This was our first cruise, so I don't have anything to compare to, but this ship is really fabulous. The artwork is astounding. It's integrated into the entire ship. Even the staterooms have limited edition signed and numbered prints! We enjoyed walking around and exploring all the various public areas.

As some have stated, you take your chances with the Canadian weather, but I think we lucked out. Partly cloudy the entire day in St. John. Rather than take one of the offered excursions, we opted to rent a car and drive to St. Martins. Just beyond St. Martins is the Bay of Fundy Parkway scenic drive. This is a gorgeous place with many observation areas and hiking trails. The scenery is breathtaking, and none of the shore excursions go there so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was great. (Note: You can rent a car for about $30/day US, and they pick you up right at the dock). Stopped at the restaurant in St. Martins for the greatest seafood chowder in the world. If you time it right, you can arrive as the tour busses are leaving.

In Halifax, we rented a car again. The rental place is right behind the cruise terminal at the train station, which is an easy walk. It seemed like a few other cruisers had the same idea, because we noted many rental car stickers at Peggy's Cove. Another place to consider driving is Lunenberg, a World Heritage Site, but a longer trip. Peggy's Cove is a very quaint place with a unique rocky coastline. There were quite a few people here, since the lighthouse is supposedly the most photographed in all of Canada. Read more