Not Canadian, but want to know if I'll freeze doing cruise to Quebec 1st week of October

[victory2020]

Hello, what are the temps like first week of October? Visiting Sydney, Halifax, St John, Charlottetown, Saguenay & Quebec. Will I freeze? I'm from LA, haha

[ski ww]

You wouldn't freeze but it can be chilly, dress in layers, sweater, wind breaker. What's cool for me could be freezing for you. You're on the water, so wind will be cold that time of year. But the way the weather has been changing the last couple of years, you never know. Enjoy your cruise. 

[gold1953]

totally unknown and I live in Halifax. We could be wearing jackets or shorts

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, victory2020 said:

Hello, what are the temps like first week of October? Visiting Sydney, Halifax, St John, Charlottetown, Saguenay & Quebec. Will I freeze? I'm from LA, haha

 

My experience in recent years is even researching typical temperatures in any country, the actual can be warmer or colder than expected from historical data.  I won't mention the term, but this seems to be a global phenomena.  Even events like the Cherry Blossoms in Japan seem to be happening earlier than ever historically. 

 

I think the bigger question here is what is going to be too cold for you?  The graph I am going to post below may scare you but for the average Canadian, this is light/medium jacket weather.

 

 

Converting (roughly to F) in October you are looking at lows of 40F and highs of 55F - Roughly.

 

If I were travelling to this temperature and was worried about cold, I would do this:

 

1) Pack a really good windproof jacket and then some sweaters or hoodies to go under for warmth.  We typically take one or two cashmere sweaters as they are light weight and easy to pack and very warm.  Wool and even cotton sweaters are heavy to pack and increase your luggage weight.

2) Consider buying a real down jacket that scrunches up to almost nothing in your luggage.  Amazon have these for $100 bucks.  Don't get a big bulky one.  You may also want to wear a sweater under this.

3) Have scarves with you for wrapping around the neck if it is breezy.  This will eliminate the chill factor significantly.

4) Consider at Toque (hat) as we may call them.  

5) I don't believe that you would want or need gloves for this temperature. 

 

We travel during shoulder season to a lot of places when the weather is questionable and we do very similar to what I am suggesting above.  We have very lightweight options, always a windproof jacket that is also waterproof or water resistant.  We also have the really lightweight down jacket with us even when the temps are expected to be higher.

 

My brother and wife took a river cruise in Europe with historically expected temps in the mid to high 60's F and were presented with such cold weather that was not at all expected at that time and they had to buy cold weather wear at one of the ports.

[d9704011]

9 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

) I don't believe that you would want or need gloves for this temperature. 

 

Quebec City might be a little cooler than Halifax but not by much.  Me, I'd take along a light pair of gloves in case it's cool and damp.  I certainly wouldn't worry about cold-weather footwear!

[Fouremco]

I've lived in Quebec City and in Halifax, and agree with the preceding recommendations. The only thing that appears to be missing from the list of essentials is some rain gear. If you have a waterproof and windproof rain jacket, it can serve double duty, acting as an outer layer over a sweater should you run into some cooler weather. 

 

We've taken an Alaska cruise in the third week of September, and our packing list for that cruise would be ideal for your cruise.

[Florida_gal_50]

As Canadians we are used to the cold.  I remember being in LA one time when it was 60f and people were wearing gloves and shivering.  We’d be wearing shorts and no coat with those temperatures.

[cbr663]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

As Canadians we are used to the cold.  I remember being in LA one time when it was 60f and people were wearing gloves and shivering.  We’d be wearing shorts and no coat with those temperatures.

 

We were in Saint Thomas once and the tour guide told us that the temp dropped to 17C one day and they kept the kids home from school as it was too cold.

 

Then again, I was also at work in downtown Vancouver one day in a board meeting when all of a sudden the meeting came to an abrupt stop as there was wet snowing falling.  People at the meeting were wondering if they could leave early for a snow day.  It's all relative 😉

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, cbr663 said:

 

We were in Saint Thomas once and the tour guide told us that the temp dropped to 17C one day and they kept the kids home from school as it was too cold.

 

Then again, I was also at work in downtown Vancouver one day in a board meeting when all of a sudden the meeting came to an abrupt stop as there was wet snowing falling.  People at the meeting were wondering if they could leave early for a snow day.  It's all relative 😉

That’s crazy.  People should have to suffer in minus 40 like we do for at least a couple weeks per year.  I’m so happy I’ll only have to endure one more winter of working before I’m planning to retire.  I won’t miss going out in that.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That’s crazy.  People should have to suffer in minus 40 like we do for at least a couple weeks per year.  I’m so happy I’ll only have to endure one more winter of working before I’m planning to retire.  I won’t miss going out in that.

 

Minus 40 C - that's inhuman.

 

Move to the West Coast, as we complain, and have to wear long trousers, when the thermometer drops to zero.😁

[victory2020]

I knew I could count on Canadians to be a wealth of information! Thank you all! I'm just hoping for a little bit of a warm spell, haha

[gold1953]

6 hours ago, victory2020 said:

I knew I could count on Canadians to be a wealth of information! Thank you all! I'm just hoping for a little bit of a warm spell, haha

in recent years global warming has changed things here. Last year there wasn't even a hard frost until November. Leaves were still on the trees for Halloween and this is not uncommon now

[CDNPolar]

45 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

in recent years global warming has changed things here. Last year there wasn't even a hard frost until November. Leaves were still on the trees for Halloween and this is not uncommon now

 

Yes, this we find globally.  It has become - in our eyes - harder and harder to pack for any cruise which is why we have searched for and bought so many easily packable items that will double down if suddenly we are in cold or warm unexpectedly.  We may have a very limited wardrobe if we are encountering an unexpected extreme, but we are covered.

[GeorgeCharlie]

 

On 5/25/2024 at 8:16 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Minus 40 C - that's inhuman.

 

Around here it's starts being cold when the thermometers can no longer record the temperature.🤠 

Taken at our house on Feb 07, 2021.

[CDNPolar]

11 hours ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

 

 

Around here it's starts being cold when the thermometers can no longer record the temperature.🤠 

Taken at our house on Feb 07, 2021.

 

I work with South Africa, Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore, among other countries, and they always GASP at the temperatures here in the winter.  South Africa are bundled up in hats and coats and scarves when it is 17C and we are like "it is only 0C today, and sunny" and enjoying the mildness of it.  

 

17C is when we go out in t-shirts only.

 

Heck, we see shorts on the school kids at 12C.

[gmbhardy]

The weather in LA isn’t that great either, especially in the winter. We’ve cruised out of San Pedro a couple times in February and stopped there as late as April and experienced awful weather. The morning we left the hotel in San Pedro for the pier, it was 5 degrees. It snowed on the Hollywood sign the night before. The other time, we experienced torrential rain and flooding and cold temperatures. The public relations people have done a great job selling LA as a year round beach destination but take my word for it, it ain’t Miami.

[*Miss G*]

Isn’t that funny. This whole time I was thinking the OP was referring to Louisiana. The only time I picked up that they might be referring to Los Angeles was when @gmbhardy mentioned the Hollywood sign. 

[Canada_eh58]

It’s a crap shoot. Did that itinerary last year and it was warm. May be warm or cold. Layer.

[C 2 C]

On 5/25/2024 at 11:35 PM, victory2020 said:

I knew I could count on Canadians to be a wealth of information! Thank you all! I'm just hoping for a little bit of a warm spell, haha

We just returned on Volendam.  The temperatures were cool on many days and the Lido was insanely cold.  If you need warmth, go to the Hudson room.

We have visited Quebec City in October a decade ago and we were welcomed by 6" of snow.

We're back on Volendam at the end of September as well.

[CdnCruiser2024]

It’s the start of Fall in October. You won’t freeze, but it could be in the 50F. I suggest layers, just in case 

[SkiPro62]

If there’s a warm fall with a gradual change from summer to winter the leaves just turn yellow. You want an abrupt change from warm to cold to get the vibrant colours. So don’t bring any warm clothes at all to guarantee cold temperatures. 

[poffles]

As said by Canada_eh58, our weather is a crap shoot.  Even within a day it can be all over the place.  I never look at weather forecasts here and even if I happen across hearing it on the news or from someone in conversation it will go in one ear and out the other.  The only thing that might stick is a weather event that might warrant attention.

 

That said, I doubt you will find many life long Canadians ever saying they find our weather 'freezing' in October.  Layering is your friend along with a raincoat, leave the umbrella home as the wind will likely trash it.  🙂

 

Edited Wednesday at 04:55 PM by poffles