New England/Canada

[warmwinds]

I know this year they alternated with the Bermuda cruises, but I plugged in July of next year (2011) and came up with nothing - are they NOT doing Canada next year? We loved loved loved the opportunity to spend a few nights in New york and are shattered that we can't combine that with a cruise again.

[airhose]

I don't think that Canada comes into the mix until September, on the longer cruises. New England port(s) and Bermuda may be combined earlier in the season.

[warmwinds]

Not sure I understand...this year, for most of the summer, the cruises alternated between Bermuda and Canada. One week they'd go to Bermuda, come back to New York, then head to Canada, then back to New York, then to Bermuda. Not sure what you mean by "combined".

[allentownahoy]

Next summer the Summit is doing one week Bermuda cruises all summer long, then switching to 14 day Canada/New England saiings for Sept and Oct.

[warmwinds]

Boo. We had so much fun going to New York and Bermuda we thought that would be a great trip up to Canada. I understand wanting to catch the Fall foliage but it's a nice trip all summer long. Maybe they'll go back to the 7-dayers in 2012.

[CruisingChick]

Warmwinds I agree about the NE/Canada in the summertime. I wish they were doing that again next year. Maybe they were not selling well?

 

Our very first cruise was NE/Canada in August 2000 on the Big Red Boat II. It was terrific.

[shopper19]

Our cruise this past week was totally booked- July 4-11 Canada/New England. Surprised they are not doing it next year.

[cruise crazed]

How was the weather? How is the condition of the Summit?

[lysolqn]

I don't think that Canada comes into the mix until September, on the longer cruises. New England port(s) and Bermuda may be combined earlier in the season.

 

That's the way it's always been, at least until this summer when things were changed around a bit. Previously, the Canada/New England itinerary was 14 nights and available only for a few trips in September/October.

[warmwinds]

That's too bad I didn't know that - we would have done Canada this year and Bermuda next. I just knew they hadn't been to Bermuda in a while (and neither had we) so jumped on that this year.

[shopper19]

We had wonderful weather. We left a major heat wave in NJ and were very lucky with the weather for this trip. The day in Portland was hot/humid but not nearly as bad as the NY area. That day we chose to do a cruise of the light houses which we picked up ourselves for $18.00. It was breezy and windy. Others who did a trolley tour asked for refunds as they were too hot. Bar Harbor weather was perfect! (can't complain about a little wind.) Did Acadia which we missed on the last trip. Canada was so much better in July than it was when we went later in the season, but the weather can vary. BTW- the 2nd stop in Canada there is a totally free bus that makes stops at various places- it is called FRED and you have to stand by the green sign to pick it up. The condition of the Summit was fine. The staterooms and common areas were very nice as well as the public restrooms......to be honest the most surprising thing for us (and to many others we spoke to on the ship) was the mediocre dinners in the dining room. I don't think we are that picky- and we dined with couples who didn't seem picky. We ate at the Normandie mid-week spur of the moment- they had the main dining room dinner menu posted and there wasn't a single thing on there we would have ordered.....we could have gone to to the Buffet, but we chose to celebrate our anniversary and pay the extra $ for Normandie and it exceeded our expectations. I posted on another thread that we loved the Aqua Spa cafe and had breakfast and lunch there. It was a lighter, healthier fare. It was a nice alternative. If you have any other specific questions on this sailing or ship let me know. I am still tired and recovering from the week.....not sure why.

[warmwinds]

You know, there was one night on our Bermuda cruise a couple of weeks ago that we also could not find one single thing that appealed - that was the one time I ordered from the all the time menu, got a steak that was pretty good. The rest of the nights we really liked the choices and thought everything was tasty.

[mrstravel]

Hi shopper19. I was wondering which nights were the formal nights?

[NJmomcruiser]

Hello Shopper19,

Thank you so much for the offer. A few questions for starts... What day was the brunch? Did one formal night seem more formal then the other, if so which one? Any other info on the excursion you took in Portland, did you reserve it ahead of time? If not, did you see other things offered at the dock? We are trying to decide between an $18 tour on the boat you took, the lobster boat tour at $25 or the Portland Schooner at $38. Also wondering if we need to reserve ahead. Did you take the ships Acadia tour? We have a van tour reserved there and were thinking of finishing up at the Jordon Pond House and taking the free buses back to the ship. I'm sure there is more, but this is what I can think of now. Thank you so much for your help.

Donna

[cruiseacecat]

Hi shopper19,

 

Hope you are not sorry you offered to answer questions? Do you know who the Captains Club Hostess, Cruise Director, and Hotel Director were? Thanks for being willing to answer.

 

Anne :)

[RareCruiser]

Hi, Shopper19:

 

We were on the same cruise. I've only cruised twice: ten years ago on RCCL in the Caribbean, and last week in New England/Canada. The only shore excursion I bought was the bike tour of Acadia National Park in beautiful Bar Harbor.

 

So, being a "rare cruiser", I was surprised you did not like the food in the main dining room. My wife and I dine in very nice restaurants, and we enjoyed the food in the MDR (I'm learning the abbreviations on this board quickly!). We had dinner there every night at the late seating. Mostly I had fish or whatever was the chef's suggestion, even though I rarely eat fish at home.

 

Overall, we were very pleased with the cruise, though the activities ashore in cities like Portland and St. John were extremely limited. My biggest question for you, however, is about the last day of sailing. The Summit was really rocking! Several members of my family felt queasy and had to go back to the staterooms to lie down at various points of the day. Though it was a windy day, the weather and swells didn't seem bad enough to cause that much movement. Half the water in the main swimming pool sloshed all over the deck, so they drained and closed the pool. Is that much motion normal for cruising? On the bigger RCCL ship we took ten years ago, I watched a long video on the ship's television about the stabilizers used to keep the motion to a minimum. Does anyone know if the Celebrity Summit has these stabilizers? I would hate to be on the Summit in a real storm. It was a bad way to end an otherwise good week.

 

Anyway, I don't want to end on a negative note because we really enjoyed the week. The crew was terrific, the service was great, and the entertainment was first rate. My wife and I watched almost every show of the string quartet, and I thought the comedians they brought aboard were hilarious (and clean!). We were really laughing at those shows. We had a stateroom on deck 3, so no balcony for us, but it was clean and comfortable.

[azgrandmax3]

Hi,

We are on the 08/01/10 cruise to New England/Canada. Could you tell me if we can walk off the ship and be in the towns or are the a long walking distance.

[RareCruiser]

Hello, azgrandmax3:

 

In every town you can walk right off the ship and pretty much be in town, but "town" is always up hill. In St. John, if you go to the shopping mall to your left as you leave the ship, you will find a series of internal escalators take you right to the top of the hill. It's the best way to get up into the regular town there. (I'm not talking about the shopping pavillion at the pier. Go out on the street and walk to your left.)

 

In Halifax, you will need to walk around the Westin Hotel and to your right before you get to regular streets away from the harbor area.

 

In Bar Harbor, the boat drops you at the municipal dock, and the town is right there in front of you. In Portland, everything is right in front of you (and up hill).

 

Have fun! Be sure to catch the classical string quartet in the Cova Cafe. Get there early if you want a good seat, especially in the time between the dinner seatings.

 

Oh, and if you can't find any playing cards in the "Cards" room, you can get some more at the front desk.