Staycation-Canada

[ledodeck01]

Does anyone know if a "staycation" cruise operating only in Canadian waters would be even possible given our current legislative environment? I would be interested in a Halifax-Quebec City cruise (Charlottetown, Saint John, Le baie, Saint Johns etc.) or something similar on the west coast.

 

A staycation would sure make insurance coverage and covid testing a lot simpler. I don't know if the demand would be there, but one or two cruises a month might be feasible using smaller ships. Any thoughts?

 

Can't wait to cruise again!!!!

[Fouremco]

There are two legislative issues to be considered, the first being the cruise travel advisory and the second the cruise ship ban, but there is actually no impediment for travel in Canada:

Avoid all travel on cruise ships until further notice

If an outbreak of COVID-19 were to occur on a cruise ship while you are outside of Canada:

• you could be subject to quarantine procedures onboard ship or in a foreign country
• the range of consular services available to those on cruise ships may be significantly restricted by local authorities, especially in situations of quarantine
• it is unlikely that there would be a government-organized repatriation flight to return to Canada

 

The second is the ban on cruise ships sailing in Canadian waters, but again there is no impediment for Canadian cruise lines with their smaller ships:

Ban on cruise vessels in Canadian waters

Cruise vessels in all Canadian waters and pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic water are prohibited until November 1, 2021. This means:

• adventure-seeking pleasure craft are prohibited from entering Arctic waters
• passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Labrador Coast
• cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are prohibited from operating in Canadian waters.
• smaller cruise ships certified to carry 100 or fewer people are not banned

 

If you are looking for something this year, the Fall Harvest and Colour Cruise (https://www.stlawrencecruiselines.com/cruises/fall-harvest-and-colour-cruise/) or the Canadian Connection cruises (https://www.stlawrencecruiselines.com/cruises/canadian-connection/) offered by St. Lawrence Cruiselines may still have vacancies. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[broberts]

 

[Alberta Quilter]

Not quite the itineraries the OP wanted but here are two possibilities:

 

https://www.adventurecanada.com

 

https://www.croisieresctma.ca/en/  Just carefully check the accommodation; it seems a little basic to me!  2021 has been cancelled and there is no info for 2022 yet.

 

 

[Alberta Quilter]

For another suggestion, why not try the Rocky Mountaineer?  We did it a few weeks ago and it was wonderful! 

[gnome12]

21 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

For another suggestion, why not try the Rocky Mountaineer?  We did it a few weeks ago and it was wonderful! 

After my bike and barge was cancelled, I too decided to try the Rocky Mountaineer. I'm off next week to Vancouver. This has been a bucket list item for me for quite some time now.

[Alberta Quilter]

42 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

After my bike and barge was cancelled, I too decided to try the Rocky Mountaineer. I'm off next week to Vancouver. This has been a bucket list item for me for quite some time now.

Yes, for us too.  I hope you have a wonderful time (and better weather). Which route are you doing?  We did Jasper to Vancouver via Quesnel & Whistler.  Unfortunately the rain and low cloud meant that we didn't see any mountains the day of departure!  But the scenery (and the weather) got more and more spectacular as we got closer to the coast.

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Yes, for us too.  I hope you have a wonderful time (and better weather). Which route are you doing?  We did Jasper to Vancouver via Quesnel & Whistler.  Unfortunately the rain and low cloud meant that we didn't see any mountains the day of departure!  But the scenery (and the weather) got more and more spectacular as we got closer to the coast.

I’m doing Vancouver-Kamloops-Jasper continuing on coach to Banff, Lake Louise, and on to Calgary. I hope the weather is good. 

[Alberta Quilter]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

I’m doing Vancouver-Kamloops-Jasper continuing on coach to Banff, Lake Louise, and on to Calgary. I hope the weather is good. 

I hope so, for your sake.  Just don't be too surprised if you see snow; it can happen at any time.  It snowed in Jasper on Sep 1st, the day after we left! 

 

Regardless, you'll still have a great trip.  

[loupana]

10 hours ago, gnome12 said:

After my bike and barge was cancelled, I too decided to try the Rocky Mountaineer. I'm off next week to Vancouver. This has been a bucket list item for me for quite some time now.

 

DW and I just returned from our Grand Rail Circle on Rocky Mountaineer, as @Alberta Quilter mentioned it was wonderful. We had great weather. So glad I spent my vacation $$$ in Canada.

If your interested see my pics Rocky Mountaineer Grand Rail Circle or YouTube video 

 

[K_e_short]

11 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Not quite the itineraries the OP wanted but here are two possibilities:

 

https://www.adventurecanada.com

 

https://www.croisieresctma.ca/en/  Just carefully check the accommodation; it seems a little basic to me!  2021 has been cancelled and there is no info for 2022 yet.

 

 

 

Well now my list of cruises TO DO is even longer! Thanks 😛

[Alberta Quilter]

12 hours ago, LouTheGlue said:

 

DW and I just returned from our Grand Rail Circle on Rocky Mountaineer, as @Alberta Quilter mentioned it was wonderful. We had great weather. So glad I spent my vacation $$$ in Canada.

If your interested see my pics Rocky Mountaineer Grand Rail Circle or YouTube video 

 

Wonderful video!  Thank you for sharing it!

[gnome12]

3 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

Wonderful video!  Thank you for sharing it!

I agree. I really enjoyed it. I was thinking how good the weather was just before the clouds and rain showed up. Oh well. I hope that my weather is as good, although the weather for my arrival in Vancouver and my free day there is not currently looking promising. However, it does seem to look better for Kamloops and Jasper.

[CalgaryMac]

I wish they would offer cruises from Vancouver to the East Coast with stops along the way. The Panama Canal cruise would be fantastic with a Canadian flavour. We took a cruise to Hawaii from Vancouver (return). There were many Canadians as one might expect and it had a different feel that the cruises leaving from US ports. The cruise was also memorable as Canadian Thanksgiving was during the cruise so there were Canadian flags in the atrium and a Thanksgiving Dinner in the buffet.

 

[ladysail2]

On 9/23/2021 at 9:00 PM, LouTheGlue said:

 

DW and I just returned from our Grand Rail Circle on Rocky Mountaineer, as @Alberta Quilter mentioned it was wonderful. We had great weather. So glad I spent my vacation $$$ in Canada.

If your interested see my pics Rocky Mountaineer Grand Rail Circle or YouTube video 

 

Your video is wonderful…food and scenery were delicious looking. Thank you for sharing your staycation! 

[Fouremco]

21 hours ago, CalgaryMac said:

I wish they would offer cruises from Vancouver to the East Coast with stops along the way. The Panama Canal cruise would be fantastic with a Canadian flavour. We took a cruise to Hawaii from Vancouver (return). There were many Canadians as one might expect and it had a different feel that the cruises leaving from US ports. The cruise was also memorable as Canadian Thanksgiving was during the cruise so there were Canadian flags in the atrium and a Thanksgiving Dinner in the buffet.

 

On HAL, I could get you from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale on one cruise, and from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal on another. Unfortunately, the dates in Fort Lauderdale aren't nearly close enough for a B2B, so you'd need to make it two separate cruises. I didn't check going East to West.

[lots-of-km2]

On 9/23/2021 at 9:00 PM, LouTheGlue said:

DW and I just returned from our Grand Rail Circle on Rocky Mountaineer, as @Alberta Quilter mentioned it was wonderful. We had great weather. So glad I spent my vacation $$$ in Canada.

If your interested see my pics Rocky Mountaineer Grand Rail Circle or YouTube video 

 

Your YouTube video was fantastic -- thanks for sharing your trip this way!

[kmerlin14]

On 9/22/2021 at 7:01 PM, ledodeck01 said:

Does anyone know if a "staycation" cruise operating only in Canadian waters would be even possible given our current legislative environment? I would be interested in a Halifax-Quebec City cruise (Charlottetown, Saint John, Le baie, Saint Johns etc.) or something similar on the west coast.

 

A staycation would sure make insurance coverage and covid testing a lot simpler. I don't know if the demand would be there, but one or two cruises a month might be feasible using smaller ships. Any thoughts?

 

Can't wait to cruise again!!!!

We actually just booked a Quebec city to New York cruise that spends most of its time in Canadian waters for that reason. It calls in Halifax just before the last sea day before New York. However, our travel agent says they aren't letting anyone ask for variances just yet so we probably can't get off in Halifax and take the bus home like I'd hoped. We're actually looking for another option now because my sister just sent me a save the date for her daughter's wedding and it is during the cruise so we'll be going to the wedding instead. But it does mean I had all the fun of planning the cruise without actually spending any money and I'm pretty sure we can move the deposit again once I find out about the 2023 cruises.