We've been to both St. John and Halifax about 5 or six times. What we do now, is rent cars and drive to places we have found that we like such as St. Martins or St. Andrews near St. John, and drive to Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg. We walk from the ship to the rental car companies. If you choose to take excursions , I would suggest St. Martin and Peggy's Cove. If you rent a car, you should reserve it now, as the last time we were there, they were out of cars in both ports. If the ship is late getting into port, let the rental car companies know. I found out the hard way last time when we disembarked 2 hours late and our rental car was gone.