Canada/New England on the Dawn questions

I am just starting to research for our June 2019 cruise to Canada/New England. I have spent a good amount of time on the Canada/New England board reading through different options.

We are sailing the Dawn out of NYC. We are visiting Halifax, NS; Saint John, NB; Bar Harbor, ME; Portland, ME; and Newport, RI.

My NCL questions are:

1. Does the Dawn normally change times zones from EDT to Atlantic Time when visiting Halifax and Saint John?

2. Since Bar Harbor, ME is the first US port after Canada, how has US Customs and Border Protection and NCL handled the Immigration process with Bar Harbor being a tender port?

3. How long has the Customs/immigration process taken in recent months at Bar Harbor?

One general question

4. Favorite excursion (private or ship) that you have done on a Canada/New England cruise?

Thank you in advance for your contributions!

2. Since Bar Harbor, ME is the first US port after Canada, how has US Customs and Border Protection and NCL handled the Immigration process with Bar Harbor being a tender port?

3. How long has the Customs/immigration process taken in recent months at Bar Harbor?

We did that cruise, later in the year, a couple of years ago and I am sure that it was done on board.

I am just starting to research for our June 2019 cruise to Canada/New England. I have spent a good amount of time on the Canada/New England board reading through different options.

We are sailing the Dawn out of NYC. We are visiting Halifax, NS; Saint John, NB; Bar Harbor, ME; Portland, ME; and Newport, RI.

My NCL questions are:

 

1. Does the Dawn normally change times zones from EDT to Atlantic Time when visiting Halifax and Saint John?

 

YES - times local to port

 

2. Since Bar Harbor, ME is the first US port after Canada, how has US Customs and Border Protection and NCL handled the Immigration process with Bar Harbor being a tender port?

 

CBI at Bar Harbor - everyone clears customs before leaving for shore (tendering)

 

 

3. How long has the Customs/immigration process taken in recent months at Bar Harbor?

 

 

If the CBI people are timely - usually a couple of hours for the entire ship - suites have priority a few minutes -

Shore Excursion groups are the next priority probably not more than a half hour.

It is a relatively informal event - passports are not stamped your Key Card is swiped and a sticker

applied noting that you have cleared customs.

Duty Free gifts and items that are declared and any fees paid at NYC

 

One general question

 

4. Favorite excursion (private or ship) that you have done on a Canada/New England cruise?

 

Have done own private self-guided walkabout excursions -

BUT don't miss the Maritime museum 2nd floor of the Halifax cruise terminal

 

Thank you in advance for your contributions!

Answers spliced between your ?s

If you do the cruise that does the Saquenay Fiord into Newfoundland / Labrador, The time changes by a half hour.

NST " Newfoundland Standard Time "

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/canada/st-johns

I am just starting to research for our June 2019 cruise to Canada/New England. I have spent a good amount of time on the Canada/New England board reading through different options.

 

We are sailing the Dawn out of NYC. We are visiting Halifax, NS; Saint John, NB; Bar Harbor, ME; Portland, ME; and Newport, RI.

 

My NCL questions are:

 

1. Does the Dawn normally change times zones from EDT to Atlantic Time when visiting Halifax and Saint John?

 

2. Since Bar Harbor, ME is the first US port after Canada, how has US Customs and Border Protection and NCL handled the Immigration process with Bar Harbor being a tender port?

 

3. How long has the Customs/immigration process taken in recent months at Bar Harbor?

 

One general question

 

4. Favorite excursion (private or ship) that you have done on a Canada/New England cruise?

 

Thank you in advance for your contributions!

Yah what he said LOL

Are you stalking me Trace? ;)

My favorite excursions (and this was about 12 years ago) were two schooner cruises, one in Bar Harbor, one in Halifax. And, yes, the Museum of the Atlantic has a great Titanic exhibit and one on the Halifax Explosion.

We have had several Canada and New England cruises. Our favorite was to Quebec down the St Lawrence.

Back on topic, Halifax has a nice boardwalk, close to the ship. But our best experience was to rent a car, drive around NS, including to Peggys Cove. Car rental was a very short walk from the ship at a nearby hotel. Rates were surprisingly good. It allowed us to stay exactly as long as we wanted at Peggys, which is a must see at least one time. Next trip to Halifax, if timing is right, I will rent a car again and try to get to some spots to see the effects of the Bay of Fundy tides.

If I remember right....NS has tour buses...The Big Pink Bus... it was maybe $40 a person and it was a hop-on-hop-off kind of thing. We used that in New Brunswick on a cruise too.

We liked it because we could explore where wanted at the speed we wanted. Many different stops and if you wanted to stay there would be another bus in about 20 minutes.