A Magical voyage across the pond LIVE UPDATE 9/30 - Page 13 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Usually Disney does a better job in supplying information on these excursions! Seems like they don't have everything worked out as far as what excursions will be offered on these new ports. Not a good feeling when they leave you in limbo like this and you can't make your plans! I hope things improve very soon on this front for your sake!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
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Usually Disney does a better job in supplying information on these excursions!
You see, I'm not sure they do, as information usually only comes out just before platinum members can make their bookings. The reason I had information for the Transatlantic is that Disney were visiting some of those ports last fall, so I went in and copied everything down back then, so I had an idea of what would be offered.
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Seems like they don't have everything worked out as far as what excursions will be offered on these new ports. Not a good feeling when they leave you in limbo like this and you can't make your plans!
No it wasn't.
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I hope things improve very soon on this front for your sake!
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Pre-trip report – part thirteen: distinctly underwhelmed
So finally the day dawned when we could make our bookings for our second cruise, the New York City to Quebec City one. This was at least on a weekday, but it was a weekday I’d decided to take off from work. I had so much time owing to me that if I didn’t, I’d lose some of that time by the end of the week. As such, I wasn’t going to get out of bed at 5:00am on this day.
I got up at the usual time and was online by about 6:30am to go through everything. Honestly, all I was worried about was snagging another Palo brunch and I managed that easily enough for our second day at sea.
I then had a flip through all the onboard activities for each day and frankly I was distinctly underwhelmed. There were very few drink tastings to be seen. There was mixology, which we’re down to do on the Transatlantic, along with cognac and whiskey (both of which we’re signed up for on our previous cruise – albeit Mark only for the whiskey one) and then there were the standard chocolate and liquor and stem to stern wine tasting, both of which we’re now like “been there, done that” and then there was a mojito one. Not a fan of that stuff, so that was off as well. Ok, so at least we’ll have more time to hopefully enjoy the scenery on this cruise I guess….
Now for shore excursions… in the end, I only booked something for two of our four ports of call. I didn’t book anything for Halifax for a very good reason…. Disney changed things around and not for the better.
We’d agreed we were going to book the Bay of Fundy tides and wines tour. We’d see the famous tides at the Bay of Fundy, which wasn’t so much of a draw, given we’d be seeing this when we were in St. John on our previous cruise. However, the rest of it sounded wonderful. This tour goes to the Grand Pre Winery, where you can enjoy 30 acres of beautiful vineyards. You get a brief tour and the chance to sample wines before having lunch there with two glasses of wine per person. Then you head off to another vineyard for another tasting. It sounded wonderful.
However, it wasn’t cheap. I had it down in my notes as $204 per person. Ok, it’s a lot of money, but it’s a blow-out. Then I noticed that the price was now $229 per person. Wow, another $50 overall on what was pricey to begin with? There comes a point where you think enough is enough and that was the point I got to. There was no way we were spending that much. Congratulations Disney – your greed just lost a good sale.
We will probably do something a lot cheaper in Halifax, but we need to regroup and think about it, as we only had the one choice…
The other port of call we’re not booking anything for is Baie-Comeau. The surprisingly small choice of excursions has a lot to do with that, as nothing really appealed. So what were the choices? Basically, you could learn about lumberjacks in Village Forestier d’Antan, tour the city itself, visit the park of Pointe-aux-Outardes or tour the Manic-Outardes hydro-electric power plant. That was it in essence.
We may just do a walking tour of the town, although I must admit I haven’t read particularly favourable comments about it. “Not very attractive” seems to come up a lot. Maybe it will just be a day to stay on board and chill. We’ll see…
The two ports where we did book something were Saguenay and Quebec City. Saguenay was a no-brainer. I knew it was home to three national parks and the information I’d read said that some of the most stunning views of the Saguenay Fjord can only be seen by boat, seaplane or helicopter. As soon as I saw the Discover the Fjord Treasures, I was sold. Once again, it was pricey ($219 per person), but I could see what you were getting for the money…
You head off on a sightseeing vessel and cruise along the fjord, seeing huge cliffs, before you reach Cape Trinity, the most impressive cliff in the fjord. You head along the shores of Ste. Rose du Nord, known as “the jewel of the Saguenay.” One of the most beautiful villages in the province of Québec, this charming hamlet is nestled on the shores of the Saguenay River and surrounded by beautiful landscapes. You then stop at the enchanting village of L’Anse St-Jean, where you will have free time to admire its beauty, before boarding a coach and heading back to the ship, albeit with brief photo opportunities along the way, including a bridge featured on the Canadian $1000 bill and a national park observation point.
Now I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting to necessarily book anything in Quebec City, given we’d visited it before and seen most of the city. However, I did want to see what shore excursions, if any, Disney were offering outside the city. Many of them simply took you to Montmorency Falls, which we had visited last time, but then my eyes found the Sainte Anne Canyon and Sugar Shack tour.
Sure you do get to pass by Montmorency Falls, but you head out to the Sainte-Anne Canyon, which is 900-million-years-old, known as the Canadian Shield. You get to explore the bridges and lookouts, before heading back to the entrance. You then head off on your coach to the Sugar Shack in the heart of Quebec's maple syrup district to learn about the production of maple syrup and sample sweet maple syrup taffy.
I’m sure that won’t do much for some people, but I really enjoy all the maple syrup items for sale in Canada that we’ve seen on previous trips, so I thought it would be fun to do.
Next: “Ok. Are you sitting down? Please do. I’ve got some fun news for you!!!”
It really does seem like Disney is falling behind with this cruise, hopefully the scenery will be beautiful. I love anything maple so that is the excursion I would have picked.
I'm not a fan of mojito either. Bummer the drink options weren't any different!
And bummer the other excursion options were not that fascinating.
So excited for you to go to the fjord area! Like I said before, we were trying to figure out how to add that to our itinerary and it just didn't work out for us. I understand it's simply beautiful! Even if it's not a good weather day, it should still be amazing.
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Tanya
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It certainly sounds like the whole excursion research and booking was a frustrating experience. With the prices that Disney charges for their cruises, they should offer more information in a timely manner and the excursions should have more selections that they seem too on this inaugural cruise. The Saint Anne Canyon and Sugar Shack Tour definitely sounds interesting and although it's been many years since I traveled to Canada, I do remember how much I enjoyed the maple syrup offerings while visiting! Looking forward to your Fun News!
Have you thought about checking in to a private tour guide for Halifax? We saved so much money doing our own thing in Alaska. Check Cruise Critic maybe for options?
It really does seem like Disney is falling behind with this cruise, hopefully the scenery will be beautiful. I love anything maple so that is the excursion I would have picked.
So excited for you to go to the fjord area! Like I said before, we were trying to figure out how to add that to our itinerary and it just didn't work out for us. I understand it's simply beautiful! Even if it's not a good weather day, it should still be amazing.
It certainly sounds like the whole excursion research and booking was a frustrating experience. With the prices that Disney charges for their cruises, they should offer more information in a timely manner and the excursions should have more selections that they seem too on this inaugural cruise.
I had hoped for that.
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The Saint Anne Canyon and Sugar Shack Tour definitely sounds interesting and although it's been many years since I traveled to Canada, I do remember how much I enjoyed the maple syrup offerings while visiting!
We loved the maple syrup offerings on our visits to Canada too.
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Seems like they don't have everything worked out as far as what excursions will be offered on these new ports. Not a good feeling when they leave you in limbo like this and you can't make your plans! 
I hope things improve very soon on this front for your sake! 
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
There comes a point where you think enough is enough and that was the point I got to. There was no way we were spending that much. Congratulations Disney – your greed just lost a good sale. 
The Saint Anne Canyon and Sugar Shack Tour definitely sounds interesting and although it's been many years since I traveled to Canada, I do remember how much I enjoyed the maple syrup offerings while visiting! Looking forward to your Fun News!
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