When to go

[LindaKE]

We're looking at Canada/New England for our next cruise. I'd love to go when we could see the fall colors, but that is not an option. HAL has cruises that start in May. Would that be a bad time to cruise up there? What month would you recommend if our choices are May to early July?

 

Also, would you expect to see many children on this itinerary? (I'm hoping not.)

[Nitemare]

Less children in May (still in school), but cooler temperatures.

Warmer weather in July (if you want to hang by the pool), but lots more kids

[Joanandjoe]

We took the first Rotterdam VI New England cruise (New York round trip) May 10 to 17, 2002. We loved our "B" veranda mini-suite (although it was often too cool to use the veranda), and had a great time. It's a good thing, however, that I like cool weather. Halifax was chilly and windy, and it was cool in Martha's Vinyard as well. We hit a lot of wind when we were in the open Atlantic going from Halifax to Boston, so the sea day was less than ideal. On the other hand, the weather in Boston, Portland, and Newport was nearly perfect: high 60's, low 70s. Despite the chill, we enjoyed the public garden in Halifax: daffodils were just starting to bloom, so we had (in effect) an extra dose of early springtime.

 

Because of the dates, there were few (if any) kids on board.

[Host Caroline]

I would try for early June ... most schools in mid-Atlantic and Northeast are still in then and that's where many families come from on this itinerary.. Weather would probably be warmer than in May and gardens in Halifax etc. should be glorious by then... just a thought...

[rmmm]

Hi Linda, we went last year at the end of June on Holland America and it was lovely. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cool. I bought a sweatshirt in one of the ports and that was fine for days at sea when it was a little breezy. We had one day when it was drizzly when boarded the tender into Bar Harbor but by the time we had landed it had cleared up. I would definitely recommend this time of year. When we were in Bar Harbor the tour guide told us that in about 2 weeks hordes of tourists would begin descending on the town.

[rmmm]

I forgot to mention that there were some children on board but not so many that they took over the ship. I am a teacher and by the end of June I was ready for a break from kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.

[Soxfan05]

I live in the Boston area and it seems that because of the snowy winter the north east has had this year, most schools will be in session through the end of June (some schools have started holding classes on Saturdays and cancelling vacations to make up some of the time). So it's safe to say you have through the end of June to cruise sans kids.

 

It's too bad you can't come in the fall. With all of this precipitation, the foliage will probably be magnificent next year.