princeton123211

I got it for $550 through Amex Fine Hotels Resorts a little over a month ago with all the benefits. Granted it was only for one night and booked last minute before our flight back so not sure if it was a special they were running or not (because it's hard to tell that through the Amex portal). This time of year, according to their website, they are regularly at $670 which then goes up in the Fall and Winter.

For lack of an answer-- easily Googleable. No- the port area there's not a lot going on. If you push to Waikiki or some of the more residential areas of Honolulu you can find some. Frankly, if you are cruising, the onboard facilities will be easier once you board your ship. You woul need an Uber to get to any of the ones from the port.

Again, not sold out. Just no rates loaded into the system this early. Huge difference. It would take an event on the scale of the Olympics or World Cup to sell out Dublin over a year out like what you are describing, which isn't the case.

As has been said-- you have jumped the gun from a booking window perspective. No actual inventory is on the market this early for June 2025. Even the hotel you booked they had to do it manually and you most likely didn't get an actual rate-- just a placeholder they made up that might not be as good as if you book within a calendar year. I too am a big Marriott person and if you have points to burn its hard to beat the value using them at The Shelbourne on St Stephens Green. But if you go to the Marriott website right now you cant book anything, at any of their properties anywhere, for June 2025. Currently just up to April 2025. Check back in a few months and you'll have a plethora of options.

For a budget of $500 or under look at The Royal Hawaiian. It is right on Waikiki Beach and is quintessential Hawaii-- a beautiful hotel in the Spanish/Art Deco style built by the Matson Line in the 1920s. Usually can be booked in the $400s with some deals driving that into the upper $300s. If you wanted to stretch the budget a little bit (or you could find a deal) also look at Halekulani which typically is in the low $600s but you can sometimes find a deal in the high $400s/low $500s a night. Either of these might convince you to reassess the Aulani-- 4 nights is a lot there. Primarily all young kids and its a man made lagoon "beach" vs a real beach at Waikiki.

We're also talking about a VERY small distance to Maalaea Harbor. Like 20 minutes max. Frankly you'll have more time unless getting back to the ship is a priority-- I would consider renting a car and headed down to Wailea or up to Kaanapali for some beach time. Either of them are easy from Maalaea Harbor.

Getting an Uber from the area where the ship docks in Kahului is fairly easy since you are nearby the airport. PAC Whale departs from Maalaea Harbor (as do a lot of them now that the normal departure points around Lahaina are not available). Getting an Uber back can be hit or miss (with limited availability in the morning and better availability coming on as you head into the afternoon/evening). They can always call a taxi for you-- I would just build in some waiting time. Alternatively renting a car might cost as much.

There are hundreds of options-- what is your budget, do you want to be near the beach, is this for 2 people or do you need something larger? Personally any time I'm in Honolulu we stay at Waikiki which is where most of the walkable tourist things are. There are more budget options all the way to 5 star luxury. It's impossible to make an sort of even general recs without more info from you.

You can't do much better than the Fairmont at YVR. It's attached to the terminal and one of the best airport hotels I've stayed at.

If you can't find a cab you can always Uber-- works well in Vancouver.

Uber works well-- you are near the airport in Kahului so there is very little wait usually and the airport car rental facility is close by... 5-10 minutes max. I mean honestly if you don't want to go to the beach or drive to see Hana on Maui I might just say you might enjoy just staying on the ship more. Both would be the top things I would do with a day in Maui. Normally Lahaina would be what I would recommend to you based on what you said but obviously the town is gone now with the fire. Iao Valley is close-- like 20ish minutes. The top of Haleakala is a bit further-- a bit over an hour of driving and keep in mind there are mountain switchbacks etc going up and down. It also can be quite cold at the top of Haleakala so bring some layers accordingly. If you did that a stop at the Kula Lodge to sit out on the terrace could be quite nice for lunch. If you did have a change of heart about the beach heading down to Wailea or up and over to Kaanapali would be the way to go. There are plenty of resorts at both with lunch and drink options plus shopping.

Right, nor do you need to when flying between the Mainland and Hawaii but I think there would be much more scrutiny in the case of a ship sailing from the Mainland to Hawaii going to Sydney to the point where the OP's lack of a US visa might be unearthed.

There's actually one higher than Titanium-- Ambassador Elite which requires over 100 nights and a large amount of spend.

If you really want to maximize your time in Montreal consider staying at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth which is directly above the Gare Centrale train station you'll be arriving in from Quebec City. You can literally take a discreet elevator from the station up to the lobby of the hotel. It is not a budget property but it usually isn't the most expensive either (although it can be). Super central to most things you'd want to walk to. No downtown hotels offer airport shuttles. Uber works quite well early in the morning in Montreal-- have done it many times.

Like Bruce said, check the NCL boards. But even if they did discontinue them this is VERY easy to do on your own with a little planning ahead (getting advanced tickets to USS Arizona Memorial) and just using Uber to get around. Could cost less than what NCL offers(ed) on a bus.

Are you sure it is sailing from Seattle to Hawaii? Usually this is from Vancouver to Hawaii as sailing between two US ports like this on a foreign flagged ship (without stopping in a distant foreign port first) is illegal. Let's say the ship is sailing Seattle to Hawaii (which I don't think it is). In this case, with an expired visa, the cruise line would most likely not allow you to board the ship in the first place. They're not going to police you on a port stop to Hawaii-- they are just going to wash their hands of you and not allow you on in the first place. If the ship is departing Vancouver, and you don't have a valid or renewed visa, the cruise line also most likely will deny you boarding.

Very reliable (I take the Acela Philly to Boston and back at least once a month) but you do need to be prepared in the 0.1% chance there is a major delay. It doesn't happen often but when it does its a real sh!tshow. Over 10 years of being an Acela regular I can think of maybe 3 times it was bad enough to cause me have to change plans. It might make for an early morning but if there's the option for the earlier Acela personally that would be the one I was on-- the worst thing that can happen is you hang out at the lounge at Moynihan Train Hall for a bit on arrival or go grab an early lunch somewhere. Just more time in case something doesn't go to plan. If something were to happen you are essentially left with an expensive Uber ride to New York as an option (which I've done once before).

Sometimes more. NJ taxis are the worst.

Frankly in this situation I would just use Uber but you specifically requested a car service. You could easily use UberX (which will cost less than anything we've been discussing) or UberBlack, which will be very similar-- its the same pool of drivers and cars.

I've lived and worked around NYC for more than 30 years. I've never heard of them-- I wouldn't.

Some insurance guy is reading this and licking their chops. Only have seen this a handful of times-- like Seabourn or SeaDream when they have private beach days.

Try booking through an app called Blacklane. I use it frequently in NYC and it connects you with multiple limo/black car companies via the app. When booking the price you contract for is guaranteed and includes all taxes, gratuities, fees, and tolls. No surprises and have always had a good experience. It's the same company Emirates uses for their transfers from JFK. Keep in mind that Carmel is an aggregator (as is Blacklane that I recommended above). They are not a brick and mortar car service. Generally Carmel (and their counterpart Dial7) have older cars and use the same driver pool that is on UberBlack. Nothing wrong with it and pricing can be a little less expensive. Blacklane is a little more upmarket-- cars generally are brand new and usually receive a large SUV (Cadillac Escalade, GMC Suburban) etc even on the "Business Class" bookings with them. You can get a Mercedes S Class with their top end booking. What I like about this vs Carmel/Dial7 is that the pricing is guaranteed and fully inclusive where the others are ++.

Italian cuisine is regional so it's hard to make any recs without knowing what you are really looking for. "Traditional Italian" is usually used in the US as a mish mash of all of them where it usually means pasta drowned in a red sauce. In Italy, at least with the better restaurants, you tend to end up with an establishment that specializes in one of them. Also are you looking for something more traditional or something more modern? Is this a white table cloth special meal that you want to make special or just looking for some casual recs? Rome is like New York-- there are literally thousands of options so its hard to just spout out a bunch without knowing what you're actually looking for.

I agree with the other poster that you are going to be very disoriented from a time perspective if you are coming from the US East Coast. We do this trip several times a year and the 11 hour flight always wipes us out. I agree to with Bear to look at Roberts but I think you are going to run into the same issue you had getting back later than your sailing time. The ONLY way to do what you propose to do is to rent a car which can be easily done in Waikiki and returned back there. It's a nice drive up to the North Shore and then down along the coast back to Honolulu but it will take all of your day. If you didn't stop at all it would take you about 3-4 hours of straight driving (and obviously the point is to make a few stops and see things). The other thing to consider is if you are going to other islands (which I assume you are) you can get a very similar experience there. To be frank, you will be much happier with yourselves if you just stay put and enjoy Waikiki. Rest up, grab breakfast, walk on the beach, go for a swim. Enjoy being in Waikiki-- because if you do anything else you proposed theres no actual point in staying in Waikiki to begin with. If you did want to hang closer but still wanted to do something cultural-- go to see the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor or to the former Royal Ioloni Palace in Downtown honolulu. Either of those things are short, easy Uber rides and let you still enjoy some time on Waikiki.

Uber and Lyft are basically interchangeable in Baltimore (usually it's the same cars and drivers) and will vary slightly on cost. Very safe to use, cost effective, easy, and MUCH nicer than Baltimore taxis. Taxis there aren't necessarily unsafe so much as they are old ratty cars that are unpleasant. If you can set up an Uber account ahead of time and use it while there you will be much better off. Which is in a much better area than the first one but even further from the city-- it's closer to BWI. Again, if the plan is to just go to the hotel and hang out for a night it works. But if you wanted to see any of the city this, from a distance standpoint, is even more inconvenient than the first one. It just depends on what you want to do. There are nice options downtown that don't break the bank-- Baltimore is for the most part one of the least expensive major Northeast cities. The Admiral Fell Inn in an excellent location in Fells Point is often in the same price point as the first Best Western you mentioned. There is a Residence Inn and Hampton Inn not far from the Inner Harbor. If you want to be in the heart of it all these would be where I would look.