SnowshoeCat

Try the Parking Spot. We have used them in the past.I believe they are on Haynes Ave. They are very reasonably priced and have a shuttle to/from the airport. You can make a reservation online and there are usually discount codes too.

 

 

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We used The Parking Spot last time we flew out of Newark. There are three locations and I'm not sure which one we used (I'll check, if you want). It was a holiday, so I took whatever was available. I plan to use them on my next trip. We left the car at their lot (they parked it) and it was a short drive to the airport. They took us right to the terminal, not the Airtrain. Coming back, we telephoned from baggage claim. Have your ticket stub handy because they need the reservation/confirmation/stub number. While someone comes to pick you up (at the terminal) someone else gets your car. So when you arrive back at their lot, your car is waiting for you. They have coffee and water, and we were very pleased with the service.

deleted to (maybe) start new thread

Well, I did get my deposit back by invoking the 24 hour rule that the airlines abide by (cruise lines aren't held to it, apparently, but I tried to be nice). I went back to do a mock booking and the "reduced deposit" clause was still hard to find - and I was looking for it.

Anyway, I now have a refundable deposit on the Sun. I think I'll eventually end up cancelling. Some other things might be happening in September, but I'll look into Seabourn. A friend offered (threatened?) to join me, so that would certainly help with costs. It's been an interesting hunt, and I appreciate the opinions.

I'm off to Spain in a few hours and must finish packing!

ETA: The Seabourn itinerary looks interesting - different! I like that. I little pricey, but still worth considering at a future time.

Well that was fun. I just called to switch from HAL to NCL. It turns out the deposit I paid this morning is non-refundable, part of their "reduced deposit" promotion. I did read the terms and conditions, I just didn't realize $175 was a reduced deposit. Even the third party agent I just spoke to said there are lots of sales right now and then she implied that the wording or implementation of the sales has been a little sneaky. She was very careful with her wording.

Oh well, I'll let it rest for a bit and decide later on what I want to do. I can't do anything about it now.

SuiteTraveler - Did you leave from Seattle? I was hoping that leaving from Vancouver and through the Inside Passage wouldn't be too rough. And yes, both ships go to Glacier Bay.

I put a deposit down on the Zaandam this morning. But now here's an interesting wrinkle: I looked at how many ships would be in port on each day, and the Zaandam is going to have lots of company. The Sun is in port on quieter days, with just one or two other ships in port. I didn't examine the size of the ships, but it does seem that 5 ships would make for a crowded port.

Thanks for your input.

Please, no SUN. Was on it in AK when celebrity was sold out. Older,very marginal ship with few ammenities, things to do Food marginal too.

When were you on it? It was refurbished a year or two ago. I was on the Sun about 10 years ago and thought it was just "okay". I was hoping the Alaska scenery would make up for that.

Yes, it's another "which ship should I choose?" thread :D

I'm looking at a September sailing, roundtrip out of Vancouver. The two ships I'm considering are HAL Zaandam and NCL Sun. They both have the same itinerary (Inside Passage, Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Glacier NP - not necessarily in that order). HAL is a Sunday-Sunday sailing, NCL is Monday-Monday. The fares are about the same, although I can get some OBC on NCL.

Any thoughts and opinions are welcome. I guess the big differences would be the on-board atmosphere, dining options, spa/gym facilities, and any other insight you can offer.

I have not personally seen people being denied boarding on a cruise ship, but have several times seen people being turned away from check-in at airports because of lack of acceptable ID -

 

Once at LGA I heard a couple desperately (and unsuccessfully) pleading with the desk agent because they were flying to Miami for a cruise --- maybe they were able to get home, find ID, get back to airport, get a flight, and still make their cruise - but I would not bet on it.

Then they wouldn't have had ID for the cruise, either, would they?

Not exactly sure, just looking at googlemaps it looks like the Greenway is a biking/pedestrian trail that goes from the Ferry terminal to the piers.

Yeah - I amended my post. There's a big wide sidewalk along the river. I guess that's the Greenway. It's a pretty and easy walk.

delete - I didn't realize it was named the Greenway.

Um, let's go back over 25 years to our very first cruise in an ocean view.

We were not in port, we were out to sea. DH and I took a shower and exited the bathroom. We were still out to sea, and nothing was out there but the window washers on scaffolding!! :eek:

 

Dh and I still laugh about that to this day.

I came out of the shower and found the pilot boat bobbing outside my window :D

I returned a day early from a trip to be with my cat (had to pay an airline change fee!), so many of us will understand. I wish your little guy the best (and your brother, too ;) )

I'm wondering if maybe part of the problem was the OP went ahead and bought the tickets to Ketchikan prior to getting through to the cruise rep? This might make it sound suspicious to the cruise line.

Did the other people buy their plane tickets through the cruise line? (I may have missed that - it's kind of hard to follow)

Several years ago I was riding in the jumpseat of a DC-9. The seat is in the doorway of the cockpit, and right by my shoulder was the little metal plaque with the manufacturing information. The plane and I were the same age.

I like the 767 for long flights. As a solo traveler, it's nice having just the two seats on the outside. If I'm at the window, I'm not too closed in, and on the aisle, only one person needs to climb over me.

toberman - I'm not on the boards like I used to be, so this is the first I heard. I'm very sorry to hear of your wife's passing and I hope you're coping okay. Sending wishes across the lake :)

The AirTrain is outside security, but I do remember a shuttle bus that stayed air side. It went between C and one (or both) of the others. I'm not sure which.

ETA: I just checked the map. There is a bus between C, by gate 73 and A2.

As someone else said.. "Good Catch". The transition altitude in NA is indeed 18000 ft. Below that is altitudes, at or above - flight levels.

Unless the controller is lazy (happens), the correct phraseology is.. climb/descent to twelve-12 thousand - not 120 or level 120 or flight level 120.

 

To expand on this further:

In the USA, the correct phraseology, for the controller, is "climb/descend and maintain 1-2- thousand". "Twelve thousand" can be used as emphasis: "Climb/descend and maintain 1-2-thousand, twelve thousand". Pilots can - and do - read it back any way they want.

I wanted to chime in earlier when you were discussing call signs, but as an air traffic controller, I didn't think you'd want me to play ;)

ETA: I meant to mention: last time I was on Norwegian Air's website, they used the term "direct" when they meant "non-stop". Drove me nuts. I was looking to see where the intermediate stop was.

Sorry to answer a question with other questions, but does it have to be only those two choices? Are you just looking for a beach? Driving to the Hamptons on a Friday night or Saturday morning will take forever. I'm not sure what the public beach access is like there, but at least there are villages to visit. Another option, if you're just looking for an ocean beach, would be to check out Jones Beach or Robert Moses State Parks. They will both be crowded on a Saturday (unless it rains ;)) but they're both easy drives, all on parkways (don't rent a truck). You'll have concession stands, but that's about it.

Another option out of JFK is to just take the short train ride to Long Beach, walk a couple of blocks, and you're on the beach. I guess luggage would be a problem with that idea, though.

For any of these options, you're going to need to find a place to stay. I have a feeling New Jersey will have more/better options. I don't really know the Jersey Shore, so I'll leave that to someone else, but as baileymouse mentioned, the Jersey Shore seems to have more towns and villages. That may be something to consider in case of bad weather.

Me too, please. It sounds as if she had an interesting life. RIP.

teabear40 at verizon dot net

I have a white noise app on my iPod Touch. It has several different sounds, some "real life" sounds, such as thunderstorms and urban traffic (really!), and other "color" sounds, such as white noise, pink noise and brown noise. All different pitches. I like the brown noise.

Thank you for letting us know, Flyer Talker. Like everyone else here, I noticed her absence but figured she got busy and/or drifted away from the board. Her knowledge of facts was very helpful and informative and I appreciated her contributions. It's sad to hear of someone's passing, and yet it does offer closure to all those "wonder what happened to So-and-So" postings on boards where people come and go.

This is what's so fun about an open discussion. Just when I think I'm leaning one way, someone mentions something that swings be back the other way!

I do a fair amount of traveling, and need to remember that I can't do everything at once. There will be other opportunities. Everyone has brought up good points. My gut instinct is to cancel. That's why I started the thread. I have this way of second guessing myself, researching every option, then, after all that, sticking with my original choice. Maybe it's a hobby.

Have you looked at some of the 14 day cruises that would stop at more ports and give you a wider experience? There are several ships that do this including the new Koningsdam. If I was not really excited about a trip and ports, I would cancel and rethink what it was I wanted to do.

Your last sentence (and considering your screen name and location): My original plan for May was to go to Boston and/or Cape Cod. I used to live there, and love to go back and visit. I throw my bike in the car, visit some historic sites (this year was to be the Concord area) then down to the Cape to visit friends and do some riding - off-season. I get a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it :D

I realize I'm the only one who can make my decision. Maybe I wasn't clear, or maybe I wasn't sure what I was asking. It's just that everyone has different experiences and then I can decide what's important to me.

Understand your thoughts. We have been in the same space a number of times. We defaulted to land trips and were so glad that we did.

 

If you are truly interested in seeing Norway you will be spending a great deal of money for essentially four one day tours. Those four days will be expensive if you divide all of your vacation costs by four! And chances are that on at least one of the four days you will wish that you had more time to spend.

 

Exactly! I usually take land based vacations for these reasons (I went to Norway twice last year on my own). My cruises are usually getaways to let someone else take care of me for a week. I think Bermuda was my only "destination" cruise. I travel a lot, all different styles, so it's a matter of finding the right type of trip for each destination. The enthusiasm on this board can be contagious.