Zacharius

16 hours ago, Linda R said:

Would personally not recommend In N Out as tourist destination.   Rather: trip over to Catalina Island, Dinner boat cruise,  tour Queen Mary, aquarium, hop on bus tours, go to Santa Monica pier,  Tour battleship USS Iowa, Ft MacArthur Museum,  or Trolley.

That's all great, but have you ever had an 8x8 animal style?!?!

33 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

That is good advice.  When my daughter was flying from Boston to Cincinnati, she had to arrive that day because of a test she had to take.  The first flight out was canceled and she thought she was hosed.  But I told her that since we purchased the ticket on one of the big 3 (I would not include SW in this list), the airline will get her on the next available flight.  Sure enough, my airline of choice came thru and she arrived in time for her test. 

I would include Southwest on this. They are, I believe, the third largest in the US, and while they don't have a hub/spoke system, they do have plenty of flights out of most of their airports that they do have a pretty good chance of re-routing you if nothing else. I'm not the biggest Southwest fine, but they've always done a good job of accommodating me on other flights (even if it's through a different connection point) when needed. 

Damn, as someone who books trips a few weeks out, I can't wrap my head around June being "last minute" haha

One other thing to think about (and, again, I am 100% Team "One Day Ahead" on flying) - if you're flying domestically in the US, for example, try to avoid airlines that only have one flight per day (or less). Airlines like Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant, and Avelo often fly a route only once a day, or maybe even once/twice a week. If something happens, you're really in big trouble. Sure, they're going to try to find another plane, but even that can be tricky on those carriers. And their ability to re-route you is much smaller, or even non-existent. My vote in these cases is to always stick to the big guns - United, Delta, American, Southwest...airlines with multiple flights per day (usually), more capabilities to re-route, and bigger fleets with a better ability to sub aircraft in/out when needed. 

I would put Easyjet somewhere in between. I have had really good experiences with them, and am a big fan, but irregular operations do sometimes put them in a tougher situation than an airline like BA. 

In-N-Out is definitely overrated, but it's worth checking out if you've never been. Takes a few visits to figure out the right order, though! (Proven Fact* - best order is a double double, protein style, mustard grilled, which grilled onions and chopped chilies, fries light well). 

* - proven by me, for me

1 hour ago, tjcruisers said:

Flown enough for business that I know you don't usually arrive on time.

That's a bit unfair. I practically live on planes, both domestic and international, and most flights are on time (at least, in the developed world) and the statistics are there to back it up. I would never, ever fly in the day of a cruise, but to say you "usually" won't arrive on time is a bit of a stretch. You usually will...but the implications if you don't can be huge. 

30 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I'd bet there's a non-trivial amount of passengers that stay in character 24/7

From my understanding, that's the case. I'm not really a "dress up" kind of guy so I don't know if I would, but I would love to see people dressed up as: 

I'm a Star Trek geek and this is definitely on my bucket list. I just forget about it every year, including this one. My wife has already told me "go for it, loser"...maybe one of these days. 

20 minutes ago, FloatyBoaty said:

Hey, sorry to butt in on @steverk's post, but this has just been such a huge conundrum for me since my nightmare of noise night at Home2Suites in January.  I look at the map and I look at the hotels and I just end up closing it all back up without making a reservation. I understand the Jersey City recommendation, but our flight is not scheduled to arrive at Newark until about 4:30 on a weekday afternoon. Is it worth it to Uber over to Jersey City with commuting traffic, etc, or just stay near the airport (check out the Elizabeth recommendation?) when arriving early evening. Appreciate your thoughts - and now back to your regular programming...

In my opinion, not worth it in your case. I don't see you getting to Jersey City before 5:45ish if your flight is on time (picking up luggage, waiting for a ride, getting the ride in traffic). Yes it opens up food/drink options, but grabbing a room at Newark Airport that has a restaurant would probably be the way I would go. Maybe even just the Marriott right at EWR Airport. 

47 minutes ago, NotPayinExtra said:

Forget Newark Airport hotels. Try a downtown Jersey City hotel. Short ride from airport and shorter ride to cruise terminal. Many food options a walk or Uber ride away

 

Good call...I always forget about Jersey City but it's a great area. 

1 hour ago, steverk said:

September will be my first time to sail out of Cape Liberty NJ and I need to find a good hotel.  My wife and I fly in the evening before the cruise to LGA (flights in to Newark were twice as much) and plan to get a cab to the hotel.  We're not super picky. A basic overnight hotel that is clean and safe will be fine.

Does anyone have a good recommendation?

Thank you in advance!

You might wish you had just spent the money when you try to get from LGA to Cape Liberty! I only slightly kid, but it can be a bit of a pain. 

Are you against staying in the city, either Brooklyn or Manhattan? That's one option of a mid-way point if you're up for it, and offers the fun/excitement and meal options that the city has to offer. 

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I know that American pepperoni is blasphemous to Italians

American pepperoni should be blasphemous to Americans. Nothing ruins a perfectly good pizza like a quart of grease and oil per slice. 

1 hour ago, Woody14 said:

I have done the Pompeii on our own a couple of times.   it is a bit of a walk to the train station in Naples, but then it was easy to get to Pompeii the train stops close to the entrance.   I spend the morning there then take the train to Sorrento for lunch and a bit of the Amalfi coast flavour (true nothing like the real thing but it is still very nice).  I usually then walk through Sorrento down to the water to catch a ferry (hydrofoil) back to Naples.

Honestly this sounds like the perfect Naples stop to me...I would definitely recommend this combo. 

52 minutes ago, whitsmom said:

I will be using a translate app if needed. 

You will encounter very few people who aren't at least conversational, if not fully fluent, in English. There are plenty of people in Quebec who do only speak French, but you're unlikely to encounter many or any in your relatively short visit to the two largest cities in the province. If you make stops in between the two, it's possible but it won't be a big deal. Road signs will all be in French, but they'll be pretty self-explanatory (for example, the stop sign won't say "Stop", but you'll know it's a stop sign). 

18 minutes ago, tjcruisers said:

If your going to drive, one question I'd ask is Parlez-vous Francais? If not I'd take Via or stick to the Trans Canada Highway and familiarize yourself with the traffic laws.When I lived up in Ottawa, in Hull (across the river) at the time there was no turning right on red, there was no actual sign saying you couldn't turn, you just had to know.

https://www.quebec.ca/en/transports/circulation-securite-routiere/regles-conseils-vehicules/traffic-rules-intersections/turning-right-red-light

Meh, my French is not great but it's really not hard to just brush up on the (fairly minimal) differences in Montreal and/or Quebec driving laws. I wouldn't say that alone is a reason to not drive. 

1 hour ago, whitsmom said:

We talked last night and are leaning toward renting a car but we haven't ruled out the train totally just yet.  Renting a car will make it easier with luggage so we can have some freedom to have lunch and etc on the way.  I will just do a later flight out to allow for which one we decide to do.

If you don't absolutely need to leave the same day you arrive, do also consider spending a night in Montreal. It's always a good time and would cut back on the stress of needing to "rush" to YUL for your flight. 

I have a lot of experience in some of these locations, but not on a cruise. Here's my thoughts:

• Sydney - if it's your first time there, don't do an excursion. Just walk around, hit the highlights (Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Botanic Garden, The Rocks, food and drink). 
• Picton - if you're in to wine, find a half-day wine tour in the nearby Marlborough region. Lots of good wineries there. You may not have enough time, but the Mail Boat tours in Picton are fantastic (https://www.beachcombercruises.co.nz/scenic-cruises/mailboat-cruises/Mail-Boat-Cruise/). 
• Wellington - you mention something already, but Wellington is another one of those "just walk around" places. Botanic Garden, Mount Victoria Lookout, Cable Car, Parliament, Te Papa Museum, Cuba Street, food and drink.

1 hour ago, whitsmom said:

I think United flies out of there (we flew with them once on the first leg of our Iceland tour.  I have never flown American so I will check to see if they fly out of there.  I think I will try to contract the train people and see what their schedule and etc is before I decide.  We might just need to rent a car and drive ourselves.  May see what hubby has to say on that...

Renting a car may work best. As far as YQB airport - United flies year-round from Newark; American flies seasonally from Chicago and Philly. Not sure where you live, but you can also get via Toronto or Montreal on Air Canada. 

24 minutes ago, whitsmom said:

We are cruising on the Jewel in October for the Fall Foliage cruise from Bayonne to Quebec.  I have been looking to schedule a pick up for the airport (Quebec City) and trying to schedule our flight home.  We are Delta people so I was extremely sad to find out that Delta doesn't use that airport.  I called Delta and was told that the closest airport from there for them is Montreal.  I am not sure how to go about scheduling transport from port to Montreal (such as a car service or taxi).  When I googled it I could only get info to Quebec airport.  I did see there is a train station nearby but I know nothing about trains so I am hesitant to schedule something like that on my own.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.  I think that Montreal airport is about a 4 hour "train" ride so I'm not sure about driving.

Driving is about three hours. You can google "Montreal car service" and there are plenty of options to take you even as far as Quebec (or, in this case, a pickup in Quebec), but since it is a three hour drive, expect it to me...expensive. No idea what exactly, but I imagine several hundred dollars each way. 

There is a bus that can get you from Quebec city center to Montreal airport with a change of bus in Montreal city center. Much cheaper, but of course it's a bus so...not as comfortable. I have no experience with it personally. Also no personal experience with the train between those two cities. 

I think this is a case where you need to analyze which is more important - loyalty to Delta, or ease of flying out of Quebec. No right or wrong answer, but only you can determine. I have a massive loyalty to American Airlines/OneWorld, but there are some times where I just need to suck it up and fly someone else once in a while for ease. 

Train schedules are pretty easily available either through the Trenitalia website, or through Google Maps where you can type in your origin and destination and it'll give you a good list of transit options with times/connections. 

Smokeybandit is spot on - Israel is not the place to try and cut it short, because security can be fast or it can be painstakingly slow. And even "fast" isn't the same as Heathrow or JFK or somewhere else's "fast". 

20 hours ago, Mturk said:

The only time we brought the passport with us was last summer when we went to Israel because it was required to enter. Otherwise I'm in the keep it in the safe camp.

That is a good point. There are countries that are very much "have you passport with you at all times, by law" kinds of places. Definitely good to know which ones those are and follow the laws as needed. 

4 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

The only thing I could see happening is cancelling out of respect to Turkiye. The nation is in mourning right now and I don't think they'd appreciate tourists or foreigners coming in and out during this time, my guess is as good as anyone's though, we'll just have to wait and see.

As mentioned, the Turkish economy can use any dollar (er, lira) it could get now. The biggest thing cruise lines could due is continue visiting as long as they're able to, and I don't see any reason they can't. 

14 hours ago, BennyandBo said:

The damage looks widespread and definitely something that will effect every aspect of life in the country for a considerable time. I wouldn't count on it not effecting things for awhile.

The damage is still quite a way from any port, and will likely have little impact on the people in western Turkey and Istanbul. Diyarbakir, for example, is roughly the same distance from Istanbul and Bodrum as Boston is from Detroit, or Seattle from Salt Lake City. Even if Boston was completely destroyed by an earthquake, I don't think many people would say there would be a huge, lasting impact on Detroit. 

The earthquake was really quite a long way from any of the ports that I know Royal Caribbean to use in Turkey. While I am sure the ports in western Turkey lightly felt the earthquake, I would be shocked if there was even minor damage there. I doubt it would have an impact on any cruise operations/stops. 

In this case, I would bring a copy of the passport info page plus a drivers license or other government issued photo ID while leaving the full passport on the ship. I have shown up at an embassy with those two things and been let in when I needed to be, though as always YMMV.