8/28 Princess to New England - Single Mom Here:)

Hi - my first time posting here. Taking Caribbean Princess 8/28 to New England/Canada with my 17 yr old son. Excursion prices seem to be ridiculous... would like to explore on our own - just a few questions: 1) Newport - We both love to hike and the cliff walk seems perfect - how do we get there from the cruise dock? Easy to find our way there and back? 2) Boston we will do on our own, but in Bar Harbor we definitely want to go to Acadia Natl Park. Again - is there a way to get there on our own? Might it be worth it to pay for an excursion there? Hate to pay $100 each for a bus to the park and a lobster lunch...

3) For the 2 ports in Canada - Any recommendations as to what to see - and whether to pay for the excursions... would like to do some sightseeing, maybe some whitewater rafting... are there reputable tour groups at the docks?

Would appreciate any and all advice... thanks very much!

My daughter and I are on the same cruise. We have just started looking at excursions. Why don't you sign in on the roll call. There has been some talk about independent tours there.

There's a free shuttle to Acadia. http://www.exploreacadia.com/

Cruisemom33 asked:

…..Newport - We both love to hike and the cliff walk seems perfect - how do we get there from the cruise dock? Easy to find our way there and back?......

The distance from the tender dock to the start of Cliff Walk is approximately 1.3 miles. You could take a bus or trolley to get there; or walk.

The directions for walking are: walk east from the tender dock until America's Cup Ave (rte 138); there, turn south and look for the post office. America's Cup Ave ends there and becomes Memorial Blvd (rte 138). Continue on Memorial Blvd (rte 138) until the start of CW which will be on your right. I would advise against starting at the south end of CW. In the 2nd CW link, go to the ToC and look at the pictures in sections #6 & #7.

http://www.cliffwalk.com/

http://www.cliffwalk.com/sect1.htm

Here is the site of RIPTA with schedules, etc. http://www.ripta.com/schedules/schedules.php .

There is a seasonal bus that serves Newport beaches that goes by the start of CW, unfortunately that route has not been posted. If that bus is not available, you could use a route #67, but that does not go by the start of CW.. Here is the rudimentary route #67 map and schedule: http://www.ripta.com/schedules/view.php.

If you look at the route map (above), you'll see that the bus route is almost parallel to CW. So if you exit CW and walk due west from there, you'll will come to Bellevue Ave which is on the #67 bus route and you'll have a ride back.

I would pick up the bus at the Newport Visitor's Center located one block north of the tender dock on America's Cup Ave.

….. in Bar Harbor we definitely want to go to Acadia Natl Park. Again - is there a way to get there on our own? Might it be worth it to pay for an excursion there? Hate to pay $100 each for a bus to the park and a lobster lunch....

There are 2 independent tour companies that provide tours of ANP: Olis Trolley - http://www.acadiaislandtours.com/ or Acadia National Park Tours – http://www.acadiatours.com/.

If you're interested in hiking in ANP, here is some good info; http://www.acadiamagic.com/acadia-hiking-trails.html . A nice easy hike would be the Ocean Trail. To get to the park, there is a free bus service, the Island Explorer: http://www.exploreacadia.com/ . All routes, except #4, originate at the Bar Harbor Village Green which is less than a 10 minute walk from the tender dock. Most restaurants in BH have excellent lobster meals.

SBtS

Can you please let me know how to sign in on the "roll call". A few posts have mentioned it; however - I cant seem to find it on the site - I clicked on everything above - thanks very much:)

I see you found it :).

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1019201

SBtS