Going to Halifax and Saint John in 3 weeks, need some port help.

[01Sweetpea]

I booked the Carnival Glory last night and am scrambling to find excursions for these ports. We usually book our excustions independantly, so I'd prefer not to book thru the ship.

 

My first thought is to rent a car in Halifax, drive to Peggy's Cove, drive along the coast to Upper Tantallon and then back to Halifax where we could stop at the Citadel and then go see the gardens.

 

Then in Saint John, do a self-guided walking tour. But then I read about somewhere in Saint John where the tide goes out very far and you can walk on the ocean floor. :confused:

 

What about whale watching? If we wanted to do this do we have a good chance of seeing whales in mid-august and which port would be better to book this?

[Underwatr]

Well, whether you can walk out depends on when low tide is vs. the time of your being there.

 

Here's a tide predictor for St. John:

http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?site=Saint+John%252C+New+Brunswick

 

On August 14 (for example) Low tide is at 9:44 AM. It's a little under an hour later each day.

[01Sweetpea]

So, if I'm reading this right, low tide should be around noonish on 8/17? :confused:

 

2010-08-17 00:08 ADT 1.09 meters Low Tide

2010-08-17 06:19 ADT 7.27 meters High Tide

2010-08-17 06:27 ADT Sunrise

2010-08-17 12:32 ADT 1.40 meters Low Tide

2010-08-17 15:48 ADT Moonrise

2010-08-17 18:47 ADT 7.50 meters High Tide

2010-08-17 20:28 ADT Sunset

 

So then, would it make sense to go and see this? And possibly see the caves? We're in port from 9am to 6pm.

[Underwatr]

That's what I read. Too bad the tidal swing is "only" 6 meters that day. I saw that it was closer to 8 meters a few days earlier.

 

I haven't been to Halifax & St. John since about 1969 so I can't advise what activities you really should be doing. I'll be in Halifax on the QM2 in September so let us know what you find there!

[Obtuse1]

I usually use the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans government's site for tide predictions. It is pretty straight forward.

 

Note the time zone choice on the left of the page and know what time zone 'ship time' will be etc.

 

They are predicting 9 + metre tides on the 17th ( nothing below 7.9 metres for the whole month of Aug )

 

2010-08-17 (Tuesday) Time (AST) Height (m) (ft)

05:15 9.0 m 29.5 ft

11:25 1.5 m 4.9 ft

17:42 9.2 m 30.2 ft

 

Your timing seems perfect , you will be able to get to Saint Martins at Low tide , see the caves, see the boats sitting on the ocean floor etc... you can have lunch there , and then go to the Fundy Trail Parkway just 10 minutes from Saint Martins , and enjoy the beautiful coastal vistas, hike to the rocky beaches ( it is a gorgeous place ). Then on your way back ( if you take a few hours on the Parkway , you could see quite a dramatic change in the water levels. With High tide at 5:42 p.m. Note the timing , Atlantic Canada ( NB , PEI , NS ) are on Atlantic Standard Time (AST ) I've heard some ships stay on EST and sometimes that causes confusion. So just be mindful of what time it is where.

[Yukonbear]

I usually use the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans government's site for tide predictions. It is pretty straight forward.

 

Note the time zone choice on the left of the page and know what time zone 'ship time' will be etc.

 

They are predicting 9 + metre tides on the 17th ( nothing below 7.9 metres for the whole month of Aug )

 

2010-08-17 (Tuesday) Time (AST) Height (m) (ft)

05:15 9.0 m 29.5 ft

11:25 1.5 m 4.9 ft

17:42 9.2 m 30.2 ft

 

 

Your timing seems perfect , you will be able to get to Saint Martins at Low tide , see the caves, see the boats sitting on the ocean floor etc... you can have lunch there , and then go to the Fundy Trail Parkway just 10 minutes from Saint Martins , and enjoy the beautiful coastal vistas, hike to the rocky beaches ( it is a gorgeous place ). Then on your way back ( if you take a few hours on the Parkway , you could see quite a dramatic change in the water levels. With High tide at 5:42 p.m. Note the timing , Atlantic Canada ( NB , PEI , NS ) are on Atlantic Standard Time (AST ) I've heard some ships stay on EST and sometimes that causes confusion. So just be mindful of what time it is where.

 

If they are on Atlantic Standard then it is the same as Eastern Daylight. I thought they would be on Atlantic Daylight as well. We arrive on August 11 at 8am so I am thinking that the low tide will be 1 1/2 hrs prior. We are renting a car so by the time we get there will we still be able to go to the caves? Looks like the lowest it will be during our visit will be around 4m

[Obtuse1]

I hate time zones sometimes.

 

Don't let me make things worse ( which I have done )

 

NB , NS , and PEI observe daylight savings time , and so it is AST in the winter and ADT in the summer ...

 

You can usually get into the caves up to 2.5 hours after low tide.

[LiftLockCouple]

I booked the Carnival Glory last night and am scrambling to find excursions for these ports. We usually book our excustions independantly, so I'd prefer not to book thru the ship.

 

My first thought is to rent a car in Halifax, drive to Peggy's Cove, drive along the coast to Upper Tantallon and then back to Halifax where we could stop at the Citadel and then go see the gardens.

 

Then in Saint John, do a self-guided walking tour. But then I read about somewhere in Saint John where the tide goes out very far and you can walk on the ocean floor. :confused:

 

What about whale watching? If we wanted to do this do we have a good chance of seeing whales in mid-august and which port would be better to book this?

 

Post your questions on this thread. Acey and the others from the area will give you the best advice possible.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1147722

 

St. Martins is where you can walk out at low tide and enter the caves. I have been there and it is a special place. good luck.

[Naps]

Hi,

It has been a lifelong dream of mine to experience the tides at the Bay of Fundy. The freedom tours look good, but I think we should really rent a car to experience the tides. Our cruise is in St John Aug 17, so I know we are set up prefectly for low tide.

Can anyone tell me how many hours we need to see a definite change in the tide? I'm not sure the 2 hours that the tour spends there is enough to see it.

Thanks!

[01Sweetpea]

Hi,

It has been a lifelong dream of mine to experience the tides at the Bay of Fundy. The freedom tours look good, but I think we should really rent a car to experience the tides. Our cruise is in St John Aug 17, so I know we are set up prefectly for low tide.

Can anyone tell me how many hours we need to see a definite change in the tide? I'm not sure the 2 hours that the tour spends there is enough to see it.

Thanks!

 

Are you on the 8/14 Carnival Glory sailing? If so, some over to our roll-call board and say hi!

[Acey]

Hi,

It has been a lifelong dream of mine to experience the tides at the Bay of Fundy. The freedom tours look good, but I think we should really rent a car to experience the tides. Our cruise is in St John Aug 17, so I know we are set up prefectly for low tide.

Can anyone tell me how many hours we need to see a definite change in the tide? I'm not sure the 2 hours that the tour spends there is enough to see it.

Thanks!

 

After low tide, there is slack tide (no appreciable water flow into Bay) for 2 hours afterwards. Then the tide starts coming in but takes 10 hours to reach high tide. You'll probably have to be there 4 hours after low tide point to see the water fill in (at a shallow depth) the areas you walked on. That will give you a chance to drive the Fundy Coastal Trail.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

After low tide, there is slack tide (no appreciable water flow into Bay) for 2 hours afterwards. Then the tide starts coming in but takes 10 hours to reach high tide. You'll probably have to be there 4 hours after low tide point to see the water fill in (at a shallow depth) the areas you walked on. That will give you a chance to drive the Fundy Coastal Trail.

 

Acey

 

We are going to be there on Oct 3. Our tour with Freedom is 11-4. When I looked at the tide chart, if I'm reading it correctly, it looks like low tide is at 2:17p. Will we be able to walk and go into the cave during that time frame? I assume it'll be very muddy with some water and will need to bring a change of shoes.

 

Thanks

[Acey]

Acey

 

We are going to be there on Oct 3. Our tour with Freedom is 11-4. When I looked at the tide chart, if I'm reading it correctly, it looks like low tide is at 2:17p. Will we be able to walk and go into the cave during that time frame? I assume it'll be very muddy with some water and will need to bring a change of shoes.

 

Thanks

 

Low tide will be at 2:31 in St. Martins (time differs depending on location). There is an approx. 2 hour window before and after low tide that you should be able to discover caves - I'm assuming the tour operator would try to time it best to allow you to do that, but the only way to know for sure would be to call them and ask as I'm not 100% sure.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thanks.... I assumed there was some type of window but wasn't sure for how long.

[corinnv]

So, if I'm reading this right, low tide should be around noonish on 8/17? :confused:

 

2010-08-17 00:08 ADT 1.09 meters Low Tide

2010-08-17 06:19 ADT 7.27 meters High Tide

2010-08-17 06:27 ADT Sunrise

2010-08-17 12:32 ADT 1.40 meters Low Tide

2010-08-17 15:48 ADT Moonrise

2010-08-17 18:47 ADT 7.50 meters High Tide

2010-08-17 20:28 ADT Sunset

 

So then, would it make sense to go and see this? And possibly see the caves? We're in port from 9am to 6pm.

 

Hi Sweet pea!

I'm on the same cruise with you....I just put the wrong date in my countdown clock. I plan on going to the caves! The last time we took this cruise, the tide was high, so we did not bother driving out there. I rented an suv, since it will be my family of 4 and my mom.

[01Sweetpea]

Hi Sweet pea!

I'm on the same cruise with you....I just put the wrong date in my countdown clock. I plan on going to the caves! The last time we took this cruise, the tide was high, so we did not bother driving out there. I rented an suv, since it will be my family of 4 and my mom.

 

We have a roll-call going, so stop by and say Hi!

[01Sweetpea]

Thanks everyone.

 

Since we are renting a car in Halifax and driving to Peggy's Cove I was leaning towards just walking around Saint John and seeing the sights. Now I'm wondering if it would be better to rent a car here as well and go out to St. Martins. :confused:

[corinnv]

Thanks everyone.

 

Since we are renting a car in Halifax and driving to Peggy's Cove I was leaning towards just walking around Saint John and seeing the sights. Now I'm wondering if it would be better to rent a car here as well and go out to St. Martins. :confused:

 

I'm on the roll call...I just have not posted much.:) You may want to rent a car in St John. We hired a taxi driver last time and took the horse drawn carriage ride. The history was interesting. I here the caves are amazing.

[piratesmate123]

I'm on the roll call for the Glory 8/14/10. Maybe we can make our own car caravan to go to the caves in St. Martin. I was planning on spending about an hour in Saint John first - I think that's where some sort of food market (similar to Faneuil Hall in Boston) is and I thought we'd grab some lunch to go. We're taking 3 teenage boys, and it seems they are always hungry!!! I think low tide in Saint Martin is about 11:30 am, so if we get there about noon or so, we should have plenty of time to walk in the caves, go to the Fundy Pkwy., then go back to the caves and see how much the water has risen. Linda

[corinnv]

I'm on the roll call for the Glory 8/14/10. Maybe we can make our own car caravan to go to the caves in St. Martin. I was planning on spending about an hour in Saint John first - I think that's where some sort of food market (similar to Faneuil Hall in Boston) is and I thought we'd grab some lunch to go. We're taking 3 teenage boys, and it seems they are always hungry!!! I think low tide in Saint Martin is about 11:30 am, so if we get there about noon or so, we should have plenty of time to walk in the caves, go to the Fundy Pkwy., then go back to the caves and see how much the water has risen. Linda

 

The caravan sounds like it may be a good idea.:D I have no Idea where we are going. It will be me, dh, 2 dd's 6 and 10 and my Mom. My girls alway seem to be hungry too! There is a a marketplace I recall from my last trip. But I don't remember as many food options as Faneuil Hall. I want to take a look at the Carnival excursion time.... I would like to beat the buses there!;)

Corinn

[Naps]

We have a roll-call going, so stop by and say Hi!

Hi, where is the roll call?

I haven't found it yet

[Naps]

I'm on the roll call for the Glory 8/14/10. Maybe we can make our own car caravan to go to the caves in St. Martin. I was planning on spending about an hour in Saint John first - I think that's where some sort of food market (similar to Faneuil Hall in Boston) is and I thought we'd grab some lunch to go. We're taking 3 teenage boys, and it seems they are always hungry!!! I think low tide in Saint Martin is about 11:30 am, so if we get there about noon or so, we should have plenty of time to walk in the caves, go to the Fundy Pkwy., then go back to the caves and see how much the water has risen. Linda

 

 

We have rented a car for St Johns also. Thanks for the info on the tide times.

Maybe a group would get us all there without getting lost, lol!

[corinnv]

We have rented a car for St Johns also. Thanks for the info on the tide times.

Maybe a group would get us all there without getting lost, lol!

 

That might be a good idea! :D I guess I should bring my GPS of a map.;)