Official Thread For Upcoming Eastern Canadian Cruises

[Mom323]

Rain gear is not required, although the place I went had some available for colder days. You will be thoroughly soaked from head to toe; you'll have mud in placed you'd never thought of. And yes, everything from your shirt to your underwear will be permanently stained from the iron in the water. Definitely wear long shorts - bathing suit bottoms won't protect your backside from the chafing of your bottom rubbing against the boat as you bump up and down. Trust me on that... saw a few red legs when we got off. If you have glasses, you must leave them at the boat house or have a tight strap to keep them on your face - the place we went to had string you could tie your glasses onto your face. We went in the highest tides, so it was pretty rough and yet everyone in our boat, even the ones who were a little scared, were laughing themselves silly.

The place I went to (different from the one in the photos), also had the best hot showers afterwards - the water was very hot and stayed hot for all 60 of us. So when everyone was shivering we were all warm very quick afterwards. Mmm... hot shower...

Oh, and beware... the mud gets into all the working buttons on your camera too, even the waterproof ones, so if yours has crevasses or visible moving parts leave it at the boat house. Honestly, you will be sloshing around so much most of the photos won't turn out anyway. (I had a lot of photos of muddy water flying everywhere... the only good photo I had was when we were heading back to the boat house.) If you have a waterproof digital camera you don't really care about, feel free to bring it. Otherwise, I recommend disposable waterproof cameras for this one, just in case it gets ruined.

Thanks! I have been on youtube looking at videos, looks like alot of fun. Did you also do the mud sliding? We have been rafting on class 3 and 4 rapids. I invariably get tossed out.

 

[spacecanada]

Did you also do the mud sliding?

I wasn't going to mention it... but since you asked: No, the company we went with deemed mud sliding too dangerous, as rocks and tree roots cannot be seen under the mud and people occasionally get hurt. The company I went with (River Runners) chose to do a historical lesson up the river and let us go swimming instead. But... we did go past a group mud sliding on the river (it's a side river from the rafting) and it looked like a lot of fun! (I would have done it if they stopped - we did a lot of mud sliding as kids... so much fun!)

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Mud sliding ... better bring a change of clothes and a toothbrush! and perhaps a good health plan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5esSnsh8X0Y

 

[Mom323]

I wasn't going to mention it... but since you asked: No, the company we went with deemed mud sliding too dangerous, as rocks and tree roots cannot be seen under the mud and people occasionally get hurt. The company I went with (River Runners) chose to do a historical lesson up the river and let us go swimming instead. But... we did go past a group mud sliding on the river (it's a side river from the rafting) and it looked like a lot of fun! (I would have done it if they stopped - we did a lot of mud sliding as kids... so much fun!)

Good point! And as I work in a hospital I wouldn't want to have to explain "you got a splinter, where?" Although I could say "Bay of Fundy"

 

[jkpmac]

Shore excursions are up at the DCL site.

Excellent, time to get to work!!!!!

And thanks for the heads up.

 

[Mom323]

For those interested in the Tidal Bore rafting and Ride the Rapids here is a website for the tides in that area. You should be able to see when high tide will happen for the day you are in those ports.

http://www.bayoffundytourism.com/tides/times/

For the Reversing Falls choose Saint John. For the Tidal Bore Park I'm not not sure what to choose. Maitland is the mouth of the river, but Shubenacadie is quite a ways inland.

Found something on Shubenacadie. the 2012 schedule isn't up yet.

http://www.shubie.com/tide01.html


This site has a list of when their tours run, so it might give you an idea if the Tidal Bore Rafting will be an option for your cruise. http://www.raftingcanada.ca/rafting.php?content=10

 

[ksloane]

I've never booked excursions through Disney so I have a question for you experienced cruisers.

We are looking at 3 that we'd really like to do in Halifax. Obviously I know we probably won't be able to do all three, but is there a way before you actually go to book to see times (not how long, but actual start times) before the day your booking opens?

I'd so like to know exactly what we're going to book and just login and book it instead of having to "play around" on the site that night/morning...

 

[MinnieGg4]

I've never booked excursions through Disney so I have a question for you experienced cruisers.

We are looking at 3 that we'd really like to do in Halifax. Obviously I know we probably won't be able to do all three, but is there a way before you actually go to book to see times (not how long, but actual start times) before the day your booking opens?

I'd so like to know exactly what we're going to book and just login and book it instead of having to "play around" on the site that night/morning...

I have the same question.

 

[jkpmac]

Well I seem to have trouble accessing port adventures. I tried going through the booking process upto a point with no luck. (Imagine when my wife sees the bill for a cruise where we live, couch forever for me!!)

Until then , I will keep checking.

 

[MartDM]

Shore excursions are up at the DCL site.

Thanks for the heads up! I thought I might die of impatience waiting for them!!!

Looks like some great options...I was scouting the offerings other lines havie in these cities - much more interesting family options (not surprisingly) from DCL!

 

[ksloane]

Well I seem to have trouble accessing port adventures. I tried going through the booking process upto a point with no luck. (Imagine when my wife sees the bill for a cruise where we live, couch forever for me!!)

Until then , I will keep checking.

You don't have to go through booking process to see excursions.

Just go to dcl website and then under the cruises and destinations tab choose port adventures.

On the page that loads, there is a drop down box on the right to choose which port you want to view.

 

[jkpmac]

You don't have to go through booking process to see excursions.

Just go to dcl website and then under the cruises and destinations tab choose port adventures.

On the page that loads, there is a drop down box on the right to choose which port you want to view.

Thanks

 

[cindy18]

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Tidal Bore Rafting in Halifax. It was the most fun I've ever had!! Absolutely incredible experience and definitely worth it. (It's also very safe.) Most of the City you can walk around in a few hours, so get a tourist map from the pier and you'll be all set. The Public Gardens are stunning!! The Maritime museum is fun. The farmer's market at the pier is quite nice to explore and grab a bite to eat as well.

People in Eastern Canada are exceptionally friendly, so never hesitate to stop a local to ask questions, directions, or even recommendations! In fact, stopping to say hello to complete strangers is very common. Don't be closed off or offended - these people are very friendly!

This sounds like SO MUCH FUN, but I notice it's for ages 16 and up. My younger DD will only be 14, and she would adore this. Do you know if it possible to book this directly with the tour company and, if so, whether they have a more relaxed age policy?

 

[ksloane]

Thanks

No problem.

 

[sabrecmc]

Regarding seeing excursion times, I don't think you can see the actual time options until your booking window opens. However, what we did for our Alaska cruise was have some of the platinum people who could book early let us know the times. So, you could get an idea, but not until the kind platinums booked, lol! I suppose you could call DCL and ask? But times might change for each cruise, so I don't know.

The way it worked then with DCL was that there had to be more than 2 hours between the time one excursion ended and another began in order for you to be able to book both excursions online.

If you wanted to do 2 excursions in one day and couldn't book it online, you could book in on the ship if you made it back in time from your first excursion and if there was room. So, in Juneau, we did whale watching and the glacier and were back in plenty of time for the afternoon gold panning, so I booked that when we got back on the ship.

There are some excursions that are "all day" excursions and I don't think the above restrictions would apply. So, I'm assuming something like the Hop-on/Hop-off bus could be booked as well as another excursion. At least, that was how it worked for Alaska. If it was an "at your leisure" type thing with no set time, then you could book that and something else.

 

[ksloane]

Regarding seeing excursion times, I don't think you can see the actual time options until your booking window opens. However, what we did for our Alaska cruise was have some of the platinum people who could book early let us know the times. So, you could get an idea, but not until the kind platinums booked, lol! I suppose you could call DCL and ask? But times might change for each cruise, so I don't know.

The way it worked then with DCL was that there had to be more than 2 hours between the time one excursion ended and another began in order for you to be able to book both excursions online.

If you wanted to do 2 excursions in one day and couldn't book it online, you could book in on the ship if you made it back in time from your first excursion and if there was room. So, in Juneau, we did whale watching and the glacier and were back in plenty of time for the afternoon gold panning, so I booked that when we got back on the ship.

There are some excursions that are "all day" excursions and I don't think the above restrictions would apply. So, I'm assuming something like the Hop-on/Hop-off bus could be booked as well as another excursion. At least, that was how it worked for Alaska. If it was an "at your leisure" type thing with no set time, then you could book that and something else.

Thanks for this. I guess I need to head over to my meet thread and see if there are any platinums that can't update us.

 

[peachygreen]

Taxis in Halifax and Saint Johns

Do they take credit cards? If not do I need canadian currency to take a cab ride?

 

[Ted in Halifax]

here's the website for one of the largest cab companies in Halifax
http://www.casinotaxi.ca/

The do take credit cards although I would make sure that the specific cab you are taking can do so. Canadian dollars would be advisable over American dollars, simply because many of the cab drives would not be well versed in currency conversion rates. So it may cost you a little (although this may not amount to much)

Ted

 

[peachygreen]

A follow up question - are carseats required in cabs? Will I be able to grab a cab with my 2 year old if I don't have a carseat with me?

 

[joannalh]

You do need a car seat. I believe some taxi companies may be able to provide them, but I don't think they're that easy to come by, ie. you'd need to reserve in advance.

Where are you thinking of going? Halifax is a pretty small city-you may be able to walk.