Port Rating:

One friendly Bostonian directed us to the water taxi which takes you across the river (awesome & different views of Boston) to the Naval yards and the historical tall-ship USS Constitution + Naval museum & only for about $1.50 each way. The water taxi is a treat in itself!!!

You can pretty much do Boston on your own- just remember where the bus let you off for your return to your ship or else you'll add a half hour of mindless wandering & muttering.

It seemed to get friendlier as you sailed North.

Port Rating:

BAR HARBOR: enchanting with the usual collection of trendy souvenir shops and cozy restaurants with sweeping harbor views. We missed booking for the Arcadia National Park tour which I heard was breathtaking, but had a wonderful, energetic time walking the neighborhoods and salivating over magnificent seaside homes. There is a beautiful walking trail along the water-wish we had rented bikes for it!

I bought long johns at a cute little general store there because I thought it was going to be insufferably cold in Canada - but strangly, it became more moderate as we sailed north. Ironically, I needed them a whole lot more upon my return to the Las Vegas desert with it's rare frigid gale force winds.

Port Rating:

Fascinating Maritime museum along a peaceful and beautiful walking trail along the water- Halifax is where many Titanic fatalities were processed as well as where many flights diverted when US airspace was closed following 911- there is a historical & inspiring connection between Nova Scotia and the USA.

You can also take the double decker all around Halifax- but we decided to take a quick look at the Citadel (sp)Fort on the hill- it was totally intriguing & after much begging, they let us in 5 minutes from closing for a whirlwind self tour- wish we had taken more time for that too! If you miss your double decker bus , Halifax has a free city bus- WONDERFUL PEOPLE, BEAUTIFUL PORT.

Good place to get a fix on the citizen's "universal health care". Eye opening. You need to do good time management at this port- little time- much to see!

PS Hope I'm not confusing some attractions with the St. John's Nefoundland.

Port Rating:

Brooklyn Pier gets a 5+, We didn't tour NYC- just took Amtrak from DC- then had a Mr. Toad's wild cab ride to the pier since Amtrak broke down along the way & we were running late. HOWEVER, just another adventure & Amtrak is a great way to see scenery along the way with very comfortable & spacious coach seating , but my spouse was right- we should have booked the train earlier.

Very efficient passenger boarding at Brooklyn Pier & a breeze to get on ( especially after 3pm for the tardy set) not to mention a few fleeting moments of being mini-royalty via a plastic stemware of cool champagne upon boarding.

BUT it was TOTAL chaos upon disembarkation (not even a 1 rating). Squished in the waiting areas for what seemed hours,finally released in mass to a sea of look alike baggage -then lugging it through customs (so polite) to a sea of look alike airport buses amid sea of humanity. I've done a LOT of international and domestic travel in past years, but this seemed even more foreign. Eventually the tough talking natives effectively herded their bewildered & sweating post-cruisers into the right bus with little fanfare. We were barely homeward bound and already exhausted!

Didn't really do much in NYC except train in- fly out (BTW: Northwest Airlines has superior legroom in coach compared to other carriers & crews were awesome-though hours of confinment in the middle seat will never be a happy experience unless you are under 10 years old. Like the Princess Caribbean ship- NYC, while an amazing city, is simply too big & complicated for us simple country folks!