As a new player who started off in the mist, I can honestly say that boat ride has very seriously made me consider either restarting to another village or quitting altogether. I would personally like to see the trip out of mist, for mist, either reduced or skipped altogether, though the trip back for everyone remain at the current duration.
With mist getting the cloak of invisibility technique both for free and at such an early level, I do not agree that the bears need changing, though more attention should be brought to the missions existance for new players.