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Family Travel Forum tells you who to call when you go ashore at Nova Scotia's beautiful port of Halifax in Canada.

Our ship eases into Halifax' vast harbor, foggy with mist. The pilot ship has already come alongside to guide our cruise ship, Premier's SeaBreeze, into port. There we are greeted by bagpipers in kilts, a vivid reminder of the marvelously rich heritage of Halifax, in Canada's "New Scotland" province, and a hint at the wonderment that lay ahead.  [FTF Note: Premier Cruises to Halifax are no longer available, but family travelers may follow similar itineraries from other cruise lines' ships.  Carnival's Victory heads north; other lines include Celebrity, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Holland America.  For a complete cruise schedule, see www.portofhalifax.ca.

Halifax is delightfully foreign and Old World, preserving Canada's British ancestry just as Québec City provides a living link to Canada's French heritage. Cruising to Halifax, which in 2001 celebrated the 250th anniversary of its British founding, is like a voyage to the other side of the Atlantic. However, Canada is a very distinct country and Halifax, set off in the Maritimes, wears its rich cultural traditions like a finely crafted quilt.

Arriving by ship enables us to experience the city in its historical context as a vital port and a gateway for a million immigrants, and cruising is the most hassle-free way for a family to travel to interesting and exotic places—they simply come to you and unfold at your doorstep. Fortunately, a growing number of cruises departing America's east coast feature Halifax as a port of call.

Shore Excursion to Peggy's Cove

We are immediately whisked from the dock by tour bus to one of the most picturesque and charming fishing villages in North America. The 3 ½-hour shore excursion turns out to also be a city tour.

During the 40-minute ride, our escort, Donna Boulus from Continents Travel, is so engaging, that before we know it, we arrive at Peggy's Cove, a tiny little spit of a place which is home to just 120 people, but is visited by about 500,000 a year. We dash into the gift shop and buy a postcard, then mail it at the 1915 lighthouse, which is the only lighthouse with a working post office inside (during summer). Then we have just a few moments to climb over the inviting boulders, as a woman playing bagpipes adds to the mood.

These shores are just 700 miles from where the Titanic sank in 1912, so the first relief boats on the scene were from Halifax. Of the 300 bodies they recovered, 150 were buried in local cemeteries (people think the grave marked "J. Dawson" is Jack Dawson, the character from the movie, but it was James, a trimmer on the ship). Artifacts from the Titanic can be seen at the waterfront Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (902/424-7490), which also has a wonderful boat-playground kids can climb on.