m and m's

If anyone is interested in Fort Louisbourg , I received this information from them for the 2019 season:

Thank you for your interest in the Fortress of Louisbourg NHS.  Just to let you know that for the 2019 visitor season our Peak Season will end September 14, 2019 so upon your arrival you will still be in our Peak Season.  This means that our summer programs will be the same till mid September.  Our costumed staff will be available as well.  If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.  Thanks

St. John, NB has a Budget and Avis near the cruise port at 4 Water Street.  Google maps show it is about a 6 minute walk.  

On 2/27/2019 at 1:33 AM, martincath said:

Ship-arranged whale watch tours will include a bus ride to St Andrews - if you're not up for driving yourself I believe that's your only viable option (NB: that all the whale tours out of St A's were about CAD$70pp last time I checked, so check how much the ship is padding the trip before deciding not to rent a car!

Wow!  you were correct on the options, ship tour to St Andrews whale watch $195 each US.  The whale trip is $65 Canadian each (senior) and the car is $69 Canadian, so a $200 savings!  Thanks So Much for the suggestions.  Mary

Thanks to both of you for the information.  I will do some research and decide.  I have seen whales in Alaska and Hawaii, and enjoyed it a lot!  I'm looking to do a variety of things at the various ports, so a whale tour here will be nice.  I have a trip to Peggy's Cove with a few roll call folks, a lobster and lighthouse boat for Portland, and am going to Acadia National Park.  That leaves just Sydney and Charlottetown if anyone has recommendations.  I'm continuing to check the various posts on CC.  Everyone is always so helpful!  Thanks again, Mary

On 2/23/2019 at 7:52 PM, martincath said:

Saint John in New Brunswick, as St Andrews tours are sold from there with it only being about an hours drive away and the Bay of Fundy is hands-down the best whale-watching area around.

I will be in St. John , New Brunswick Sept.10, and would like to get to St. Andrews by the Sea to do a whale watch trip.  Anyone have some ideas of the best way to get to St. Andrews?  We are in port 7:30-6:30 so will have time.  Thanks for any information.

Thanks, Carol and mjkacmom for your help and suggestions.  The hotel suggested sounds perfect, and if the weather is good we'll see Lady Liberty!  Mary

Thank you so much, have booked the Country Inn,  sounds perfect!

For motel, we could use a queen or 2 double beds, we don't need anything fancy.  The comfort suites is $129  including airport transportation and breakfast,  so seemed like a good deal..  Even if we don't see the statue, would it be better to be closer to the port?   Thanks, Mary

We are flying into EWR on Thursday, but don't land  until  7:30 pm .  I booked the Comfort Inn because it has an airport shuttle, but it is refundable.  I have no idea where to stay in the area, so suggestions are welcome.  I googled the views of the statue from  Liberty Park, and it looks like all you can see is her back, so I would guess you would have to take the boat from Liberty park or somehow ride the Staten Island ferry prior to boarding the ship on Sep 6 to see the front of it?   We can't take our luggage to the boat tour, so that's why I assumed we would have to return to the hotel.  Any suggestions on closer hotels, or another way to see the statue would be appreciated.  It sounds like traffic is terrible, so that is why Royal Caribbean suggested to get to the port early !  Thanks,  Mary 

Cruising from Cape Liberty on Adventure of the Seas on September 6.  We are thinking of staying at Comfort Suites at Woodbridge
1275 Route 1 and 9 South,Avenel, NJ, US, 07001 on Sept 5.  I would like to see the Statue of Liberty.  Would it be possible to uber to Liberty Park and see the statue, then continue onto the port?   I put it into uber and it looked like it would be about $30, but I don't know if drivers will do something like this.  Would we have time to uber to Liberty Park, actually take the 8 am  boat out of Liberty Park  (without getting off , about 1.5 hours), uber back to the hotel for the luggage, and then go the port?   I called RC today and the ship doesn't go by the statue,  and they suggested getting to the port by 10 am for a 3pm sail away  Thanks!

They used a dingy to bring us in from where they anchored offshore

Try Captain Kevin aboard the Hawnalea. We had a wonderful sail with him during our sister's and daughters cruise. Find info on the website miramarsailing.com We sailed, snorkeled and went to a beach cafe for the included lunch. Wonderful day! Have fun! Mary

Sounds like Trunk will be best for us, first thing in the morning with an island tour after. My friend was there today and called it Heaven in her text. Thanks everyone for the info. Mary

Mary ~ I agree with Luna that going to Trunk early is a good idea. If you dock at 8:00, be ready to depart immediately so you can make a 9:00 AM ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay. That way you can be at Trunk by 9:45. I also agree that you are probably going to want to take the 3:00 PM ferry back to St. Thomas (you could take the 4:00 PM ferry but I feel more comfortable allowing a little extra time). You didn't say when you are going. Winter is the busiest time. If you are going late Spring/summer when there are fewer ships in port, taking the 4:00 PM is possible but I'd

still probably take the 3:00.

 

It would be tough to do Trunk, Cinnamon and an island tour in one short day. I'd suggest picking one beach and an island tour. You'll be more relaxed and likely enjoy it more. I love both beaches. Snorkeling can be good at either. Depends on weather, sunshine, how good a snorkeler you are.

 

Make arrangements with your taxi driver to pick you up at the beach at a certain time and tell him you'd like to take an island tour after the beach. They'll come back for you.

 

ENJOY!

Thanks for all the suggestions and directions! We will be there on Sun Jan 25, 3 ships in port. I will still take the 3pm ferry back so avoid stress. Can you tell me which beach Trunk or Cinnamon will be best for an inexperienced snorkeler? My sister has snorkeled, but isn't a strong swimmer. I would like to go to the easiest beach for her to snorkel and hopefully see something .

Thanks again for all the suggestions from all on CC!

We are in port from 8-6, and I am planning on going to St. Johns on my own. I'm wondering if it would make sense to have the taxi driver take us to Trunk first and later in the day would a taxi driver from Trunk do the island tour? I was thinking that way we would be a Trunk early before it gets crowded. Would it be attempting too much to go to Trunk first, then after a couple hours go to Cinnamon by cab, and still have time to do an island tour? Which has the best snorkeling?

Should we leave on the 3pm ferry back or could we stay until the 4pm ferry. I certainly don't want to miss our cruise boat as there are 5 of us and one is 72 so we can't be running at the ship!

Thanks, Mary

Thanks for the info and ideas. We would get to see more of the island on our own, and I would rather not be in large groups waiting for the ferry. Sounds good to me!

Does anyone know approx how long the island tour by the safari vans take before you get dropped off at Trunk or Cinnamon? If I take the RC trip on your own, it is only a 6.5 hr. trip. Just wondering how much time the tour takes so I know how much time we will have on the beach. I really love to snorkel. Thanks

When we were at Sapphire it was too rough to snorkel. We didn't see anything, and got very tired trying. It was a beautiful beach, we had a fun day, but the water wasn't warm either.

"My 2 children and I will be taking the AK RR from Seward to Anchorage at the end of August and then flying home at 1 am.

Pretty sure we'll book Gold Star class but oh my gosh it is so much more expensive. do you really think it's worth it? "

I booked the adventure class because there are 2 for 1 coupons in Northern Lights coupon book so it was $85 for 2 people. You need the coupon in hand when booking as they ask you to send it it within a few days of booking. Your credit card is charged for one fare, the invoice shows you still owe for one fare. When the coupon gets to RR they credit your invoice and resend with no balance showing. Easy, and to me not worth the price of gold star with no coupons available.

Also I asked a business person in Seward if they thought it was worth it, and they said no.

Hi

 

We just ordered this book . Looking to maybe try th hipline, rafting and maybe whale watching. Has any done these before?

I am using it for the train from Anchorage to Seward. I ordered the tickets, got charged for one fare,then had to send in the coupon to AK RR to get the credit for the balance remaining.

I am doing the scenic float on the Kenai River with Drifters Lodge, just mentioned the coupon and received the discount. I am bringing it with me just in case they do want it. We are possibly using the tram ticket in Juneau, and the Sealife Center in Seward.

Thanks to all who have answered , the closer the cruise gets, the more excited I am! Budget Queen, enjoy your next B2B2B!

Any chance you could go whale watching and let your friend take their tour? We will be taking our 11th cruise to Alaska this August and although you may see whales at a distance or see them spouting, it is nothing compared to whale watching in a smaller boat. We have gone whale watching on every cruise--we never get tired of it!

Have you done any whale trips at Icy Strait? If so who did you tour with?

Johnstone Strait is the orca area at the northern end of Vancouver Island. South of Juneau, the junction of Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage is the hot humpback area - leaving Juneau for you, 1-2 am likely. Snow Pass is excellent as well - it's north of Ketchikan, so as you approach, but again, very early (3am?). I'm like BQ, up whenever there's ANY light, often 3am, and many of my best photos have been taken while nobody else is on deck, all at the shows or meals.

Thanks! Went to library and found a better map. I am thinking we should pass Point Adolphus leaving Hubbard Glacier at 6pm on the way to Juneau. Then leave Juneau at 9 pm to Skagway, then Skagway at 8:30pm to Icy Strait. So I will have to see when/if we will pass the junction of Frederick Sound and Stephens Passage (as it looks like we would have to pass by Juneau again and be on the East side of Admiralty Island to get to that spot) and also Snow Pass going to Ketchikan from Icy Strait (leaving at 4pm). Next would be Johnstone Strait leaving Ketchikan at 6 pm heading to Vancouver. I would think guest services or the naturalist could find out when we might be passing these points?

On northbound inside Vancouver transits, I am out an hour prior to dawn. This is a jackpot area for seeing the northern resident orca pods. Same thing for Juneau, Johnson Strait is a humpback area. A little Early (if up to it :) ) and late Tracy Arm day, :) same humpback area.

 

Again, same thing for Ketchikan only it's an hour prior to dawn, hoping to catch Snow Pass. I do recognize land marks usually which tell me, if I've missed it. But this entire area is nonstop scenery coming into Ketchikan.

 

southbound transit inside Vancouver Island, out the entire time, for me, this means skipping dinner. Same jackpot northern resident pods.

 

I am intense, my only priority with Alaska cruises is what is OUTSIDE the ship. I skip a lot of meals, don't go to any shows, and spend most of my time out on deck. :) This is NOT the norm. I am frequently alone, (one of my wonderful nephews is also "intense") I am an addict that can't help myself. So what I will suggest is do what's doable for you. A vacation isn't supposed to be uncomfortable, running yourself ragged (unfortunately some cruise tours are)

So if we are going southbound Seward to Vancouver, would Johnson Strait be coming into Juneau or leaving Juneau, also Snow pass into Ketchikan or leaving? We go to Hubbard Glacier, not Tracy Arm. My AAA map doesn't have these details. Thanks

We will get into Anchorage at 5:30 Is there a better side of the plane to sit in for views of Denali or the Arm? I read here there was a place near the airport that moose might be at (somewhere that is "closed" but everyone goes to anyway. Does anyone know where that is? I'm not sure what we will do, as it is 9:30 at my home time, and we have the train to Seward at a very early hour the next day. Thanks.