princeton123211

It's gotten ridiculous- they say 21 days in advance but maybe 5 tables get put out then and are snapped up in six seconds. If you don't know anyone there or know a top concierge at a top hotel it's a futile effort. I always didn't say anything about 4 Charles but wanted to at least qualify what I was saying about the others. It's sort of like the Polo Bar-- its more about who you know.

Touristy. They all are a little touristy but Old Homestead is a bit more than others and its a long trip downtown if you are staying in Midtown. Locals will go to Keens, Bobby Vans, Sparks (although I think Sparks has gone way downhill). The best steakhouse in NYC right now, by a longshot, is 4 Charles Prime Rib but a reservation there is basically impossible unless you know someone well placed there.

The other pro is that you can also easily call a taxi to weird places if you are a bit off the beaten path. We'll always try and find a taxi rank at a hotel or in town but sometimes we head to places where taxis are less frequent or nonexistant and Hitch is very useful for that. As well as what you say- peace of mind.

There are busses and ferries-- if going to Hamilton or St Georges the ferries are the way to go. Busses are slower and eat up a lot more time. Taxis are of course more expensive but they save a lot of time and can be very useful with limited time on the island.

Keen's Steakhouse is my fave and a New York classic.

Nope-- it's usually heavily inflated to attract a driver ahead of time. And then they inevitably cancel last minute and you end up with the same person you would have if you just hit the button in real time and you are still paying more than you would have otherwise.

Do not prebook Uber- it is always much more expensive than just calling for the car when you need it. Sometimes it can be over 50% more expensive.

Just as hassle free as anyone else dropping you off there. No restrictions-- they just pull up and you hop out and hand over your bags. Its way easier than Manhattan given that you are in your own little industrial area unlike being in the middle of a major city. I just walk a bit down towards where the parking garage is and usually find them there. I would ride share especially if you think it will save some money.

For me it was more about the morning-- I'm not going to head down to the pier until noonish. Wake up in a nice place, nice breakfast, walk around the grounds a bit. Also keep in mind that 13 Coins is only open til 2am on Friday and Saturday-- otherwise closes at 11pm.

There are ways around it (not with Blue Flag tours) but you can hire the taxi through an app like Hitch (which is basically local Bermudian Uber). You pay by credit card in the app (nothing exchanged directly with the driver) although there is a premium built into the taxi fare. It's very good when you're going places that taxis will not be lined up around or if you just don't want to carry that much cash.

Its Kahului. If you were going to do a volcano on one island then I would highly recommend the Hana Road on Maui. Either that or take a day and go to one of Maui's amazing beaches.

I'm sure its a training and procedure thing and it's just not worth going through all of it for the one time the ship can participate. Keep in mind this is not a service provided by Princess but by the Port of Seattle.

You can choose the size and quality of the car on the app and they are available at different prices. For example UberX are standard cars that are best compared to taxis. UberXL are the same thing but an SUV that can seat more people and luggage. UberBlack are at a black car level comparable to a limo service and cost more. Uber at SEA is on an upper level of the parking garage in a specified space. When your car pulls into the area the app will tell you what parking spot they are in and you go meet your driver. Very easy.

Not much later-- most of the locals places in Lahaina that were truly open late burned. I don't think most folks get how early things close in general in Hawaii with the exception of Honolulu.

Uber doesn't pick up directly at the pier-- you need to walk a bit so that sounds like it wouldn't work. The traditional taxi queue thats at the pier can have a very long wait sometimes. The car service will be more expensive than either of those options but it will take the guess work out of it for you and your mom.

Your stay at the airport will most likely be less expensive than downtown. I would look at a place by SeaTac called Cedarbrook Lodge-- it defies all expectations of an airport hotel and would be a very pleasant place to be for a leisurely morning before ubering down to the pier downtown.

If you need to be sure I would just arrange a car service.

Carmel and Dial7 are all the same driver/car pool as UberBlack. Literally the same. I wouldn't rule Uber out if it were less expensive than the other options because you are receiving the same service.

Which one is it if you don't mind me asking? At that $900 a night range it's quite possible you could jump up a category for the same amount of money if you can find a deal. While some of NYC's top hotels like the St Regis, both Ritz's, Mandarin Oriental, Carlyle, etc regularly go for $1200-1500 a night every once and a while you can find something in the $900s.

The advance booking feature is horrible-- it's always universally almost 2x what you will usually pay just hitting the button for the car when you need it.

If you are able to walk easily you can cover most everything the buses do and in more depth by just following the Freedom Train and it's obviously free. The Hoho busses never made sense to me in Boston given how small and walkable the city is.

Typically no-- I usually pay $55-70 from SeaTac to downtown but usually not at a busy time for an UberX. When you priced that out were you using the book in advance feature? That will usually price out WAY higher than you will pay if you just request the car when you get there. A Saturday should not be peak pricing. I would plan on Uber being less and then pivot to a flat rate cab if for some reason it is high. Also always check Lyft as well-- sometimes they try and undercut each other at random times and you can benefit by it.

Most likely for the best. Even if the train got me in at 10am I would be comfortable with that but 12:45 (assuming it's on time) would be way too close.

Agree with horseman-- New York, in the areas that you would want to stay based on what you said, is never inexpensive, but this time of year will be more expensive than usual. Baseline decent hotels in Midtown are going to be more like $500+. If you have hotel or credit card points this would be a very, very good time to use them and you are far enough out right now that you might see some decent availability.

Personally I would feel ok about 11:40. Budgeting an hour between the cruise port and airport is correct to do but the reality is it's more like 40 minutes when you get going if there isn't any traffic. For the 11:40 I would make sure to self disembark first thing and carry off my luggage and just jump in an Uber. For the 12:30 you can do a traditional disembarkation or even use cruise ship transport if you wanted to.