Official Thread For Upcoming Eastern Canadian Cruises

[wdwnut76]

YES!!!! The squeeters can get pretty annoying by times, but there are black flies and these little itrritating creatures we cal no-see-ums, so small you can barely see them, but a bite worse then a blackfly.

Thanks! As I discovered on a trip 20 years ago...you folks in Miramichi are the greatest!

I'll definitely bring bug repellant. Do you know if regular "Off" works against black flies and no-see-ums, or should I look for something stronger?

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

YES!!!! The squeeters can get pretty annoying by times, but there are black flies and these little itrritating creatures we cal no-see-ums, so small you can barely see them, but a bite worse then a blackfly.

Ahhh...will we need the spray if we are staying in town and not going to the sugar shack?? We plan on walking around..going to the Citadel etc. Thanks.

 

[jkpmac]

If you are staying in town, you should be fine and regular off should be okay in the woods.

Twenty years is a long time, you should come back and see us some time, the Miramichi has lots of fun Festivals now, Folksong, Rock and Roll, Irish Festival etc. Oh yes and Chatham and Newcastle amalgamated so the whole area is now called Miramichi, and the Pulp Mill is gone as is that hint of sulfur when the wind blows the wrong way.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

You will not need bug spray in Halifax ... even at Peggy Cove you won't

 

[dthogue]

The rain did not stop us from enjoying your city! We rented a car and drove around, and then headed out to Peggy's Cove. It was a lovely drive and the Cove was beautiful. We also stopped by the Swiss Air memorial while out there. Then we drove back and visited the Fairview Lawn cemetery. We dropped the car off and walked over to Tug's Pub on the waterfront. We had some oysters and fish and chips and local beer. Really enjoyed that!

We would like to rent a car in Halifax as well. Can you share the details - who you rented from, how you got to the office, location, getting to Peggy's Cove and such, and the return - did you walk back to the ship? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Tammy

 

[nlm74]

Any tips on where the best poutine is in Hailfax and/or Saint Johns?

 

[darsura]

We would like to rent a car in Halifax as well. Can you share the details - who you rented from, how you got to the office, location, getting to Peggy's Cove and such, and the return - did you walk back to the ship? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Tammy

It was very easy. We walked from the ship to the Wyndam hotel. The rental office was inside. It was both an Enterprise and National rental. We used National and had reserved a car a week before. It was not busy there and we may have been able to get a car without having made reservations before. (We had not reserved car in advance in Saint John, and was unable to get one due to 2 ships being in port that day....but we got a driver of a van to give us a tour and went to St. Martin's.....that turned out very well too).

The walk to the Wyndham was about a 5-10 minute walk......the address was 1161 Hollis Street....we just asked someone right outside the ship and they pointed us towards the hotel. They gave us a map, and we also had GPS on our phone...but the map would have been enough. The drive was less than an hour. After Peggy's Cove we drove to the cemetery. The GPS was handy then as I had not asked the National rental rep to point this out on the map. After that we dropped the car back and walked to the waterfront. First we went to Alexander Keith's, but the wait was 45 minutes so we walked down the street to Tug's...it was close to the Maritine Museum...and it was very good!

The cost of the car total (we did not take additional insurances) was $88.00. This was a great choice for our family of 5 versus doing this excursion with Disney, and we were able to do it at our pace.

I would not have thought to do this but for the great info I got on these boards. Worked well for us!

 

[U2FanHfx]

It was very easy. We walked from the ship to the Wyndam hotel. The rental office was inside. It was both an Enterprise and National rental. We used National and had reserved a car a week before. It was not busy there and we may have been able to get a car without having made reservations before. (We had not reserved car in advance in Saint John, and was unable to get one due to 2 ships being in port that day....but we got a driver of a van to give us a tour and went to St. Martin's.....that turned out very well too).

The walk to the Wyndham was about a 5-10 minute walk......the address was 1161 Hollis Street....we just asked someone right outside the ship and they pointed us towards the hotel. They gave us a map, and we also had GPS on our phone...but the map would have been enough. The drive was less than an hour. After Peggy's Cove we drove to the cemetery. The GPS was handy then as I had not asked the National rental rep to point this out on the map. After that we dropped the car back and walked to the waterfront. First we went to Alexander Keith's, but the wait was 45 minutes so we walked down the street to Tug's...it was close to the Maritine Museum...and it was very good!

The cost of the car total (we did not take additional insurances) was $88.00. This was a great choice for our family of 5 versus doing this excursion with Disney, and we were able to do it at our pace.

I would not have thought to do this but for the great info I got on these boards. Worked well for us!

Just for a point of clarification, I think the poster meant the Westin not Wyndam. Don't want to confuse people.

 

[darsura]

Just for a point of clarification, I think the poster meant the Westin not Wyndam. Don't want to confuse people.

Oops...thanks for the clarification.....it was the Westin!

 

[kathi]

We are regular visitors to Acadia National Park in Maine and we love to hike the rocky coastal trails. Can we find anything like that in Halifax? We plan on renting a car. We would like something a bit challenging and not super touristy, if possible (I'm a geologist and love to get up and personal with the rocky landscape).

 

[vakamalua]

If the Disney excursion goes to St Martins and the tide is too high to walk on the beach to the sea caves, how do they fill the time?

Thanks

 

[Prinny27]

Has anyone walked around st. John on their own? Still trying to decide what we'd like to do in this port. We're not finding anything that appeals to us.

 

[declansdad]

We're sailing on the September 2nd cruise from New York to Canada.

Will I need to pack mosquito repellant? I'm especially concerned about biting insects on the Maple Sugar Farm excursion.

Thanks!

Where you are heading on the Kingston Peninsula probably won't have manyt bugs in September, unless we have had a lot of wet weather.

I would also be curious as to what they will be showing you at the sugar shack in September. The syrup season will have been over for months.

 

[jilljill]

Has anyone walked around st. John on their own? Still trying to decide what we'd like to do in this port. We're not finding anything that appeals to us.

DD & I walked around Saint John on a cruise about 4 years ago. We wandered the market for a while, walked along the water front, grabbed a snack at Tim Horton's , wandered the park and cemetary on the way to the liquor store and then walked thru the shops near the port.

 

[Prinny27]

DD & I walked around Saint John on a cruise about 4 years ago. We wandered the market for a while, walked along the water front, grabbed a snack at Tim Horton's , wandered the park and cemetary on the way to the liquor store and then walked thru the shops near the port.

Thanks Jill! We were just trying to decide if there was enough to do in St. John to keep us busy for the day. Not sure why but nothing is appealing to us in that port! But, of course, there's about 5,000 things we want to see in Halifax and can't fit them all in...

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

Thanks Jill! We were just trying to decide if there was enough to do in St. John to keep us busy for the day. Not sure why but nothing is appealing to us in that port! But, of course, there's about 5,000 things we want to see in Halifax and can't fit them all in...

Quite a few people have commented that the port excursions were less appealing in Saint John. We actually really enjoyed Saint John! We spent the morning just walking around. There is good shopping/browsing, very friendly local volunteers, Tim Horton's, Java Moose Coffee, etc. Good photo-ops. Then we went to Fallsview Park and had a Jet Boat Ride - really great fun! There was a museum at the Market Square near the port which I wish I'd have had time to go to. And there were nice shops right at the pier that I didn't spend enough time browsing. The walk from the pier to the Reversing Rapids/Fallsview is about 45 minutes (we didn't so that, either). And there is a historic site just overlooking the port (fort something - anyone remember?) that looked good too.
ENJOY!

 

[declansdad]

Quite a few people have commented that the port excursions were less appealing in Saint John. We actually really enjoyed Saint John! We spent the morning just walking around. There is good shopping/browsing, very friendly local volunteers, Tim Horton's, Java Moose Coffee, etc. Good photo-ops. Then we went to Fallsview Park and had a Jet Boat Ride - really great fun! There was a museum at the Market Square near the port which I wish I'd have had time to go to. And there were nice shops right at the pier that I didn't spend enough time browsing. The walk from the pier to the Reversing Rapids/Fallsview is about 45 minutes (we didn't so that, either). And there is a historic site just overlooking the port (fort something - anyone remember?) that looked good too.
ENJOY!

It is called Fort Howe. The Museum in Market square is the New Brunswick Museum and I would highly recommend it.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

It is called Fort Howe. The Museum in Market square is the New Brunswick Museum and I would highly recommend it.

 

[cmclaura]

St John was just another city....albeit one with VERY steep hills so walking was annoying, lol.

We just hit a couple of their indoor malls (found a cool indoor foods market) and walked back to the port.

Stopped into Freak Lunchbox, an incredibly cool candy store -- RECOMMEND the Nutella Milkshake! -- http://www.freaklunchbox.com/Main Pages/stjohn.html. That made the day for us.

We tried several maple syrups in both Haliax and St John and found none that taste as good as what we can get here at Wegmans so didn't buy any, which was a disappointment. We did, however, find some EXCELLENT maple fudge at a little stand in the tented marketplace before getting back onto the ship.

And there was a little open air market just before the path back to the port area. Check out the handmade jewlery and Feather Girlz for the best feather hair extensions we've ever seen.

 

[U2FanHfx]

It was really foggy this morning...then the Magic arrived and the skies started to clear.