Advice please on cruise terminals

[SAMMIBLACK]

We're new to cruising the USA and taking a run down the east coast from Bar Harbor to Port Canaveral this October. Points in between are:

Boston

Newport Rhode Island

N Y C

Norfolk, Virginia

Baltimore

Charleston

& Jacksonville

Can anyone give us any information on the proximity of the cruise terminals in these ports to points of interest?

Are we going to have to spend a fortune on taxis if we wish to 'do our own thing' and not book tours with the cruise line?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

[Donna - dsw]

Key the "Ports of Call" into the web and it will give you all the iinformation you need on each port.

 

ie, here is what I got when I keyed in "Boston Cruise Port"

 

http://www.massport.com/ports/

 

Good Luck!

[RDWriter]

The port in Charleston is very close to a lot of attractions. You will be within walking distance of the South Carolina Aquarium, downtown shopping (including the marketplace), many great restaurants, as well as carriage tours (highly recommend) and boat tours, and the beautiful waterfront park. If you want to go to the beach or do a museum like Patriot's Pointe, you would need some sort of transportation to get there, but there is a lot to do that's within walking distance.

 

I've never sailed into or out of Charleston, but I do know the city quite well. :)

[BlueHerons]

Ditto with RDWriter about Charleston. The dock is right in the middle of many tourist attractions. Get a guidebook ahead of time and a map.

 

NYC is also very close to lots of things providing you are docking in Manhattan and not Brooklyn.

[trish1c]

In both Boston & NYC, mass transit is available at reasonable prices. Practice your map reading skills & be vigilent. You should be fine.

 

What cruise is that, btw? Sounds great!

[signman]

We're new to cruising the USA and taking a run down the east coast from Bar Harbor to Port Canaveral this October. Points in between are:

Boston

Newport Rhode Island

N Y C

Norfolk, Virginia

Baltimore

Charleston

& Jacksonville

Can anyone give us any information on the proximity of the cruise terminals in these ports to points of interest?

Are we going to have to spend a fortune on taxis if we wish to 'do our own thing' and not book tours with the cruise line?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

Newport, NYC, Charleston, Norfolk, you will dock right in the downtown area. Whether you need a cab is contingent on how much walking you want to do.

 

Boston & Baltimore, while the pier is very close to downtown, you will need a cab to the tourist areas. Doubt that it would be more than $12-15 each way. If you are on a small American Cruise ship, in Baltimore you will more than likely tie up at Constellation pier, right in the heart of town. Don't know if situation in Boston would be better, but it could.

 

Know nothing about Jacksonville, sorry.

[KroozFoolz]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Here is a thread from a while back that addressed some of the ports you listed.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=561935

 

Are you perhaps on the same cruise as the OP of the thread above? They have a great roll call thread going. You might get some ideas from there also. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=386463

 

Sounds like a very interesting cruise itinerary.

[DiTomCruisers]

Boston's Black Falcom Terminal is a couple of miles from Faniel Hall Marketplace (touristy stuff, but worth it).. From Faniel Hall, you're a little over 1 mile from the start of the Freedom Trail walk (a self guided tour of historic stuff) in Boston Commons... I don't know how long you have but Boston is a good walking city.... Maybe take a Duck Tour (it's about 3 miles from the terminal), but the tour hits all historic sites and is a fun take..

 

Good luck...

[KroozFoolz]

Here are some links that may be helpful in planning your stop in Norfolk.

Complimentary downtown bus service - http://www.gohrt.com/schedulesandservices/netbus.html

Paddlewheel Ferry to Portsmouth - http://www.gohrt.com/schedulesandservices/paddlewheelferry.html

Norfolk CVB site - http://www.norfolkcvb.com/index.cfm

Nauticus - http://www.nauticus.org/

Cruise Norfolk visitor information - http://www.cruisenorfolk.org/visitors.html

Downtown Norfolk map - http://www.norfolk.gov/parking/Map.asp (shows free shuttle route and a suggested walking tour route)

[SAMMIBLACK]

Thanks for your help. Cruise is with P&O on the Artemis leaving Southampton on September 28 across the 'Pond' and down eastern seaboard then back to Southampton (29 days). Hope its calm!!