Halifax Pub Tour

[kittymom]

I'm new to this so bear with me. I'm going on RCI's Jewel of the Sea in early October. They offer a pub tour that sounds hysterical-bagpipes, crazy guide, etc. I'm wondering if anyone has taken this and if it's a lot of fun or really lame!

[Katiebug227]

DH and I did the pub crawl (booked through Carnival when we cruised on Triumph last June). It was an absolute RIOT. I don't know if RCI uses the same tour operator as Carnival does, but it sounds familiar, with the bagpiper and kilted guide. ;)

 

Our pub crawl went to three historic pubs, with the bagpiper and two guides. You have to wear a bright yellow sou'wester hat on your head so they don't leave you behind and you can't get lost. There was also an Irish music duet that performed at all three pubs, and the gentleman who sang told really neat stories. We got the impression that the locals are amused by the half-drunk tourists parading about downtown Halifax. :)

 

Our group had a fairly wide age range - we're mid-twenties and got into a smaller group of folks our age who had a great time together.

 

The two of us happened to have quite a bit of Canadian currency thanks to a previous trip up north, and figured we really should use it up on the pub crawl instead of bothering to exchange it back into US dollars. Between buying several rounds for our newfound friends from the ship, and more beer for ourselves, we tore through about $80 Canadian in no time ($65 US dollars). To this day I have NO clue how we managed to stumble back aboard the ship! :D A quick nap in our cabin before dinner, and we were right as rain, though. It was a great time and the pictures that DH and I took are still fun to look at.

 

One item to be aware of - the pubs will take US currency readily but your change will be given in Canadian currency. They don't do the conversion...a $3 CAD beer paid for with $20 USD will give you $17 CAD as change. $17 CAD = $15 USD (roughly). That "three dollar beer" just cost you five bucks in US money! If you don't have a chance to exchange for a few Canadian twenties, pay for your first drinks in the pubs with the a US twenty or fifty, then use the change (given in Canadian currency) to pay for more drinks You can always use a credit card, but we found it easier and quicker to just use cash.

 

I highly recommend sampling the Alexander Keith's IPA. Very tasty beer, can't find it here in New England, though.

[hvsteve1]

I just came back from a week in Halifax and can assure you that the Canadian Dollar is no longer 65 cents US. My exchange rate was about 89 cents. If you don't want to bother exchanging money and have an ATM card that charges fees, your loss on a small purchase would be about 10 percent. I also found my MC and Visa gave me the decent exhange rate and did not charge extra fees for foreign currency. If you don't pay ATM fees, there are loads of ATMs all over. Also, the "good news" is that Nova Scotia recently reduced their unified sales tax from 15% to 14%. Yippee. Keep in mind, if you spend $50 or more in one place and $200 on your total trip to Canada, you can mail in a form and get your sales tax refunded. This is on merchandise ONLY and not on food or entertainment. Refund envelopes should be available at the ship terminal as well as around town. I have to admit I have never taken the Pub Tour, but did find one place, Maxwell's Plum, that had 60 beers on tap. I conducted my own "tour" over the course of the week, sitting at my favorite table an arm's reach from the bottomless barrel of peanuts.:p

[soooo excited!]

Just thought I'd post a note here since I grew up in Halifax and have done many a 'pub tour' - though not organized ones ! LOL !! Halifax has many great pubs - every time I go home for a visit there's even more. Lots of live/local entertainment - I can't imagine it not being a total blast !!!! and the locals are welcoming people - they won't notice if 'you've had few' , they'll be right there with ya !!! :D

[BabySis]

DH and I did the pub crawl (booked through Carnival when we cruised on Triumph last June). It was an absolute RIOT. I don't know if RCI uses the same tour operator as Carnival does, but it sounds familiar, with the bagpiper and kilted guide. ;)

 

Our pub crawl went to three historic pubs, with the bagpiper and two guides. You have to wear a bright yellow sou'wester hat on your head so they don't leave you behind and you can't get lost. There was also an Irish music duet that performed at all three pubs, and the gentleman who sang told really neat stories. We got the impression that the locals are amused by the half-drunk tourists parading about downtown Halifax. :)

 

Our group had a fairly wide age range - we're mid-twenties and got into a smaller group of folks our age who had a great time together.

 

The two of us happened to have quite a bit of Canadian currency thanks to a previous trip up north, and figured we really should use it up on the pub crawl instead of bothering to exchange it back into US dollars. Between buying several rounds for our newfound friends from the ship, and more beer for ourselves, we tore through about $80 Canadian in no time ($65 US dollars). To this day I have NO clue how we managed to stumble back aboard the ship! :D A quick nap in our cabin before dinner, and we were right as rain, though. It was a great time and the pictures that DH and I took are still fun to look at.

 

One item to be aware of - the pubs will take US currency readily but your change will be given in Canadian currency. They don't do the conversion...a $3 CAD beer paid for with $20 USD will give you $17 CAD as change. $17 CAD = $15 USD (roughly). That "three dollar beer" just cost you five bucks in US money! If you don't have a chance to exchange for a few Canadian twenties, pay for your first drinks in the pubs with the a US twenty or fifty, then use the change (given in Canadian currency) to pay for more drinks You can always use a credit card, but we found it easier and quicker to just use cash.

 

I highly recommend sampling the Alexander Keith's IPA. Very tasty beer, can't find it here in New England, though.

Katie, do you know the names of any of those pubs??