St. John's, Newfoundland?

[cruiseej]

For anyone who has been on a cruise which stopped in St. John's Newfoundland in Canada, or especially if you've embarked or disembarked there, I'm looking for recommendations about whether it's worth it for us to schedule additional time there when our cruise disembarks there in late September 2024. What did you see or do, and would you recommend adding a day or two there? The easiest thing would be to disembark and fly directly home, but since this is somewhere we're not likely to travel through very often, I don't want to cut it short if we should make the effort to spend some time here. Thanks!

[Sir PMP]

It's a student town with coffee shops , bars along the waterfront, you can walk up to a cathedral etc. It's ok but I wouldn't spend much time there.

[Cantara24]

You have excellent responses on the Sailors FB site, I would ignore the debbie downers here.

[saminina]

Plenty of trees in town and today the leaves are still green.  

[gradydude]

St. Johns Newfound,and is one of my most favorite places.  The people are very friendly. There are 2 maybe more scenic drives if you wish to rent a car. Brigus  is a great day trip, home of Captain Bob Bartlett.  If you can hook up with Helen Bigood, she offers great tours.  The Rooms is a very interesting museum and a good lunch spot.  St. Marys ecological park is a bird watchers dream.

One of my favorite memories is sailing out of the harbor with what seemed like most of the town lined up waving with the cannon at Signal Hill saluting us.  

[cruiseej]

7 hours ago, saminina said:

Plenty of trees in town and today the leaves are still green.  

You're in St. John's currently? Thanks for the weather report! I would have thought the leaves would have turned color and dropped by now, as colors have turned and we're dropping leaves 1,000 miles south of Newfoundland. This is the exact week we'll be there in 2024.

Edited October 26, 2023 by cruiseej

[yeah!!!]

I love St. John's Newfoundland.  I have been 3 times, and have even stopped there for a couple days on my way home from Europe.  There are many things to do in St. John's.  

 

Whale watching, if the whales are still there in September.

http://www.elainesbythesea.com/zodiac_tours.htm

https://trinityecotours.com/explore-tours/whale-watching/

 

Kayaking and hiking.  Visit Signal Hill, Cape Spear, Quidi Vidi, The Rooms.  

Stop at bars\nightlife, restaurants.

 

Check out for any ideas that may interest you - https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/

 

[saminina]

3 hours ago, cruiseej said:

You're in St. John's currently? Thanks for the weather report! I would have thought the leaves would have turned color and dropped by now, as colors have turned and we're dropping leaves 1,000 miles south of Newfoundland. This is the exact week we'll be there in 2024.

Yes, I thought it strange which prompted the comment.

[CalmSea]

If you rent a car, I would add Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve to yeah's list. You will be up close to breeding birds. But it is a 200 km drive one-way.

[gradydude]

Toursbyhelen.ca

[tv24]

About 15 years ago, we flew into St. John's for a 5-day stay.  It was great fun.  We went whale watching out on the sea, visited the Rooms, ate delicious fish and chips and found a terrific Irish bar where musicians gather regularly to jam.  I have very fond memories.  Been back on cruise ships and had a always had a good time.

[d9704011]

15 minutes ago, tv24 said:

About 15 years ago, we flew into St. John's for a 5-day stay.  It was great fun.  We went whale watching out on the sea, visited the Rooms, ate delicious fish and chips and found a terrific Irish bar where musicians gather regularly to jam.  I have very fond memories.  Been back on cruise ships and had a always had a good time.

I'd certainly recommend a couple of full days (but I already lived/worked in St. John's so have an experience advantage!).  In addition to the activities you identified, a walk up Signal Hill and visit to Cabot Tower is a must do.  Pok8ng around on Water Street is a good way to pass some time.  There should not be any icebergs in September, 2024.... that sort of comes to an end in June.

[whystayhome]

We walked to Quidi Vidi - beautiful village - then hiked the “easy” trail to Signal Hill and staggered back down to the Quest.  Quality time in the hot tub was required, but it was a great day.

 

Linda

[cruiseej]

Thanks, everyone for your feedback and suggestions. We're going to meet with our friends tomorrow to figure out how much time we can spend in St. John's!

[d9704011]

8 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Thanks, everyone for your feedback and suggestions. We're going to meet with our friends tomorrow to figure out how much time we can spend in St. John's!

If you decide to stay over, I suggest you look for a hotel in the Cavendish Square area of the downtown.