PEI Family Excursion NEW!

Trying to find activities that both parents and children find appealing can make Cruise excursions a challenge. We believe our PEI Family Excursion fits the needs of all.

Departing the cruise dock, we'll tour through Charlottetown (and perhaps stop at a playground at Victoria Park) on our way to New Glasgow and The Toy Factory, which was established in 1972 by a grandfather who looked a lot like Santa Claus.  Actually, it was Santa's brother, "Al", that's right, Al Claus. We bet you didn't know Santa had a brother!  The toys Al made for his grandchildren were so wonderful everyone said he should open a store, so he did.

In 1990, Al decided to retire (again!) and handed down his toy-making craft to Dan and Kathy Viau who were already making wooden toys and kid-size furniture for their own young children.  With the help of their in-house "research and development" team, and advice and guidance from veteran toy-maker Al, Dan and Kathy gradually expanded the line of Toy Factory toys to include puzzles and games, larger toys such as rocking horses and rocking airplanes, as well as unique and long-lasting toys and games imported from all over the world.

The workshop and store are housed in the second-oldest building in the village.  It was built in 1848, and was originally a carriage factory for making horse-drawn buggies and wagons.

All are welcome in the workshop at The Toy Factory. In fact, children are encouraged to "help" make a toy if the shop isn't too busy.  The store features lots of toys for play-testing, and staff who delight in playing along with the kids.

The Toy Factory also features all kinds of puzzles, amazing medieval and fairy tale castles, awesome pirate ships and forts, doll houses & furniture, and Prince Edward Island's largest selection of teddy bears and stuffed animals. The Toy Factory motto is simple and down to earth, just like their toys; it's okay if you don't buy anything, as long as you have fun while you're with us!

Next we'll visit the Stanley Bridge Marine Aquarium.  Here we'll find 'Touch Tanks' full of fish, hermit crabs, starfish and more.  The museum features Manor of Birds, North America's finest collection of over 700 mounted birds, as well as a display of mounted fur-bearing animals, butterflies and native fish.  The aquarium also offers an interpretive display about shellfish and Irish moss, which is an important industry in PEI.  There is also a giftshop on site. 

Our next stop will be to view the guard llamas, guarding their flocks of big, fat sheep before we're off to visit The Great Canadian Soap Company.

Gentle rolling hills meet the sea at The Great Canadian Soap Company. Their specialty is goat milk soaps for all skin types which they handcraft with natural oils and butters using their own farm fresh goat's milk.  Here is their story:

Our love of all things natural goes back a long way starting with generations of family raised on farms.  Following tradition and inclination, we acquired our herd of dairy goats in 2000, and with more milk than our family could drink we started experimenting with things such as soap-making.  Our bed and breakfast was running at the time and we would do old-time activities with the guests, such as milking the goats, playing old-fashioned games, and...making soap.  After one such activity, we were delighted to have the guests ask to purchase the soap we had made.  We were even more delighted the next year when returning guests asked to buy the soap again. So, we began making a supply to sell based on customer requests and feedback. People found a positive effect from our soaps on skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema and psoriasis. We loved the  idea that we could develop products that would help people to live comfortably in their own skin, and began in earnest researching natural ingredients, aromatherapy, and herbology.  We became an official soap maker and an accredited member of the Soap Maker's Guild.

We have built a wonderful team of employees that all share the same vision, and we welcome volunteers from around the world to come stay and help us on the farm with the goats, gardens and the shop. At our retail store in Brackley Beach!  Browse through our products, watch a demonstration on how our soap is made and visit the goats!

After the Soap Factory, we'll make our way back to the cruise ship dock.

This excursion will take approximately 5 to 6 hours.