NYC to Boston: by bus or train?

[tomc]

Looks as if I will be booking my next cruise out of Boston. To get there, I will have to take a bus 2 1/2 hours into NYC and have a choice: Amtrak to Boston, or Greyhound to Boston. There are four busses at $33, and two trains at $64, which will get me to Boston in time to get a taxi to the cruise ship terminal.

This is a ways off yet, but I plan things in advance and, you never know, there's always the chance I could sneak a quickie in this year.

(Driving, any distance, is out of the question. Flying is also out, as the nearest Boston-direct airport is a two-hour drive.)

Any suggestions or experience with this routing?

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[melaniausa]

I would take the Amtrak, it is a much more comforatable ride than the bus. Plenty of taxis to take you to the port.

[Nitemare]

Agree with melania, Amtrak will be more comfortable (make sure you get an All Reserved train), although more expensive. For $99 you can take the Acela which is a really nice (and faster) train.

Peter Pan/Greyhound is advertising $15 weekend fares, and there's the Fung Wah bus from Chinatown, for $10 each way, if you're looking to save money.

Both the train and bus end up at the same place -- South Station, and there are plenty of taxis there as already stated.

[Orcrone]

I also would find the train a lot more comfortable. However, how about your connection in NYC. Seems it may be easier to just transfer busses, rather than make it from the bus terminal to either Penn Station or Grand Central Station.

1/1990 - RCCL Song of America
4/13/2003 - Carnival Inspiration
10/30/2004 - Maasdam

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Till sailing on the Maasdam

[tomc]

I don't mind the walk. I used to visit my mother and walked, with a full bag and carryon, the five long blocks between PA and GCT. After nearly 3 hours on a bus, it was a nice leg-stretching walk. Loved it.

One question I have, perhaps the main question (which I should have included): Greyhound is unreserved. Is the NYC-Boston run so crowded that I could be left at the gate and have to wait an hour for the next bus? Is the unreserved Amtrak so crowded that I could misss the 9:00 and have to wait for the only alternative, the 10:00?

Nitemare: You emphasize an all-reserved train. Is this because of pax load?


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[Nitemare]

I'm not sure how they handle overloads on Grayhound. You can buy tix in advance, I assume that means you have a guaranteed seat, but I honestly don't know for sure.

I took an unreserved Amtrack from Boston to NYC 3 years ago. I got on at South Station, so I had no problem getting a seat (first stop), but by Providence folks were standing/sitting in the aisles. Coming up from NYC the train actually starts in DC (or further south, maybe?), and you might not get a seat for the trek, but you should get on the train. If it's a holiday weekend I'd worry about the conditions on an unreserved train. If it's a regular weekend (or weekday), I wouldn't.

Hope this helps.

Feel free to ask more ??'s here, or e me at triviaone at hotmail dot com

[tomc]

Greyhound is unreserved; first 47 in line get on the bus. Been there, done that.

The two Amtraks that work for me are listed as unreserved, so they are cattle cars on holidays.

I have no plans for cruises on holidays, so all looks fine.

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[Nitemare]

Supposedly they'll roll out a second bus if the first one is full.

Supposedly.

[Wolfpup]

On our last two bus trips out of NY, it took over 5 hours to the Bonanza Bus Terminal in Pawtucket, RI. South Station would have added another hour to the travel time. Traffic on Rt. 95 North was backed up for miles due to construction and a few accidents. If Amtrak were an option, I would take the train.

Darcy

[tomc]

Yeah, that's right. The NYC-Boston bus is a direct non-stop and I think it takes the inland route. But it's still a road and things can still happen. Besides, after 2.5 hours in one bus, my (backside) isn't looking forward to another 4 hours in a second bus. At least on a train, you can walk around, unless they profile a white, 62 y/o obvious-tourist as a terrorist determined to take over the train and drive it into the terminal like the final scene in "Silver Streak."

Heck, security at Dorval in Montreal snagged me for (a) having binoculars and (b) not enough luggage in their opinion. US Customs got a friend of mine for not knowing exactly how much cash he had on his person and, after asking if he had any guns with him ("no"), wanted to know if he had any guns at home. The same agency snagged another friend, returning from an educational symposium in England, because he didn't buy enough gifts and that was suspicious.

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[Nitemare]

Tom:

Anyone tell you about the drawbridge just north (IIRC) of New London?

They didn't tell me, either.

Eh, it was only an extra half hour, nothing to worry about! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[tomc]

If Elwood Blues is the engineer, he should be able to take the train over the open drawbridge without any problem. Watch "AMC" tomorrow night at 8:00/Eastern.

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