NickAndysMom

Robinsoncruiseso – That’s pretty much what I figured! I don’t think we can really go wrong with an upgrade from a B1 balcony. We did the same cruise last year on the Grand. We enjoyed it but are looking forward to the Ruby, which I’ve heard is a beautiful ship. We are on the last cruise before the dry-dock: November 30. She should be bright & shiny for your cruise on December 15.

Pam – Yes, I realize that free upgrades are unfortunately hard to come by these days. We did the same cruise last year on the Grand, and were offered & accepted a paid upgrade from a mini-suite to a penthouse suite. It was a decent value, but I don’t think we’d pay for such an upgrade again. Thanks for differentiating between the mini-suites on the dolphin vs. the emerald deck. Since our cruise is only a 3-day in Nov/Dec, either would be fine. I don’t expect to have much opportunity to use the balcony!

IECalCruiser & Jules59 – Thanks for your feedback. After hearing from all of you, I think we’ll be fine to leave ourselves earmarked for a free upgrade, should one become available.

Beverly

I've just booked a 3-day Pacific Coastal on the Ruby. We are currently booked in a B1 Premium Balcony cabin. I normally don't have my reservation marked for automatic upgrade, but I decided to give it a try this time, as it's only a 3-day cruise.

Since we're already in the highest balcony category, I figure the worst we could do if upgraded is the least-desireable mini-suite. My question is this: Are there any truly "bad" mini-suites or suites on the Ruby? I understand that I could end up with one at the very front or back of the ship, and I'm willing to take that risk. That aside, are there any mini-suites or suites that you would not want to sail in on the Ruby Princess?

Thanks for your feedback!

Beverly

I really appreciate your sharing your experience. That's what I was afraid of!

We've decided to save the bike riding for Quebec City, where there's a fairly flat road we can take to Montmorency Falls after renting bikes on our own near the cruise port. In Bar Harbor, which we haven't visited before, we are going to do Oli's Trolley Acadia National Park tour.

Your recap of your bike tour in Bar Harbor makes me think we've made a good decision!

Beverly

Thanks to all. Now I feel well-prepared to tackle the Boston transit system!

Beverly

Aloha John,

Thanks for your response. You're right - - - our hotel is on the Blue line. My preference would be to transfer to Green at Government Center, but apparently that station is closed until 2016. It looks like we'll need to transfer from Blue to Orange to Green in order to get to Fenway. Your idea of going the other direction on Orange to Haymarket sounds like a good one. The walk from Orange to Green certainly looks a lot shorter there than at Downtown Crossing! I think we'll give that a shot.

Great advice!

Beverly

Wow, Blue Mudshark! You really clarified what I tried to understand on the transit website. The way you explained it was much better. Thanks so much!

A couple more questions, if you don't mind. . .

One of the trips we'll be taking is from our hotel (Embassy Suites at the Airport) to Fenway. It looks to me like we'll be transferring from the Orange line at Downtown Crossing to the Green line at Park street. Is this 2 separate stations, requiring 2 separate fares, or is it somehow one station (so it will be a transfer with no additional fare)? Knowing this will help me to figure out if we want the Link Pass or loaded cash value.

Also, is it true that cash value can be added only in $5 increments? If that's the case, I think that might tip the scale in favor of the 7-day Link Pass. We'll only be using it for 2 days, but I think we'll need just more than $15 in cash value on the cards. If that means we need to add $20 cash, we might as well spend the $19 & have unlimited rides.

All of this is really splitting hairs! The most important thing to me is convenience. While I'm at it, though, I might as well do whatever is the most economical!

Thanks again.

Thank you both for your responses. I will see a station agent when we arrive in Boston.

I'm surprised to hear that it's only $2.10 per ride. I'd read on their website that it's $2.65.

I'm assuming that when we transfer lines (blue to orange, for example) within a station, it will be covered under the original fare paid for the ride. If I'm not correct, somebody please let me know. I want to be sure I don't add too much or too little when I buy our passes.

Happy summer to everyone!

My family & I will be in Boston for a few days before our cruise this summer. I'm wondering what fare options we will have for taking the subway. We'll be taking it multiple times on 2 consecutive days. Hoping there might be some sort of pass I can buy. Saving money would be nice, but I'm especially interested in saving time. Would love not to have to stop at the ticket machines every time we want to take the T!

I've found info online about "CharlieCards" and "CharlieTickets", but I'm not exactly clear whether either of these might work for a tourist.

Any help from a Boston native is much appreciated!

Appreciate your post, Gertiesmom! We are on Maasdam next month, so I've been watching for updates on the Noro situation. Very happy to hear that things seem better. Please let us know if anything changes.

Beverly

We are too, on July 18. Thanks in advance to anyone who posts them for us!!!

Sue, did YOU have noro for 15 days, or was the ship in code red for 15 days. Either way, not fun, but I'm hoping it was the latter, not the former!

Thanks to both of you for the information. I will plan to pick up towels at the pool for our use at the beach (& be sure to return them).

I've been looking forward to this cruise. I've been to a few of the ports on land trips in the past, but several of them are new to me, so that will be fun. Ideally, would prefer to take this trip in the Fall when the colors are changing, but we still have to take our kids' school schedules into account for a few more years!

Yes, we were quite comfortable leaving our bags there. Probably I'd carry my passport/cash with me, but otherwise it seemed secure.

Thanks for your response.

Given that our time in port is short, I think we're going to stick with a ship's tour, if we decide to bike.

Since we've never been to Bar Harbor before, we're also considering something that will let us see more of the sights in our limited time. Biking sounds fun, but then I think we might miss some of Bar Harbor's most popular sights.

Hoping someone who's been on a Holland America Canada/New England cruise can answer this question. . .

We will be on the Maasdam this summer. While in PEI, we plan to visit several beaches. We won't necessarily be "swimming", but plan to at least wade in the water (weather permitting). Does Holland America provide beach towels on the Canada/New England cruise, as they do in the Mediterranean & Caribbean? I know they're not necessary in most Canadian/New England ports, but it sounds like beach-going is a popular activity in PEI.

Thanks for any input!

Has anyone used the cloakroom at the Trudeau for storing personal items i.e. carry-on luggage, etc.?

Yes, we used the cloakroom at Trudeau about 3 years ago while we were enroute to Europe. We had a 23 hour layover in Montreal. We planned it that way, as it's my DH's hometown & his family still lives there. We left all of our large, checked-luggage in the cloakroom, and brought only our carry-ons with us for our overnight at my MIL's home.

It worked perfectly for us! We simply retrieved our bags before our flight & brought them to the Air Canada counter for check-in. Could not have been more convenient!

I'm hoping to get feedback from someone who's taken this tour with Holland America. I see reviews of what might be a similar tour with Royal Caribbean, but can't find anything about the HAL tour.

I'm interested to know which sights one sees on the tour, and whether the route is relatively flat or over more hilly terrain.

We will be on the Maasdam in July, and are considering this tour when in Bar Harbor. Our ship is in port until only 3:00 p.m. If we want to bike, it seems like our best bet from a time perspective might be to take the ship's tour.

Appreciate any feedback!

Beverly

Just thought I'd update on our experience, since folks are probably looking to stay in Rome this summer (& I don't think I ever reported back after our stay!).

We had an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL experience at Albergo Cesari. The quad room was sufficiently big for my husband, myself & our 2 teenage sons. The air conditioning was great, and kept us comfortable in the hot Roman summer weather. The front desk was very helpful and had great dinner recommendations nearby. They kept our luggage for us (free of charge) while we went for one night to visit relatives in Molise. Breakfast was in a lovely, rooftop setting, and was very nice. The central location cannot be beat, especially at their very reasonable price (reasonable by Rome standards).

Needless to say, Albergo Cesari will be our go-to hotel any time we visit Rome.

Feel free to let me know if you have any specific questions.

Beverly

Pam,

I know you were just on the Grand. Were you able to access any of the capabilities on that ship? We board later this week & would love to know!

Thanks,

Beverly

Ruth, thank you so much for the comparison. Coincidentally, will be on the Grand for a short cruise the week after next, and we will be on the Maasdam this summer for Canada/New England. Your comparison gave me a great idea of what to expect with each!

While there are pluses & minuses to each cruise, we've enjoyed every cruise we've taken on both Princess & HAL. We've been on the Grand before, but that was more than 10 years ago, and we realize that things are likely to be much different than last time. We are in a suite (for the first time!) on our short Grand cruise, so naturally we'll be in for a bit of a letdown when we sail on the Maasdam in our Lanai cabin.

In any case, we are very much looking forward to both cruises!

Beverly

I believe this is the code that they are talking about, PE4MS101B_501B. It's on the bottom of the flyer. I would call back and if the Princess agent can't help you, then request a supervisor. If that doesn't work, then print out the flyer and bring it with you. Perhaps the Captain's Circle Hostess can help you once you board the ship.

Thanks so much for your advice! I did call back, and a supervisor was needed. The supervisor was able to add the promotion code to my booking.

We are taking the 3-day Coastal on Grand in 2 weeks. (In a suite, so we'll be Platinum once we finish this cruise!)

I just got off the phone with Princess. (I booked our last-minute cruise directly on their website, not with a travel agent as I usually do.) I was told that they no longer had the codes needed to add the birthday perk to my reservation. I was instructed to visit the passenger services desk with my i.d. showing that I'm turning 50 this year, and that they would be able to help me.

Does that sound right? I'm wondering if I need to try again. On the other hand, I might just follow their advice & deal with it while on the cruise. I'm not cruising during my b-day month, so all I'm entitled to is a bottle of wine. Not sure I want to spend any more of my time on this for a bottle of wine!

The $20 cab ride sounds good to me! Thanks again. :-)

Carol, thanks so much! That sounds like a great price for Embassy Suites. Since it's only a couple of T stops from where we'll want to go, it sounds ideal. Do you know how easy it will be to get from the hotel to the cruise port? (I apologize if this question has been asked & answered on other posts!)

Beverly

Thanks to you all for your great suggestions! This really gives me a good place from which to start my search. I will certainly look into each of these options.

Our cruise leaves Boston on July 18, so we'll probably want to stay in Boston on the nights of July 15, 16 & 17.