Canada Cruise review...oh how I wish you hadn't gotten into that car!

[Bornteach]

I haven't listened to the review yet but I was in the backseat and it was an adventure!

My favorite part was how we needed to see Newfoundland! They have forests and fjords there!

It was quite the ride but my company was wonderful!

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[BriarRosie]

I couldn't stop laughing. I didn't know if I should feel guilty for laughing at their expense! But Kevin isn't the only one who gets weird stranger encounters. I get it a lot. Yesterday, in fact. I was in the middle of backing out of the Panera lot when some guy pointed towards me and gestured, like maybe I had something wrong with my car. Nothing was wrong. The guy was insane, and I got out of there after trying unsuccessfully trying to interpret the string of words that didn't make sense. I think he was going to tell me a sob story for money, so I booked it out of there.

As for the servers on the ship, did you guys tell the Head Server that your serving team needed to dial it back? I think that's what he/she is there for. The rating thing would have taken me aback, too.

On the plus side, you weren't robbed by the cab driver in Halifax, so I call that excellent podcast story fodder.

[Tink rules]

Originally Posted by DisneyKevin

Halifax looked very much like Albany, NY. I spent 35 years there and moved away.

AHEM...........................................


(I think they've gotten rid of that part of town btw...)

[Anonny]

Originally Posted by sbsmommy

. All of our restaurants are not that expensive.

Ouch on the international roaming charges too.

May I suggest o any future cruisers to Saint John Big Tide Brewing Company. http://www.bigtidebrew.com/. We go there more than once each trip for good food at reasonable cost and good beer. It is just a couple blocks from the ship and it has free wifi.
When we enter Canada, we turn off the cellular on the phone and iPad and easily find wifi in different places several times a day.

[DisneyKevin]

I was under the impression that because my ipad worked, that my usage was covered under my plan.

Boy, was I wrong.

[DisneyKevin]

Originally Posted by Anonny

I fly to Orlando to go to theme parks.

When I go to Quebec, Montreal, Saint John, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Wasington DC, I go to museums.

Saint John has a great museum. I look forward to a visit to Halifax so I can go to the museum to learn about the great explosion I have read about in books.

I went to Halifax because that's where the ship was going.

I booked the cruise because 14 of my friends were going and the ship was sailing out of NYC.

I didnt book the cruise because of the ports and had no preconceived notions about what I was going to see.

Most of our "review" was about our "tour guide" and his odd choices.

The only thing planned in Halifax was the food tour. The rest was going to be left to chance, but, because of the weather, we hired our "tour guide".

This is as much of an explanation that I can give.

[DisneyKevin]

Originally Posted by Applemomma

And I'm curious as to where the droopy canon is. I've never seen that one....

The droopy cannon was on the other side of the water. We crossed a bridge to get there.

It was a far less fancy (but still very nice) part of town. We drove down a beautiful tree lined street with what appeared to be mini-mansions.

We passed a grocery store (Sobey's??? maybe) that was advertising the CAKE OF THE WEEK. (It was Oreo Cake in you are wondering).

The cannon was on a corner, in front of a very small playground and it was 3.5 miles from the site of the explosion. He was adamant about it being 3.5 miles.

The front of the cannon was bent down and "droopy".

It was our guide that pointed out that this was where the hookers, pimps and drug dealers lived and how neat they were. We did not ask to see their neighborhood, but that's where the cannon seemed to be.

I saw Halifax in the rain, from the front seat of an SUV, with a real character driving.

As I said in an earlier post......I went to spend time with friends and that what I did. On that front our cruise was a great success. We could have visited anywhere and we would have had a good time.

[EDuke98080]

Originally Posted by DisneyKevin

I went to Halifax because that's where the ship was going.

I booked the cruise because 14 of my friends were going and the ship was sailing out of NYC.

I didnt book the cruise because of the ports and had no preconceived notions about what I was going to see.

Most of our "review" was about our "tour guide" and his odd choices.

The only thing planned in Halifax was the food tour. The rest was going to be left to chance, but, because of the weather, we hired our "tour guide".

This is as much of an explanation that I can give.

I don't think any explanation is needed, you reported on your experience. Cruising allows only a brief exposure to each port, many of which are far to vast to get anything but a brief snapshot of the area. Many experiences don't turn out to be what we expect them to be so having no preconceptions allows you to enjoy the moment no matter which way it goes! I am sure that each person on the cruise had a different experience in Halifax depending on what they chose to do and would come away with many different impressions because of that. Your tour was undeniably unique and an experience that you soon won't forget! I have discovered that it isn't always about what you do when you get there that is important but instead it's the people who accompany you on the journey that make the journeys special.

[EDuke98080]

Originally Posted by DisneyKevin

As I said in an earlier post......I went to spend time with friends and that what I did. On that front our cruise was a great success. We could have visited anywhere and we would have had a good time.

[AB6876]

I thought your review was awesome... The WEIRD tour guide you had sounded hilarious.. It is funny when you look back on your vacation and have memories like that... It makes for great stories.... I may seek out the tour guide in 3 weeks when my husband and I go...lol.

[DeltaDiamond001]

I laughed all the way through your review!

From the super awkward servers to the confused-about-your-relationship "tour guide," it sounds like you guys had a blast!

Thanks for the review!

[disneyholic family]

Unrelated to anything, the surgeon who saved my arm (by replacing my elbow after my fall) is from Halifax.

The kindest, most humble orthopedic surgeon i've ever met in my life, which i've concluded is because of his halifaxian roots.

[pxlbarrel]

I think that people are a tad upset that, although you had fun and have a fun story to tell about your crazy cab driver, your portrayal of Halifax (and our wonderful country) was a bit ... ummmm ... unflattering. It's sort of like going to New York City and the ONLY thing I talk about are the icky and seedy things in the city or the homeless person we saw pooping on the street (my friends saw that a few years back).

The Halifax explosion is huge in Canadian history and belittling it was actually kind of ... well, annoying as I listened to the podcast.

Glad you guys had fun but I wish it had been because you saw Halifax and not the ex-drunk from Newfoundland driving you around.

By the way, part of your "tour" reminded me of our Grand Cayman excursion off the Magic a few years ago. The mini bus driver was pointing out the banks ... the banks!!! Oh, there's the Scotia Bank from Canada. There's the bank from .... It was hilarious. So I know that a bad tour can turn into a comedy tour. Still wish you had a better tour guide. LOL

[mikelan6]

I loved the review. I've always wanted to go on a New England/Canada cruise and this makes me want to go even more.

[DisneyKevin]

Originally Posted by pxlbarrel

I think that people are a tad upset that, although you had fun and have a fun story to tell about your crazy cab driver, your portrayal of Halifax (and our wonderful country) was a bit ... ummmm ... unflattering. It's sort of like going to New York City and the ONLY thing I talk about are the icky and seedy things in the city or the homeless person we saw pooping on the street (my friends saw that a few years back).

The Halifax explosion is huge in Canadian history and belittling it was actually kind of ... well, annoying as I listened to the podcast.

Glad you guys had fun but I wish it had been because you saw Halifax and not the ex-drunk from Newfoundland driving you around.

By the way, part of your "tour" reminded me of our Grand Cayman excursion off the Magic a few years ago. The mini bus driver was pointing out the banks ... the banks!!! Oh, there's the Scotia Bank from Canada. There's the bank from .... It was hilarious. So I know that a bad tour can turn into a comedy tour. Still wish you had a better tour guide. LOL

I think I have explained this already, but I'll try again.

I wasnt belittling Halifax or Canada. I was relating my experience, much as I do when I review a restaurant.

It's an opinion. It's a story. I thought my experience was funny. I've explained why and how it happened. My entire knowledge of this piece of Canadian history comes from an ex-alcoholic tour guide, who explained that he didnt really know stuff and that he googled it all the day prior. I dont know about you....but I think that's funny.

If you have listened to the show, you should probably realize that you arent going to get a reverential regurgitation of Canadian history. I wouldnt listen to that and I'm guessing most of our listeners wouldnt either.

I think at this point, I have shown who I am and what I'm about and the way I look at life.

I'm sorry if you were offended or annoyed, but I stand by everything I said.

I'm also going to put this out there.....this will be my last post defending or explaining my silly review of our stop in Halifax.