The first weekend of the summer tourism season will be without a key tourist link between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The Princess of Acadia ferry is being taken out of service for repairs, forcing some visitors to make a last-minute change of plans.

Many tourists were lined up at the ferry terminal in Saint John today, waiting for a ride to Nova Scotia.

"The ferry is very relaxing and it's an opportunity to get off the highway and get into a Nova Scotia state-of-mind," says Maryland resident Locke Harvey.

But many ferry customers were busy checking highway maps and rescheduling their travel plans today, after learning the boat needs repairs and will be taken out of service Saturday, for a minimum of five days.

It won't be running when the Davis family had planned on coming back.

"We made reservations back about three months ago, so this was a big surprise," says Bruce Davis, who is visiting the area from Maine.

Passengers say they were told the boat has problems with its propeller shaft, but the company did not confirm that.

The latest problem will be resolved with short-term repairs but the long-term future of the ferry service between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will depend on finding a new ferry. The current ferry is 40 years old.

"It is probably 25 per cent of our business that comes or goes," says Ralph Holyoke, who runs an inn in Saint John. "It's a tremendous link between here and Nova Scotia."

Innkeepers were among the first to learn of the service disruption.

"We've had cancellations; we've had re-bookings. We've had people changing their plans," says Holyoke. "I spent a couple of hours this morning with customers, just rearranging their schedules so they could get to where they had to be."

The governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have promised $6-million in subsidies to keep the service going until 2014 but the cost of replacing the boat is estimated to be at least $50-million.

Bay Ferries hopes to resume the Digby-Saint John service next Thursday, but the company is urging customers to listen for updates.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron