Quebec City to New York Sept 2023

[BCCruiser123]

HI: Anyone have recommendations for excursions or must see in the following: Quebec City, Saguenay, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbour, Boston?

Looked at the ship excursions but there are not many reviews.

Thanks!

[LHT28]

you may want to also check the ports of call forums

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

[SEPTEMO470]

depending on where you dock >> Quebec City >>> you can walk up to  the Chateau Frontenac Hotel and the Old City from the docks there are escalators  and trams to the area from the street of the dock area. Charlottetown >> you might want to see Anne of Green Gables House >> go on your own but better if you take a ships tour, think they top this off with a PEI lobster  lunch. Sydney & Halifax >>> your docked close to town so can walk to town centre and Halifax Harbour has a lot of sights in the area. Don't forget to try the PEI Mussels for lunch. >> Peggy's Cove is a good place to see. >>> Bar Harbour Maine>> took taxi downtown to have Boston claim chowder at Jordan Pond House. 

Hope this helps ! 

 

[cnd crsr]

QC - Old Town, - Chateau Frontanac, - Ste.Anne de Beaupre,  - there are waterfalls (can't remember the name) a short 1/2 hour  drive away

 

SAGUENAY - HoHo bus, - there is also a theatre performance,book through the cruise line ( can't remember the name of it) 

 

PEI - Anne of Green Gables home

 

SYDNEY - Alexander Graham Bell homestead,- Cabot Trail

 

HALIFAX - Peggy's Cove, -Pier 22, -the Citadel, - eat at Salty's or The Bicycle Thief (on the boardwalk)

 

BOSTON -  walk the Freedom Trail,-  HoHo bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

[denby]

The Theatre performance in Saguenay is not to be missed. Also docking there is amazing with a very warm welcome. That port was the highlight of our vacation!!

[Fouremco]

We cruised from Boston to Montreal, so no New York or Saguenay suggestions. We also lived in Halifax previously, and had visited all of the ports and surrounding areas many, many times. Bar Harbor we had only visited once before, but it was for a week's holiday.

 

During the cruise, we rented a car and enjoyed DIY excursions in every port except Bar Harbor. There we took the Acadia National Park Tour with Oli's Trolley. It's a great tour and comes highly recommended. https://olistrolley.com/tours/acadia-national-park-tour/ After the tour, we had lunch and wandered around the town, using this map for a guide: http://www.shipdetective.com/ports/ports_of_call/pdf/BHbyFOOT_09_web.pdf  The "Shore Path", #13 on the map, is a lovely walk.

 

In Québec City, you can't go wrong spending your day exploring Old Québec (https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/old-quebec-city). But we've done that before, and I lived there many years ago, so we decided to head off to see the Montmorency Falls (https://www.sepaq.com/destinations/parc-chute-montmorency/index.dot?language_id=1) and then tour the bucolic île d'Orléans (https://www.quebec-cite.com/en/what-to-do-quebec-city/tour-ile-orleans?gclid=CjwKCAjwzuqgBhAcEiwAdj5dRg_GoZsrxvlLh9aQ2K5KYaE_ay6qrcu2MwvgBFAjVjXXJBbYHlen4xoC8vYQAvD_BwE).

 

In PEI, we decided to explore the one region that we hadn't spent time in previously and do the Points East Coastal Drive. PEI's tourism website (https://www.tourismpei.com) will give you some ideas of things to see and do, including visiting the Green Gables region (https://www.tourismpei.com/places-to-go/green-gables-shore).

 

Sydney offers a really wide variety of things to do outside the city. Again, we rented a car and spent the day at Fortress Louisbourg. It's a quick and easy drive, and will cost you far less (car rental + admission) than taking the ship's shore excursion. Plus you'll have a lot more time at the fortress. (https://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/fortress-of-louisbourg-national-historic-site/1583) 

 

Nova Scotia Tourism's Doers and Dreamers Travel Guide (https://www.novascotia.com/travel-info/travel-guide) will give you lots of other options should touring Louisbourg not be your cup of tea. It will also give you options for Halifax and area.

 

For Halifax, we once again rented a car at the Westin hotel across the road from the cruise terminal. We headed out to Lunenburg for lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, then drove back along the south shore to Peggy's Cove for a short visit.

 

But if this your first time visiting Halifax, there's so much to see and do within a short walk from the ship. Using this map as a guide (https://discoverhalifaxns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Leisure-Walking-Map-2019.pdf), I'd walk along the waterfront from the cruise terminal as far as the Historic Properties (Purple 17,6). There are numerous places you might want to stop in and visit along the way. From the Historic Properties, head up George Street, cross through the Grand Parade (Yellow 7) and up to the Old Town Clock (Yellow 22). From there, you could head to the Citadel (Yellow 9) or descend to Sackville Street and head for the Public Gardens (Yellow 12). After viewing the gardens, exit onto Spring Garden Road and head through the shopping area to Barrington-South-Hollis-Terminal and back to the cruise terminal. Whether or not you could complete this walk would depend on how many places you decide to stop and visit. At no point are you more than a 20 minute walk from the cruise terminal, so if you are running short on time, head to the ship.

 

Whatever you choose to do, and there are lots of good suggestions from other posters, I hope you have a wonderful time!

[BCCruiser123]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply!

[david,Mississauga]

On 3/22/2023 at 10:31 AM, cnd crsr said:

...

 

SAGUENAY - HoHo bus, - there is also a theatre performance,book through the cruise line ( can't remember the name of it) 

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have visited Saguenay three times on the Queen Mary 2. On the first visit in September 2016 we attended Fabuleuse which was more lavish than we could have imagined. It was well worth it.

 

Most performances are in French, but they do (or did) matinées in English for cruise ship passengers. From this information it appears there is a limited season this year with only evening performances. It is early yet, so maybe that will change. 

 

https://saguenaylacsaintjean.ca/attrait/quoi-faire/la-fabuleuse-histoire-dun-royaume#description-generale

 

[pink845]

Bar Harbour - rent a car and drive the Acadia National Park.  Jordan Pond absolutely lovely.  Get off as early as you can, get that car.  Then, set aside a 8 to 10 days in the future to visit Maine in detail.  What a beautiful state. So many lighthouses. So many fabulous views.  One day on a cruise ship is just a snack.