Anthem - Canada/New England-Excursions

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend good shore excursions in Portland, Bar Harbor, & Halifax...any type-sightseeing, active, etc. We'll be cruising in October, and we've been to both Portland & Halifax via Carnival, but it seems like RCL has much better options in general.

Thanks for any help/suggestions!

Check out the Port of Call forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Bar Harbor--We booked with Ollie's Trolley for a tour of the mountains and some of the town. The stop is just about 2 blocks from the tender port.

We then got lunch at a restaurant across the street, for whole main lobster. I am sorry I don't remember the name.

The tender port is right in the middle of town with many shops.

In Portland we just walked around town and looked in the shops.

Halifax we took an RC tour to Peggys Cove. A very quaint village.

As Bob suggests check out the ports of call boards. A lot of great info.

Thank you both...perusing the other section now! :)

All of those ports are easy and cheaper to do on your own. In Portland, we like to go to Holy Donuts for donuts made from potatoes and to Two Fat Cats for the best whoppie pies we have ever had.

https://theholydonut.com/

http://twofatcatsbakery.com/

We just walk around and shop but there are some excursions to LL Bean or a lobster boat ride that people like to do.

In Bar Harbor, we do Olley's Trolley too since you can book it yourself for about half of what the cruise line charges for the same excursion. We then walk around downtown since there are lots of cute shops.

In Halifax, we take a cab to the Citadel first thing so we can make the first tour of the Citadel and we are there for the morning cannon firing. The Citadel is on a hill overlooking the harbor and is walkable from the port, but is a long, uphill walk. The less than $20 cab ride is worth it to us. We spend the morning there and then we walk down the hill to the boardwalk where the Maritime Museum is and lots of stores. We have also done a brewery tour of the Alexander Keith brewery which is one street back from the waterfront. We then meander down the boardwalk back to the ship.

http://keiths.ca/#/

Have done that itinerary twice and hope to do it again this fall, if there are good prices closer to fall.

Did this 9 night cruise last year, here's what we did:

Canada/New England: Boston, Massachusetts

• Boston Old Town Trolley Tour
  https://www.trustedtours.com/store/boston-old-town-trolley-tour.aspx
  

Canada/New England: Bar Harbor, Maine

• Oli’s Trolley - Acadia National Park Tour
  https://olistrolley.com/activities/acadia-national-park-tour/
  

Canada/New England: Halifax, Nova Scotia

• Harbour Hopper Tour
  https://www.mtcw.ca/tour-schedule
  

Canada/New England: Portland, Maine

• Lucky Catch Maine Lobstering Tour
  http://www.luckycatch.com/
  

Canada/New England: Saint John, New Brunswick

City Tour

http://www.saintjohn.ca/en/home/cityhall/transportation/transit/services/citytours.aspx

All of those ports are easy and cheaper to do on your own. In Portland, we like to go to Holy Donuts for donuts made from potatoes and to Two Fat Cats for the best whoppie pies we have ever had.

 

https://theholydonut.com/

 

http://twofatcatsbakery.com/

 

We just walk around and shop but there are some excursions to LL Bean or a lobster boat ride that people like to do.

 

In Bar Harbor, we do Olley's Trolley too since you can book it yourself for about half of what the cruise line charges for the same excursion. We then walk around downtown since there are lots of cute shops.

 

In Halifax, we take a cab to the Citadel first thing so we can make the first tour of the Citadel and we are there for the morning cannon firing. The Citadel is on a hill overlooking the harbor and is walkable from the port, but is a long, uphill walk. The less than $20 cab ride is worth it to us. We spend the morning there and then we walk down the hill to the boardwalk where the Maritime Museum is and lots of stores. We have also done a brewery tour of the Alexander Keith brewery which is one street back from the waterfront. We then meander down the boardwalk back to the ship.

 

http://keiths.ca/#/

 

Have done that itinerary twice and hope to do it again this fall, if there are good prices closer to fall.

Which location for Holy Donut is closer to where the ship (Anthem) docks ?

Which location for Holy Donut is closer to where the ship (Anthem) docks ?

Exchange Street

Exchange Street

Thanks...will check it out in October.

I'll surely check out Holy Donuts in September! This must be the place that last year we saw a line out the door and around the corner. Just looked at their website and now I see why!