Sept or Oct best for Canada/NE cruise?

[blythe]

For those of you who have done a Canada/NE cruise could you share your opinions/experiences/preferences for best time to go? I do realize that weather changes, this is hurricane season, etc.

I presume that October is better for the fall foliage but are seas likely to be rockier that month? Any advice or recommendations welcome. Thanks!

[boblin]

We did a repositioning cruise from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale a few yrs ago. When we boarded in Quebec,mid- Oct., it was very cold (45 F. or so). I knew that the previous yr, there was snow in Quebec on the same date! Halifax was quite cold too. I'm Canadian, so I've seen lots of fall colour, but I'd go a little earlier .The repo cruise was at the end of the season tho', of course. Even 2 wks could make a big difference temperature -wise, but then maybe the colour wouldn't be a s good. A tradeoff!

[Aunu]

Being from Maine, I would choose mid to late Sept. Colors will have started to change by end of Sept and will be well past peak by mid October. It will be warm days and cool nights (sometimes cool days too) in Sept.

 

Here's a foliage report from the last 10 years.... http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/projects/fall_foliage/whenandwhere/index.html

Edited February 16, 2014 by Aunu

[cynbar]

I'm from New England and I agree that mid to late September would be a good choice. Foliage varies widely depending on how far north you go, and it's hard to predict exactly. You'll have comfortable weather for sightseeing at that time, most of hurricane season is past and the fall storms haven't started rolling in yet off the ocean. Also, there will be more signs of life in the northern ports, places start shutting down for the season as fall progresses.

[tteettimes]

mid-September..I don't like cold weather.....but this is a beautiful cruise to take whether it is 7 or 14 days....enjoy

[FunForUs]

For those of you who have done a Canada/NE cruise could you share your opinions/experiences/preferences for best time to go? I do realize that weather changes, this is hurricane season, etc.

I presume that October is better for the fall foliage but are seas likely to be rockier that month? Any advice or recommendations welcome. Thanks!

We did this cruise last year -- Sept 21-Oct 5. Great weather and calm seas. I took a heavy, rain repellent jacket and only used it once, in Halifax. Some fall foliage, but not as much if we would have gone in October. We chose this time frame because it was the only itinerary with a Boston stop, but if we did the cruise again we would go at the same time. Shirley

[galavant3]

We went mid October last year and hit the "peak" color week. It was amazing. Of course the "peak" week will vary from year to year but I would think October is your best bet if that is important to you. We went from Boston to Montreal and the weather was not too cold at all.

 

Seas were calm and we were on a small ship.

Edited February 16, 2014 by galavant3

[clr315]

We did a late September cruise to New England last year. Weather was nice sweatshirt and capris did the job. Not a lot of foliage but the water was smooth as glass! Better then carribean. Great cruise loved it

[blythe]

Thank you to all who responded. You mentioned a few things that I had not thought of and I appreciate the information. We are thinking of the Summit 14 night cruise in Sept/Oct. We've never done a Canada/NE cruise before. I know it would be very different from our usual Carib. cruises.

[fninsn]

We did this cruise last year -- Sept 21-Oct 5. Great weather and calm seas. I took a heavy, rain repellent jacket and only used it once, in Halifax. Some fall foliage, but not as much if we would have gone in October. We chose this time frame because it was the only itinerary with a Boston stop, but if we did the cruise again we would go at the same time. Shirley

 

Hi Shirley,

 

Like you, I did this cruise on Crystal on Oct 3rd thru 13th. Other than one day in northern Quebec, we had beautiful sunny days and very calm seas. We were able to enjoy lunch or a beverage on a patio at 7 of our 8 ports of call and I even spent time on the pool deck each afternoon until sailaway. Absolutely loved this itinerary.

 

Linda

[poolwife]

We did a Canada/New England 11 night cruise on the Constellation in 2006. We sailed from Cape Liberty, New Jersey on October 5 to 16, 2006. I thought we hit it perfect (at least that year). Beautiful weather the whole trip except the day in Quebec City. Our cruise was round trip Cape Liberty. It was really cold, rainy and dreary in Quebec City but we still had a good time and still went out and about. We had brought appropriate clothing, jackets and hats for cold weather.

 

Yes, it is different than the Caribbean but you know that when you go. We really enjoyed the cruise. It seems like it took forever sailing out of New York. Was gorgeous and we could see so many points of interests.

 

We took an independent tour in Halifax and that is where we saw the most fall foliage. Our driver took us clear to Lunenberg which was about 2 hours away. We saw alot of the countryside and visited the Titanic cemetery which was much more interesting than I expected. The driver had a distant relative buried there.

 

It was a very memorable trip and would love to repeat. The Summit trip sounds great being 14 night but don't understand why they took Boston off the itinerary. We really enjoyed our day there.

 

Just be prepared for all weather and you will be fine. It is a cold weather cruise. Have a great time.

 

Wish I was going on it again. Oh, and we did not hit much bad water at all. Only a little coming out of the St. Lawrence River going to sail south again, but not bad. I am sure every year would be different.

Edited February 17, 2014 by poolwife
Correct a sentence structure

[spookwife]

For those of you who have done a Canada/NE cruise could you share your opinions/experiences/preferences for best time to go? I do realize that weather changes, this is hurricane season, etc.

I presume that October is better for the fall foliage but are seas likely to be rockier that month? Any advice or recommendations welcome. Thanks!

 

we went the week of Sept. 19th last year. we missed peak foliage by probably a week. it was one of the calmer voyages we have had overall, save the one day( Bar Harbor) that was a tender and ended up being canceled.. more due to fog though.

[warmwinds]

I never thought of the route out of Bayonne...when we went to Bermuda once we were clear of New York it was just head south on open seas...but this cruise, are you close enough to the coast of Long Island, the Cape, etc., when you first head north?

 

I'd choose September, hoping for warmer weather, and we live in an area of gorgeous foliage so that's not a draw for us.

[GigemAggies]

We left out of Bayonne the first week in September. We picked it because we had a balcony and wanted the warmer weather so we'd be able to use it. Even in early September there were some pretty chilly days the further north we headed. We would go in September again.

[ABC Cruisers]

I am from Massachusetts, it's very seldom you will see any foliage colors around us until October. The season starts north & works it's way down, so the first of October will still be totally green here but peak up in Canada, you won't have foliage at peak for the entire route. It changes year to year & varies with the amount of rain we get during the spring & summer, but we are usually the 2nd-3rd week of October...we got married on Sept. 30 and are pics look like we got married in the summer, absolutely no colors at all, but after a 2 week honeymoon the colors were great when we got back home. That was 25 years ago, so we notice it more since it's our anniversary, we've only had some changing of the leaves a couple of times in 25 years.

[FortyNinerLiz]

I am from Massachusetts, it's very seldom you will see any foliage colors around us until October. The season starts north & works it's way down, so the first of October will still be totally green here but peak up in Canada, you won't have foliage at peak for the entire route. It changes year to year & varies with the amount of rain we get during the spring & summer, but we are usually the 2nd-3rd week of October...we got married on Sept. 30 and are pics look like we got married in the summer, absolutely no colors at all, but after a 2 week honeymoon the colors were great when we got back home. That was 25 years ago, so we notice it more since it's our anniversary, we've only had some changing of the leaves a couple of times in 25 years.

 

Great advice from our view...We have done this cruise several times and we feel early October is the best to start the cruise......Just an observation.....

[riclop]

Sept. it will be warmer.

[ariawoman]

For those of you who have done a Canada/NE cruise could you share your opinions/experiences/preferences for best time to go? I do realize that weather changes, this is hurricane season, etc.

I presume that October is better for the fall foliage but are seas likely to be rockier that month? Any advice or recommendations welcome. Thanks!

 

We went on 10/5/2013 on the summit. Foliage was close to non existent at this time (5th-19th) believe it or not. Really depends on when the 1st frost was. That said - our temperatures were not as cold because the frost hadn't really yet occurred.

[ariawoman]

Deleted post...realized the sailing I asked about wasn't the 9/21 summit one i thought it was :-)

Edited February 18, 2014 by ariawoman

[ariawoman]

Thank you to all who responded. You mentioned a few things that I had not thought of and I appreciate the information. We are thinking of the Summit 14 night cruise in Sept/Oct. We've never done a Canada/NE cruise before. I know it would be very different from our usual Carib. cruises.

 

Do it. You wont be disappointed. I was able to get by most sea days on deck with just a sweatshirt on when we went last year. It was incredibly windy some days though, so bring a hat! :-)

 

Also just as an FYI - several of the ports had free wifi when we got in, so if you have a need for it, keep an eye out. I'm talking about the actual port terminal. Quebecs was so good we got it from our verandah overnight! (we were facing the terminal -- we were at the far dock that you need to shuttle to/from).

 

If you have any questions regarding the itinerary - don't hesitate to ask. It was a lot of relaxation, with some port days thrown in, and to be honest, a nice change of pace for me.

 

I should also note, the passenger age was older on this particular cruise - I was singled out by other passengers far too often for being under 40. Not sure why they cared, I didn't lol. They kept asking me if i booked the right cruise.

[MarkusToe]

End of September out of Vancouver - had a few days upfront the cruise there - 80F at Whistler, p.e. - perfect weather exept the last day....

[Mermen]

We have enjoyed both, September and October. On our first NE / Canada cruise enjoyed the tail end of Hurricane Wilma and the NE coast was like Mr. Toad's wild ride. It was a wet cruise. The colors were spectacular though.

 

The second time, it rained maybe two or three times, mainly in Quebec and PEI. The fall colors were not as pronounced as they were later in September through mid-October.

[blythe]

I think we might enjoy cruising in September when it would likely be a bit warmer than if we wait until October. No quarantees, though! We like the 14 night itinerary of the Summit, especially the 2 days spent in Quebec.

I'd like to see the Titanic memorial as well. Is that quite some distance from the port?

Thank you to everyone for sharing your comments.

[MVPinBoynton]

No one knows when peak will arrive, especially since the cruise covers a large area. We were on the Oct 5-19, 2013 Summit cruise. Some areas had gorgeous fall colors. The best were in Quebec for us; which I had thought would have been completed by the time we got there. You can see the foliage we saw in our New England/Canada review on our website www.thepreismans.com. It was a most enjoyable cruise.

[Phxazzcruisers]

We were on the Summit last year in October and it was the peak for color change. The seas were very calm and the weather cool, but not cold. It was a warmer year than usual, but the cruise was amazing. We were in Quebec October 13th and the colors were incredible. The staff said that it was the perfect week to be there that year. Weather is fickle, but the cruise is amazing. Enjoy