Canada/New England Cruise - questions! need answers ASAP

[Sharon Sails]

Has anyone sailed on the Canada/New England itinerary? I'm wondering if it's a good cruise/worth the money? I'm looking at early Oct. as a solo traveler (DH vacation time is used up). It's going to be costly for just me, so I want to do my best to make the right decision. I'll be in an inside cabin, to save money. But it will still cost me about $1700, as I'm traveling solo and, of course, have to pay for two. Any help you can give - and quickly - would be appreciated!

I have it on hold for now with RCI. (I have credit with Air Tran, so at least that would be paid for--I live in FL).

Also, what time should I make my flight? How soon might I be able to get to the airport from the ship??:confused:

 

Thanks,

Sharon

[Sharon Sails]

There IS one cruise that is MUCH less money-- but it goes out on Oct. 15 (the week AFTER the one I have on hold). I'm just afraid most of the colored leaves of fall would be gone and it would be rather stark and depressing with empty trees. Anyone have any experience with this?? The cheaper one would certainly be more doable for me!

Thanks,

Sharon

[Teeara]

Sharon, are you thinking of the October 8th sailing on Jewel? If so you can join us! We've got a nice CC group sailing. I live in Boston and this will be my first Canada/NE cruise. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time even without your DH.

 

Theresa

[d4nigirl]

There IS one cruise that is MUCH less money-- but it goes out on Oct. 15 (the week AFTER the one I have on hold). I'm just afraid most of the colored leaves of fall would be gone and it would be rather stark and depressing with empty trees. Anyone have any experience with this?? The cheaper one would certainly be more doable for me!

Thanks,

Sharon

 

I wouldn't stress about the colors of the leaves...here on Long Island, they stay until at least Halloween!

[negc]

We did the Canada/New England cruise last year beginning on October 22nd and I was pleasantly surprised at how much colorful foliage was still viewable in Maine at that time. Peak dates for foliage in New England can vary considerably so it is impossible to predict what you might encounter. However, I would still strongly recommend this cruise on whichever date works best for you. We will be sailing on the Jewel repositioning cruise that leaves Boston in late October and just love the ship and its crew.:)

[jessicalorene]

If the color of the leaves are the only thing preventing you from taking the cheaper cruise then by all means grab it! I am a native New England-er and there have been VERY few times where the leaves have all fallen off the trees by the middle of October ... plus with the ports on that cruise the leaves will be nice but them not being there won't ruin anything for you. I have lived here for most of my life and I really want to do this cruise because it visits so many of my favorite places.

[reallyitsmema]

If you are taking this cruise to look at the foliage, you are better off flying up and renting a car. Along the coast, you are going to see more pines than anything else. Plus, there is really no way of knowing when the color is going to peak. If we keep this hot, dry weather, the leaves tend to dry and fall off early. If we switch back to wet weather for a while, that tends to lead to prettier fall colors.

[SailBadtheSinner]

I think you should stay with the 10/8 cruise. You should have a good chance of seeing some near peak colors in the New England ports of call.

 

If you want to have a better idea how the fall colors creep across New England, take a look at this interactive fall foliage map provided by Yankee Magazine: http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

 

If you took the 10/15 cruise, you wouldn't see stark and depressing empty trees. The trees lose their color first and become washout brown but it takes about 4 weeks for the bigger trees to lose their leaves. It still may be depressing but not the way you described it.

 

 

SBtS

[Lynne95]

We loved this cruise, and we took it the beginning of October (the 5th I seem to remember.) I would do this again in a heartbeat! DH too! One of the few we are likely to repete. We took the EOTS, out of NY Harbor. It gave us an extra day, and that is always nice. The evening were chilly, but the days were nice for the most part. In Portland, we arrived the day after a big rain, and all the red leaves had fallen, but it was still very lovely.

 

In my opinion...GO GO GO!

[Janice M]

We will be doing this cruise on the Explorer Oct. 13. It is one of my favorite cruises. We did it 3 other times on other ships. I love the ports. Especially Bar Harbor.

 

Jan

[jessicalorene]

We will be doing this cruise on the Explorer Oct. 13. It is one of my favorite cruises. We did it 3 other times on other ships. I love the ports. Especially Bar Harbor.

 

Jan

 

I just have to say, goodness I love Bar Harbor

[Scoobydobe7]

I have done this cruise twice and I live in Maine. As a previous poster stated you CANNOT predict when the leaves will change - that depends on weather, so I think either cruise would work for you -- I live in southern Maine and I have seen peak foliage at all times of October, the beginning and also the latter part of the month. Have fun!!!

[kellygirl719]

I've done the Jewel two years in a row (the New England/Canada route) and LOVED it.. what sold us mainly was that we didn't have to fly to the port. Both years we went it was mid-September and there was no foliage (everything was still green). Being from Boston I know there is a good amount of foliage in October. We loved the ship and the itinerary (Barh Harbor was by far our favorite stop). Having done all Caribbean cruises prior to the New England one, I will say that the ship atmosphere is definitely different but we loved how relaxing it was. If you have the chance to go - definitely do it!!

[mjldvlks]

Here are a couple of pictures I took in Acadia National Forest on Oct. 11, 2011 [During Jewel Cruise from Boston]. I will leave it to you to judge peakness:

 

 

 

Despite some issues with service aboard Jewel, this cruise was one of our favorites. Highly recommend the itinerary [boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, St. John, Halifax, Boston].

[slk230red]

There IS one cruise that is MUCH less money-- but it goes out on Oct. 15 (the week AFTER the one I have on hold). I'm just afraid most of the colored leaves of fall would be gone and it would be rather stark and depressing with empty trees. Anyone have any experience with this?? The cheaper one would certainly be more doable for me!

Thanks,

Sharon

 

 

We did the Canada/New England cruise last year beginning on October 22nd and I was pleasantly surprised at how much colorful foliage was still viewable in Maine at that time. Peak dates for foliage in New England can vary considerably so it is impossible to predict what you might encounter. However, I would still strongly recommend this cruise on whichever date works best for you. We will be sailing on the Jewel repositioning cruise that leaves Boston in late October and just love the ship and its crew.:)

 

 

I agree, we did this sailing on the Explorer 9/14/07 and the leaves were still green. So went back and did it again a month later on the Constellation on 10/23/07 and the leaves were beautiful....great trip.

 

We are doing Canada/New England on the Summit 9/11/11 and I think it's too early for this trip, but I'm sure we'll still enjoy it....beats being in Florida.

[KelJ]

We sailed Canada/New England out of NJ for nine nights in the month of July a few years ago. While we of course didn't get to enjoy the foliage, it was a wonderful cruise with beautiful sites that I would highly recommend. In my signature below, there is a link to my review.

[RoofingPrincess]

Also, what time should I make my flight? How soon might I be able to get to the airport from the ship??:confused:

Sailing out of Boston, it's just a quick hop across the harbor to the airport.

I'm doing a Canada/New England in October 2012, and have put together a website for the friends I'm sailing with. The map on my Boston page will give you an idea of how close the airport and cruise port are; there are also links to transportation companies.

https://sites.google.com/site/nutz4headingnortheast/boston-ma

[negc]

Here are a couple of pictures I took in Acadia National Forest on Oct. 11, 2011 [During Jewel Cruise from Boston]. I will leave it to you to judge peakness:

 

 

 

Despite some issues with service aboard Jewel, this cruise was one of our favorites. Highly recommend the itinerary [boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, St. John, Halifax, Boston].

 

Sorry to hear about your service issues on the Jewel. That has certainly not been our experience and Jewel is our favorite ship for many reasons, among them the friendly service from an excellent crew.:) Give her another chance and I believe you may change your opinion.

[Sharon Sails]

WOOT! Thanks to all of you and your kind responses and the generosity of giving me a bit of your time to answer my queries.

I'M GOING TO GO!! Oct. 15.

 

Again, THANKS everyone!!! :D

 

Sharon

[mjldvlks]

Sorry to hear about your service issues on the Jewel. That has certainly not been our experience and Jewel is our favorite ship for many reasons, among them the friendly service from an excellent crew.:) Give her another chance and I believe you may change your opinion.

 

Let's just say we are not rookies and it was the worst service we have had on an RCI ship -- not even close. One of many examples -- one of our table mates being yelled at [literally] by the waiter because she had the audacity to actually eat what she was served without realizing she had been served whatever it was by mistake.

 

But don't get me wrong. We loved the cruise -- great itinerary, great friends, and the ship was fine [still much prefer the Freedoms].

[Merion_Mom]

I just have to say, goodness I love Bar Harbor

 

So do we! My daughter even named her cat Acadia. ;)

[flashcat]

We have done this cruise twice - in 2005 and 2010 and are doing it this October. The ports are wonderful - we especially love Peggy's Cove in Halifax. The leaves are usually peak at this time. You will love it!

[71Corvette]

Well, I live about 30 minutes from one of your ports of call - Portland, Maine. I can tell you that peak foliage in this area is typically the first, second or third week of October, but the two weeks before and after peak are usually very good too. However, by late October I expect the color will drop off rapidly when you get north of Bar Harbor.

 

Here's a foliage forecaster that we use when we make our drives out to the White Mountains. Granted, foliage times vary each year, but this represents a good historical average.

 

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

 

Enjoy!

[71Corvette]

I think you should stay with the 10/8 cruise. You should have a good chance of seeing some near peak colors in the New England ports of call.

 

If you want to have a better idea how the fall colors creep across New England, take a look at this interactive fall foliage map provided by Yankee Magazine: http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

 

If you took the 10/15 cruise, you wouldn't see stark and depressing empty trees. The trees lose their color first and become washout brown but it takes about 4 weeks for the bigger trees to lose their leaves. It still may be depressing but not the way you described it.

 

 

SBtS

 

Guess you beat me to it! Great minds think alike! :D