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Robyns23

By Robyns23,
in Canada/New England

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Robyns23

Robyns23

Posted
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We are going on the Liberty in October with a stop in Bar Harbor. All the excursions but one are already booked and we really want to go to Acadia. All other options/tours seem booked as well. Anyone have any suggestions? Do you think Royal will add more excursions? 

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Tree_skier "Live from...." Rare

Tree_skier

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No I don't think anymore will be added.  You are 7 months out from your cruise and I'd expect that all excursions have been advertised.   Bar Harbor doesn't want cruise ships.  As a result of that there will be a limited number available as tour companies start moving their infrastructure away from Bar Harbor and to more cruise tourist friendly areas.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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I booked on my own to Acadia. Oli's Trolley. Check for availability. There was also another company Acadia Tours. Very similar. No need to do it with Royal Caribbean. There is also a free shuttle but it may not run your date. 

 

https://olistrolley.com/tours/

 

https://www.acadiatours.com/acadia-national-park-tours-our-tour/

Edited by Charles4515
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relaxatsea

relaxatsea

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A few years ago, we had a port stop in Bar Harbor.  Right to the left of the dock is a beautiful walking path that goes alongside the water and eventually turns and goes into the town.  It was in the Fall, and we enjoyed all of the sights and the beautiful Fall leaves.  After our walk, we had some blueberry pie at one of the restaurants in town.  It was a great day.

 

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taglovestocruise

taglovestocruise

Posted
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1 hour ago, Robyns23 said:

We are going on the Liberty in October with a stop in Bar Harbor. All the excursions but one are already booked and we really want to go to Acadia. All other options/tours seem booked as well. Anyone have any suggestions? Do you think Royal will add more excursions? 

Close to a dozen tours on TripAdvisor, many more on Viator. cheaper and better than Royal. 

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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1 hour ago, spleenstomper said:

Is there a car rental close to port? I need to book something for bar harbor for May 5!!! It’s been busy around here and we are just getting around to figuring out what we want to do. Thanks. 

The closest is at the airport, a 20 minute drive away from the pier.  There is no Enterprise there, they've closed.

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1025cruise

1025cruise

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Sorry, no car rental in Bar Harbor. The taxi to/from the airport will probably be more than the car.

There are electric car rentals, not sure if they are running that early though. Season for Bar Harbor doesn't really start until after Memorial Day.

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CaribbeanBound

CaribbeanBound

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With apologies (and thanks) to the cruiser who posted this tidbit that I found on one of the threads...

 

"You don't need a rental car.  Walk up Main St. to the Village Green.  Check in at the visitors booth where you can buy the Park Entrance Pass.  Or, if you are a senior and have one, bring a National Park Senior Pass. Take Island Explorer Bus #3 (leaves every half hour beginning at 9 am from the Village Green) to Thunder Hole.  Hike the Ocean Path back to Sand Beach.  From Sand Beach take Bus # 4 (leaves every 20 minutes beginning at 9:35 am) to Jordan Pond.  Have lunch here by the lake.  Very good chowder and popovers.  Return to town on bus # 4 or 5 and check out the shops.

The Island Explorer free bus website is at https://www.exploreacadia.com/index.html

You can find maps and bus schedules there."

 

There are several different tours to choose from that you can do on your own.

 

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1025cruise

1025cruise

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20 minutes ago, CaribbeanBound said:

With apologies (and thanks) to the cruiser who posted this tidbit that I found on one of the threads...

 

"You don't need a rental car.  Walk up Main St. to the Village Green.  Check in at the visitors booth where you can buy the Park Entrance Pass.  Or, if you are a senior and have one, bring a National Park Senior Pass. Take Island Explorer Bus #3 (leaves every half hour beginning at 9 am from the Village Green) to Thunder Hole.  Hike the Ocean Path back to Sand Beach.  From Sand Beach take Bus # 4 (leaves every 20 minutes beginning at 9:35 am) to Jordan Pond.  Have lunch here by the lake.  Very good chowder and popovers.  Return to town on bus # 4 or 5 and check out the shops.

The Island Explorer free bus website is at https://www.exploreacadia.com/index.html

You can find maps and bus schedules there."

 

There are several different tours to choose from that you can do on your own.

 

The Island Explorer will probably not be running yet.

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luckyinpa

luckyinpa

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3 hours ago, spleenstomper said:

Thanks, we would like to go to Arcadia NP but not in a bus with everyone else. I’ll work on that this weekend. Thanks.

 

have you read reviews, here or TA forum?  i forget where i read it but they said there are so many vehicles going up the mountain that there are no places to pull over and park . maybe it was high season, unsure. but some reviews were saying how overrun it was.

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mets123

mets123

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5 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

have you read reviews, here or TA forum?  i forget where i read it but they said there are so many vehicles going up the mountain that there are no places to pull over and park . maybe it was high season, unsure. but some reviews were saying how overrun it was.

I've done the tours many times in summer and prime time fall . Never had an issue with parking, whether by ourselves or on a tour bus.

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Charles4515

Charles4515

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56 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

You can no longer just drive up Cadillac Mountain. You need to have a permit to drive up.

A park pass is also required to drive into the park. The park pass is not required for the bus tours. 

 

Bar Harbor is a tender port. I don’t get going out of town to the airport renting a car and then returning the car to the airport and back to Bar Harbor. Seems like that would eat up a bunch of time. After the tour I had time for a lobster roll and blueberry pie and a bit of time looking in the shops. 

 

Since I took Oli’s Acadia tour on my first trip to Bar Harbor I appreciated the the tour because it was narrated by a local and we learned all kinds of stuff that I would not have if I had driven into the park on my own. 

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