Advice needed for Canada New England cruises

[Huskerchick]

Have you done this itinerary early in the season or at the end? I will be celebrating a big birthday in 2025 and am starting to look at Canada New England cruises. There is a 10 day in June that I like or there is a 14 day repositioning in October that would bring us back to Fort Lauderdale. Thanks for any suggestions. 

[Navybikermom]

I’ve done this one twice - August and September. I preferred the September one since there were fewer children onboard. If I had the choice between June or October, I guess I would pick October. It would most likely cost more, due to the fall colors being a more popular time of year to be in that part of North America, but that might not be a big factor for everyone. 

 

That is my favorite itinerary so far, especially on the Zaandam!

[sunviking90]

We did a 13 day repositioning from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale in Oct 2019 and loved it. The weather was dry but cool. Halloween decorations in a Quebec City were lots of fun to see. Very quirky. It’s a great time to see the colours changing too. We rented a car in Sydney, NS and drive the Cabot trail and it was beautiful. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Huskerchick]

18 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

We did a 13 day repositioning from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale in Oct 2019 and loved it. The weather was dry but cool. Halloween decorations in a Quebec City were lots of fun to see. Very quirky. It’s a great time to see the colours changing too. We rented a car in Sydney, NS and drive the Cabot trail and it was beautiful. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We lived in ME for 12 years and as a Floridian now I miss my fall color. I guess I was a little worried about hurricane season but I know that can be very much hit or miss 

[sunviking90]

Just now, Huskerchick said:

We lived in ME for 12 years and as a Floridian now I miss my fall color. I guess I was a little worried about hurricane season but I know that can be very much hit or miss 

We did come across a tropical storm and missed a port, then had Boston subbed for it, and then that was cancelled when they closed the Boston port due to the storm. The ship did a great job of going around the storm. All part of cruising fun!

[Mr. Boston]

If it’s any help, we had very little Fall color this year.  When we flew through Montreal to Boston on 10/8/23 the trees were all still green, same in Boston.  We took a 7 day cruise from Quebec City to Boston in late May, early June of 2013 and had very nice weather mostly with some typical Memorial Day overcast drizzly days.  

[RuthC]

Since you lived in Maine for quite a while, I just want to refresh your memory.
Winter doesn't truly end until some Tuesday afternoon in late May. Until then, it is cold and usually rainy. The next day, Summer starts, when the heat and humidity are too high. That Tuesday afternoon is what is known as 'Spring'. 

Plan your trip for the fall, when the air is dry, the sky is a deep blue, and the sun is still warm. 
Foliage did come quite late this year, but that isn't predictable with much accuracy. 

Happy birthday planning. 

[Huskerchick]

8 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Since you lived in Maine for quite a while, I just want to refresh your memory.
Winter doesn't truly end until some Tuesday afternoon in late May. Until then, it is cold and usually rainy. The next day, Summer starts, when the heat and humidity are too high. That Tuesday afternoon is what is known as 'Spring'. 

Plan your trip for the fall, when the air is dry, the sky is a deep blue, and the sun is still warm. 
Foliage did come quite late this year, but that isn't predictable with much accuracy. 

Happy birthday planning. 

I actually laughed out loud Ruth at your comment. Yes we used to joke that the one really nice day in July was "summer" 

[Haljo1935]

We've done Canada New England 3 times - 2x Oct and 1x Sept,  never June. 1st Oct was last cruise we went on right before the big P (pandemic) changed our lives. We had a couple port changes due to weather, but weather in ports was good and colors were stunning.

Last Oct we were exactly 1 week behind 🌀 Fiona - had some port changes, but weather was perfect while we were in port and the colors were extra stunning.

This Sept I thought we'd be a bit early for peeping, but went when the ship did, lol. That was the worse weather - rainy days, canceled excursions, but no port changes.

The itineraries were different for all 3 cruises - there weren't any bad ports, IMO. Very few, children on each of them. I think that's not a family itinerary like Caribbean or AK, so I didn't expect many kiddos.

I prefer that area in the fall and would jump on the 14 day repo. 

Sounds like a great birthday!

 

[Petronillus]

2 hours ago, Mr. Boston said:

If it’s any help, we had very little Fall color this year.  When we flew through Montreal to Boston on 10/8/23 the trees were all still green, same in Boston.  We took a 7 day cruise from Quebec City to Boston in late May, early June of 2013 and had very nice weather mostly with some typical Memorial Day overcast drizzly days.  

Oddly enough, the same was true in Chicago. The fall colors didn't turn until much much later than usual. IIRC, the trees were just turning at Halloween.

[Petronillus]

1 hour ago, Huskerchick said:

I actually laughed out loud Ruth at your comment. Yes we used to joke that the one really nice day in July was "summer" 

When I was in school in Montreal we used to joke that the four seasons of Quebec are June, July, August, and winter.

[kazu]

Fall colours are so inconsistent.  They were late this year due to the warm weather (climate change I think) and no frost.  They need frost to change.  So, there’s never a guarantee IMO.

 

I am doing the opposite and heading from FLL to Montreal in April.  Mid April - mid May can be decent (although some would call it cool) and the itinerary appealed.  I’ll be sure to report but prepared for weather 😉 

[boatmad]

Loved the fall repo on the Zaandam this year.  Warm in Montreal, cold and windy in Quebec.  No rain at all.  Loved the ports,especially Norfolk.  Surprised there was no fall leaf color at all.  I’d do that itinerary again in a heartbeat, in the fall.

[bebe08]

We have done this cruise twice - early and late in season.

 

First time was end of April 2019 from Ft Lauderdale to Montreal on Zaandam.  Was a lovely cruise in spite of chilly temperatures here in Canada. There was flooding that year so cruise had to end in Quebec City (we got an extra day thre) as the St. Lawrence was too high for the ship to get under the bridge to Montreal  We were bussed to Montreal.  

 

Second was on Nieuw Stantendam in early Sept 2022 from Quebec City to Boston and included 3 ports in Newfoundland.  Due to bad weather (remnants of a hurricane) we only made it to 1 of the 3 ports and replacement ports were added.  Due to high swells tendering in Bar Harbour was very difficult and was paused during the worst of it.   Weather was definitely warmer on this cruise but too early for fall colours.  

 

Weather is very unpredictable nowadays and neither cruise went totally as scheduled. We appreciated that HAL was quick to rearrange and offer alternative ports which we enjoyed.   In spite of the hiccups we enjoyed both cruises very much and wouldn't hesitate to do it again at either time of the year.    

 

 

[Mary229]

I would do fall.  The air is crisp and the great throngs of tourists have left.   We have a motto “October is great everywhere “

[rodndonna]

If you need another vote ... October for better chance of good weather and colours.

 

You mention you like the 10 day in June, so depending on what it is you like and how much you may prefer it, I would factor in "when in June?" If early June when kids are in school there are less tourists but weather can be pretty iffy and cool/cold. Late in June the kids are out of school but your chance for better weather improves quite a bit. I guess I would still weigh those in since you "seem" to prefer the June itinerary.

 

[whogo]

We did 14 days Boston-Montreal-Boston 8/27/2022 to 9/10/2022. We were too early for fall colors and too late for puffins, no school kids, great weather.

[bluesplayer]

We did the repositioning cruise on the Koningsdam from Quebec City to Ft Lauderdale. The fall colors were beautiful.  We were one week out from the hurricane so one port was canceled and another trees were very bare.  Other ports were fine. We stayed in QC a few nights prior and took a few tours.  The Fairmount has an interesting historical tour.  We stayed there one cruise..  very busy.  We liked the hotel de Vieux .  We stayed there on an early September cruise too early for fall foliage.  The restaurants in QC are very good and so is the local gin. The nearby falls are beautiful.  Walking around the town is enjoyable.  Our favorite port was Bar Harbor with Acadia Ntl Park.  Don’t miss seeing the St John River & the Bay of Fundy..  the river changes direction of flow.   We really enjoyed the repositioning cruise and the Dutch Cafe on the Koninsdam.

[Tom O.]

I never did a HAL cruise to New England, but I did a Princess one. It was one of my favorite cruises.

It was nice because it stayed overnight in Quebec City and that gave us lots of time to see that incredible city - the highlight of the cruise.

I am a regular visitor to Connecticut, which I have visited every fall for 50 years. I found the fall colors in Canada do not compare to the colors in Southern New England. This is because of the different kind of trees that grow there. The New England cruises spend a lot of time in Canada and when they get to Southern New England you end up spending most of the time in cities like Boston and Bar Harbor. These cruises are not the best way to see fall colors. Also you never know when the colors will start and how intense they will be that year. It is really variable.

 

[aliaschief]

We have done six repositioning cruises from Canada to Florida and one of them was from Florida to Montreal. Needless to say we enjoy these cruises itineraries. Early May many places not open yet for the season. We have had beautiful weather, cold, snow, effects from a hurricane.  Hard to predict peak foliage but around 10 October has been our experience. This year was our latest cruise from Montreal on Seabourn. Last week of October and it was pretty cold and a little bit of fall colors.

Remember only the small ships cruise out of Montreal. The others Quebec City.

Great cruise. Enjoy.

[OlsSalt]

We did the late Fall repositioning one to FLL - gorgeous colors, weather was perfect, much was still green. A wonderful cruise, and I got hooked on poutine at Chez Acton in Quebec.  

 

A cruise one can do over and over again, like Alaska or the Mexican Riviera. Loved Prince Edward Island,  and that great shoe store in ...????

[Huskerchick]

Thank you all for your responses. I love fall so I'm leaning towards the 14 day reposition cruise. Now I just need to figure out how to pack as we normally leave from Florida when we cruise and I seriously look like I'm moving in 😂 

[Hlitner]

Even though we live in the northeast and are used to the annual change of the leaves, we never grow tired of the natural beauty and colors of the fall season.   That being said, it is a crap shoot in terms of timing since the changing of the leaves does vary from year to year.  But we still favor giving it a good try and also agree that cruising when the kids are in school has advantages.

 

Hank