itself in mid September is going to be more in the $350-450 range. 

 

I am a Marriott person as well and if you have points this could be a great opportunity to use them on a more expensive, more centrally located hotel at a good value. 

[krkheffe]

Thank you everyone.  I will need 2 rooms...one for myself and my husband and 1 for my sister and her husband.  king bed in each will be great.  We will most likely be coming in on Friday Sept. 9th and staying 2 nights, getting on Celebrity cruise on Sunday the 11th.  I booked (but can cancel) the Fairfield Inn and Suites Boston Cambridge for 2 nights total $581.46 per room. I just wanted to have something booked. while I continue to look.  Because we are planning on spending the day Saturday in Salem, I don't think we really need to be near any Boston attractions.  We will likely either Uber or take the ferry to Salem that day.

 

I will take a look at the hotels someone suggested above...thank you. We also considered a VRBO or Air B+B but they are super expensive as well.

 

I said $250 a night but obviously we will pay whatever we have to.  

 

Also, I see the ferry schedule you have to choose a time to leave Boston (we would pick 9:30 am) and a time to come back.  I think there was a 4 pm and a 7 pm departure from Salem back to Boston among others.  Not sure how long to plan on being there.  

 

Thank you everyone!

Edited March 10, 2022 by krkheffe

[princeton123211]

17 minutes ago, krkheffe said:

Not sure how long to plan on being there.

Its not a very large town and a lot of the attractions are pretty repetitive (only so many witches you can see/read about in a day). I would consider the 4pm return so you can at least have dinner in Boston and walk around (where there is far more to do at night than Salem). 

 

As mentioned the Peabody Essex Museum is highly worthwhile as is the House of the Seven Gables. There are several historic churches, homesteads, and cemeteries. Then you start to get into the hokey tourist stuff with various witch museums which are more like Ripley's Believe It or Not "museums"-- mainly full of wax figures etc and lacking anything historically substantive. When you've seen one, you've seen them all. 

[krkheffe]

48 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Its not a very large town and a lot of the attractions are pretty repetitive (only so many witches you can see/read about in a day). I would consider the 4pm return so you can at least have dinner in Boston and walk around (where there is far more to do at night than Salem). 

 

As mentioned the Peabody Essex Museum is highly worthwhile as is the House of the Seven Gables. There are several historic churches, homesteads, and cemeteries. Then you start to get into the hokey tourist stuff with various witch museums which are more like Ripley's Believe It or Not "museums"-- mainly full of wax figures etc and lacking anything historically substantive. When you've seen one, you've seen them all. 

Thanks for the heads up on which places are the best to visit.  We will make sure to do those 2 for sure!

 

[MsAnnMcD]

Hi! I'm a local who has take the Boston cruise a half dozen times. I know Salem very well. There is a ferry that runs from Boston to Salem. A bit more expensive but it is FAR better than the train which only runs from North Station. If you are staying in Boston in the area near the cruise port/seaport then it is not convenient to get to North Station (never mind that the trains haven't been cleaned in forever, break down often and generally just stink). The Salem Cruise Port has a pub and sometimes music on the weekends in summer. It's walkable to great eateries as well as the House of Seven Gables. Favorites nearby are Mercy Tavern and Witches Brew which has a great Monte Christo sandwich. Also the Ye Olde Pepper home made chocolates. If you don't need booze and cheap eats are your thing then head down to Salem Willows. Its got Salem Lowe's Chinese and has great chop suey and pepper steak sandwiches. There's also pizza, ice cream and a clam shack. Also getting popcorn at the Hobbs is a must. Eat it on the pier and watch the boats and feed the gulls. There's an arcade and pinball machines, skee ball etc. If you want history, go to Peabody Essex Museum. They have the Yin Yu Tang House for an extra fee which is worth it. They imported the house from the mountains of China. Very interesting! It also has a lot of the maritime history as well as artifacts from the east India trade days. If you want more high end dining then the Ledger restaurant's chef was just nominated for a James Beard Foundation chef of the year award. I prefer the Adriatic for a more Mediterranean feel. Behind the Adriatic is another shack Lobster Shanty. Tiny but good! Also on upper Derby Street is Notch Brewing with great session ales and an outdoor beer garden. In the Essex Street walking mall near the museum the Village Tavern has a good bloody mary and wings, pub food. As far as hotels go, there isn't much decent in Salem other than the Hawthorne (over 100 years old and small rooms but great eats in the Tavern on the Green and Nathaniel's) and Salem Waterfront Hotel and Suites.  if you want to get on the ship early Sunday for boarding then get a hotel in the Seaport but avoid South Boston proper. September in Salem does start to get busy as they gear up for Haunted Happenings, all things Halloween, but they do have a web site you might want to check out to see if anything specific is going on. I wouldn't waste money on the kitschy horror museums. The official Witch House and the house tour at Peabody Essex Musuem are worth it along with the house of seven gables. Have fun exploring Salem. So much history, easy to walk and lots of good eats! Enjoy!

[krkheffe]

Thank you!! Thank you for a great list of things in Salem.  I do appreciate it.  Right now I have reservations at the Fairfield inn and Suites Boston Cambridge. They can be cancelled.  Would it be better to stay in the Seaport area for things to do?  I was thinking it would be a closer shot to Salem but if we get there sometime on Friday we may need something to do Friday night and Saturday night.  Not sure yet when we are arriving.

 

Any particular hotel you recommend? We know it will cost more than we are used to paying but would like to keep it as reasonable as possible. On another note, my husband and I are thinking of renting a car when we get off cruise....on a Wed I think, and maybe drive to Vermont area for 3 or 4 days before flying home. 

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, krkheffe said:

Would it be better to stay in the Seaport area for things to do?  I was thinking it would be a closer shot to Salem but if we get there sometime on Friday we may need something to do Friday night and Saturday night.  Not sure yet when we are arriving.

The Salem Ferry leaves and arrives in Boston at Long Wharf which is near the Marriott Long Wharf on the harbor front. The thing to keep in mind if you stay in the Seaport area is that you'll be Ubering into and out of Boston proper to go sightsee as well as catch the ferry. The tradeoff is that there are a lot of newer hotels in the Seaport area that are generally priced lower than what you get in the city center. 

 

The hotel in Cambridge is actually physically much further away from the ferry departure point than the Seaport. I would rebook something in the Seaport to hold and then see if something in the downtown core opens up in the meantime that fits your budget-- it can happen. 

 

1 hour ago, krkheffe said:

Any particular hotel you recommend?

I cant speak to anything in the Seaport personally except for the Westin which I stayed for a conference once-- it was nice but very corporate. Generally when we stay in Boston its at the Fairmont Copley Plaza which I highly recommend for a drink at least even if you don't stay there and its a wonderful gateway to both Back Bay shopping as well as Boston Public Garden and Boston Common.

 

There is Hampton Inn in the Seaport area that is adjacent to the cruise pier and would let you walk over the day of departure. Given that the majority of the hotels in the Seaport area are major chains it also could be a good way to use points if you have them through a credit card or loyalty program. 

[krkheffe]

I did book that Hampton Inn near the pier as well.  I guess I am collecting hotels...haha.  We would still need to Uber to the ferry from the Hampton as well right?  I am not sure by spending the day Saturday in Salem that we will have a lot of time to sight see in Boston anyway.  Maybe having something to do in the evenings would be good. Looking at a map it looks like the downtown area is farther away from ferry than Seaport.  Of course, I am not familiar much with Boston. I looked at the Fairmont and it looks very nice but out of my comfort zone for price.

Edited March 11, 2022 by krkheffe

[princeton123211]

1 minute ago, krkheffe said:

We would still need to Uber to the ferry from the Hampton as well right?

Its about a 10 min Uber ride or about a 35-40 min walk. The Seaport area is much safer now than its ever been but still worth staying vigilant at night if you do walk-- it was a war zone when I lived in Boston a bunch of years ago before all of the redevelopment they've done. You will pass some of the piers, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and walk over a bridge overlooking the Tea Party museum. Might be dating myself a bit but there used to be a great old restaurant called Anthony's Pier 4 that sadly has been demolished. 

 

4 minutes ago, krkheffe said:

I am not sure by spending the day Saturday in Salem that we will have a lot of time to sight see in Boston anyway.  Maybe having something to do in the evenings would be good.

If you take the 4pm you'll be back just before 5. I would use that as a time to walk around Faneuil Hall area, waterfront, either venture further into Copley/Back Bay or up into the North End (their Little Italy). Lots of bars/restaurants in all of those places. 

[Nitemare]

The Seaport being "Wild West" is more of a 20th Century thing, and not even the 1990s.  And even then it was perfectly fine in the daytime or if you weren't looking for trouble.

 

It is ridiculously built up with tons of glass towers and is very antiseptic.  Some great restaurants and a nice Harbor Walk along the water but has lost all of the soul and charm it used to have.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Nitemare said:

The Seaport being "Wild West" is more of a 20th Century thing, and not even the 1990s.  And even then it was perfectly fine in the daytime or if you weren't looking for trouble.

 

It is ridiculously built up with tons of glass towers and is very antiseptic.  Some great restaurants and a nice Harbor Walk along the water but has lost all of the soul and charm it used to have.

I used to come down to Boston every couple of months to go to the union hall in the Seaport area (actually by the Black Falcon terminal), and I can't believe how it changes every couple of months due to new towers going up.  I don't feel it is unsafe, but as you say, the charm is all gone.  I would be more concerned about areas around Bunker Hill, as these can go from very desirable neighborhoods to pretty rough ones very quickly.

[MsAnnMcD]

The FFI is kind of far away from the pier. Agree that the Long Wharf is near the Salem Ferry though but considerably pricier.  Seaport is probably still your best bet. It is possible to walk to the T or South Station if you are comfortable with public transport but if not you will be Ubering in and out of the Seaport (although this old gal has walked the 2 or so miles from North Station to the Expo and Convention Center). 

 

As for the Wild West in the Seaport, it hasn't been that way since the mob run Channel club shut down. 😉 I too miss Anthony's Pier 4. Now you have to go to Legal Seafood Rooftop Bar!

[krkheffe]

Thanks again everyone.  It is looking more like the Hampton Inn near the cruise port may be our best bet.  Is there anything right around that area to do in the evening or good place for dinner?  Guessing we will have to Uber to the ferry for the trip to Salem.

[WatchHill]

Your hotel will have maps of the area, ample restaurants and Harpoon Brewery, scenic waterfront walk.

 

https://www.bostonseaport.xyz/

 

Darcy

Edited March 15, 2022 by WatchHill

[WatchHill]

https://www.seaportboston.com/visit-boston

 

My prior post is a bit dated, this one gives you lots of info about the seaport area. 

 

Darcy

[Nitemare]

On 3/15/2022 at 6:23 PM, krkheffe said:

Thanks again everyone.  It is looking more like the Hampton Inn near the cruise port may be our best bet.  Is there anything right around that area to do in the evening or good place for dinner?  Guessing we will have to Uber to the ferry for the trip to Salem.

Just understand that this hotel, as it is so close to the cruise terminal, is as far away from traditional and tourist Boston as you can get in the area.