Canada/New England Fall Cruise

[Nancy & Tom]

Cruiser Friends, I'd be interested in a report from anyone who has gone on a Princess Canada/New England Fall Cruise. We are considering one in September or October. The ship would be the Golden Princess....one that we were on in the Western Caribbean. Thank you in advance for your reply. An Addicted Cruiser

[mringenoldus]

We are booked on the October 15 Golden princess from New York. You may want to decide quickly as there aren't many cabins left on the Golden and the prices have been going up since we booked almost a year in advance.

[bjboothman]

If you decide to try something different, Carnival has a 7 night Canada/New England from NYC on the Triumph. We are sailing on 9/17. The prices are quite good for this sailing. We've never done Carnival before, only Princess, but thought it was time to experience something different. I believe the Triumph has fewer ports (4) than the Golden though. Just another option.

[Host Caroline]

We cruise Princess much more than any other line but did Canada New England on Carnival Victory (7 night) in '03. It is a great itinerary and one that I will do again for the ports that we missed! On that particular itinerary the passengers were a bit older and laid back than the traditional Carnival party boat and we had delightful tablemates.. main complaint was finding that dang dining room that's midship!

 

I'm not sure what ports Golden goes to but we reallyh loved Portland, Halifax and Sydney -- the Boston call got botched but had been there anyway. Both Portland and Halifax are easy to explore on your own or to arrange something relatively inexpensive ahead of time using their online visitor's guides. In Sydney we took a ship tour to Louisbourg and would NEVER do that again.. the locals have folks at the dock to take you there and you have ample time to enjoy this wonderful restoration.

 

Would not hesitate to recommend this itinerary!! Feel free to ask any questions or head over to the Canada and New England ports of call boards for more info.

[makeup face]

mringenoldus........so we're gonna have a full ship on the 15th :eek:

 

I was in Phoenix over the weekend.....the weather was just beautiful :)

[mringenoldus]

Good thing you came last weekend - we had record rains for a number of weeks before your visit! We were actually in Rocky Point, Mexico last weekend and the weather was great there also.

 

It's still early to tell how full the ship is since TAs may be holding cabins. They don't offer the D category at all anymore. I'm hoping for an upgrade because the only D cabins are on a deck that will also be busy with pursers desk and other business.

 

What category did you book? We originally had an AB but I decided that the expense of a balcony might not be justified in that climate. Now if they want to give me one - I'll gladly accept!

[ladyjane550]

We are booked on the Golden for the Sept. 17th sailing. I choose not to have a balcony because of the cooler climate. I booked a cat. FF. I alway enjoyed a balcony in the carribean but I couldn't justify it for the cooler weather.

[skybuffalo]

We booked last Sept on the Oct 14th 10 night NB from New York on the Sea Princess. We have a BD balcony but the last time I checked there were not any balcony cabins left. As someone already mentioned, some agencies may be holding a few. It is a popular cruise so I would not hold off very long.

 

Ron

[makeup face]

We're in category BD. I love a balcony and at the time we booked there really wasn't too much if a difference between outside and balcony :) Who knows what the weather will be like in October. Who would have thought Southern California would have had more rain then Seattle at this point in the year :eek:

[Nancy & Tom]

I'm grateful to those of you who replied to me concerning the Canada/New England Cruise. We're now booked for the Golden Princess for September 17th. We love a balcony and were fortunate to get one. Hope all of us taking these Fall cruises will have a great time. Again thanks!

[susancruzs]

I'm sure you'll enjoy the New England cruise. Its one I'm going to repeat one of these days! I did the full route New York to Montreal with stops in Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, St. Johns, Quebec. All the ports were great, the trolley ride to Acadia

National Park was super and easy to do on your own, didn't need a ships tour.

 

I really enjoyed Halifax, we did the duck ride to get a little city overview, which worked out well. Afterwards we went to the museum, took a taxi to the cemetary,

and still had time to tour the wonderful exhibit right at the pier about the Canadian immigrants. It was well worth the money. We also had time for a nice lunch in an area that had shops/restaurants, not that far from the dock and out on the water.

 

I did tours in St. Johns, Quebec and Montreal simply because I hadn't been before and wanted to see something of the area.

 

Susie

[Nancy & Tom]

Susie, You are a dear! Thanks so much for your reply. I'm grateful to hear about your similar cruise and the excursions you took. That will help us decide what we'll do as far as excursions are concerned. We enjoyed our Fall cruise last September to Alaska. Just returned from a 15 night Grand Panama Canal cruise. You can tell we are cruise addicts! Thanks again for taking your precious time to send a reply.

 

Nancy

[denfarwell]

We three are booked on the Oct 4 sailing on the Sea Princess. Princess has sold out their cabins but there is availability through TA's. Looking forward to this cruise! Just wonder what the weather will be like. Of course, there is a given range of temperatures but they could get an Indian summer. Guess I'd better prepare for 80 degrees or 32!

[ladyjane550]

Hey - MAKE UP FACE - I just changed my booking from a ff cat. to a BD cat. on the Golden for the same date you are going. Sept. 17th. What did you pay for you BD cat? I paid $1220 pp.

[sammiedawg]

We did the Golden in October 2 years ago, really enjoyed it. Sailing from NYC makes it even more special, you should spend a couple days there before or after. Our ports were Halifax, St. Johns, Boston Newport Bar Harbour. We did ship tours in all ports.

[makeup face]

I'm on the October 15th sailing.....I think the fare was about the same or close to it. My sister took care of the booking for the family :)

[Joy2Day]

I've sailed a fall New England/Canada cruise the last 2 years -- 2003 on RCCL and last year on the Grand Princess. Your itinerary looks to be the reverse of the Grand Princess last year. The ports are great and easily doable on your own. We rented a car in Saint John and Halifax to drive out into the country. The peak colors are not found near the shore, but it is a very pretty cruise.

[mringenoldus]

I booked a Cat D gty in November. The cost was $1116 per person with a $150 shipboard credit.

 

We are also on the Golden October 15 fall cruise. I haven't yet been assigned a cabin and really don't expect one soon unless the boat sells out. I'm hoping since most of the D's are 3-4 person cabins that Princess will kick my husband and I out into a balcony upgrade. If not, I am satisfied with an OV at this time of year.