# Small Ship Cruising



## TravelinMan (Jan 9, 2020)

I would like to hear experiences from others that have gone on small ship cruises.  What did you like?  What didn't you like?  Would you do anything different when you went for another cruise?

I am so excited to have just booked our (wife and me) first small ship cruise this next July 24th.  We have looked at cruising rivers in Europe and America but settled on a small ship cruise call "The Islands of New England".  The ship holds only 84 passengers and can easily maneuver into ports where larger ships cannot.  We will start in New York City and end in Boston.  Stops include Block Island, RI;  Newport, RI;  Martha's Vineyard, MA;  Nantucket, MA; and Plymouth, MA.

My wife has never been to New York City or Boston.  We plan to arrive early in NYC so that we can take in the iconic tourist sites such as Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building and Times Square.  Then when we reach Boston we will spend an extra day there so that we can walk the Freedom Trail and see the unique historical sites linked to our nations fight for independence.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to make the most of this adventure I will welcome all input.


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## Pepper (Jan 9, 2020)

How many days is this trip?  Seems very nice.


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## TravelinMan (Jan 9, 2020)

7 days.


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## Catlady (Jan 9, 2020)

If you can, go to Plimoth Plantation, north of Boston,  they have buildings and people dressed and doing the things the way the pioneers did it in the 17th century.

https://www.plimoth.org/


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## oldman (Jan 9, 2020)

In Boston, I enjoyed vising the maritime museums and antique shops in the harbor. I used to fly into Boston fairly often and if that was my last stop for the day and it was still daylight, I sometimes would just go down by the wharf's to see the big ships coming and going.


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## Liberty (Jan 9, 2020)

TravelinMan said:


> I would like to hear experiences from others that have gone on small ship cruises.  What did you like?  What didn't you like?  Would you do anything different when you went for another cruise?
> 
> I am so excited to have just booked our (wife and me) first small ship cruise this next July 24th.  We have looked at cruising rivers in Europe and America but settled on a small ship cruise call "The Islands of New England".  The ship holds only 84 passengers and can easily maneuver into ports where larger ships cannot.  We will start in New York City and end in Boston.  Stops include Block Island, RI;  Newport, RI;  Martha's Vineyard, MA;  Nantucket, MA; and Plymouth, MA.
> 
> ...


Are you flying into Newark and taking the train into midtown? Don't know what your budget is but have some good hotel recommendations as we used to go there frequently on business.


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## TravelinMan (Jan 9, 2020)

Catlady said:


> If you can, go to Plimoth Plantation, north of Boston,  they have buildings and people dressed and doing the things the way the pioneers did it in the 17th century.https://www.plimoth.org/



Yes.  It is actually located in Plymouth and we will have all day there, so we plan to spend a good part of the day at Plimouth Plantation.  We love history and folks dressed up for the period and speaking as if still in it.



oldman said:


> In Boston, I enjoyed vising the maritime museums and antique shops in the harbor. I used to fly into Boston fairly often and if that was my last stop for the day and it was still daylight, I sometimes would just go down by the wharf's to see the big ships coming and going.



The hotel I booked in Boston for 2 nights is located on the Battery Wharf, so we will be really close to the old part of town and on the harbor.



Liberty said:


> Are you flying into Newark and taking the train into midtown? Don't know what your budget is but have some good hotel recommendations as we used to go there frequently on business.



Yes, we are flying into Newark.  Thanks for the train idea.  The NJ Transit AirTrain will take us from the airport to Penn Station for $11.25 (senior rate).  From there we will head to the ship by taxi or Uber for an extra pre-cruise night at Pier 81.  We should be able to drop our bags at the ship then have all afternoon to see some highlights of NYC.


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## fmdog44 (Jan 9, 2020)

I have seen enough cruise ships disasters to keep my flying or driving


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## Pepper (Jan 9, 2020)

Sounds like a fabulous week TM.


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## Lvstotrvl (Jan 9, 2020)

You are going to have a terrific time, I’m originally from Ma. & have done most of those things, New York City, is my favorite!


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## Pepper (Jan 9, 2020)

Where in MA, Lvstotrvl?


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## Lvstotrvl (Jan 9, 2020)

Pepper, A small town on the north shore, Swampscott....between Salem, n Marblehead!


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## AnnieA (Jan 9, 2020)

Sounds wonderful!  I never wanted to go on a cruise until I learned of small ship cruises and lines like Viking Ocean which carry far fewer passengers than comparable sized ships.  Have always thought of cruises as being crowded and claustrophobic.   But a small ship or higher end, less crowded line now sounds pretty good because you get to see a variety of places without hauling luggage around from one lodging to the next.  Love the idea of having the base of a stateroom to see different places, and especially like the focus on history and culture that many of the smaller lines offer.


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## Liberty (Jan 9, 2020)

TravelinMan said:


> Yes.  It is actually located in Plymouth and we will have all day there, so we plan to spend a good part of the day at Plimouth Plantation.  We love history and folks dressed up for the period and speaking as if still in it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Annie Moores is a super good "Irish Pub":

https://www.anniemoores.com/menus/#entrees


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## Ladybj (Jan 9, 2020)

Sounds like a wonderful trip!!!!!


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## oldman (Jan 10, 2020)

TravelinMan said:


> Yes.  It is actually located in Plymouth and we will have all day there, so we plan to spend a good part of the day at Plimouth Plantation.  We love history and folks dressed up for the period and speaking as if still in it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


There is a lot of interesting stuff in some of those shops down on the wharf. I went into the one shop and he had a ship's wheel made out of wood, an old ship's clock and then a bunch of stuff that was taken off of ships that were sunk during different eras and that divers recovered and took into the different shops and sold to the merchants. Some pretty cool stuff, I thought. The one shop had a really nice brass ship's clock that I would have liked to have owned, but I couldn't bargain with the guy.


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