princeton123211

Yes-- usually the ship's gangway is open 24 hours on an overnight stop. Obviously check the morning of each stop but for the most part you'll find you can come and go as you please any time of day or night.

Good suggestion-- really works at any 4 or 5 star hotel if you are going to patronize them in some way (lunch, dinner, or even drinks). Just say you are going to the restaurant and tip well. Usually totally fine-- same as checking your coat at a restaurant. I've done this at the Fairmont for drinks at The Tonga Room ahead of heading to SFO and they were happy to do it.

They know and unfortunately they don't really care. The big three just trade prisoners these days who have no choice in who they fly for the most part. Given the tight turn I would set it up with Carmel or Dial7-- you don't need anything fancy, just something to physically be there when you get off the ship waiting for you (as opposed you waiting for them). I would have Uber and Lyft downloaded and ready to go in the instance that they don't show or are late. You don't have much margin to waste time.

Their properties fluctuate a lot. I have some business there from time to time so have a bit of experience with it. The rates in the middle of their season, namely when Hershey Park is operating, are insane-- $500-800 a night at the Hotel Hershey and not much better at the Hershey Lodge (which I agree with you is not fantastic value for $ but is less expensive than the Hotel Hershey). That being said Hotel Hershey can be had for the low $200s on nights out of the season and it is a tremendous value when you can get it for that-- a true 4 star hotel, great restaurants, nice indoor pool, and not very far off the highway. But that was an example-- the real point of my response is that Hershey itself is not far out of the way on that drive (if you take 76) and there are a ton of nice options ranging from Hotel Hershey at the top end down to some newer build Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, etc for more of a budget. There is also a significant range of restaurants and it is much more upscale than most exits you'll find along that drive.

That would be my thought as well-- 9:29 will be tough but 10:10 is possibly doable. I wouldn't necessarily rely on a local taxi with the tight squeeze you have. I would set up a car service that will be there and waiting so you can depart as soon as you leave the ship.

Ships got a lot bigger in the ensuing years. Even "small ships" of the major cruise lines right now are considerably larger than anything that was calling at Philadelphia in the past.

I just don't know why we're assuming a strict downmarket hotel budget on a ship where suites can go up to $4-5000 a person for a week.

I agree with going the night before but if I had to go the same day the train would be the only way I'd feel comfortable doing it. Very rarely is there a major delay on the Northeast Corridor and you wont hit anything like traffic like you will with a car or a bus.

My personal way of attacking this trip would be to try and wake up early in Detroit and take 76 across to Hershey, Pa. There are some great spots to stay there not too far off the highway ranging from the very posh Hotel Hershey, more reasonably priced Hershey Lodge, and a whole host of newer more budget friendly spots like Hilton Garden Inn etc. There's also a whole bunch of good dining packed into a relatively small resort area. Then the next day you are a relatively leisurely 2.5 hours to the port.

Your budget is at odds with your requirements in SF. The St Regis, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton all vigorously enforce their non smoking policies...for $700/800 a night. You could even find a solid 4 star hotel in the $300-400 range right in downtown or near the port-- the Fairmont (short Uber) and Argonaut are favorites. But for under $200 you aren't going to have many good options.

I've done the drive to Detroit a handful of times and frequently drive between Philly and Pittsburgh so have a little insight. You can take the slightly faster northern route on 80 and I agree with NJHorseman-- if you can make it all the way to Stroudsburg it puts you in a decent spot but its a long 8 hour drive from the D. You can also take the slightly longer southern route on 76, the PA Turnpike which gives some more interesting options. Some decent spots to stop there are Bedford (there is the Omni Bedford Springs Hotel which is very nice and family friendly, but also some more budget friendly options as well). That would be about 6 hours from Detroit and then 4 hours to Cape Liberty-- the shortest first day drive I would be comfortable with. The next option is stop in Harrisburg or Hershey-- plenty of great hotel options that run the gamut and 7.5 hours from Detroit and 2h 45m from Cape Liberty. If you pushed it the first day you could get to Allentown which is a little over 8 hours from Detroit and then only an hour and a half from Cape Liberty. That might be a big first day. The issue with that is Morristown/Parsippany is a 9 hour drive from Detroit-- that might be a bit more than a lot of people can handle.

It's nearly identical to other services like ZipCar and is owned by Toyota (and features Toyota and Lexus models). The upside here is that it is ideal for shorter trips where you rent by the hour. These services become more expensive than a traditional car rental for day long or and much more expensive for multi-day reservations. Whether it makes sense or not will depend on how you plan to use it.

Unless you want to spend time in Lahaina afterwards in which case I would say its much better to just rip the bandaid off and take an Uber from Kahului rather than try and get another Uber from Ma'alaea which takes more time and is more difficult. There's a lot more to do and see and do (and eat) in Lahaina after a 10am whale watch in Lahaina than Ma'alaea. If it's the OP's first time to Maui they should take that into consideration.

It works very well but you have a daily set limit on data at normal speeds. Once you go through this they slow down the data considerably, to the point that a normal webpage in a browser takes a bit, until the next 24 hours kicks in. You won't be able to stream much-- you'll really need to connect to wifi to do that unless its something short.

Click the button when you have your luggage. My experience at LAX is that they come very quickly. This gives you more flexibility in case your flight is early or late. There is no major advantage do booking early from a place that has as many available cars as a busy place like LAX does. Yes, any "black car" registered with the state as a livery or limo will be able to pick you up curbside on both Uber or Lyft. Uber as an additional level of service in LA called UberLux-- frankly this is overkill unless you want to be guaranteed to be in a nicer car which are typically a newer Mercedes S Class and occasionally something more exotic like a Bentley or Rolls Royce-- didn't want you to think that was the only option. Its significantly more expensive than UberBlack-- just book Black and get the curbside pickup.

You have to be careful with the satellite rental offices these days-- a lot have limited hours, limited selection of cars, and sometimes are closed on the weekends.

For Pearl Harbor just get two of them. They will also have traditional cabs in front of most major hotels. But coming back from Pearl Uber/Lyft will get you a ride faster. That's another half hour each way in the other direction of the pineapple plantation. If you did one or both of those things you'll be best off renting a car. I don't do many luaus (mainly just on Maui when we have family visiting) so I cant speak specifically to Oahu ones but there are a bunch that are in Honolulu proper and that would be my recommendation to make sure you get the most out of your short time there and not just spend the whole time in the car.

I mean you could do all that but you have a lot on your plate. Where did you book the luau? That might help us in terms of figuring out order. Also the area where you are staying might be helpful. Diamond Head you will need a reservation to go to so make sure you do that. The hike takes between 1.5-2 hours round trip (assuming you go right up and right down). You can make a day of Pearl Harbor and visit the USS Missouri/Bowfin and assorted museums or you can do the essentials like the USS Arizona Memorial. If you've toured one of the other Iowa Class battleships before you can skip the Missouri and save time. Reservations are essential for the USS Arizona Memorial as the boats that take you there are Navy run. You'll get a timed entry time. Frankly I would skip the pineapple plantation unless you really are passionate about pineapples. It's very touristy and consists mainly of a miniature train and some gardens. The plantation is about a 45 minute ride out of Honolulu (without traffic) each way. You would most likely just have to rent a car for this. In terms of transfers we just use Uber or Lyft in Honolulu like you would in any major city-- super easy and generally cost effective to alternatives. Renting a car can get pricey as parking, especially in Waikiki, is very expensive and there is a ton of traffic. You're not missing anything but I fear you are trying to do too much in a short period of time. There's also a bunch of great dining in Honolulu you should check out to see if anything is of interest (luau's are not generally known for their food quality). But just take some time to just relax, sit on the beach, grab a Mai Tai, and embrace the aloha spirit!