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Advice on a Canada/New England Cruise


Salem615
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Hi all

 

I have been checking out the possibility of a Canada/New England Cruise.

 

For those who have done it which cruise line did you use and were you happy with the cruise?

 

Do you need shore excursions or can you visit the highlights easily without one?

 

We plan on doing this next spring or early summer. How is the weather?

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We just did one in early May on HAL's Veendam. We (husband and I and two teens) enjoyed it greatly. HAL is our usual cruise line, so we knew what to expect. HAL has more Canadian ports, so we liked that. We didn't do any shore excursions from the ship. We walked around the port in Quebec City, Halifax and Bar Harbour which was very enjoyable. In Sydney NS and Charlottetown, we rented a car and took a tour of the countryside and took in some sights. Weather was cool but sunny. We loved the cruise. We normally do Caribbean cruises and this one had a very different, relaxing feel to it. We could see land most of the time.

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We're going on a back-to-back from Boston to Montreal on Holland's Maasdam next week. It is an older ship but we've been on it before and we like the smaller size. We did a similar cruise on the Veendam about 3 years ago and we also did an Oceania from Montreal to Miami last year and enjoyed it too. Honestly, we just love cruising. :)

 

 

It's a wonderful part of the world to travel to and we've met some very nice people. We have done some cruise excursions and some private excursions as well as just walking around the various ports. Love the history of Quebec and the small town vibe of Charlottetown and Halifax.

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Hi all

 

I have been checking out the possibility of a Canada/New England Cruise.

 

For those who have done it which cruise line did you use and were you happy with the cruise?

 

Do you need shore excursions or can you visit the highlights easily without one?

 

We plan on doing this next spring or early summer. How is the weather?

 

We've done two Canada cruises: Carnival Glory 4-night from NY to Saint John 8/2012 (our first, don't think they have this anymore) and Regal Princess 5 night from Red Hook (Brooklyn) to Saint John and Halifax 10/2017. We enjoyed both cruises, but not crazy about the layout of Regal.

 

We did excursions at Saint John, but you could easily DIY depending on your interests. Halifax was a DIY: stayed in port and walked to Citadel, lunch at a local restaurant, walked the Public Garden, then a little of Harbor Walk before boarding the ship. Lots to do in Halifax walking distance, also sounded easy to get a cab or rent a car.

 

Weather can vary, but it was stunning in August and varied in October. I would think spring might be a little cool and possibly early season with not much available. October was end of season and there were some empty spots on Harbor Walk. Early summer should be great.

 

We're going on a back-to-back from Boston to Montreal on Holland's Maasdam next week. It is an older ship but we've been on it before and we like the smaller size. We did a similar cruise on the Veendam about 3 years ago and we also did an Oceania from Montreal to Miami last year and enjoyed it too. Honestly, we just love cruising. :)

 

 

It's a wonderful part of the world to travel to and we've met some very nice people. We have done some cruise excursions and some private excursions as well as just walking around the various ports. Love the history of Quebec and the small town vibe of Charlottetown and Halifax.

 

I haven't been to Charlottetown, but Halifax had more of a city feel to us:confused:

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  • 2 weeks later...

We just got off of the HAL Maasdam from

Montreal to Boston. The weather was nice in Montreal, Quebec and Bar Harbor but colder in Charlottetown, Sydney and Halifax. We did not do any cruise excursions and opted to rent a car in Quebec and Sydney to go to Montmorency Falls/saint Anne church and Fort Louisbourg, respectively. It was much cheaper than the cruise excursions and we got to go on our schedule. We walked around a little bit in Charlottetown and took a Harbor Hippo tour that left right near the cruise terminal. In Halifax we had planned to do the free walking tour and citade but it was cold and wet so we skipped. We ended up at the Maritime museum to see the titanic exhibit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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We just got off of the HAL Maasdam from

Montreal to Boston. The weather was nice in Montreal, Quebec and Bar Harbor but colder in Charlottetown, Sydney and Halifax. We did not do any cruise excursions and opted to rent a car in Quebec and Sydney to go to Montmorency Falls/saint Anne church and Fort Louisbourg, respectively. It was much cheaper than the cruise excursions and we got to go on our schedule. We walked around a little bit in Charlottetown and took a Harbor Hippo tour that left right near the cruise terminal. In Halifax we had planned to do the free walking tour and citade but it was cold and wet so we skipped. We ended up at the Maritime museum to see the titanic exhibit.

 

We are going on the Maasdam in early August. What was your favorite port and why? What did you love about the Maasdam and what did you dislike? Was there anything that you did not bring with you, and later regretted it? Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it !

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We are going on the Maasdam in early August. What was your favorite port and why? What did you love about the Maasdam and what did you dislike? Was there anything that you did not bring with you, and later regretted it? Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it !

 

 

I think we enjoyed Sydney the most because of fort Louisbourg. We enjoy visiting historical sites. It was pretty quiet at the fort since it was not peak season yet with only a few costumed staff but there were guided tours. In August, it is peak season and would definitely suggest going. We spent 3 hours there and didn’t see everything.

 

I don’t have any particulars that I loved or disliked about the ship itself. They opened the bow many days so people took advantage of the views. We were on the starboard side from Montreal to Boston and had the afternoon sun in our window. This made it really hot if we left the shades open during the day. Sunrise was early so sun started peaking in at 5am, I forgot binder clips or chip clips to clip together the shades.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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