Skipping St. John?

I'm taking a New England/Canada cruise for the first time next month. My cruise has only one sea day (the last one) and I have not heard too many wonderful things about St. John, so I was thinking about skipping that port altogether and relaxing on the ship. (I like spending a day on the ship, and I will be very busy with excursions at all the other ports.) However, if there IS something I should experience in St. John, I'd like to know before it's too late! Opinions?

I'm taking a New England/Canada cruise for the first time next month. My cruise has only one sea day (the last one) and I have not heard too many wonderful things about St. John, so I was thinking about skipping that port altogether and relaxing on the ship. (I like spending a day on the ship, and I will be very busy with excursions at all the other ports.) However, if there IS something I should experience in St. John, I'd like to know before it's too late! Opinions?

I'm really curious to where you heard "not too many wonderful things about Saint John"? Is that from 1 person, 2 persons, or a lot of persons? I've been on this board for years and 95% of the time hear wonderful reviews of Saint John, her excursions and tour operators. In fact, Carnival has increased visits to the port based on the very positive feedback from passengers that visited the city. I think any port is what you make of it. There are excursions to walk the ocean floor at low tide, thrill rides like jet boats through rapids and zip lining, historic neighborhoods with old churches and great restaurants.

I'm really curious to where you heard "not too many wonderful things about Saint John"? Is that from 1 person, 2 persons, or a lot of persons? I've been on this board for years and 95% of the time hear wonderful reviews of Saint John, her excursions and tour operators.

Three people, all relatives who've been there on cruises. Don't misunderstand me, it wasn't that they didn't like it; they just thought they might have preferred staying on the ship, especially since there's only one sea day - so in large part, I think this depends on how much you enjoy your time on the ship.

I just joined myself, and I've looked over some of the posts about St. John, but many of them are very specific and there's a lot to sort through. None of the excursions listed in the brochure from Princess really interest me, except for perhaps the historic walking tour or seeing the Bay of Fundy, but I really don't know much about either (or if there's something great not listed in the brochure) so it's impossible to make an informed decision. Hence the question.

Three people, all relatives who've been there on cruises. Don't misunderstand me, it wasn't that they didn't like it; they just thought they might have preferred staying on the ship, especially since there's only one sea day - so in large part, I think this depends on how much you enjoy your time on the ship.

 

I just joined myself, and I've looked over some of the posts about St. John, but many of them are very specific and there's a lot to sort through. None of the excursions listed in the brochure from Princess really interest me, except for perhaps the historic walking tour or seeing the Bay of Fundy, but I really don't know much about either (or if there's something great not listed in the brochure) so it's impossible to make an informed decision. Hence the question.

The ship docks right in the centre of the city - so you could perhaps get off and explore some popular sites all nearby early on. Then spend the day on ship also. The Old City Market is a popular spot to visit, just a less than 10 min walk from ship. You can do a lot of touring in just 1 hour.

If nothing else, I would get off the ship to walk around the city and have lunch at one of the wonderful seafood restaurants nearby. We were on Carnival Glory when Earl came through a couple of weeks ago and ended up staying on board in Saint John most of the day due to the weather, and I missed my fried clams for lunch. We had been debating between Steamer's and Grannan's, and Earl ruined our plans completely.:(

Saint John is a nice city with really nice people. We visited three times before the "Earl" visit. My favorite is the City Market, a short walk from the pier. I also enjoy walking along the Harbour Passage.

I do understand where you're coming from about a "made up sea day" - we did that in Jamaica earlier this year when our excursion was canceled (we know better than to walk around in MoBay without a planned tour) and we loved having the ship practically to ourselves. Perhaps you might do a morning tour, have an early lunch (if you're sailing from the East Coast, remember that Saint John will be an hour ahead), and then board the ship after lunch to enjoy some "down" time aboard.

Oh noooo, I am changing time zones? I am so bad at that! LOL... thanks for the tips, though. I won't plan an excursion, but since there's no tender from the ship, I don't see the harm in walking around for a bit. I'm glad there's a lot to see close to the ship. It's a long stop there - 8am to 5 pm - so I can spend a couple hours in the city and still have plenty of quiet downtime on the ship. Thanks for the tips!

I am taking a cruise that is stopping at St. John. I have been there twice before. I was not impressed with St. John on my first trip so I just drove through New Brunswick. On my second trip, I stopped at Hopewell Rocks, Cape Enrage, St Martin's, Fundy Trail Parkway, and St. Andrews. I was surprised by how nice the coast of New Brunswick was. So now I am going back again and see some of the things I missed.

Skip it. There is nothing new or different in St. John. The farmer's market is nice, but it is no different than any farmer's market that I have ever been to. I love travel and culture and learning, but St. John has very little to offer to anyone who has traveled at all. Enjoy the ship.

Skip it. There is nothing new or different in St. John. The farmer's market is nice, but it is no different than any farmer's market that I have ever been to. I love travel and culture and learning, but St. John has very little to offer to anyone who has traveled at all. Enjoy the ship.

Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?

This is probably like most of the Canada/NE trips. A port everyday. Don't feel guilty if you want to stay on the ship. I joke that it's great because everybody gets off and it's so quiet on board.

It's your trip, do whatyou want.

Skip it. There is nothing new or different in St. John. The farmer's market is nice, but it is no different than any farmer's market that I have ever been to. I love travel and culture and learning, but St. John has very little to offer to anyone who has traveled at all. Enjoy the ship.

This is a very subjective statement as you don't know the what is new or different for other travellers. Saint John as a historic city has a lot to offer culturally and learning wise if you take the time to research it beforehand. I travelled the world, yet am very proud what our city has to offer to visitors. I can see this thread turning into a Saint John bashing session by those who know very little about it. Naturally as a citizen I get defensive :)

allnamestaken was on the same cruise we were on - with the monsoon that was Hurricane Earl while we were in port in Saint John. Not a great day to find out what a city has to offer.

This is a very subjective statement as you don't know the what is new or different for other travellers. Saint John as a historic city has a lot to offer culturally and learning wise if you take the time to research it beforehand. I travelled the world, yet am very proud what our city has to offer to visitors. I can see this thread turning into a Saint John bashing session by those who know very little about it. Naturally as a citizen I get defensive :)

Well, I'm hoping for a clear, sunny day [29 October] :)

Last year, we did a Cunard shore excursion [photography tour] that spent all its time away from the city. This year, we're just planning on exploring the area on foot. [Your map should be a useful resource]

For those of you who like photos, I have photos from three of our four visits to Saint John at http://community.webshots.com/user/nybumpkin (the relevant albums are Carnival Glory Sept. 2010, Carnival Victory August 2008, and Carnival Victory August 2006).

Another "gain" from Saint John: Canada mints. The first time we visited Saint John in 2004, we did one of the round-town horse-drawn trolley tours, and the tour guide introduced us to real Canada wintergreen mints - the pink disks. Oldest son was absolutely hooked on them. After the cruise, he made do with US-produced mints (and still does), but they really didn't compare with the ones he had in Saint John. The second time we visited, we bought a bag at City Market. Didn't last son long, but he loved them. Third time we visited, we went to City Market and that vendor no longer was there. No worries - we found a shop around the corner from City Market where he was able to purchase 3 pounds of them.

On the "Earl" cruise, oldest son wasn't with us. He's now a student at the US Merchant Marine Academy and is currently doing one of his Sea Year assignments, on a tanker in the South China Sea. Despite the weather when we were in Saint John, we made it over to the shops on the pier and found a couple of bags of mints for him. They're waiting for him when he returns from his cruise in November.:cool:

Wow, lots of different opinions. Since I've already spent a small fortune on excursions at the other ports, and I do like a quiet day on the ship, I think I'll just explore on foot for a short time, as it seems that there's plenty close to the ship anyway. The Farmer's Market didn't interest me at first, but - Kathy: I LOVE Canada mints! And I've only ever had the U.S.-produced ones, you know, the cheap 99-cent bags from the drugstore. So I'm going to have to get a whole bunch of those. :-) (On a side note, that's so sweet that you got them for your son while he's away, and you must be so proud of him!)

I am going solo, so the upside is, I don't have to really have a "plan" ahead of time - I can just look around, go back to the ship if I'm bored, or stick around in the city longer if I love it. I'm glad there's no tender at this port, otherwise this would be a tougher decision.

I'm Episcopalian, and we'll be in St. John on a Wednesday, when a lot of churches have mid-week services... so I did some research and found a beautiful Anglican church nearby (about a block from the Farmer's Market) that has a 12:15 service that day, so I'm thinking I'll do that - if I don't mess up the whole time zone thing! (That will be 1:15 on my watch, right?) From what I can tell - they only have a handful of small pictures on their website (trinitysj.com) - it's a beautiful Gothic structure that will be nice to see even aside from the service. Has anyone been there?

Wow, lots of different opinions. Since I've already spent a small fortune on excursions at the other ports, and I do like a quiet day on the ship, I think I'll just explore on foot for a short time, as it seems that there's plenty close to the ship anyway. The Farmer's Market didn't interest me at first, but - Kathy: I LOVE Canada mints! And I've only ever had the U.S.-produced ones, you know, the cheap 99-cent bags from the drugstore. So I'm going to have to get a whole bunch of those. :-) (On a side note, that's so sweet that you got them for your son while he's away, and you must be so proud of him!)

 

I am going solo, so the upside is, I don't have to really have a "plan" ahead of time - I can just look around, go back to the ship if I'm bored, or stick around in the city longer if I love it. I'm glad there's no tender at this port, otherwise this would be a tougher decision.

 

I'm Episcopalian, and we'll be in St. John on a Wednesday, when a lot of churches have mid-week services... so I did some research and found a beautiful Anglican church nearby (about a block from the Farmer's Market) that has a 12:15 service that day, so I'm thinking I'll do that - if I don't mess up the whole time zone thing! (That will be 1:15 on my watch, right?) From what I can tell - they only have a handful of small pictures on their website (trinitysj.com) - it's a beautiful Gothic structure that will be nice to see even aside from the service. Has anyone been there?

12:15 would be 11:15 Eastern Time - ship time usually moved ahead 1 hour to match local time. The farmers market is actually the Old City Market - 1 block from Trinity Church. Trinity Church is very beautiful inside and out - many tourists religious and non-religious alike admire the architecture and the wood detail inside. See interior here: http://www.tourismsaintjohn.com/index.cfm?event=page.view&filename=historicchurches.cfm also check out the "daughter" church of it Stone Church built in 1825 - 1 block from City Market in opposite direction.

We visited Trinity on our first visit to Saint John in 2004. We love visiting churches and DH was raised Episcopalian. It is a beautiful church. There was no service going on while we were there, but there were a number of people admiring both the interior and the exterior of the church. (Of course, my photos date from the one cruise I didn't post on Webshots.:rolleyes:)

Saint John is lovely. :) We did a ship excursion (~ 3 hours) that toured the city and went to the Reversing Falls. I spent more time at the market and walked through the nearby park when the tour ended.

I would never stay on the ship the first time I visit a new place, unless the weather was dreadful. You don't have to spend your entire port time off the ship, but at least see something.

The OP asked my OPINION. She was considering staying on the ship and I agree that she should. I not only walked through town for several hours, spent half an hour chatting with locals in the general store, and took a tour with an incredibly knowledgeable former teacher, yet even he couldn't make the town interesting nor charming. It is simply a town past its industrial heyday trying to scrape by. I can respect that, but I don't have to like it.

Some people prefer dark chocolate, some people prefer milk, some people don't like chocolate at all. It's not personal people. Buck up.

The OP asked my OPINION. She was considering staying on the ship and I agree that she should. I not only walked through town for several hours, spent half an hour chatting with locals in the general store, and took a tour with an incredibly knowledgeable former teacher, yet even he couldn't make the town interesting nor charming. It is simply a town past its industrial heyday trying to scrape by. I can respect that, but I don't have to like it.

 

Some people prefer dark chocolate, some people prefer milk, some people don't like chocolate at all. It's not personal people. Buck up.

I had a chuckle at your "scrape by" comment. Saint John is near full employment, one of the lowest rates in North America and has a vibrant energy based economy.

Thank you, Acey, for your posts. My daughter and I will visit your hometown this coming Monday and will certainly find many interesting things to see and photograph. We've booked the trolley tour and hope it will give us a good overview of Saint John as a start. We will then spend some time at the Old City Market and visit the two churches near the Market. We'll be wearing our rain gear, just in case!

The OP asked my OPINION. She was considering staying on the ship and I agree that she should. I not only walked through town for several hours, spent half an hour chatting with locals in the general store, and took a tour with an incredibly knowledgeable former teacher, yet even he couldn't make the town interesting nor charming. It is simply a town past its industrial heyday trying to scrape by. I can respect that, but I don't have to like it.

 

Some people prefer dark chocolate, some people prefer milk, some people don't like chocolate at all. It's not personal people. Buck up.

In addition you had this to say on your review.

Port day was a bust mainly due to the remnants of Hurricane Earl. However, there is nothing to see of note in St. John. Okay, the old general store was interesting for about 15 minutes. But look at the Reversing Falls on YouTube – it is not worth a port stop. We were going to drive out to St. Martin, but the weather put a kibosh on that. We visited the farmer’s market, which was fine but we have amazing farmer’s markets in New York so there wasn’t much to get excited about. St. John is a pity-inducing rust-belt type town and I wish its citizens the best, but they should find another source of income.

Your comments reveal an astonishing arrogance and ignorance. Better people than you have misunderstood Saint John, its working class people, industry, and place in history. Your comments including "it is not worth a port stop " and "pity-inducing rust-belt type town" is over the top and unkind to say the least. Trust me the people of Saint John have no need of the pity of the likes of you. Furthermore I suspect that some of your claims are dishonest given the day you were in Saint John. I doubt anyone would actually enjoy that day much. I am familiar with the city having lived there 32 years ago and visited many, many times since. I have also been to Manhattan, not my favorite place either. The OP may stay on the ship for relaxation reasons, that is fine, but your advice is offensive and even though I am not a resident I take personal offence. It is personal, you made it personal. I would like to paraphrase the last two words on your most recent post but that would not be allowed, I know someone as smart as you will get the message though.

Acey is much more polite, good for him and the fine people of Saint John. I know they would welcome you back any time, perhaps the sun will be shining on you and in you next time. It is a very historic city with deep roots in the past of both the US and Canada. Not all that pretty in some respects but very interesting to those that care to look with actual interest in learning about what to most cruise passengers ( many thousands of them ) is a unique city and area.

I had a chuckle at your "scrape by" comment. Saint John is near full employment, one of the lowest rates in North America and has a vibrant energy based economy.

In that case, as a law school grad unable to find work, perhaps I should move there!

We'll be wearing our rain gear, just in case!

LOL Jeanette - I was just thinking, the more I read about this upcoming cruise and its ports, the more I think that my Hunter rainboots will probably come in very handy on this vacation.

allnamestaken: I appreciate your honest opinion. There is a recent review of the Princess cruise to NE/Canada that expresses a similar opinion about the port, and my aunts kind of thought the same thing, so you are not alone. Although I have decided to leave the ship for at least a short time, I do appreciate the honest feedback.

NancyIL: I kind of thought the same thing - I've never been there myself, and I sort of want to decide for myself, even if I end up spending most of the day on the ship.

Acey and nybumpkin: I am REALLY looking forward to seeing the church now!

Thanks everyone!

Thank you, Acey, for your posts. My daughter and I will visit your hometown this coming Monday and will certainly find many interesting things to see and photograph. We've booked the trolley tour and hope it will give us a good overview of Saint John as a start. We will then spend some time at the Old City Market and visit the two churches near the Market. We'll be wearing our rain gear, just in case!

If weather is inclement, visit the Museum -- inside the mall -- looks interesting. Lots of shops inside the Pedway -- different levels. One of the nicest Hallmark Gold Crown stores I've seen -- and don't forget to try Tim Horton coffee. Vicki

If weather is inclement, visit the Museum -- inside the mall -- looks interesting. Lots of shops inside the Pedway -- different levels. One of the nicest Hallmark Gold Crown stores I've seen -- and don't forget to try Tim Horton coffee. Vicki

What is the Pedway? Is that part of the Old City Market? I ask because you mention coffee. :D I am an addict, and if there is good coffee to be had in St. John, I must try it!