Meeting the Locals in New England and Canada

I think cruising is the most hassle-free way to travel because you don't even have to think about how you're going to get to the numerous destinations you want to see because your floating hotel will get you there and you only have to unpack once. However, once you get to that place you've spent hours reading and dreaming about, do you often feel rushed to see all the things you want to see because you'll be in port for just a few hours?

On the Cruise Holidays Client Appreciation Cruise to Canada and New England on September 12-26, I'm going to take a different approach. Although I've planned an authentic tour of Québec City while we're there, Québec At Its Finest, I haven't planned any group shore excursions for the other ports of call.

I will be participating in the Rotary International Conference in Montréal in June and while I'm there I know I will be meeting some very interesting people from Québec,the Canadian Maritime Provinces and New England who will have intimate knowledge of our ports of call. So, I'm thinking that I will cultivate some friendships at the conference and ask questions about where the locals go and what they do in such places as Bar Harbor, Portland, Halifax and Charlottetown. Then I could potentially organize an event that would be more fun than being hauled around in a motor coach. I don't know about you but I would much prefer to feel like I'm part of a place even though I'm there for only a short time rather than feeling like I'm on the outside looking in.