Sea Princess Canada/New England September 18-28

[judynorth]

FIRST INSTALLMENT

 

We just returned from our Canada/New England cruise on the Sea Princess, September 18-28. The cruise began in Quebec City and ended in New York City. We had a great time and good weather most of the time. The leaves were just beginning to change with the most color in Quebec and Saguenay. There was little color on the rest of the itinerary.

 

We flew Princess air and were generally pleased with the flights they assigned us. We flew from Norfolk to Newark to Quebec City, arriving at about 10:30 AM. We were on the ship by about noon. Immigration at the airport was quick and efficient as was boarding the ship. We found our cabin and then grabbed a bite to eat in the Horizon Court. Then we were off the ship again to wander around town. It was surprisingly cold, windy, and rainy. We were glad that we had opted to wear our Gore-tex on the plane but wished that we had our polar fleece underneath.

 

QUEBEC CITY day 1- The lower part of old Quebec City in just off the ship so it was easy to walk around and see the sights. It is quaint with many shops in the old buildings along the narrow streets. Someone from the tourist bureau was at the dock to provide maps and information which was very helpful. In general, the locals were helpful and courteous on the entire trip.

 

When we couldn’t stand the cold any longer we returned to the ship. Our luggage had arrived and so we unpacked, rested a little, and wandered around the ship. We had a balcony cabin (C409) in a good location - Caribe deck, midships across from the laundry room (no, it wasn’t noisy at all). The cabin was smaller than on previous cruises (Diamond and Coral) and the bathroom was tiny. However, the shower was much larger and was no problem at all. Our cabin steward (Homer) was excellent. He kept the cabin clean and well-stocked and we never had to ask for anything. He greeted us by name anytime that he saw us. The new bedding is very nice but if you want a tip sheet you will have to ask for one. There is just a duvet. We kept the room cool so the duvet felt good at night.

 

DINING - We elected traditional dining late seating, which worked out well. Late seating was at 8:15 each evening. We were at a table for 8 but we were the only ones there the first night. The second night we were joined by an English couple and her mother. They were rather stiff and almost unfriendly but they did not come again (they switched to PC dining). I guess they just didn’t like this couple from the American south. On night 3 we elected to move to another table but then were asked if we wanted to move back when a family of four were moved to our original table (102). Both of our waiters (Braam and Constantine) assured us that they had begged Bruno, our Maitre d’, to move us back to their table. From then on we had a great time at dinner. The food ranged from good to excellent and the service from very good to excellent. Braam even managed to accommodate several special requests from me.

 

We ate most breakfasts in the dining room and enjoyed that much more than the Horizon Court. It was quick and much quieter and less rushed. There was no problem making our early calls for tours. We had several lunches off the ship because it was more convenient then returning to the ship. We never had lunch in the Horizon Court but grabbed a snack there most days so that we could make it to our dinner time of 8:15. Ice cream is served there from 3:30 to 4:30 each afternoon. That meant that we had 4 meals a day instead of 3 but I didn’t gain any weight! I guess I walked it off. One nice feature on the Sea Princess is the Café Corniche. It is a free alternative eating venue with a limited but delicious Italian menu. The Tiramisu is to die for! Don’t miss it if you sail the Sea.

 

Later that evening we met a couple from our CC group with whom we had made arrangements for several tours together. They we on a Princess charter flight from England and were very late arriving. About 700-800 people on the charters didn't arrive on the ship until 8 PM or later.

 

QUEBEC day 2 - On Tuesday we began the day with a Princess tour (the Countryside of Quebec). After a quick breakfast in Horizon Court we gathered in the Princess Theater at 7:45 AM. We stood in line to get a sticker with our tour number then sat for quite a while waiting for our tour to start. It got better as the week went on but it was still a case of hurry up and wait. The tour was enjoyable and we had a good and entertaining guide. We rode through the city and out into the countryside. Our first stop was at Lake Beaufort, mainly for a rest stop I think. Then it was on to Montmorency Falls. Our tour of the falls began with tea and pastry in the Inn. The falls were beautiful but, although they are often compared with Niagara Falls, they aren’t as impressive. We rode the cable car down to the bottom of the falls to meet our bus. We continued our trip to the Isle d’ Orleans where we visited a sugar shack. We learned how the sap from maple trees is tapped and turned into various maple products and we got a sampling of maple taffy (delicious!). We returned to the ship in time for a late lunch.

 

By then it was raining and chilly but not windy. We went out again to see more of the city on foot. It began to rain pretty hard then and I opted to return to the ship while my husband continued to the upper city.

 

Sailaway was at about 5 PM and since it was still raining, I didn’t stay outside to watch. I’d like to see the city again when the weather is better. It is lovely with many interesting things to see and do.

 

We had our M&M with our small CC group just before sailaway.

 

More later.

[Coral]

Judy - I can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip. I am looking at this or the Quebec to FLL longer cruise next fall.

[n2chocola8]

Judy..keep it coming as we are going Oct. 8 on the same ship.

[SLWD]

Judy, keep the story going as am leaving for the land cruise on the 3rd, then I will also be on the October 8th cruise! Mary

[judynorth]

SAGUENAY day 3 - Since this port is a first for Princess, we decided to take a ship’s tour here. We booked this itinerary for the scenic cruising in the Saguenay River and found out when we booked that we would have a port call instead. That was a bit of a disappointment because we would miss the scenic cruising. Therefore we opted for the boat trip down the river to Cape Trinity. We took the earliest time, which I recommend. It is a combination boat trip and motor coach ride. The 1st group got a longer boat ride and a stop in St. Rose de Nord. We had nice weather, a mix of clouds and sun but no rain. There was a good bit of color along the river. The boat ride was very scenic with many photo ops. I will post pictures later but looking at them briefly, there are some good shots. It reminded me a little of Tracy Arm Fjord in Alaska without the snow. There were steep cliffs and many waterfalls with a few villages along the way. We docked at Sagueney Nature Park and had a short, scenic hike to the visitor’s center where the motor coach awaited us for our ride back to the ship. The coach was comfortable and we enjoyed the ride through the few towns along the way back to Le Baie. This was a tender port and the facilities were brand new and quite nice. However, we had quite a wait (30 min. or more) for the tenders back to the ship. This was Princess’ fault and not that of the port authorities. I was on deck for the sailaway and it was beautiful. We had a good bit of daylight left so we could see some of the sights again on our way out.

 

SEA DAY day 4 - Our only sea day was cold, windy, and rainy. Since there wasn’t really anything to see, it really didn’t matter unless you wanted to spend the time sitting on deck in the sun. We had a leisurely day. I did some laundry (free on the Sea Princess) and we found someone to make up a table of 4 for bridge. This was also the first formal night.

 

SYDNEY NS day 5 - Although it was not planned, we wound up tendering here also. The tendering went smoothly each way with no waits at all. We had perfect weather - a little chilly but no rain at all and very few clouds. We decided to rent a car (from Budget $48 for an Impala) and drive to Fortress Lewisburg. They picked us up at the ship and drove back to the office to do the paperwork. They drove us back to the ship after our excursion. The couple that we had met on CC joined us for the day. Fortress Lewisburg is well worth the trip. It is an excellent restoration/reconstruction and very well managed. I highly recommend it. The drive from Sydney is easy but not terribly scenic - mainly a lot of green trees (evergreens) so there was little color. We took the direct route there and the coastal route back, which took a good bit longer. I think if we did it again we would take the direct route back so that we would have a little more time in town upon returning.

 

HALIFAX NS day 6 - The city was a circus they day that we were there. Four ships in port, a Rolling Stones concert which drew 60,000 people, a football game, a hockey playoff, and a film festival. Streets were blocked off and traffic diverted everywhere. We knew this ahead of time so decided to take the ship’s tour to Peggy’s Cove. Again we had breakfast in the dining room and met in the Princess Theater to wait for our tour to be called. (BTW, this wasn’t all bad since it gave us an opportunity to meet and talk to different people each time.) We had a nice day, a little overcast but no rain or wind. Our tour guide was interesting and kept us entertained on the hour drive to the cove. There were many buses there but, except for the gift shop, it didn’t seem crowded at all. Peggy’s Cove is a quaint fishing village which hasn’t been spoiled by all the tourism. I was able to take many pictures of the village itself without getting any people in the pictures. The light house is lovely on a huge outcropping of rock with plenty of room to wander around. The area was large enough to accommodate the hundreds of people there. The sea was rough a splashed against the rocks with force. I highly recommend this tour. It was much better than I expected it to be.

 

We returned to the ship and had lunch in the dining room. Then we left the ship again and walked the boardwalk on the waterfront. I had read about beavertails on these boards and wanted to try one. There is a place on the boardwalk that makes them. They are fried dough in the shape of a beaver’s tail, made to order, and they are wonderful. They come in many flavors from cinnamon sugar to pecan pie and are big enough to share. Buy one. You will love it. We wandered around for a couple of hours and then headed back to the ship because it started to rain.

 

In case you might be wondering, we didn’t attend but one show and that was the first night. We left before it was over because we were exhausted from being up since 4 AM. We tried the second night be it was crowded. We found other things to entertain ourselves after dinner. We usually didn’t finish dinner until 10 PM so we wandered into Crooner’s and got hooked on the trivia games. We joined the same couple each night and had a great time.

 

Another thing that might interest those of you going on this trip. PC dining didn’t work well at all, particularly the first few nights. There were long lines waiting for tables even though the dining room was not full. (All of this is from friends who had PC dining.) I would recommend that you make reservations each night if you want to get in to PC without a wait. There was a separate line for those with reservations and I never saw a wait there.

[JOHN33406]

We were on SEA last November for the Quebec to Fort Lauderdale repo cruise, so your review brings back pleasant memories. The Saquenay stop was not on our itinerary and we missed Sydney, NS because of Hurricane Wilma.

We are booked on SEA again Nov 11 for her first 14 day Caribbean cruise and guess what?????? We are in C409!! I was wondering about the laundry across the way, but looks like a non problem.

Also, thanks for the tips on PC dining. We are trying it for the first time on this cruise.

[beckntom]

Thank you so much! We are doing the Quebec City to FLL next fall so have been eager to see reports on this year's sailings. We don't leave until October 18, and judging by the weather you had, I think we better plan on warmer clothes and more layers!

 

Theresa - Glad to hear you're still considering the cruise for next year. Hope you decide to join us!

 

Becky

[n2chocola8]

Judy, were you able to see the statue of Mary while on your shore excursion or the Sea Princess while in Saguenay?

[judynorth]

We are in C409!! I was wondering about the laundry across the way, but looks like a non problem.

 

John, I loved the location of our cabin. It was convenient to everything because the elevators and stairs were just around the corner from us. We never had any problems with noise from the halls or the laundry room. As a matter of fact, being so close to the laundry room meant that I could check until a machine was available and then go back to the cabin and wait for it to be done without having to sit in the hot laundry room and wait.

 

N2chocola8, we were able to see the statue quite well from the small boat on the excursion and also from the ship on our way out of the river. I will be posting pictures in a few days and you will see. We have some real closeups of the statue.

 

Beckntom, we had a wide range of weather - rain, sun, warm, cold, windy, calm - you name it. Do pack layers and be sure to have something for your ears. The wind can be really cold. Also, I recommend a good rain jacket. Gore-tex is great because it breathes and it stops the wind as well as the rain.

[sailinsal]

Hi, this is Sailinsal and we are hoping to soon book the Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale next year on the Grand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really looks like a great cruise and weather is like Alaska sounds like; except for warmer weather as we head to Lauderdale. Thanks for the terrific information.

[twocats]

We are also booked for next years repo cruise so we have a few more ports but I am gathering all the tidbits I can. My question: is it possible to book more than one tour in a single port? I also wonder just when you find out the actual time scheduled for each tour. I have read the tour descriptions but wonder how far ahead of the cruise do they post times.

I love your description of your cruise, thanks and keep the info coming, it's great. Carole

[iduck]

Thank you, thank you! It was wonderful hearing all the positive things about the cruise. We are also on the October 8th sailing and are really getting excited. We watched you everyday on the Bridge cam and the night time pictures of Quebec City were beautiful! Thank you so much!:D

[judynorth]

My question: is it possible to book more than one tour in a single port? I also wonder just when you find out the actual time scheduled for each tour.

 

Carole, I am sure that it is possible time-wise to book more than one tour per port but I'm not sure that I would do it. The cruise is so port intensive that you might wear yourself out early on and then not have the energy for the later ports. Quebec City, Halifax, Bar Harbor, Boston, and Newport are all ports where you should allow some free time for walking around and seeing the city. If you spend all your time on tours you will miss a lot. You also have to consider the weather. The tender ports can really get messed up if the weather is bad, foggy or too windy. The actual times for the excursions will be available when prebooking opens about 120 days before the cruise.

[judynorth]

SAINT JOHN NB day 7 - All night we sailed in dense fog. The fog horn on the ship blew every few minutes all night. It was also a little rough for the 3rd day. It wasn’t bad, just enough to make you feel as if you had one too many. The movement rocked us to sleep every night. I didn’t hear any complaints of sea sickness. When we pulled into port you could hardly see the shore and we were docked. The fog lifted a little as the day went on but not much. At least you could see the buildings across the street by noon. We had planned to rent a car and drive to Irving Nature Park but decided against it since the fog was so bad. It was misting most of the time with some occasional rain. We decided to take the city bus to Reversing Falls and then take the bus back to the City Market. The falls were a big disappointment - just some rapids in the river. Since I didn’t really know which way they should be going to reach the sea, I couldn’t tell that the river was running from the sea instead of to the sea. You would have to stay all day to see the change of the tide. On the bus ride back to town I sat with a woman who told me a lot about Saint John. She told us which stop to use to get to the market and even walked us there since it was on her way. Everyone was very friendly and obviously proud of their city. The City Market was interesting with a hodge-podge of stuff for sale. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday, half of the places were closed. It is closed on Sunday unless a ship is in port. We walked back to the ship, stopping at the craft tent set up on the pier. There were some nice crafts for sale and we found locally made Christmas ornaments to take home to friends and family. We returned to the ship for a late lunch and to get out of the nasty weather. I am sure that we would have enjoyed Saint John much more if the weather had been better.

BAR HARBOR day 8 - Bar Harbor greeted us with a glorious day. It was clear and sunny and warmed up quite nicely during the day. This was also immigration day. We received the form the night before and were called by deck to have our car stamped. It went smoothly and we were off the ship by about 9 AM. This was a tender port and the tendering went smoothly both ways. We had booked a private tour with our CC friends. We booked with At Your Service Cab and were very pleased. The tour was $60 per hour for up to 6 people in a minivan. We booked for 3 hours with the option to extend. We wound up staying 3 ½ hours. There were so many beautiful things to see and so many places to stop that the time flew by. Our guide Mary was very informative and filled us in on the history of Bar Harbor and Acadia NP. My only criticism of the tour is that you couldn’t open the windows of the minivan to take pictures. It was much better than the ship’s tour in the motorcoach. We saw them rushing from place to place with just a few short stops along the way. We had a general tour of the city and then on to Acadia. We made frequent stops to take pictures and enjoy the views. Acadia is beautiful! I highly recommend the private tour over the ship’s tour to Acadia.

 

We returned to town at about 1 PM and headed to lunch. We ate at the West St. Café. I got fish and chips and my DH got lobster. All of it was good. The blueberry pie for dessert was great. We walked around town for a while and then headed back to the ship.

[WCAB]

Wow, cruise sounds wonderful. Will be on the Princess on 10/28/06. I think this is the last cruise up into Canada. I stopped reading in the middle to go and locate my rain coat and put it into my suitcase. Just in case.

 

Carol

[Pam in CA]

Wow, cruise sounds wonderful. Will be on the Princess on 10/28/06. I think this is the last cruise up into Canada. I stopped reading in the middle to go and locate my rain coat and put it into my suitcase. Just in case.

Don't forget your fleece! It's pretty darned cold around Boston right now (50s), and rainy. As an FYI, the northern areas of New England are at or past "peak" with many leaves already fallen. On your cruise, you'll probably see more color along the coast and further south.

 

Here's a link to where you'll see a map of when and where the Fall foliage will be: http://www.weather.com/maps/geography/northeastus/northeastusnormalfallpeaks_large.html

[Coral]

Judy - in Saint John, NB - we actually timed it correctly so we saw the reversing tide (I guess we just lucked out - as we went there after a tour) and it was disappointing to me also. I will not go out of my way to see this in the future.

[twocats]

Interesting information for my future cruise, but this reminds me of when in Ensenada we drove forever on crowded, unsafe roads, on a horrible hot bus, to see the "La Bufadora". What a disappointment, if you have seen waves crashing against rocks anywhere you needn't bother seeing the "Blow Hole". So the phenomenon of the Reversing Falls might be the same. Thanks for the opinion.

[Clutterlady]

How were the formal nights on this cruise? Were most people dressed formal (tux and long gowns)?

[smoothdancer]

Interesting Pam...

We are in Ct, about an hour from Mass and the leaves now are just starting to turn. Just like last year, the heavy rains will delay the turning.

 

Last week in October last year we spent a day in Newport, and it was in full color..... See a picture I posted on our Newport trip report.... Absolutley full color in October last year.

 

http://www.justcruisin-sv.com/RhodeIsland/newport%20page%20one.htm

[judynorth]

How were the formal nights on this cruise? Were most people dressed formal (tux and long gowns)?

 

I think, in general, people dressed up more than on our Alaska cruises. That is what I expected though. On both formal nights there was a mix of suits and tux for men and dressy dresses, pants outfits or formal gowns for the ladies. I didn't see many long gowns though. There were some people in casual attire elsewhere on the ship but not in the dining rooms on formal nights. Many of the women dressed up every night for dinner. They wore things similar to what I wore for formal night. That surprised me a little. However, I didn't feel out of place in my more casual clothes. There were no jeans in the dining room at all so far as I could see.

[judynorth]

(First, a correction. In Bar Harbor we booked the tour through At Your Service Taxi.)

 

BOSTON day 9 - The weather in Boston was perfect. We had planned to take the Beantown Trolley but found CityView first. There is a booth in the main terminal at South Station (the local bus and subway system). We caught the Silverline 2 (SL2) bus to South Station ($1.25pp). There is a stop at the end of the pier (turn right out of the cruise terminal to catch the bus). Then we went across the street to the main terminal at South Station and bought our tickets (senior and AAA discounts and it cost $27pp). As far as we could tell, all the trolleys are about the same. When we were done, we rode the trolley back to South Station and caught the SL2 back to the Black Falcon pier. Everyone was very helpful in Boston. The ship's shuttle to Boston was $12 round trip so the bus was much cheaper and quite easy to do. It was also an interesting experience.

 

Be aware that some things don't open until 10 or later. We toured the Constitution (a stop on the trolley tour) but it wasn't open when we went there the first time. It opens at 10:30. The harbor cruise that is included in the trolley fare doesn't start until 10:30 either. We weren't able to make that. By the time that we did the other things it was getting too late to do it. If you start the tour early, you might want to walk to Quincy Market from the 1st stop (short walk) and then come back to stop one and take the first harbor cruise at 10:30. After the cruise go to the Constitution (stop 4) and tour that. Then do the rest of the tour getting on and off as you want. Be sure to see the public garden at stop 6. It is a quiet and restful spot where you can recharge your batteries after a busy day. You can then walk through Boston Common and catch the trolley at stop 7. Go to stop 8 at South Station and catch the bus back to the ship. They run every 10 minutes or so. A good place for lunch is Quincy Market.

 

We enjoyed Boston and wished that we had an overnight there. With so much to do, it was hard to make choices. There was a lot of construction going on all around downtown. Drivers there don’t seem to take lanes very seriously and buses and trolleys will challenge anyone for space. I would not recommend renting a car in Boston. It is definitely a walking city. I would walk the freedom trail rather than do the trolley if I thought that I could make it all the way around (3 1/2 miles).

 

We were back on the ship in time for a snack, a short rest, and a beautiful sailaway.

 

This was the second formal night of the cruise. Evenings were more formal on this cruise than on our Alaska cruises. Many of the women dressed up for dinner every night, not just on formal nights. I didn’t feel out of place in my more casual attire though. Most men wore open necked shirts on smart casual nights but some wore coats and ties.

 

NEWPORT RI day 10 - We had another nice day in Newport. We took the ship’s tour to Rose Island and enjoyed it very much. We had breakfast in the dining room again and met in the Princess Theater for our tour to be called. This was a tender port with a long ride to the dock (15-20 min.). We sat up top and enjoyed the ride. The ship was anchored right by Rose Island but we had to tender to the dock and then board another boat for the ride to the island. It was a small fishing boat which held only about 25-30 people. Our guide told us all about the boats in the harbor and the homes along the coastline. It was interesting to see all the America’s Cup boats and the multi-million dollar yachts anchored there. The boat dropped us off on Rose Island where another guide took us on a tour of the island and lighthouse telling us the history. After 1 ½ hours the boat returned and took us back to the dock by another route. I highly recommend the tour and thought it was a good choice for Newport since seeing the mansions was of no interest to me.

 

After returning to the dock we wandered around town for a while. There are many lovely old homes and churches to see there, not just the mansions of the rich and famous.

 

We tendered back to the ship in time for a late lunch in Café Coniche.

 

NEW YORK CITY - Since I had never been to NYC before, I set the clock early so that I could be on deck as we entered the harbor. We went under the Narrows bridge long before daylight (5:45 AM) and saw the Statue of Liberty lighted up by spotlights. The skies began to lighten as we docked in Manhattan and provided a beautiful backdrop for the skyline. After eating breakfast, we retrieved our things from our cabin and waited to disembark the ship. Our scheduled time was 9:20 AM but I don’t think that we were called until about 10 AM. Going through customs was quick and easy and we were on the bus to La Guardia. We had a scenic trip across Manhattan and into Queens to the airport.

 

It was a great cruise and we met lots of very nice and interesting people. About half the passengers were for the UK so there was a very British feel to the ship. I enjoyed getting to meet people from different countries and backgrounds. I also found that the people from the UK are much more traveled than many of us in the US. It is a way of life for many of them whereas it is a once-a-year vacation for many of us.

 

Another interesting thing about this cruise is that there were no children or teenagers onboard. It was all adult and mostly older. We didn’t go to any of the shows or the clubs at night so I don’t know how much action there was. It seemed like a fairly quiet bunch though.

 

If you have any specific questions about the cruise, the ship or the ports just ask and I will try to answer them.

[n2chocola8]

Judy, does the Sea Princess have a retractable roof over their pool area? Also, did you happen to notice if there were a lot of cabs waiting to take people to their next destination when you docked in NYC?

Thanks,

[judynorth]

Judy, does the Sea Princess have a retractable roof over their pool area? Also, did you happen to notice if there were a lot of cabs waiting to take people to their next destination when you docked in NYC?

Thanks,

 

There is not a retractable roof over the pool. There is a cover over the pool and hot tubs by the spa but it is not enclosed, just covered.

 

I didn't see any cabs at the cruise terminal but my guess is that there are lots of them waiting in line to pick up passengers. We went directly to the Princess transfer bus. There were people inside the terminal directing disembarking passengers to ground transportation. I don't think you would have a problem finding a taxi. There were hundreds of them lined up at the airport too!

[Bob and Sharon]

Hi, Bob and I were on the Sept. 13(the cruise started on the 18 but our land trip on the 13th) cruise and had PC dining. One of the problems was that the cruise director mentioned on his morning show that if anyone wanted to make the shows they could just use "anytime dining". Many took him up on the invitation and swelled the numbers of anytime diners. Also there appeared to be a shortage of personnel in the dining room that contributed to the long lines, at one time there was only one person seating people but by day 4 or 5 the lines were not so long. This is the first time we have ever had trouble with long lines.

I can tell by Judy's review that she must not have had any trouble with some of the rude crew members. This was our 9th Princess cruise and we have always had such a great time and the crew has always been wonderful. I don't know what was wrong this time. We had a photographer tell us that we could not refuse to have our picture taken, crew members push their way passed passengers to get off a tender and a crew member push (from behind) my husband into other passengers while waiting in line to clear immigration. She also told him to get out of her way and he was just quietly waiting his turn and she didn't even alert him to her presense before the shove. We were dismayed at these behaviors. We have never seen such behavior. We also heard from other passengers that they were having problems also. But our cabin steward was very good and certainly up to the standards we are use to.

When all is said and done, the cruise was very nice and the ports were great. The last 3 days were fabulous--perfect weather. We enjoyed our excursions especially the Victorian walking tour in Bar Harbor. We had the gentlemen guide who was a hoot and such fun. If you have a chance take the walk, it is a charming interlude.

If you are into art be sure to go to the artist alley in Quebec City just off the main square. The art work is extremely nice. Also if you are interested in the Six Nations or Inuit art sculptures, the little store right around the corner from the square (going away from the ship), it is called Boutique Le Sachem at 17 Des Jardins, had the best selection of moderately priced items. Native art is usually very expensive.

The best and for us the only fall colors were in Saguenay.

We also took the pre-cruise land tour by Princess and the highlights were Niagara Falls, Niagara by the Lake and Ottwawa.