Saint John, Bay of Fundy, Hopewell Rocks excursion?

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

I'm on a mid Sept 2023 Canada / New England cruise on Caribbean Princess.  One of the excursions I'm interested in is to the Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy, but I have a big hesitation b/c it is listed as "strenuous" activity.  I haven't been on a cruise yet but have figured I could do anything labeled "easy" or "moderate" activity--I'm in decent shape but am in that "knees / back aren't what they used to be" stage.  Can anyone who has been there explain why it would be "strenuous" to simply walk down to the rocks and walk around?  I get the impression it's very steep and the ground is unpredictable since it's ocean floor.  It says there are about 300 yards you have to walk over pebbles and wet beach.  It does say in the fine print that they can't guarantee to be there at low tide, so it's sort of unknown what you get, or are these tides really predictable?  It leaves at 8 am and takes 2 hrs so we'd be at the site from about 10 am to 12:30 pm.   I'm really fascinated with the rock formations but there are a lot of other things to do in our one stop at Saint John that might be easier.  Also, part of the problem is it's a 2 hr bus ride there, which sounds like no fun.  On the way back they break that up with a short stop at a beach, then it's a 1.5 hr drive back to the ship.  Just so far as I've seen from the other excursions nothing is as fascinating to me as these rock formations.

[GTJ]

2 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy * * * is listed as "strenuous" activity.

It has been several years since I was there. I would never have classified it as "strenuous." Presumably, what the cruise line considers to be "strenuous" is walking down, and then later returning by walking up, staircase. If you use a wheelchair, you would not get anything out of this trip. If you always use the elevators on board the vessel, and would never consider using the staircases to go from one deck to another, then perhaps visiting the Hopewell Rocks would not be a good choice. But all other persons who are able to walk up and down stairs would not consider it to be "strenuous." Now as for the ocean floor, it is not a graded path, but a natural beach-like environment. There are stones on the ground, so if you walk without looking you might trip. If you find that walking along a beach is "strenuous," then once again, this would not be a good choice. You can get additional insight by going to Google maps and using the street view utility.

 

As to timing, the tides are precisely predicable. Tours are typically scheduled around the tide schedule by moving the activities around. Typically a tour to the rocks area will actually encompass two visits, one visit when the tide is in, and another visit when the tide is out . . . it is the contrast between the two that makes the site fascinating. You can see the tide tables for specific days at NB Parks, http://www.nbparks.ca/en/parks/33/hopewell-rocks-provincial-park/26/tide-tables and other similar sites.

 

As to the bus ride to the rocks, if you like travel generally, then it is a pleasant trip go there and returning. If you dislike travel, then the bus ride will be no fun. I do note your comment that you have not been on a cruise yet . . . the bus ride to and from the rocks will be more scenic than the travel on the cruise vessel itself (which ordinarily is nothing but an ocean with nothing to see but for the waves).

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Thank you for your response.  I do not need a wheelchair or cane etc.  I can take stairs.  But I do have a back issue that makes it hard to walk for hours and hours.  I tend to think that I could do this activity.  That is a good point about the bus ride being scenic.

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

It appears that the tide would still be fairly high when the tour would be there.  They say there is "partial access."  I will admit that this makes the tour seem less interesting.  I had wanted to see the full rocks.

[GTJ]

8 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

It appears that the tide would still be fairly high when the tour would be there. They say there is "partial access." I will admit that this makes the tour seem less interesting.

That you should have found the tide tables for September of next  year will make it very useful to determine whether this would be a good tour that day or not. In any case, this is not walking for hours. It is descending and climbing a staircase, with a stroll on the beach in-between. Not good for wheelchairs, but otherwise good for the 99 percent of the remaining group of people who are able to walk.

 

I did a tour of Hopewell Rocks with Roads to Sea Tours of Moncton. http://www.roads2sea.com I was in Moncton for a convention, having arrived from Newfoundland sailing with Marine Atlantic, and later departing to Maine sailing with Prince of Fundy Cruises. But I was in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for several days, traveling overland, staying in and around Halifax and Moncton. It was on a free day that I did the all day tour. We visited the Hopewell Rocks site first thing in morning, did other things during the day, then returned later in the day, after the tide had come in. It was two visits that really made this a sight to see, and I would be hard pressed to recommend visiting if one is not able to make the two visits. Being at the site for only a single visit, from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., would likely involve only a relatively short time on the beach (if it is even available, depending on tides), perhaps an hour or so. If the tide is in, then all you will see is some water. You would likely get a better experience doing as I had done, taking an all-day tour out of Moncton or Saint John. Doing this 2-1/2 hour tour might be okay if the tide is out, or if you simply want to claim to have been there.

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

The timetable I looked at was for this Sept b/c 2023 Sept isn't available yet.  Still, I felt like it was probably representative.

[GTJ]

It is representative of the tides at Hopewell Rocks, but the timing tides will almost certainly be far off. You will need to look at the tables for the precise date that you would be there. That table will tell you what you will be able to see and do. Here's the government's website that can show tide tables for Hopewell Cape for arbitrary dates in 2023. http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/en/stations/00170 Set the "Starting on" date for the date that you would be there, and you'll be able to get the times of the high and low tides. It will the low tide times that you'll be able to walk on the beach. Generally, the beach is accessible three hours before, and three hours after, the low tide. When the tides are going in or out, the water level may change at a rate of 6 to 8 feet per hour. Note as well that the highest tides are when the moon is full.

[texasgirl29]

The most recent video by cruise vloggers Ben and David goes to the Bay of Fundy on a cruise excursion. 
 

 

[Ashland]

Let me just offer a private tour suggestion. We booked with members from our rollcall a great excursion with Dave's Taxi Tours !!! Couldn't have been a better option than a ship excursion.

[Noodles84]

Don't wear good shoes!  I got thoroughly stuck in the mud, and my husband had to come and pull me out, before I called out to one of the life guards to come with a rope. Sounds funny now, but the tide was on its way in and I was getting worried. Took off my shoes under the mud and there's a tap at the top to wash them off, so I wasn't the first one! Nicole

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Update to this old thread:  I'm seeing now that the tide tables for my exact day show a favorable tide when I'll be there.  It is "partial access" for about a half hour and then full access, with the tide, out, for the rest of the time.  So, I could walk on the ground.  I like this idea, although a 2 hr drive still doesn't appeal too much.  At the moment I'm thinking to do the excursion.  It's just so very different from anything else I've seen.