Bostonians, Please Advise
 

Our college age daughter has recently moved to Cambridge (Fresh Pond area). We are going for a visit, landing at Logan on a Saturday at 7pm. Would it be advisable to have her pick us up at the airport, or would it be easier on all to take the T or a cab and meet at a designated place?
Thanks very much!

The T in Boston is really very user-friendly, but unfortunately getting to Fresh Pond means a couple of transfers in order to get to the Red Line. Since you'll have luggage, and are unfamiliar with the system, this would just be a lot of time and stress for a Saturday evening. So, bottom line: I would recommend that you take a cab to her place.

Have her pick you up at "departures", you'll need to take the elevator up one level, from baggage claim, but it's much less crowded than the arrivals area, where all the buses. taxis etc. go. I live on the North Shore, and frequently transport my husband to and from Logan on business trips. he way we work it is, I check online to see what time the flight is scheduled to actually arrive. Then, I drive and wait at a strip mall in East Boston. My husband calls my cell from his as soon as the plane lands. It takes just about the same amount of time for me to get there, as for him to get out on the curb. I do not recommend taking the T for this. And Logan, being constantly under construction, is not a place where you want to be doing "laps". If anything, park in central parking and wait for the call. As a lifelong Bostonian, Logan is still a nightmare. If anything, err on the side of caution! Have fun

Sat night shouldn't be too bad at the airport. If you take the T, definitely don't take it all the way to Fresh Pond. Have her meet your somewhere else that she chooses, meet halfway.

The Alewife stop on the Red Line of MBTA is quite close to Fresh Pond area - it would involve transfer from Blue Line to Red Line (see map at MBTA.com) - and then a cab or have her meet you there would work.

Depending on how recently she has moved to this area, she may not want to experience the drive to Logan so soon.

Taking the T from the airport involves taking a shuttle bus just to get to the T. Have her pick you up at the airport. I didn't find traffic in Boston to be worse than any other large city.

Taking the T from the airport to a Red Line destination such as Alewife (or my home) requires (1) free shuttle bus from terminal to Airport subway station on the Blue Line; (3) Transfer from Blue Line to Orange Line at State Street stop; (4) transfer to Red Line at Downtown Crossing stop. (Alternatively, take Blue to Green to Red.) Riding 4 different bus/subway lines just doesn't seem like a good introduction to Saturday night in Boston.

Yeah Saturday night + T = Fun. LOL

Sorry for the double post. Had trouble getting the first to go through. Many thanks for the advice, Bostonians! The idea to have our daughter park and wait for the cell phone call sounds like the way to go. We're looking forward to the adventure!