Best7DayNewEnglandCruiseLine

[cheapest]

Hello,

We are planning a fall 7 day cruise, so far for changing of the leaves it looks like early Oct. So now we are looking for the best value. So far it is Carnival and NCL. Carnival has the best price, but NCL stops in Sydney and Carnival stops in Boston. If you have any thoughts, we would really appreciate the information.

 

Thanks,

Scott

[DonnaK]

Not a fan of either of those cruiselines. The freestyle concept doesn't appeal to me, and our experience on Carnival has been sub-par.

 

We did this itinerary on the Caribbean Princess out of Brooklyn and it was awesome! The Crown Princess has more limited sailings, but a greater variety of ports. RCI's Explorer of the Seas is also a great ship who does this itinerary.

[30scruiser]

I don't have any thoughts on Carnival vs. NCL because I've never been on either. Cape Breton where Sydney is, is amazingly beautiful and has some great things to do, but you probably would not want to spend the day in Sydney itself, so you should count on more of an expensive to go on a shore excursion, or rent a car, or hire a private tour. That being said if you can do that, I think it's worth it depending on how much the extra expense of picking the NCL cruise is to either drive part of the Cabot Trail or to see the Fortress of Louisbourg. This is all assuming that you've been to Boston before which is also an amazing place to visit with a huge amount of things to see.

[cv322]

I did a Canada cruise in 2009...needed a quick get-away & booked the 5-day out of NY just 2 days before sailing. I'll never do a 5-day again...it's just way too short for me...so I'll be doing it again October 9th this year, but this one is 7 days. Both of these cruises are with Carnival. The ports are great...love the fact that the Glory will be calling at Kennebunkport.

 

I've never had a "sub-par" experience with Carnival. While I enjoy NCL, I like the dining on Carnival better. Also, the cabins on Carnival are bigger than NCL.

 

Just my humble opinion.

 

Book the Glory for 10/9/2010 & come join the roll call !

[sail7seas]

Hands down, IMO, Maasdam's Boston to Montreal cruise is the best Canada/New England cruise out there.

 

We do it every year, back-to-back, and are booked for it this year as well as already booked for 2011.

 

It goes from Boston to Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney (Nova Scotia), Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), cruises St. Lawrence to Quebec City and ends in Montreal. We stay aboard and sail it back to Boston in the reverse order. Cannot get enough of this itinerary.

 

We think it one of HAL's best short cruises.

 

Book early. Maasdam fills up for these cruises.

[LindaKE]

Last year we sailed the NCL Spirit Boston to Quebec. The ship was great in every way. We found out that we were too late in Quebec but too early in Boston for peak color, so that isn't something anyone can predict. You have to go inland a ways to see the best color. If you stay near the port, you don't see as much.

[beachchick]

What are your priorities for cruising style? It's impossible to say which might be "best" for you without knowing your preferences. Carnival, NCL, RCI, Princess, HAL, Celebrity--All have different styles, feels, designs, activities, etc. Although much is similar, the differences do make a huge difference to many people. As you can see just from the first few responses, members here have various favorites. Yours might turn out to be one of them. For example, one person says "Don't book with NCL or Carnival because you can do much better," while another says, "Carnival was great in every way..." Which is right? Both, of course. Please give us more of an idea of what you are looking for specifically because otherwise, you're likely to have as many different (and sometimes passionate) descriptions of what is "best" as there are cruise lines doing the itinerary.

 

beachchick

[cheapest]

I did a Canada cruise in 2009...needed a quick get-away & booked the 5-day out of NY just 2 days before sailing. I'll never do a 5-day again...it's just way too short for me...so I'll be doing it again October 9th this year, but this one is 7 days. Both of these cruises are with Carnival. The ports are great...love the fact that the Glory will be calling at Kennebunkport.

 

I've never had a "sub-par" experience with Carnival. While I enjoy NCL, I like the dining on Carnival better. Also, the cabins on Carnival are bigger than NCL.

 

Just my humble opinion.

 

Book the Glory for 10/9/2010 & come join the roll call !

Thank you very much. We have sailed both NCL, and Carnival. And if you do Hawaii, it is the only way to go. That said, I called NCL, to discuss the cruise, and the guy I talked to, empressed me as being semi-snotty. And he refused to quote me prices. I told him the reason , I needed it was we had several famliy members that I was doing the footwork to get all the options. I wanted to forward the information. I think we may go with Carnival just because they seem more user frirndly.

 

Thanks again,

[canuck eh?]

I did a Canada cruise in 2009...needed a quick get-away & booked the 5-day out of NY just 2 days before sailing. I'll never do a 5-day again...it's just way too short for me...so I'll be doing it again October 9th this year, but this one is 7 days. Both of these cruises are with Carnival. The ports are great...love the fact that the Glory will be calling at Kennebunkport.

 

I've never had a "sub-par" experience with Carnival. While I enjoy NCL, I like the dining on Carnival better. Also, the cabins on Carnival are bigger than NCL.

 

Just my humble opinion.

 

Book the Glory for 10/9/2010 & come join the roll call ![/quote

 

Where is Kennebunkport?

[cheapest]

What are your priorities for cruising style? It's impossible to say which might be "best" for you without knowing your preferences. Carnival, NCL, RCI, Princess, HAL, Celebrity--All have different styles, feels, designs, activities, etc. Although much is similar, the differences do make a huge difference to many people. As you can see just from the first few responses, members here have various favorites. Yours might turn out to be one of them. For example, one person says "Don't book with NCL or Carnival because you can do much better," while another says, "Carnival was great in every way..." Which is right? Both, of course. Please give us more of an idea of what you are looking for specifically because otherwise, you're likely to have as many different (and sometimes passionate) descriptions of what is "best" as there are cruise lines doing the itinerary.

 

beachchick

Wow, You are right, there are great differences and styles. We don't have to have the fun ship. We make our own, that's why we travel when the kids are in school. We like good shows on board. We don't have to be pampered. We like active events, we don't need brass, glass, and good wine. Cheap wine is fine, and draft beer goes a long way. Bingo is fun, and pretty dancing girls really add to the expericence. All that said, I enjoy reading all the replies, and consider some may be biased on the likes of the auther. What we would be looking for in the ports, is the stops itself, and the options to expericence new places.

 

Thanks,

Scott