tetleytea

Because it's not. That's where it came from--it really is that simple. Downtown Boston is an urban jungle, and the tourist traps can get crowded. You sound awfully proud of Boston (or at least, the south side, which you actually did tour), and sorry if it bursts your bubble, but it's not all that. The day we walked the Freedom Trail, we walked 28,000 steps that day, and it was hot. Walking the bridge to the Constitution and to Bunker Hill is some rigorous walking, you have to walk all the way across Boston Common to get to Cheers, and we found out Feneuil is closed the hard way. A mobility-challenged party not accustomed to that level of activity would probably need to find other means of transportation (such as the trolley or figuring out the public bus system--which we did). Thus if you have a 78-year-old in your party, there may be better fits for you out there than Freedom Trail--let alone when Feneuil is not even open. If you have a party of 4 or more, you land in Logan, and you have more than a day, renting a car makes sense. The area around the Harbor and the Freedom Trail are the tourist traps that the cruises go to (and you certainly would best avoid downtown Boston traffic in a car--unless you've driven Dominican, New Delhi, or Lagos, in which case...hats off to you). August is a good time to do Salem. The quality of sites on the Freedom Trail is no better than what you would stop at on the 2A or Lexington Road in Lexington/Concord--only up there, you won't have nearly the insanity or the walking that you would downtown. Besides, Lexington has a tour trolley, too. You're going to have a lot more greenery and pretty lakes, which is more in line with what an older demographic tends to like. Indeed, you can tour Ralph Waldo Emerson's and Nathaniel Hawthorne's houses, who wrote pretty American poetry about precisely those landscapes. Emerson is right across from the North Bridge (which you would know--if you ever actually did it). Louisa Mae Alcott's Orchard House is right down the street from Emerson's (which--again--anyone who's actually done it would know). Counting on being able to tour stuff on boarding day for the cruise itself is just not realistic. You might be able to tour *A* site. The purpose of travel sites is to tell you where the overrated tourist traps are; and where the lesser-known, less crowded, but better sites are. This is one such post. Sorry that you are not the one who thought of it.

This month. I was just there. I just walked the Freedom Trail, and Fenueil Hall is closed (the marketplace is not. The actual hall is). [Quote]ut it's sort of misleading advice for someone considering a 1-2 night stay there ahead of a sailing from Boston. [/Quote] It's misleading to call it a 1-2 night stay when they just called it a 2-3 day stay. You board in the morning. That means a 2-3 day stay corresponds to a 2-3 night stay.

Just as "independent contractors" make money by trolling online forums and talking up PR for their clients. Even in the news story, NCL tried to shift blame by saying an "independent tour operator' messed up. An "independent tour operator" who took money from NCL, of course. In the same way, the cruise lines never troll online forums like this one, either. "Independent travellers" do it

Downtown is not particularly nice, nor is Quincy. Concord and Salem are different stories (note that there is a distinctly touristy part of Salem). That part of Salem takes a little over a day, walking (and not as much of it as Freedom Trail). Lexington and Concord is basically a day of in-and-out of your car, tracing Paul Revere's ride, and it's the same Revolutionary War stuff that you'd be seeing on Freedom Trail. Plus you get the Little Women Museum, which has nothing to do with it, and downtown Concord is cute, with shops, restaurants, monuments, and such. Springfield also has Dr. Seuss's house and a few other places, and they're mostly clumped together. OP already said they want to stay close to port, but if they were willing to go a little further out, you can do nicer B&B's in Concord, Salem, on the beach around Gloucester, and such; and stay together as a family in one place, as opposed to in separate rooms in a big hotel.

If you've got 2-3 days then maybe downtown Boston isn't even the best for you. You can rent a car and go outside the perimeter, where it's nicer. Lexington and Concord (particularly Concord), which has the Paul Revere ride road and the Little Women Museum. And then up the road to Salem, which is not quite in high season. There is more to Salem than just witches. To the west, in Springfield, is the Basketball Hall of Fame. Those won't have nearly the walking that the Freedom Trail does (and besides, the actual Fenueil Hall is being renovated right now). And the Boston Harbor cruise doesn't make as much sense, because you are immediately taking a big cruise thereafter. Big difference between what you can do in Boston in a day vs. what you can do in 2-3 days.

If one day in QC is all you get, then I agree. Just the Musee du Civilization alone takes a day, and that's near the ship.

Btw we Ubered to the QC airport at 2:30am.

I echo the advice to book a private tour, or cab driver, who will drop you off at Ward Cove. We found a driver on the day of. Not only does that give you extra security, but it gives you more precious time to actually enjoy Ketchikan. That Ward Cove visit is not very long. I've already made up my mind, but this idea that "if you book a shore excursion through the ship, we will wait for you...unless we can't" doesn't sound very reassuring. They even do that for legit pier runners.

On the Alaska cruises they give you Eskimo coats when you first board the ship, and you're required to wear them every time to dinner. You're also required to wear that big hood up whenever you're not actually eating. You can trust me. I never lie.

I also prefer Saguenay over Portland, but it depends on whether the foreign language freaks you out. This is a travel website, so I trust it doesn't. You can always at least try to get a refund or raincheck if it comes down to that, even if they say they don't. We had an entire cruise fail, and the majority of our excursions actually accommodated us in spite of their advertised policies when we explained our circumstances to them. Sometimes they have a wait list and they don't care.

Quite frankly, just walking the streets ISO a restaurant is part of the fun. Rue St Jean is hopping. But, Brasserie Les Mordus was my favorite in Old Quebec (and I was there 6 days and ate somewhere different every time), and it had multiple "elevated" poutines (as Gordon Ramsey likes to call it). They had outdoor seating, which made it feel European, and I had this crazy seafood poutine, that you couldn't even tell was poutine until you got to the very bottom (that's where the fries were). Brasserie Les Mordus is right around the corner from City Hall and across the street from a cathedral. We did eat breakfast at La Buche (which was fine), and I distinctly remember Aux Anciens Canadiens but did not eat there. It has that pretty red storefront. I think the prices sent me away.

We took an Uber to the QC airport with no issues.

But not according to the story. According to the story, they had a 78-year-old in the party and the attendant was not checking their ticket stubs to make sure everybody boarding the bus was on the excursion.

I will give NCL this much: if you book a low-end tour through Free at Sea (which the Lumberjack show is low-end), it's possible the NCL-sponsored tour is in fact not more expensive than going independent. But this idea that you would be more secure in reboarding the ship in case you face a delay should not figure into your purchasing decision. A lot of independent operators--most--offer similar guarantees, and in fact--usually if you have to cancel BEFORE you even go on it, the independents are actually more likely to work with you than the cruise line is (and that is presuming you even had to put money down beforehand in the first place, for an independent). Of course I have to say "similar," because obviously they can't tell the ship's captain to wait for you. But they'll refund you, fly you, hotel, all that. And...just not allow it to happen. This idea that the ship-sponsored tours are somehow safer is pure salesmanship mumbo jumbo; and when you actually get into this type of situation...well...you can plainly see the comments on here. "The cruise lines never made any such promises." They either did or they didn't. And that message needs to be the same, both when they sell you the excursion and when you actually have a problem. For that reason: just don't even bother paying extra for that nonsense.

It's called a deceptive trade practice.

IMO they didn't do enough, considering how blatant that was and the impact it had on them.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-the-ship-wait-for-guests-on-a-shore-excursion#:~:text=When you book a shore,at no expense to you.

I can safely stand by what I said: why even get the ship's tour? They sing quite a different tune when they sell them. You're "guaranteed" to make it back. Until...you don't. And then we get quite a different story. And thus we read this press release. Just get the cheaper independent tours, folks.

Then Norwegian (or any cruise line) should not make promises they can't keep. They keep selling you the ship-sponsored excursions at a higher price, promising that they'll wait for you, and they didn't. The independent operator acted as an agent of NCL, so NCL screwed up; and they need to own it. I almost never buy the ship excursions anyway. I always thought that promise was a bit empty. The independents usually offer just about the same guarantee. And sometimes in different circumstances, you'll usually get your money back or a raincheck from an independent when you won't from the cruise line. So why pay extra for the ship tour?

Right now it's just Feneuil.Marketplace and not Feneuil.Hall. The shops are open, the public restrooms are open downstairs. But the historical part that gives talks and tours is closed for renovation. There are a few occasional street performers, but nothing I would detour your walk route for.

We basically took the public bus to the USS Constitution, walked here-and-there to Boston Common (and Cheers), then took a different public bus back to the ship. But that was some rigorous walking from the Constitution to Bunker Hill, and Feneuil Hall is closed until something like summer 2025 (the shops are open, but the part that makes it worth a visit is closed).

We did it! Thanks for the advice. L'Ile de Orleans was one of our trip highlights. Here's my trip rundown, for others: - It takes a full day by car, but really the island is best toured by cyclist. By bicycle would take 2 or 3 days. - It's really romantic. I'm ready to rename the place Coeur d'Orleans. But those big bus tours don't help it--it needs to be just the two of you (and the bus tours don't give you all day, anyway). - Old Quebec City is more historic. Ile d'Orleans is slower paced and more idyllic. It's like the difference between Paris and south France. - They speak a lot less English. However, the locals are nicer and more gracious if you are bad at French than they are in the city (i.e. in the city, they can handle English a lot better, but if you try French and butcher the grammar and stuff, they are not as nice about it). Prepare to immerse yourself in French. - I read somewhere that the island is flat, but that is not the case. The island is hilly (bikes can handle it, but it is not flat). - Absolutely try the fresh fruit. Our lunch consisted exclusively of freshly-picked strawberries, and I was totally okay with that. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, cheese. Unfortunately, one confusing thing is that the French words for "farm" and for "closed" are almost the same (ferme). So if you see a street sign which says both "ferme" and "ouvert" (open), you might want to stop at it. e.g. "Ferme Picard et Filles ... ouvert". But not "Bibliotheque ... ferme". One's a farm that is open for business. The other's a French bookstore that is closed. - Art galleries galore. And historic sites. That's basically your day: drive around, enjoy the view, stop at art galleries, sites, some farms, and a place to eat at the end. (by the way, I wouldn't bother with stopping at Maisson de nos Aieux, unless you're a French speaker) - The places that are not advertised on the tourist maps tend to be cheaper. The businesses have to pay upwards of $500 to get themselves listed. Plus, a lot of these guys are sole proprietors, who don't have to charge Quebec sales tax because they are a small business. - You pass right by Montmorrency Falls on the way to Ile d'Orleans, and contrary to what Google says, Montmorrency almost never closes. The museum and the lift up closes, but the park and the stairs do not. You can stop by the Falls at the end of your day (daylight permitting) and walk right up to it. The physically active can ascend the 400+ steps and walk the suspension bridge after hours. - You CAN stop at Sainte-Anne-du-Beaupre as well if you want (like the bus tours do), but that is quite a detour. If this is a Ile d'Orleans tour, Montmorrency is right there, along the way. But Beaupre is not. You more-or-less need all day on the island as it is, before all the businesses close up. - Multiple websites advise you drive the island counter-clockwise, and there is good reason for that: the first businesses you drive by close earlier. First they all close around 4:30 or 5pm, then as you go toward the end they are all closing around 6. So it makes sense. You can start your online research with something like this: https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do-quebec-city/tour-ile-orleans There are two or three rental car agencies in Old Town Quebec, from which you can just walk over and rent a car for the day for $100. There's a Hertz around the corner from City Hall/Notre Dame, and an Avis right inside the Hilton (which is beside Parliament). And an Enterprise not far from Avis. It's possible you might be able to pick up a car and just drop it off at the QC airport--which might simplify a few things for you logistically. The airport is, of course, far more bilingual than the island. But you absolutely need to understand those street signs if you're going to drive a car around Quebec--all told, I found driving Quebec (where I didn't read French well) a lot easier than driving Scotland (where I understood the English just fine, but they drive on the left side of the road).

For a port stop? Do you have enough time to really do the Cabot trail on just a port of call?

I'm not a big fan of staying in town in Sydney. I love their lifestyle that they live, but in terms of touristy stuff, there's the cruise terminal itself (which is mega-touristy) and that's just about it. Cape Breton is all about the lakes and the greenery, and for that you have to get out. And the Irish and Scottish culture, but that is more pronounced as you go out onto the countryside.

IMHO touring PEI without the Green Gables is like touring Tulum without the Mayan ruins, but to continue the analogy: you could probably rent a car and drive around the island counterclockwise, similar to how you would Cozumel. On the northeast corner of the island, you can walk the beach. The west has French stuff. Little rinky-dink shops, gardens, and art galleries all around.