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

[DisneyKevin]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[rlduvall]

I loved the review and knew it was all in good fun. I live in Oklahomer [per Bob] and the Podcast gang has definitely had some fun with our state. It's no big deal. They tease because they love.

 

[Applemomma]

Taking a page from Kevin's book I'm going to make one last post about this and leave it behind.

I found Kevin's story hilarious...I was laughing out loud listening to it, and they both said it was a bad idea to get into a random tour guide's car....oh please tell me he at least wasn't holding a cardboard sign?

What made me want to weep is that between the weather and the "tour guide", who I still would like to find and ring his neck, Kevin and John were robbed of what could have been an even more wonderful day in one of our most historic and beautiful cities. The story was just that, as I see it, a story and not really part of a review of Halifax. Which is why I'm glad to see some folks posting about what shore excursions were done.

I think some of the sensativity on the subject is something that was not unique to Kevin and John's experience, the lack of knowledge about where in the world they actually were ie. Nova Scotia versus New Brunswick, river versus harbour etc. It would be like someone being in New Jersey and refering to it as New York. I've traveled in the States quite a bit and it never fails to produce an interesting conversation at some point about where we are actually located (no, sir, Nova Scotia is not over by England). I've even seen a brand new gps that had maps that showed Quebec and Ontario but stopped at the Maine/ New Brunswick, as apparently the Eastern half of Canada had been swept off the earth. But like Kevin said he had no preconceived notion about where he was going.

Please, Kevin and John add Halifax,Nova Scotia to your future bucket list.....and call me!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Woooo - haven't listened yet, can't wait!

 

[disney4dan]

I enjoyed the podcast and can relate to the description of the fog. It is almost impossible to describe how creepy it can be. We traveled by car along the west side of the Bay of Fundy years ago on our way to visit relatives in NB. We were really looking forward to the scenery but got nothing but fog all along the coast - difficult to drive in. another reason to go back and try it again.

Oh, Tim Horton's coffee is one of my preferred cups! Dunkin Donuts is better. By the way John, they have exported Tim Horton's to the Albany area and much of the Thruway corridor.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Tink rules]

Just passed a Tim Horton's in Amsterdam NY... will have to stop and try it...

 

[DisneyKevin]

John is from NJ.

I'm the one who knows the NYS Thruway.

I even know where Amsterdam is.

 

[Tink rules]

Ex Jersey girl here...

so that means I can chat Upstate with you and Jersey with John and Pete!

& I'm part French Canadian...

Talk about being bilingual...

 

[cdotla]

Oh goodness...I haven't listened to the podcast yet, but I am glad I saw this first. My heart would have been crushed that someone I love and listen to every week didn't enjoy my city. Now at least I can be prepared and hopefully see the humor in the segment.

Just as if I was the manager of a restaurant you were reviewing, and wanting your experience and comments to be all (or mostly) positive, I have such pride in my city and want others to think it is as great as I do.
I hate knowing that Halifax wasn't a positive experience for you, for whatever reason.

There is no doubt you were short-changed on your visit, and it sounds like Mother Nature may have played a big part in that. Doesn't matter where you are...when it is pouring down rain and you want to get out and explore a city, that is going to negatively affect things.

Rest assured, it does not sound at all like you saw the real Halifax. But I am looking forward to a few chuckles about your crazy "tour guide" when I finally listen to the podcast!

 

[Justin Jett]

Canadians put ham on a pizza and call it bacon.

 

[MinnieMommy]

Oh my!

Another Canadian here.

Laughed so hard I almost lost all of my coffee (not Tim Horton's) on to my computer!

I'll cast my vote for you to have a re-do visit to Nova Scotia too. I think you have enough of us here that we could each show up with vehicles to chauffeur you all around (we'll even make nice VIP signs).

I know you all travel enough to know that some less than stellar experiences are sometimes just random occurrences.

We really would love you to come back to show you more sights, sounds and tastes of Nova Scotia.