Halifax Titanic - Carnival Excursion

[Papermoon4]

Anyone taken the Carnival sponsored shore excursion in Halifax about the TITANIC? I believe it includes the Maritime Museum and the gravesites.

A few questions:
[list]
[*]About how much does it cost?
[*]Is it easier/cheaper to do on your own?
[*]Does it allow time for any other things (like shopping or a walk on the boardwalk)?
[*]Is it guided/informative or are you on your own pretty much?
[/list]Any help would be great. Sailing on the Victory September 2nd.

[Lisa63]

Hi Michael,

I took this tour two days ago through HAL, and I imagine that Carnival uses the same company.

Cost was about $40 per person for the tour. That included transportation (the cemetery isn't all that close to the pier) and admission to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. You can probably do it on your own by taxi, but I was reluctant to do it that way as I was going on the tour alone. Besides, having a guided tour really added a lot to the experience, and I am pretty well-versed in Titanic history. The tour was about 2.5 hours long, leaving plenty of time to explore Halifax a bit on your own.

[I]Edited to add:[/I] Even though you will have just an hour or so in the Maritime Museum on your tour, you will receive a button that will enable you to return to the museum at any time during the day at no additional cost.

[Host Caroline]

If you want to go to the Titanic Cemetery the tour is probably easier. if you just want to see the exhibit at the Maritime Museum you can save lots of time (and money) doing on your own.. it's just down harborwalk from where you dock.. an excellent facility!

[Papermoon4]

[quote name='Lisa63']Hi Michael,

I took this tour two days ago through HAL, and I imagine that Carnival uses the same company.

Cost was about $40 per person for the tour. That included transportation (the cemetery isn't all that close to the pier) and admission to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. You can probably do it on your own by taxi, but I was reluctant to do it that way as I was going on the tour alone. Besides, having a guided tour really added a lot to the experience, and I am pretty well-versed in Titanic history. The tour was about 2.5 hours long, leaving plenty of time to explore Halifax a bit on your own.

[i]Edited to add:[/i] Even though you will have just an hour or so in the Maritime Museum on your tour, you will receive a button that will enable you to return to the museum at any time during the day at no additional cost.[/QUOTE]:( I hope that HAL uses a better tour company for this tour, but I doubt it. Sadly, I was not as pleased as you with this Excursion. I, too, am a Titanic buff (before the film made it fashionable) and thought this tour was a real disappointment.

The cost is actually (as of 9/2/04) $49.00 and is the second most expensive shore excursion that doesn't include a lobster or salmon lunch! Carnival doesn't even promote this Excursion in their Port Talk.

They tell you to meet at the pier, but they don't tell you to look for the red-vested attendants who wander around aimlessly. All the other shore excursion companies use signs to help direct you. This one relies on people who may or may not get around to you. I sat there looking for a sign until I asked (by chance) one of the red-vests if they knew about the tour. Five more minutes and I'd have missed the trip entirely. Little did I know...

The tour guide was the biggest disappointment of the tour, a befuddled and repetitive old duffer who had a few interesting facts (which he read off a clipboard). He frequently repeated himself, stumbled over his own words, chided us like children, had horrible grammer and use of language ("them trees were re-routed by the storm") and twice just stopped speaking entirely ("I lost my train of thought.")

On our tour the MARITIME MUSEUM (a small but quaint faciility) was FIRST on the trip, not last. So even though it is within walking distance of the pier, there's no chance to linger. We were chided NOT to try to see the 3-D Film (one of the major attractions in this smallish museum) - it wasn't included in our $49 and if we weren't out in time, the bus would leave us! Even if we wanted to go back later the bus didn't get back till near 4pm and embarkation time was 5pm. SOL

Reading the description provided by Carnival, it seems as if you'll be visiting the church where the memorial services were held, but be warned: in TOUR LINGO "see" means through a bus window - "visit" means you get out of the bus! A lesson learned at a cost of $49!

At the cemetery I saw two cabbies showing tourists the gravesites. I stayed within hearing distance and was so envious as the cabbie was much more consice and interesting than our tour guide - who droned on and on (repeating everything ad nauseum). The cabs also can drive right up to the Titanic grave areas so you don't have to walk from the street. Plus you get a private tour, not with 40 others. By this time, many chose to just stay on the bus and nap.

So, with the musuem costing around $6.50US, the cemetery FREE, you are stuck with a $43.50 bus ride! :eek: If the guide was anywhere near professional, you could forgive it. But for that price they could at least try to include the darn 3-D movie!!!

I was on my own, so I chose the Excursion, but if I had been with a group, my inclination would be to go to the Pier Visitors Information Desk and ask for a cabbie who knows the Titanic sites. It's gotta be cheaper and more satisfying than this lame tour.

[Lisa63]

Wow... it sounds as if we were on two completely different tours. Perhaps the two lines do use different companies.

I just confirmed that our Titanic tour through HAL was $39, and it is still listed as such on their Web site. We had no problems finding the tour at the pier -- we were led directly to the bus. Our guide was highly knowledgeable -- I could tell by his accurate descriptions of what I already knew pretty well, and that I was able to confirm the other info he gave us upon my return home. And, in contrast to your experience, we were encouraged to see the 3-D film, although I believe we were told there would be an extra cost as it was a special exhibit.

Sorry to hear your tour was disappointing. I hope you expressed your dissatisfaction with the tour to Carnival.

[mirrajay]

We have a lot of things we want to do in Halifax and I am not sure we will have the time for it. Our plan right now is to take a cab directly from the dock to the gravesites, spend no more than an hour there, and then take one back to the museum and see the exhibit, but we need to be back by 1:30 (we dock at 9:30am, so I assume we will be off the ship by 10:30) for an unrelated ship sponsored excursion. Do you think we can make it?
On the map I have, it doenst look like it would be anymore than a 15 minute cab ride from the dock to the gravesites, is that about right?
Also, does anyone know how much this cab ride might cost?

If thats too much to do (which I am thinking that it is), which is more "not miss": the museum or the gravesites? I have heard many people be dissapointed by the lack of artifacts that are actually in the museum and the size of the exhibit, and they say that the graveyard experience is actually more enjoyable.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Carey

[jimcat]

[quote name='mirrajay']We have a lot of things we want to do in Halifax and I am not sure we will have the time for it. Our plan right now is to take a cab directly from the dock to the gravesites, spend no more than an hour there, and then take one back to the museum and see the exhibit, but we need to be back by 1:30 (we dock at 9:30am, so I assume we will be off the ship by 10:30) for an unrelated ship sponsored excursion. Do you think we can make it?
On the map I have, it doenst look like it would be anymore than a 15 minute cab ride from the dock to the gravesites, is that about right?
Also, does anyone know how much this cab ride might cost?

If thats too much to do (which I am thinking that it is), which is more "not miss": the museum or the gravesites? I have heard many people be dissapointed by the lack of artifacts that are actually in the museum and the size of the exhibit, and they say that the graveyard experience is actually more enjoyable.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Carey[/QUOTE]
We rented a car from enterprise.. which is at most a 5 minute walk from the pier.
Drove out to Peggys cove.. seen the lighthouse.. etc etc.. then drove back the coastal route to downtown.. parked at the museum ( one could stop at the cemetary before coming into town.. then head to the parking at the museum.. walk over to harbor market.. eat a nice lunch.. then go into the museum.. after that take the car back and walk back to the ship.. total car cost for the day was like 55.00 (canadian dollars for a full size car).

[mirrajay]

Thanks Jim - We will definetly not have time to go to Peggys cove since we need to be back at the pier at 1:30 for our other plans.
Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day though! :)