canadjineh

We really enjoyed Las Labradas Petroglyph UNESCO world heritage site out of Mazatlan. We were there on a cruise a few years ago and booked a tour and have been back to Mazatlan to stay on a 2 week land vacation since. We've used Johann & Sandra tours in Mazatlan to go see the oceanside petroglyph park and little museum, and a home cooked meal with a local family. Google Las Labradas tour. Not sure if they are still doing these tours. Being as you are in Sinaloa, I would use a tour rather than chancing a van rental and finding your own way. We went with them March 2020 just before Covid shut everyone down. We had a great time with a professor guide and student assistant.

Hi @Oceangoer2 I was offered this 30 day Algarve longstay trip for 1799.00, it may be more for you but still a good deal: https://portugalgetaways.com/en-ca/vacation-packages/algarve-long-stays-month?origin=YYC&stay=29 Cheaper than 1 month's rent in your Canadian home. Incl flights, hotel, rental car, taxes & fees. All you need is food and entertainment money.

Hmmm, they were wearing US uniforms; one airport looks so much like another I apologize if I got the wrong airport, it may have been in LA getting on the plane to return.

Thanks, interesting site. 🧐

I think you might be surprised by what border patrol actually can find out about you including fingerprinting, preclearance for restricted activities in an official capacity, etc. As far as gun & knife issues, a little research shows that the US has one of the highest rates per capita of gun violence in the world. The other places you may be thinking of such as Jamaica or Venezuela are mainly caused by drug & gang fights and not general population carrying & using firearms. Anyhow, I wasn't concerned until he went after us. I've never in over 55 years of international travel (including backpacking in the Philippines & travel in back-country Jamaica) felt as unsafe when approached by what you could call aggressive touts or 'tour guides' as I did in this case. He was rabid, did not turn away but followed us down the street, and it's not like we argued with him. We just said, "thanks for your offer but no."

Just returned mid March from 16 day cruise Hawaii (LA to LA.) Preclearance at YYC heading to US was admittedly scary. They were all very snarly, yelling at you if you were unsure what line to be in or didn't hop to because you didn't understand their directions, and EVERYTHING had to be removed and in sight in the bins including tablets and cell phones. And I work with an RCMP volunteer group and have no record and have been fingerprinted and cleared to work with vulnerable populations and children, so I imagine that it might be worse if you aren't white, or you have an accent, or any other amorphous 'reason' they choose. In Hawaii we were verbally attacked when refusing a guy who touted himself as a tour guide by telling him we were just walking over to Iolani palace to tour it. He followed us for a block yelling obscenities and that we were commies and that all we would see was a lie. Didn't know if he had a knife or gun, but yes, it was that worrying. He then went after two other couples (from the US) getting off the ship and got into a raging fight with them over Trump stuff, we ran off quickly as these things can escalate. Fortunately the rest of the trip went OK.

Just checked this out and it is only for 66 cruises including into 2026. Except for Miami to Miami (no thanks, not right now) they are all longer more expensive cruises. Not willing to pay $7-9000 each plus airfare but that might work ok for others. A little disappointed, but it looks like we will be choosing land based vacations for the next while.

Any idea who does disease/cleanliness inspections for ships NOT accessing US ports? Is it port states, or flag states? I know most of these cruise ships are US owned although flagged in countries of convenience, so what happens now?

So on cruises that are not from/to the US, who does the inspections? Port states or flag state? Considering either cruising out of only non-US ports for the next 3.5 years or just land vacationing elsewhere in the world.

We loved leaving out of Saguenay. Beautiful view down the fjord while we were the only ones sitting in the hot tub at the stern of the ship. Sunset view and a drink in hand while others were inside eating an early dinner. Late Sept/early Oct. Would do that again in a heartbeat.

LOL, I'm more concerned about my cruise leaving from LA and going to Hawaii. The US is way more dangerous than Mexico unless you are right on the Mexican side of the border with Texas (nowhere near any cruise port.) If you are smart, you won't advertise you are American, and you'll pay in MX pesos instead, while staying out of any political discussions.

You will need the exact date your ship will be in Halifax. (2, 9 ,16, 23, 30) Looks like 21 ships will be in during the month of August. Aug Halifax CruiseTimetables.com Then see how many berths there are at the port here: https://www.porthalifax.ca/cruise/

No fog the day we were there, and at that time they were still allowing tenders from the midsize ships like Caribbean Princess.

We enjoyed a Maritime Canada/New England cruise just over a year ago and suggest a cruise that stops in Saguenay Fjord - we took the shore excursion bus (not that long a ride) to the National park and saw some lovely leaf peeping scenery there. If you are relatively fit you can walk up the trails to several viewpoints over the Fjord and the forests surrounding. If not, it's still pretty from the visitor centre, beach & shoreline. Also if you are on a cruise that stops at Bar Harbour take the bus up to Cadillac Mtn lookout for more amazing scenery. Not sure whether Bar Harbour is an allowed stop anymore... you'd have to do a bit of research on that yourself.

We are going on a winery tour out of Ensenada in early March on our way back from Hawaii. (Princess cruise) It sounds quite interesting as I have distant family ties to Dixon's Creek Yarra Valley Australia winery De Bortoli Family Winemakers, and pick grapes on occasion at local Okanagan vineyards/wineries. Of course the Ensenada tour takes about a 35-45 min drive from the ship. I could report back but in the meantime here is what we've planned: Prestige Cruises Calafia Wine Country Fairly inexpensive for a tour in our estimation, you might find it up your alley too. We weren't sure what to do in Ensenada otherwise, except go to Rancho San Carlos Hot Springs (4 natural hot spring mineral pools - a bit run-down & rustic from reviews.)

Just my 2 cents, but think about what a PITA it would be for your small business/one person operation in the US to accept CAD or MXN all the time. You'd have to figure out an exchange rate for the customer, go to your own bank and change those currencies over to something you can use, and pay the exchange rate at your bank too. It's good travel manners to use the local currency. That way you can patronize ANY small business or vendor and save them all the time-waste and cost of banking exchange. After all, we are the relatively rich ones taking a vacation. They are just trying to make a living. No big deal if you end up with some MXN left, bring it home and use it on the next trip. Most of us here are repeat visitors to Mexico anyhow, so it's no hardship. 😉 BTW, in many places in the world you will get better treatment if you learn a few words in the local language and try to use them, and if you use local currency. Many times in other countries we have paid the posted 'locals' price instead of the posted tourist/visitor price because they were pleasantly surprised that we cared enough about their culture and country to try the language and use their money.

https://www.port-montreal.com/en/grand-quay/access-parking-and-services This might be what you want... reserve via email. Cheers!

@silkismom We were hoping for a bit more colour but the leaves were late last year, we did see lovely spots at Saguenay Park, but not what I'd call amazing, but we have lots of golden colour change out west here in the fall so we're a bit spoiled. We don't get quite as much red from sugar maples here though. Mainly golden aspen, poplars, tamarack/larch, etc. It's beautiful anyhow. 🙂

Hubby & I took the Caribbean Princess from Quebec City to NYC 10 days just over a year ago Late Sept/Early Oct. It was great! We were in an Interior room near the stern of the ship which was perfect (inexpensive and no need for a balcony at that time of year.) Highlight moment = We were the only two in the hot tub at the back of the ship watching the sun set with our drinks as we sailed out of Saguenay Fjord. What a view, and well worth the late dinner afterward. I suggest the Maritime Museum in Halifax (VERY interesting exhibits on the Titanic, and the Great Halifax Explosion of 1917) as well as Pier 21 Canadian Museum of Immigration (especially if you've never been to Ellis Island in the US.) They are very close to each other and near the ship berth. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is the best thing about that city, but you need to take a taxi to get there and you must get your tickets online or you will be stuck in a long line up and may not even have time to enjoy it. Amazing furniture, decorative arts, and the Monet and Canaletto paintings will fulfill your culture needs. We stayed in Vieux Quebec (the old city) for a couple days before our cruise (a short walk to the Citadel), and stayed in NYC a couple days after at the Ameritania just on the edge of the theatre district and very short walk to Central Park. We chose this cruise because it was on for an amazing price, and we hadn't been on the East Coast for a couple decades at least. I was pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed this itinerary. I would even do a repeat. We can also suggest the tour at Island Falconry on PEI. It wasn't cheap but so amazing to hold the birds on your gloved hand and even fly them outside after learning so much in the indoor 'classroom.'

Just bumpin' this up for those of us who are senior/tweenior/silvers/etc. Hubby is 67 in a month and I am approaching 61 in a few months. We are fairly active and need no medical walking aids - still hike although not at the levels we used to. So far our favorite cruise line is HAL followed closely by Princess (I'm sure we'd love the high end companies like Silversea or Atlas, but can't afford those at the moment.) He is retired but I am not, although the company I work for is family owned and treat their staff well. I can usually book off any time I like, although I try not to for the busy vacation periods like Christmas/school breaks, etc as there are families that need those times more than we do. We usually see what deals are on offer and then book accordingly. We've only cruised Alaska, N America both coasts, and the Caribbean since that's where all the major deals have been. Flown and travelled in Asia and Europe in addition, but still would like to make it out to Africa, South Pacific and Australia, and South America. Probably keeping an eye out for an Trans-Ocean crossing or a full Panama Canal when there's a deal. We tend to prefer going during our 'crap' seasons Late Nov & Late Feb/Early March. The weather here is unpleasant and rainy at that time. It's not late enough for nice snow, or it's melting slushy yukkiness too early in the spring.

Here's the timeline for Cape Breton Island so far this year: https://www.instagram.com/visitcapebretonisland/p/C_1bMBYsuai/

Hubby is finally officially retired this year (Jan), after 'threatening' it to all his customers for the past few years. He will be turning 67 in Dec and has his full pension from the government plus he is still holding on to his RRSP since he doesn't have to start depleting it until he is 70. Last year he did 3-4 days/week March to November as he started to wind his business down (owned a window cleaning company - commercial & residential.) Now he can be busy with renos & upgrading on our place, and checking in on his 99 y o Mum who lives in a Senior Assisted Living apartment in our town. In the meantime, I am too far away from retirement (will be 61 in a few months) although I have a 6 hr x 5 days/wk job that I like. I chose to start my partial government pension this year - here in Canada we can start it up to 5 years early although at a slightly lower rate than if we wait til 65. My own RRSP's have grown quite well in the intervening years so I will have a bit of money coming to me when I choose to take it. Just waiting til our tax level is lower before I start that though. It helps to have no debt - we own our car, truck, and scooter and have no mortgage so we only use our credit when we throw a cruise onto our travel-focused credit card for extra perks, dollars back, and included insurances (trip health & luggage.) Our main focus in the past 40 years of marriage has been trips... I have been travelling all my life because my parents always took the family on big vacations a couple times a year (Dad had 8 wks/yr paid vacation.) The first big overseas trip I remember was when I was 7 and we went for 3 weeks to Italy and a quick visit to friends of theirs in Paris. Never took a cruise until 5 years ago, now it seems the easiest way and often cheaper than other modes of travel. Sigh...gone are the days of our 8 wk '49th parallel to Arctic Ocean' drive/canoe/camp trips and our 8 wk 'Pacific to Atlantic & Return' junkets. No more 3 wk backpacking/caving in Northern Philippines. Our health is now dictating easier itineraries and more creature comforts, but we ain't gonna quit the travel til we're dead! Now to just be patient until I finish up my pesky job, lol.

Well, I personally haven't used them, but 5500 reviews on Tripadvisor say they are 5 star. Thing is, there are a few good massage/spa places garnering 5 stars from 1000-2500 reviews. So lots of choice, you might want to choose one of the less reviewed but equal star-rated places to save a little cash. Pretty sure the 'top' reviewed place knows they can charge more than their 5 star lesser-reviewed neighbours.

Celtic Colours Festival is on at that time if you like Celtic music? https://celtic-colours.com/schedule/ It's a pretty big deal though, so get your tickets ASAP.

It's a 1 km walk approx. 15 minutes according to Google Maps. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2948989-port-of-quebec-city-to-via-rail-gare-du-palais/