Emerald Princess Quebec to Boston Cruise

[karatemom2]

We are considering booking this 10 day itinerary in September and I would love to hear from those of you who have done this cruise. It looks like an amazing itinerary and we love the Emerald. We have visited a couple of these ports before on a summer New England cruise, but the idea of doing the one way from Quebec and ending in Boston is very appealing. Unfortunately, due to our work schedules, we just can't go any later then mid September, so I'm wondering if we will see any beginning stage maybe of the fall colors? I know October is peak, but hoping we might catch some glimpse of the start of the season.

 

Any feedback you can provide on this particular itinerary would be welcomed!

[Rick&Jeannie]

We have done this run twice now, both times northbound.  The first time we missed Halifax due to high winds and not being able to port.  It's a nice cruise.  One of my most favorite pictures that I've ever taken was in Maine at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse.  The picture itself is not all that "special" to look at...it's what I had to go through to *get* it!  I climbed off the end of a normal trail over and across some VERY rocky boulders to get as far out towards the ocean as I could to get a better angle.  I'm not a mountain goat!  I was CRAZY careful in doing this.

 

 

One of our favorite excursions was the all day trip from Boson that involved Lexington, Concord and many Revolutionary Warr historical sites. 

 

Edited February 7 by Rick&Jeannie

[karatemom2]

Great photos. Thanks so much for your feedback!

[Rick&Jeannie]

[Teechur]

We looked at your itinerary, but ultimately chose the repositioning cruise instead. Fort Lauderdale to Quebec June 19th to July 3rd, 2024. Seven interesting ports as well as Fort Lauderdale and Quebec City.

When we get off of the ship July 3rd in Quebec City, we will take the Princess excursion to Montreal, and overnight there. This allowed us the best possible flights home. I will fly from Montreal to Denver, then connect non-stop to Maui. 👍

[karatemom2]

Please come back and share your experience and what you opted to do in your ports of call! I think we are going to book the September trip, so it will be nice to hear about your experience on the June/July cruise.

[karatemom2]

@Rick&Jeannie what months did you travel on your cruises?

[Rick&Jeannie]

38 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

@Rick&Jeannie what months did you travel on your cruises?

September and October.  The colors in Acadia National Park were amazing during October.

 

[karatemom2]

Wow, very beautiful! I’m sold! 

[cr8tiv1]

The only advice I have for you is to book a flight into/out of Montreal, stay overnight, and take a train to Quebec.  So much easier than flying and stressing out of Quebec Airport.  My cruises were both repositioning to/from FLL to Quebec (July and October).  Late October and we were a little late for Canada leaves.  Some nice views on the way back down the coast.

 

Did a couple of nice "free" walks in Montreal and Quebec.  Do a Google search.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

If you get to port in Newport (I think there's been some controversy from the locals on this...) be sure to do the Cliffwalk and see "The Breakers", the summer cottage (!?) of the Vanderbilts.

 

 

Here's another shot from Acadia National Park:

 

Edited February 8 by Rick&Jeannie

[cr8tiv1]

Newport offers a free shuttle bus during the summer (but I don't think the Boston voyage will stop in Newport).  You can take it to the mansions.  Drop off...walk the cliff walk back to the next stop for return.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

Your weather will be warmer. We ate a lobster roll in every port.

[skynight]

Quebec City to Boston is an A+ itinerary. All nice ports. If you have time I would plan on arriving early before the cruise and remaining after for a few days in Boston.

Montreal is a good place to stop and spend a few days. Then take the 3 hour train to Quebec. Quebec City is another great location. You have the upper and lower old towns, the historic fort, the Plains of Abraham, nice restaurants. It’s just nice.

Saguenay is a small town off the St. Lawrence River. The ship docks a distance from the actual town. We took a shuttle over to the town and walked around.

Charlottetown, PEI. The ship docks right in town. We just walked around.

Sydney, NS. The ship docks close to town. There isn’t very much there. Many took the trip over to Louisbourg NHS on the east coast. I have been there on a land visit. It’s nice.

Halifax. The ship docks adjacent to the boardwalk. It’s a nice waterfront boardwalk which stretches about a mile, and don’t miss the back street. There are also lots of nice trips. If you take a trip leave time to explore the waterfront.

St. John NB. I have been there by car. I’ve also viewed the Minus Basin in the Bay of Fundy when the tidal bore rolled in. I was not impressed. Depending on the tides you might see fishing boats sitting on the mud at low tide and then floating 10 feet above the mud at high tide.

Portland, ME. You will clear US Immigration/Customs here. The lobster restaurant near the ship was crowded with ship passengers. There are lots of the normal stores for both locals and tourists. I did not venture out with any tour.

Boston, MA. Think The Freedom Trail and all those historic sites. Worth at least one overnight.

[Rick&Jeannie]

The reversing rapids in St. John is pretty amazing...don't miss that one.

[ElmwoodPark]

14 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

The only advice I have for you is to book a flight into/out of Montreal, stay overnight, and take a train to Quebec.  So much easier than flying and stressing out of Quebec Airport.  My cruises were both repositioning to/from FLL to Quebec (July and October).  Late October and we were a little late for Canada leaves.  Some nice views on the way back down the coast.

 

Did a couple of nice "free" walks in Montreal and Quebec.  Do a Google search.  

We are doing the cruise as a repositioning cruise on June 19th from FLL to Quebec City where we disembark. Why do you recommend to not use the Quebec City airport?

[Paula_MacFan]

13 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We ate a lobster roll in every port.

 

We did this same thing on our NE cruise in 2018! They were all different but delicious in their own way. One of my favorite memories of that trip. 

 

We also really enjoyed the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park excursion from St. John. Long day but amazing sights with the tides, guided tour with ranger, and pretty fall colors. We were there in early October.

Edited February 8 by Paula_MacFan

[cr8tiv1]

They are no direct flights from Quebec to the United States after the ship docks.  Every flight requires a layover in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and maybe one more?  I had a one hour connection in Montreal.  Running through US immigration and TSA, I was the last one on the plane.  In my case, there were only 2 flights to Montreal.  (Long story about why I couldn’t get on 3 pm flight or other city).  
 

In St. John, there are container shops right at the pier.  Head way back to the sound stage.  Great lobster roll (as recommended by locals in the terminal).

Edited February 8 by cr8tiv1

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

Quebec City to Boston is an A+ itinerary. All nice ports. If you have time I would plan on arriving early before the cruise and remaining after for a few days in Boston.

Montreal is a good place to stop and spend a few days. Then take the 3 hour train to Quebec. Quebec City is another great location. You have the upper and lower old towns, the historic fort, the Plains of Abraham, nice restaurants. It’s just nice.

Saguenay is a small town off the St. Lawrence River. The ship docks a distance from the actual town. We took a shuttle over to the town and walked around.

Charlottetown, PEI. The ship docks right in town. We just walked around.

Sydney, NS. The ship docks close to town. There isn’t very much there. Many took the trip over to Louisbourg NHS on the east coast. I have been there on a land visit. It’s nice.

Halifax. The ship docks adjacent to the boardwalk. It’s a nice waterfront boardwalk which stretches about a mile, and don’t miss the back street. There are also lots of nice trips. If you take a trip leave time to explore the waterfront.

St. John NB. I have been there by car. I’ve also viewed the Minus Basin in the Bay of Fundy when the tidal bore rolled in. I was not impressed. Depending on the tides you might see fishing boats sitting on the mud at low tide and then floating 10 feet above the mud at high tide.

Portland, ME. You will clear US Immigration/Customs here. The lobster restaurant near the ship was crowded with ship passengers. There are lots of the normal stores for both locals and tourists. I did not venture out with any tour.

Boston, MA. Think The Freedom Trail and all those historic sites. Worth at least one overnight.

Thanks for this. I'll be visiting some of these ports on my Canada-New England cruise on the Emerald in August. It's good to know what's available to do. 👍

[skynight]

1 hour ago, ElmwoodPark said:

We are doing the cruise as a repositioning cruise on June 19th from FLL to Quebec City where we disembark. Why do you recommend to not use the Quebec City airport?

I know there are direct flights between Quebec City and Newark. Many other U.S. locations probably require a transfer, and maybe 2 transfers. I see your screen name is ElmwoodPark. If you are from Elmwood Park NJ this Newark flight is short and easy. I took it. Customs/Immigration at Quebec City Airport was a breeze, kiosks. 

[nanrandy]

One answer to your question -  Why do you recommend to not use the Quebec City airport? - We live in Hawaii, and found that we were able to save about $400  per person on air fare by flying into and out of Montreal rather than Quebec.  Also, the scenery on the train ride is beautiful and the trains are wonderfully comfortable.  Only bad part is trying to get a taxi from the station in Quebec City to your hotel.  It might be worthwhile to try to reserve a hotel within walking distance of the station.

[Rick&Jeannie]

When we did our second Canada/New England sailing (which went all the way to Quebec as opposed to R/T NYC for the first) we did a post-cruise hotel via Princess, which provides for the transfer to the hotel and then from the hotel to the airport.  I typically fly Delta.  Quebec is a very small airport, very limited flights in/out that would benefit us.  I know you can certainly get hotels for cheaper than what Princess charges, but for us once you include the transfers and convenience of a "one stop shop" we just prefer to do it that way.

[ColoradoMom!!]

We did a similar trip RT Boston Sept 21 - Oct 2nd 2023 on Celebrity Summit. LOVED it!

 

Completely lucked out on the weather as rain is the norm during this time frame. We were a bit early for the color I am afraid.  I have pictures I can send of the color on these dates if you like.  My e mail is hidden in interests on my profile page. 

[karatemom2]

I'm also curious about the references to flying into Quebec. There are a couple of good flights for us from LAX that fly through Montreal and connect to Quebec, both are just $17 more in price than just flying into Montreal, so it seems to make sense. Just wondering if there is a reason for concern?

 

When you are flying through to Quebec as your final destination with your luggage checked through, would you go through Canadian immigration in Montreal before your connecting flight, or at your final destination in Quebec?

 

Just wondering in order to assess the timing of the layovers.

 

[mrell345]

10 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

I'm also curious about the references to flying into Quebec. There are a couple of good flights for us from LAX that fly through Montreal and connect to Quebec, both are just $17 more in price than just flying into Montreal, so it seems to make sense. Just wondering if there is a reason for concern?

 

When you are flying through to Quebec as your final destination with your luggage checked through, would you go through Canadian immigration in Montreal before your connecting flight, or at your final destination in Quebec?

 

Just wondering in order to assess the timing of the layovers.

 

You clear customs in Montreal, prior to flying on to Quebec city, you may not need to pick up your bags, you have to ckeck with your airline.  Usually plan at least a 2 hour layover or a bit more if you can arrange it.

Edited February 8 by mrell345