navybankerteacher

I suppose you NEVER experience traffic delays on I-95, and that you would prefer to spend $300 on Uber vs. $128 to park at Stamford station, and that typical per-mile car costs don’t count, So just continue driving. My experience driving to/from Boston, and my preference for a good time vs a hassle cause me to think differently. Enough.

If I were to start referring to Walmart as the Carnival of retail stores - would Walmart shoppers would see that as perjorative?

If you book cruises a few months out, and check Amtrak prices that much in advance, it is a totally different scene. If one of the points of the trip is to have an enjoyable time, avoiding I-95 in CT, RI and MA is something to consider.

Of course I would buy the avocados at Walmart - just as I sometimes sail Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Cunard and (not as frequently) Carnival. I am aware that many of the goods carried by Walmart are identical (same brand and quality) as at higher priced stores, and I do make purchases there. I do not buy clothing, shoes, or furniture at Walmart because I don’t appreciate the quality of those items . I suggest you get over the knee-jerk reaction to “Walmart” as pejorative - I simply use it as an appropriate term for identifying a low-cost, mass market provider.

No- I am just questioning your opposition to the use of a perfectly appropriate and applicable term for a low price, mass market provider.

Of the identified lines (which I have sailed) I found Celebrity to have better food and service and somewhat less crowding in public areas, slightly offset by somewhat less variety in entertainment — yet overall preferable.

I take it that you feel there is something inherently bad about large scale mass market operations. Frankly, I do not - I frequent both sorts of enterprises - in cruising and retail expeditions.

A few fans of the large mass-market ships have protested the Walmart comparison. It may not be complimentary , but comparing a usually crowded discount mass market cruise ship with a usually crowded mass market retail operation is not altogether inappropriate. Doing so does not mean one might not ever take advantage of the opportunities offered by the discount mass market provider — it is simply a matter of being aware of the differences between discount mass-market providers and more upscale providers (be they providers of shopping opportunities or cruise experiences); that awareness, of course, requires having experienced both approaches. Having sailed both types of ships, I have never seen a particular convalescent home vibe on a smaller vessel- and, in fact, seem to recall a higher proportion of infirm passengers on larger ships.

Enjoy your drive.

I have just checked for a random date a couple of months out: Stamford CT to South Station Boston - prices were minimum $15 and maximum $33 per person each way (Northeast Regional, obviously not Acela) making four round trips TOTALLING either $120 or $264. Of course if one does not think enough to plan ahead (like booking other things the same time as the cruise) and buys at last minute prices, he pays what he deserves to pay. Also, an early train on embarkation day negates the need for a room (or rooms) for hotel night, overnight parking, and cruise parking.

Please advise what station you are talking about - which is 3 1/2 hours from South Station, Boston; and what your hotel will cost for 4.

$500 for a 3 1/2 hour Amtrak ride? Which could probably mean no hotel cost, nor two Ubers pre-cruise, and no parking costs. I suggest you spend a bit of time pricing and timing things out - just because you own a car does not mean you should ignore real costs of driving it . p.s. A 3 1/2 hour Amtrak ride to Boston would probably cost about $25, so four round trips would be closer to $200 than $500.

Back on point: there is no statute, and the possible necessity to control the off-ship environment, means that the captain might have valid reason to be among the first, or last, to leave the ship. The sad fact, however, is that in the twenty first century the traditions of our heroic past have been mothballed. Since the “Birkenhead drill” is obsolete, and women are now to be seen as the equals of men in all contexts, why should anyone expect a captain to risk his life in an effort to be the last man off.

Gallagher’s is undeniably the best, but if you want a reasonably priced hotel and an easy access to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, lower Manhattan is the place to spend the night - and Delmomico’s has great service and food — and if you like the idea of an “original location” you cannot beat Fraunce’s Tavern.

Princess sails out of Brooklyn. Perhaps stay in lower Manhattan - Holiday Inn Express, Wall Street Inn, or Eurostars Wall Street - all reasonably priced and very short walk to Pier 11 for ferry to right next to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Lower Manhattan financial district is safe - great restaurants: Delmonico’s Steak House, Harry’s Hanover Square, or Fraunce’s Tavern (where George Washington had farewell dinner with his senior officers).