Boston Cruiseport Hotels near by?

We will be driving to Boston for our NCL Dawn cruise in August.. and we want a hotel/motel that includes free parking (to save us from parking at the cruiseport parkade).. Can you recommend some that are near the cruiseport? thx in advance..

How many days is your cruise? It can be cost effective to stay outside the city and pay the $16 to park at the port.

What exact date is your cruise? What do you want to do in Boston? The hotels that offer park/sleeps are for the most part in fringe areas and not convenient to downtown or the port.

What is your overall budget? Number of people? You are coming down from Maine, right?

Our cruise is Aug 23 for 7 day Bermuda on the Dawn.. It will be my husband, myself and our daughter who is 14. There's not much we want to do in Boston but will be staying the night before the cruise and the night we disembark. We are actually from Prince Edward Island, Canada so will be coming down through Maine enroute to Boston. Thought it was more expensive than $16 a day? that would be $112 for 7 days.. thinking it might still be cheaper to get a park-n-cruise deal from a hotel? yes/no?

One more question. Are you coming down in one or two days? What I'm really asking if you are going to arrive in the area totally exhausted by a marathon trip.

And another question - can you manage your luggage?

The problem with the park-n-cruise deals is that they aren't really convenient to anything in Boston (unlike Florida where just about every hotels offers a deal), including the port.

Yep - that's the problem with Boston. I'm trying to think out of the box for them. If they can roll their luggage, I'm thinking on a high level of a park/sleep in Saugus for the first night and parking, hotel shuttle to the airport and Silver Line to the pier, 4* Hotwire waterfront hotel for the last night for $134, and return to Saugus to get the car via Silver Line and hotel shuttle. This addresses all their issues - 2 nights hotel, car parking, plus an in town last night location where they can dump their luggage and get a full day and evening in Boston.

One more question. Are you coming down in one or two days? What I'm really asking if you are going to arrive in the area totally exhausted by a marathon trip.

 

And another question - can you manage your luggage?

We will be driving down so can do the drive in one day - 12 hrs.. will be leaving at 5am from here so will be there for dinnertime.. then we will have plenty of rest before boarding the next day.. we have thought maybe about arriving two days so that we will have one day to do some shopping and site seeing first.. We will be managing our own luggage.. no porter needed, we will have everything in one large suitcase and one backpack of shoes etc.. we're old hats when it comes to packing "lite" :)

Yep - that's the problem with Boston. I'm trying to think out of the box for them. If they can roll their luggage, I'm thinking on a high level of a park/sleep in Saugus for the first night and parking, hotel shuttle to the airport and Silver Line to the pier, 4* Hotwire waterfront hotel for the last night for $134, and return to Saugus to get the car via Silver Line and hotel shuttle. This addresses all their issues - 2 nights hotel, car parking, plus an in town last night location where they can dump their luggage and get a full day and evening in Boston.

Humm.. wondering which now would be most ecconomical? this route or $112 to park at cruiseport? any suggestions? I'm guessing Silver Line is either a bus or taxi? that would be another cost we'd have to take into account.

Yes.. when we cruised out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, cruise-park-hotel deals were a dime a dozen.. never thought Boston would be different..ouch.. :(

Humm.. wondering which now would be most ecconomical? this route or $112 to park at cruiseport? any suggestions? I'm guessing Silver Line is either a bus or taxi? that would be another cost we'd have to take into account.

Yes.. when we cruised out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, cruise-park-hotel deals were a dime a dozen.. never thought Boston would be different..ouch.. :(

Well, cruises are a dime a dozen in Miami/Fort Lauderdale. There just isn't that many cruise turnarounds in Boston, and the market reflects that.

Honestly, if I were you I'd be getting a hotel north of the city somewhere, then parking at the pier. You could reserve something in advance, or get one of those hotel coupon books along the highway somewhere and find a deal - should be able to get something in the $70-80 range.

I agree. I would get a hotel room north of town to cut back a little on your drive (12 hours is a long drive), then park at the pier. Advantage, when you get back, you just have to get in the car and go.

Based on what you said, my original thoughts for you would work. Here are the details of what I propose.

Aug 22 - park/sleep at the Holiday Inn Express in Saugus for $139 tax included through trinityreservations.com. I love these folks - they always quote tax included as opposed to stay123.com which quotes without tax. This hotel offers an expanded continental breakfast and 14 days parking.

Aug 30 - Hotwire hotel * in the waterfront area for $134 ($161 incl tax). This is likely to be the Westin Waterfront

To get to the Cruiseport on Aug 23 you would take the hotel shuttle to the airport and get dropped off at terminal E to pick up the Silver Line Bus which is free from the airport. You ride two stops to World Trade Center and use the escalator and elevator to cross over the tracks to go the other way on the SL2 bus to Black Falcon Terminal. The Silver Line is the newest transit line in Boston and was designed to service Logan Airport. The bus has a low step, so it's similar to getting on a rental car shuttle bus, but it's a lot bigger. At the airport you want to get on the rear door because it's easier with luggage.

When you disembark, you can walk out of the terminal and take the Silver Line back to World Trade center where the Westin will be 1 block away. Leave your luggage and take off to enjoy Boston for the day using either the T or walking.

The next morning you take the Silver line back to the airport and the hotel shuttle back to Saugus where your car is parked.

The T is $2.50 with a Charlie ticket, but it you get a hard plastic Charlie Card, you will pay $2 per ride.

So for about $300 you get two nights hotel, one free breakfast, and parking for your car for 9 days. One of the hotel nights is in a very nice Boston hotel convenient to the port and the airport. This is a really good deal for Boston.

If your serious about this, make a decision, pony up the money, and book the hotels. If you don't like to prepay, buy the extra insurance on the hotel room. Hotwire rooms can disappear in an instant.

I don't know how far outside the city you would have to go to get a hotel room in the $70-80 range. Your whole route is along the coast with beach access. I'm just not sure $70-80 is a realistic rate in this area during summer vacation in August.