Halifax Hop on Hop off tour for 6/17

[mmcruise]

We will be in Halifax next Tuesday 6/17. It is too early for the FRED, which is right in my price range (free!) and the weather forecast indicates 60% chance of RAIN.

 

So I thought we might spend the $$ and do the Hop On Hop tour. Anybody done this? Do the buses come often? Do they start right at the cruise pier?

 

It's pretty expensive but may be worth it; would love to hear anyone's impressions before I book.

 

Thanks!

[Big Al B.]

Here is a link to a thread that discussed this. You will see that the HOHO is only offered through the ship anymore. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=745155

[mmcruise]

And I was planning to book through the cruise line. But that thread veered off in a lot of different directions (FRED, piano bars, roll calls) and I never saw anybody reply who actually did the HOHO tour.

 

So, since we can't do FRED, and it may rain, I wondered if anyone's done this tour and if they found it worthwhile.

[wolfcel]

We will be in Halifax at the end of August...so I'm reading up on things to do in Halifax and St. John's.

So...may I ask...What is FRED??

[Big Al B.]

As I quoted in my post in that thread, this is the reply I got to an email concerning the HOHO bus:

 

Thank you for contacting Ambassatours Gray Line. We are only offering our Hop-on Hop-off tour through our Cruise Department for cruise ship passengers, so the tour would only be running on days that cruise ships are in Halifax . Last season, customers were able to purchase tickets for the tour on days that ships were in Halifax . They could buy them at our kiosk located on the waterfront. I not positive, but I would assume this would be the case for this year as well.

 

 

 

I hope this answers your questions, should you have any further questions, please let us know. You can reach us at 1-800-565-7173 or email us at reservations@ambassatours.com

 

To me, this means that you won't have the HOHO as an option.

[Big Al B.]

FRED is a free bus shuttle which runs through Halifax. It goes from July 5 to October 24 this year. Info: http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/fred.html. There is a stop near the pier I think.

[mmcruise]

I saw your post and thanks. It IS an option and it is offered through the cruise line. I could book it right now if I wanted to.

 

I just wanted to see if anyone had done it, thought it was worthwhile, etc. before spending money on it.

 

Thanks.

[Big Al B.]

Ah, gotcha :D. Is it a pricey ship's tour?

I came across this review which may be of some help: http://dailysage.blogspot.com/2007/10/fall-cruise-halifax-nova-scotia.html

[mmcruise]

Yeah, it's pretty pricey, nearly $90 for two of us for the day. If it's worth it, and I'd wind up spending $$ on taxis anyway, it may be a good idea. It looks like fun from the review you posted, but still thinking about it. I can hold off and book it on the ship.

[pdoeringer]

I contacted Grayline and they told me it only runs when ships are in and the cheapest place to buy tickets is on the ship. NCL, I believe, charges $53. per person and the person at Grayline said they charge $59. That is over $100. for 2 which I think is way overpriced. I feel you can get a cab and go where you want for much less.

It seems like someone is making a big profit on this one.

[Susie51]

Thanks for the info about FRED. We may use this after our lighthouse and lobster shore ex.

[Susie51]

I am doing a count down until it is time for my Sept. 27 cruise. Before I sail, will anyone who uses FRED while in Halifax, will you post your experiences here? Thanks

[LHP]

I am doing a count down until it is time for my Sept. 27 cruise. Before I sail, will anyone who uses FRED while in Halifax, will you post your experiences here? Thanks

 

We were in Halifax Sept of last year and had planned on using FRED.

There is a stop right at the ship...but we never could get our timing right..so we ended up just walking all around.

 

We saw a taxi driver that looked interesting (an older guy that ended up being a hoot...we loved it) and rented his taxi for an hour ($45.00) to take us to the specific places we wanted to see. We have a special needs child and can't go long excursions. We went to the Titanic Grave sites and a couple of more places. He took us through the "rich part of town" and the "poor part of town" with information on each. (Hubby loves the demographics of towns)

 

I had mapped out a "Pub Crawl" before I left, so the taxi dropped us off at our first Pub and we walked to the rest of them ending up at the ship. We had a ball. Although it was very HOT that day. (October 4th)

 

St John was chilly, but Halifax was HOT!

[Susie51]

LHP, Thank for replying. Anyone else try Fred?