We left out of New York City from the downtown piers. We were delivered by bus right to the docks and the long shore men took our baggage to the ship. The lines to check in were quite long and uncomfortable but they moved fairly briskly. I gave them a credit card for onboard expenses. This worked out well at the end. They send you a detailed bill at your door the last day to review. Any discrepancies could be taken care of at the pursers office but ours was just fine.
Our first port of call was Boston. We did not take a tour from the ship because my daughter lives in Boston and met us there. We took one of the many cabs into town and took a trolley tour and saw the city that way. A lot cheaper then the ships itinerary and you saw as much or more. Anytime you can skip the ships tours you save money, however, this isn't always the best. Pay attention to these reviews and you can get a good idea if what to take and what to forget.
The next day it was on to Bar Harbor. This is the Lobster day if you are interested. The town was nice a quaint with many shopping and eating opportunities. Save time to spend some in town. We opted for Acadia National Park and the Cadillac Mtn. tour but didn't get our first pick of the am tour. This turned out to be a blessing as it was raining that day and very foggy. The people that took the am tour saw nothing but fog. In the afternoon, the one they gave us, it had cleared up a bit and we saw a lot more. The view from Cadillac Mtn. has to be gorgeous. We were only able to see when we came about half way down and it was spectacular there. If I go back again, and it is a better day, I plan to take the tour again.