9 Night Canada & New England Cruise questions

[CntPAcruiser]

We're looking at an August 2015 9-Night Canada & New England cruise on Liberty. Itinerary is Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

 

To date, we've only done Caribbean cruises and wanted to try a different sort of destination. We've been on Freedom, so we're familiar with the class of ship. It's definitely more expensive than a Caribbean cruise, and the excursions seem to be a bit pricier, too.

 

Can anyone offer their insights on what the atmosphere will be like on board for this cruise? Or any other differences from cruising the Caribbean?

[DonnaK]

We did a 7 night Canada/New England cruise, and enjoyed it very much, mostly because it was different (and a nice break from the heat/humidity of the summer)!

 

Excursions don't have to be expensive - we set up private tours in Boston (the Hop On, Hop Off trolley) and in Bar Harbor (tour of Acadia Park). We did our own thing in Nova Scotia, walking along the Harbor boardwalk and going to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to see the Titanic exhibit. We took a ship's tour in New Brunswick, but in retrospect, we could have done the same thing with private vendors for half the cost. (We went to Newport instead of Portland).

 

Anyway, my advice is to check out the ports of call board, and figure out how you can explore each port on a budget.

[CntPAcruiser]

Thanks for the response and suggestions. I'm sure we'll enjoy the cruise no matter what. And it will be a nice change.

 

On another note, we've visited Newport and loved it! It was nice to be there for a few days, though, to really take it all in.

[ace1zoe2]

We did an 11 night Quebec City to NJ trip in October 2012 and it is one of my favorite trips to date.

 

There were only 9 children on board and it was a little bit older crowd but we had a fantastic time!

 

We did all private tours for much less than ship tours cost. We rented a car in several places (Halifax & Prince Edward Island that I recall off-hand) and saw a lot for very little money. We had many of the same ports you would be going to.

 

There are a ton of pictures in the review I did of the cruise which is linked in my signature if you'd like to take look.

 

I'm very wordy so if you're not in to reading long reviews just scroll thru the pages and take a look at the pictures to see what you have to look forward to.

 

I highly recommend this itinerary!

 

Cindy

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[cruzinlady1947]

Read Cindy's review......it is fantastic. I've cruised north almost every year and love it. I learned a lot from Cindy's review and her pictures are beautiful.

 

Gwen :)

[ace1zoe2]

Read Cindy's review......it is fantastic. I've cruised north almost every year and love it. I learned a lot from Cindy's review and her pictures are beautiful.

 

Gwen :)

 

 

Thanks Gwen!

[bigkauhuna]

We did the 11 night last Sept. and we call it our lobsters roll cruise. Some of the freshest lobster at all the ports. Do not miss out on the Citadel for in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

[cruzsnooze]

If it can work for you a later date will offer the beauty of fall foliage. I'm looking at a similar cruise for late Sept or early Oct because of fall foliage.

[gelli8112]

We're looking at an August 2015 9-Night Canada & New England cruise on Liberty. Itinerary is Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

 

To date, we've only done Caribbean cruises and wanted to try a different sort of destination. We've been on Freedom, so we're familiar with the class of ship. It's definitely more expensive than a Caribbean cruise, and the excursions seem to be a bit pricier, too.

 

Can anyone offer their insights on what the atmosphere will be like on board for this cruise? Or any other differences from cruising the Caribbean?

 

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm also ready to venture out beyond the Caribbean. I am trying to decide between Canada and New England/ Alaska.

[magicolor_girl]

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm also ready to venture out beyond the Caribbean. I am trying to decide between Canada and New England/ Alaska.

 

 

I visited Alaska last summer and it was stunning. I would go gain in a heartbeat.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[AlFrank]

We're looking at an August 2015 9-Night Canada & New England cruise on Liberty. Itinerary is Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

 

To date, we've only done Caribbean cruises and wanted to try a different sort of destination. We've been on Freedom, so we're familiar with the class of ship. It's definitely more expensive than a Caribbean cruise, and the excursions seem to be a bit pricier, too.

 

Can anyone offer their insights on what the atmosphere will be like on board for this cruise? Or any other differences from cruising the Caribbean?

Did the 7 night on the Brilliance last year with my sister and loved it so much doing it again this year with my husband. Hoping this time to see Acadia, last year we were there on the first day of the government shutdown. Have booked a tour it is $30.pp. Walked around Portland, took the public transportation to Reversing Falls in St John. then just walked around the town. Rented a car in Nova Scotia to drive to Peggy's Cove. All places very easy to get around on your own. Not many kids on this cruise, mostly adults ranging in ages mid 30s to 80s. Quite a few people from England. Lots to do onboard and the Sancturary (adults only pool area) was great, even though we were there late Sept - early Oct, could swim every day. They have movies playing on the giant screen over the outdoor pool afternoon and evening unless there is a football game on.

[CntPAcruiser]

If it can work for you a later date will offer the beauty of fall foliage. I'm looking at a similar cruise for late Sept or early Oct because of fall foliage.

 

I wish we could work it out for more fall color, but schedules do not permit.

 

Thanks to all who provided tips and further reading/research info. It's been very helpful!

[CruisinCadie]

Did a 14-day last fall, RT from Bayonne to Quebec. It was our favorite cruise to date, beating out Alaska.

 

Depending on your interests, Boston and Halifax have hop on, hop off, trolleys and busses which make it very easy to get around. I recommend Oli's Trolley for Bar Harbor.

 

Our cruise was definitely an older demographic. I think there were only 5 children on board, and 2 of those were daughters of the entertainers. All were under 10. But it was a 2 week trip during the school year, so summer will probably be different.

 

Enjoy!

 

Kathy

[cruzinlady1947]

Did a 14-day last fall, RT from Bayonne to Quebec. It was our favorite cruise to date, beating out Alaska.

 

Depending on your interests, Boston and Halifax have hop on, hop off, trolleys and busses which make it very easy to get around. I recommend Oli's Trolley for Bar Harbor.

 

Our cruise was definitely an older demographic. I think there were only 5 children on board, and 2 of those were daughters of the entertainers. All were under 10. But it was a 2 week trip during the school year, so summer will probably be different.

 

Enjoy!

 

Kathy

We did that cruise on both the Explorer and Summit. The best 2 cruises I have been on (about 30+ and counting). I was upset that the Explorer only did about 3 cruises round trip in to Quebec in 2009 before they changed it to just one way up and then a return trip as an additional cruise.:(

 

I guess I will have to do the Summit from now on for that itinerary. I loved the Summit and enjoyed that trip so much. We got to spend an extra night in Quebec, because we had to cancel the stop at our next port because of the weather.

 

I really want to do Alaska at some point. Just don't know when.

 

Gwen :)

[mjldvlks]

Echo most of what others have said. We did a 7 day on Jewel hitting the same ports. We did mainly private tours. Did a tour around the city and a harbor tour in Portland. Highly recommend the Acadia tour in Bar Harbor. One of the bits of information stored in my brain from 6th grade is that the Bay of Fundy has the greatest change in the world from high to lo tide. So in St. John NB we went to the reversing falls and out to one of the areas where they show the bare sea floor at low tide. In Halifax we got a comp ship's excursion to Peggy's Cove because it was a members cruise. If we had not, we would probably have done a private tour there as well. The Titanic museum in the port area is also worth seeing. Al in all, one of my favorite cruises.

 

The ages will skew a but higher, but in August maybe not so much [we went in mid-October].

 

One disagreement -- I do NOT recommend the HoHo bus in Boston. Seems to me that it is too slow and you miss a lot. When you get off, you have to wait quite a while for another bus and when it gets there, there may or may not be seats for you. Boston has great public transportation. I think you are much better off figuring out what you want to see and getting there by public transportation. But take that with a bit of a grain of salt -- I am not a fan of HoHo buses in general. Boston is a great City in any event. Many sites to see and great restaurants. In August, you might be able to take in a game at Fenway -- definitely a must [in my book] if you can do so.

 

Enjoy your cruise. Here is a picture from one from our stops in the Acadia Notional Forest:

 

[Cheryl H]

We've been twice on the 7 night one on the Jewel. Loved it! I would say inside the ship, it is the same vibe, except maybe not as many at the pool. If it's chilly weather, the solarium pool will have some family time during certain hours. On our cruise, I think we were the only ones that took advantage of that. There were only 8 kids on our last Canada/New England cruise, but our son still loved it.

 

Our favorite tour was with Blue Nose Sidecars in Halifax. They took us all around town in their sidecars. We felt like royalty riding around. It was fun. We visited a maple products store, a local author's home, a bakery, and then Peggy's Cove lighthouse. We had them drop us off at the Boardwalk so we could eat at Salty's. Then we shopped and walked the boardwalk back to the ship. There's a photo book from our latest Canada/New England trip in the link below.

 

We also did the Kennebunkport tour and enjoyed that. It was a cute little town and we had a nice lunch at Federal Jack's.

 

We did Oli's Trolley to Acadia National Park.

 

Best of all was all the yummy seafood at each stop.

 

For Boston the first time, we did the Old Towne Trolley hop on and hop off. I think first we had lunch at Legal Seafood on Long Wharf. Then we hopped on the trolley at stop #1. We never experienced any trouble with the trolleys. They had several trolleys and we never waited long at any stop for the next trolley. We hopped off at the Old State House and at the USS Constritution.

 

The second time we were in Boston, we hired a private guide to take us to some of the sites. It was a 6 hour tour. We enjoyed it so much we hired her for the day we got off the ship also. We saw sites downtown, plus we got to go to Concord and Lexington. The icing on the cake was touring John Adams home. Enjoyed Minute Man National Park too.

 

Have fun and enjoy your trip!

[bross2410]

All responses so far are right-on. This is an amazing cruise. Did a 7 night on the Brilliance last September to the same ports. Only excursion we booked was Whale Watching in Bar Harbor, the rest of the ports we just walked around, tried local beers and food and checked out the shops and just talked to all the locals. We loved New Brunswick.

 

The cruise definitely skews toward the older demographic, my wife and I in our mid-30's were some of the youngest passengers on the ship, but I think that's changing as word spreads about these great destinations. Because of the older demo they shifted the dinner times and made them earlier. We were MTD so it didn't matter. Things winded down a little earlier than your typically Caribbean cruise. Very light gambling. When asked about why things were so quiet the staff would tell us things would change when they get to Tampa for the booze cruise!

 

Just to note, if the cruise is hitting ports from South to North the coast will be on the port-side, from North to South it will be starboard. The Portland Headlight Lighthouse is on the starboard side as you leave Portland. Boston, New Brunswick and Portland were the three best sail-aways I've ever seen.

 

Take this cruise - you won't regret it!! If you book it and have more questions feel free to reach out. This was my favorite trip of all time.

[MichaelCMTX]

Thanks for this thread. Part of the logic in booking the Nov 2015 trip is a trial run making sure that's an OK time to be out of the office, and trying to move that Big Annual Time Off in that direction. Lobsters scurry in fear from DW, and a change of scenery would be appreciated - but that's not exactly a good early January option like we've done in the past.

[mjldvlks]

Thanks for this thread. Part of the logic in booking the Nov 2015 trip is a trial run making sure that's an OK time to be out of the office, and trying to move that Big Annual Time Off in that direction. Lobsters scurry in fear from DW, and a change of scenery would be appreciated - but that's not exactly a good early January option like we've done in the past.

 

It's a great cruise. But I don't think the Canada/New England itineraries run that late in the fall. If October will work, I highly recommend these cruises.

[mjldvlks]

Ok how did that happen? My fault I fear -- Sorry.

Edited July 21, 2014 by mjldvlks

[KristyM79]

We did the Canada/New England cruise on the Jewel and it was my favorite. I loved the ports. We had opportunities to hike and have delicious seafood. As a previous poster mentioned, we had a delicious lobster roll lunch at Federal Jack's in Kennebunkport. The crowd on the ship is older, as aside from another couple, we were the youngest (30s). We went at the end of September/early October. The solarium was the perfect place to spend time if you want to swim.

[hailmary25]

We're looking at an August 2015 9-Night Canada & New England cruise on Liberty. Itinerary is Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

 

To date, we've only done Caribbean cruises and wanted to try a different sort of destination. We've been on Freedom, so we're familiar with the class of ship. It's definitely more expensive than a Caribbean cruise, and the excursions seem to be a bit pricier, too.

 

Can anyone offer their insights on what the atmosphere will be like on board for this cruise? Or any other differences from cruising the Caribbean?

 

 

I was just looking at this cruise and wondering the same exact thing. I think one thing that will be different is it seems that this route will be done by the Liberty of the Seas which is a much bigger boat.

 

Even though fall would be beautiful I was looking at august so that we could possibly still use the pools

 

Thanks for starting this thread and all the posts so far have been very encouraging.

[CntPAcruiser]

I was just looking at this cruise and wondering the same exact thing. I think one thing that will be different is it seems that this route will be done by the Liberty of the Seas which is a much bigger boat.

 

Even though fall would be beautiful I was looking at august so that we could possibly still use the pools

 

Thanks for starting this thread and all the posts so far have been very encouraging.

 

As it happens, this cruise no longer fits with our 2015 schedule, so we'll have to set it aside for another year. We're back to looking at Caribbean itineraries for 2015, and there are a few interesting ones out there.

[hailmary25]

For anybody that has posted before or done these trips, a lot of posters are saying the crowd is older.

 

My Wife and I are early 30's would we be out of place or not have as much fun? (especially at night)

 

Not trying to generalize or be rude to anyone just wondering?

[dschultz56]

We just did the 7 night on Brilliance last month. Really enjoyed the break from the Caribbean itineraries. Temps were really nice (70's for highs; 50's for lows) although it was warmer our last day in Portland. The leaves were beautiful in Maine. We did a lighthouse tour in Bar Harbor and another boat tour in Portland that took us to the Bush compound. Definitely a more mature crowd, no kids (other than toddlers). We enjoyed it so much we booked the 9 night for next September.