What Ship/Cruiseline would you recommend for Canada/New England?

[pianolady99]

What ship/cruiseline would you recommend for a cruise to Canada/New England? We are considering a cruise to Canada/New England for the fall of 2007 and would very much appreciate any input that you can give to us. We are interested in your opinions regarding the itineraries as well as the overall ambience of the cruise ship itself, including the cuisine.

 

We just returned from a trip to Bermuda this month on the NCL Crown, and although we very much enjoyed Bermuda, we are looking for a different kind of cruise experience than we had on NCL.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!:)

[redhead05]

We'll be visiting Canada/New England in October of this year. Since we'll be cruising on Crystal for the first time, I've been reading all of the posts on the Crystal board. The things that sold me are the glowing reports of almost every aspect of the cruiseline. Everything from the transfers, pre and post hotel plans, onboard activities, guest services, FOOD, tours, the ship itself---everything! Plus, repeat passengers speak so highly of the crew! There are many crew members who have worked for Crystal for many, many years. The repeat passengers attribute much of their enjoyment of their cruise experience to the genuine warmth and friendliness and professionalism of the staff.

The Crystal CC members are extremely helpful and generous with their knowledge of all of the intricacies of planning a wonderful vacation! You won't be disappointed!!

 

(Almost forgot, the "distinguished speakers" on board are said to exceptional.)!

 

We'll be on the Crystal Symphony, less than 1000 pax. The ship is elegant and the attire, overall, is more formal.

 

Good luck with your decision. We're thrilled with ours!!

[jp2001]

Crystal would be great but not everybody can afford it (I couldn't).

About NCL, please note that their older ships (Majesty, Crown, Wind) don't compare to their new ships (Dawn will sail a GREAT itinerary this fall) built with freestyle in mind (more dinning rooms/restaurants options, more lounges, etc.). If there is a cruise that I would like to enjoy with the freestyle concept, it would be one in Canada/New England rather than Carribeans but I love freestyle, if you don't like freestyle, try to choose another cruiseline.

I will rank my favorite ports (starting with the best, in my opinion)

Quebec City (overnight stay if possible - lots to do and see by foot, no excursion required - next week, reed my post on the Canada Board).

Bar Harbor (Acadia National park, via excursion or the bus)

Halifax (lots to see by foot, no excursion required)

Boston (so many things to do)

Louisbourg, NS (for the Louisbourg Fortress, kind of park with ancestral houses, people in costumes, I liked it).

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Sydney, NS (never been there but Louisbourg fortress is about 30 minutes away by car or if the Cabot Trail scenic road is available, it's the most beautiful scenic drive I've done in my life).

New York (so many things to do)

Saguenay River (scenic cruising, they sometimes stop in a village along the way).

Montreal, Qc

Saint-John, New Brunswick (Riversing Falls is NOT worth it in my opinion but other activities should be available).

Baie-Comeau (not much to do but IF they go to Daniel Johnson Electrical Station... one of the biggest in the world, it's great to visit once in a life time.)

I've never been to St-John's, NF, Cornerbrook, I can't comment but I wish I could go soon.

[agabbymama]

I booked Celebrity because the 11 day cruise going to Boston, Bar Harbor, Portland, Halifax, St.John, and Quebec was a little lower in price than HAL & Princess from Montreal to Boston for a balcony cabin for 10 days. NCL, RCI, and Carnival mostly stick to the US for 7 days, they call it Canada/New England, but Halifax is the only Canadian port. I wanted to see as much of the area as possible in the time allotted. Last year, NCL did a nice cuise with their new Jewel from Montreal, out the river and down to Ft. Lauderdale (I think), but didn't offer that for '06. You have to look at their itineraries and see which one suits what you want to do. As you can see by my signature, I'm not tied to any one line. I look at the itinerary, then price. Good luck with your shopping!:D And have fun, no matter which line you choose.

[pianolady99]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I appreciate it! Please keep them coming.:)

[pianolady99]

I appreciate all of your suggestions. Crystal sounds wonderful. However, I think that it may be a bit over our budget.

 

Regarding NCL, we certainly enjoyed the "freestyle" aspect of our most recent cruise with NCL. However, we were very disappointed with the food, and a bit disappointed with the Crown, in general.

 

Has anyone cruised with Princess to Canada/New England? If so, what were your experiences?

 

Please keep your comments/suggestions coming. I really appreciate it.:)

[judynorth]

We are booked on the Sea Princess for the Sept. 18th 10-day Canada/New England cruise. We like Princess and we also liked the itinerary so decided to stick with Princess. We checked other lines with 10-day itineraries but couldn't find a cabin and we booked in early April. As it is, we have a guarantee. The prices for the Canada/New England cruises are generally more than for other cruises of the same length. There are also fewer dates to choose from.

 

I am sure that we will be posting a review of the cruise in October when we return.

[MSUcruisers]

What ship/cruiseline would you recommend for a cruise to Canada/New England? We are considering a cruise to Canada/New England for the fall of 2007 and would very much appreciate any input that you can give to us. We are interested in your opinions regarding the itineraries as well as the overall ambience of the cruise ship itself, including the cuisine.

 

We just returned from a trip to Bermuda this month on the NCL Crown, and although we very much enjoyed Bermuda, we are looking for a different kind of cruise experience than we had on NCL.

 

Thanks in advance for your input!:)

 

I wouldn't compare the NCL Crown with the newer Norwegian ships. We loved the Star and the Spirit and will cruise on the Dawn to New England/Canada in October.

[grannynurse]

We've been on 2 NE/Canada cruises, both on HAL. Rotterdam 10 days from NY in 2002 and Maasdam 7 days from Montreal in 2005. I'm pretty sure that HAL is the only line that goes to Montreal of most of the above mentioned, but I don't know about Crystal.

 

We love the smaller ships for this itinerary as it is very port intensive and there is less walking on board. Our only tender port was Bar Harbor Maine from Maasdam and Newport and BH from the Rotterdam. We love the on-deck salmon grill and the shore excursions that HAL offers. The service is phenomenal and the atmosphere is more ocean liner than resort.

 

I have been on RCI and NCL but not to New England. I doubt if we'd go back to either now that we've been with Hal for 4 years. It's become a second home for us and we feel really comfortable with this line.

GN

[cruzzza]

I cannot compare to other lines, but the Carnival Victory to Canada had an older crowd than any other Carnival cruise I've been on. Hardly any kids. It was loads of fun and the food was very good IMO. And if you're on a budget, the prices for their 4 and 5 night sailings have been going down recently. There are some great deals out there. Even though the crowd was older, it's still a Carnival cruise at heart, so take that into consideration. Lots of fun, lighthearted, and a little risque'. It also sails from the Manhattan cruise terminal, a big plus for me. There's nothing like sailing down the river with Manhattan on your left and the Statue of Liberty on your right! We were docked by the NCL Dawn and she did look beautiful - in case you change your mind about NCL.

[Host Caroline]

I've been to Quebec City 3 times and it is one of my favorite places.. try to find an itinerary that includes a stop (preferably overnight) there... Also if you don't have time for a longer cruise or want a "roundtrip"... we did this itin on Carnival Victory in '03 and thoroughly enjoyed it.. not my fav ship by any means but it was relatively inexpensive and we did love the ports esp. Halifax and Sydney.

[skandls]

If you liked the freestyle dining you might check to see if it is an option on the Princess ships that are doing the NE-Canada cruise. And as a previous poster wrote try for an overnight in Quebec.

[Coral]

Has anyone cruised with Princess to Canada/New England? If so, what were your experiences?

 

 

I sailed last year going RT out of NYC on Princess. I like Princess - so I really don't have any complaints about the cruise/ship.

 

I did find that I preferred the smaller ports such as Newport and Bar Harbor over ports like NYC and Boston. I wasn't overly thrilled with embarking and disembarking out of NYC but would do it again if that is what was needed to cruise New England.

 

Princess ships do offer Anytime dining.

[olive2]

I've been to Quebec City 3 times and it is one of my favorite places.. try to find an itinerary that includes a stop (preferably overnight) there... Also if you don't have time for a longer cruise or want a "roundtrip"... we did this itin on Carnival Victory in '03 and thoroughly enjoyed it.. not my fav ship by any means but it was relatively inexpensive and we did love the ports esp. Halifax and Sydney.

 

 

We are looking for the most scenic excursion in Sydney on Holland America....Did you go on any of the drives (they take about 7 hrs) and do you have suggestions for this port? Thanks!

[twocats]

We are already booked on the cruise from Quebec to FLL 10-18-07. We have really enjoyed all our Princess cruises and were planning on being on the Sea Princess but the Grand Princess is taking over that route in 07. Plus this years cruise departs at the end of October. 2006 has been booked up for quite a long time. Our port extensive cruise is 15 days, with great port visits. I am glad we decided to wait until 07. I have already been studying comments from cruisers going in 06. The Grand is going in for refurbishing in November so it should still be nice in 07.

[poolwife]

Celebrity has a Canada/New England cruise on the Constellation this year that is 11 nights long and next year they are 13 nights long.

 

The "Constellation" has some of the best reviews on these boards.

[SuzMate]

We'll be visiting Canada/New England in October of this year. Since we'll be cruising on Crystal for the first time, I've been reading all of the posts on the Crystal board. The things that sold me are the glowing reports of almost every aspect of the cruise line. Everything from the transfers, pre and post hotel plans, onboard activities, guest services, FOOD, tours, the ship itself---everything! Plus, repeat passengers speak so highly of the crew!

 

redhead - I'm with you! We are on our first Crystal cruise this fall too. If I remember correctly, from your other posts, you are on the cruise just before us. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. We too chose crystal for the same items you mentioned. We have had mediocre experiences on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and trust this experience will be greatly improved. Too me it's worth saving up for.

[agabbymama]

Pianolady99,

 

There was another thread very similar to yours. Another poster found the below cruise, and it looks GREAT! I'd definitely look at it, if I were you. I know you were looking for something besides NCL, but this is a GREAT cruise.

 

NCL Dawn - Sept 2/07

11-Day Canada & New England

 

New York, New York

Boston, Massachusetts

Bar Harbor, Maine

Halifax, Nova Scotia

At sea

Quebec City, Quebec

La Baie (Saguenay River), Quebec

At sea

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

Sydney, Nova Scotia

At sea

 

NCL has freestyle dining, and I think the cost will be a lot less than HAL, Celebrity or Princess. Wish they had done this itinerary this year! Good Luck!:D

[shoreless]

Pianolady99,

 

There was another thread very similar to yours. Another poster found the below cruise, and it looks GREAT! I'd definitely look at it, if I were you. I know you were looking for something besides NCL, but this is a GREAT cruise.

 

NCL Dawn - Sept 2/07

11-Day Canada & New England

 

New York, New York

Boston, Massachusetts

Bar Harbor, Maine

Halifax, Nova Scotia

At sea

Quebec City, Quebec

La Baie (Saguenay River), Quebec

At sea

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

Sydney, Nova Scotia

At sea

 

NCL has freestyle dining, and I think the cost will be a lot less than HAL, Celebrity or Princess. Wish they had done this itinerary this year! Good Luck!:D

 

We took our first cruise this summer on the NCL Star to Alaska. We loved it, and while we were on board booked this Canada/NE on the Dawn for 2007 (the Sep 23 sailing). I can hardly wait. Actually, you can tell from my signature how much we enjoyed this new experience. :)

[GROOVERS]

We also will be on the Sea Princess, October 8- it looks like a great itenary, 10 days, stopping in all the ports and an overnight in Quebec City, we'll give you a review, when we return:D

[twocats]

Enjoy your cruise and Yes(!) please do a review especially of the ports, we are booked for Oct 07 although it will be on the Grand. I am gathering info for my cruise.

[fllady]

We also just booked the Oct.18, 2007 cruise on Grand Princess. :) twocats hope you will join our group that is just starting on the roll call.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=386463

 

We waited till we could get a bigger ship. DH likes to move around the ship.:)

[twocats]

Thanks for the information regarding the roll call, I will head over there. Carole