Best shore excursions in New England and Canada?

[22Mermaid]

Leaving soon and our ports of call are Bar Harbor, ME, Halifax and Sydney (N.S.), Charlottetown (P.E.I.), Quebec City and Montreal.

 

Anyone been on any of the shore excursions? Liked or didn't like?

 

We thank you for any input!

[RuthC]

Many posters have been on several of the shore excursions in these ports.

If you tell us something of your interests, and how active/inactive you like to be, it would be easier to narrow down the choices.

In Halifax I liked the Duck Tour, and the Titanic Tour. The Maritime Museum was very interesting, but if you don't like museums you might not want to do this.

Bar Harbor had a really neat whale watching tour. Even though I didn't see any whales, it was still a good time out to sea.

In Sydney I loved the boat ride on Bras d' Ors Lake. It was a gorgeous day, however, and would not have been nearly as much fun in bad weather.

Charlottetown is the home of the Anne of Green Gables house, and was a nice tour. The rest of the tour, (out to a fishing village, to an oceanside viewing area, and a shop-stop at a jelly/jam place) was pretty good, too.

[Toad]

Bar Harbor..... just eat lobster! All day!

[superoma]

If you have no mobility issues you could just walk each of the ports and see many things. Quebec City is very European, so many nice cafes. We wandered all around, even got into some excavations that were going on. We also walked Charlottetown. Enough to see, especially if you like museums,etc.

 

In Sydney Nova Scotia, we found a couple of church bazaars and were served tea and cookies by the local ladies. we had some great discussions with the locals here, very friendly. We have fond memories of Sydney since we managed to win money at the local casino!!

 

Halifax was a treat for us since we were given a private tour by a woman from there that we had met on our Panama Cruise. But the couple travelling with us walked the town, up to the fort, etc. I visited Pier 21 - it holds a special place in my heart since I am an immigrant and the ship I came over on was pictured on the wall. the Harbour Walk in Halifax is quite pretty.

 

Bar Harbour has some of the most beautiful summer homes I have seen anywhere. I do wish we would have done the excursion to Acadia National Park, but that is the only port where I was sorry we didn't do an excursion.

 

I had wanted to visit Fortress Louisburg (from Sydney) but we were too early in the year and it wasn't open yet. That is one you might not want to miss.

[genmasjoy]

Thanks for these suggestions. I will be going to these ports soon too. I'm used to arriving at a port and being in the middle of a shipyard, so having to take a tour. Are the places you describe actually within walking distance of where the ship docks or the tender boat ties up?

[Twickenham]

Thanks for these suggestions. I will be going to these ports soon too. I'm used to arriving at a port and being in the middle of a shipyard, so having to take a tour. Are the places you describe actually within walking distance of where the ship docks or the tender boat ties up?

 

I can't say for all the ports, but certainly in Quebec, you will be docked right in the middle of the action, with lots to see and do within walking distance. No reason to book any excursions.

[Johanna7]

We were on the Voyage of the Vikings and spent a day in Bar Harbor. Loved the place. It was so interesting and kind of quant. We had lunch by the water and it was great. After lunch, we decided we wanted to do the trolley tour.

 

It was advertised as starting at 1 p.m. and would take 2-1/2 hours. As we had to be on board by 4 p.m. that worked well but the trolley tour took much longer. About 3 hours. It was fine but glad we didn't go for the 2 p.m. tour.

 

It was most interesting, the driver was great. Not only explained everything but you could call out any question you wanted and he would answer it.

 

Acadia National Park was lovely and in many places we could see the Maasdam. She sure looked small in the distance. Also saw the sand bars. You really get a good view from there. We stopped at many places on the tour and even in a small museum. Well worth the 29 bucks each.

 

The shops there - we did that in the morning - were also very interesting and the prices were quite reasonable for a resort area.

[sail7seas]

We really liked the Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain and lobster lunch tour. We were very fortunate it was a bright sunny day when we took that tour and the views from high up down to the harbor were so beautiful. It wasn't very active but still very enjoyable IMO

 

[30scruiser]

Thanks for these suggestions. I will be going to these ports soon too. I'm used to arriving at a port and being in the middle of a shipyard, so having to take a tour. Are the places you describe actually within walking distance of where the ship docks or the tender boat ties up?

 

One of the things we really loved about this cruise was that you could pretty much do things on your own in most of the ports.

 

 

Bar Harbor you can definitely walk into/around town. If you want to go to Acadia and don't want to do a tour you can also walk to the town green where there's a free bus that drops you several places in Acadia.

 

Halifax you can walk to pretty much everywhere in town including the Citadel, Victorian Gardens, boardwalk.

 

Sydney, you can walk around Sydney, including to some interesting historic homes, but I think there are other parts of Cape Breton that are more beautiful/interesting so this may be a good place for an excursion.

 

Charlottetown, you can definitely walk into/around town here as well from the terminal including to the Province House. We did the Anne of Green Gables/Island Drive tour that RuthC described in the morning and really enjoyed it, and then walked around Charlottetown in the afternoon.

 

Quebec City, there's really no need for a tour here. We definitely docked right in town and it's so nice just to walk around.

[Jemima]

There are excellent tours in all these ports. IMO people should take a shore excursion the first time they are in any of these ports. My suggestion would be to take an excursion in each port, but also leave a little time for exploring each port on your own.

[trophy_23]

I can only comment on these two ports as we did not go to the others, but as mentioned above Quebec city is an easy place to see on your own.

 

For Charlottetown I would encourage you to rent a car and do a big circle around the Island. Head to North Rustico, then towards Cavendish, over to the Confederation bridge and back towards town. Plenty of time to stop at different places in between. PEI was very easy to drive and the cheapest way to see everything, IMO.

[Krazy Kruizers]

In Bar Harbor -- you definitely can walk all around the town. We have also done Oli's Trolley -- booked it off the ship -- to go to Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain -- there is a short tour and a long tour -- we did the longer one. This is a great port for LOBSTER. This is a tender port.

In Halifax we have done Peggy's Cove, the Maritime Museum, and the Hop On Hop Off tour -- all great. You can also walk the boardwalk where the ship docks -- nice shops and restaurants.

In Sydney one time we did an all tour . One of our stops was at the Nova Scotia Highland Village in Iona - we got to tour the grounds at our own pace. At the end where we all were to meet, in the information building they served us shortbread cookies - yummy. They have resurrected what a typical scottish village would have looked like 180 years ago. From the village you can look down onto the Bras d'Or Lakes - which we passed by on our way here. We also did the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. There isn't much in the town itself. One time we spent part of the morning walking around the various streets, visiting The Jost Museum, Cossit House and St George's Church. Before returning back to the ship, we stopped at the Governor's Pub and Eatery. It wasn't bad. We got a ½ liter of white wine to share and we each had the lobster roll ($11.95 each). These were a little different. The lobster mixture which consisted of chunks of lobster meat mixed with a little celery and mayo was placed on a warm and buttered ciabatta bread. They were excellent and they are two times larger than those in Bar Harbor. The fisherman's chowder was made with chunks of cod, haddock, and salmon in a crème base. They also had a salmon salad. All the prices were very reasonable.

Charolettetown -- we have also done the tour out to Ann of Green Gables House -- very interesting -- there is also a gift shop there. Another time we did the Trolley tour -- don't waste your money on this -- you can walk the route that it does. We had lunch at the Lobster at the Wharf restaurant right at the pier. We had the Fisherman's Chowder - excellent -- for $8.99 -- a big bowl of savory chowder with lots of potatoes, carrots, celery, bay scallops, bay shrimp, white fish and mussels accompanied with a delicate biscuit. Also great are the mussels for $8.99 - you get 26 of them!! At home we get only 6 for that price. We also tried the crab cake appetizer -- don't waste your money on them. For $8.99 you get 5 tiny crab cakes that are fried and heavy on the red pepper and little crab - too much filler. At home our crab cakes are 90% crab, little filler and are baked. The lobster roll for $15.99 is great - comes with cole slaw and potato salad.

Quebec City - one time we did a HAL tour in the morning. Before heading out of the city, we did a quick tour of the city. One of our stops was the Montmorency Falls which are 1 1/2 times as high as Niagara Falls. We had about 45 minutes here. We started at the top and road the cable car to the bottom. There are all kinds of trails there but we didn't have the time to do any of them. From there we went to St Ann de Beaupre Church where we able to tour parts of the church and stop in the church's gift shop. There were gift shops on the back street but we weren't given enough time to visit them. From there we went over to the Island of Orleans where we passed by wine fields and estates over looking the St Lawrence River. Tons of flowers everywhere. On the way back to the city we stopped at a factory where they make local wine. We were told that we would be sampling several wines and cheeses. That did not happen. We were shown all the wine presses and how they make their own wine - a far cry from what we do in the states with the big machines for pressing and processing wine. We were given one wine to sample and no cheese.

This is an easy town to walk around -- lots of hills -- but take your time. You can ride the fenicular up to the Chateau Frontenac - great for looking out at the river, ship and the beautiful scenery.

[trouble1964]

Bar Harbor is a beautiful town and Acadia is a must see. It gets cool and windy on the top of Cadillac Mountain, so be sure and take a sweater or jacket.....I don't get cold, and I had on TWO jackets! Lots of shops in BH that are unusual and artsy, great food, clean and beautiful town and air......I love it there! I have relatives that live about an hour from there and we visit it whenever we go to see them.

[debsjc]

We took this cruise last year, and we had car rentals in Bar Harbour, Sydney and Charlottetown. If you don't mind driving it's an inexpensive and very enjoyable way to spend the day. We saw so much more than if we had taken tours, and without 50 other people around the whole time!

[Storylady]

We spend a week on Prince Edward Island. And drove all over the entire island looking up the sites connected to Anne (6 part series by L M Montgomery). So I would suggest a tour that gives you a flavor of the island plus a chance to see the Anne of Green Gables house. If you are really into L M Montgomery, you might take the tour that also includes Sugar Bush Farm. But make sure that your tour includes seeing some of the island as PEI is absolutely beautiful and picturesque. It is an extremely tidy place. Every house looks like it was recently painted. And every yard is immaculate.

 

As for Cape Breton, we spend 11 days on Cape Breton. Any of the tours would be great. Loved the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. Enjoyed stopping for tea at Rita McNeil's teashop. Bought a tape of her music---what an incredible voice. But our favorite place of all, was Fortress of Louisbourg. The place is huge--one of the best reenactments outside of Williamsburg. Only other place that comes close is Fort Williams outside Thunder Bay, Canada. We spend two days seeing all the sights at Ft Louisbourg---that is why there are so many tours. If you really aren't into history and think you won't enjoy hearing about what it was like to live there---you could take the shorter tour. We were there in August and they had about 50+ reenactors.

 

As for Quebec City, I wouldn't bother with a tour. Everything is within walking distance of the ship. A lovely town to wander about in.

[genmasjoy]

I love Anne of Green Gables and am so excited about PEI. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. This will be my first Canada/New England cruise and my first with HAL. I live in Florida so have taken endless Caribbean cruises since it's so easy to drive to the port, but decided a few years ago to branch out. We've taken Princess in Alaska and through the Panama Canal, Celebrity twice in Europe, and last year a Uniworld river boat cruise. I think from all I've read on these boards that we'll really enjoy HAL.

[lazey1]

On Prince Edward Island...The Islands Finest: Anne, Lobster and Scenic Drive. Very interesting tour of Green Gables plus fantastic scenic drives and by far the biggest and best lobster dinner we have ever had. The drive and dinner alone would have been worth the price.:D

 

Quebec...Canyon Ste. Anne & Winery. Very good at Canyon and the Winery, would have enjoyed more time at Montmorency Falls.:)

 

Jane & Gary

[Krazy Kruizers]

On Prince Edward Island...The Islands Finest: Anne, Lobster and Scenic Drive. Very interesting tour of Green Gables plus fantastic scenic drives and by far the biggest and best lobster dinner we have ever had. The drive and dinner alone would have been worth the price.:D

 

Quebec...Canyon Ste. Anne & Winery. Very good at Canyon and the Winery, would have enjoyed more time at Montmorency Falls.:)

 

Jane & Gary

 

I agree about wanting more time at the Montmorency Falls!! Didn't have enough time to walk everywhere!!

[traveling mama]

I also am a huge Anne crazy fan!! I did the ultimate tour from the boat and enjoyed that and saw everything I wanted to see. I still had time to do the gift shop downtown and also another old mansion....and get an ice cream and walk to the ship!!! I had a great day...and bought so much Anne stuff I had to buy an extra suitcase to get home. But hey...my doll sits right here by my pooter!!! :)

[22Mermaid]

Gee, I can't thank everyone enough for all of your help! I'm the original poster and hadn't checked the boards in a few days. I was overwhelmed with all of the detailed and helpful insights!

 

We will factor in everyone's generous comments in our planning. So, again, thanks to everyone. (And we will cancel our excursion in Quebec City, which will mean more $$$ for lobster!)

 

You are the best!