CA DISers (and Canada travelers) HELP: Having second thoughts.

[DisneyPups]

So we booked the 7-nt Oct 21 Canada cruise. I'm starting to have second thoughts as the excursions roll out. I think I made a mistake not booking the 5nt Bar Harbor, St. John cruise, and it's too expensive now to switch (we booked opening day).
So my question for the Canada DISers is this... we are traveling for my husband's 40th bday with 2 DDs, age 5 and 2. What activities can we do in the ports of call... Sydney (NS), Halifax (NS) and Charlottetown (PEI)? Any suggestions, places you've been, etc. I love water, lighthouses, coasts/cliffs... get a little sea sick on smaller vessels, probably could do easy hikes w/DDs, I'm open to any and all suggestions. My hubs loves craft beers, but the alcohol tour excursions are 21+. I hate this feeling of second thoughts and I want it to go away. Ha.

Thanks in advance!

 

[lorenni]

We spent a week on Prince Edward Island with our then 4 year old DS last summer, and spent one afternoon in Charlottetown. Honestly there was not a whole lot to do that was interesting for him. We caught a singing group performance outside the capitol building that he enjoyed. We also stopped at Cows Creamery outside Charlottetown. If they are making ice cream or t shirts when you are there it would be interesting, but otherwise it's just good ice cream with a fun t shirt store.

Are there any DCL PEI excursions outside of Charlottetown? The singing sands beaches aren't too far and are absolutely beautiful.

 

[lorenni]

Oh - you may also want to post your question on the Canada forum.

 

[DisneyPups]

Oh - you may also want to post your question on the Canada forum.

Oh that's a good idea. I guess technically DCL hasn't gone there yet! But I'll leave it here too in case DCLers have done some research on the topic.

 

[DisneyPups]

Are there any DCL PEI excursions outside of Charlottetown? The singing sands beaches aren't too far and are absolutely beautiful.

The excursions are limited right now. That's why I'm worried. I'm hoping they'll add more.

Hey, if comes down to it, ice cream makes me happy!

 

[WildEyed]

We were in Halifax on vacation last year. Here are some of the things we did. If I were there for a day on a cruise, I wouldn't bother with a formal excursion but would explore on my own for the most part. Depends on your preference!

• Alexander Keith's Brewery - this was a fun 1-hour brewery tour with beer tastings included. Kids are welcome and they get to try lemonade/iced tea instead. My son got to try milling some hops. There was a bit of a musical performance and the staff were so friendly. It's touristy but we all enjoyed it. They had tours every hour and we booked the day ahead, in the middle of summer - you would probably want to call to see if they run these in October.

• Halifax Citadel - this is a National Historical site and is fascinating if you are interested in military history - kids are also welcome here. http://www.novascotia.com/see-do/attractions/halifax-citadel-national-historic-site/1440

• Maritime Museum of the Atlantic – https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/ This was not bad, it includes admission to explore one of the ships docked on the waterfront. However it has a large exhibit about the Titanic as Halifax was involved in a lot of the recovery efforts - not sure if this would be my top interest while actually partaking of a cruise!!!

• Harbour cruise – we did not do this but I wish we could have. There are a few companies doing tours but you’d probably want to book ahead by a few days. (might be less busy in October). One company that looked interesting and kid-friendly was: http://www.tallshipsilva.com/halifax-harbour-tours.php

• Lunenberg - this is a small fishing village outside of Halifax - there are companies that organize day trips but not sure how much on-shore time you will have. Our family loved Lunenberg for the atmosphere and the fishing boats and other ships that you can explore.

• Peggy’s Cove – if you like lighthouses this is a famous one in Canada - worth a visit but it’s primarily to see the lighthouse and the rocks around it. You'd probably combine it with Lunenberg.

• Cows Ice Cream - someone already mentioned this - they have it in Halifax too! I suggest going to Cows Ice Cream at every opportunity.

 

[OKW Lover]

Peggy’s Cove – if you like lighthouses this is a famous one in Canada - worth a visit but it’s primarily to see the lighthouse and the rocks around it. You'd probably combine it with Lunenberg.

I'll second the suggestion to visit Peggy's Cove. After seeing it a couple of years ago I came to the conclusion that its impossible to take a bad picture there. Breathtaking.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

Cows Ice Cream, will be on my list. Thank you for suggestions.

 

[DisneyPups]

We were in Halifax on vacation last year. Here are some of the things we did. If I were there for a day on a cruise, I wouldn't bother with a formal excursion but would explore on my own for the most part. Depends on your preference!

You had my husband at "brewery". Awesome suggestions. Since you said you visited for vacation, did you have a car? How might we get around otherwise? Peggy's Cove is at the top of my list. Well, lets be honest... ice cream is.

 

[gilsan]

You had my husband at "brewery". Awesome suggestions. Since you said you visited for vacation, did you have a car? How might we get around otherwise? Peggy's Cove is at the top of my list. Well, lets be honest... ice cream is.

Peggy's cove is a 45-60 minute drive from the Port of Halifax so you will need to factor the travel time.

If you are heading out to Peggy's Cove and Lunenburg, (allow 1.5-2hours travelling time each way), you will be traveling past the Oak Island Money pit . If you go to Lunenburg you should also stop in Mahone Bay about 15 minutes away. The Scarecrow festival will probably will be still going on and there is a great microbrewery there called Saltbox brewing http://www.saltboxbrewingcompany.ca/

Here is a list of microbreweries in Halifax and Dartmouth, (across the harbour), http://www.halifaxsociable.ca/top-6-craft-breweries-in-halifax/ #5 and 6 are the closest to port. There a number of good restaurants walking distance to the port, like The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse.

 

[WildEyed]

You had my husband at "brewery". Awesome suggestions. Since you said you visited for vacation, did you have a car? How might we get around otherwise? Peggy's Cove is at the top of my list. Well, lets be honest... ice cream is.

We had a car but did not use it within Halifax. We made our kids do a lot of walking which might not be practical for the age of your kids (unless they are in a stroller?). We bribed them with ice cream of course!

At other ports I've seen a Disney Port Excursion - private rental car. Not sure if this is offered in Halifax.

If you went to Lunenberg and/or Peggy's Cove you would definitely need a car. I'm not sure if this would be available in Halifax. Now that I think about the driving time, I am not sure I'd feel comfortable with doing BOTH of these and getting back to the ship in time. But one or the other would be doable.

The Halifax Waterfront is a really nice place to wander around, so I'd recommend leaving a bit of time for that as well.

I found this tour company - don't know much about it but it might work for your family - http://www.brucestours.ca/ There are probably lots of other similar tour companies that you could find if you don't want to worry about arranging a car rental.

If I were planning a full port day in Halifax for my family, here is what I'd do - rent a car (or hire a van/driver) - drive to Peggy's Cove first thing - spend some time exploring - drive back to Halifax and have lunch - go to Alexander Keith's (or whatever brewery) - get Cows Ice Cream - walk along the waterfront back to the ship.

I think you will enjoy your time in Halifax regardless!

 

[Pens Fan]

We were on the 10/02/16 cruise that went to Halifax and St. John. While we enjoyed St. John, we greatly preferred Halifax. It's just a beautiful area. I'm looking forward to visiting it again in 2018, as we are taking a 10 day Canadian cruise. As for Halifax, I will second all the recommendations above for Peggy's Cove (beautiful but overrun with tourists), Lunenberg and Mahone Bay (loved this, so charming!). We also visited the cemetery where a lot of the Titanic victims were buried which was very interesting. We used http://opentoptours.ca as our guide and they were terrific. They basically custom made a tour for us as we were pretty much solely interested in photography. They came up with all sorts of out of the way spots (often all to ourselves) with amazing scenery. We will definitely be using them again, though we are considering their winery tour this time.

I can't help with Charlottetown and Sydney as we didn't go there. We will be visiting both on our upcoming cruise, so I'm going to stalk this thread for ideas.

 

[DisneyPups]

If I were planning a full port day in Halifax for my family, here is what I'd do - rent a car (or hire a van/driver) - drive to Peggy's Cove first thing - spend some time exploring - drive back to Halifax and have lunch - go to Alexander Keith's (or whatever brewery) - get Cows Ice Cream - walk along the waterfront back to the ship.

I think you will enjoy your time in Halifax regardless!

Ha, I've been doing some research and you nearly described what I was thinking... Disney DOES offer a private car excursion, but it's way out of our price range. I think I may have found a reasonable company. I just have to make sure they have access to car seats. Thanks for all your suggestions!