Questions.. Canada/NE Cruise

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I am looking into a Canada/New England cruise for fall of 2015. What is the best time to go? I read somewhere about places closing after Columbus Day.. Is that true? How about whale watching, is it even worth it? Anything compared to Alaska whale watching?? If its worth it, best time for that?

 

We were looking at the 7n Brilliance of the Seas from Boston. Any hotel recommendations for a pre-night in an area with sightseeing in walking distance? Sorry for all the questions, have never cruised New England!

Edited July 8, 2014 by cruiserccl1212

[138east]

When you're ready to look at hotels, come to the East Coast departures board with your exact dates, budget, number of people, etc. Boston hotels are very expensive and October is high season. October 18 & 19,2015 will be the Head of the Charles Regatta and prices will be crazy. I can give you lots of hotel names, but your question is really premature.

[pjcruise]

We are also hoping to do a Canada/New England cruise at the beginning of October in 2015 and would appreciated any thoughts from those who have done this before. We can either do a Carribbean Princess from Quebec to New York (10 days). This is a larger ship (3000 I think) and it includes Ville Saguenay, Gaspe, Charlotte Town, Sydney, Halifax, Saint John, Portland ending in New York.

The other is the Maasdam which also goes to Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax but then Bar Harbor finishing at Boston. It is only 7 days and is a smaller ship. I really wanted to go to Boston but I thought it would be lovely to sail into New York too so I am torn which way to go. We want to fly home from New York so we could always catch the train from Boston to New York.

My question is for those of you who have been here before, would you prefer to stop at Boston then train it to New York or miss Boston and sail into New York. (It also appears that the Maasdam has better reviews than the Carribbean Princess).

[mskaufman]

My choice would be to go to NY and save Boston for another trip. There is a lot to see in the Boston area but I would rather sail into NY (if it was my final destination anyway) than to disembark in Boston and take a train.

[Giantfan13]

Being from the NYC area, any sailing in or out of NY is energetic. Just sailing by the Statue of Liberty, or by the new Freedom Tower would make anyone want to do this. Boston, a great city, just doesn't compare.

that said, I would always suggest Bar Harbor over Portland 10-1. Portland is nice, but Bar Harbor is great. at least MVHO

 

Cheers

 

Len

[sept10dsm]

I am looking into a Canada/New England cruise for fall of 2015. What is the best time to go? I read somewhere about places closing after Columbus Day.. Is that true? How about whale watching, is it even worth it? Anything compared to Alaska whale watching?? If its worth it, best time for that?

 

We were looking at the 7n Brilliance of the Seas from Boston. Any hotel recommendations for a pre-night in an area with sightseeing in walking distance? Sorry for all the questions, have never cruised New England!

 

All 3 of our Canada/NE cruises were the Columbus Day week. I didn't find closings. The only thing is the free bus in Bar Harbor stops service Columbus Day. That was it. We saw more whales on our Alaska cruises. I really don't recall seeing any on the Canada/NE. We didn't take a special tour for it either cruise though. Just saw quite a few in Alaska. We did see them off Cape Cod on road trips though.

[Jolie_Cruiser]

We are also hoping to do a Canada/New England cruise at the beginning of October in 2015 and would appreciated any thoughts from those who have done this before. We can either do a Carribbean Princess from Quebec to New York (10 days). This is a larger ship (3000 I think) and it includes Ville Saguenay, Gaspe, Charlotte Town, Sydney, Halifax, Saint John, Portland ending in New York.

The other is the Maasdam which also goes to Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax but then Bar Harbor finishing at Boston. It is only 7 days and is a smaller ship. I really wanted to go to Boston but I thought it would be lovely to sail into New York too so I am torn which way to go. We want to fly home from New York so we could always catch the train from Boston to New York.

My question is for those of you who have been here before, would you prefer to stop at Boston then train it to New York or miss Boston and sail into New York. (It also appears that the Maasdam has better reviews than the Carribbean Princess).

 

I have done the HAL itinerary you are considering.

 

Nice itinerary

I liked the Maasdam

I have taken the Acela train from Boston to NY, nice ride

I prefer Boston over NYC (personal taste)

 

But ... I would still prefer the longer cruise which sails into NY. There are many things to see in Boston. The time you will spend in the train IMHO is time away from visiting Boston. As for the reviews being better on the Maasdam hopefully they will get better on the Princess ship you are considering... If not, I don't know how reserving cruises functions in Australia. Can you cancel without penalty 90 days of over before your cruise? Then you could reconsider another cruise. On the other hand, I realize that since you come from far away and with higher prices for cruises for Aussies you might not want to do that.

[ronandkarent]

We are booked on the Regal Princess for a Canada/New England Cruise. It is leaving out of New York on September 26, 2015 and is a 7-day cruise. Is it advisable to arrive a couple of days early and see the sights?

 

 

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[Nitemare]

We are booked on the Regal Princess for a Canada/New England Cruise. It is leaving out of New York on September 26, 2015 and is a 7-day cruise. Is it advisable to arrive a couple of days early and see the sights?

 

 

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Have you ever been to NYC? If not then definitely take advantage of the fact that you will already be flying in there and it will only cost you hotel/food/shopping to check out the city.

[mskaufman]

We are booked on the Regal Princess for a Canada/New England Cruise. It is leaving out of New York on September 26, 2015 and is a 7-day cruise. Is it advisable to arrive a couple of days early and see the sights?

 

 

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If you've never been to NYC, I'd say do it.

[Giantfan13]

We are booked on the Regal Princess for a Canada/New England Cruise. It is leaving out of New York on September 26, 2015 and is a 7-day cruise. Is it advisable to arrive a couple of days early and see the sights?

 

 

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Without a doubt YES. Would you fly into any world capital and not want to see the sights, see what that city has to offer?> Where ever we go, we ALWAYS fly in a few days early and see what's there. You could spend a week in NYC and not see all the things there is to see, but a few days is better than no days.

If you do decide to come in early, write to either of the Late Night TV shows broadcast in NY and ask fro free tickets for those specific days. You are far enough out that it should be no trouble. (Did I say they were free, the best bargain in NY)

 

Cheers

 

Len