Saint John, New Brunswick question

We are planning our first cruise to Canada/New England this fall. We will be in Saint John, New Brunswick on Sept. 26th. One ship excursion I am considering is a Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography tour. The stops are Fallsview Park, Lepreau Falls, Dipper Harbour, and Bay of Fundy Beach. There are two times, 8:30 -11:45 am or 12:15 to 3:30 pm. The excursions are small groups so I wanted to book ahead of time. Any suggestions on which time is better? I know the tide schedules don't come out until much closer but I don't want to wait to sign up.

one year Saint John NB tide table: http://tides.mobilegeographics.com/calendar/year/5472.html

Remember. Google is a good friend.

SBtS

Thanks!

We are planning our first cruise to Canada/New England this fall. We will be in Saint John, New Brunswick on Sept. 26th. One ship excursion I am considering is a Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography tour. The stops are Fallsview Park, Lepreau Falls, Dipper Harbour, and Bay of Fundy Beach. There are two times, 8:30 -11:45 am or 12:15 to 3:30 pm. The excursions are small groups so I wanted to book ahead of time. Any suggestions on which time is better? I know the tide schedules don't come out until much closer but I don't want to wait to sign up.

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO TW6cruiser: When in St. John if you want to see the reversing waters go in the morning. The waters don't reverse that well in the afternoon.

Casino Player that is incorrect. The falls reverse due to the tide changing and the time for that varies every day. and it is about twelve hours from one full high (or low) tide till the next.

Casino Player that is incorrect. The falls reverse due to the tide changing and the time for that varies every day. and it is about twelve hours from one full high (or low) tide till the next.

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO maryann ns: My wife and I went on a tour the first time we went to St. John. We took another tour in the morning. The tour that went to the reversing waters also went in the afternoon so we took it. The tour guide himself informed us that the waters don't reverse so well in the afternoon.

Casino Player that is incorrect. The falls reverse due to the tide changing and the time for that varies every day. and it is about twelve hours from one full high (or low) tide till the next.

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO maryann ns:If a cruise ship is in port for average length of eight hours, you have a morning tour and an afternoon tour. About 12 hours for the tides to change then you will not be able to be in port for when the next change of tides occurs.

 

HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLLOOOOO maryann ns: My wife and I went on a tour the first time we went to St. John. We took another tour in the morning. The tour that went to the reversing waters also went in the afternoon so we took it. The tour guide himself informed us that the waters don't reverse so well in the afternoon.

Your guide must have meant on that specific day the waters would not reverse so well in the afternoon. As a resident of Saint John, I can assure you that I have seen the falls reversing in the afternoon MANY times. As Mary Ann pointed out, the tides aren't on a perfect 12 hour schedule. For example, low tide today will be at 03:04 and 15:32. Tomorrow, low tide will be at 04:01 and 16:27.

Paraveina - on my day high tide is at 09:37 and low tide at 15:50. What would be the best time to see the reversing falls? I had hoped to be able to walk out to the caves but it looks like the tides are not working out for us that day.

I can't help you on what time to go but I did that excursion 5 years ago and really enjoyed it. Don't remember what time I went but did see the reversing falls. Have a great time.

We took this excursion and I would highly recommend it - much personal attention and photography tips. We took the morning trip and had time to re-visit the falls on our way back to see how it had changed since we were there earlier.

We took this excursion and I would highly recommend it - much personal attention and photography tips. We took the morning trip and had time to re-visit the falls on our way back to see how it had changed since we were there earlier.

I'm thinking of taking this excursion next June. Can you elaborate on what you mean "personal attention ", and what sort of photography tips were offered. I'd like to consider myself an intermediate or better photographer and would rather not waste money on a tour that only provided beginner tips. Also, how much gear were people bringing on the tour (lenses, tripods, filters, etc.)?

Paraveina - on my day high tide is at 09:37 and low tide at 15:50. What would be the best time to see the reversing falls? I had hoped to be able to walk out to the caves but it looks like the tides are not working out for us that day.

http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/Products/R/Reversing-Rapids.aspx

It depends on what you want to see. It you just want to see some rapids on the north side of the bridge, you could go at low tide. If you want to see the river change the direction it flows in its entirety, you'll want to be there from an hour or two after low tide until an hour or two before high tide.

I've seen a good rule of thumb be to go about 3 hours after low tide if you'd like to see slack tide (that's the only time a boat might pass through, although I don't think that's a common occurrence). Or go about 4 hours after low tide and stay until around high tide if you want to just view the "reversing" portion where the river flows upriver and rapids and whirlpools are generated as a result.

Thank you, very helpful!

We are planning our first cruise to Canada/New England this fall. We will be in Saint John, New Brunswick on Sept. 26th. One ship excursion I am considering is a Bay of Fundy Coastal Photography tour. The stops are Fallsview Park, Lepreau Falls, Dipper Harbour, and Bay of Fundy Beach. There are two times, 8:30 -11:45 am or 12:15 to 3:30 pm. The excursions are small groups so I wanted to book ahead of time. Any suggestions on which time is better? I know the tide schedules don't come out until much closer but I don't want to wait to sign up.

Just wanted to chime in, did this tour in 2013, Wife Sister-in-law did the zip line (before they were a ship tour) and Nephew and I did this pm photography tour. Tour leader had great tips for novice, the basics leading lines, rule of thirds. She helped out a lot.

Biggest issue was the weather FOG, did some great shots of the fishing boats in the fog since you could get close but Falls, the Bay not much you could get as the places were socked in. Just remember Mother Nature can throw a curve ball.

FWIW

Foggy days usually burn off by noon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My apologies for not returning to this thread earlier to address your question philpcruiser - we were on the Oasis! The locations were the high point of the excursion. Although the excursion guide was a professional, on our tour the personal attention and tips were geared toward basic photography since that seemed to be the make-up of the attendees. People did not bring extra gear - most had basic SLR or point and shoot cameras.

My apologies for not returning to this thread earlier to address your question philpcruiser - we were on the Oasis! The locations were the high point of the excursion. Although the excursion guide was a professional, on our tour the personal attention and tips were geared toward basic photography since that seemed to be the make-up of the attendees. People did not bring extra gear - most had basic SLR or point and shoot cameras.

Marge, thanks for replying. Mind if I ask further questions? Do you think the locations on this tour are any better than another? Wondering, since I'm beyond beginner level, would I be better off on an excursion with more stops (= more photo ops.), or stick with this tour for "better" locations. There is another excursion offered with ten stops, 3 hours longer, and only $20 more.

PS: how did you like the Oasis?

One of my very best friends is an amazing photographer & I'm pretty sure he would vote for more photo ops! If the tour with more stops were offered when we cruised I probably would have selected that one for more opportunities to practice lol. All of the stops were beautiful, but you may have some of the same ones on the longer tour. What ship will you be on in Sept? We are doing Canada/New England in Sept. on the Anthem.

We love the Oasis! It was our third time on her, second time in a Crown Loft Suite. I fear we are spoiled for good now - we booked the exact same suite for 2017!

One of my very best friends is an amazing photographer & I'm pretty sure he would vote for more photo ops! If the tour with more stops were offered when we cruised I probably would have selected that one for more opportunities to practice lol. All of the stops were beautiful, but you may have some of the same ones on the longer tour. What ship will you be on in Sept? We are doing Canada/New England in Sept. on the Anthem.

 

We love the Oasis! It was our third time on her, second time in a Crown Loft Suite. I fear we are spoiled for good now - we booked the exact same suite for 2017!

Marge: I think I'm going to agree and opt for more photo ops. Covering more ground seems logical. Even better? Hire a local guide on our own, or put together a small group, and pick what you want to see. We are not going this September. We'll be on the Summit in June '17 on a 10 day to New England and Canada.

Phil

PS: was the two story loft suite convenient? I mean, was the up and down the stairs a hassle?

Great idea about hiring your own local guide!

The two levels in the CL pose no issues if you have no mobility problems. But there is a bathroom on each floor. The king bed is upstairs but there is a fold-out bed on the first floor if needed and closets on each level.