Can anyone give an overview of a Canada/New England cruise?

[World Gallery]

My husband and I thought that it would be nice to try a cruise out of New York. We live in Louisiana where it will probably be in the 90's until early Oct. (and don't like the heat!) and we have never seen the fall foliage. I have never traveled to this part of the country. We are looking at the NCL Dawn that departs From New York, New York visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island.

Any feedback about these ports and what to see there? What to expect?

Best week to go (we are looking at mid Sept to mid Oct)? Any general comments about this part of the country? Any must sees?

Thank you.

[DangDane]

Take warm clothes! There is a free shuttle bus in Bar Harbor, but you may enjoy a tour to Acadia Park. The mansions in Newport are fun...there's the local bus & also a walk. In Halifax walk along the "boardwalk"...there's a lot of history, museums, etc. We were there in May 2007, going back in October (Maasdam). Haven't been to Saint John, but plan on going to "Reversing Falls". Of course, all of this walking will depend on the weather...it's not much fun walking in the rain!

[Langley Cruisers]

I recommend checking out the Member reviews here; you can look at Explorer of the Seas, which goes from NY up to Canada and return. We did this last September. The member reviews are a very good source of info about the ship itself and the ports. It's certainly a place to start.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=186&sort=date_newest&StartRow=51

 

Check previous reviews, too.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Here are links to three reviews of the NCL Dawn's September 2008 Canada/New England cruises, including information on the ports of call:

 

Review by CruisnGram

 

Review by Bragstarr

 

Review by Ute_Fan

 

There are more.

[aqua]

I went on the Caribbean Princess last September. I wrote a review of the ship and included

this information about the ports. I hope this gives you some idea about the places that you are considering.

 

Halifax: We went on the Coastal Drive to Peggy's Cove in the morning. It was the only ship's excursion that we took. We had an excellent guide and enjoyed the trip. Upon our return, we walked to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. We were told that it was a 25 minute walk, but we got there in 10 minutes. The walk is nice as there are shops along the ocean. The museum costs $8.75 but they give AAA and senior discounts. They take U.S. dollars but give Canadian change. We concentrated on the Titanic exhibit, but there is much to see in the museum.

 

Saint John: We tried to take the public bus that offers sightseeing tours for $17. However, all 55 seats were filled when we arrived at the bus stop. The next bus wasn't due for 3 hours, and reservations were not accepted. The line for the next bus started forming over 1 hour before it was due. People started joining the line at places other than the end, and it looked like we might have difficulty enforcing our place in the line. We decided to walk to Reversing Falls. It was a pleasant 40 minute, 2.5 mile walk each way, although part of the walk is uphill and on a busy road. We were disappointed in Reversing Falls because there was little to see. We arrived at 1:00 PM and the reversal was due at 5:00 PM. There were some rapids, but not much else. I asked about the "falls" and were told that they aren't visible. Perhaps if we were able to coordinate our visit with the reversal it would have been more interesting.

 

Bar Harbor: We took Oli's Trolley's 2 1/2 hour tour for $29. The view from Cadillac Mountain was the highlight of the trip. Someone had posted that they were concerned about being uncomfortable on the trolley, but our bus was enclosed with padded seats. The views were best on the driver's side. Those who want to take this tour may consider making advance reservations. The ticket office is at the tender pier and the lines were long. I don't know if they sold out, but I imagine that they did. The Norwegian Dawn was at every port, and they also had 3,000 passengers.

 

Boston: My daughter attends school there so we had a private walking tour. We took the T to the city and walked around all day. We had lunch at Legal Seafood in the harbor area and then pastries from the Italian district.

 

Newport: This city is truly beautiful. We walked to the tourist office and purchased tickets for the Viking trolley tour. We picked the $36 tour that included a city tour and a visit to one attraction. We could choose between The Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff, Beechwood, or the Tennis Hall of Fame. It would have been difficult to see The Breakers because we only had 75 minutes to tour it and there was a wait, so we went to Marble House. We were given headsets to tour at our own pace. On our tour, the passenger side had better views. Many people took the public trolley and went on their own. It would have been easy to do that, but we wanted the narration that came with the private tour.

[MAKINGWAVES]

Aqua, we were going to try and catch the city bus site seeing tour,(St. John), the last of September. Where excatly after geting off the cruise ship do you catch the bus? I am expecting it to be hard to catch.

Thanks---

[edste]

If the fall foliage is what you want to see I would recommend going in October instead of September. the weather will be warmer in September but the leaves may not be changing yet.

[maryann ns]

The fall leaves in Nova Scotia are best the end of the first week of October on the mainland and the end of the second week of October in Cape Breton. I see you are not going to Cape Breton (Sydney). That is too bad. We went there for the fabulous Celtic Colours festival last year in the second week of October. The weather was warm and the colours were perfect. Of course, I am from here so my definition of warm may not be yours! I often did not need a jacket and never needed a hat or gloves.

 

for Halifax I would go around Oct. 9 - 16.

[Acey]

Aqua, we were going to try and catch the city bus site seeing tour,(St. John), the last of September. Where excatly after geting off the cruise ship do you catch the bus? I am expecting it to be hard to catch.

Thanks---

 

The bus leaves from Loyalist Plaza 3 blocks from ship. Once you exit the terminal ambassadors will direct you to the stop.

[Grannycb]

We went on New England/Canada cruise a few years ago during the first week in October. None of the leaves had started changing yet. You might want to go later in October if leaf color is a priority.

[CMM]

Aqua, we were going to try and catch the city bus site seeing tour,(St. John), the last of September. Where excatly after geting off the cruise ship do you catch the bus? I am expecting it to be hard to catch.

Thanks---

 

Once you walk though the gated area of the ship I took a left and walked along the street and came upon this tour. It is a regular city bus and the driver was selling the spots on the street in front of the parked bus.

The people in this city are extremely friendly and hospitable. They will greet you off the ship and answer any questions you have.

 

This is an easy port with no tendering. One person who might be ready earlier could walk off ahead of time and pay if you were concerned. I wasn't planning on this, but was ready early and went for a little walk while waiting for my husband. At first I passed this up, but after walking around a bit in the rain I soon realized there wasn't a great deal to do there. Went back to the ship & told my husband about the tour & we decided to do it. Walked back and got the last two seats. It was a nice tour. We were there in Sept.

[aqua]

I agree that the people in St. John were extremelly friendly and helpful. They gave everyone

giifts and advice as they came off of the ship. We just didn't think that there was much to do in the city.

[mrchips14]

When the ship sails from port to port, does land stay in sight most of the time

or are we far enough away to not see any.

 

Thanks

[aqua]

I am pretty sure that we did not see land.

[Leafpeeper]

My husband and I thought that it would be nice to try a cruise out of New York. We live in Louisiana where it will probably be in the 90's until early Oct. (and don't like the heat!) and we have never seen the fall foliage. I have never traveled to this part of the country. We are looking at the NCL Dawn that departs From New York, New York visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island.

Any feedback about these ports and what to see there? What to expect?

Best week to go (we are looking at mid Sept to mid Oct)? Any general comments about this part of the country? Any must sees?

Thank you.

 

Checkout my post about Gorgeous Quebec! If you love the old French buildings in New Orleans, you will be amazed at Quebec. Don't miss it! We love NCL Dawn but I would check to see if they have any cruises that include Quebec. You won't want to miss it.

 

Crown Princess: NY to Quebec. At the end of your cruise, you can take a bus to St.Johnsbury, VT and rent a car there to see New England.

 

RCCL: Jewel of the Seas Boston to Canada Sep & Oct.

Explorer of the Seas NY to Canada

 

Holland America Masdaam: Boston to Montreal (vice versa). Take a bus across the border from Montreal to Plattsburgh, NY to rent a car to see New England.

 

Make sure to include Quebec as a port on your cruise.

[Leafpeeper]

My husband and I thought that it would be nice to try a cruise out of New York. We live in Louisiana where it will probably be in the 90's until early Oct. (and don't like the heat!) and we have never seen the fall foliage. I have never traveled to this part of the country. We are looking at the NCL Dawn that departs From New York, New York visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island.

Any feedback about these ports and what to see there? What to expect?

Best week to go (we are looking at mid Sept to mid Oct)? Any general comments about this part of the country? Any must sees?

Thank you.

 

Find an itinerary that includes Quebec City. Don't go to Canada and miss this gorgeous French City! It is one of the world's most beautiful romantic historical places to see. It is like a small version of Paris all within walking distance.

[Waynetor]

We did a Montreal to New York cruise in Oct 2003 on Regal Princess. Most of the cities have great historical areas. Where the Saguenay River meets the St. Lawrence river there were lots of Baluga whales. The weather on the St. Lawrence was in the mid 50's but once into the Halifax down to NY it was in the low 70's. Along the St. Lawrence most of the trees are evergreen so not much colour there but nice in New England. Coming into NY it was just getting light as we passed the Statue of Liberty which drew a large crowd up on deck. You can take tours or just walk around the port areas except for Boston. In Boston the ship docks in a real port area and you need a suttle to see anything. Depending on the tide timing in St. John you will see the effect of the very high tides in the Bay of Fundy.

Wayne S.

[travelbig]

You can take tours or just walk around the port areas except for Boston. In Boston the ship docks in a real port area and you need a shuttle to see anything.

Wayne S.

 

In response to this statement I just wanted to add that if you want to do a HOHO in Boston, take the Old Town Trolley. You can buy tickets on line and board at stop 16A, which is at the Black Falcon pier area. If you don't want to buy tickets on line, you can still board at this location and ride to the Ticket Office (stop 1) to buy your tickets. You can see it's map on line, with all the sites noted. You won't need to buy the ship shuttle tickets if you use this option.

[cabinbythesea]

I will be in Halifax for the sixth time around mid-October. Can we expect rainy weather? Thank you for your info.

[global curiosity]

Peak season for fall folliage will be towards the end of Oct. Living in NY I recommend the Circle line tour around NYC harbor where you can see highlights of the city as it will also be narrated - make sure to sit close to the person narrating. Take advantage of the half price Broadway show ticket booth - there are many shows avail for the day of purchase only after 3 pm. Of course, make your way to the Empire State Building , the sight is stunning.! In Newport, the mansion tour is great, and just walking around the harbor is fun. In Boston do the trolley tour, you get a lot of historical facts and you have the ability to get on/off at any point in time. Enjoy!

[dtracker]

Checkout my post about Gorgeous Quebec! If you love the old French buildings in New Orleans, you will be amazed at Quebec. Don't miss it! We love NCL Dawn but I would check to see if they have any cruises that include Quebec. You won't want to miss it.

 

Crown Princess: NY to Quebec. At the end of your cruise, you can take a bus to St.Johnsbury, VT and rent a car there to see New England.

 

RCCL: Jewel of the Seas Boston to Canada Sep & Oct.

Explorer of the Seas NY to Canada

 

Holland America Masdaam: Boston to Montreal (vice versa). Take a bus across the border from Montreal to Plattsburgh, NY to rent a car to see New England.

 

Make sure to include Quebec as a port on your cruise.

 

Don't forget the NCL Jewel...she sails to Quebec City out of NYC on a 10-night cruise beginning 9/30. We've booked her and made the decision to go on the first cruise...it was a balancing act between fall colors and weather for us.

 

DT