Crown Princess Canada New England/Colonial America

[chuhu143]

Greetings!

We are sailing on the Crown Princess, Canada, New England and Colonial America from Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale on October 14, 2011. Ports of call are: Quebec City; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Bar Harbor ME; Boston MA; Newport RI; New York, NY; Charleston SC. Any info, opinions etc on shore excursions, weather, what to wear would be fantastic.

 

Thanks!!! :D

[1025cruise]

You may wish to check out your Roll Call for that cruise.

[2pbears]

Greetings!

We are sailing on the Crown Princess, Canada, New England and Colonial America from Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale on October 14, 2011. Ports of call are: Quebec City; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Bar Harbor ME; Boston MA; Newport RI; New York, NY; Charleston SC. Any info, opinions etc on shore excursions, weather, what to wear would be fantastic.

 

Thanks!!! :D

 

We did New York to Quebec City this year during the last week of September. For the most part the weather was great for us. We wore shirt sleeves or a sweater in the beginning but by the time we got up to Nova Scotia and Quebec a light jacket was needed. A little bit of rain but nothing that kept us from sight seeing. You will be a couple of weeks later in the season so you may find the temperatures to be a little lower.

 

As far as things to do:

 

Quebec City is a charming town and you can spend hours just walking around, going into the shops, visiting museums, etc. We did the tour of the Chateau Frontenac and felt that it was well worth the price of admission as they take you into areas of the hotel that you could not go into on your own. This is a very walkable town and I would think you could do it on your own without paying for a tour.

 

Sydney - Not much to see there unless you take a tour to one of the attractions that are outside the Sydney downtown area.

 

Halifax - I highly recommend going out to Peggy's Cove. It was a beautiful ride out there and the scenery is breathtaking. The HOHO bus in town is handy but we found it to be very crowded and the schedule not too dependable.

 

Boston - Having been to Boston previously we opted to take in a Red Sox game. That won't be an option for you in October (unless of course, the Red Sox make it to the post season).

 

Newport RI - A great town to just walk around in. Lots of shops and restaurants on the waterfront.

 

Enjoy your trip. I would love to do this cruise all the way down to Florida one day.

[Dietemann]

I can't remember if it was this year or last year, but reports from the ship were that it was snowing in Quebec for the departure!

[Yumagal]

Check out this website that one of my fellow passingers (Texasjam) compiled for the 2010 sailing.

http://wideopenspacescruise2010.shutterfly.com/

[chuhu143]

Thank you all so much for your input! I have a lot of planning to do!

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

We did this two years ago and stayed on for a week in the Caribbean, we started of in the snow, its was a great cruise, the only slight down side was the age of our fellow passengers.

 

yours Shogun

[DeepWaterMariner]

We did the cruise this year. Our cruise was just a few days later than yours. It was plenty cold in Quebec City through our port call in Bar Harbor. After that the weather was pretty good the rest of the way with it feeling more like a Caribbean cruise after we got south of NYC. This was our second time on this or nearly similar itinerary and the only down side for us is the chilly start and the difficulty of getting to Quebec City.

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you all so much for your input! I have a lot of planning to do!

We're on the same cruise but not much info on the roll call yet so I also appeciate everyones input.

 

We sailed roundtrip NYC to New England & Canada in '05 but not as far as Quebec. We decided to fly into Montreal via Chicago using the same 25,000 airline miles as a US roundtrip which includes our return flight from Ft Lauderdale. We're staying 2 nights in Montreal & taking the train to Quebec for a night before embarkation. The VIA Rail train ride cost $50/pp (60 & over rate) for the 3:10 ride to Quebec. With the 1st night of the cruise overnight in Quebec it sounds like we'll have enough time to wander the town.

[Potstech]

If you get into Charleston, SC make sure to walk along the area known as the Battery. This is old town Charlestown and should be very beautiful that time of year. Also take a ride on the carriages. This is the city that first required diapers on horses. It is a very unusual site. Also remember this is where the first shots of the Civil War were fired so make sure to look aver to the Fort or take an excursion there if possible. Great place, good southern charm and atmosphere. I was married just north of there and spent several years there stationedwith the Navy. Lots to see and do. If you hear natives talking in a strange language it is probably the one that is native to that area and can be found no where else in the world. A lot like cajun but very different.

 

Be ready for any kind of weather especially rain and wind as that is the end of hurricane season. Enjoy your self.

[nctraveler54]

My review from our trip, hope it helps. Drop me an email if you any questions.

Crown Princess New England / Canada 09/17-27/10

 

BOOKING – My wife and I had been looking at cruises going to New England / Canada 09/17-27/10. One Saturday in March we received a Princess booklet and the plan all came together. It had all the ports we wanted and covered two weekends, which helped me with vacation time; she is retired. Called Princess directly and the rep had it all handled in very short order. We received our cabin assignment before the end of April. Only thing to do was find some planes tickets and get my wife a passport. Rating – 5 out of 5

 

EMBARKMENT – Our plane was late getting to New York due to a tornado the day before but the Princess bus was waiting. You could tell they had done this before once we got to the dock, it moved very smoothly despite the number of people pouring in. Only had one staffer who appeared to be a bit of a pain, not a bad average. But we were soon on board and having a late lunch. First bag showed up after only thirty minutes and second within the near hour. Rating – 4.5 out of 5

 

DINING – We had signed up for Any Time Dining as we have done in the past. We only ate in the dining room one night because we found the Horizon Court and Café Caribe easier to get in and out of; no waiting. We did book a reservation in the Da Vinci Dining Room on the first formal night and had no problems getting a table for two. I did see a number of people who did not make a reservation waiting for a table. Dining room food was good and the wait staff was great. The food in the buffet lines was also good and the staff was top notch. We find that the dining any time dining works best for us as we sometime ate at the times we felt like and did not have to fit into a schedule. We also had a few slices of pizza and I checked out the Trident Grill for hamburgers; they were great! I did have one ice cream cone, it was very good also. We did not go into the specialty restaurants the whole trip so I cannot pass along any information regarding them. I had purchased the soda sticker that I felt worked to my advantage; the wife is not a big soft drink person. We also purchased a coffee card that turned out to be a great option in our opinion. We did try some of the mochas, cappuccinos, etc but found the brewed coffee to be tops. Each morning I found myself going to the International Café along with a lot of others for a cup, just wish Princess had brewed at more locations. Rating – 4.5 out of 5

 

ENTERTAINMENT – We loved the shows, we made it 3 out of the 4 nights. Did found it hard to get a seat at the early show, I heard the late ones were much better. The shows were very well done and lasted a little over an hour each. Did not see the “seat hogs” we had heard about who go in and place clothing to reserve their place. We did not check out the hot spots, Gatsby’s Casino, Explorer’s Lounge, etc; we are not much on the nightlife any more. One night I jumped in the elevator to grab a late night snack and run into two ladies dressed for a big night at Skywalker’s. After getting a few items, I was greeted by the same ladies on the ride back down. I jokingly said, “ it must be happening up there”. They smiled, laughed and said “not really”. After one of the shows, the Cruise Director was going over options of things to do and ask the crowd what they were planning. The biggest comment appeared to be “go to bed”. Keep in mind that the average age on this cruise I would guess was 60 plus; this was one of the reasons we picked this itinerary. We also did not do the bar / lounge thing, sorry. We loved the MUTS, caught four different flicks; one in the afternoon and three at night. Thank goodness for the blankets, one night it was cold; we enjoyed the popcorn also. Rating – 4 out of 5

 

CABIN – We had a starboard balcony BA room on Caribe Deck 10 – C623 just pass mid ship. All balcony rooms to my knowledge are about the some size on all decks but the ones on Caribe have a larger balcony. We would highly requirement this deck due to the size of the half covered / half open balcony along. Our room steward Dax was great; if you need something, just call. No problem with the size of the closet, bath, bedroom, and etc but would love to have had more electrical outlets. Found out the hard way that you should never carry your room card with a magnetic money clip after two trips to the Customers Service desk. Rating – 10 out of 5!

 

INTERNET – We had purchased an Internet package before we boarded the Crown. I used my Sprint Hotspot in all the US cities before logging into the ship’s system in Canada. After reading about Internet service on board, we knew it would not be as fast as at home. Only one night did we find it very, very slow; the other times it worked like the old dial-up version. Marshall, manger of the Internet Café was very helpful with any questions. We even printed out our airplane boarding passes with no problems. Rating – 4 out of 5

 

FITNESS CENTER / POOLS / PUBLIC AREAS – I must admit I only visited the fitness center once but the wife made it up there almost everyday. It appeared to be very well equipped for most all passengers’ needs. It was also the place that the entertainment staff worked out. We did not try the Lotus Spa or The Sanctuary so we cannot help with those. We did see a few (very few) brave souls in the pools and hot tubs. The weather stayed pretty nice up to Bar Harbor then it started cooling down but this did not increase the numbers at poolside. I did use the public restrooms and rate them a perfect 5. Rating – 4.5 out of 5

 

SHIP – The Crown is great! The staff could not have been better in our opinion. We had heard a lot about over crowding due to the size but we had no problems. Only one time did we have trouble finding a seat for supper in the buffet. We meet a lot of new and fun people during our trip. All other public areas were always in proper order and clean. We also had a special visitor on this trip, the painter Wyland. He and his staff did a number of demonstrations and an art auction during the trip. Rating – 4.5 out of 5

 

SHORE EXCURSIONS – We had pre-booked four excursions through Princess with no problems. They even allow you to cancel one and/or all up by a designated time. Do not miss a trip to Peggy’s Cove, great place to take pictures. Be careful on the rocks, a number of people get hurt trying to get too far out. If you book at a tendered port, be sure to make it late. Moving that many people 50-60 at a time is a slow go. There are a number of private companies at the dock also should you want to wait until you get there. Rating – 4 out of 5

 

DISEMBARKMENT – Bags had to be in the hall before going to supper, no problem. We were scheduled to be in the Crown Grill and leave at 08:15 am, no problem. Clearing Customs was slow but no problem. Found our bags in the terminal, no problem. Boarded the bus and made it to the airport, no problem. Lines inside the airport – big problem! The Delta Airline counter did not open until 10:30 am and we had a 12:30 pm flight. That would not have been so bad but all the passengers, early and late flights, were trying to check in at the same time. I saw a number of people get pretty mad when the airline did give them a boarding pass but they would take them luggage at that time, ouch! Rating – 4 out of 5

 

PORT INFORMATION

 

New York, NY 09/17/10 – the flight to the Big Apple had some changes – 09:15 am flight left at 10:45 am due to a tornado in New York the day before. After landing at LaGuardia, we were bussed to the Brooklyn Terminal. Princess has a great system for handling the large crowds and we were on the boat eating by 02:30 pm. For our first supper, we had lobster claws and prime rib; what a way to start. That night we had some swales but that did not stop any of the shows. Did get some great pictures of The Statue of Liberty on the way out of port.

 

New London, CT 09/18/10 – this is the first time the Crown had made this city a port of call. A band was playing at the pier to greet us. We did not make any big plans or booked any shore excursions for this visit. Caught the free shuttle from the dock to the visitor’s center and just walked around. Saw some great old buildings and in general just took our time looking over the city. From a whaling town to now a port-shipping center, New London has always been a city of the sea. The town people went out of their way to welcome the passengers. Teresa and I then went back to the ship and watched “Ironman” at the MUTS. That night we had another great meal before taking in the show at the theater.

 

Boston, MA 09/19/10 – too many things to do in this city; tons of history. We grabbed a cab and went to the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned ship in the navy. From there we did the Freedom Trial, in reverse. We took the water taxi to the other side of the bay and down to the Old North Church – one if by land and two if by sea. Then on down the trail to the home of that famous rider, Paul Revere. We headed down pass The Union Oyster House, Quincy Market, Old State House, Old South Meeting House, Old City Hall, Cranary Burial Ground, Cheers and Cheers II. We spent the whole day walking, man were we glad to get back to the ship and take a little break. But this is one place we hope to return to and spend more than one day.

 

Bar Harbor, ME 09/20/10 – we sailed into the bay and were tendered to the dock; a first for us. This is a very colorful little town, set up for cruise ship visitors. Once it was summer retreat to the Campbell’s, Morgan’s, Rockefeller’s, etc before the time of the automobile; they even once banned all cars from the island. We walked around town and did a little shopping before heading to the Oli’s Trolley station. Our Acadia National Park tour took us to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the east coastline. The wind picked up and the temperature started dropping; it got cool up there. Back in town we had our first taste of a lobster roll; it was great! Then we boarded a catamaran and went out to see some lighthouses. Also saw a few homes of some famous property owners and where a number of films were made. Then back to the Crown for supper.

 

Saint John, NB 09/21/10 – made it into port along with two other cruise ships, man there was a crowd in town. We did the Big Pink Bus, with hop on, hop off stations. We saw the childhood home of Donald Sutherland, Saint John most famous celebrity and along with Reverse Falls. With a 26 feet tidal change twice a day, it is one of the only places where the river runs backwards each day. Saint John is known as the first settlement of Canada, discovered in 1604 and settled in 1762. The Great Fire of 1877 destroyed almost 2/3 of the city, covering over 200 acres. Now, its main industries are wood products, oil and gas.

 

Halifax, NS 09/22/10 – we booked a trip out to the Peggy’s Cove, the regions most famous attraction. We boarded a large bus for a one-hour drive to the lighthouse. Donna our tour guide was great; she was a native of Nova Scotia. At the village of Peggy’s Cove, we were given a lobster lesson and a brief history of the area. We then had about an hour to explore and take pictures. Back in town, we did the hop on hop off bus to see the town. We got off at the Public Gardens and walked around to see the floral arrangements. Halifax has the second largest harbor in the world. We then rode by the Citadel but did not check it out, time now to head back to the ship.

 

Sydney, NS 09/23/10 – first cold day of the trip. Temperature was in the high 50’s / low 60’s but the wind was blowing 25 to 30 mph. We had some time to kill before our tour at 01:30 pm so we headed uptown. On the dock was the largest fiddle I had ever seen; it welcomes the cruise ships to the dock. We first visited Saint George’s Church established in 1785 and then started our tour of Sydney. Teresa also stopped in for her first taste of Tim Horton coffee, Canada’s finest. We returned by the boardwalk and hopped on the shore excursion bus. The driver and guide took us to a local museum and World War I outpost camp as well as a scenic tour of the coastline. Sydney Harbor played a big part in the war ship convoys. After supper, we watched “The Bounty Hunter” on the MUTS screen wrapped up in blankets. By then it had turned down right cold!

 

Charlottetown, PE 09/24/10 – we docked at the pier and picked up our rental car to check out the island. We had a list of lighthouses we wanted to visit along with the Confederation Bridge and the House of Green Gables. Gary and Kim from California whom we had met on the cruise joined us on this adventure. Prince Edward Island is a great and beautiful place to visit. I understand why everyone said it is one port not to miss. All the “Islanders” who call it home say they would live nowhere else. Around every corner we found beautiful homes with great yards and landscaping. The only problem we found was only having a few hours to see the sights. This is another place I would love to come back to and spend some more time. After supper we again tried out the MUTS, “The A-Team” was playing.

 

At Sea 09/25/10 – after eight days and seven ports of call, this was a welcome break. It is also the only day that we did not have to do any planning and preparing. We slept in and then had a late breakfast before just doing nothing. Then after a late lunch, the hardest thing we did was watching “The Blindside” on the ship’s TV. After receiving our instructions from Princess, Teresa started packing all the dirty clothes in preparation of disembarkation. We took in the Motown Show in the Princess Theatre before heading out to the MUTS movie, “Extraordinary Measures”.

 

Quebec City, QU 09/26/10 – our final port of call. Quebec City is the last walled city in North America. Built on top of a hill, the only way to get there is to put on your hiking shoe or take the Funiculaire. That is French for a glass elevator; I am not a fan of these things. We walked around the city checking out the old churches, buildings and sites. One that stood out the most was the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac. Opened in 1893, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980. The hotel is perched atop a tall cape overlooking the Saint Lawrence River and is a great landmark to see; in the day time or at night. Our bags had to out in the hall before supper for the stewards to transported them to the terminal. We had our final supper with our new friends from CA before calling it a night.

 

Quebec City, QU 09/27/10 – time to board a Delta plane for home. The Princess transfer bus took to the airport along with about 2,000 other people trying to catch a flight. On the way we saw our first colors of fall, some of the tree leaves were starting to change. We flew into Detroit for a short layover before the last leg of the flight to RDU. Once back in NC, we were greeted with warmer weather and tons of rain; five inches had fallen the day before with more to come.

 

FINAL NOTE

 

Very little to complain about with the vacation. This is a cruise line and trip we can highly recommend to anyone who wants to see the New England / Canada coastal ports. Would love to drive back sometime and spend more than just one day seeing the local sights. I have to say that Prince Edward Island has to rate as one of the prettiest places I have ever been. It was very easy to drive and we enjoyed the small amount of time we had there. Would really love to have the time to be able to visit all the lighthouses some day. Check out some pictures and additional information at https://sites.google.com/site/nctraveler54/

 

Thanks Crown Princess, great vacation!

[chuhu143]

We're on the same cruise but not much info on the roll call yet so I also appeciate everyones input.

 

We sailed roundtrip NYC to New England & Canada in '05 but not as far as Quebec. We decided to fly into Montreal via Chicago using the same 25,000 airline miles as a US roundtrip which includes our return flight from Ft Lauderdale. We're staying 2 nights in Montreal & taking the train to Quebec for a night before embarkation. The VIA Rail train ride cost $50/pp (60 & over rate) for the 3:10 ride to Quebec. With the 1st night of the cruise overnight in Quebec it sounds like we'll have enough time to wander the town.

 

Thanks Astro! I agree the roll call isn't very active yet, probably a bit early. Since you seem to be an avid Princess fan, perhaps you may be able to shed a little light on the thread I just started regarding Panama Canal cruises. I am torn between princess/ncl/ and considering my first RCI cruise for this itinerary...

[Ronniewales]

Hi All

 

We are from the Uk and are thinking of booking this Cruise but cant work out why some suite are cheaper than Oceanview and balcony cabins which are smaller in size. There must be a logical explanation, is it to do with location on the ship and if so what is the best location to be on this ship. There will be 5 of us travelling me and the wife and our 3 teenage sons 18,16 & 16, so we will either need 2 rooms or a room that sleeps 5.

[chuhu143]

Hi All

 

We are from the Uk and are thinking of booking this Cruise but cant work out why some suite are cheaper than Oceanview and balcony cabins which are smaller in size. There must be a logical explanation, is it to do with location on the ship and if so what is the best location to be on this ship. There will be 5 of us travelling me and the wife and our 3 teenage sons 18,16 & 16, so we will either need 2 rooms or a room that sleeps 5.

 

I haven't looked at all the prices in awhile, we are doing an inside, Plaza deck mid-ship, one of the cheapest. However, generally it's Location, Location, Location as we are fond of saying on this side of the pond. It would not surprise me to find out certain balcony cabins higher up are more than some of the mini-suites on Dolphin deck. They tend to charge more the higher up you are.

 

For example, to me the worst ride is near the front of the ship, and it's farther away from a lot of things. Our mini-suite near the front on Star Princess was less than a sparse few of the higher up balconies that were mid ship.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks Astro! I agree the roll call isn't very active yet, probably a bit early. Since you seem to be an avid Princess fan, perhaps you may be able to shed a little light on the thread I just started regarding Panama Canal cruises. I am torn between princess/ncl/ and considering my first RCI cruise for this itinerary...

We sailed on the Coral Princess from LA to Ft Lauderdale 2 years ago & would highly recommend it.

 

The Coral is as large of a ship (PANAMAX) as can pass through the Canal until the wider portions open in a couple of years. The Coral & Island are very roomy at 92,000 tons & they carry the same 2,000 passengers as the smaller Sun-class ships at 77,000 tons. Those numbers are off the top of my head & could be slightly off but it's an fairly accurate depiction of the size to passenger ratio. However of the Princess ships we've sailed, the Coral & Island top the list.

 

A term used for Princess is casual elegance which during my 200 days of sailing with them is accurate for me. We've tried RCI in the past couple of years but didn't enjoy it as much as Princess. NCL was our 1st cruise in '86 but reading & getting info from my TA they would not provide the experience we desire.

 

I didn't know where your NCL thread was located & just noticed your 12/25 question so sorry for the delay in responding.

 

While I'd strongly recommend Princess, I've never had a bad cruise experience on any of our 25 cruises...just some were better than others. :D

 

There's lot of good info on this thread to help us prepare for the Crown on 10/14/11.

[chuhu143]

We sailed on the Coral Princess from LA to Ft Lauderdale 2 years ago & would highly recommend it.

 

The Coral is as large of a ship (PANAMAX) as can pass through the Canal until the wider portions open in a couple of years. The Coral & Island are very roomy at 92,000 tons & they carry the same 2,000 passengers as the smaller Sun-class ships at 77,000 tons. Those numbers are off the top of my head & could be slightly off but it's an fairly accurate depiction of the size to passenger ratio. However of the Princess ships we've sailed, the Coral & Island top the list.

 

A term used for Princess is casual elegance which during my 200 days of sailing with them is accurate for me. We've tried RCI in the past couple of years but didn't enjoy it as much as Princess. NCL was our 1st cruise in '86 but reading & getting info from my TA they would not provide the experience we desire.

 

I didn't know where your NCL thread was located & just noticed your 12/25 question so sorry for the delay in responding.

 

While I'd strongly recommend Princess, I've never had a bad cruise experience on any of our 25 cruises...just some were better than others. :D

 

There's lot of good info on this thread to help us prepare for the Crown on 10/14/11.

 

 

No worries on the delay, the holidays do that to all of us. I think Princess is great and to me have some of the if not THE best itineraries out there. I also love NCL's product, big fan of the Freestyle Cruising. I understand it's not for everyone, and they definitely haven't developed the strong list of unique itineraries that Princess has. So for me they are both tied for my favorite lines, for two very different reasons.`

[Astro Flyer]

No worries on the delay, the holidays do that to all of us. I think Princess is great and to me have some of the if not THE best itineraries out there. I also love NCL's product, big fan of the Freestyle Cruising. I understand it's not for everyone, and they definitely haven't developed the strong list of unique itineraries that Princess has. So for me they are both tied for my favorite lines, for two very different reasons.`

That's the great thing with each cruise line having their unique qualities so there's something for just about everybody. And unlike some who find so many things they "hate" about cruising, that's never been my experience.

 

Princess' itineraries have many options & is a big part of their product. I've wanted to try Celebrity sometime however haven't found an itinerary nor price that was better than with Princess.

 

To me, it's the hard working employees who make all of the difference & they say Princess' 5% turnover rate is far below the industries 30% average so they must treat their employees fairly.