Traveling Library

Take the ferry to Tiburon and eat at Sam’s Anchor Cafe. 

The Acela stops only at Newark Penn. Amtrak regional stops at Amtrak Penn and Newark Airport (EWR). Both are taxi or Uber rides to Cape Liberty port. 

Boston. We can Uber to the port. We've taken the Holland America cruise to Montreal from Boston. A lovely trip. 

We went to Titanic Belfast on our own (cab was 10GBP each way). Took the audio tour and spent 5 hours there. It was overwhelming and tiring but worth every moment. This was our 2nd time in Belfast. First time we took a ships tour to sights in the city. It’s important to see the city and the history and impact of The Troubles. 

We like the Holiday Inn Express on 17th. Breakfast is usual HIE fare. Note they close the breakfast room PROMPTLY. Quick Uber ride to port. Walking distance to restaurants and liquor store. 

On 3/31/2023 at 3:42 PM, Marken said:

We stayed at the Doubletree in June.  Did the upgraded rooms with lounge access.  Basically it fed us our meals and drinks.  Food was fine.  Loved the location, walked everywhere.  Close to Central station and a short walk to cruise ship terminal.  Would absolutely stay there again.  Location (for us anyway) was perfect.

DoubleTree is also walking distance to the canal boats of which one is a hop-on-hop-off. Lots of tram lines start at Central Station. You can also walk to the science museum called NEMO. Also behind Central Station are free ferries that can take you to the film museum and the Toren Amsterdam which is the former Shell headquarters and the views from the roof are great. 

3 hours ago, mugggs said:

That would be convenient and affordable My concern originally was that when Azamara arrives in FL we are transatlantic so I’m hoping with docking and port authorities that we won’t be delayed disembarking and making a 13.30 flight to NYC.

 I appreciate your advice Thanks

Our flight out of Ft Lauderdale Airport which is 10 minutes from port was at 1:00 PM. We got off at 9AM and got to the airport in plenty of time. We had to go through customs and immigration. Line was long but it kept moving. All we needed to do was show our passports to the officer. 
I don’t have personal experience with Ft Lauderdale to Miami Airport but I think you will easily make your 1:30 flight. Safe travels 

We walked off the ship and there were shuttle drivers with minibus going to either Ft. Lauderdale Airport (which we took at $10pp cash) or Miami Airport.  We waited about 15 minutes for the minibus to fill up. I don't remember the amount to Miami Airport.

Stayed in the DoubleTree in June. Easy walk from Central Station. We took taxi to the port for 15 or 20 euro. We were upgraded (from points plus 40 euro) to executive level and the evening reception had so much food it was dinner and included a full breakfast. Hotel is an easy walk to a supermarket if you want to buy wine. We would stay here again. 

I’m not sure it is open but the Fort Zoutman history museum is small but interesting local history. 

For Park Guell have the taxi or Uber drop you off at the top of the hill. Then you can walk downhill thru the park. If you take the subway get off at Vallcarca stop. You will need to go uphill to the park but part of the trek up is via escalators. If you get off at Lesseps stop you’ll get to the main entrance and you will walk uphill in the Park. 

Our favorite venue but it's a lot of food. Skip the flatbread and take a token lettuce leaf from the salad bar. You will then (barely) have room for the entree and the COOKIE! Actually if I could have started just with the cookie I would have.

Just a heads up: Fenway, especially the Grandstand have a fair number of obstructed view seats. Make sure you check the view for EACH seat before you buy.  I cannot attest to the accuracy for each seat but there are 3D views that give you a good idea. For example search Grandstand 20 and look a the view for Row 7 Seat 1.

https://www.mlb.com/redsox/ballpark/seat-map

For reasonably priced seats look at the Right Field Roof Box which are unobstructed though can be hot in the sun. If you are willing to spend a bit more then go for the Pavillion Box. Most of these are covered and Row A seats are my favorite. No need to spring the $ for Pavillion Club. Pavillion Box are just as good and a lot less expensive.

In any case. Have fun! Go Sox!

1 hour ago, parentsof5 said:

There is a 4 o'clock game when we are in port. Ship sails at 10 pm. That seems doable, however, I am not familiar with travel time between the stadium and port. Obviously, we could miss the end of the game. Any thoughts?

By Uber from Black Falcon Terminal to Fenway Park will be 15 to 25 minutes depending on traffic. When leaving the port walk off the ship and go around the big white building (Boston Design Center). Around the opposite side you’ll see large numbers in circles. Call you Uber for pick up at 23 or 25 Dry Dock Ave. The road is still 2 way so the driver can avoid the chaos at the pier. 
You can get to Fenway by public transit called The T but it will take 45 minutes to an hour. 
Go Sox!

3 hours ago, MattInFLL said:

Note - not looking for food reviews or service decline comments 🙂. This is about the “process” of cruising and how things work.

 

In 2018 I moved to a city that really had no RCI cruise options, and then there was that pandemic thing.  But now I am moving back to FL and doing a big birthday on a 3 day Freedom in June.  I’ve done 54 cruises so I know my way around, but just wondering if there have been any changes in certain areas.

 

First - Freedom itself - it’s been revitalized - what does that mean?  I was last on her in 2014.

 

2. Embarkation - last I cruised, they were trying hard to go to streamlined e-check in - have they succeeded?  Or still the long line ups? (Leaving out of Miami).  And can you still generally get on the ship before noon if you get to the terminal early?

 

3.  If I can ask without starting a fight - what’s the deal with lounge access now, or is it all about drink coupons on your seapass?  (I am D+ and I get the Deluxe drink package anyway, so not a big deal - but I always liked the lounge).

 

4. Speaking of a seapass - are we still being issued cards?  Or have they gone to bands or something else?  Maybe the onboard app has become more useful?

 

5. On these 3 day cruises, are they still doing an outdoor deck party at least one night?

 

6. Coco Cay Beach Club Day Pass - any thoughts on it?  (What they are charging for cabana’s is absolutely insane.)

 

7. Where has the continual formal night argument ended up?  I am going to assume it remains - dress up if you want to, but they’re not really turning anyone away from the restaurant (unless it’s a bikini or speedo and nothing else, I suppose).  (And let’s not argue about it here if we can avoid it - just wondering the state of things).

 

8.  What is the night life centered around now?  I remember that most of the Voyager and Freedom class were losing their nightclubs (the Crypt?) during refurbs, and switching to other venues?

 

9. What are the late night eating options these days?  Still just Sorrento’s and the little sandwich place on the Promenade?

 

10. Do they still print a daily cruise planner - or has it gone completely digital?

 

Thanks for indulging me!

 

 

 

 

These are our recent experiences on the Enchantment and the Vision. 
 

Embarkation: when you check in you are offered time slots in 1/2 hour increments. I think the earliest is 11AM. In Baltimore and Ft Lauderdale they had separate lines for each time slot. If you came too early (say you arrived at 11AM but your time slot was 12:30 you had to wait in line). Don’t know what happens in Miami. 
Lounge: D+ gets 5 drinks per day on the card which can be used anywhere including the Diamond Lounge. Lounge has continental breakfast and pre dinner treats. The coffee machine is open breakfast to 8 PM. 
Sea Pass: still a physical card

Formal nights are now called “Dress to Impress”. Most people slightly amped up their wardrobe. A handful of Tuxes and 1 kilt.

Daily Compass. Print available but using the Royal app was just as handy. 
 

Have fun!

3 minutes ago, Bellacruz54 said:

Hi, It is showing in my Harmony cruise also, but I am confused if you are clicking one name on the reservation because it is called a “ package” and mentions you can bring a guest- or if you are choosing both names generating a double charge?  

I booked just under my name. I expect to be able to log into 2 devices using my ID. 

In Geiranger the dock unfolds like a folding yardstick. If you are the first ship in you may be able to watch it unfold. Very interesting to see.

Was there in late February. Walked on the road and sat for a bit. One person approached us. We said "no thank you" and that was that.  We didn't show any interest in any of the stores or their wares. The vendors showed no interest in us.

Walk around downtown Alesund. They had a fire in the late 1800’s and rebuilt the city in Art Nouveau style. There also is a small Art Nouveau museum which is worth a visit. 

Pre pandemic There were tons of taxis and shared shuttles at the port. We just got off and when we left the terminal we hopped into a shared shuttle. We didn’t book anything ahead of time. 

On Monday we left the port terminal and there was a shared minibus looking for passengers to the airport. At $11 per person it was cheaper than Uber. 

Your latest option includes Flam which I loved. Make sure you take the train trip (you can book the tickets yourself). Oslo has a wonderful Resistance Museum and Stavanger has pretty white houses and you can take a small boat trip to either just see Pulpit Rock or hike Pulpit Rock or just walk around the port. Kristiansand has a busy pedestrian street.

Either cruise will have beautiful fjords.  IMHO either cruise would be lovely but I'd vote for the one with Flam.

Hello Barb! We did the Boston/Maritime Canada/Iceland/Greenland trip on HAL this past August.  It was AMAZING. Greenland and Iceland are truly mis-named (some Norseman was quite the salesman!). Greenland is icy (so dry that our hands started to get winter chapped) with little vegetation (mainly moss and lichen) and lots of icebergs. Iceland is green with arable land and of course geysers.  If you plan to spend anytime in Boston do let me know. If we are home (and we are doing our best to make up for no travel for 2 years so we aren't home too much) I'd be happy to come into the city and give you Lois' tour of Boston. 

Best wishes for the holiday season!

Lois

Elite. the 1 wash/dry/fold bag is limited to 30 pieces. 

In Feb 2020 we stayed at the Santiago airport Holiday Inn for 1 night (nice hotel for just 1 night). We then walked to the terminal to get the ship transfer to San Antonio. There were men outside of the terminal who kept trying to take our suitcase and telling us that the bus had already left or that it would get to the port too late so we needed to take their taxi/transport.  It's a scam! Hold onto your suitcase, say "no thank you" and go directly into the terminal to meet up with the ship transfer people. Sadly, we met a couple on our ship who was taken in by the scam and had to pay $200 cash when they arrived in San Antonio.  Not the way anyone should start their vacation.