Difference in cruising the Caribbean vs. New England

[researchfreak90]

We have cruised the Caribbean 4 times. We have scheduled our next cruise out of Boston in 2017 on Serenade, it goes to Bar Harbor, Portland, Hailfax, and Saint John.

 

What can we expect in differences onboard wise cruising in mostly American waters?

 

I know casino hours, ship sales and other things are dependant on the waters your sailing in (international vs american) and since most ports are in very close proximity of each other and some in the USA I was curious if this gives the cruise a different feel.

 

Anyone who could give me a general idea or feel to the differences or maybe if there really isn't any in that aspect.

[champagne123]

To ME....yes, it was a very different feel. Just the clothing alone made the cruise different. Sometimes the pool deck was mostly empty because of chilly winds....etc. No Caribbean music and few activities going on, on the deck. No flair of that "tropical drink" feel. BUT......although so different, we still had a good time. I much prefer the warm weather itineraries, but at least we tried. :) There are many people here that LOVE this itinerary....and I am sure they will chime in. :)

[silentbob007]

Definitely a change from the ship gliding through warm waters to a cold fog with the horn blaring at set intervals.

[shanley]

I haven't gone but according to my dad, his cruise up the East Coast was full of "old people". Which I thought was pretty funny coming from an old guy.

[Teeara]

Since I work in Boston a stone's throw from Faneuil Hall, let me chime in.

 

Boston in September can be warm or cold depending on the weather. Earlier is warmer whereas later in the month we start to cool down. You should expect to pack to layer clothing. The further north you go can be cooler since New England is heading into autumn. Having said that, we can also be toasty, too! Maybe not as oppressively toasty as the Caribbean, but still warm enough to wear shorts. Since most kids will be heading back to school you might find less of the little ones onboard. Consider that a perk ;):D. It is also hurricane season for us here, too, so keep an eye on the tropics. Many storms work their way up the eastern seaboard towards New England so you might experience more choppy seas.

 

Regardless, come to New England and Canada and enjoy yourself! Grab a box of Bog Frogs (chocolate covered cranberries) at Faneuil Hall (consider coming to Boston for a few days prior to your cruise or stay "aftah"), book some shore excursions (Peggy's Cove out of Halifax was great), and enjoy the different vibe that a New England/Canada cruise brings.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Teeara

[reallyitsmema]

We have cruised the Caribbean 4 times. We have scheduled our next cruise out of Boston in 2017 on Serenade, it goes to Bar Harbor, Portland, Hailfax, and Saint John.

 

What can we expect in differences onboard wise cruising in mostly American waters?

 

I know casino hours, ship sales and other things are dependant on the waters your sailing in (international vs american) and since most ports are in very close proximity of each other and some in the USA I was curious if this gives the cruise a different feel.

 

Anyone who could give me a general idea or feel to the differences or maybe if there really isn't any in that aspect.

 

We have done that itinerary twice out of Boston and love it! Both times, we went the second week of October and the weather couldn't have been more different during those two weeks. The first time we went, the weather was gorgeous and we were in shorts most of the time. People were in the hot tubs leaving Boston. The next time, the weather was much cooler and rainy on two of the port days.

 

The passengers tend to be older on this itinerary (one cruise had 9 kids, other was more, but less than 100).

 

It is a different feeling cruise, but we really enjoy it and will book again when the price is right. Since the port is 20 minutes away, we can easily do a last minute cruise.

 

I would suggest you book your own excursions since they are much cheaper than cruise line excursions.

[researchfreak90]

thanks everybody. How about casino hours and shops onboard, do they open for less time? do they still do all the sales you see onboard in the Caribbean? how about menus and food offerings? do they change for the region or do they use the same menu sets?

[BillOh]

Green water vs Blue.

[reallyitsmema]

thanks everybody. How about casino hours and shops onboard, do they open for less time? do they still do all the sales you see onboard in the Caribbean? how about menus and food offerings? do they change for the region or do they use the same menu sets?

 

Same sales in the shops, shops and casino will be open the same rules as in the Caribbean. You won't be hugging the coast the whole time, you will go out to sea and they will open everything. Menus were the same, though they do bring on Maine lobster and have more lobster specials (for a fee, of course).

[voyager70]

thanks everybody. How about casino hours and shops onboard, do they open for less time? do they still do all the sales you see onboard in the Caribbean? how about menus and food offerings? do they change for the region or do they use the same menu sets?

 

As far as I recall the casino and shop hours are the same as in the Caribbean, and menus were no different as well.

[jlstwinmommy]

We have done the Canada/NE itinerary twice as well, once in September from NY and once in June from Baltimore. It is now my hubby's favorite itinerary (well, maybe 2nd to the AK cruise we took a couple years ago but Canada/NE is much closer for us). He even asked if I was sure I wanted to do the Caribbean this year. :p

 

Bar Harbor and Halifax are 2 of my favorite ports. Both ports are very walkable and it was easy for us to get a shuttle to see Acadia just by walking to town in Bar Harbor. It is different as it is cooler than the Caribbean. It did rain for our 2 days up the east coast from Baltimore. But we had a great time. The kids still swam in the pool, though not as much as on a Caribbean cruise. We were lucky enough in June to see several groups of pilot whales traveling north for the summer. Fall in NE is so pretty. We found the weather on both cruises to be very nice, but later in the season it certainly has the possibility of being cooler. It's still a great itinerary. :)

[Klstaack]

I have the 9 night Canada/New England cruise booked for October 2017 on the Anthem. We are looking forward to do something different. We are honestly a little tired of the Caribbean ports and always going to the same islands.

 

It is interesting to hear everyone's comments regarding there past experiences with this itinerary.

 

We personally feel like we will spend more time in the ports on this sailing than we normally do in the Caribbean.

[DaisyL]

We've cruised a number of times to Canada/NE and it's one of my favorite cruises. Although we were on NCL or Carnival, they would feature some local talent on board. Bars, shops, casino, etc. are all in operation.

 

Had lobster rolls right on the pier in Bar Harbor, had lunch in Portland with all the sliders open but with the fireplace burning, went whale watching, sat outside in the sun when it was in the 80s in Boston, wore raincoat touring Quebec City and Sydney and had fun in spite of it, bundled up in blankets and towels on a Duck Tour in Portland, rode a double decker bus and sat on top outside in Halifax, walked the Freedom trail in 90 F during a heat wave, ... all September cruises.

 

Be prepared for a variation in weather and layer your clothes. We live in NY but still love these cruises and it is certainly very different than the Caribbean. Also, most are from all over the country and Europe on these cruises whereas typical NY or NJ (and I assume Boston) cruises to Bermuda or Caribbean are people within driving distance to the port.

[Klstaack]

I feel as if this cruise is going to require way more planning and research in regards to ports and where to stay before the sailing. I can plan a Caribbean cruise in no time.

 

Right now I know I would like to at least come in the morning before so we can have one day and night to for sightseeing in NYC. Probably stay at a hotel near the port and just take public transportation into NYC.

[reallyitsmema]

I feel as if this cruise is going to require way more planning and research in regards to ports and where to stay before the sailing. I can plan a Caribbean cruise in no time.

 

Right now I know I would like to at least come in the morning before so we can have one day and night to for sightseeing in NYC. Probably stay at a hotel near the port and just take public transportation into NYC.

 

Just check out the port of call forum and see what people recommend. i also look at what the cruise line offers and then try to see if I can do the same thing for less money.

 

I know they offer a 2 1/2 hour tour through Acadia in Bar Harbor using Oli's Trolley. When we went, the cruise line charged almost $60 pp. I booked the time I wanted online, directly with Oli's Trolley for half what the cruise line charged. If you are doing something like that, book now, the good times sell out. I wanted the 10am which got us back downtime at lunch time. We then did lunch and shopped for the rest of the afternoon.

 

In Halifax, we took a cab from the pier, up to the Citadel, first thing. We bought tickets for the Citadel when we got there and made the first morning tour and were there for the noon cannon blast. We then walked down the hill to the boardwalk, did the brewery tour at Alexander Keith's and then shopped the Boardwalk as we walked back to the ship. Peggy's Cove is another popular destination or the Maritime Museum on the Boardwalk that has Titanic artifacts.

[txcowboy10]

Following as we're also on BOS out of Boston next September on Serenade....really looking forward to cooler cruise NOT to the same old Carribean ports :). Will start looking for tour excursions later this year.

 

Mark

[alfaeric]

Another idea for Acadia is to rent a bike- there are a bunch of bike shops in Bar Harbor- so we just walked to one, rented a bike, and rode around the big lake. Really fun.

 

St John- we went to the reversing falls twice to see it go both directions.

 

Other stops- just wandered around.

 

We enjoyed it so much that we are doing almost the same itinerary on the Anthem this fall.

 

On the Brilliance- they changed the Rita's Cantina into Rita's Crab Shack. Which was quite good. Not quite as good as the port restaurants, but still really good. I suspect they would do the same on the Serenade, but probably not the Anthem.

 

Other than that, the rest of the on board part felt similar to any cruise.

Edited June 8, 2016 by alfaeric

[cb at sea]

I think, cruising the Caribbean is more of a "relaxed" cruise feel....especially, if you've done the ports before. Cruises to Alaska, New England, Med., etc...are more about the ports. There is no way I'd cruise in cooler weather, unless I was MAJORLY interested in the ports...and I don't really give a fig about NE....been there, done that!

 

I like my vacations to be WARM, sunny and that's it! Whether it's a cruise or land vacation...I want shorts and swim suits....no jackets, no shoes and socks.....I can do that at home!

[Klstaack]

I totally get that. You live where it gets cold. I live where it never really gets cold....I will very much welcome the change of pace to the cruise and the cold weather.

[MMLEsq]

I love the NE/Canada itinerary...we did it in September in 2010 on the Explorer (RT from NJ) and we're doing it later this month on the Grandeur (RT from Baltimore). Definitely more to see and do at the ports than on most Caribbean cruises, in my opinion. Since we're not exactly "beach people," that's a plus for us.

 

I'm assuming there will be more kids on the Grandeur (we have a 12-year-old) since it's sailing in the summer. There weren't many kids when we sailed on the Explorer but I've found that to be the case most of the time that we sail during times when school is in session, no matter what the itinerary. It didn't seem to me that the average passenger on the Explorer was older than the average passenger on most Caribbean cruises -- it was actually probably a younger crowd.

 

If you've never done one, I encourage you to give the itinerary a try!

Edited June 8, 2016 by MMLEsq

[north29]

We did the Serenade snow bird cruise from Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale. It was cold in late October, even saw it snow a little in Quebec. We enjoyed every port and most of the tours WE CHOSE. We spent 4 days before the cruise in Quebec and LOVE IT.

Having said all that, it was one of our favorite cruises and would really consider doing it again if offered. Please, the Caribbean it is not, heck no it in the North. We were only able to book a outside cabin but that was OK, not much use of the balcony.

Just learning the history of Quebec and follow the basically the same history all the way to Charleston is a treat.

[Guest maddycat]

I feel as if this cruise is going to require way more planning and research in regards to ports and where to stay before the sailing. I can plan a Caribbean cruise in no time.

 

Right now I know I would like to at least come in the morning before so we can have one day and night to for sightseeing in NYC. Probably stay at a hotel near the port and just take public transportation into NYC.

 

You'll get great information on the CC East Coast Departures board, especially the Cape Liberty 411 thread. The links are below.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=415

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2163707

[alfaeric]

We did the Serenade snow bird cruise from Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale. It was cold in late October, even saw it snow a little in Quebec. We enjoyed every port and most of the tours WE CHOSE. We spent 4 days before the cruise in Quebec and LOVE IT.

Having said all that, it was one of our favorite cruises and would really consider doing it again if offered. Please, the Caribbean it is not, heck no it in the North. We were only able to book a outside cabin but that was OK, not much use of the balcony.

Just learning the history of Quebec and follow the basically the same history all the way to Charleston is a treat.

 

They are. We are booked on the Vision out of Quebec in 2017.

 

Not sure when the ship heads to Florida, or if it does. But it would be really cool to have it extend from Quebec to Florida instead of New Jersey. But I'm ok with 11 nights for now.

[cruiserfromalabama]

We have done numerous cruises to caribbean and after a while all the ports seem to begin to look alike. Don't get me wrong-I love cruising to the caribbean, but our cruise to Rome, Italy, Greece, and Turkey was amazing and one of my favorites. Another favorite and one we are planning to do again really soon, is Canada/New England. Yes, it does seem to appeal to the middle age and retired generation and you will not see many children(school is usually in session). We went the middle of September and just wore fall clothes with a weather proof jacket. Layering, because you never know what the weather is going to be due to hurricane season and such. The fog horn does sound quite frequently and we did have one day in Canada that started out foggy and the fog burned off by 10:00a.m., so did not bother sight seeing! On board activities were not very different to me and we did enjoy the sun decks without melting from the heat. Our cruise was pretty port heavy and we did not spend much time on the ship. The ports all had great waterfront areas that were very fun to explore!

[GrayMaineCruiser]

I'm a Mainer, so can at least throw in two cents around the weather. The weather in Maine is notoriously unpredictable. We have a saying in Maine, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes". And in September, as I think someone else has said, it can vary quite a bit. I remember one year we had a 90 degree day in December, so definitely be prepared with layers.

 

If you like shopping and restaurants, Portland had an abundance of shops and restaurants in the Old Port area which is all quite walkable from the pier. I imagine they must also have excursions to Freeport and LL Bean.

 

Anyway, enjoy Maine and the Maritimes!