princeton123211

Plenty of luggage storage-- storage areas like these are on both sides of each car plus the overhead bins which are larger than airplanes. You also have complimentary Red Cap service at each station-- they will carry your bags and put them on and take them off the train on both ends.

To each their own. I travel professionally and spend close to 300 night a year away and much of that in foreign countries. I can assure you doing things like that can add up quickly. If it's your 3 days a year in Canada and that's how you want to spend money-- totally get that and that's your choice. But for a forum like this it's not sound travel advice for others.

Its possible. If you arrive on time at 6 the ship most likely won't be cleared til 7. Let's say you self disembark carrying your luggage best case scenario is you are curbside and in a car by 7:45-8. Newark Airport with zero traffic is 30 minutes from Manhattan Cruise Terminal. If the ship is late or if there is an immigration issue then you can be in a bit of a pickle. The cruise line will generally guarantee you a noon departure from Newark using their bus transfers so you aren't too far off that. You'll need to use private transfers to do it though.

Agree-- I think it's risk/reward. In a place like Rome, with the high prevalence of pickpockets, carrying my passport on my person simply isn't worth it to me. I would much rather inconvenience an overzealous public official who needed to view it with a trip back to my hotel than run the risk of having it lifted from my person and going through the process of replacing it.

Bank ATMs generally have better rates and especially fewer fees than Currency Exchange kiosks-- even for smaller exchanges.

If it were me I would get $50 or $100 out at an airport ATM when I arrive-- the majority of where I typically would need cash (vs being able to pay with a credit card) would be tipping getting from the airport to my hotel room.

It does and it doesn't-- these things are mainly aimed at cargo and container ships. Sometimes when these happen there are carveouts for passenger ships and they are unaffected. I do remember decades ago a strike while we were boarding QE2 in New York and it did affect luggage and loading stores onboard and the boarding process was a total disaster-- took hours and we didn't depart until after midnight when it should have been 4pm. All the ships staff took over longshoreman duties so when you finally did get onboard it was hopelessly understaffed and your luggage didn't show up until nearly the next morning. And this was on a ship that is vastly smaller than most of what sails today. So basically lets hope they mediate to a quick settlement or else your day will look like one of the two I describe above.

There are public restrooms up and down Waikiki-- went into one once and it is about what you would expect about a public bathroom in a major city. All of the hotels do have public bathrooms-- depending on the state you're in (meaning how sandy from the beach etc) you could be discreet and use one of those. There are open air shower and foot wash stations at the hotels as you come back from the beach so that could alleviate some of it.

I spend a bunch of time in Vancouver and I would not say that dollars are readily accepted. In the relatively low instances where they are, mainly only in tourist spots, it's an absolutely terrible way to spend money right now as they will accept USD 1:1. $1 USD right now is currently worth $1.36 CAD. Just throwing your money away by using USD.

As Bruce said-- Viator is purely a third party aggregator/broker. They don't own, operate, or staff anything they provide you. If you are looking for a low cost, per person shuttle bus I can see where it can make sense. But if you are considering a private transfer I would avoid booking with them. Much better app based alternatives like Blacklane or even Uber (which doesn't provide UberX service due to local regulations but does offer UberBlack). In this case it might be a lot easier to book a private transfer that takes you directly to your hotel vs the hassle of getting to some sort of shuttle bus drop off point and then having to find your way there with luggage.

This. The best exchange rate you'll get is at an ATM. But make sure is is an ATM that is part of an actual bank-- not a third party ATM.

There are bus and private car options available from Chioggia. It's a very long water taxi option-- not sure if that's actually available but it would be wildly expensive if it was in the several hundreds of dollars if so. I'm pretty sure there is no water taxi service. For the same price as the San Clemente Palace there are many other hotels that are vastly better for a one night's stay for similar money. The Danieli, St Regis, Gritti Palace, Hotel Cipriani, and Aman are all spots I would consider superior hotels that are similarly priced and closer to the main sights of Venice to see. If the goal is to just hang on the island and not see Venice, than San Clemente works. But if you have one night and want to see a bit of the city any of the other hotels mentioned will provide you more time and be vastly better hotels.

Before we all throw out names of places I think it would be helpful to understand your budget. Personally I always feel staying further in the city was more enjoyable, especially with a shorter stay, than staying close to Santa Lucia train station. That being said it can range from a few hundred dollars a night to several thousand for some of the top grande dame properties in and around San Marco. If you do stay further in the city I would make sure the hotel has a water taxi dock and then budget for a water taxi ride to the airport-- fabulous way to either enter or leave the city.

It's just a big chain restaurant. It isn't bad-- somethings are very good-- but the same experience you have in Boston I can have outside of Philly. When I travel I like to go find things that are more authentic. You can order it at the bar. Their main dining room which made it famous never reopened for dinner service since covid.

The last time I took an Uber from town to Jean Lesage it was $42 CAD-- not sure a traditional taxi. Possibly more than the Uber as it can be in a lot of places.

I have to imagine that would be an easier task than talking her into un ultra low cost carrier like Frontier... The train up and down to Boston is a great experience. Would definitely recommend the Acela if it's in the budget (all reserved seating, bigger windows, a little faster) but the Northeast Regional are nice as well. From Philly I prefer it to flying especially if you are going into downtown Boston. Its 30 min to PHL, you get there an hour and a half early, flight takes an hour, and getting into Boston from Logan can take upwards of 45 minutes sometimes. Door to door the train is nearly as fast as flying and much more reliable.

You were misinformed on luggage. They don't check luggage on Northeast Corridor trains (Northeast Regional and Acela) but they absolutely take luggage. I was on the Acela from Boston to Philly yesterday and plenty of folks with large suitcases. There are large storage compartments for oversized suitcases at the front and back of each carriage. At Philly and at Boston you can have a Red Cap assist you with large bags on and off the train as a free service (but you must tip). I wouldn't fly Frontier if you can avoid it-- the train ride is much easier.

Prearranged transportation is going to be wildly expensive for such a short ride-- Uber is the way to go here. I would wait until you are outside the ship with your luggage and then hit the button in the app to call the car to where you are. I've never waited more than 10 minutes for an Uber in Quebec City. It will be a very short and inexpensive ride.

We're all entitled to our opinion but it's pretty unfair to criticise a hotel built between 1874 and 1930 for not having minimalist Scandinavian architecture which didn't even exist at the time it was built. The Grand Hotel in Stockholm, a contemporary of the Grande Bretagne, has no such Scandinavian design and is unapologetic for it. But it does seem that you've been frequenting some very upscale brothels...

I don't normally gravitate to W Hotels but the W Amsterdam is quite nice and extremely well located and is a great value when compared to a lot of options. If money is no object the Waldorf Astoria is the way to go-- stunning and wonderful hotel. The Amstel Intercontinental gets an honorable mention because its a wonderful grande dame hotel but the W and Waldorf are both better properties.

Are we talking about the same hotel? I always found it fairly subdued for grande dame hotel decor-- I can think of a bunch of similarly vintage hotels that are much more over the top-- The Plaza, Waldorf Astoria, Beverly Hills Hotel in the US. The Savoy in London- George V in Paris. All way more ornate. Always found the GB to be grand but very comfortable and the Greek embellishments give it a great sense of place.

They are solid 4 star hotels but they’re not “wildly upscale”. XV Beacon, Mandarin, Four Seasons (although it’s an older one), Ritz etc are wildly upscale. The Fairmont compares well with a Hilton, Marriott, Westin albeit with classic architecture and chandeliers. I love the hotel but it’s not a luxury property. We’re talking about averages. A Sheraton for $686 a night is not normal in most places. It’s indicative of the Boston hotel market however.

I'm in Boston twice a month for work and frankly couldn't justify it unless I have the corporate rate I have. As an example tonight the Fairmont Copley Plaza is $736 a night on their website for a standard King room including tax. This is not a 5 star hotel. The Newbury is $1049 tonight, the Westin Copley is $649, the Sheraton is $686 all in. This is a random Wednesday in September. This doesn't even take into account the truly 5 star options which are all in excess of $1200 a night tonight. Boston has an obnoxiously high priced hotel market mostly year round.

Oft asked and discussed on here-- never can predict sea conditions. You're in the middle of the Pacific in open water-- anything from smooth seas to rough can happen. Temps will be similar to LA and can be cooler in the mornings/evenings. Average temps in LA are low 70s that time of year. The day or two before arriving in Hawaii it will warm up a bit into the 80s. None of this can be predicted though-- it will be some shade of the above.

BDA Water Sports near Somerset Bridge-- not far from the Dockyard. We've used them for Boston Whaler rentals (which is fun if you want to see a bit more than you can in a kayak) but they also rent kayaks and provide suggested routes.