What to do in St. John and Halifax on days in port?
Jul 8th, 2006, 08:13 AM
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What to do in St. John and Halifax on days in port?
I am taking my first cruise and the two ports we will be at are St. John, NV and Halifax. I am really not interested in any of the cruise's excursions (plus they are are very pricy). Any ideas of "must sees" or "must dos" while in these ports?
Jul 8th, 2006, 08:21 AM
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Depending on your interests, of course, but in St. John's within walking distance of the harbor there are interesting shops along Duckworth and Water Streets. The hills are steep but most of the town is walkable. Many streets are lined with colorful townhouses. If you don't want to hike uphill, a taxi can you up to Signal Hill for a great view of the city then you could walk down.
Jul 8th, 2006, 08:46 AM
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Hi:
Just read your post, there are two cities in Atlantic Canada that are often confused with one another. One is St. John, no "s", in New Brunswick and my home town St. John's, Newfoundland. SusieQQ is correct about our town being a great place to visit but I think you mean St. John, NB which is also a port of call. While I am not familiar with St. John, I have been in Halifax and you can take the Harbour Hopper across the harbour, its also a military posting and has some naval interest, then there's the Alexander Keith's brewery, Murphy's on the Water and of course our great Canadian hospitality to enjoy. And, if you are visiting our neck of the woods with an "s". By all means hit a pub or two, listen to some great local music, take a walk, a hike, whale watching and more. Visit shops, have a coffee, we're a very welcoming bunch.
Denise
Just read your post, there are two cities in Atlantic Canada that are often confused with one another. One is St. John, no "s", in New Brunswick and my home town St. John's, Newfoundland. SusieQQ is correct about our town being a great place to visit but I think you mean St. John, NB which is also a port of call. While I am not familiar with St. John, I have been in Halifax and you can take the Harbour Hopper across the harbour, its also a military posting and has some naval interest, then there's the Alexander Keith's brewery, Murphy's on the Water and of course our great Canadian hospitality to enjoy. And, if you are visiting our neck of the woods with an "s". By all means hit a pub or two, listen to some great local music, take a walk, a hike, whale watching and more. Visit shops, have a coffee, we're a very welcoming bunch.
Denise
Jul 8th, 2006, 09:02 AM
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Hi Denise,
Thank you! Yes, my ticket says the first port of call is Saint John, NB (I think I accidentally typed NV before).
I have only been to Canada once (to Montreal and Quebec. We LOVED it. I even got by with my very rusty french!
Have been enamoured with Atlantic Canada since seeing Anne of Green Gables years ago. What can you tell me about seeing the fast tides while in Halifax?
Thank you! Yes, my ticket says the first port of call is Saint John, NB (I think I accidentally typed NV before).
I have only been to Canada once (to Montreal and Quebec. We LOVED it. I even got by with my very rusty french!
Have been enamoured with Atlantic Canada since seeing Anne of Green Gables years ago. What can you tell me about seeing the fast tides while in Halifax?
Jul 8th, 2006, 10:29 AM
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Might want to try this on the Canada Board if you have not done so already. Halifax is great city to explore. The waterfront where you will be docked is a fun & interesting place. Then head on up to Spring Garden Rd. When will you be in Halifax?
Jul 8th, 2006, 10:37 AM
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We will be in Halifax on July 27th. I posted the same request on the Canada board, with no responses so far.
Btw, totally unrelated... what or who is an "OP" here? I have seen the abbreviation several times in reference to a person who is posting but can't quite figure it out.
As you can tell I am rather new here.
Btw, totally unrelated... what or who is an "OP" here? I have seen the abbreviation several times in reference to a person who is posting but can't quite figure it out.
As you can tell I am rather new here.
Jul 9th, 2006, 05:48 PM
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We went on the same exact cruise, at almost the same time (August, 2004). In St. John we took a tour around the city (1 hour) which was very nice, got a brief history and geography of the area.
We also went to Peggy’s Cove is about an hour’s ride from the ship, you get the see great views of Canada and a very nice village of artisans living by the sea with a great lighthouse. You can see some pictures here (http://community.webshots.com/album/551299905jIOTfC), it’s very nice even though when we were there it was a bit foggy.
I don’t think we had a lot of time in Halifax, we walked around town, ate a good lobster, bought some t-shirts and that’s that.
We also went to Peggy’s Cove is about an hour’s ride from the ship, you get the see great views of Canada and a very nice village of artisans living by the sea with a great lighthouse. You can see some pictures here (http://community.webshots.com/album/551299905jIOTfC), it’s very nice even though when we were there it was a bit foggy.
I don’t think we had a lot of time in Halifax, we walked around town, ate a good lobster, bought some t-shirts and that’s that.
Jul 9th, 2006, 08:18 PM
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Right next to where the cruise ships dock in Halifax is the immigration museum where most immigrants to Canada entered the country. It is titled Pier and then a number which I have forgotten (maybe 21). This museum is very interesting- sort of like seeing the Ellis Island of Canada. Beyond that, the main town of Halifax is easily walkable from the cruise pier. Not much to offer in St. John. Most people want to see where the St. John River switches direction with the tide changes, but that's a good walk from the cruise ship.
Jul 10th, 2006, 02:32 AM
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Halifax is on the East coast. The fast tides you might be thinking of is in the Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and the west side of Nova Scotia. I think the tide change is something like 20 feet. The water is very muddy looking. We spent some time south of Halifax where the beaches reminded me of North Carolina, wide expanses of sand and the water is warmer than in Maine.
Jul 11th, 2006, 10:25 AM
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St. John, NB is not nearly as wonderful as St. Johns, NL, however, we did enjoy seeing the St. Johns River from the Fallsview Park. We did not take time to see the movie at the visitor center, nor did we take the jetboat trip which might have been fun. New Brunswick has a very good website. Halifax is nice enough. The big deal there is the Citadel which did not interest us. We did walk along the harbor area where there are walkways and lots of shops and restaurants. Peggy's Cove is very, very nice and I can't imagine that there isn't a shore excursion there. I would pay what it costs to do that as there is no other way I can think of that you could make that happen. They will also probably stop at the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial which is lovely and the general scenery along route will be nice.
