9 Night NE/Canada Anthem Cruise - Sept 22 - PreCruise Excitement...

[mjwcruising]

Following...we are going on the same cruise September 2017..

 

Wishing you fabulous trip.

[sambao21]

We are going in a few weeks. Can u tell me where u ate lobster in Boston and if Royal had a shuttle from Black Falcon Pier to take you to downtown?

 

Thanks

 

We were just on this cruise and didn't eat lobster in Boston, instead waited till we got to Maine, but did go to union oyster House. To answer your question, there is a shuttle but it was not free. Its also a 1 mile walkito Quincy market if you don't mind it, there was public bus for $2, and uber would've been $11 or so.

[sambao21]

Just got off this itinerary, let me know if you have any questions. We didn't do any specialty dining, so can't say much about those.

 

Overall it was a blast....have a good trip.

[mjwcruising]

Just got off this itinerary, let me know if you have any questions. We didn't do any specialty dining, so can't say much about those.

 

Overall it was a blast....have a good trip.

 

wondering what excursions you took and were they through the cruise line or someone local to the ports of call. Would you recommend them to future cruisers?

 

Thank you in advance

[sambao21]

wondering what excursions you took and were they through the cruise line or someone local to the ports of call. Would you recommend them to future cruisers?

 

Thank you in advance

 

In Boston and Portland, we simply walked around on our own, and did no excursions.

 

In Boston, we went to Quincy Market and walked around the vicinity there. Ate a Boston cream pie at Mike's Pastries in little Italy and clam chowder at Union Oyster House. It's Boston...so 3/5.

 

In Portland, we walked around the town and some of the shops in the downtown area. We had lunch at Eventide Oyster Co. The place opened at 11, and it started pouring around 10:30am. So we battled through the rain over to the restaurant, but there was already a line out the door and they only had seats for about 30 people. Luckily, we got seated right next to the oyster bar which was fun. I let the waiter decide what oysters for me and I also had a lobster roll which was the best lobster roll I had the whole trip. 2/5 because we didn't find much going on in the city, but Eventide is very good.

 

In Bar Harbor, we took an excursion with Acadia National Park Tours. The tour was 2.5 hours exactly. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, but it was short. We got to get off for 25 minutes at 2 stops which was a little on the short side if you wanted to explore, but plenty for just taking some pictures. It was normally 15 minutes at 3 stops but one area was under construction. I think 15 minutes would've been too short. I only wished they had more stops and had a longer tour. Afterwards, we had lunch at Side Street Cafe and I had my last Maine lobster roll. It was good, but not as good as the one in Portland. Then we walked around the shops near the port. The town is very quaint, and the view right next to the shore is gorgeous. Would definitely be a good trip to go there and stay longer at one of the bed and breakfasts and visit Acadia National Park some more. I am iffy on the tour company. Though they did a fine job, I personally wouldn't use them again simply because the park was so nice, a couple 15-20 minutes just isn't enough time to enjoy much of it... maybe that would be plenty for other folks though. 5/5 would visit Bar Harbor in a heart beat, and really spend some time here.

 

In Saint John, we went through the ship excursion for St. Martin's and Bay of Fundy. I would recommend this because the Sea Caves were pretty cool at low tide. I really enjoyed this. The Reversing Rapids were over hyped honestly, but you can still get some good pictures. St. Martins really is a tiny village. We only really saw some covered bridges and a handful of shops. The end of the trip was a bummer because the whole downtown area lost power so ALL of the shops were closed including the market. Not their fault, but we couldn't get any shopping in, so we just headed back on the ship. 3/5...for the sea caves.

 

At Halifax, we did excursion through the ship and did the Peggy's Cove and Double Decker City Tour. You have to go to Peggy's Cove. It is exactly what you imagine a postcard to be. Good Christmas pictures to be had. The route back is also gorgeous drive. Now, having said that, we didn't utilize the Pink Bus tickets. We went back to the ship because we were hungry and cold, and thought we'd come back out after lunch, but then we decided to just stay on the boat. I would still recommend this tour, but if you don't utilize the Pink Bus, then get another tour that will take you to Peggy's Cove. 4/5 because of Peggy's Cove and the fishing village is worth the trip. I only wish I has more time. Advice, this was the only port that was actually cold for us with the wind chill...probably around low-mid 60s, but felt cooler so dress in layers.

 

Some context about us, my DW and I are in our early 30s, so we are not the normal demographics of the cruisers on this trip. (90% of the cruisers were 55+ according to the cruise director's show). We don't have kids (although we are expecting which is why we had to switch our caribbean cruise to this itinerary after final payment). We did a lot of walking (averaged 20k steps a day) everywhere instead of getting a car. We did Uber to and from the port in Newark which was very easy for just the 2 of us. We got an indoor room (because balcony was gone when we switched itineraries), and though the virtual balcony is actually really cool, it's not as nice as an actual balcony so I wished we had that...grand loft suite is out of our price range :)

 

We didn't do any of the specialty dining as my DW has food allergies and so Italian and experimental food at Wonderland would be very difficult for her, and sushi was not possible because of the pregnancy. So we ate at all of the other restaurants except for Silk because it was the one restaurant that didn't have the "classic menu" and there was only 1 chicken dish, and it was sweet and sour which she does not like fried foods.

 

I did almost all of the physical activities like Ripcord, bumper cars, and even the trapeze act. My DW unfortunately couldn't and she wants to come back so she can after we have our DD.

 

I know that's more than what you bargained for, but hopefully that helps.

Edited September 18, 2016 by sambao21

[gdpups]

We are boarding Thursday as well, did they bring lobster on from one of the stops in Maine and if so which stop? Looking forward to an awesome cruise!

[mjwcruising]

In Boston and Portland, we simply walked around on our own, and did no excursions.

 

In Boston, we went to Quincy Market and walked around the vicinity there. Ate a Boston cream pie at Mike's Pastries in little Italy and clam chowder at Union Oyster House. It's Boston...so 3/5.

 

In Portland, we walked around the town and some of the shops in the downtown area. We had lunch at Eventide Oyster Co. The place opened at 11, and it started pouring around 10:30am. So we battled through the rain over to the restaurant, but there was already a line out the door and they only had seats for about 30 people. Luckily, we got seated right next to the oyster bar which was fun. I let the waiter decide what oysters for me and I also had a lobster roll which was the best lobster roll I had the whole trip. 2/5 because we didn't find much going on in the city, but Eventide is very good.

 

In Bar Harbor, we took an excursion with Acadia National Park Tours. The tour was 2.5 hours exactly. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, but it was short. We got to get off for 25 minutes at 2 stops which was a little on the short side if you wanted to explore, but plenty for just taking some pictures. It was normally 15 minutes at 3 stops but one area was under construction. I think 15 minutes would've been too short. I only wished they had more stops and had a longer tour. Afterwards, we had lunch at Side Street Cafe and I had my last Maine lobster roll. It was good, but not as good as the one in Portland. Then we walked around the shops near the port. The town is very quaint, and the view right next to the shore is gorgeous. Would definitely be a good trip to go there and stay longer at one of the bed and breakfasts and visit Acadia National Park some more. I am iffy on the tour company. Though they did a fine job, I personally wouldn't use them again simply because the park was so nice, a couple 15-20 minutes just isn't enough time to enjoy much of it... maybe that would be plenty for other folks though. 5/5 would visit Bar Harbor in a heart beat, and really spend some time here.

 

In Saint John, we went through the ship excursion for St. Martin's and Bay of Fundy. I would recommend this because the Sea Caves were pretty cool at low tide. I really enjoyed this. The Reversing Rapids were over hyped honestly, but you can still get some good pictures. St. Martins really is a tiny village. We only really saw some covered bridges and a handful of shops. The end of the trip was a bummer because the whole downtown area lost power so ALL of the shops were closed including the market. Not their fault, but we couldn't get any shopping in, so we just headed back on the ship. 3/5...for the sea caves.

 

At Halifax, we did excursion through the ship and did the Peggy's Cove and Double Decker City Tour. You have to go to Peggy's Cove. It is exactly what you imagine a postcard to be. Good Christmas pictures to be had. The route back is also gorgeous drive. Now, having said that, we didn't utilize the Pink Bus tickets. We went back to the ship because we were hungry and cold, and thought we'd come back out after lunch, but then we decided to just stay on the boat. I would still recommend this tour, but if you don't utilize the Pink Bus, then get another tour that will take you to Peggy's Cove. 4/5 because of Peggy's Cove and the fishing village is worth the trip. I only wish I has more time. Advice, this was the only port that was actually cold for us with the wind chill...probably around low-mid 60s, but felt cooler so dress in layers.

 

Some context about us, my DW and I are in our early 30s, so we are not the normal demographics of the cruisers on this trip. (90% of the cruisers were 55+ according to the cruise director's show). We don't have kids (although we are expecting which is why we had to switch our caribbean cruise to this itinerary after final payment). We did a lot of walking (averaged 20k steps a day) everywhere instead of getting a car. We did Uber to and from the port in Newark which was very easy for just the 2 of us. We got an indoor room (because balcony was gone when we switched itineraries), and though the virtual balcony is actually really cool, it's not as nice as an actual balcony so I wished we had that...grand loft suite is out of our price range :)

 

We didn't do any of the specialty dining as my DW has food allergies and so Italian and experimental food at Wonderland would be very difficult for her, and sushi was not possible because of the pregnancy. So we ate at all of the other restaurants except for Silk because it was the one restaurant that didn't have the "classic menu" and there was only 1 chicken dish, and it was sweet and sour which she does not like fried foods.

 

I did almost all of the physical activities like Ripcord, bumper cars, and even the trapeze act. My DW unfortunately couldn't and she wants to come back so she can after we have our DD.

 

I know that's more than what you bargained for, but hopefully that helps.

 

 

Thank you, sambao21 for the details, definitely helps, and it wasn't too much information. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

[sambao21]

We are boarding Thursday as well, did they bring lobster on from one of the stops in Maine and if so which stop? Looking forward to an awesome cruise!

 

Honestly I'm not sure. I didn't ask if the complimentary lobster in Grande was Maine or not...it would not surprise me. They did also have a $15 lobster you could order from any of the restaurants but we didn't have that.

[shipmate13]

I know what you are going through. We sold our house in three weeks and they told us to get out in 2 weeks and we were leaving on a cruise. We had closing just 2 days before we left but when we got on that ship, we were so relaxed because the hard part was done. Our last cruise we were in a suite so the extra perks were fantastic. It spoiled us so much, we booked another cruise while we were on the ship in a grand suite. I had on board credit from a previous cruise so when my bill came on the last night it was $1.32 cents. Yup, that's right. We are going on this ship in August next year for 9 days and can't wait. I hope you have a relaxing trip with wonderful memories.

[alishac]

 

I did almost all of the physical activities like Ripcord, bumper cars, and even the trapeze act. My DW unfortunately couldn't and she wants to come back so she can after we have our DD.

 

 

How did you book the trapeze class? Was it advertised in the daily?

[sambao21]

How did you book the trapeze class? Was it advertised in the daily?

 

It was in the daily and it's first come first serve. I showed right on the time and had no problem getting a spot. Seemed like more people wanted to watch than participate.

[easyboy]

Just got off this itinerary, let me know if you have any questions.

 

Overall it was a blast....have a good trip.

Thanks for sharing your excursion experience.