New England/Canada Cruise

[Europeantraveler1]

I’d really be interested to hear from any of you who have taken the Riviera to New England and Canada!!

Which cruise (Sept or Oct) did you find had the most fall colors (knowing that it varies each year)?

Which port(s) did you discover to be the most interesting?

Did you mind leaving from New York and disembarking in Montreal rather than cruising round-trip?

I see that Riviera spends two days in Boston! Did you find that to be a bonus?

Thanks ahead of time to all who contribute!!!

[Classiccruiser777]

October would probably better for foliage. The bright colors come after a “cold snap.”

 

Boston is a great city for walking, highly recommend the Freedom Trail for American history. Also has excellent museums, shopping, food.

 

Bar Harbor is beautiful, quaint and when we were there on the Insignia the ship loaded out with live lobsters for everyone.

 

Halifax is also beautiful.

 

You can’t go wrong with that itinerary. We’ve done it and are booked for a Montreal to Miami cruise in November on Insignia.

[Europeantraveler1]

Thank you for your comments! I guess I figured that farther north into Canada might bring an earlier fall foliage “show”. I’m originally from Wisconsin and the colors there usually peak in late September/early Oct.

I’ve always wanted to visit New England and what better way than cruising on the Riveria? ;0)

[Mura]

We've done a NY to Dover on Marina which had some of these Canadian ports, but we didn't go as far as Montreal (although we did go to Quebec City).

 

But Boston is a great city that does deserve an overnight stay. When we did a land trip a few years ago with our Danish friends, we spent about four days in the area. You will NOT run out of things to see and do with an overnight visit. Many of the others ports we visited can be done in one day ...

 

Then again, there's another reason why we did this general itinerary with a land trip! You can easily see Bar Harbor on a cruise stop, but if you want to really see Acadia National Park, more time is advised. At least by me ...

 

Having said that, since we'd spent several days in the Bar Harbor vicinity the year before we did this cruise, we didn't feel the need to go into the park. But if we had NOT been there several times before, one day would NOT have been enough.

 

As you realize, predicting the right time for changing colors is impossible!

 

I think you would enjoy the itinerary. Even though you can see much more on a land trip, the cruise is not to be sneezed at.

 

Mura

[Caroldoll]

We have done this itinerary five times (that is will be in a few weeks). Of the three we did in October all at different times, one time was wonderful weather, no foliage and two others we were caught in hurricanes or remnants of one. The most significant was Sandy. We then decided to stop doing this run in October and do the one in late April/May when the ship is repositioning. No hurricanes, but cold weather.

 

If you have not been in Boston before, it does warrant overnight.

 

If you start or end in New York, you must have at least two days or three to see the City.

 

Have fun, it is a wonderful trip.

[ORV]

Hmm, when I was there in Sept the locals told us it was almost too late for the best colors.

 

We did have good color in the Bar Harbor area but not so much further north.

[LHT28]

Hmm, when I was there in Sept the locals told us it was almost too late for the best colors.

 

We did have good color in the Bar Harbor area but not so much further north.

It depends on the summer weather as to when the colours are at their peak

The best way to see them is a land trip IMO

[buggins0402]

Historical reports of fall color for eastern US can be found here:

 

https://www.foliagenetwork.com/index.php/foliage-reports/foliage-reports-northeast-us/foliage-reports-northeast-us-archive

[Sea42]

Historical reports of fall color for eastern US can be found here:

 

https://www.foliagenetwork.com/index.php/foliage-reports/foliage-reports-northeast-us/foliage-reports-northeast-us-archive

What a great resource! Thanks for sharing!