Any thoughts on a New England/ Canadian cruise in Oct.

[Topdog52]

I an undecided between the NCL Breakaway out of NYC. The ports are Portland, Bar Harbor, St John and Halifax. The other one is the NCL Gem out of Boston returning to Boston. The ports are Charlottetown Prince Edward Island, Sydney Cape Brenton Island, Halifax , Portland and Bar Harbor. Any thoughts as I have not read anything about  Charlottetown Prince Edward Island, Sydney Cape Brenton Island. The Breakaway cruise is about $1400 cheaper than the Gem cruise. 

[ColeThornton]

Have you checked out the Canada/New England Ports of Call forum.  Lots of great information available.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

[Topdog52]

Thank You I will do some more research on them!! I guess my real question here is if the extra $1500 worth the Gem and the extra port. 

[don't-use-real-name]

There is a lot more here than meets the eye:

 

Planned date of travel ?

 

Cabin accommodations same like for like ?

Same promotion on both cruises ?

7 day cruises ?

Extra port PEI is worth it compared to a day at SEA ?

The BREAKAWAY out of New York departure furthest point out is Halifax -

probably more port excursion time

The GEM out of Boston furthest point of travel is PEI -

may offer less port time

Both ships port call at Bar Harbor (tender port) and Halifax

Ship guest capacity a factor i.e. BREAKAWAY just under 4000 - GEM around 2400 -

crowds and covid 19 virus spacing ?

 

Consider ease of getting into and out of the departure port city ?

Boston is better (personal opinion)

Are you local to the area ? Traveling by air ? 

 

Just starters - - - - -

 

 

[HowardK]

Hello Top Dog, I went on the the Escape in  September 2018 to the ports you mentioned on the Breakaway - . I would recommend that for two reasons- I went on the Breakaway 2013/2014 and found it to be a more interesting ship than the Jewel (which seems similar to the Gem).  In my opinion, Bar Harbor and Halifax were excellent- Portland was nice but it rained- St Johns I could do without. 

Before the current situation I had been considering the Breakaway for this route again (they had a sailing without St Johns).

 

Which port are you closer to? 

 

[bonvoyagie]

We were with DURN in 2016 on a Boston to Quebec and back (14days). We enjoyed PEI - we ordered a tourist guide from the PEI chamber of commerace and it had several different self guided routes so we rented a car and DIYed it. We also did the same thing in Sydney as the best thing to see there is the Bell museum which is about an hour drive. It is also a stop on several ship's tours but we were not sure how much time they spend there and we had a Bell fan with us so we spent lots of time there. Halifax was our favorite port - our cruise visited it twice and the first time we went to Peggy's Harbor and visited a maple syrup plant, the Titanic graveyard and more. The second time we walked the massive boardwalk and visited a crystal factory. Since Bar Harbor is a tender port in is sometimes missed due to weather - we did Ollie's Trolley and enjoyed it very much. Saint Johns New Brunswick is an interesting port with the reversing rapids and all of the sea caves.

 

This was our favorite cruise.

 

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, bonvoyagie said:

Since Bar Harbor is a tender port in is sometimes missed due to weather - we did Ollie's Trolley and enjoyed it very much.

 

If you're a beer connoisseur and ever go to Bar Harbor, make sure you try a Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale - brewed with wild Maine blueberries.

 

 

BLUEBERRY ALE

 

[BirdTravels]

We would personally cruise on the bigger ship out of NYC. That being said, for some, it is “Anne of Green Gables or bust”, so you would want the PEI port call. 

[Topdog52]

17 hours ago, HowardK said:

Hello Top Dog, I went on the the Escape in  September 2018 to the ports you mentioned on the Breakaway - . I would recommend that for two reasons- I went on the Breakaway 2013/2014 and found it to be a more interesting ship than the Jewel (which seems similar to the Gem).  In my opinion, Bar Harbor and Halifax were excellent- Portland was nice but it rained- St Johns I could do without. 

Before the current situation I had been considering the Breakaway for this route again (they had a sailing without St Johns).

 

Which port are you closer to? 

 

Thank You!! I am also leaning towards the Breakaway although I am not thrilled with NYC and the way they have handled the Pandemic. Saving about $1500 hopefully will go a long way in the casino. I will take a cab in to a Hotel then take a cab to the cruise port. The Breakaway sounds like a fun ship and I will find out hopefully if it sails in in Jan. when I sail on it out of NEO.

[BIBPhotography]

Good morning!  Great info and I appreciate it!  We were scheduled with another cruise line doing the same itinerary for this Oct and it was cancelled, along with 2 other cruises.  So we have decided to do NCL Breakaway out of NYC next Oct3 of 2021.  Once again, thanks for the suggestions!

[jaja]

Just a personal opinion....love Bar Harbor. and  enjoy walking /shopping/eating in Portland ..can do without St.John. Enjoyed Price Edward Island...great seafood.   Not been on Breakaway...or any larger ship...like the  jewel class and don't need all the "bells and whistles"  of larger ships...but price difference is a factor for sure.

[HowardK]

I did the breakaway 2013-2014; its offering the closest to what I want- I am considering Oct 22 at the earliest for the Canada NE run. I actually have May 2024- the week before memorial day blocked out on my calendar- that was a great week for cruising.

 

Perhaps NYC would be better by the time there is a cruise- I don't know of course when that would be. I often go see Billy Joel at MSG so am missing the city