Yet Another (semi-live) Adventure B2B experience (NE/Canada and Bahamas)

[Cruise a holic]

No, the SeaPass must still be inserted into the door. No slot in the room for power.

You can also use a credit card or old seapass card if you want to leave power on when you leave your cabin

[maggie416]

No, the SeaPass must still be inserted into the door. No slot in the room for power.

 

Thanks Bob. I was hoping they upgraded that.

Marg

[hapster85]

Day Four

 

Awoke to low visibility in Bar Harbor. We booked an 11:00 am excursion through Oli's Trolley (highly recommend), so we didn't have to rush to get off the ship. Made our way downstairs at 9:00, and by 9:30 we were standing on shore. The check-in for the trolley was at the same location as the tender dropoff this time. We spent an hour walking the waterfront until time to board.

 

The tour we booked was a four hour trip through Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain. Our group of 36 was a mix a ship passengers and others there on land vacations. Our guide was great. The four hour tour included four 30 minutes stops: Wild Gardens of Acadia, Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and the top of Cadillac Mtn. Our entire group managed to return to the bus on time or early at each of the first 3 stops, so we actually had 40 minutes at the top of the mountain.

 

The only drawback to this tour would be the timing. It takes place during normal lunch hours, but doesn't include time for a meal. We bought snacks at the Jordan Pond gift shop, so we didn't starve. A few passengers brought snacks with them. Definitely take this into account when booking this tour.

 

We once again had a wonderful meal in the MDR. Sail away was shrouded in fog, serenaded by the ship's horn. We returned to our room to find a note advising us to advance our clocks one hour before retiring.

[hapster85]

View of the ship from the tender

View along Main St

The Wild Gardens of Acadia

[hapster85]

Thunder Hole

[hapster85]

Jordan Pond

[hapster85]

View from the top of Cadillac Mountain. You can just make out the ship through the fog in a couple of them.

[hapster85]

A glimpse of the sun, from our table in the MDR, just before it disappeared completely in the fog.

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks Bob. I was hoping they upgraded that.

Marg

Marg, I don't see them "upgrading" any of the older ships. Much too complicated and expensive.

[hapster85]

Day Five

 

St John, New Brunswick

 

In port with this lady today

[Cruise a holic]

The park looks beautiful! Did you need bug spray?

[jimbri]

Wonderful review. Great photos!

[maggie416]

Marg, I don't see them "upgrading" any of the older ships. Much too complicated and expensive.

 

Bob, true. Just so spoiled by the Anthem! But, after 3 years we decided to do The Adventure since it leaves from NJ, so we can drive from Ct. plus, it is a back to back!

Marg

[maggie416]

Marg, I don't see them "upgrading" any of the older ships. Much too complicated and expensive.

 

Sorry, I meant Merion, not Bob!

Marg

[hapster85]

Got much better shots of the Queen Mary 2 as we left St John. (Will post about our day later.)

 

Couldn't help but chuckle at the banner. I think we managed to stay out of her personal space, though.

[hapster85]

Taken from the bus while we paused at an overlook.

Final parting shot before leaving the helicopter deck.

 

Our excursion took the entire time we were in port, so I wasn't able any better shots of her from the front. Hopefully our paths will cross again some day.

[hapster85]

We booked the Saint John and the Bay of Fundy Top 10, through the ship, on recommendation from someone on the Canada and New England forum. It's a 6.5 hour trip that begins in town with a stop at O'Leary's Irish Pub, including a free drink, followed by a stop at a local open market.

 

Back on the bus we wound our way through town, with views of various points of interest, before stopping to see the rapids where the St John River meets the Bay. A spectacular sight.

 

We then rode an hour away to the tiny village of Saint Martin's. The view at low tide is rather dramatic, with fishing boats sitting grounded around the pier. Next was a short drive to the sea caves, and large open beach consisting of creek rock instead of sand.

 

The stop included a lunch at the shore side restaurant. Choices for the tour were seafood chowder, minestrone soup, or chicken tenders and fries. Each option included biscuits and cookies. My wife said the chicken was nothing special. I found the soup to be quite good, and my son, the seafood lover among us, found the chowder to be delicious.

 

Back on the bus we return to Saint John to find that the rapids have disappeared, and the river is now flowing in the opposite direction. It was about 3.5 hours between stops at the river. Several more hours would be required to see the rapids flowing in the opposite direction, but the difference in just that short time was impressive.

 

We would highly recommend this tour. Our guide was excellent. Only being in port until 3:00, the tour took the entire day, dropping us off a few minutes after all aboard. There were three full bus loads, so it was quite popular.

 

We ended our day after a nice dinner, with the headliner act, Almost Elton John. He was quite good, singing a variety of Elton John's hits.

[hapster85]

I only now realize that I didn't get any shots from inside the pub.

Here's inside the market though.

[hapster85]

Our welcome to the tiny fishing village

Covered bridge no longer open to vehicle traffic.

Grounded fishing boat

Low tide

[Cruise a holic]

I remember touring that Market place years ago. Interesting town.

[hapster85]

While I took several, photos do not do justice to the impact of the tide on the St John River. The river at low tide

Same location, just past slack tide. The river is just beginning to reverse upstream

[hapster85]

For these videos, I'm standing a few feet to the left of where the pictures above were taken. They were each recorded at the time of the photos above.

 

 

[hapster85]

The rocky beach and sea caves. The caves are rather shallow, and we did not walk over to them.

 

[hapster85]

The tour guide provided a couple of photos showing the stark contrast between high and low tide at both the fishing village and the beach. There's just not enough time to experience it on a port stop. Definitely needed to plan a land vacation here someday.

Fish village of Saint Martin's

The beach near Saint Martin's

[hapster85]

Current onboard Voom prices for those interested .