Adventure of the Seas Canada/New England

[Tssweety]

Hi! We are heading on our second RCCL (first was the Oasis of the Seas) in 2 weeks and it is heading North!! First time cruising north as well.  Has anyone done the Bar Harbor St. John and Halifax itinerary?  If so any must do or must see?  We know we would like to have fresh lobster (any best places for this?) and maybe a tour of Acadia Nat'l Park.  Anything else that you would recommend?  Don't really want to do any long tours.  Thanks!!

[Merion_Mom]

Hi, Tssweety.  The best place on Cruise Critic to find that kind of information is on the Ports of Call boards.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

 

I also use www.tripadvisor.com

[Tssweety]

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

Hi, Tssweety.  The best place on Cruise Critic to find that kind of information is on the Ports of Call boards.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

 

I also use www.tripadvisor.com

Thanks!!

[KroozFoolz]

I think you might find this thread helpful - a review of a B2B on Adventure with the second leg being the itinerary you are asking about.

[mets123]

In Halifax, take a tour to Peggys Cove, go on a Duck Tour, or just walk along the Boardwalk (plenty of shops and restaurants along the way).

 

I would go for lobster and blueberry pie just about any place in Bar Harbor. Great homemade ice cream shops too.

 

In St John, visit the old time market. Reversing Falls is good but only when the tires change. Otherwise it just looks like a river. Make sure to check the high and low tide schedule.

 

 

[Maplemoose]

As a native Haligonian (that''s what we are called) I would recommend the Harbourwalk on the waterfront over Peggys Cove as it begins right at the cruise port, has no cost and has a lot more variety. Peggy's Cove is a tiny fishing village 30-45 minutes on a paid excursion with a lighthouse on a high rocky setting but when you have taken your pictures and bought your souvenir it's 30-45 minutes back to the ship. Of course there is no reason you can't do both and there are actually boat trips to Peggy's Cove from along the Harbourwalk which could be cheaper than the ship's excursion. If you are the Museum type there are a few along the walk as well including the Maritime Museum which has Titanic and Halifax Explosion (google it) exhibits among others, the Pier 21 Immigration Museum (Canada's Ellis Island} and the Discovery Centre which is great for kids. If you are into forts, just up the hill from the waterfront is the Halifax Citadel. 

 

https://www.kayakhalifax.com/wp-content/themes/cross-child/docs/halifax-harbourwalk-map.pdf

 

https://www.novascotia.com/explore/top-25/halifax-waterfront

 

Make sure you have a sweater and jacket and umbrella. Late May weather is very iffy here and one needs to be prepared for anything. I hope you enjoy Halifax as much as we enjoyed Nashville!  Any more specific questions, I will keep an eye out on the thread! 

 

 

[LBumb]

I’ve been considering this cruise 

[squadron]

2 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

Hi, Tssweety.  The best place on Cruise Critic to find that kind of information is on the Ports of Call boards.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

 

I also use www.tripadvisor.com

I'm on the Snowbird migration in Oct.  Check your roll call - lots of information.

[RnC49critic]

Hi, Tssweety

 In Bar Harbor we did Acadia Park Bus tour and Lobster Lunch.   Lobster lunch was very good but I can't remember the name of the place with the tour.  When we go back in 2020 we will probably do just Acadia Park.  We plan to look for a restaurant in Portland Main for Lobster.   Halifax we  did ton and off bus/trolley in the morning and then in the afternoon he titanic tour which was very informative and interesting.  When we go back to Halifax  we will go to  Peggy's cove.   St John's ,  The Market Place and Reversing Rapids.  Boston you can do the on & off trolley for.   Enjoy! 

Edited May 9, 2019 by RnC49critic

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, Maplemoose said:

As a native Haligonian (that''s what we are called) I would recommend the Harbourwalk on the waterfront over Peggys Cove as it begins right at the cruise port, has no cost and has a lot more variety. Peggy's Cove is a tiny fishing village 30-45 minutes on a paid excursion with a lighthouse on a high rocky setting but when you have taken your pictures and bought your souvenir it's 30-45 minutes back to the ship. Of course there is no reason you can't do both and there are actually boat trips to Peggy's Cove from along the Harbourwalk which could be cheaper than the ship's excursion. If you are the Museum type there are a few along the walk as well including the Maritime Museum which has Titanic and Halifax Explosion (google it) exhibits among others, the Pier 21 Immigration Museum (Canada's Ellis Island} and the Discovery Centre which is great for kids. If you are into forts, just up the hill from the waterfront is the Halifax Citadel. 

 

https://www.kayakhalifax.com/wp-content/themes/cross-child/docs/halifax-harbourwalk-map.pdf

 

https://www.novascotia.com/explore/top-25/halifax-waterfront

 

Make sure you have a sweater and jacket and umbrella. Late May weather is very iffy here and one needs to be prepared for anything. I hope you enjoy Halifax as much as we enjoyed Nashville!  Any more specific questions, I will keep an eye out on the thread! 

 

 

Thanks for the tips. What's the weather like in early September (cruise leaves on 8 September)? 

[smokeykat]

We are doing this cruise in the beginning of July. We wanted to try a non beachy cruise this time. We are from Long Island and have spent many summers in upstate NY but we never went to this part of Canada. We booked the bus tour for Acadia National Park for the morning. Heres the link: https://www.acadiatours.com/acadia-national-park-tours-our-tour/ It is reasonably priced compared to the cruise line price for the same thing. 

We booked one excursion through the cruise planner, Peggys Cove, for the morning so we can have time to walk around afterwards. Check your cruise planner as there are sales on now.  St John has a lot to do near the port so we are just going to walk and see what we find. 

 

[RnC49critic]

Hi, Tssweety

 In Bar Harbor we did Acadia Park Bus tour and Lobster Lunch.   Lobster lunch was very good but I can't remember the name of the place with the tour.  When we go back in 2020 we will probably do just Acadia Park.  We plan to look for a restaurant in Portland Main for Lobster.   Halifax we  did ton and off bus/trolley in the morning and then in the afternoon he titanic tour which was very informative and interesting.  When we go back to Halifax  we will go to  Peggy's cove.  

[RnC49critic]

Thank you DaveKathy  SmokeyKat.

[Maplemoose]

Weather in early September is usually good. Chilly at night but more sun than in the spring. Last August was very hot, more like NY, Boston but September brought a refreshing drop in humidity. Still be prepared just in case. 

[davekathy]

40 minutes ago, Maplemoose said:

Weather in early September is usually good. Chilly at night but more sun than in the spring. Last August was very hot, more like NY, Boston but September brought a refreshing drop in humidity. Still be prepared just in case. 

Thanks. 

[Tssweety]

5 hours ago, mets123 said:

In Halifax, take a tour to Peggys Cove, go on a Duck Tour, or just walk along the Boardwalk (plenty of shops and restaurants along the way).

 

I would go for lobster and blueberry pie just about any place in Bar Harbor. Great homemade ice cream shops too.

 

In St John, visit the old time market. Reversing Falls is good but only when the tires change. Otherwise it just looks like a river. Make sure to check the high and low tide schedule.

 

 

Thanks so much!! This is very very helpful!! 

[Tssweety]

4 hours ago, Maplemoose said:

As a native Haligonian (that''s what we are called) I would recommend the Harbourwalk on the waterfront over Peggys Cove as it begins right at the cruise port, has no cost and has a lot more variety. Peggy's Cove is a tiny fishing village 30-45 minutes on a paid excursion with a lighthouse on a high rocky setting but when you have taken your pictures and bought your souvenir it's 30-45 minutes back to the ship. Of course there is no reason you can't do both and there are actually boat trips to Peggy's Cove from along the Harbourwalk which could be cheaper than the ship's excursion. If you are the Museum type there are a few along the walk as well including the Maritime Museum which has Titanic and Halifax Explosion (google it) exhibits among others, the Pier 21 Immigration Museum (Canada's Ellis Island} and the Discovery Centre which is great for kids. If you are into forts, just up the hill from the waterfront is the Halifax Citadel. 

 

https://www.kayakhalifax.com/wp-content/themes/cross-child/docs/halifax-harbourwalk-map.pdf

 

https://www.novascotia.com/explore/top-25/halifax-waterfront

 

Make sure you have a sweater and jacket and umbrella. Late May weather is very iffy here and one needs to be prepared for anything. I hope you enjoy Halifax as much as we enjoyed Nashville!  Any more specific questions, I will keep an eye out on the thread! 

 

 

This is very helpful. Thank you so much!! 

[chengkp75]

For Bar Harbor, we did this cruise on NCL about 12 years ago.  Did a tour of Acadia, but in October it was foggy (being from Portland we kind of expected this) so didn't see much.  We did a schooner cruise of the bay which was very nice.

[Lovecruisingandmusic]

I was on the New England cruise last fall and my in laws live in Saint John so I’ve been there a number of times. My recommendation is to check out Hopewell Rocks. It’s about an easy 2 hour drive if you want to rent a car or take an excursion. I don’t recommend Reversing Falls. We rented a van and all of us drove to St. Andrews by the sea. It’s a small community and we walked down the main road and walked to the water and watched a fisherman. The drive was nice as the leaves were starting to change colour.  

 

Halifax is great if you don’t want to go to Peggy’s Cove. We walked to the gardens, in the Citadel, shopping, museum, casino, and along the water. I had been there before and knew it’s easy to walk around. We decided instead of spending most of the time on an excursion and seeing Peggy’s Cove with the crowds, we would do our own thing.

 

I went to Acadia Park but the excursion wasn’t great as too much time sitting on a coach and we couldn’t go up the mountain as there was no more parking. Maybe an earlier time or different park excursion would have been better, 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Lovecruisingandmusic