How is Boston after the hurricane?

I hope everyone is doing well.

We had so much fun there last month after our fall colors cruise to Canada. We used most of the advice from you kind folks here on the forum for where to eat and visit. The people of Boston are some of the friendliest folks we ever met. The food, wow, we tried to eat everything suggested, clam chowder, lobster, Little Italy, China Town. Rode the duck the we walked over to pick up a couple cannoli’s from Mikes Pastry, then walked to the park in the center of town to enjoy those treats and enjoy people watching. Hey I got a shirt from the Cheers Bar. Not like I expected.

What a great town, Sally and I are going there again next year with some friends.

Burt

We fared pretty well, very little in the way of property damage, except those in the coastal areas, and most of those are known areas of erosion/storm concerns. Some folks had power out for a few days, but the region bounced back from this one much quicker than the October surprise and unnamed storm of Aug 2011.

Our friends in coastal NJ and NY fared far worse. Most so us here are running drives to help out our neighbors. Just today my spa was offering 10% off services for anyone donating food, which will be sent to our southern neighbors food pantries, since they are low due to the storm. I dropped a few things off myself!

I'm glad you enjoyed the Rose Kennedy greenway with your Mikes pastry! We've enjoyed a snack there just last weekend; but being locals- we prefer Moderns pastry;) Really, they are both great!

Thanks for visiting us here and thinking of us, not often we are called friendly:p but we do tend to be pretty accepting if all kinds here:D

BTW- your duck boat driver wasn't Roy was he? My former roomie drives one!

Other than some downed trees and scattered power outages, Massachusetts went relatively unscathed by the Hurricane. It was certainly no worse than the big snow storms we get every year in terms of damage.

We are fine in these parts and it is lovely to hear someone call us friendly!

We are fine in these parts and it is lovely to hear someone call us friendly!

I know, right? I don't know very many friendly Bostonians! We lived in Chicago for a few years ... that is a friendly town!

I am in S. New Hampshire and aside from trees and power out for 5 days we are good here!

What a great town, Sally and I are going there again next year with some friends.

Burt

Fall foliage tours are a big deal in New England. If you are interested in such an event, come on by. I can provide the rake...

Fall foliage tours are a big deal in New England. If you are interested in such an event, come on by. I can provide the rake...

Hmm, maybe we should experience Boston while the trees are in full bloom. LOL

I guess being tourist, folks went out of their way to be friendly, well except at the Cheers Store. She was not friendly and that did surprise me because I’m sure they get a lot of tourist with a plan to walk away with at least a T Shirt. But she could have cared less if we bought anything. The right person could easily double the sales there.

But there does seem to be an honest effort to make folks feel welcome. My mother was dying to eat breakfast in a downtown dinner, so we walked around a while until we found one she liked. It was owned and run by a Greek family who appeared impatient while we looked at their menu. They wanted us to order quickly even though we were the only customers in the place. Good thing we were just ordering eggs. But it was no big deal really, we’ve been to New York City and felt right at home. However, I did notice a complete change in their demeanor a few minutes later when they learned from talking to my outwardly friendly mother that we were tourist from Oklahoma. They weren't part of the tourist beat, so they had to shift gears I guess.

I am sure there are many great pastry shops in the area, I wished we could try them all. We don’t see cannoli’s here in Oklahoma, so that was quite the treat. But also part of the fun for Sally and I was just walking around the Italian part of the city. Very romantic.

We didn’t have time to try your Dunkin Donuts to see what the big deal was all about. They are all over the place and seem to give Starbucks a lot of competition on the east coast.

And how do you pick an Italian restaurant? They all looked so gooood. We really wanting to eat in Italian the day we got off the ship, but it was Saturday night and our elderly mothers were very tired from the cruise. We asked our concierge about a good Italian restaurant in Little Italia where our mothers could sit while we waited. He said told us all the restaurants were good but to mention his name at one certain place to get in quickly. And yep, we walked up to the hostess of the restaurant where she replied at least an hour wait. It looked longer than that to me, but Sally gave the hostess the concierge’s name, which she yelled out to a young gent smoking while sitting on the trunk of a car. He looked us over, nodded back to the hostess OK, and she sat us right down to a wonderful meal. You don’t see that in Oklahoma!

The next day I'm enjoying the 2nd best Pot Roast I've ever eaten at an Irish pub. The waitress has a heavy Irish accent, so I asked her if the pubs (near the market square) were in the Irish part of town. She said she wasn't sure, she had only been in the country for six weeks and the area seemed like home to her. Wow, you guys even bring in authentic waitresses. How cool is that? LOL

It’s kind of funny, we were only in Boston for two days, but I have a lot of stories I could bore you with. I guess it was one of those experiences where you just had to be there.

I’m glad yall are doing well. Take care, we'll see you next year.

Burt

Dunkin Donuts isn't particularly good, but they are everywhere due to them requiring most franchisees to have a business plan that focuses on opening additional locations. There are much better places for donuts and coffee.

Burt, I love your stories! I think the reason you met with such kindness, is that you yourselves engage with people! Not many people come to the city for such a short visit and connect with so many locals; you obviously charmed your way around town! ;)

I could have used a nice Oklahoma representative like yourself on my PG cruise! With only one exception everyone we met on that cruise was delightful, except this one guy from OK . He was a pompous blowhard, who immediately started denigrating anyone from the NE at the dinner table- WOW! My DH tried to defend our kind a bit, but finally we just ignored him. The nice normally chatty couple from NJ sitting with us didn't dare even open their mouths the whole meal! We had heard him bloviating earlier on busses and at the pool area, so as soon as we were seated we knew it was bad news!

Anyway, I guess it proves you cannot paint everyone with the same brush no matter where they are from...there are nice people everywhere, right? Glad you found that to be so in your travels:D

Hope to see you cruising soon!

PS on the restaurants- the ones with the lines are the good one! You were lucky the concierge knew someone for you!

I hope everyone is doing well.

 

We had so much fun there last month after our fall colors cruise to Canada. We used most of the advice from you kind folks here on the forum for where to eat and visit. The people of Boston are some of the friendliest folks we ever met. The food, wow, we tried to eat everything suggested, clam chowder, lobster, Little Italy, China Town. Rode the duck the we walked over to pick up a couple cannoli’s from Mikes Pastry, then walked to the park in the center of town to enjoy those treats and enjoy people watching. Hey I got a shirt from the Cheers Bar. Not like I expected.

 

What a great town, Sally and I are going there again next year with some friends.

 

Burt

We will be in Boston in October 2013. We did the duck tour in Seattle and had a blast. Is the Boston tour as much fun?

Seems like some locals here so I hoped I could ask...

What would be your top three things to do in Boston for one day with two 10 yr old kids?

We are game for anything really, and as long as we can get there easily from the cruise ship terminal it is game on.

We spent a week on the Cape years ago and really regretted not seeing Boston so at least we get a day there in October..!

Seems like some locals here so I hoped I could ask...

 

What would be your top three things to do in Boston for one day with two 10 yr old kids?

 

We are game for anything really, and as long as we can get there easily from the cruise ship terminal it is game on.

 

We spent a week on the Cape years ago and really regretted not seeing Boston so at least we get a day there in October..!

I have very fond memories of the Boston Children's Museum as a kid, although I haven't been there in almost 20 years. It's about a mile from the cruise terminal, and you can hop on the Silver Line for a couple of stops to the Courthouse station, which is right at the museum.

The Duck Tours are also a lot of fun for kids (and adults). They use amphibious busses, so you get a tour of downtown and a trip down the Charles River. The tour guides each have a wacky character that they play. They depart from the Aquarium, the Museum of Science, or the Prudential Center. All three of those locations will take multiple transfers to get to via public transportation if you don't want a lot of walking, and while the transfers are free, they take up time. The closest to get to is probably the Aquarium, either taking a taxi or taking the Silver Line to South Station and walking a 1/2 mile from there. Note that the Duck Tours from the Aquarium are shorter than those from the other locations. I'd highly recommend advance reservations.

Speaking of the Aquarium, it will have just finished a major renovation by next fall. In addition to the normal aquarium exhibits they have a huge penguin exhibit, a "giant ocean tank" filled with sharks and sea turtles, a shark and sting ray touch tank, and seal and sea lions exhibits.

The daytime temperatures in October can be anywhere from the upper 80s to the lower 40s, but if the weather is nice, the Boston Common and the Public Gardens are great parks. The Public Gardens are where the book Make Way for Ducklings took place. Take the Silver Line to South Station and change to the Red Line and get off at Park St. (I know, that was four things, but give the weather in October the last one doesn't count).

Seems like some locals here so I hoped I could ask...

 

What would be your top three things to do in Boston for one day with two 10 yr old kids?

 

We are game for anything really, and as long as we can get there easily from the cruise ship terminal it is game on.

 

We spent a week on the Cape years ago and really regretted not seeing Boston so at least we get a day there in October..!

Three things?

A) Duck boat ride. They were done here first, and you get history in addition to scenery and the river ride

B) Children's Museum, as already mentioned

C) Fenway Park tour, if the kids are baseball fans. If not, I'd suggest the Freedom Trail.

Although the Aquarium is doing that major reconstruction, it's just been so disappointing a visit (and expensive!) the past 20 years, that I'd wait for reviews before planning a trip there. And our Museum of Science was wonderful 25 years ago, but it's 90% the same as it was then, so I wouldn't recommend that either.

We will be in Boston on Sept 2nd for 1 day.

What all highlights of Boston should we try to see? (No kids, 4 adults)

Do you like art?

Do you like sports?

Do you like history?

There's so much to do here, without knowing what you like trying to make suggestions would be like throwing darts in a blacked out room

We will be in Boston on Sept 2nd for 1 day.

 

What all highlights of Boston should we try to see? (No kids, 4 adults)

Again, there's so much to see in the city, it depends on what you like. The Duck Tours I mentioned above are good for kids and Adults, and give you a nice overview of the city. If that doesn't float your boat, here are some bits of other posts I've written here on the subject:

If you're looking for museums, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stuart Gardner museum are both very good. The MFA is a typical huge art museum with a very good collection, while the Gardner museum next door was the large house of a weathly patron of the arts who filled her home with fine art and antique sculpture and furniture. If you don't want to travel as far from the port, the ICA (a modern art museum) is pretty close to the port along the waterfront and accessible via the Silver Line.

If you're looking for shopping, the Fannuel Hall marketplace area has over 100 shops and carts selling everything from souvenirs to clothing and jewlery, as well as 14 restaurants and the largest food court in New England. If you're looking for an old-school New England food experience (i.e. baked beans, chowders, broiled meats, and boiled dinners), both the nearby Durgin Park and the Union Oyster House are over 200 years old and serve traditional New England foods. Durgin Park is famous for their surly waitstaff and their Indian Pudding, while the Union Oyster House is famous for being the oldest restaurant in the US and the first to give out toothpicks.

If you're into history, Fannuel Hall is along the Freedom Trail, which is a walking trail that starts at the Boston Common and takes you through some of the most historical sites in Boston. You can do it self guided, following the red stripe on the sidewalk, or take guided tours. Right near Fannuel hall, and worth visiting if you are in the area and not doing the rest of the trail, are the Old State House (where the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770) and the Granary Burying Ground, where Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere are buried (as well as Mary Goose, whom the tour guides claim was Mother Goose).

As I mentioned above, the Boston Common and the Public Gardens are a great place to visit if its a nice day. If you're going September 2nd, you can take a ride on the famous Swan Boats around the lake in the Public Gardens. The bar that inspired the TV show Cheers is located right near the common, and is a fun place to visit if you're a fan of the show.

If you're looking to get New England seafood, there are a few places near the port. Yankee Lobster is a great casual paper-plate seafood place that is less than half a mile from the port. If you're looking for a fancier place, Legal Seafood is about a block further and makes the quintessential New England Clam Chowder.

You could also visit the area around the Prudential Center which features the tallest observation tower in Boston as well as a series of large interconnected malls. Next to the Prudential Center is the Christian Science Monitor building who's mapparium features a large glass globe that you can walk inside of. Some of the Duck Tours also leave for the Prudential Center.

Another thing that occurred to me is that if you haven't seen it already, you might want to try and catch a Blue Man Group show. If they have a 2:00 show on Labor Day, that would give you plenty of time to get back to the ship.

in addition to the above, one way to see Boston that I have not seen mentioned is by using the bike share program. http://www.thehubway.com/ You can buy a 24 hour pass, but the intent on this program is to provide transportation from place A to Place B, so with the pass, if you dock you bike at a station at least every half hour, there are no more charges. If you take the bike for the day, it would be expensive. Looking at the map, there are no stations near the cruise port. I would take the silver line to South Station and start from there. Easiest thing to do is head north along the greenway.

Also the closest "activity" to the ship is Harpoon Brewery. They are just completing a new "tasting room", where they expect to have about 20 of their beers on tap and just pretzels for food. I don't think it is fully set up right now, but should be in full swing by cruise season. They will sell beer to go in Growlers, which are a bit hard to sneak back aboard, but you can try. Might be a stop on the way back from other tours.

in addition to the above, one way to see Boston that I have not seen mentioned is by using the bike share program. http://www.thehubway.com/ You can buy a 24 hour pass, but the intent on this program is to provide transportation from place A to Place B, so with the pass, if you dock you bike at a station at least every half hour, there are no more charges. If you take the bike for the day, it would be expensive. Looking at the map, there are no stations near the cruise port. I would take the silver line to South Station and start from there. Easiest thing to do is head north along the greenway.

The Hubway is a good suggestion if you're comfortable biking with traffic. If you have a smartphone, you can download the Spotcycle app that will show you where the bike stations are and where there are bike paths and lanes. There is even a nice biking route around the cruise terminal. Just be aware that in downtown you'll mostly be biking in traffic, not on dedicated bike lanes.

Also the closest "activity" to the ship is Harpoon Brewery. They are just completing a new "tasting room", where they expect to have about 20 of their beers on tap and just pretzels for food. I don't think it is fully set up right now, but should be in full swing by cruise season. They will sell beer to go in Growlers, which are a bit hard to sneak back aboard, but you can try. Might be a stop on the way back from other tours.

The new beer hall at Harpoon just opened last night, so I went earlier today to check it out. Their new space is great. The freshly baked soft pretzels are amazing, and it's just $3.00 for a pretzel and two dipping sauces (try the IPA cheese dip!). The pretzels are apparently made using leftover grain mash from the brewing process. They also have a great selection of beers on tap, and you can get a free 2oz taste of anything you want.

The new tour isn't ready yet, but even for the old tour we got there when they opened at 11am to get tickets and the earliest tour with open spots was at 12:30. That gave us enough time to grab lunch next door at Yankee Lobster, which since I was last there was apparently featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network for their lobster mac and cheese and their cod cakes.

If you're on a ship that stops in Boston, I'd highly recommend stopping by Harpoon (even if you don't like beer, stop in for a pretzel).

I was on the Caribbean Princess during Hurricane Sandy and, while we were scheduled for 4 days to Bermuda, we ended up safe harboring in Boston for almost 4 days. We were tied to the dock with 21 lines and we had two huge tug boats pushing us against the dock for a day and a half. We were confined to the ship during the hurricane but there were times we could get off of the ship as long as we were back on the ship in conformance with the curfew set by Boston. It was very nasty and windy, with heavy seas, during the hurricane, but the lines and tug boats held us quite steady. Probably the safest way we could ride out this horrible storm. I'm from the shore in New Jersey and Boston really escaped the worst fury of Sandy.

The people of Boston were lovely. I felt safe and wanted. And Princess was amazing. In so many ways. We were well cared for.

Maureen