Boston/USS Constitution Question...among others!

Hi fellow cruisers!

I was hoping someone could answer this question...how far is the USS Constitution/Museum from the port in which the cruise ships dock? My hubby and I were looking to take a tour (Best of Boston, Lexington and Concord on the Star Princess in October) that includes it, but don't like the length of the tour (8:45AM-4:30PM) and not having any free time in Boston and wanted to know the distance from the port and how easy it is to get to.

Also, any other information anyone could provide on Boston (what to see/do/etc.) would be appreciated, as well as suggestions for out other ports - Halifax, St. John, Bar Harbor and Newport. My Mom and Dad will also be with us and we all like to walk (I've heard/read about a boardwalk in I beleive Halifax that sounds great?!?). My Mom loves to shop, hubby and I are both into history and Dad likes just about everything - as long as it makes the rest of us happy. We also all enjoy some good food. We're all very excited about these ports - always wanted to visit and don't even live too far away, just haven't made it there yet!

Thank you all for whatever help you can provide. Also, please fee free to e-mail me your thoughts if you don't like to post - maguziewicz@1014productions.com - thanks again!

We did a cruise on the Maasdam from Ft Lauderdale to Montreal that stopped in Boston. Here is what we did with our day in Boston.

The next day we were going to be visiting Boston. The one absolute of this port as far as I was concerned was seeing the USS Constitution. This ship, known as "Old Ironsides" was built prior to the War of 1812 and is the oldest surviving commissioned warship of any navy in the world. So our plan was to get into Boston and then find our way there first. As it turned out the ship again provided at the last minute a no cost service to shuttle us from the docks to the center of Boston that was appreciated. But it would have been nice if they had told us about it before we arrived.

Once in Boston itself we decided to purchase tickets for the day on something called the Beantown Trolly service that allowed us transportation around town including out to the Constitution. It was similar to the service we used in New York where you get on and off at various stops around the city. Once at the Charlestown Navy yards we got our first view of the Constitution and I was really glad we made this our first stop. The line wasn't too long to go through one of the most complete security checks I have ever been through. Then we joined the line for the hourly tour rather than just going aboard the ship and only getting to see the top deck.

After a short wait, which was spent taking pictures of the ship, we boarded the ship with our guide, Dave, who was a Petty Officer in the Navy. The other line was closed and the deck was cleared so only our tour was on the ship. Dave gathered us together after a giving a few minutes for people to take additional pictures. He gave some history and information about the ship including the information that the ship was taken out once a year in order to remain a commissioned warship in the Navy. We next went down to the first gun deck and again received some more information on the history of the ship and were allowed to take more pictures. After this we were asked to go back up on the main deck and were allowed to take more pictures if we wanted. There is a museum there with additional information about the ship and Navy yard we visited. We also got pictures of the Bunker Hill monument although we didn't walk up the hill to it. Then we boarded the next Beantown Trolly that showed up so we could see some more of Boston. But we had accomplished what we had set out to do even if we hadn't seen anything else. By the way the temperatures had changed again and we saw temperatures in the high 80's and even low 90's while we were in Boston that we had not expected.

The Beantown Trolly route goes out to the Navy Yard and then returns back into the city itself. We stayed on the Trolly viewing some of the sights of the North End followed by a trip around the Boston Common and past the Theater district. We decided to get off at the State House building across from one side of the Boston's common rather than continue onto the Trolly to Cambridge and the BackBay area. We wanted to catch the start of the Freedom Trail and visit some of its highlights before our time in Boston ran out.

The trail begins at the Boston Commons, goes by the "new" Mass State House building (from 1795), the Park Street Church, the old Granary Burying Ground, Kings Chapel, Ben Franklin statue and the first school site, the old South Meeting house, the old Corner Bookstore, which unfortunately was closed and looking for a new owner, the old State House and Faneuil Hall.

We elected at this point to catch a harbor tour that was included in our Beantown Trolly ticket and that allowed us to take some additional pictures of the Constitution. So we didn't see Paul Revere's house or the old North Church except from a distance. We had seen from a distance the Bunker Hill monument when we were visiting the Constitution. We got some good seats on the stern of the sightseeing ship and appreciated being able to sit down after being on our feet most of the day and also appreciated the harbor breezes. We also spotted the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer. My dad was on the older version of the Spencer during the early years of WW II so it was interesting to see the new version. After the short cruise tour, it was beginning to get late in the afternoon so we found the place where the shuttle buses were boarding and returned to the ship, sweaty and hot but feeling we had seen a lot of Boston in a short time.

We also visited Halifax and Bar Harbor on the same cruise. In Halifax we did a cruise tour that went to a winery in the countryside as well as providing a really nice lunch with more wine that took up all day. In Bar Harbor we did another ships tour that was supposed to take us to top of a mountain where we would have a great view. Unfortunately it was a rainy and cloudy day and we got to the top and the mountain and couldn't see anything. When we got back we enjoyed walking around Bar Harbor and checking out all the small stores and shops. We also picked up some interesting apple desert wine at a liquor store that we later enjoyed with another couple on the ship.

Have a great next cruise.

The hop-on hop-off trolley is a good way to see Boston - several of them meet the cruise ships at the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston and give narrated tours of the city. You can make it as long, or short, as you want by how many times you get off and wander around.

The USS Constitution is moored in Charlestown, MA and is about 3 miles from the cruise ship terminal. A fun way to get over there is via our water taxi. They make regular runs to about 15 spots around the harbor. Go to http://www.citywatertaxi.com to see a map and their pricing. Black Falcon terminal is Stop labelled #1. Constitution is labelled stop #45.

Go to http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil for all the info re the ship.

From the ship you could actually walk back over the Charlestown bridge into the North End of Boston, our Italian neighborhood, for shopping, food, and a visit to the Old North Church and Paul Revere's House.

If you are good walkers, as an alternative to the trolley you could join the Freedom Trail Foundation on their guided tour led by costumed characters along the historical sights in Boston. They start at the Visitor's Center on Boston Common at certain times of the day. Maybe this is the spot that the cruise ship's shuttles run back and forth to -- I do not know, but perhaps others might know in more detail.

Have fun!

I vote for the trolley too. It's a hop on hop off and runs until 5pm. You can see all the sights and it's very convenient to everything. The narration includes many historical facts and is alot of fun. We also liked the swan boats in the public garden next to the Boston commons and Quincy Market.

GN

The hop-on hop-off trolley is a good way to see Boston - several of them meet the cruise ships at the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston and give narrated tours of the city. You can make it as long, or short, as you want by how many times you get off and wander around.

 

The USS Constitution is moored in Charlestown, MA and is about 3 miles from the cruise ship terminal. A fun way to get over there is via our water taxi. They make regular runs to about 15 spots around the harbor. Go to www.citywatertaxi.com to see a map and their pricing. Black Falcon terminal is Stop labelled #1. Constitution is labelled stop #45.

 

Go to www.ussconstitution.navy.mil for all the info re the ship.

 

From the ship you could actually walk back over the Charlestown bridge into the North End of Boston, our Italian neighborhood, for shopping, food, and a visit to the Old North Church and Paul Revere's House.

 

If you are good walkers, as an alternative to the trolley you could join the Freedom Trail Foundation on their guided tour led by costumed characters along the historical sights in Boston. They start at the Visitor's Center on Boston Common at certain times of the day. Maybe this is the spot that the cruise ship's shuttles run back and forth to -- I do not know, but perhaps others might know in more detail.

 

Have fun!

madeline. i went to the water taxi site and it is not very clear to me what the price includes. of course i am not a knowlegdable traveler yet so maybe i am missing something. does a ticket allow me to get on and off at will when i want and still return the cruise terminal . thank you for any info on this.

The water taxi rates are per ride, unless marked round trip. There is no

hop-on, hop-off feature like the trolley.

The water taxi rates are per ride, unless marked round trip. There is no

hop-on, hop-off feature like the trolley.

thanks madeline, that clears up that question for me. :)