Wanted:port advice for New England/halifax

[MSUcruisers]

We will be on the Norwegian Dawn on a New England/ Canada tour in October. Does anyone have recommendations for independent or walking tours for our itinerary? With 5 ports, we are trying to keep our excursion costs reasonable, but still see as much as possible.

 

Sat, Oct 7 New York City 5:00 P

Sun, Oct 8 Martha's Vineyard 8:00 A 6:00 P

Mon, Oct 9 At Sea

Tues, Oct 10 Halifax 7:00 A 5:00 P

Wed, Oct 11 Bar Harbor 7:00 A 5:00 P

Thu, Oct 12 Boston 7:00 A 6:00 P

Fri, Oct 13 Newport 9:00 A 6:00 P

Sat, Oct 14 New York City 7:00 A

[mii]

Natasha also go to the Canada Ports of Call. There is a thread by a guy named Rick who actually lives in halifax. That might help you.

 

marilyn

[kannna]

Hi,

 

DH and I live on MV. Fall is really the prettiest time in my humble opinion. May I suggest the local bus system (VTA) a day pass is $6/pp and it will take you pretty much wherever you want to go. ( http://www.vineyardtransit.com ) The schedule is smaller in the fall than the summer but you can look at it on the web site.

 

Other web sites that may be of assistance:

 

http://www.mvy.com

http://www.mvol.com

http://www.mvcma.org

 

hope it's some help

 

K

[chessie68]

We will be taking that same cruise tin September.

 

We don't have much of a plan for In Martha's Vineyard we thought we would ride the carousel and just walk up to the gingerbread houses just do a walking tour. We may also take the bus to Edgartown. On the chamber of commerce cite of Martha's vineyard there are several walking tours mapped out.

http://www.bestreadguide.com/marthasvineyard/attract.html

In Halifax there is a free downtown bus. We thought we would go to the citadel and the public gardens and spend the rest of our time on the boardwalk. There is a free Halifax visitors guide you can order. You really don't have to go far. There is a lot to do right there near the pier.

http://www.halifaxinfo.com/maps.php

Bar Harbor has the beautiful Acadia National park. There is also a free shuttle bus that travels throughout the park. Someone had a time life book at work with 100 of the most beautiful places in the word and Acadia National park was one of them.

http://www.acadiamagic.com/welcome.html

In Newport we plan to tour one of the mansions, probably the Breakers, and do the cliff walk. You can buy an all day bus pass for $6.

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/newport_cliff_walk.htm

We've been to Boston several times so we may uses that day for a ship day. not sure yet.

 

You don't have to spend a fortune on shore excursions to have a great cruise. . Have fun planning.

[bgood]

Once you land at the tender dock in Newport, the mansions are to the right, but I'd recommend you go to the left and up away from the water and stroll among the largest collection of original colonial-era homes in the country. There are some real beauties if you like that sort of thing.

 

All of these ports offer easy walking and a lot to discover.

 

bgood

[Cruise Lover Kathy]

I agree about Newport and taking the city bus. You can buy a pass at the visitors center just up from the dock. You can also get tickets for tours of the mansions at the same place. Most include the Breakers and one other "cottage" in 2004 the price was $22us.

The Breakers is a docent guided tour so there is a line to get in that can get very long as the morning progresses. I believe it opens at 9am but you can check at their site. Some of the others have headphone tours which are wonderful. You can stay at one spot and get more info or move on as quickly as you wish.

www.newportmansions.org

 

Someone I spoke with recommended just seeing 2 homes plus travel time and he was right...after all that walking we were ready for lunch back in town and some shopping on the way back to the ship.

 

Doing this on our own was much cheaper than the ship tour and we were able to see 2 homesand some of the Riverwalk.

 

Boston has the Beantown Trolley that lets you get on and off all around town or just take the complete circle aroun the city. It is narrated and tickets are sold on board.

www.brushhilltours.com

This worked out great and since we had exGIs with our group we took the trolley all the way out and saw"Old Ironsides." We did take the tour there and then went back into town on the trolley and walked part of the Freedom Trail.

 

With Princess 2004, we were docked quite a ways outside of downtown so there was a shuttle in and out. We did loose some time since we wanted to be sure not to be late getting back.

 

Anyone know if that is still how it is going?

[Cruise Lover Kathy]

Just called Acadia National Park (Bar Harbor) about the free trolley thru the park. It does END on Oct 12 Columbus Day. That could be why we took Oli's Trolley the last time. Guess they want the fall ships but only the summer people get the extra perks.

[daryleann]

Halifax bus route has just been released - [Free Ride Everywhere Downtown]: http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/fred.html

There is also a lot of info about the town. If this is your first trip to the area, you might consider getting another couple and getting a taxi to Peggy's Cove, Swissair memorial, Titanic memorial and then a drive around town. This will still leave pleanty of time to wander the boardwark and shops near the terminal. this was our most memorable stops. (lovely weather added to it!)

[Cruise Lover Kathy]

thanks, Darlyeann for the connect to the bus in Halifax. Since we have already seen Peggy's Cove we are looking to do more in Halifax itself. TheCitadel was closed with a strike last time so we have at least one thing to so.

[MSUcruisers]

Just called Acadia National Park (Bar Harbor) about the free trolley thru the park. It does END on Oct 12 Columbus Day. That could be why we took Oli's Trolley the last time. Guess they want the fall ships but only the summer people get the extra perks.

 

 

Here is a link on the free Acadia National Park bus. We will be there October 11 on the Norwegian Dawn. This website says the bus runs through October 9. Is there another trolley?

http://www.exploreacadia.com/maps.html

[daryleann]

Oli's Trolley - take the longer tour. It stops at Cadillac Mtn for a bit then another stop for a small hike (usually to the "facilities" but a bit of walking around) and drives by Thunder Hole and the beach. Nice tour and plenty of time to wander the shops. They depart at 10:00 and 2:00. Just walk up the hill from the pier where you are tendered, up across from the neat gazebo. $25.00 isn't much. You can buy tickets online and guarantee the trip or you can wait to see what the weather is. Dress warm (layers) ... it is chilly on Cadillac. Bring that backpack!

[MSUcruisers]

Thanks. The $25 price seems fair. For others who are interested, here is the link--www.acadiaislandtours.com/long.html

[MSUcruisers]

Hi,

 

DH and I live on MV. Fall is really the prettiest time in my humble opinion. May I suggest the local bus system (VTA) a day pass is $6/pp and it will take you pretty much wherever you want to go. ( http://www.vineyardtransit.com ) The schedule is smaller in the fall than the summer but you can look at it on the web site.

 

Other web sites that may be of assistance:

 

http://www.mvy.com

http://www.mvol.com

http://www.mvcma.org

 

hope it's some help

 

K

 

This trolley runs through October 9, so it should work for us.