More than 4,000 pax in Halifax!

[martinimadam]

Just learned there will be more than 4,000 pax in Halifax on the day my cruise is there. :eek: Other than getting to Peggy's Cove really early, or not going at all, what advice do you all have re handling this many passengers. Will the "hop-on hop-off" buses be impossible to use? Will the town be totally overloaded??? Help!

[morebeaches]

what day will you be there? We are there Oct 2nd

[martinimadam]

We'll be there Oct. 9. My guess is that we'll be one of the last few ships through til next Spring. Anyone have experience with getting good deals on "trinkets" near the end of the season.

[Bunkie103]

There are still several cruises after you, so don't turn the lights off when you leave. We sail 10/18 and I think there is one on 10/25:rolleyes:

[rickb]

Just learned there will be more than 4,000 pax in Halifax on the day my cruise is there. :eek: Other than getting to Peggy's Cove really early, or not going at all, what advice do you all have re handling this many passengers. Will the "hop-on hop-off" buses be impossible to use? Will the town be totally overloaded??? Help!

 

I can't answer about the hop on/off bus other than common sense would tell me that it will be busier.

 

To answer your question whether the town be totally overloaded? In word, no. In several words, Halifax is not a small town like most of the stops in the Caribbean, there are 400,000 people living here with a large vibrant downtown area. I walk on the boardwalk along the waterfront most days at lunch and obviously, the more ships and people that are here the busier it is. However, there are days when there are 3 or even 4 ships in with 6000-8000 passengers and it's not a problem. I see that on Oct 2nd there are 4 large ships in with over 10,000 passengers; busy yes but overwhelmed absolutely not.

 

Enjoy your visit!

[martinimadam]

Thanks, rickb. Very reassuring. I was planning to mostly just stroll around downtown and it sounds like that plan should work.

 

Bunkie103 - I promise to leave the lights on, and not buy out all the gift shops, so there will be plenty left for you!;)

[uppitycats]

Yes, I was also going to ask that you not buy all the good stuff! We'll be arriving on October 11..a Saturday..so it'll be WAY crowded with locals, too, I suspect! :)

 

Have a great cruise!

[martinimadam]

According to cruisereports.com, yours will be the only ship in port on that day, so, shouldn't be too crowded.:D

[jerin]

We were there in June on Grandeur of the Seas, while Carnival Victory was also in port. The immediate area of the piers was fairly congested (at least the shopping was, the pier 21 museum was pretty empty), but around town, it really wasn't very crowded at all. Halifax seemed to be plenty big enough to handle two ships' worth of passengers at the same time. The same ships were in Saint John the day before, and while they seemed to work a little harder to keep up with that many tourists at once, I really never felt crowded there either (and I'm very crowd-sensitive).

[Rikka]

My husband and I arrived home from our Canada/New England cruise last night. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed Halifax. Don't miss going to the Citadel while you are there. It was within walking distance of the harbour ( uphill though )and we spent a fascinating 2 hours there. Also, the Maritime Museum right on the waterfront is really interesting. They had a displays about the Titanic and about the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

 

Have a wonderful time. I loved Halifax, Charlottetown, Boston and Quebec City. So easy to walk everywhere you want and so beautiful.

[PennyAgain]

I adore Halifax and go there every chance I can get. I have never been there when the city was overwhelmed with cruise passengers. The boardwalk is long, plenty of room for everyone.

 

Most people off the cruise ships don't get far off the beaten path. A few minute's walk can get you into a very normal (beautiful) city.

 

I've not seen bargains in the shops since the US $ got weak, but there are some quality things to shop for and admire.

 

On the recommendation of someone on this BB, I visited Pier 21 museum and enjoyed it so much I made a return visit a day later. I always visit the Maritime Museum as well.

[AAAAmerican]

We shall be there in here, God and weather willing that is..

 

Halifax, NS, CA is one of the nicest places on Earth, Ottawa is great also!..

She is an Ice Free port and it does have one of the best harbors (harbours) in the World!

 

That's the Canadian Navies best Base !

 

On scheduled arrival aboard the Celebrity Constellation, October 27th, 2008 A.D.;)

 

 

Oh a good deal is one your happy with... :cool:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We'll be there Oct. 9. My guess is that we'll be one of the last few ships through til next Spring. Anyone have experience with getting good deals on "trinkets" near the end of the season.