So we want to cruise the East Coast

[Blackduck59]

Well in the end we have decided on the late August early September 2022 time frame and will be cruising New York to Quebec City in Caribbean Princess, we chose a port side balcony on the Caribe deck. We will extend the vacation with a few days in Montreal and Ottawa before we fly home.

[Fouremco]

On 5/20/2021 at 10:08 PM, Blackduck59 said:

Well in the end we have decided on the late August early September 2022 time frame and will be cruising New York to Quebec City in Caribbean Princess, we chose a port side balcony on the Caribe deck. We will extend the vacation with a few days in Montreal and Ottawa before we fly home.

👍

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Blackduck59 ~ I've just found this group & am happy to see a Canadian forum.

 

I was booked on that Empress of the Seas cruise you mentionned for last Oct & was really looking forward to leaving from Montreal, seeing my DD in St John's & also stopping at St Pierre-Miquelon.

I was wondering if maybe a cruiseline might offer  a cruise doing east coast US stops with a stop in St Pierre-Miquelon as its foreign port.

 

I have done a round trip from beautiful Quebec City to Boston, stopping at some nice Canadian ports, on NCL Dawn.

 

Take care & stay safe.

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

[Alberta Quilter]

On 6/1/2021 at 8:03 AM, retiring soon said:

Hi all!

 

Blackduck59 ~ I've just found this group & am happy to see a Canadian forum.

 

I was booked on that Empress of the Seas cruise you mentionned for last Oct & was really looking forward to leaving from Montreal, seeing my DD in St John's & also stopping at St Pierre-Miquelon.

I was wondering if maybe a cruiseline might offer  a cruise doing east coast US stops with a stop in St Pierre-Miquelon as its foreign port.

 

I have done a round trip from beautiful Quebec City to Boston, stopping at some nice Canadian ports, on NCL Dawn.

 

Take care & stay safe.

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

There's a HAL cruise in Aug/22 for 24 days that is round trip Boston and goes to Newfoundland, Greenland & Iceland, as well as St Pierre et Miquelon.  It's on the Nieuw Statendam.  It's getting full, though, even though it's over a year away.  I think someone on the roll call said only balconies and inside cabins were left.

 

Here's a link to the itinerary:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/N2N24A/J252.html

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by Alberta Quilter

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Alberta Quilter ~ thanks for that info. I'll check it out. Thing is I have 2 cruises booked for October that year & one goes to St Peter Port, a place I really want to see.

 

Take care & stay safe.

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

[GTJ]

On 5/12/2021 at 7:55 PM, kmerlin14 said:

I'd be interested in knowing which line does only Canada if you can remember.

 

I have also seen that itinerary, offered by Royal Caribbean International, from Montréal (or Québec?) to St-Pierre. My recollection is that it was immediately prior to the pandemic, so not that long ago. It stood out to me because there are very few Canadian voyages that do not also serve at least one port in the United States.

 

Cruises not serving the United States are typically in a few categories. (1) Small vessels, many times operating only on rivers, usually with Canadian crews and high fares. (2) "Adventure" type vessels, usually sailing the Northwest Passage, typically to and from Greenland, sometimes Iceland, and going to a few ports on the northern side of the territories (but again, some continue all the way across to Alaska). Larger vessels than in the first category, but still very expensive fares. (3) Pseudo-cruises that are arguably just glorified ferries. I have traveled on two of these: C.T.M.A. out of Montréal to les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, but on an extended cruise continuing past those islands all the way to St-Pierre; and Relais Nordik out of Rimouski to Blanc-Sablon. These tend to be reasonably priced. (4) A handful of transatlantic crossings, usually one-way. though once again they tend to be expensive. Among the lines offering these trips are P&O, Hapag-Lloyd, Hurtigruten, Seabourn, Viking, and Windstar. (5) Periodic luxury cruises, not always recurring from year-to-year. For example, later this year Ponant had scheduled a voyage on Le Champlain departing St-Pierre on September 1, 2021, destined for Toronto, with no U.S. ports. (6) Some freighters will provide transportation to and from Canadian ports, without stopping in the United States, though this might require a partial voyage on a vessel that will (eventually) stop in the United States.

 

I would keep my eye open for Royal Caribbean International resuming its cruises from Montréal or Québec to St-Pierre once this pandemic disruption concludes.

[lots-of-km2]

A few years ago, we did a Canadian Maritimes cruise to Saint John and Halifax that departed from the NY cruise port on the west side of Manhattan.  We paid a little more for an aft cabin, thinking that we'd get a better view of things on the New York departure.  It was more than a 'better view' - it was astounding. People without aft cabins of course benefited from the amazing views as well.  I'd really recommend a NY departure for that reason -- as long is it's from Manhattan and not NJ or RedHook/Brooklyn.  

 

The ship disembarked at Red Hook/Brooklyn, which was fine -- we got to see Coney Island and the Brooklyn seashore at dawn.  But I'd have been just as happy if the cruise terminated in Quebec City, because we would have gone thru the beautiful Gaspe region and ended up in a really interesting city. 

[nanwel]

I enjoyed my cruise from Boston to Montreal. Had a family commitment so took the train the same day I arrived in MTL to Toronto. Would have stayed a few days otherwise.

I did it in the fall, mid Oct - few chilly mornings, but great for seeing he fall colours and walking. Relaxing cruise. Lots to see and do,  if you want or just stroll the ports. 

I was on Holland America - but most lines follow similar interties in the fall.

Do not put a depost for 2021 - Canada is not allowing cruise ships in this year. Maybe by fall, but would not count on it. But see some lines still have cruises posted.

 

[GTJ]

On 6/10/2021 at 4:52 PM, lots-of-km2 said:

A few years ago, we did a Canadian Maritimes cruise to Saint John and Halifax that departed from the NY cruise port on the west side of Manhattan. We paid a little more for an aft cabin, thinking that we'd get a better view of things on the New York departure. It was more than a 'better view' - it was astounding. People without aft cabins of course benefited from the amazing views as well.  I'd really recommend a NY departure for that reason -- as long is it's from Manhattan and not NJ or Red Hook/Brooklyn.

 

If one arrives in New York in advance of the day of embarkation, then it might be worthwhile taking a cruise on the Staten Island ferry, especially if one has booked an inside stateroom or otherwise without the above-described view. The cruise to Staten Island and return is free of charge, and the views spectacular. The same views could be had from the public areas of a cruise vessel departing New York, though sometimes there is so much going on at the time that it might not be practicable to do so (thus, an advance cruise to Staten Island and return is ever so valuable). Living in New York City, I have had the view many times, and while it continues being spectacular, I have no substantial sense of loss in missing it (or on being more focused on the Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Staten Island shores than on the Manhattan skyline).

[Magicat]

One of our last cruises BC, we did the Adventure from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale.  We travel with a lot of American friends so we wanted to show them a great lobster lunch.  Looking into it we found that it was tres chere everywhere.  So we contacted the local Sobeys in Charlottetown and arranged a lobster cooking class in their kitchen.  We had mussels in wine, lobster, potato salad and blue tarts. The chef taught us some cooking tips and we had a blast.  All for the low cost of $22.00.  

In Halifax, there is a Loblaws just a short walk from where the ship parks and you can go their to get fresh lobster.  They will steam it for you while you wait.

[Fouremco]

19 hours ago, Magicat said:

One of our last cruises BC, we did the Adventure from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale.  We travel with a lot of American friends so we wanted to show them a great lobster lunch.  Looking into it we found that it was tres chere everywhere.  So we contacted the local Sobeys in Charlottetown and arranged a lobster cooking class in their kitchen.  We had mussels in wine, lobster, potato salad and blue tarts. The chef taught us some cooking tips and we had a blast.  All for the low cost of $22.00.  

In Halifax, there is a Loblaws just a short walk from where the ship parks and you can go their to get fresh lobster.  They will steam it for you while you wait.

Good advice! Owned by Loblaw, the Atlantic Superstore is a great spot for lobster and other seafood. This screen capture show how close it is to the pier. You can phone ahead to (902) 492-3240 with your order and pick it up later should you choose not to wait. If you are thinking of having an alfresco lunch off the ship, there's a convenient liquor store in the the building with a decent selection of wine to go with your lobster. 

 

There's a Westin Hotel where it says Thrifty Car Rental in the photo. If you leave the pier, go through the back door and exit via the front door, you'll cut your walking time in half.

 

 

 

[Noodles84]

On 6/3/2021 at 12:42 PM, Alberta Quilter said:

There's a HAL cruise in Aug/22 for 24 days that is round trip Boston and goes to Newfoundland, Greenland & Iceland, as well as St Pierre et Miquelon.  It's on the Nieuw Statendam.  It's getting full, though, even though it's over a year away.  I think someone on the roll call said only balconies and inside cabins were left.

 

Here's a link to the itinerary:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/N2N24A/J252.html

 

Sounds like what I'm looking for, but hopefully in 2023, as we are away that time in 2022. Thanks, Nicole

 

[lasekeye]

On 5/20/2021 at 8:08 PM, Blackduck59 said:

Well in the end we have decided on the late August early September 2022 time frame and will be cruising New York to Quebec City in Caribbean Princess, we chose a port side balcony on the Caribe deck. We will extend the vacation with a few days in Montreal and Ottawa before we fly home.

We are thinking of that itinerary too…plz report back with your thoughts & tips.

We will be looking at early Sep/2023.

[Blackduck59]

16 minutes ago, lasekeye said:

We are thinking of that itinerary too…plz report back with your thoughts & tips.

We will be looking at early Sep/2023.

 

We will be happy to. We like that is a one way, we plan on a couple of days in New York before the cruise and we will be doing a bit of a train trip Quebec City to Montreal and then Montreal to Ottawa we will fly home from Ottawa. This is all still a year away so "planning" hasn't really started yet, other than keeping an eye on the Princess board to try and understand what is going on with the Medallion App.