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Canada/New England Excursions

SeaRose24

By SeaRose24,
in Royal Caribbean International

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SeaRose24

SeaRose24

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Hi all.

 

I'm new here and this is my first post. :)

 

This coming weekend we will be sailing on the Serenade of the Seas on the Canada/New England itinerary. We discussed maybe not doing any excursions because since we are visiting English speaking places, we would be able to walk around and do our own thing.

 

However, now we are sort of reconsidering if this was a good idea.

 

Any suggestions for these ports of calls? Excursions or no excursions??

 

Portland, Maine

Bar Harbor, Maine

Saint John, New Brunswick

Halifax, Nova Scotia

 

We are doing a couple of days in Boston and Salem afterwards.

 

Never been to any of these places, so any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advanced.

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Desert Cruizers

Desert Cruizers

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Halifax, we did the Titanic & Peggy Cove through the ship. Bar Harbor we walked around, Saint John seeing the Tides was interesting and they had a Jet boat ride also which we didn't take. Our last visit in ST John when we drove all over New Brunswick and stopped in Halifax to visit my cousin, we had a car and drove around.

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plowboy920

plowboy920

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Portland is very walkable, lots of shops and restaurants and Shipyard Brewery a couple blocks from the ship, they have a nice tour. Bar Harbor also very walkable and has Ollie's Trolley just off the tender dock, you can purchase different tours. St. John has a nice horse drawn carriage ride, they line up near the dock and carry about 15 people and are quite reasonable. The parks and market in SJ are also cool and a short (6 block) walk. Halifax has a nice boardwalk with shops, restaurants and the Titanic Museum at the end, lots to see and do, but don't forget to try a Beaver Tail! The RCL excursions are very nice also but not necessary. Hope this helps. :)

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fisherguy

fisherguy

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We didn't do much in Portland. Lots went to the outlet mall about a half hours ride by bus away. The LL Bean outlet mall is there. We just walked around town.

 

Bar Harbor is a quaint little touristy town with many little shops for souvenirs and some places to get your lobster rolls. We spent a couple hours walking around. Since its a Tender Port, we didn't have much time there.

 

In St John, you will have to catch an incoming tide in order to see the reversing falls. It is a long walk if you want to hoof it on your own but its doable. We did not catch the tide right and just walked around the town center. There are excursions that others took that went to landmarks outside of town.

 

In Halifax, we rented a car and drove to Peggy's Cove and around the city itself. We also drove up to the Citadel which is an old Fort overlooking the city. Peggy's Cove is very picturesque so don't forget your camera. There is a tour at the top of the Citadel and was very interesting.

 

I loved Boston as it was one of the highlights of my cruise. We traveled the whole day by Public Transit. There was a Bus Stop right next to the pier which took you to one of the stations on the Red Line. From there we took the Red Line to Harvard. We had reserved a Free tours by foot tour of the Campus. The tour was a little over an hour long and we tipped the guide 10 bucks per person as our fee after it was over. From there we took the Red Line back to Downtown and walked from Downtown all the way to the old part of town at Fanieul Hall (sorry for the spelling) where we had another free tours by foot tour of the North End of Boston. Both tours we had were terrific. Had my Lobster Roll and Clam Chowder at Quincy market. We didn't have time to do anything else in Boston.

 

Hope you have a great time.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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Go to the Canada/New England ports of call forum, and there are lots of ideas. Portland is a well respected "foodie" destination, so restaurants should be on your list. There are some windjammer cruises of Casco Bay available. There is also the "Mailboat Run", which is the Casco Bay Ferry that runs supplies out to the various islands that dot Casco Bay (known as the Calendar Islands, as there are supposedly 365 of them). This takes 3-4 hours (depends on cargo) and the skippers give a little talk along the way about island history and life on the islands. Nice way to relax and see the Bay. Good museums in Portland as well.

 

Boston is a very walkable city. The Freedom Trail is in my opinion not to be missed, as is the end of the trail at Charlestown Navy Yard and the USS Constitution.

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jaspercat

jaspercat

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Welcome to Cruise Critic and Have a Great Cruise!

 

You will also find a lot of information in the Canada/New England Ports of Call section: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

When I did the Canada/New England I did ship excursions --

 

Portland, Maine: the Mt. Washington and Cog Train. Had time after tour to explore Portland.

 

Bar Harbor: Best of Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain. We had a great day so were able to get up to the top. After walked about and explored Bar Harbor.

 

Saint John, NB: as wanted to explore Saint John, did the St. John highlight tour.

 

Halifax: Peggy's Cove and Lobster Lunch with lots of time to explore Halifax. A nice garden to explore, Alexander Keith's Brewery, the Citadel and as Plowboy mentioned -- enjoy a Beaver Tail!

 

Boston: follow the Freedom Trail, taking time out to detour/explore while you do. Faneuill Market, the Aquarium, USS Constitution, etc.

 

 

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John Reid

John Reid

Posted
Posted
Hi all.

 

I'm new here and this is my first post. :)

 

This coming weekend we will be sailing on the Serenade of the Seas on the Canada/New England itinerary. We discussed maybe not doing any excursions because since we are visiting English speaking places, we would be able to walk around and do our own thing.

 

However, now we are sort of reconsidering if this was a good idea.

 

Any suggestions for these ports of calls? Excursions or no excursions??

 

Portland, Maine

Bar Harbor, Maine

Saint John, New Brunswick

Halifax, Nova Scotia

 

We are doing a couple of days in Boston and Salem afterwards.

 

Never been to any of these places, so any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advanced.

 

Just sailed a few weeks ago. I booked everything privately. Check Tripadvisor reviews.

Portland - I took a city/lighthouse tour. I found the city tour was dull; Too much parking by some house or site (not that visually interesting) and the guide gave history. Not very visual. Lighthouse/old military base was good. Price was reasonable. I walked around lower Portland for two hours. Everyone I played trivia with had lobster rolls and loved them. They went to Gilbert's or the Portland Lobster Company. Both are near the pier.

 

Bar Harbor - I know the town and park well. No excursion needed. The town is great to walk. Right at the park in town center, there is the free Island Explorer bus system. Check in advance on their website to be sure they are running when you go. Hop on and tour. I recommend route 3/Sand Beach. Get off there and walk down there. From there, take a 2 mile hike along the shore trail to the next stop, Thunder Hole. Hop back on the bus there. They come about every 1/2 hour. Get a raspberry demolition cone at C. J.'s Big Dipper in town. (I don't like lobster or seafood!)

 

Saint John - My first time there I walked the town. Meh. This time I rented a car from Budget (just down the street from the ship) and drove to the Fundy Trail Park. Incredible. It is about a one hour drive and well worth it. The rental was inexpensive. Check their website to make sure they are open.

 

Halifax - Rented a car there also from Thrifty. Rentals on Hollis Street very close to the ship. Drove to Peggy's Cove. Cheaper than a tour and easy to do. Returned the car and walked around town. I liked that. Big grocery store right by the ship. It is the crew's excursion! I bought cans of soda.

 

I did these on a Grandeur cruise. There should be enough time in each port to do these things.

 

Have a great cruise.

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plowboy920

plowboy920

Posted
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Welcome to Cruise Critic and Have a Great Cruise!

 

You will also find a lot of<script id="gpt-impl-0.7197580758972053" src="http://partner.googleadservices.com/gpt/pubads_impl_100.js"></script> information in the Canada/New England Ports of Call section: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

When I did the Canada/New England I did ship excursions --

 

Portland, Maine: the Mt. Washington and Cog Train. Had time after tour to explore Portland.

 

Bar Harbor: Best of Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain. We had a great day so were able to get up to the top. After walked about and explored Bar Harbor.

 

Saint John, NB: as wanted to explore Saint John, did the St. John highlight tour.

 

Halifax: Peggy's Cove and Lobster Lunch with lots of time to explore Halifax. A nice garden to explore, Alexander Keith's Brewery, the Citadel and as Plowboy mentioned -- enjoy a Beaver Tail!

 

Boston: follow the Freedom Trail, taking time out to detour/explore while you do. Faneuill Market, the Aquarium, USS Constitution, etc.

 

 

 

Hey Catherine, remember us? Nutz 4 we had a great time! Jeff & Raelynn

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Arubamoose

Arubamoose

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We just did the Anthem a few weeks ago.

 

We didn't want to do any big tours either.

 

In Boston we walked from the ship to Faneuil Hall and back. Had lunch at Neptune Oyster. Much better than Union Street and not as touristy. Reservations a must.

 

In Portland we booked a lighthouse boat tour with Portland Discovery. Walked around and hit Shipyard brewery. Also went to Eventide Oyster.

 

In Bar Harbor we walked to the commons and grabbed a free bus to hike in Acadia. Made sure we had a lobster roll or two!!

 

In Halifax we rented a car from Enterprise and headed out to Peggy's Cove. Had lobster at a local pound.

 

We were going to rent a car in Saint John but canceled. Instead we walked to the reversing falls and back to town. Made sure to get some poutine from Beaver Tails food truck. And hung around having some brew by the water.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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John Reid

John Reid

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A p. s. -

 

On one trip to Bar Harbor, we did Ollie's Trolley. Their office is right where you get off the tender boat. It was a good and reasonable tour. It left time for walking around some of its stops, and there was plenty of time to walk around town. You can check their website.

 

With any tender stop excursion you book, you have to build in a cushion of time since those who booked RCCL tours will have priority. When we were on Grandeur, we were still able to get off quickly. They had a boarding pass pick-up in the Schooner Lounge at about 7:30 am. I got a Group 2 pass.

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plowboy920

plowboy920

Posted
Posted (edited)
Wow, you guys!

 

Thank you for all these posts. I now have lots of homework to make a plan!

 

We leave in a few days so I will be looking at all these options.

 

You're all great! Thanks

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Forums mobile app

 

 

You are very welcome! Just here to help!

Edited by plowboy920
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  • 1 year later...
CruisinAg

CruisinAg

Posted
Posted

Not an excursion but if you're a baseball fan, grabbing an Uber at the port and going to Fenway is a must. If you can take a tour. It was worth it! Not sure if they're at home while you're there as that would limit the tour times and probably the areas you have access to.

 

In Bar Harbor we did the Acadia National Park bus tour which stops for a full lobster lunch. It was delicious, although the day we went the weather was pretty overcast so we didn't get to see as much of the park as we would've liked.

 

Halifax and St. John are both good walking cities. There's a brewery right across the street from the cruise terminal in Halifax that has good beer.

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julielouhoo

julielouhoo

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In Boston we did a hop on hop off bus and hit a number of attractions. My favorite was the Maparium So cool and free!

 

In Portland we took the excursion to Kennebunkport (and loved it) and in the afternoon we did a firetruck tour of the city. It was very good too.

 

In Bar Harbor, we did a horse drawn buggy tour (I think it seats 24) and we walked around. Planned to do stand up paddleboarding but it was cancelled due to the wind

 

In Halifax we did a Segway tour around the city. It was awesome! (but not easy until you get the hang of the hills)

 

St Johns we took a tour around the city and to the reversing rapids. I know some people really like it, but In all honesty, if we went there again, I'd probably stay on the ship.:eek::eek:

 

 

Have a great cruise!!

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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Posted
Not an excursion but if you're a baseball fan, grabbing an Uber at the port and going to Fenway is a must. If you can take a tour. It was worth it! Not sure if they're at home while you're there as that would limit the tour times and probably the areas you have access to.

 

In Bar Harbor we did the Acadia National Park bus tour which stops for a full lobster lunch. It was delicious, although the day we went the weather was pretty overcast so we didn't get to see as much of the park as we would've liked.

 

Halifax and St. John are both good walking cities. There's a brewery right across the street from the cruise terminal in Halifax that has good beer.

 

In Boston we did a hop on hop off bus and hit a number of attractions. My favorite was the Maparium So cool and free!

 

In Portland we took the excursion to Kennebunkport (and loved it) and in the afternoon we did a firetruck tour of the city. It was very good too.

 

In Bar Harbor, we did a horse drawn buggy tour (I think it seats 24) and we walked around. Planned to do stand up paddleboarding but it was cancelled due to the wind

 

In Halifax we did a Segway tour around the city. It was awesome! (but not easy until you get the hang of the hills)

 

St Johns we took a tour around the city and to the reversing rapids. I know some people really like it, but In all honesty, if we went there again, I'd probably stay on the ship.:eek::eek:

 

 

Have a great cruise!!

 

Guys, this thread is two years old. The OP has long since gone on the cruise. The person who resurrected it was just looking for people who will be on his Holland America cruise.

 

Let it go.

 

:)

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