Children on the Canada/New England cruise?

[calteacher]

Help. We would like some feedback from anyone who has taken children on a Canada/New England cruise.

 

We are hoping to take our family on a cruise in July 2017 to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. We previously took them on a cruise to Alaska and our DGKs (ages then 3, 5, 7) really enjoyed the cruise. Of course there was whale watching, totem poles, etc. to keep them interested in addition to the Kids' Club.

 

Problem: we cannot do a spring vacation trip as our GKs and our DD do not have the same vacation. Also, Easter is late in 2017 and HAL has no caribbean cruises during the Easter time frame.

 

We don't want to do Alaska again as we want the kids to have a new experience. But, it seems that most of the things to see/do on the Canada/New England cruise relate to enjoying scenery, etc.

 

Can you provide any info as to how you think a 11, 9, and 7 year old might respond to this cruise? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[RuthC]

This itinerary is chock full of Colonial American/Canadian history! You can bring them to various sites they have studied in school, and make it come alive! The next time they hear about it in a classroom it will all come back to them, vividly, and they will get excited about their lessons.

The French & Indian War and the American Revolution are everywhere!

 

I grew up in New England, with trips over into Quebec, and visited all these places. It was exciting to read about the Plains of Abraham, and be able to picture it. The kids can take time to see Old Ironsides in Boston, and see where people from the Titanic are buried in Halifax. The nearby museum has artifacts.

 

Little kids could have a hard time on this itinerary, but for kids of school age? It's a fabulous opportunity every kid should be lucky enough to get.

[BKFlowerMound]

We took our then 12 and 15 year old boys on the Maasdam in 2015.

 

Were there a lot of children - No. Were there enough for them to make a few friends, yes. In fact, there were more on this cruise then during our HAL Alaska cruise. It is HAL after all, which attracts an older demographic and fewer families than, perhaps, any other mass market cruise line.

 

As far as the ports go, there are several things that could be of interest to kids. Quebec City has the Citadel with its changing of the guard, cannons, etc. Sydney has the Louisburg Fortress. Halifax has many options suitable for children, including some Titanic things if that's of interest to them. If they are girls, PEI has Anne of Green Gables stuff (I have boys and they couldn't have cared less but liked the Confederation Bridge). Bar Harbor has Acadia National Park. At either end is Montreal and Boston, which have just a ton of stuff for children.

 

HAL is my boys least favorite cruise line but compared to another vacation option, they would choose a HAL cruise and they certainly enjoyed the Maasdam cruise and were happy to accompany us. If you want to do New England and Canada in the Summer, HAL is pretty much your only choice. The kids should have a good time.

[jhsocal]

Being a July cruise there will be many other children on board for them to join in various activities.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I'm about to embark on the Canada/ New England cruise for the third time. So obviously I enjoy this itinerary. I took my two sons,- age 27- and Marc 14 at the time and my 27 year old daughter-in-law last year. The three of us adults loved it. My 14 year old was like "meh". Marc had previously done that itinerary with me in 2011, when he was 11 and he was very bored that time too, but I thought I'd give it another try. He didn't rave about the cruise this time either. However he has been on megaships that have much more to do.

 

I like the small intimate ships- but there really isn't much for little ones to do- besides the youth program and a small pool to take a dip in. The cruise is definitely not geared to kids, but it is a cruise line that tends to get multi-generation families in the summer. So there will be other young children onboard.

 

We enjoyed walking around Bar Harbor and dining at Stewman's on the water, but this would be pretty dull for little ones. There is a small park on the waterfront in Bar Harbor where lots of young families were playing with their children and the little ones seemed to be enjoying that (and it's free).

 

In Halifax we took a taxi ride and asked the driver to show us some of the area- but this bored my 14 year old. There is a fort there where the kids can run around and a candy store in the middle of town called Sweet Jane's that was a hit with my son both times we've been in Halifax.

 

In Sydney we went to an old historic fortress called Louisbourg but the bus ride to and from there and the guided tour would be boring for little ones. i don't think they'd get much out of it, and wouldn't have the patience for a guided tour. I'd recommend a private tour of some sort to Louisbourg because it is a fascinating place. You could stop off when necessary if you did a private tour. You would need car seats.

 

In Prince Edward Island we went to Green Gables, which costs about $90 for a taxi (round trip). One could also rent a car there (I am doing that this time). There is an Budget rental car in walking distance of the ship. It might be fun to do that, but you'd need three car seats. We enjoyed Green Gables- lots of room for kids to explore the grounds and gardens (except in the farmhouse house itself- which has valuable pieces). There is a nice gift shop and my little ones never met a gift shop they didn't like. Highlight for my sons was stopping off for some locally made ice cream.

 

Quebec is absolutely stunning and does require a lot of walking to enjoy it. It's uphill to the town and there is a funicular that you can take to the top. Again- the history will be lost on the little ones- but you'll get good photos. I've taken my sons all over creation and they've forgotten most of these places, but I have my memories and treasure these photos from around the world.

 

In Montreal they might enjoy the Science Center near the port and the Botanical Gardens.

 

If I were to ask my younger son if he'd prefer Alaska or Canada- he'd definitely say Alaska. We both enjoy that part of the world and it's casual and there are lots of family friendly excursions in Alaska. Less so in Canada.

 

Bermuda is another option you might consider. Marc and I really enjoy sailing there and having three days on that beautiful island. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean would be a better fit for the little ones because there is "incabin" sitting on Celebrity and a nice youth program for 3 and up. Royal has more childcare services and a babysitting for 2 year olds.

Edited April 26, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Sorry I read the previous ages of the kids- so was thinking they were still 3, 5 and 7. I reread you post and see that they are now 7,9, and 11. So car seats aren't necessary, and you won't be needing babysitting beyond the youth programs. Another consideration is where do the Grandchildren live. If you are in California- Alaska would definitely win over Canada/New England. I wouldn't fly all the way to the East coast for a Canada/New England cruise. The kids would like Alaska more and it would be completely new to the youngest ones.

Edited April 26, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[calteacher]

The Alaska cruise was only 3 years ago and all three children definitely remember it, so it wouldn't be anything new. An eastern cruise would allow my Dd and her family to spend another week in the east and perhaps visit Williamsburg and D.C. (they live in ilinois).

[rebeccalouiseagain]

It sounds like a good experience for the children. Have a great time.:)

[lupaglupa]

We took our ten 10 year old son on this cruise last year. In addition to loving the time at Club HAL, he enjoyed:

 

The Titanic exhibits in Halifax and exploring the Citadel;

Seeing Fortress Louisbourg on the Sydney stop;

Walking around Charlottestown and eating chocolate covered potato chips; and,

Seeing the old streets and trying French pastries in Quebec City.

 

We had planned a whale watch in Bar Harbor but skipped that stop due to a mechanical issue.

 

There were quite a few kids on the ship - enough for him to find compatible friends and beg to get back to Club HAL whenever it was open. We had three generations on the cruise and all found it an excellent time.

[chefestelle]

I've read this thread with some considerable interest. My DD went on an Alaskan cruise with her father when she was 8 or 9. She loved Club HAL but thought the train ride was boring and the dog sled ride ok. She loved the puppies and that was the highlight of all their activities. She recommends giving the lumberjack show a complete miss. Maybe Alaska is more enjoyable to younger kids than that. PEI, on the other hand, was way up on her list of places to see. We went to Green Gables which wasn't super interesting to her except for the pony ride and old school room. However, she loved the Ripley Museum we stopped at on the way there. She loved the interactive creature pool at the Charlottetown harbour, the sandcastle exhibit and the Eco tour we took on a lobster boat. Nova Scotia was also a favourite with the chocolate covered bacon, fabulous waterfront, and maritime museum. I wasn't overwhelmed by Peggy's Cove (it's just another lighthouse to a west coast girl) but DD thought it was worth seeing. I wish I could have taken her to see where my grandmother landed but another time. New Brunswick has the flower pot rocks which are really cool. It's easy to get there if you have enough time. I'm not sure which stops are included in each tour. Newfoundland is on our schedule for this summer. We intend to see signal hill and go on an iceberg/whale tour. I haven't been to the American ports but they are on our bucket list. So I think it really depends on what your kids like to do and see. Time also factors in. These were all land vacations whereas Alaska was a cruise. There is much to fill the bill in the maritimes so I think your grandkids would enjoy it!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app