Traveling Library

On 9/14/2024 at 12:36 PM, Willwils said:

For a 10/11/24 Celebrity repositioning cruise from Boston we're booked at the Element hotel(next door to The Loft) very very close to the Boston cruise port. At the time it was only $348/1 night w/breakfast including tax & fees. Wanted to take Amtrak from Philly, but learned they don't take luggage on Boston bound trains(it's nuts)! So instead of a plane(Frontier times are terrible), plan on renting a car and driving day B4. Have you ever experienced that? 

We’ve taken Amtrak to/from Boston and NJ on both Acela and Regional trains and have always had room to put our luggage on the train. Enjoy the ride it’s beautiful! When you get to Boston South Station you can take the SilverLine (bus) to the port (DryDock Ave). 

My favorite restaurant at the edge of the Seaport District (actually on the Ft. Point Channel) is The Barking Crab. Very casual. Seafood is expensive just to warn you. Also at the Ft. Point Channel and also at the Boston Design Center (big white building just in front of the Flynn Cruise Terminal) is a yummy bakery (also has sandwiches) called Flour.  

On 8/7/2024 at 9:21 AM, Gramontherun6 said:

Arriving on a sunday around 3 and cruising on monday     hotel in seaport area.  will it work to drop off luggage at hotel and then spend the evening trying to see some of the sights in boston?  Arriving back in port on a Friday early am and not leaving for home until  1:30 from South station.(Amtrak)  Concerns regarding luggage drop if we were to try to see a little more before we leave.  from what i have read there is a drop at a convenience store at south station but that seems iffy to me.  also a drop on the fifth floor south station at Grayhound.  (sounds a bit more secure?)  anybody have experience with doing something similar? Thanks! We havent been to boston in years and would like to take advantage of the two little blocks of time we will have before and after the cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe the luggage storage at South Station is thru Bounce. We used Bounce in Sydney, Australia. Luggage was kept in a restaurant. We felt it was safe however we carried our valuables and passport with us. When you give them the luggage take a photo of it in front of the person taking it. 

When you get off the ship you will be facing a large white building (Boston Design Center). Walk around to the other side of the BDC to either 23 or 25 DryDock Ave. Request your Uber from there. DryDock Ave is still 2 way at those points so your driver can bang-a-uey (make a u-turn) and avoid the chaos at the port on Black Falcon Way which is one way and very busy with buses, the HoHo, and pedestrians.

We walked around to see all of the Art Nouveau buildings. The Art Nouveau Center and Art Museum which is housed in an old bank building is well worth a visit. 

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

We’ll be returning to Boston in October at the end of a cruise, and need to get to Amtrak at South Station.  If we decide to take an Uber, would you suggest we do the same then, or is your recommendation specific to what’s going on now (and/or related to getting to Logan)?  Thanks! 

For any Uber pick up at the port go to DryDock Ave you want to avoid the chaos at the terminal. You also go to DryDock Ave to get the SilverLine bus to South Station. Note to get the bus you’ll want to walk left when you exit the terminal all the way to the main entrance of the Boston Design Center. From the main entrance walk straight to DryDock Ave and turn left. The stop for the bus is just past the driveway. This bus can get crowded and I don’t remember any luggage racks. For convenience I’d Uber. For frugality I’d take the Silver Line. See mbta.com for Silver Line schedule. 

2 hours ago, shiner6 said:

Has anyone taken the Silver Line1 bus from the airport to Seaport?

You will take the Silverline 1 to SilverLine Way (a bus stop) where you can either walk .8 of a mile to port or change to Silver Line 2 to DryDock Ave at Black Falcon Terminal. The SL1 will have a place to put your luggage. Not so sure about SL2 bus. See mbta.com to plan your trip. 

Take an Uber. Ted Williams Tunnel is open and the Sumner Tunnel will reopen Aug 5th. The Sumner runs INTO the city from the Airport. The Ted is 2-way and since all inbound traffic is being routed thru the Ted things have been backing up from the airport.  That being said your hotel is a hop-skip-and-jump to the port and you can get to the port via surface roads. 

Before you arrive call your hotel to see if the Water Ferry from Logan to Long Wharf makes sense for where you are staying. It's mainly for commuters so the schedule may not fit your arrival.  You will need to get on the 66 bus at the airport to get to the ferry terminal at Logan but the fery ride is nice and you avoid the road traffic.

https://www.mbta.com/schedules/Boat-F1/timetable?schedule_direction[direction_id]=1#direction-filter

If you are returning to Boston at the end of your cruise get off the ship and walk around the large white building (Boston Design Center) to 23 or 25 DryDock Ave and call for your Uber from there. DryDock Ave is still 2-way so the driver can bang-a-uey (make a u-turn) and avoid the chaos at the port.

1 hour ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for the tip. I will check out the library. This is great as i didn’t clue in i can get from my lodging near hynes convention centre to copley square at copley along with parker street. I think i can walk from oasis guest house to the museums. I will check out the app so i can decide if i need a tour or not. As long as you can’t get lost.

Nice guesthouse location. Yes, you can safely walk to the MFA and to the BPL. You will also be near the Summer Shack which has nice seafood. Also you are near the Mary Baker Eddy Museum and Mapparium (on the first floor of the MBE Museum) and the Mother Church. If it’s hot out go to the Sheraton Hotel and from there you can walk all the way inside thru the Prudential Mall (there is a food court here) to Dartmouth Street. When you reach Dartmouth turn left and walk down a slight hill to Copley Square and the entrance to the McKim building of the BPL. 

18 hours ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

Slightly off topic, we will be arriving in Boston with our rental car and the plan was to drop me plus luggage at the cruise terminal. If we could drop off luggage and weather is nice I will join hubby and we will walk back from Atlantic Avenue after returning rental car.

Based on above should we program 23/25 DryDock Ave instead of Black Falcon.

Prefer as little stress as possible pre cruise and don’t want to be late returning hire car.

thanks

Black Falcon Ave is one way. He can drop you and the luggage off there though I'm not sure there is a whole lot of room to wait for you to return. Black Falcon Ave is more like a very wide alleyway (though it's paved). He may want to drop you and the luggage off using Black Falcon Ave and then he can drive to the front of the big white building (Boston Design Center) and wait for you in one of the parking lots on the front side of the building.  There is lots of parking there because there are businesses in the Boston Design Center (if you need a snack Flour Bakery has a location in the building. Yummy baked goods).  From the parking lot where he is waiting you can drive from DryDock Ave to where you are dropping off the car and walk back or Uber back to the port. 

19 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks, what i’m thinking of doing is do a walking tour from 10-12. It ends in copley square and i could eat lunch then uber to the museums. I realize its a lot but with boston hotel prices the way they are i may never get to boston again. I actually have problems with foot pain so definitely spending 5 hours on the freedom trail is not advisable. I will try and read about the museum of fine arts in advance so i know what i want to see there. Any suggestions of must sees there other than monets appreciated! Also any dining suggestins at copley square!

The Boston Public Library has a cafeteria in the Johnson Building which is very nice and reasonably priced.  While at the BPL you can see the art which is in the McKim Building which is attached via a lovely courtyard. See my other post about the art at the BPL. They also have a FAB map room if you are interested in maps.

19 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Wow! Just looking at museum of fine arts website. It looks huge! I see what you mean. Actually i had an idea. I could go to museums first then if i left at 4:30 i could see some of the freedom trail until it gets dark at 6:15. I’ll think about it. 

For a bit more art stop at the Boston Public Library (BPL). Go to the McKim Building (entrance is on Copley Square) and visit the Bates Reading Room, and the art in the Abbey Room and the Sargent Murals. The library offers 1 hour tours (https://www.bpl.org/art-tours/#tours) or you can see these on your own.  Well worth a visit and another unique Boston attraction. The BPL is on the same trolley line as the MFA and Gardner (Green Line E) so it's easy to get to via public transportation.  You could also get on the Trolley (called "The T") and take the Green Line from the MFA/Gardner or BPL to Park Street Station. That's where the Freedom Trail begins. No matter what you do, have fun! Boston is a great city.

On 7/18/2024 at 9:40 PM, latebuyer said:

Do you think if i got going at 8:30am i could do freedom train in morning and museum of fine arts and isabella gardner museum in afternoon? They are only open to 5 the days i'm going.

I’d only do the Gardner and the MFA.  They are near each other on Huntington Ave. Freedom Trail is downtown and not near the MFA and Gardner. 

15 hours ago, Cathygh said:

I am trying to book the trolley tour. My ship does not arrive until 11am and when try to book I am asked which time I want. The buses go every half hour from stop no 1, and the port is no 16. I don't really know which time to pick and I can't get any sense from the live chat on the site. Can any one advise me please?

I just did a pretend booking with Old Town Trolley Boston and all they wanted was the day. If you need to pick a time I’d say noon. Note you may only have time to ride the loop with one or two stops to hop off/on (looks like trolley ends at 4 or 5). Did you have something specific you wanted to see?

Sumner Tunnel is closed until Aug 5th. It runs FROM Logan Airport into the city. The tunnel you’ll take from the port TO Logan is the Ted Williams. When you get off the ship walk around the large white building (Boston Design Center) to 23 or 25 Dockyard Ave. From 23 or 25 call for your Uber. At that point DryDock Ave is 2 way so your Uber driver can “bang a uey” make a uturn and avoid the chaos at the pier. 

On 6/19/2024 at 6:18 PM, mort&fran said:

 

Should we arrange to have Uber (or Lyft???) pick us up on DryDock Ave, not Black Falcon Ave?

Pick up at 23 or 25 DryDock Ave. It is still 2-way there so the Uber or Lyft driver can make a u-turn. Black Falcon Ave is one way and it is chaos with everyone waiting for the cruise shuttle bus, tour buses, and other ride shares. If you can walk around the big white building do so. 

To avoid the chaos at the pier when you arrive in Boston and walk off the ship you'll be facing a large white building (Boston Design Center). Walk around the building to 23 or 25 Drydock Ave and request your Uber from there. DryDock Ave is 2 way at those points so the driver can make a U-turn (bang a uey in Boston-speak) and avoid the 1 way traffic nonsense at the Black Falcon Terminal.

We renewed our passports in mid-March. Paid the extra expediting fee. Received our new passports in 2 weeks. 

29 minutes ago, dreams_of_travel said:

Is there an easy way to get downtown that doesn't involve a ship excursion?  I've looked on the maps, and the only public transport I see is a bus that may connect with the T. I suppose a taxi would do just fine. 

When you get off the ship and walk around the big white building (Boston Design Center) and either take the bus (Silver Line) to South Station. From South Station you can change to the Red Line (subway) to Park Street where the Freedom Trail starts or stay on to Harvard (best view of Boston and Cambridge) when the trolly goes over the Charles River. Or get off at Park Street and walk thru Boston Common to see The Embrace and on to the Public Garden to the Swan Boats, Cheers, and the Mark Way For Ducklings statutes. If you want to Uber walk around the Boston Design Center to DryDock Ave. look for street numbers 23 or 25 and call the Uber from there. DryDock Ave is two way so the Uber can make a U-turn and avoid the chaos at the port. From the port you can easily walk to the Harpoon Brewery if you want an adult libation. 

Be prepared, if you take a taxi they will want to be paid in cash even if they have credit card machines. In Nov 2023 we paid a flat $20 from port to airport. This is a very busy port and airport. Yes, the airport is close but a 9:30 flight would be just too close for my comfort.

3 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

We're doing Jewels of the North and Golden Circle. I'm going to get maybe $50 of ISK to use for small things, based on this thread.

We've been to Iceland several times. All on cruises and all with tours both ship sponsored and private. We never exchanged any money into ISK. All purchases (including a bottle of soda at the Blue Lagoon) were paid by credit card. We never saw anyone pay in cash and finally we asked a tour guide to show us what ISK looked like. After searching in his wallet he found one sad looking bill to show us. He said he made all transactions by debit or credit card. Tips are not expected though they are appreciated. Bring small USD or Euro bills and you'll be fine.

On 1/18/2024 at 1:37 PM, alserrod said:

>> Tickets are purchased on the Renfe website. It has an English version (and in French in case anyone needs it)
https://www.renfe.com/es/en
I recommend creating a username and password to purchase. You can later download the mobile application (or you can buy directly from there). With the username and password you can see the tickets.

A large THANK YOU to Alserrod for all of the detail about Renfe.  Somewhere I read that the Renfe site is quirky.  It sure is! After multiple tries on multiple devices (laptop, phone, and finally iPad tablet - the device that worked) and multiple calls to the bank to ensure no "fraudulent" purchase hold was on my credit card, I was able to buy two Premium Seats from Madrid to Barcelona.  

Here are my questions:

1. My husband uses a cane. Is there anyone at the station who can help us bring the luggage to the train and put it on the train for us? In the US this is called Red Cap service.

2. I booked seats 1B and 1C in the 2nd carriage. Does it have a window or should we move to 2B and 2C?  Is there luggage storage at our end of the carriage (not just over the seat where I know we cannot lift our suitcases)?

Cheers!

When I fly out of Boston I park at Preflight Boston in Chelsea. You could park for a week and then either Uber directly to the port or take their shuttle to the airport and take the SilverLine (a bus) to South Station changing to another SilverLine bus to the port or Uber from the airport to the port. I’ve used Preflight for years. The site is secure. You need to make a reservation you cannot just roll up to their gate. 

This November we took 2 different taxi rides in Ft Lauderdale. For both the cabbie insisted on being paid in cash after we arrived. Before we got into the taxi I asked if they accepted credit cards. Luckily we had cash but I’ll only do Uber in FFL from now on. 

Agree with Wolfie11 about the tram ticket. We've cruised to Juneau 4 times and it was only the 4th time that Mt. Roberts was not covered in fog or rain or both. If clear do go. The views are lovely. The glacier is also nice. We bought our bus tickets to the glacier from a kiosk at the pier. Also the Juneau Public Library is at the pier on the top floor and has free WiFi (I make a small donation to the Friends if you to thank them).