Best cruise to NE/Canada

[shipgeeks]

11 hours ago, QueenP said:

Anyone know how customs is going the other way? Saint John NB is our first Canadian port, what are the customs procedures like there?

Not an issue at all. 

[lx200gps]

19 hours ago, QueenP said:

Anyone know how customs is going the other way? Saint John NB is our first Canadian port, what are the customs procedures like there?

We were on the Emerald Princess out of Boston a few weeks ago, first Canadian stop Halifax. This was when the US Immigration fiasco caused some US citizens to not be able to leave the for 5 hours after the process started. The entry into Canada, after having left Boston, was seamless, unlike the US process. A day or two before you arrive in Canada, your Steward should leave a Canadian Customs and Immigration Declaration card in your cabin, to be accurately filled out for everyone in the cabin (one card per family). You then give it back to the Steward or hand it in to Guest Services. That's all there is to do, and when you arrive in Canada, you are pre-cleared and just walk off the ship as usual. If there is any issue with your Declaration card, they will let you know in plenty of time.

[Beachiekeen]

On Quebec to Boston, what exactly happens with customs when we get to the first US port? Is it an interview on the ship?

 

Also, on this same itinerary, it shows the embarkation port day one as Quebec City but not leaving Quebec City until 5pm on day TWO. So there’s an overnight in Quebec on the ship before it even leaves port? 

Edited August 10 by Beachiekeen

[lx200gps]

21 minutes ago, Beachiekeen said:

On Quebec to Boston, what exactly happens with customs when we get to the first US port? Is it an interview on the ship?

 

Also, on this same itinerary, it shows the embarkation port day one as Quebec City but not leaving Quebec City until 5pm on day TWO. So there’s an overnight in Quebec on the ship before it even leaves port? 

On your first point, which port is your first US stop? In our case, it was Portland and yes, the interviews were held on the ship, you had to have a face to face with a CBP agent and have your picture taken before you could leave the ship, regardless of whether you actually planned to leave the ship or not. Non-US citizens were herded into one bar, US citizens into another. Sorry, can't say how it would be handled at other ports in the US NE.

 

As to Quebec City, yes, it's my understanding that you WOULD have an overnight in Quebec City before the ship left. Odd, but not unheard of.

[Beachiekeen]

If our ports are the following, what port(s) other than Boston could we see some color outside of the port area? (I know there’s no guarantee of color, I just want to know logistically what ports would give us the ability to see some if conditions.are right). 
 

Quebec City

Saguenay

Charlottetown

Sydney

Halifax

Saint John

Portland (may just stay on ship due to customs)

Boston

 

 

[CTSandy]

Don’t expect a lot of color until early October - I’m in CT and our color peak is usually around Columbus Day weekend - Quebec/Maine is about a week before us.  I’ve done the 11/12 night on Celebrity several times and enjoyed most of the ports very much.  Halifax was one of my favorites - besides Peggy’s Cove lots of other interesting things in town - botanic gardens, the Citadel, cemetery where Titanic victims buried - the boardwalk area where you dock is nice to stroll through with restaurants and stores that are fun to stop in.  Overnight in Quebec is beautiful, especially if you have a balcony room facing the Frontenac.  Very European and quaint - wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to walk uphills.  A friend and I are doing this itinerary on Silhouette this year in September and looking forward to it.

[Beachiekeen]

Thank you CTSandy. The Celebrity one is my favorite that I’ve looked at but my friend is leaning toward a Princess southbound. She really wants to see fall color so I need to figure out what ports we can get out into to possibly see some.

[bbodb1]

On 8/8/2024 at 10:24 PM, 6986 said:

We are going Boston to Quebec in mid -September on Princess. Chose this direction for the date but now glad we did. We have not done this particular cruise before but I’ve since read several posts that discuss having to clear U.S. Customs in Portland if you start in Quebec and go to Boston. Apparently that takes an inordinate amount of time and requires an on board face to face interview with limited customs agents often impacting your available time in Portland. Sounds like some cruise itineraries go directly from their last Canadian stop to Boston or NYC to avoid this disruption. 

This might be a reason to consider becoming a Nexus pass holder but having never used my Nexus pass for this specific purpose, I would definitely research this first. 

 

I can tell you from experience having a Nexus pass makes crossing the U.S. / Canadian border MUCH faster. 

Edited August 15 by bbodb1

[paddingtonbear]

If you are doing a southbound cruise with princess for fall colours the last one is Sept 29 2025. 

Unless you want to do a Quebec to Fort Lauderdale.  There isn't that much choice. You just have to go with the itinerary they offer. 

[TMLAalum]

11 hours ago, bbodb1 said:

This might be a reason to consider becoming a Nexus pass holder but having never used my Nexus pass for this specific purpose, I would definitely research this first. 

 

I can tell you from experience having a Nexus pass makes crossing the U.S. / Canadian border MUCH faster. 

I don't think Nexus helps in Portland unless you are arriving by personal watercraft from out of the USA. It does help when traveling by car because there are designated Nexus lanes. 

[zqvol]

12 hours ago, bbodb1 said:

This might be a reason to consider becoming a Nexus pass holder but having never used my Nexus pass for this specific purpose, I would definitely research this first. 

 

I can tell you from experience having a Nexus pass makes crossing the U.S. / Canadian border MUCH faster. 

Doubt Nexus would help. It might speed things up for you but not for the other 2500 people in the line that you have to wait in. 

[Beachiekeen]

3 hours ago, paddingtonbear said:

If you are doing a southbound cruise with princess for fall colours the last one is Sept 29 2025. 

Unless you want to do a Quebec to Fort Lauderdale.  There isn't that much choice. You just have to go with the itinerary they offer. 

Yes the 9/29 is the one we are looking at and will most likely choose. We are deciding this weekend. I’m sending her this, the Celebrity one, a Norwegian 7-day and a 9-day Holland America Montreal to NY. But the Princess one is by far the best itinerary IMO. I know she wants to see Saint John and the Princess cruise is the only one of these choices that stops there. 

Edited August 15 by Beachiekeen

[lx200gps]

6 hours ago, zqvol said:

Doubt Nexus would help. It might speed things up for you but not for the other 2500 people in the line that you have to wait in. 

In the case of clearing US Immigration upon the ship's arrival in Portland FROM Canada, then NEXUS will 100% absolutely be useless. We went through the process a few weeks ago, and although, as Canadians, we were cleared and off the ship 30 minutes after the process started (vs up to 5 hours for US citizens), NEXUS never came into it, they did not want our cards and we still had to stand in the same long line as everyone else to have our picture taken. NEXUS usually helps at airports and land crossings, but with this particular US immigration clearance in Portland it is useless

[zqvol]

2 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

In the case of clearing US Immigration upon the ship's arrival in Portland FROM Canada, then NEXUS will 100% absolutely be useless. We went through the process a few weeks ago, and although, as Canadians, we were cleared and off the ship 30 minutes after the process started (vs up to 5 hours for US citizens), NEXUS never came into it, they did not want our cards and we still had to stand in the same long line as everyone else to have our picture taken. NEXUS usually helps at airports and land crossings, but with this particular US immigration clearance in Portland it is useless

Thanks for the confirmation of what I was thinking. 

[lx200gps]

13 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Thanks for the confirmation of what I was thinking. 

Fortunately, NEXUS really wasn't necessary, as we Canadians (and all other "foreigners") were processed very quickly, there only being a few hundred of us. It's inexplicable why the USCBP insisted on having the same number of agents processing the few of us as they did processing the thousands of Americans.

[Beachiekeen]

Does anything happen customs-wise when we board the ship in Quebec if we are doing Quebec to Boston?  I am assuming that is all done when we land in Canada on the plane and we just board the ship like we would in the U.S.?

 

I guess nothing happens actually--I just remembered we boarded our cruise to Alaska in Vancouver and I don't remember anything extra.  We got there by train from Seattle and I think the train conductor checked us on the train.

Edited August 15 by Beachiekeen

[zqvol]

16 minutes ago, Beachiekeen said:

Does anything happen customs-wise when we board the ship in Quebec if we are doing Quebec to Boston?  I am assuming that is all done when we land in Canada on the plane and we just board the ship like we would in the U.S.?

 

I guess nothing happens actually--I just remembered we boarded our cruise to Alaska in Vancouver and I don't remember anything extra.  We got there by train from Seattle and I think the train conductor checked us on the train.

In Vancouver you cleared US Customs before boarding because your next stop was in the US. In Quebec your next stop is still in Canada so no customs. You will clear US Customs at your first US port on the way back to Boston. 

[Beachiekeen]

Thank you!  And if we were to do a round trip from Boston, we would still have the customs stop on the way back to Boston from Canada, correct?  I just want to make sure I give my friends all the right info in case it factors into their decision.  I'm very glad I found out about it so we weren't surprised.

 

Personally I would rather do Boston to Quebec but I believe our friends want to do the southbound cruise.

Edited August 15 by Beachiekeen

[paddingtonbear]

14 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

Yes the 9/29 is the one we are looking at and will most likely choose. We are deciding this weekend. I’m sending her this, the Celebrity one, a Norwegian 7-day and a 9-day Holland America Montreal to NY. But the Princess one is by far the best itinerary IMO. I know she wants to see Saint John and the Princess cruise is the only one of these choices that stops there. 

That is the cruise we're doing in 2025.  I liked the itinerary and the direction (following the fall colours down the coast).  But, make sure you book after discussing it this weekend as there aren't many good cabins left of the type I like - balconies.  

 

Edited August 16 by paddingtonbear

[Beachiekeen]

6 minutes ago, paddingtonbear said:

That is the cruise we're doing in 2025.  I liked the itinerary and the direction (following the fall colours down the coast).  But, make sure you book after discussing it this weekend as there aren't many good cabins left of the type I like - balconies.  

 

Well hopefully we will be joining you! 😀

[Beachiekeen]

On 8/15/2024 at 10:21 PM, paddingtonbear said:

That is the cruise we're doing in 2025.  I liked the itinerary and the direction (following the fall colours down the coast).  But, make sure you book after discussing it this weekend as there aren't many good cabins left of the type I like - balconies.  

 

Can you share which balcony/deck you chose and why? Also do you know if port or starboard is best for the Princess cruise? We are booking this weekend! 

Edited August 17 by Beachiekeen

[paddingtonbear]

16 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

Can you share which balcony/deck you chose and why? Also do you know if port or starboard is best for the Princess cruise? We are booking this weekend! 

They say going south on this cruise the starboard side will give you a good view of the land (afternoon sun) If you just want to see ocean going south go the port side.  (Morning sun).

 

All the midship balconies had gone when we booked in May. We went very close to mid ship but a little aft. Could have gone a little forward but didn’t.  Going far forward or far aft can make susceptible people sea sick in rough seas.  
 

We went Baja deck - cabins above and below - quieter. Can’t be seen from the sea walk not near the smoking area.  We looked at B503 (not right on the stairs which can be noisy but great access to stairs and lifts) but went with B507 or B509 or B511 - a deluxe balcony as it has a couch and was not very much more. 
 

Some people like the head of the bed to be forward others like it aft.  If you look at room videos on you tube you can work out which cabins have which. They alternate.

 

Yes, I’m a tad fussy 🤣 and I overthink things but I’m happy that way!! 

 

 

Edited August 18 by paddingtonbear

[marys350]

We did an 11 night round trip Canada New England cruise out of Boston in early September, 2023, on Celebrity Summit. The itinerary was the same as the Celebrity Silhouette in 2025, with the overnight in Quebec City, except our stop in Bar Harbor has been replaced by Rockland due to new cruise ship restrictions imposed by the town of Bar Harbor. We love Celebrity cruise line and enjoyed the itinerary. Celebrity Silhouette has an indoor solarium swimming pool which is great for cool/cold weather itineraries.

 

The port stops in Sydney, Nova Scotia (Cape Breton Island) and Halifax, Nova Scotia have links to Scotland and Gaelic culture. 

https://blog.canadatravelspecialists.com/nova-scotias-scottish-heritage/?amp=1

In Sydney, we took a private excursion to the Highland Village Museum and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck (see article for description of these sights).

 

Which ever itinerary you pick I'd recommend picking the one with the best times in port so that you have sufficient time to get out and see the countryside. The Sept 29 Celebrity Silhouette or the Princess one way cruise at the beginning of October would probably give you the best chance to see some foliage, which usually peaks around Columbus Day weekend. Some Canadian tourist sites start to have reduced hours or staff  starting in mid-October.

Edited August 18 by marys350
Add info

[Beachiekeen]

11 hours ago, paddingtonbear said:

They say going south on this cruise the starboard side will give you a good view of the land (afternoon sun) If you just want to see ocean going south go the port side.  (Morning sun).

 

All the midship balconies had gone when we booked in May. We went very close to mid ship but a little aft. Could have gone a little forward but didn’t.  Going far forward or far aft can make susceptible people sea sick in rough seas.  
 

We went Baja deck - cabins above and below - quieter. Can’t be seen from the sea walk not near the smoking area.  We looked at B503 (not right on the stairs which can be noisy but great access to stairs and lifts) but went with B507 or B509 or B511 - a deluxe balcony as it has a couch and was not very much more. 
 

Some people like the head of the bed to be forward others like it aft.  If you look at room videos on you tube you can work out which cabins have which. They alternate.

 

Yes, I’m a tad fussy 🤣 and I overthink things but I’m happy that way!! 

 

 

Thank you, I was thinking starboard also but good to hear someone else thinks so. Think we are doing a balcony on deck 9. See you on board!! 😀

[Birdnutty]

On 8/18/2024 at 3:10 PM, marys350 said:

https://blog.canadatravelspecialists.com/nova-scotias-scottish-heritage/?amp=1

In Sydney, we took a private excursion to the Highland Village Museum and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck (see article for description of these sights).

 

 

With whom did you arrange this private excursions?  We're a little late to the party with our mid-September '24 cruise, and I haven't found one available.  Hoping to still locate one.