Boston in Sept/05

We're travelling with our 3 daughters...21,19 and 14 and need some ideas as to what to do in Boston in Sept. We are travelling on Carnival Triumph and am wondering if there are tours that we can purchase at the port. Is shopping close by...I figure my girls would like that but I want some history too. Our ship doesn't arrive in Boston until 3pm so I'm not sure what is available at that time of day. Your advice would be appreciated.

The Boston Cruise Terminal is in the middle of nowhere (an industrial zone). No shopping, no restaurants, no one selling tours, no nothing.

There might be cabs that can take you to town -- it's about 2 miles so you wouldn't want to walk it. The cruiseline probably will have tours lined up for you.

For history, the Freedom Trail is great -- if you arrive at 3PM, sunset is after 8PM, so you'll have plenty of time to explore that (and it's free), it also passes by Faneuil Hall, which has great dining and shopping.

Read back a few pages on this board for lots of other Boston touring tips.

hi from stephanie from boston here! i live within sight of the black falcon terminal and nitemare is right.......smack dab in middle of an industrial area.....with nothing to offer..... there is a building across from the terminal that has an au bon pan but that is it :o what day are you in port?.......and what time do you depart....could always come over my place and have good old boston baked beans and franks :D lol.......or you could always take a cab ride over to fanueil hall......tons and tons to see there......lots of shopping and restaurants.....they have street performers doing juggling acts,magic acts stuff like that.there is wonderful food to be had there from pizza all the way up to gourmet! a cab ride from pier could be 5 to 10 mins depending on traffic..... there are always cabs to be had....you could end up spending anywhere from $20.00 to $30.00 per car load in cab rides for coming and going i am there quite often to watch the ships when they come in and when they leave.....six cruises under my belt and 7th on the way and i still havn't left from boston cruise terminal............... lol maybe someday would be great to do a cruise and not have to pay any airfare:rolleyes:

Thanks Nitemare and Stephanie. Are there usually any taxis right at the port? Our ship is in Boston on a Sunday from 3pm - 10pm. I just wanted to keep our budget okay with the tours...most of the ship's tours are around $50 and my older girls are paying for their own fees so taking a taxi on our own would be alot cheaper. Is there a main place for shopping that would be open on a Sunday evening just so we know where to tell the taxi driver to take us?

Stephanie says there are taxis there for the ships, and she lives right there, so I'd trust her. Most shopping in Boston shuts down at 6PM (or 5PM), including Faneuil Hall, so if you want to do shopping, make sure you get off the ship quickly!

hmmmm coming in on sunday at 3:00pm..............nitemare is right as it being sunday night.....with shops closing down around 5:00pm or 6:00pm if it was sat would have more in way of options! but there are a lot of restaurants in the area...that are open..jimmy's harborside......anthony's pier 4.....they are fairly exspensive though dinner and drinks for two around 100.00.they both have great steak or seafood but both are within minutes of the ship.......theres the barking crab near by very reasonable seafood place....i think the coolest restaurant in bosto is at the prudential building and it is called top of the hub one of those top of the skyscraper restaurants(52 storiesup) wonderful food but for a family of 5 ....could be around 200.00 dinnertheir number is 1 617 536 1775.i know you can eat on the ship but if you want to experience a boston restaurant these are options.i live in south boston .....there is a target department store that is open till 8:00 on sunday night if you need to do any shopping.....is at least 10 minute ride from ship.the cab company i use is independant taxi operators assn.....number i have is from a driver who i use all the time he is excellent it is 857 928 8700 or the cab co. number is 617 426 8700 or 617 825 4000 if you decide to use them call first number and ask for bobby........and tell him stephanie from southie recommended you.......i totally understand if you decide to call someone else he took a liking to me and my fiance this summer after we bought a redsox hat and gave it to him......the cabs are white with red and blue trim....theres also boston cab....617 262 2227.....metro cab .......617 242 8000 ...............is the cruise beginning of september or end? summer is winding down at that time in boston........hmmm there is a tour called duck tours......you go in these world war two amphibious vehicles around the city and then drive into the water in them real neat tour .i justchecked them and they operate from end of march through november and last tour is one 1/2 before sunset......check there site at boston duck tours:D ......i do hope this info helps you ..............stephaniefrom boston(beantown)

All that info and no love for the No Name Restaurant? Good seafood, cheap, right on the waterfront.

And there's always Sullivans at Castle Island, but that's just for us insiders, right, Steph? ;)

this is me stephanie,;) wow this site has been majorly messed up today!!! i love the noname restaurant good prices and food.....just i dont know what time it is open too. :)......i was going to suggest it :)

i have to admit nitemare....i have been in southy for 2 years now.......i do know sullivans over by the fort.....but have never been in! is it good please let me know.....i go out by the fort often (in warm weather) put the top down in my car.....and sit under the planes as they come in.....i love doing that......:rolleyes: .....i love to fly and i love those big jet planes..........

Thanks for the great info! The Duck ride sounds good and I'll look into that!

Not sure what date in September you'll be in town. Try the website http://www.boston.com/ae/events/, which lists events around the city. It may be a little early for September, but you can check it as you get closer to sailing.

Boston is a great historical city. I like the trolley and harbor tour, but I don't know if it runs that late. There is the ghosts trolley tour http://shophta.com/acb/stores/15/product1.asp?SID=15&Product_ID=6&kc=y. There is also a tour of the harbor that runs until 6:00 http://www.bostontours.us/tours/tourDetail.cfm/tid/1027 that is aboard a replica steamship.

If your daughters are interested in shopping, I would suggest heading over to Newbury Street. This is a street that runs from the Boston Public Garden west across town, and is filled with couture shops and boutiques. It also has some cute restaurants/coffee shops along it.

Close to Newbury Street is also the Prudential Center/Copley Place Mall, which is a very large shopping complex/indoor mall. This is located on Boylston Street, which runs parallel to Newbury Street (just south of it). This area of Boston is known as Back Bay, and actually is laid out on a grid so it is easy to navigate.

There are also a few sit down/chain restaurants here, such as the Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen, and the Palm. The Prudential Center also has a fantastic view of the city from the restaurant on the top floor, known as Top of the Hub. It is an expensive restaurant, but I recommend heading up there for drinks if you don't want to shell out for dinner.

It can also be very nice to walk through the Commons/Public Garden in September. There are often weddings here on the weekend.

My husband and I were in Boston while on Seranade of the Seas in Aug. 2003. We contacted the duck tours and made our own reservation on line prior to our departure. The duck tour was great! We saw alot of Boston in a short time and had fun! We took a taxi from the cruise ship terminal, during morning rush hour and didn't have any problems and I don't remeber it be expensive.Take the tour you and your family will love it.

We're looking for a hotel near the pier. We would be interested in the freedom trail or maybe a little sight seeing. We wanted to be able to catch a taxi in the morning and get to the pier within 15minutes or so. I know some of the hotels may be a little pricey but are there any hotels that are reasonably priced that are close to the pier or atleast centrally located to town, restuarants, tours, hotels and the pier? NOt really looking for a fancy hotel, just something safe and decent. We will be cruising out of Boston so we really didn't want to spend a fortune on a hotel room. We will be flying in the day before our cruise. Any suggesstions..... or advice......

There's only one hotel "near" the pier, that's the Seaport Hotel, and it ain't cheap. Nothing in the city is, except in some very fringe areas, which are probably more than a 15 minute cab ride away. Be prepared to spend $200/night at a minimum, unless you can find a deal.

Of course this depends on what your definition of cheap is!

You might want to look at Orbitz or any of the other online travel sites to get a feeling for what hotels are located where, and how much you're going to have to pay to stay in the city.

Feel free to post here with questions on specific locations and properties, and we'll do our best to help you.

You might even want to try hotwire or priceline and bid on a hotel to get a cheap one. The thing about Boston is that it is very expensive. If you want to be within a 15 minute cab ride of the pier, I don't think you will be able to find anything for less than $150 a night. Boston is a pretty small city and you should be able to walk around the freedom trail and see the commons or the park from almost anywhere downtown.

If you like museums, check out the Museum of Fine Arts (http://www.mfa.org) or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - they have some of the best collections in the country.

Hey, alittlesassy. What is the date of your sail? We are going there on 9-17. I think it is fun to find people going on the same cruise.

The Duck Tour is great. Faneuil Hall has it all shopping, food...but don't forget the North End (Little Italy)... especially if you like Italian food. The old North Church, Paul Revere's house. It's within walking distance of Faneuil Hall. And don't forget the Filene's Basement! A bit of the beaten path but an experience just the same.

My suggestion:

Don't pay for the ship's excursion. Take a cab to one of the following places:

Newbury Street/Prudential/Copley--shops/restaurants etc. Even if it is a Sunday night, there will still be a ton of restaurants open.

North End--awesome Italian food and a lovely neighborhood to walk around.

Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market--shops/restaurants/touristy area.

All of these will give you a "quintissential" Boston experience. Enjoy!

We will be joining you on 9/17/05 to new england. I cant wait.Carnival Triumph, Here we come!

Catch a Sox game at Fenway Park! Lots of history. Lots of fun!

Good luck getting Sox tickets, however :rolleyes:

We took the Duck Tour last week and my teenage boys loved it! You can only reserve tickets five days ahead of time on line though, and I am not sure how this will work with your itinerary. You would need to take a cab to the Prudential Center to take the tour, which is about 80 minutes, and then a cab back to the ship. You really don't have much time in port do you? They ask that you be at the tour departure point 30 minutes prior to departure.

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

The duck tours are great, a little pricy at $25 per adult, but you get to see a lot of the tourist stops in town.