My husband and I just returned from our eighth cruise. We were on the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Independence Day sailing from July 3  8, 2006. It came and went from New York City, and included the ports of: Boston, Massachusetts (on July 4); Bar Harbor, Maine; and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

We have previously sailed on Carnival, NCL and Holland. This was our first on Cunard, and first out of New York City. We arrived two days early in New York, and spent the weekend at the Marriott Marquis near Times Square. There was quite a lot going on that weekend! We took in a few of the tourist activities and also were able to visit the site where the World Trade Center had been.

My husband was so impressed with his first cab ride in New York in a while, that we booked a car service to get us to and from the pier. There was some kind of an event going on near the Marriott Marquis the day we arrived, and the taxi driver wanted to drop us off, and our four bags, about two blocks from the hotel. As if we wanted to fight our way through the crowds with four suitcases in tow. We insisted that the driver continue to the hotel itself. He wasnt too happy about that, but oh well. We booked a car service from the Marriott and it was $86 from the hotel to the pier and then another $86 from the pier to LaGuardia at the end of the cruise. Not a bad deal at all, considering Cunard charges more than that to ride in a bus. Read more