10-Day Canada & New England Round-trip

[Topdog52]

Are there any ports on these New England cruises that you can just walk into town from the ship and enjoy yourself

without taking an excursion? 

[ColeThornton]

What is the itinerary for your cruise or one you are looking at?

[Topdog52]

9 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

What is the itinerary for your cruise or one you are looking at?

Wed	New York, New York	---	4:00 PM	0
Thu	At Sea	---	---	1
Fri	Boston, Massachusetts	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Sat	Portland, Maine	7:00 AM	4:00 PM	0
Sun	Saint John, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick	7:30 AM	4:00 PM	0
Mon	Halifax, Nova Scotia	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Tue	Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Wed	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Thu	At Sea	---	---	1
Fri	At Sea	---	---	0
Sat	New York, New York (Flight Departure)

[Turtles06]

There’s an excellent Canada/New England port of call forum here on CC, where questions like this are regularly asked and answered. 
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

 

[LGW59]

38 minutes ago, Topdog52 said:

Wed	New York, New York	---	4:00 PM	0
Thu	At Sea	---	---	1
Fri	Boston, Massachusetts	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Sat	Portland, Maine	7:00 AM	4:00 PM	0
Sun	Saint John, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick	7:30 AM	4:00 PM	0
Mon	Halifax, Nova Scotia	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Tue	Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Wed	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Thu	At Sea	---	---	1
Fri	At Sea	---	---	0
Sat	New York, New York (Flight Departure)

I can tell you in Boston you walk right off the ship and will be in the Seaport area.  Lots to do in the time you have in port.  Very close to the North End which has incredible Italian restaurants and is the beginning of the Freedom Trail, Paul Revere house and Old North Church both there as well.

[Cruiser933]

Halifax has a lot to do within walking distance.

[Sea saw 56]

When we were in Charlottetown PEI we just walked.  Nice town with some good shopping, there was a seafood (we had lobster) restaurant just beside where we disembarked.

[happytotravel]

HI,

St John, New Brunswick  you can just walk into town as well.  You can also just google each town asking "what to do".

 

LGW59's copy of itinerary isn't the one for our cruise.

 

I'm sure we're all looking forward to a great time on shore.

happytotravel

[Zippeedee]

You can walk into Portland. We just walked around the shops and got lobster rolls. There is an art museum close by too. Halifax is walkable, lots of historical sites. In St John’s we took a city bus to the reversing falls but you have to check the times for the tides to see it.

[Sailing12Away]

I'm on a similar cruise in September, but reverse order almost. Just go to google maps and search for 'cruise port' + port name. Then you can see how much there is to do and if the walk to get there is doable for you.

 

We only booked 2 official excursions so far, planning on doing a bunch just on our own to wander.

 

For Boston we're hoping to just catch a cab over to Sam Adams for the day. They've got a bunch of stuff on tap that we can't get locally here that I want to try.

[The Shrike]

3 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'm on a similar cruise in September, but reverse order almost. Just go to google maps and search for 'cruise port' + port name. Then you can see how much there is to do and if the walk to get there is doable for you.

 

We only booked 2 official excursions so far, planning on doing a bunch just on our own to wander.

 

For Boston we're hoping to just catch a cab over to Sam Adams for the day. They've got a bunch of stuff on tap that we can't get locally here that I want to try.

If you like beer I highly recommend the Moosehead tour in St. John's.

[don't-use-real-name]

On 6/23/2022 at 6:41 AM, Topdog52 said:

Are there any ports on these New England cruises that you can just walk into town from the ship and enjoy yourself

without taking an excursion? 

All of these you can do a self-guided walk ****

Depending  on your walk speed - interests and ship/port time

you can trek out 3-5 miles or more - - - 

 

Sun	Saint John, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick	7:30 AM	4:00 PM	0
Mon	Halifax, Nova Scotia	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Tue	Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0
Wed	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	9:00 AM	6:00 PM	0

[Sailing12Away]

11 hours ago, The Shrike said:

If you like beer I highly recommend the Moosehead tour in St. John's.

For $120/person, seems like it may be close enough to walk to and just visit on our own without the formal tour. Do you recall how many samples you got to try?

[The Shrike]

19 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

For $120/person, seems like it may be close enough to walk to and just visit on our own without the formal tour. Do you recall how many samples you got to try?

Not sure what's included now, but when we did it (2018) it wasn't just the brewery, there were a couple of other stops around the city that made it worthwhile.

 

At the brewery we did the tour and sampled six beers, not including getting to drink some of the lager direct from the lagering tanks (which was incredibly good).  Then we went to their "test" brewery where new products are brewed in smaller batches.  We got to sample a couple and full beers were available to purchase and were well worth the $.

We had six in our group and everyone really enjoyed it, even the now ex-BIL who only went along because everyone else wanted to go.

[phillygwm]

On 6/23/2022 at 7:41 AM, Topdog52 said:

Are there any ports on these New England cruises that you can just walk into town from the ship and enjoy yourself

without taking an excursion? 

I suspect we're on the same sailing (Oct 12.)  Best to ask on that roll call:  NCL Joy - October 12, 2022 - Canada & New England - Page 5

 

 

I've done much of the itinerary before (except Sydney and C'town.)  The answer to your question is "It depends."  In most ports, you can walk to some interesting shops and restaurants but the prominent tourist spots typically require transport.  That isn't to say you need to take an excursion: an Uber or taxi may suffice.  

 

I'll do the Hop-on Hop-off in Boston because, after the FAS excursion credit and Platinum discount, it costs me (as a solo traveler) <$5.  Haven't given a lot of thought to the other ports yet.

 

[phillygwm]

11 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

For $120/person, seems like it may be close enough to walk to and just visit on our own without the formal tour. Do you recall how many samples you got to try?

 The cruise is in St John on Sunday and on your own brewery tours are not available per the Moosehead website.  I guess the tour operators are the only game in town. 

 

The tap room IS open, 12:00 - 10:00.  We're in port 7:30 - 4:00 so I may stop there and grab lunch nearby.  I've seen breweries before and don't need to do the tour itself.

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by phillygwm

[LGW59]

23 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

I suspect we're on the same sailing (Oct 12.)  Best to ask on that roll call:  NCL Joy - October 12, 2022 - Canada & New England - Page 5

 

 

I've done much of the itinerary before (except Sydney and C'town.)  The answer to your question is "It depends."  In most ports, you can walk to some interesting shops and restaurants but the prominent tourist spots typically require transport.  That isn't to say you need to take an excursion: an Uber or taxi may suffice.  

 

I'll do the Hop-on Hop-off in Boston because, after the FAS excursion credit and Platinum discount, it costs me (as a solo traveler) <$5.  Haven't given a lot of thought to the other ports yet.

 

Agree, if you want to venture out beyond typical walking distance from the port in Boston, Hop-On/Hop-Off is the way to go and it is very reliable time wise.  Also, Sam Adams has a tap room literally just 15 minutes walk from the pier, it is in the Faneuil Hall area near the Old State House, the original is in Jamaica Plain which you def need to get to by taxi/Uber/Lyft.

Edited June 25, 2022 by LGW59

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

 The cruise is in St John on Sunday and on your own brewery tours are not available per the Moosehead website.  I guess the tour operators are the only game in town. 

 

The tap room IS open, 12:00 - 10:00.  We're in port 7:30 - 4:00 so I may stop there and grab lunch nearby.  I've seen breweries before and don't need to do the tour itself.

 

We're on a different sailing than you, our stop in St. John is on a Monday.

 

I don't need the tour per se, just give me a few flights and let me find my favorite 🙂 

[njhorseman]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:25 AM, Turtles06 said:

There’s an excellent Canada/New England port of call forum here on CC, where questions like this are regularly asked and answered. 
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

 

If you post there don't make the mistake of writing St. John rather than Saint John because there's a local resident trolling the forum who seems to have nothing better to do than skewer anyone committing what he apparently considers a mortal sin.

 

Even worse, don't write St. John's ! Since that's a city in Newfoundland rather than New Brunswick I can only imagine what his reaction might be. 

[phillygwm]

7 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

We're on a different sailing than you, our stop in St. John is on a Monday.

 

I don't need the tour per se, just give me a few flights and let me find my favorite 🙂 

Then the taproom should meet your needs.  I'd imagine an Uber or taxi would get you there most efficiently.  Two things I noticed:  1) As mentioned, it doesn't open until 12:00 and I'm guessing your ship leaves at 4, so probably best to hit it around noon; 2) It's in a somewhat industrial area.  There's a paper mill behind the brewery and while there are restaurants nearby, it isn't especially fine dining.  But you have pizza, Tim Horton's, etc.  Maybe wait to eat until you're back onboard 🙂