What to do in Stain 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?

Halifax - relax and take in the sights of the city. You will arrive on the waterfront, stroll towards Historic Properties and enjoy some of the shops. Stroll Barrington St and Spring Garden Road. Some great restaurants on Argyle St. Stop and get an order of fries at Bud's at the Library and Spring Garden Road - sit on the wall and do some people watching! Citadel Hill is very interesting and you can stroll the Public Gardens at the top of Spring Garden Road.

Which province are you talking about with St. John, NV? I assume Saint John, NB? Or is your stop St. John's, Newfoundland?

If your john is stained, there are commercials on CBC TV for chemical cleaners.

Tanya,I made a typo, sorry. It is st. John, NB. Thanks for the ideas!

John, again, a typo. No way to edit once posted. But thanks anyway for the tip.

Dang It! That was a response to you BOB, not John.... you have gotten me all confus-ed!

i'm assuming you only have a day (8 hrs???) at each
in halifax, there is plenty to do just around the port area. as mentioned, the public gardens are really nice and you can spend a couple of hours at the citadel which you can walk to. if you want to get out, there are day trips you could take via a boat ride to peggy's cove. but, i'd probably just choose to stay in halifax.
i spent a couple of says in saint john, nb and not a big fan. depending how long you have, i'd consider renting a car and drive to fundy national park for the day. very beautiful. you'd have to allow 1 1/2-2 hours drive time each way.

I've cruised where we stopped in Halifax and Saint John. It was the first time the QE2 had come into Saint John and the whole city, it seemed, turned out to wave to us as we left. It was wonderful.

Everything you want to see in Saint John, you'll be able to see on foot in the time you're in port. Don't sign up for anything. They have a nice farmer's market and we toured an old synagogue, looked at churches and popped into some shops. Everyone was so friendly but, as I said, it was the first time that ship had come to port -even the Mayor greeted us.

Since I had lived in Halifax, I didn't sign up for any excursions but two people who did were disappointed with Peggy's Cove which surprised me as our visitors had always enjoyed it. But Halifax has lots you can see on foot:

There's the Maritime Museum which, among other things, has info on the Halifax explosion during the first world war. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/expships.html

Halifax has Pier 21 which tells of the immgiration experience for millions. www.pier21.ca/

The Art Gallery is downtown: http://www.agns.gov.ns.ca/halifax/0frm3.htm

The Nova Scotia Legislature is nearby: http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/

St. Paul's Anglican is the oldest Protestant church in North America: http://www.stpaulshalifax.org/page7.html

Fairview Cemetery has the remains of Titantic survivors: http://www.halifax.ca/history/tfairview.html. Ships were sent out to the scene of the disaster from Halifax loaded with coffins to pick up bodies.

If it's a cruise where you go to Martha's Vineyard, don't sign up for an excursion - we were taken around the island with a guide who never shut up (the entire time he was fishing for tips talking about the cost of sending his kids to college) and the things we were to see were "over that hill" or "down that road" - you couldn't see actually what they meant and you didn't want to anyway. One was Jackie Kennedy USED to summer there before she married Jack or some such nonsense. Those on the cruise who didn't take the excursion had a much better time just wandering around the oceanfront.

In Saint John (by the way, us in NB will never have it as St. John it is always spelled out, but the St. John River is St.) I would suggest if you can ever to to to St. Andrew's by the Sea. If there is an excursion to there with the cruiseline then take it. It is about 1 hour away, and very beautiful. Probably the most popular tourist town in the area. Also, I am a little biased but if you can and enjoy city's, I would suggest trying to go to the capital of Fredericton (that is where I am from) it is on the St. John river, about an hour inland. Problem is, with only 8 or 9 hours, it doesn't really give you a lot of time, as you need to make sure you are back on board in time. Saint John itself, has a farmer's market, reversing falls, a brewery that offer's tours, and if you enjoy nature, the Irving Nature park is really nice. You can hike around it, and it feels like you have totally left the city and can really experience an island on the bay.