Holland in May 2012 vs NCL in Oct 2012/Canada-New England

[maryandmarge]

Would like some thoughts from past cruisers as to which would be the better choice. Thinking of doing one of the cruises from Canada ending in Boston. We have narrowed it down to Maasdam tour May 12th (can't afford to do Holland during fall foliage) or the NCL Dawn on Oct 12th. The prices are comparable with doing a balcony on the NCL or a oceanview window on the Maasdam. As we are 3 sisters 60+ either of those options would work for us. Which would give us better weather and do they offer the same type of excursions from the ship during either season? We can't seem to find many options in excursions thru NCL nor could I find where the Dawn did this trip this year so I could read reviews from other CC readers. We like to do outdoorsy stuff and are wondering which time of the year would offer better weather. Hoped to see the fall foliage but Oct 12th and that far north I'm thinking we would miss it. Our work schedules limit the options that we get away from work. Hoping to get some good feedback to help us make up our minds....NCL running special right now for their cruise that we could get a balcony room for the price of an oceanview so that would be nice for extra space ....but if it's freezing outside I don't think we would get any use out of it. Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions...

[6rugrats]

Just on ships alone, I'd choose HAL over NCL any day of the week.

[maryann ns]

Check what dates if any you will be in Sydney, Nova Scotia, especially if you want to go to Louisbourg. It is not fully open before June 15 and after October 15. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg/visit/visit3.aspx sometimes the ship can arrange a special tour, but I doubt is this will be possible in May.

 

As for the weather there is no way to predict which would be better. October can be fabulous and the leaves in Cape Breton generally peak during the second week of October. However, it can rain too.

 

May can be warm, but it can also be rainy and cool.

 

Halifax, Saint John and Quebec will be open for business at both times.

 

Prince Edward Island is great for driving and seeing the scenery so either month would be OK, though some tourist sites may be closed.

[KirkNC]

I prefer Oct as a time of year (but watch for hurricanes) and prefer HAL as a line so I would have to figure out a way to make that work.

 

Kirk

[maryandmarge]

Thanks for all the helpful info. We really couldn't afford to go the Holland trip in Oct. so we have booked NCL Dawn on Oct 12th. Seems we will be in Sydney on Oct 15th so hopefully things will still be open for business...if not I'm sure we will be able to find fun stuff to do. We cruised with NCL in Hawaii a year ago and loved it so I'm sure we will enjoy this as well. We don't ask for much - decent food, clean beds, and a helpful courteous staff and I'm sure we'll have a great cruise. Thanks again

[maryann ns]

Great.

 

 

For some good information on many of the ports do a search for the port guides by Tom.

[travelbig]

Thanks for all the helpful info. We really couldn't afford to go the Holland trip in Oct. so we have booked NCL Dawn on Oct 12th. Seems we will be in Sydney on Oct 15th so hopefully things will still be open for business...if not I'm sure we will be able to find fun stuff to do. We cruised with NCL in Hawaii a year ago and loved it so I'm sure we will enjoy this as well. We don't ask for much - decent food, clean beds, and a helpful courteous staff and I'm sure we'll have a great cruise. Thanks again

 

Great! We are on the 14 day itinerary, so you will be with us the 2nd week of our cruise. You will love these ports.

[tangerinebunny]

May 12 may well be cold and wet. Will that be a problem?

 

This is a port intensive cruise. What are you looking forward to the most? Walking tours? Bus trips? Or just the cruising experience?

 

Also, before you book your cruise, check out hotels in Montreal; I think that weekend's a busy one. (We swtiched from May 12 to 26 because of it.)

 

And, HAL Canada/NE cruises are on sale til the end of January. Check out their website. We saved $400 by re-booking ours.

 

Happy sailing!

[maryandmarge]

We ended up booking the Oct 12th with NCL. We decided it was just too early in the year to take the May cruise and since we were satisfied with NCL in Hawaii we booked on the NCL Dawn. We know we could have bad weather either way but we'll just take our chances. We will try to book tours that will give us the best all around feel of the area - mostly countryside as I'm not really into historical. I was lucky enough to catch one of the Christmas specials and book a balcony room for the price of the oceanview room so we are happy with our decision. Now I'll have to research where we fly into and what is close to where ever the ship docks because we don't want to rent a car in Quebec City. We are planning on flying in on Thursday since the ship leaves on Friday evening and spending the day checking out the city. I'm hoping one of our rewards hotel groups (Wyndam / Best Western / Holiday Inn) might have something reasonable that we can rent a room for the night before the crise. As 3 working sisters we are trying to keep our costs at a minimum with a nice room there as we are also planning on spending 2 nights in Boston when we arrive there. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[arpie05]

Join us on the 7 day Carnival leaving Boston on June 3rd. this their only Boston 7 day to Canada in June or July. Price is great!

[maryann ns]

There is a Best Western in the old lower town in Quebec, but it is not a great location.

 

There is a Holiday Inn Express way out in St. Foy. This would not be convenient for you. there is a Tryp Hotel but it is also way out of town.

 

Try searching here:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/HACSearch?geo=155033&q=Quebec+City%2C+Quebec%2C+Canada&inDay=31&inMonth=01%2F2012&checkIn=dd%2Fmm%2Fyyyy&outDay=3&outMonth=03%2F2012&checkOut=dd%2Fmm%2Fyyyy&searchAll=true&adults=2

You can change the parameters to sort by price to find the bargains.

 

Quebec is a bit pricey and popular with tourists but October is not high season. Check out the B&Bs.

 

There are some good bargains to be had in run down buildings behind the Chateau Fronenac (Rue de la Porte and Avenue Sainte Genevieve.) We usually can find a place there when we visit in the off season. The location is excellent, but the hotels are old and shabby. If you just want a bed then they are great.

 

Here are a few of them I could find on line:

http://www.canadianhotelguide.com/ca/Quebec-hotels/Quebec_City-hotels/Hotel_Chateau_Bellevue-hotel.html

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g155033-d1546398-Reviews-Hotel_Manoir_de_la_Terrasse-Quebec_City_Quebec.html

 

http://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/beau-site.en.html?aid=311088;label=beau-site-3aUYI2tZy7WGBq3*bJYKtgS6999728283;ws=&gclid=CMKlq9qyoK0CFUgRNAodP2UYnA

 

 

 

You can walk around old Quebec on your own and that is what I would advise. To understand what you are seeing, get yourself a guidebook that has some walking tours. A good source for quidebooks is half.com or the used books section of Amazon. You do not need a brand new book for what you want.

[maryandmarge]

Thanks for all the useful information. I've printed up your reply and put it with my research envelope for when the holidays are over and I'm not so busy. Luckily I found a book at a Book Outlet called Access Montreal and Quebec City and it seems to have a lot of information in there also. I'm assuming that when we fly in the day before from Cleveland we would fly into Jean-Lesage International Airport and take a cab to whatever hotel we plan on staying at and just walking from there. That seems to be the largest airport close to Quebec City. Once again thanks for the info and I'm sure I'll post more questions as I go along and have done more research.

[maryann ns]

I have never flown to Quebec, but found this info on transportation. You may find it best to take a taxi as you said.

http://www.aeroportdequebec.com/en/to-and-from-the-airport/public-transport/

[labguides]

Why will May 12th be busy time in Montreal? We arrived in Montreal on May 10th and leave on Maasdam on the 12th?

 

Miny