Official Thread For Upcoming Eastern Canadian Cruises

[vakamalua]

The Carlo's Bakery experience is for people who are fans of the Cake Boss show or enjoy cake decorating. We went to Carlo's Bakery at 2 PM on Friday and there was a two-hour wait to get in so I just took a photo. I can't tell you what would be a better time since my friends went there two weeks ago at the same time and didn't have much of a wait. Just catch the Path train to Hoboken from 33rd Street. Outside the terminal, turn left and go up to Washington Street. Turn right. Easy walk to Carlo's.

FYI there's a branch of the Cake Boss's Carlos Bakery in Times Square NYC at 226 West 44th Street. It's set up like a small cafe inside the Discovery Exposition building. They carry the basics like canoli, cookies, cupcakes, cakes, etc. and serve some beverages. There are about 10 small tables and it's adjacent to the Discovery gift shop on the bottom floor. We were there about a month ago when we saw the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit which is excellent.

 

[MartDM]

In Halifax we did the Ahoy Mates Tall Ship Silva sailing. It was a lot of fun. There were 6 of us, 2 seniors, 2 adults a 2 and a 6 year old. They had a Junior Sailor Program for the younger sailors. My 2 year old was too young to care but my 6 year old had a blast. They started with letting anyone who wanted to help, help raise the sails. Then they took them on a tour of the ship explaining the masts, sails, anchors, life boats, etc to them. Then they split the kids into 3 groups.
The first stop was knot tying. They learned to tie about 3 or 4 different knots. Each kid had a rope and they worked with the instructor to tie the knots. Then 2nd stop was button making. Each kid got to make 2 buttons. My daughter made one button of the ship and one pirate button. The 3rd stop was to stear the ship. Each kids had a turn at the wheel and got a chance to stear.
Then they brought out an instrument box and the kids all got to help play music with the fiddler. My youngest especially had a blast with this playing music and dancing.
The adults all really enjoyed the ride around the harbor and just having a nice relaxing view of Halifax from the harbor. There wasn't a guided tour of the harbour but if you had questions there were people to ask.
It was a little foggy at first but the weather cleared up nicely. It wasn't too cool even out of the water and it was an enjoyable time for all.

Thanks for the great detailed review of this. We have it booked on our Aug. 12 cruise and, while I thought it was good bet for our DS5, now I know we'll love it! Can't wait!

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I thought you might enjoy this video from Halifax this week.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NS/ID/2259437407/

 

[DL1957]

I thought you might enjoy this video from Halifax this week.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NS/ID/2259437407/

This was awesome thanks for sharing. We head out on 9/7. I live in Williamsburg VA and we had the VA symphony do this on 7/4 only they did not have Colonial Williamsburg's cannons firing which would have made it as moving as this.

 

[purplern]

I thought you might enjoy this video from Halifax this week.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/NS/ID/2259437407/

Thanks for sharing! That was awesome!!

 

[gehringdg]

In Halifax we did the Ahoy Mates Tall Ship Silva sailing. It was a lot of fun. There were 6 of us, 2 seniors, 2 adults a 2 and a 6 year old. They had a Junior Sailor Program for the younger sailors. My 2 year old was too young to care but my 6 year old had a blast. They started with letting anyone who wanted to help, help raise the sails. Then they took them on a tour of the ship explaining the masts, sails, anchors, life boats, etc to them. Then they split the kids into 3 groups. ...

Thanks for the great description. We have this planned for our trip on Sept 2 and I was wondering how you think it will be for an 18 yr old. Our kids are 5, 6, 10, and 18 and I'm a little concerned the 18 yr old won't enjoy himself. Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Calfan]

A friend and I booked the Sept. 7 sailing last week, and I have just finished powering through this thread. Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed such helpful information. I made several notes along the way. I started a thread on this on the main board but thought I would also ask here, because I am looking for feedback about the excursions we have booked and so far have not received anything specific. In Halifax, we have booked the Ten Best of Halifax. This includes Peggy's Cove and the Fairview cemetery. I am feeling pretty good about that part based on the feedback I have seen on this thread, but I woud love to hear from someone who did this exact excursion to see what they thought of the rest of the day, pacing, etc. For Saint John, we have reserved St. Martin's and the Bay of Fundy. Again, would love to hear feedback from someone who did this excursion. We were also considering the Wild Blueberry one, so would also appreciate hearing from anyone who did that one. We definitely plan to stay with DCL excursions because we have had good experiences with them in the past and just don't want to have any of the stress of worrying about making it back to the ship on time.

 

[peachygreen]

Thanks for the great description. We have this planned for our trip on Sept 2 and I was wondering how you think it will be for an 18 yr old. Our kids are 5, 6, 10, and 18 and I'm a little concerned the 18 yr old won't enjoy himself. Thanks for any thoughts.

Not knowing your 18 year old, I think the Junior Sailor program will probably appeal more to your 5, 6 and 10 year olds. But the adults on the ship still enjoyed themselves. There were a lot of adults without kids too. But the 18 year old can join in with the tour and even start in a group and then just fall out if it doesn't appeal.

 

[tinkandme]

My sister and her family (2 adults and 2 kids ages 10 and 13) went on this tour on the July 15th cruise. They loved it. I can't wait to see their pictures but they all had great things to say about it. None of them have super special cameras but they all were able to learn new things about taking pictures and photo composition and they loved getting outside of the city for part of the tour. They went by the reversing rapids 2 times so they could see the water go in both directions. They would definately recommend this tour.

Thank you so much! this is a big help in deciding what to plan! I read your other post, sounds like you had fun!

 

[gehringdg]

Not knowing your 18 year old, I think the Junior Sailor program will probably appeal more to your 5, 6 and 10 year olds. But the adults on the ship still enjoyed themselves. There were a lot of adults without kids too. But the 18 year old can join in with the tour and even start in a group and then just fall out if it doesn't appeal.

Thanks for the words of advice.

 

[CherylA]

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on what can be brought back onboard after stopping at a port? I know there is a farmer's market by the ship in Halifax, are there any restrictions for bringing fruits or vegtables, cheeses meats etc. back onboard? Also I wanted to get some kindereggs which are not allowed in the US. I wonder if they will let me take those onboard?

 

[Cruise]

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on what can be brought back onboard after stopping at a port? I know there is a farmer's market by the ship in Halifax, are there any restrictions for bringing fruits or vegtables, cheeses meats etc. back onboard? Also I wanted to get some kindereggs which are not allowed in the US. I wonder if they will let me take those onboard?

I can't answer about the fresh foods but the Kindereggs should be fine. The reason they aren't sold in the US is because they don't meet safety standards for the size of the toy inside the eggs. Small children could choke on them. As long as they're packaged and not opened, you should be fine with those.

 

[vakamalua]

Looking for anyone who already did this tour in Saint John. We are very interested in walking on the beach and seeing the sea caves near St Martins. I read that you can only walk on the beach in the two hours before and after low tide. According to the tide chart for our stop on September 14th, it look like the tide will be too high.

Did this happen on other tours? What did the tour do instead of spending time on the beach?

Thanks for any info.

 

[ImprovGal]

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on what can be brought back onboard after stopping at a port? I know there is a farmer's market by the ship in Halifax, are there any restrictions for bringing fruits or vegtables, cheeses meats etc. back onboard? Also I wanted to get some kindereggs which are not allowed in the US. I wonder if they will let me take those onboard?

You definitely won't be able to bring onboard any fresh fruits or vegetables (if they see them). Any plastic-wrapped cheeses should be fine. Paper-wrapped, probably not. Meat products as long as they're processed and packaged (like jerky) should be fine as well. Sometimes the U.S. has extra restrictions for what can be brought back into the U.S., though. (For example, during heightened swine flu risks, pork products (even processed) weren't allowed. Likewise, during avian flu scares, poultry products were barred.)

 

[Babbletrish]

I'm about halfway through plowing through this thread and I have a few questions/comments that In need to post now instead of running the risk of forgetting them

We're doing shore excursions in New Brunswick and Halifax that will leave us with (eek) about three hours tops in each city to explore on our own. It looks like we're JUST going to have time to be able to see the Maritime Museum and have lunch in Halifax.

My questions so far are:

1) Where does the boat port, if that is at all predictable?

2) Tell me a little about the Stag's Head Brewpub? My family loves a good brewpub, but the website doesn't seem to have any information about it aside from it being part of the brewery tour (and we've already covered all the tours for local breweries Harpoon, Sam Adams, and Shipyard - and those ones are all *free*, even with tastings). Do you have to take the tour to eat at the restaurant? IS there a restaurant at all, since the website is so vague?

3) With that in mind, where's a good place for lunch that's right near the ship?

Thanks in advance, and thank you for this incredibly informative thread!

 

[sabrecmc]

Looking for anyone who already did this tour in Saint John. We are very interested in walking on the beach and seeing the sea caves near St Martins. I read that you can only walk on the beach in the two hours before and after low tide. According to the tide chart for our stop on September 14th, it look like the tide will be too high.

Did this happen on other tours? What did the tour do instead of spending time on the beach?

Thanks for any info.

We took a private tour with Freedom Tours, which toured Saint John, the reversing falls and St. Martin's. We spent a couple hours in St. Martin's, which was a definite highlight. The sea caves were amazing! Our driver knew the tide schedule, so got us there with plenty of time for exploring. I don't know about September, but our driver did say that is their busiest time of the year with people coming up to the area to look at the changing leaves. Since we shared the private van with another family, it was cheaper than the somewhat similar DCL tour and far more flexible.

 

[dthogue]

Am I right in thinking that they do the fireworks on the 5-night cruise after the Pirate Party? Any idea what time they start? Where is a good place to view them? Someone mentioned Deck 4 was a good spot and not crowded - which side of the ship?? Is there a buffet following? Location?

Is there a Captain's reception any evening where they offer free drinks, maybe on Dress up night? We always seem to miss it on our previous cruises, and I would like to take part on this cruise, but I didn't see anything mentioned in the Navigators.

 

[peachygreen]

Yes they did Fireworks after the pirate party.

They shoot them off on the starboard side. Depending on the wind I'm not sure how well you could see them from deck 4.

The pirate party started at 9:45pm and I think the fireworks started around 10:30 or so.

We started the party at deck 9 but then moved up to deck 10 about half way through when the pool floor started to get a little crowded.

 

[Babbletrish]

*Whew!* Made it through the whole thread and now my brain is bursting at the cranial sutures!

I mentioned we're doing shore excursions in both Halifax and St. John. We're doing the Halifax Highlights tour, and hopefully we will have JUST enough time to grab a Beavertail (in the words of a famous Canadian, "YEEEEE-UM-meh!" - but where exactly are the stands located?), have lunch in a pub near the water (dang, what was the name of the place people said was good near the ship?), and maybe stop by the Maritime Museum (looking at the tour this seems a little redundant as they discuss the Halifax disaster there too, but we're Bostonians and want to pay our respects.)

As for St. John...

In Saint John we took the Saint John Highlights Tour. There were 10 of us on this tour. It was a nice tour and we were able to learn a lot about the town that we wouldn't have on our own. The tour guide was very knowledgable. Our first stop was the City Market. The kids all had fun exploring the little shops and tasting some samples. Then we drove around and stopped at the Reversing Falls. It was about an hour before high tide so the falls were reversing at the time. My sister and her family took a 2nd tour in the afternoon and when they came back the 2nd time on that tour (3rd time total) they were able to see the tide at low tide and said it was really cool to see the tide go both ways. It was a nice place. After that we stopped at the Carelton Martello Tower. The tower had some great views and the kids liked getting to dress as Red Coats, "fire" wood rifles, and explore the tower. It was a fun stop and they had a little book of activities for the kids. If they did a few of the activities they got a certificate and little prize at the end.

Good to see this isn't as lackluster as it looks in the Disney website description. Still, mom booked this without really knowing what there was to see in the province. We all love beautiful landscapes, and it seems a shame to go to St. John and take the tour that generally stays in town and doesn't appear to explore the unique geography.

I don't think mom could do the Hopewell tour, but I may be able to sell her on the less-strenuous St. Martins/Sea Caves tour. And despite the silly name, St. John Rocks, which focuses on the geology of the region, looks very nice too. Has anyone done that tour? How far away is Rockwood Park?

And finally, where's a good place to eat right near the ship in St John?

(OK, time to plow through the thread for my specific cruise... )

 

[hockeymomNS]

I am so glad that everyone seems to be enjoying my part of the world......and a hearty welcome to those who haven't arrived yet.

For anyone who likes our area enough to plan a return vacation, we will be hosting a Dis Meet / Give Kids The World fundraiser again next year. This years event is set for Aug. 11 (OMG that is next Saturday), with 142 tickets selling out within weeks and we have more prizes than people!!!! Teresa and Kathy are coming from the Dis as well as Disers from the US and Canada. We have a full day planned for Saturday and then non fundraising events/tours for Sunday and Monday (Monday we are doing a road trip to PEI). We have had people wanting to book next years event, so it will be the second Saturday in August - at a much bigger facility!!!!