What's Fun in St. John's, Canada

We're sailing on the Splendor in a couple of weeks and the only stop is in St. John's. We've been there before and found the trip to the Bay of Fundy boring. Is there anything else 6 couples can do for the day?

We did a tour around the city with the highlight being a visit to reversing falls twice to see it flowing in both directions.

Sorry dont remember the tour company we used.

Kayak the St. John River and Lobster Bake!

We're sailing on the Splendor in a couple of weeks and the only stop is in St. John's. We've been there before and found the trip to the Bay of Fundy boring. Is there anything else 6 couples can do for the day?

If your stop is in New Brunswick, it is Saint John. If it is in Newfoundland it is St John's and you won't be anywhere near the Bay of Fundy.

We're sailing on the Splendor in a couple of weeks and the only stop is in St. John's. We've been there before and found the trip to the Bay of Fundy boring. Is there anything else 6 couples can do for the day?

I would take the excursion to Hopewell Rocks State Park where you can walk on the floor of the ocean at low tide. I am going on the Splendor in Sept and hoped to go there but the tide schedule will have it at high tide when I go so it won't be that great. One of these trips I will see it at low tide. I agree the Bay of Fundy at the reversing falls is boring.

If the tides are right, the sea caves at St Martins are pretty cool. The New Brunswick Museum which is near the cruise terminal has some nice exhibits. The capital of NB is Fredericton, little less than 1 hour away and is a very pretty city. The downtown is along the Saint John River and has lots of older buildings.

What types of activities do you like to do?

We really enjoyed our port stop in St. John, New Brunswick. We rented a car for the day and drove out to St. Martins, where we spent time at the Fundy Trail Parkway http://www.fundytrailparkway.com/

There's beautiful scenery, walking trails, suspension bridge, waterfalls, etc. You can also check out the photos and visitor comments on Tripadvisor's review of the parkway.

We also stopped at the restaurant right at the Caves in St. Martin for a great lunch.

If you are in Saint John, hit Steamers for lobster. If you in St. John's then you have to walk George St.

The first time I was there, we did a tour of the Irving Nature Park. I would say it's a nice thing to do, but our tour guide was a competitive walker and thought everyone else was as well. Truly two people on the tour, including my father, fell and she just plunged ahead not noticing or caring. I think the Park is gorgeous, but I mainly saw the path trying not to fall. I'd love to go back and have a chance to really enjoy the park.

The second time I just walked around Saint John. I was there on a very rainy Sunday so not too many things were open. The Saint John City Market is worth a wander, but I will warn you it is not usually open on Sundays but may make exceptions when there are ships in port (it was open when out ship was there, but I did not check out if that was a one-off or a usual thing for Sundays). I also took refuge from a storm at the Saint John Police Museum, which was interesting, but a relatively quick in-and-out, so if you plan to go there, I would definitely plan to have other things to do.

I would also recommend St. Martin's and the Fundy Trail Parkway.

Or...if you want something more casual, the city market and a stroll around the old city near the cruise terminal will reveal several quaint pubs and microbreweries.

Lots of nice golf courses nearby too.

I would take the excursion to Hopewell Rocks State Park where you can walk on the floor of the ocean at low tide. I am going on the Splendor in Sept and hoped to go there but the tide schedule will have it at high tide when I go so it won't be that great. One of these trips I will see it at low tide. I agree the Bay of Fundy at the reversing falls is boring.

The Rocks PROVINCIAL Park is beautiful. I lived in Halifax for many years and visited often when travelling on business or leisure. However, it's a good two-hour drive each way, which is a big chunk of your available port time, so you might want to consider one of the many other activities in and around the city.

If the tides are right, the sea caves at St Martins are pretty cool. The New Brunswick Museum which is near the cruise terminal has some nice exhibits. The capital of NB is Fredericton, little less than 1 hour away and is a very pretty city. The downtown is along the Saint John River and has lots of older buildings.

Also, there are underground walkways from the NB Museum all the way to the City Market--6 blocks in all. Usually the "walkway" goes through the lower level of buildings along the way so it's kind of like one long mall. But it's dry! Which can be important in SJ. If the weather is good, the outside walk along King St. is pleasant, albeit somewhat uphill.

I'd be happy to look up the tide times if you let me know exactly what day you'll be there so you can plan around them (it's a 20 ft change between high and low, hence the ability to walk on the beach at Hopewell Rocks and other sites at certain times, otherwise it's under water).

With 12 people in your group you might want to consider arranging a private tour. Check out Trip Advisor for recommended tour companies.

How much time do you have in port. Saint John is my hometown, but if I had the time I would travel to Kings Landing historical settlement just north of Fredericton. The trip might be a bit rushed, but a really good view into early life on the Saint John river. They have a website you could take a look at.

Also from Saint John and I disagree. King's Landing is a two hour drive on a boring divided highway in each direction.

St. Martin's sea caves and the Fundy Parkway are beautiful. The museum, city market, loyalist burial ground and a wander around the old part of the city near the cruise terminal are also great.

Also, you will get to see some change in the tides simply based on how much the Splendor will move up or down in comparison to the dock during the port time.

Is there any public transportation from cruise terminal to City Market? We've done a bus tour on our previous visit so this time we want to spend a little more time at the market.

I read that you can walk there but we have someone in our group that would have difficulty walking for more than a few blocks.

We'll be in St.John on Saturday if it makes any difference.

TIA

A CC member posted a very detailled review on things to do and see in Saint John NB. I just thought I would post it here in case anybody is looking for info. Here is the link:

"Carnival Splendor Cruise Review by wiskt: SPLENDOR 7/2315-7/27/15 CANADIAN CRUISE (SAINT JOHN, NB)"

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=509541

Is there any public transportation from cruise terminal to City Market? We've done a bus tour on our previous visit so this time we want to spend a little more time at the market.

 

I read that you can walk there but we have someone in our group that would have difficulty walking for more than a few blocks.

 

We'll be in St.John on Saturday if it makes any difference.

 

TIA

Highly unlikely. The Market is only 3 blocks (approx) from where the ship docks. Maybe there will be rickshaws if you are lucky. You may want to see about borrowing a wheelchair to use for this short distance.