Corner Brook, Sydney, Halifax and Bermuda - Have Excursion Questions!

[Texas Duck]

Taking a cruise next Summer and would appreciate your help. First of all, my wife and I love historical/quaint homes and villages. We equally love nature’s wonderlands. As all cruise ships do, Regent offers a choice of excursions. We have never been to this part of the world. Appreciate your help in making our selection.

Corner Brook
1. Highlights – drive and stop for views
2. Cox’s Cove – fish processing, folkloric demonstrations, photo stops

Sydney
1. Fortress Louisbourg
2. Bell Museum
3. City walking tour
4. Bras d’Or Lake grand tour
5. Highland Village highlights

Halifax
1. Peggy’s Cove Tour
2. Historic walk tour including brewery
3. City tour
4. Historic Halifax and Titanic

Bermuda
1. Walking tour of either place.
2. Southern shores
3. Crystal caves and Tuckers Town
4. Quintessential Bermuda & St. Georges
5. Glass bottom boat
6. Sunset sail
7. Catamaran snorkel trip

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and opinions.

[gnome12]

For Sydney I very much enjoyed my visits to Fortress Louisburg and the Bell Museum. (Note, I was on a driving trip MANY years ago, not on a cruise.)

[LHT28]

I would  try the ports of call forums

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

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/118-bermuda/

[*Miss G*]

 

50 minutes ago, Texas Duck said:

my wife and I love historical/quaint homes and villages. We equally love nature’s wonderlands.

 

Sounds like a great itinerary!  Since you emphasize the above, I highly recommend Peggy’s Cove.  We rented a car instead of taking a tour so we didn’t have to deal with crowds and someone else’s schedule.  The busses were just leaving as we were pulling in!  I’d point you to my LIVE thread for pictures but they all disappeared in CC’s last update.  ☹️ I’ve added a couple to this post to give you an idea.  I got some great souvenirs from one of the shops down the street.  (Away from the main tourist building.)

 

I’ve only walked the town in Sydney so I would recommend Tours 1, 4, & 5 for some history and landscapes.  Hopefully the artisan shops at the port are up and running again because they were nice to browse as you head back to the ship.

 

Peggy’s Cove

 

 

 

 

These were the best lobster rolls we’ve ever had.  The girl in the window and her husband, who own the business, are the nicest people ever.

 

[edrussell]

Well I was born and raised in Corner Brook so I kind of know the area.  Cox's Cove will be lovely, in fact from the cruise terminal you will drive right past the home I grew up in.  

 

With that said if you are able to do a side visit to the Captain James Cook monument you are going to get some of the best views of the bay of islands you will ever see.  Truly breathtaking.  In the other direction Marble Mountain ski hills offers chair lift rides during the off season with views of the Humber river also.

 

If you have any more questions about that port of call let me know.  I have lots of family and friends still in the area and some are in the tourism industry also.

 

[rodndonna]

My husband and I are from the Canadian east coast- and our collective vote would be 

 

• Sydney - Fortress Louisbourg
• Halifax - Peggy's Cove
• Corner Brook (this was my husband's vote, as I have never been o NFLD so couldn't vote) - Highlights (scenic drive and photo ops)

 

Have a great trip!

[cruisn43]

There are references to the three Canadian ports in a cruise blog called Exploring the World from the Inside Cabin (https://www.theinsidecabin.com).  They visited these locations during their 2022 Canada Greenland Iceland Cruise.  Someone else posted from the same cruise with their information from the ports but I can't find the link right now.

  

we find that sometimes cruise tours cram too much into one day.  You might want to look at renting a car or booking a taxi (book ahead) so you can go at your own speed.

 

From Halifax, Peggy's Cove is beautiful, as are some of the small towns nearby (Mahone Bay, Chester, Lunenburg).  In Halifax, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (with the Titanic Exhibit and information on the Halifax Explosion in 1917) is also interesting.  Depending on your time in port you could probably to both on your own. 

 

From Sydney, the Alexander Graham Bell Museum is very interesting.  You could easily spend a few hours there if you like that sort of thing.  It is an hour drive (without stops from Sydney to Baddeck).  There are also some other options close to your route to Baddeck, as well as some scenic areas both in Baddeck and on the route.  The Fortress of Louisbourg is also interesting, but is in the other direction.

[Fouremco]

DW and I have driven past Corner Brook but never actually stayed there or explored the area. Hopefully this link will provide you with some more ideas: https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/search?q=corner+brook. As we've not sailed with Regent, I can't comment on their shore excursions, but we tend to be DIY explorers and highly recommend renting a vehicle.

 

Having visited Sydney and Cape Breton on many occasions, both for business and pleasure, and having seen everything to be seen in the area, my vote would definitely be for a visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg The last time we visited the fortress was during a HAL cruise, and we rented a car from Enterprise. It's very convenient, as they'll pick you up at the beginning of your day and drop you off at the end. The actual drive to the fortress is quick and easy, and the cost of admission for two plus the car rental and gas was far less than the cost of the ship's excursion for two. But the main advantage was the ability to stay for the better part of the day and see everything at a leisurely pace instead of rushing to meet the ship excursion's limited time.

 

For other ideas about Cape Breton, should Louisbourg not appeal to you: https://www.cbisland.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLvsB0MGmHB7IBs3Y8uEzfZQhWEVT7t2zqG4gX46HrD_6LvW6MCuyHcaAkAyEALw_wcB

 

During our aforementioned cruise, in Halifax we again rented a car, at the Westin hotel across the road from the port terminal. We drove out to Lunenburg, then back along the scenic route through Mahone Bay, Chester and Peggy's Cove. That's perhaps a bit ambitious, depending on the amount of time you have in port, so instead I'd recommend driving out to Peggy's Cove and upon your return, taking a walk along the Halifax harbour boardwalk. A visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic would be a great way to spend a few hours.

 

Of course, you could spend days just exploring everything that the city has to offer, so if the iconic Peggy's Cove doesn't appeal, or you are looking for greater variety, here's more for you to consider: https://www.lunenburgregion.ca/themes/user/site/default/asset/files/guides/DoersDreamersTravelGuide2022ENG_0.pdf

 

 

 

[Maplemoose]

As a resident of Halifax I would suggest a couple of hours at least walking the Harbourwalk which starts right outside the dock and goes for about 3 km. along the waterfront with plenty of restaurants, bars, shops, ships and also the Maritime Museum and Immigration Museum, the latter being next to your docking pier. It is known as Canada's Ellis Island. The former has popular exhibits on the Titanic and Halifax Explosion of 1917, the world's most deadly explosion before Hiroshima, killing close to 9/11 numbers. There used to be boats that would take you to Peggy's Cove from about halfway down the Harbourwalk. I do not know the cost or if they still run but they would be an appropriate way to travel there if they do. Google "Halifax Harbourwalk" and you can find more info.