Canadian/NE US October Cruise

[DaKingfish]

Hey Folks:

 

Question....were were looking, and there is a great price on a couple 7 day cruise on the Caribbean Princess in the middle of October leaving out of Brooklyn, NY and stopping at five ports, mostly US, but a couple Canadian as well.

 

The price looks great, and the ports of call look very interesting, as my wife and I are history buffs and alot of the US stops are in historical areas.

 

SO....has anyone done a cruise like this at that time of the year? How was the weather? Rough seas? Worth the money?

 

A little hesitant to book anything, as I know that traditionally the seas in the Northeast Atlantic can be very rough in the fall and winter (did not work out too well for those poor guys in "The Perfect Storm").

 

Thanks for any info you can give me.

 

-DK

[Chesie]

Haven't "cruised" but driven many times. Port towns are wonderful and especially Boston for the history.

 

Anyway, if your looking for the beautiful foliage you maybe on at the end of the peak to late for mid October. Go to www.yankeefoliage.com to get a feel of dates and when the foliage is peak.

 

Enjoy beautiful New England!

[5fathom]

Last year we cruised on the Crown Princess from NY to Quebec. This was a 10 day trip. This was late Sept to early Oct. The weather in Newport, Boston and Bar Harbor was spectaular. From St John up it turned cold and wet.We had snow in Quebec. The colors were good and we had no rough sea's.You will probably have a great time but plan on cool weather and maybe a little rain. Happy sailing and smooth sea's ! :)

[booklady26]

We were on the Caribbean Princess 2 years ago in mid-October. Sounds like the same one you're looking at. If you like history, you'll love it, especially Boston, Newport & Halifax. At that time of year, fall foliage should be at or around peak in Maine. Go to Acadia National Park for spectacular fall colors.

 

We had unusally warm weather in Boston & Newport. We were actually in the jacuzzis and spa pool on deck for the first few days. It was a little cooler in Maine and then very chilly in Canada. That's to be expected at that time of year.

 

Seas conditions are subject to weather like anywhere else. I remember reading that the cruise before us encountered some rough seas and they couldn't even tender into Bar Harbor. We had smooth sailing for 7 days with just a little rain in St John & in the morning in Halifax.

 

The cruise is very port intensive, so you don't have a lot of shipboard activities. The CB has no indoor pool even in their spa so unless the weather is unseasonably warm, your bathing suit won't get much use. The itinerary is all about the ports and less about the ship.

 

Even though both my husband & I prefer warm weather cruises, we both loved this itinerary and would do it or a similar one again, especially if the price was right.

[ShipsandDipper]

We did this cruise in October 2008. It was a little cold and rainy on the way up to Halifax, grey and windy in Halifax, nice in Saint John, nice (but a little rainy) in Bar Harbor, and gorgeous in Boston and Newport. All in all, we saw tons of sights and weren't overly deterred by the weather. The seas were not bad; didn't even notice them, really. We wouldn't hesitate to go again.

[Occy]

Envy you. We did that cruise 18 months ago on the Royal. It was one of the best cruises we've ever taken, including the Panama which we've just come back off of.

 

It was taken mid Sept. and the weather and sea conditions were excellent. Really enjoyed the ports, my favorites were Quebec City, Halifax, Bar Harbor & Boston. We plan on doing it again sometime. Just take a sweater and jacket to be on the safe side and you sld be fine.

 

Go for it !!!

[DonnaK]

We did this cruise at the end of August 2008, and friends of ours went mid-

September of the same year. It was absolutely wonderful, and we'd highly recommend it!!! The ports of call were very interesting - you can click on the link in my signature for my review to read what we did in each port.

[lidstone]

We took a back to back New England/Canada cruise out of Boston last October on the NCL Spirit. We loved it! The scenery was gorgeous with the colorful leaves. It was definitely colder than a Carribean cruise, but we still enjoyed our balcony with jackets on. Bar Harbor was absolutely gorgeous with the leaves and the views from Cadillac Mountain. At Peggy's Cove the day was filled with beautiful blue skies, cool breezes, and a stop for warm gingerbread with lemon sauce. Quebec was quite cold, but we dressed for it and enjoyed every part of our day long tour. We saw beluga whales along the way and visited small places like Sept Illes where we were warmly greated with music and displays of native arts and crafts. The seas were not rough at all. If you want to lay on the deck and bask in the warm sunshine, this probably isn't the cruise for you. But, if you want to see a wide variety of people and places and don't mind wearing a jacket you will enjoy this cruise!

[AndyTheK]

We took virtually the same cruise in October 2005 on Carnival. The weather that year was unusually warm, so no really heavy coats needed. Flip side was that the colors were far less than usual. So... we are now booked for the 10 day Quebec to NYC this fall. The ports are wonderful, especially for history buffs - Both of us having lived many years in the northeast, we had done most of the activities in Boston many times, so we hopped over to Salem, which alone was worth the whole trip!. You will enjoy this cruise.

 

Shalom, Andy.

[sunshine nana]

We did the 7 day in Oct. 06. Some days were warm and sunny, but it rained in Bar Harbor. We did a bus tour and still enjoyed it. It was our first time in the front of the ship and I did get sick. Since then, we always choose mid ship or aft. Also, we did think we hardly used our balcony because it was too cool and the sun set early. We loved Peggy's Cove, Quincy and New Port where I arranged a private "back stairs" tour of one of the mansions.A highlight was the sail-away from NYC past the Statue of Liberty.

[TravelingProf]

We did this cruise last year at same time (Oct 10-17) and unfortunately had horrible weather the last half of the trip. It was nice (but chilly) in Newport and Boston, cold and damp in St. John's and absolutely miserable in Bar Harbor with driving cold rain. We sailed directly into a Nor'easter on the way back with high winds (80 knots) and 22 foot seas.

 

However, it is always a crap shoot when you cruise during storm season. Others have taken this trip at the same time and had terrific weather. The ports are lovely, especially if you like history and culture. We might even take this trip again a bit earlier in the season to really enjoy the ports.

 

If the price is right--take a chance. After all, one can never guarantee the weather--and if you want to see the beautiful colors of fall--this is when you have to do it.

[magicnelly]

It's a GREAT cruise! Very port intensive and all of the ports and well worth the visit. We did it on the Caribbean Princess last year and the year before on the Celebrity Constellation.....would do it again in a heartbeat this year but we're saving for our Hawaii trip on the Golden!

 

Enjoy! and be sure to eat Lobstah in Bah Hahbah! :)

[boating girl]

When do the Nor' Easterner storms begin? We went on this cruise in Sept. of 2008 and did not have trouble with these storms. Are repeating the cruise again this year so am

wondering when the storms begin occurring.

[gooch47]

We were on this cruise in October 13-25 of last year and ran into a blizzard in Quebec City! Busses were slip sliding around on hills and at one point our tour guide had to get out and push a car out of our way. We visited a waterfall. You could hear the waterfall, but not see it because it was snowing so hard! The leaves weren't all that great anywhere along the trip either. The whole thing was a bit of a disappointment to us.

 

Whatever you do skip the "Witch Museum" in Salem. What a lame show. Not a museum at all. The tours along the US route were mostly visiting the homes of the rich a famous.

 

If you are adventurous, take the train from Quebec City to Montreal, stay a few days and fly home from there. That was probably the high point of our whole trip.

[SailBadtheSinner]

boating girl asked: ...When do the Nor' Easterner storms begin?...

According to Wikipedia, nor'easters form along the East Coast of the United States, usually in the months between October and April, although nor'easters can form any time of the year.

 

For the complete article read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor%27easter

 

 

SBtS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caribill]

We were on this cruise in October 13-25 of last year and ran into a blizzard in Quebec City! Busses were slip sliding around on hills and at one point our tour guide had to get out and push a car out of our way. We visited a waterfall. You could hear the waterfall, but not see it because it was snowing so hard! The leaves weren't all that great anywhere along the trip either. The whole thing was a bit of a disappointment to us.

 

Was in Quebec City on October 2 on the Crown Princess before the snowy weather. A delightful day. Some pictures below. Now you can see that waterfall.

[AndyTheK]

Enjoy! and be sure to eat Lobstah in Bah Hahbah! :)

Already reserved that one!

[spongerob]

We're booked on the cruise you referenced, and packing is definitely going to be a challenge since we are staying on board for the repo to San Juan. We're just going to have to be prepared for anything but will stop short of bringing winter gear because if it's really that cold it's not going to be worth going outside anyway.

 

The ports on this cruise are great and there are lots of opportunities to make your own plans rather than stick with the traditional "rich and famous" tours.

[Coral]

We were on this cruise in October 13-25 of last year and ran into a blizzard in Quebec City! Busses were slip sliding around on hills and at one point our tour guide had to get out and push a car out of our way. We visited a waterfall. You could hear the waterfall, but not see it because it was snowing so hard! The leaves weren't all that great anywhere along the trip either. The whole thing was a bit of a disappointment to us.

 

We were on the sailing after you and we didn't see any of Quebec. We flew in 2 days early and just stayed at the hotel the entire time. I really am sad we missed Quebec.

 

We hit the colors perfect in Boston.

 

I had previously done a RT out of NYC on Oct 15th and we were early for colors on that trip. This time we flew into Quebec on Oct 23rd and we got the snow in Quebec and missed the next port and then had some cool ports but we missed some of the colors North but hit them right on in Boston (on Halloween).