Canada/New England Cruise out of NYC

[Roz326]

I have wanted to do this cruise for a few years, but life always gets in the way! Thinking about this cruise for October 2016. Has anyone been on it? High points? Low points? Living in Florida now, I do miss the fall season colors. I also know there are lighthouses along the upper NE coast. Right now I haven't picked a cruise line so am looking for opinions of those who have traveled by ship.

 

Thanks much!

[buckirj1]

I know exactly what you mean about life getting in the way; I haven't been able to take a cruise for a couple of years, and I miss going to NE/Canada. I almost exclusively take this itinerary, and love it. Because many people don't like cold (or what passes as cold to them), you can have much of the outside decks to yourself much of the time. You won't see much foliage from the ship, because there isn't a lot along the coast. Some port stops have excursions to the countryside, and you might see some there, but I wouldn't count on it. Lighthouses don't interest me, so I can't help there.

 

The weather is a high point to me, and the fact that most port stops are actual cities where people actually live and work. Halifax is my favorite cruise port, such a great city. A low point, and it doesn't always happen, is that the inside of the ship can sometimes be a little crowded because many passengers don't go outside because of the weather. I've always been able to find a place to hang out alone, though.

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you're able to take this itinerary someday. I've taken this cruise on Carnival, NCL, and Royal Caribbean. Both Carnival and NCL provide great experiences, Royal Caribbean less so.

[tempus137]

I have wanted to do this cruise for a few years, but life always gets in the way! Thinking about this cruise for October 2016. Has anyone been on it? High points? Low points? Living in Florida now, I do miss the fall season colors. I also know there are lighthouses along the upper NE coast. Right now I haven't picked a cruise line so am looking for opinions of those who have traveled by ship.

 

Thanks much!

 

We did this cruise several years ago, when the ports were different. We did Halifax, Bar Harbor, Maine, Martha's Vineyard, Boston & Newport. It was a nice mix of port types, from rustic small town to large city. We enjoyed everything on it.

 

I think October may be too late for the fall colors in New England, where the color change starts in September.

[Cruzinnana47]

We sailed on the NCL Gem out of NYC just 3 yrs. ago on a 10-day Canada itinerary in the 1st part of Sept. and had a wonderful cruise. The itinerary was great - Halifax, Quebec, Cornerbrook, and Sydney (no NE ports on that one). We had fantastic weather for the most part - it did rain in Halifax, but actually hit 80 while we were in Quebec (a bit unusual).

 

We would love to take another cruise to Canada again. You may or may not see some colorful foliage, depending on when you sail--of course the colors turn earlier the farther North you travel. Around here in Southern MA it's later in Oct. We are lighthouse fanatics and enjoy seeing them along the coastline.

Edited September 4, 2015 by CRUZIN'NANA

[Mrs. H.]

One of my favorite cruises was the Canada/NE. (Alaska being #1) lol

Love the ports in our own backyards. Fell in love with Newport and Bar Harbor. Wanted to go again this month but missed out on a good price 8 months ago so opted for BA to Bermuda next month for a totally ridiculous price. :D

 

I would love to go next October to NE, but the prices right now are a bit too steep right now for my wallet. :eek: Hopefully I'll keep checking and find a great price for next year.

[Cruise_More_Often]

We have cruised this itinerary three times, once on the NCL Jewel and twice with HAL, on the Eurodam and Maasdam, and we're going back again next year on the HAL Veendam. Can you tell we've really fallen in love with the Canada/New England cruises?

 

We have never hit the peak of leaves turning, but it hasn't mattered because there is so much to do and see.

 

This year we planned our cruise in August so that we could visit the Fortress of Louisbourg (Sydney port) and to see the full cast of character players reenacting life in a French fortress in the 1750s. After Labor Day, there are a limited number of actors at the site. I highly recommend a visit there.

 

We are definitely lighthouse lovers, and this year while in Bar Harbor we took a catamaran excursion called Historic Lighthouses & Acadia National Park by Sea and got to see numerous lighthouses from the water. In Charlottetown we have twice rented a car to drive north from Charlottetown to see how many lighthouses we could see across the central part of the island. This year we drove out to the East Point Lighthouse.

 

There is a beautiful lighthouse and fishing village at Peggy's Cove (Halifax port), and Halifax itself is a fun city to walk. In Sydney you need to plan an excursion, because there is not much to do in town. Quebec City is very walkable and just gorgeous. Do not leave your cameras at home!

 

We chose each of our cruises by itineraries that included mostly Canadian ports. Last year we ended our cruise in Quebec City and then took a bus to Montreal to spend a couple nights. We liked Montreal so much that this year we chose a HAL cruise that embarked there, and we are doing the identical itinerary next year.

 

Decide what you want to do and see, and your choice of cruise line should be easy.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Cruise_More_Often

[tomk3212]

We've been on several of these NE cruises on the Spirit & Gem and they've all been good. We were on the same 10 day cruise that Cruizin'Nana cited above & agree with her 100%; it was a great experience!

 

We didn't care for Corner Brook that much; it was a little too quiet. All the rest of the stops (especially Quebec City) were great. We'd been to Halifax several times on different NE cruises.

 

On the 10 day cruise to Quebec if you went out on deck as the ship went up the St. Lawrence you DO see some foliage. Not so much on the coastal stops (Halifax & Corner Brook).

 

I'd recommend the NE cruises highly!

 

Tom

[crayola1932]

Wonderful cruise (but no fall colors). Weather is fantastic (crisp and sunny) except when it isn't (we got a corner of Hurricane Isaac). Quebec is a destination not to be missed. The Newfoundland ports are very welcoming--they don't get that many cruise ships.

[cruisexlife]

I have done a 5 night to Saint John and Halifax, as well as a 4 night to Saint John, both on Carnival, which I wrote a photo review for. I love cruising in the Canada region. Lots of nature, history and culture. Many tend to spend the time inside the ship or on their balconies the second fog or wind comes, so you can have the deck to yourself most of the time. The coast is beautiful to cruise. I want to take a longer cruise through the area sometime, I love it. I know Carnival offers short 4/5 nights, as well as 7 nights from New York, Norwegian offers 7 nights from Boston and possibly New York, Royal Caribbean offers 7-9 nights from Baltimore, Bayonne and Boston, Princess offers some from New York, etc. Such a great region to cruise, I hope you decide on a Canada cruise soon! :D

[clarkg]

We took this cruise last year on the Gem. We loved it. I have a blog post about it posted below.

 

http://clarkanddeb.blogspot.com/2014/11/new-england-part-1.html

Edited September 6, 2015 by clarkg

[Roz326]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses! I appreciate each and every one of you taking the time to let me know about your Canada/New England cruises. Definitely sounds like something I 'need' to do! :)

[jaja]

We have done the NE/Canada itinerary (some ports different ) both in fall and June. We loved them....not to miss...Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor!

[djaycruiser]

Great Itinerary but be aware that Sept/Oct. are prime hurricane season. 6 years ago we were diverted, missed Halifax. Wound up sitting in New York Harbor for over 24 hours though we docked and were allowed to go ashore in manhatten for the day as long as we came back to the ship for overnight. Meanwhile, the hurricane turned away from the coast and never affected us. Oh, well, better safe than sorry

[Mrs. H.]

We have done the NE/Canada itinerary (some ports different ) both in fall and June. We loved them....not to miss...Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor!

 

I totally agree with jaja with regards to Acadia Ntl Park! :D

[EllieinNJ]

We are leaving next weekend and I'm so excited. We booked this cruise in June, 2014 and seemed forever to get here.

[Shawnino]

On the Canadian side there are a couple things that will make a difference: the ports and the time of season.

 

Ports: If you can get something that skips Sydney NS and St. John NB, do that. You're not missing much in those ports. Industrial towns with high cancer rates. If you can get well out of town, well, OK (Cabot Trail, St Andrews by the Sea), but if you're going to just walk around the port, it's pretty grim. Halifax is fine (I live on the harbour literally 150 yd. from where cruiseships dock... wave to me!) and Quebec City is really amazing. Charlottetown is a quiet backwater that's quite fun to visit but I wouldn't want to live there (sadly I did for ten years). If you get to the Mags or Newfoundland (Corner Brook or St. John's...not to be confused with skippable St. John NB) you'll experience very different cultures, but very warm and welcoming. While Quebec City is a very historic/government city, Montreal is pretty cosmopolitan.

 

The second thing is to try to come in September, not so much October. The foliage does change earlier here but more than that the tourist season pretty much closes with the second Monday in October (Canadian Thanksgiving, a holiday). Yes they're trying to extend it and yes some stuff is open through the end of October but unless you're looking for empty parks and very cool weather, coming after Thanksgiving is half a loaf. Some key sites such as legislatures and other historic buildings are less accessible because government is back in session.

 

My Dad worked in Tourism Development and Marketing in the region his whole career. If he read that I was saying "don't go in October" or "don't go to Skidney" he'd kill me. But Canada's Atlantic provinces are by no means a 12-month-a-year destination and our cruiseship season shows it. HAL has a ship (usually Maasdam) here all summer, we get drop-ins from the QM2 once a month, but the other lines are mostly here Aug 1 -- October 20, and that's it.

[Merriem]

We were on Crystal a few years ago for this cruise, and one suggestion. Check when the ship is cruising the St Laurence because there was so much to do, and on this cruise we were cruising the river at night and missed most of the scenery. Otherwise it is a lovely trip.