what to do

we are cruising in Sept. and our ports are:

Portland 7-3

Halifax 9-6

Charlottetown 8-5

Gaspésie 8-4

Saguenay 11-7

there will be 2 of us and mobility is limited with my mom. I am trying to get some ideas of what to do in each port. I don't mind renting a car for the day and exploring. We enjoy nature (hoping to see some fall colors) and museums. Any ideas would be appreciated

Thanks for any help

hi ! I live in Halifax area and there is lots to see and do with in walking distance to port. There is a boardwalk with shops a farmer's market with crafts and pier21(Canadian Ellis island) farther down is the maritime museum with displays of the Halifax explosion and titanic relics. all these are on flat ground there is citadel hill fort and alexander Kieth brewery tours that are close but up hills. Farther away is Peggy's cove light house and Annapolis valley for acaidian sights and wineries but you would need a car or a tour they are about 1 hour drive. harbourhopper tour will drive around and show you some sights up the hills and it goes in the water too! it is next to maritime museum. Hope that helps, enjoy Canada the Quebec stops are more out in country and people mostly speak French there so better off taking tours, Charlottetown is a smaller than Halifax nice and flat for walking! just out of town are nice red beaches and cliffs with Anne of green gables everywhere.

maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca

http://www.pier21.ca

http://www.mtcw.ca/harbourhopper

Thank you for your reply I will check these out

If you've not done so already, be sure to join in on the roll call for your cruise. A lot of people plan private excursions and you may be able to join in.

we are cruising in Sept. and our ports are:

Portland 7-3

Halifax 9-6

Charlottetown 8-5

Gaspésie 8-4

Saguenay 11-7

there will be 2 of us and mobility is limited with my mom. I am trying to get some ideas of what to do in each port. I don't mind renting a car for the day and exploring. We enjoy nature (hoping to see some fall colors) and museums. Any ideas would be appreciated

Thanks for any help

When you say mobility is limited, do you just mean she can't walk too far? Could she ride in a sidecar? In Halifax, we did the Bluenose Sidecar Tour and it was our favorite tour of the whole week. We rode around Halifax like royalty. We had a few stops along the way. One stop was at a maple products store. We tasted maple butter, and picked up a few things. We had a stop at a local bakery for pie. We had a stop at a local author's home. And the final stop was at Peggy's Cove lighthouse. We had them drop us off at the boardwalk so we could have lunch at Salty's and we shopped at the glass and pewter stores and we walked the boardwalk back to the ship.

The motorcycles didn't go real fast and they stayed on local roads. It's a nice married couple that operates them. They had us measure our heads with a tape measure ahead of time and they brought along helmets. I would do that tour again in a heartbeat.

we are cruising in Sept. and our ports are:

Portland 7-3

Halifax 9-6

Charlottetown 8-5

Gaspésie 8-4

Saguenay 11-7

there will be 2 of us and mobility is limited with my mom. I am trying to get some ideas of what to do in each port. I don't mind renting a car for the day and exploring. We enjoy nature (hoping to see some fall colors) and museums. Any ideas would be appreciated

Thanks for any help

I have visited some of the ports you are sailing to. Here are my suggestions:

Halifax: The Maritime Museum, a 20 minutes walk from where the ship docks. I also did a guided tour of the Citadel. My tour was interesting and I even saw the noon canon ball firing. But there is quite a bit of walking involved....

Charlottetown: Pretty city. If it is raining and/or you want to learn about Canadian history, I liked Province House (especially the movie concerning the first talks about the Confederation).

Gaspesie: I have been there by land travel. For nature lovers, a nice tour is a visit to Bonaventure Island after cruising along the Rocher Perce (on a small tour boat). On the island, you can see a gannet colony (but this involves some walking). Another recommendation: Forillon National Park is gorgeous. Many cruisers opt to rent a car to go there. Tom Sheridan, a fellow cruiser, just published a port guide with detailed instructions about that (with GPS coordinates).

Actually, all your ports (except Portland) are covered by Tom's Guides which are free and contain a lot of info., websites, pictures, maps etc. Perhaps you already know about the guides but here is the link just in case:

http://www.tomsportguides.com/portguides.html

There are many previous posts if you go back to the Ports of Call page for Canada and look for the search feature to the right of the blue bar near the top of the page.

Also if you can find me on Trip Advisor forums - same name and avatar and send me a private message with your email, I will send you the notes I have gathered over the years for Halifax.

Thanks everyone for all the great tips

Hello...Can I ask you a question about the sidecar tour? Did you and your other travel partner (not sure if DH or DW), both ride in sidecars with separate drivers? How long was your day with this tour...it sounds exactly like what we want to do...the website does not indicate whether there is an extra charge for two bikes and side cars....thanks so much

When you say mobility is limited, do you just mean she can't walk too far? Could she ride in a sidecar? In Halifax, we did the Bluenose Sidecar Tour and it was our favorite tour of the whole week. We rode around Halifax like royalty. We had a few stops along the way. One stop was at a maple products store. We tasted maple butter, and picked up a few things. We had a stop at a local bakery for pie. We had a stop at a local author's home. And the final stop was at Peggy's Cove lighthouse. We had them drop us off at the boardwalk so we could have lunch at Salty's and we shopped at the glass and pewter stores and we walked the boardwalk back to the ship.

 

The motorcycles didn't go real fast and they stayed on local roads. It's a nice married couple that operates them. They had us measure our heads with a tape measure ahead of time and they brought along helmets. I would do that tour again in a heartbeat.

If you've not done so already, be sure to join in on the roll call for your cruise. A lot of people plan private excursions and you may be able to join in.

Here are the roll calls:

9/11 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43173334#post43173334

9/25 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1964606

Hello...Can I ask you a question about the sidecar tour? Did you and your other travel partner (not sure if DH or DW), both ride in sidecars with separate drivers? How long was your day with this tour...it sounds exactly like what we want to do...the website does not indicate whether there is an extra charge for two bikes and side cars....thanks so much

Hi there!

It was me (Cheryl), my husband, and our son. I think he was 8 at the time. It's a husband and wife team that own the Russian motorcycles with sidecars. We had our son in one sidecar....and me in the other. My husband rode on the back behind the man driver.....however, it's not like he was hugging the driver....there was a handle in between them for him to hold onto. They said we could take turns riding in the sidecar, but my husband let me ride in it and he stayed on the back.

Goodness, I can't remember exactly how long it was. They picked us up in the morning and our tour was done by lunchtime because we had them drop us off at the Historic Properties sign on the Boardwalk. We wanted to have lunch at Salty's. Plus there was a neat glass shop and a pewter shop right there that we wanted to check out. (After we ate and shopped, we just walked the boardwalk back to the ship).

As far as the tour, it had various stops. We stopped at a bakery for a piece of pie. We stopped at a maple products store that I really enjoyed. Loved tasting the maple butter. Lots of things maple there. We stopped at a local author's home which was okay, but it wasn't my favorite stop. Then we visited Peggy's Cove light house and gift shop. That was the highlight of the tour.

While we were motoring around, our helmets that they supplied had microphones and speakers so we could hear them tell us about what we were seeing all along the way. (We premeasured our heads so they would know which helmets to bring).

They took local roads and took their time. They did not get on the interstate where a higher speed would be required. We felt very safe.

I cannot remember how much it was. I think it was probably a per person fee. You could always email her. I think I emailed her with questions prior to us booking. We all agreed that was our favorite excursion of the entire week!

If you want to see pictures from the tour, here's a link to our photo book....this tour begins on page 69. Also there's photos from our other excursions for the week. We love the Canada/New England itinerary. Hope the link works.

https://cherylhtravelpics.shutterfly.com/pictures/192

Does that help?

Have fun!!!

lots of information...now we need to decide what exactly we want to do while in that port. I appreciate your feedback and photos

Hi there!

It was me (Cheryl), my husband, and our son. I think he was 8 at the time. It's a husband and wife team that own the Russian motorcycles with sidecars. We had our son in one sidecar....and me in the other. My husband rode on the back behind the man driver.....however, it's not like he was hugging the driver....there was a handle in between them for him to hold onto. They said we could take turns riding in the sidecar, but my husband let me ride in it and he stayed on the back.

 

Goodness, I can't remember exactly how long it was. They picked us up in the morning and our tour was done by lunchtime because we had them drop us off at the Historic Properties sign on the Boardwalk. We wanted to have lunch at Salty's. Plus there was a neat glass shop and a pewter shop right there that we wanted to check out. (After we ate and shopped, we just walked the boardwalk back to the ship).

 

As far as the tour, it had various stops. We stopped at a bakery for a piece of pie. We stopped at a maple products store that I really enjoyed. Loved tasting the maple butter. Lots of things maple there. We stopped at a local author's home which was okay, but it wasn't my favorite stop. Then we visited Peggy's Cove light house and gift shop. That was the highlight of the tour.

 

While we were motoring around, our helmets that they supplied had microphones and speakers so we could hear them tell us about what we were seeing all along the way. (We premeasured our heads so they would know which helmets to bring).

 

They took local roads and took their time. They did not get on the interstate where a higher speed would be required. We felt very safe.

 

I cannot remember how much it was. I think it was probably a per person fee. You could always email her. I think I emailed her with questions prior to us booking. We all agreed that was our favorite excursion of the entire week!

 

If you want to see pictures from the tour, here's a link to our photo book....this tour begins on page 69. Also there's photos from our other excursions for the week. We love the Canada/New England itinerary. Hope the link works.

 

https://cherylhtravelpics.shutterfly.com/pictures/192

 

Does that help?

 

Have fun!!!

Saguenay has won the award for most welcoming port in the world for the last 3 years. We took a tour there last year while on the ruby Princess that was awsome. Company name is

http://www.fjordetmonde.ca/ i«f you look them up on tripadviser, they are number 1, andthey do have an English speaking gudie. We really enjoyed the tour. It was funny cause at a pastry store they had us have a pastry called a Nuns fart!!! frum a french traduction

Saguaney has a welcome committee as you dock, lots to see right on the pier. There is also a HOHO bus just outside the cruise pavillion, if I remember correctly it was $20. to do both routes. There is also an excellent theatre production done in the local theatre depicting the history of the area.

We did Forillon Park and the boat ride to Pearce Rock in Gaspe. We rented a car there which they had for us right when we got off the ship. Enjoyed both. Lovely scenery. We got a wonderful welcome in Saugenay and did a hike in the park there and used their HOHO buses. Great ports!

We did Forillon Park and the boat ride to Pearce Rock in Gaspe. We rented a car there which they had for us right when we got off the ship. Enjoyed both. Lovely scenery. We got a wonderful welcome in Saugenay and did a hike in the park there and used their HOHO buses. Great ports!

Who did you rent from in Gaspe? We are renting from National.

We rented from Budget and they met us right as you exited the boats. We then drove to Perce and took Croisierrd Julien Cloutier boat which went out to Perce Rock. Perce is about 52 minutes from the port. We saw Bonaventure Island from the boat. We then went to Fortillon Park which is in the opposite direction. We could only drive as far as the lighthouse. Both beautiful places but really hard to do both in such a short time.

We rented from Budget and they met us right as you exited the boats. We then drove to Perce and took Croisierrd Julien Cloutier boat which went out to Perce Rock. Perce is about 52 minutes from the port. We saw Bonaventure Island from the boat. We then went to Fortillon Park which is in the opposite direction. We could only drive as far as the lighthouse. Both beautiful places but really hard to do both in such a short time.

This is exactly what we plan on doing. I wanted to compare our National rate with the Budget rate, but I could not find a Budget located at the Gaspe Airport. Do you have any additional information that would help me? Thanks.

Call Budget and get their rate to compare. I was tthere in 2012 so the rates would be different.