When to do a New England/Canada Cruise

[kcrowdis]

Hi there,

 

I also made this post in the Canada area but thought someone here may have info to share as well . . .

 

I am looking for some advice on the best time to do the New England/Canada cruise. My husband and I are planning this cruise for our 5-year anniversary, which is on October 19. We found a cruise on Royal Caribbean (Explorer of the Seas) that is from October 12 - October 21. It stops in Newport, Rhode Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bar Harbor, Maine; Portland, Maine; and Boston, Mass.

 

We were doing a bit of research in terms of things to do in the ports and noticed some of the activities (particularly in our Canadian stops) shut down mid-October, some specifically mentioned Canadian Thanksgiving. I am thinking this is less of a concern in the US ports since it will be warmer in those spots.

 

I am wondering if anyone has advice on if this in fact too late to be doing this cruise and if we will miss out on a significant amount of the main attractions.

 

There is another option to do a similar cruise (no stop in Newport though) in September but the ship is not as nice.

 

Sorry for the long post - if anyone has any information to share it would most appreciated!!

 

Thanks,

Kim

[Redsoxfan11]

Hi there,

 

I also made this post in the Canada area but thought someone here may have info to share as well . . .

 

I am looking for some advice on the best time to do the New England/Canada cruise. My husband and I are planning this cruise for our 5-year anniversary, which is on October 19. We found a cruise on Royal Caribbean (Explorer of the Seas) that is from October 12 - October 21. It stops in Newport, Rhode Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick; Bar Harbor, Maine; Portland, Maine; and Boston, Mass.

 

We were doing a bit of research in terms of things to do in the ports and noticed some of the activities (particularly in our Canadian stops) shut down mid-October, some specifically mentioned Canadian Thanksgiving. I am thinking this is less of a concern in the US ports since it will be warmer in those spots.

 

I am wondering if anyone has advice on if this in fact too late to be doing this cruise and if we will miss out on a significant amount of the main attractions.

 

There is another option to do a similar cruise (no stop in Newport though) in September but the ship is not as nice.

 

Sorry for the long post - if anyone has any information to share it would most appreciated!!

 

Thanks,

Kim

 

 

I do know all of the major attractions are open up here in New England until around Veterens Day (11/11) DH and I drive up to Canada regularly and haven't found a lot of things closed down that early. Canadian Thanksgiving is on 10/8 this year I believe. Leaf peepers are out in full force in October so everything is open during that time. It's big tourist time up here. If you want great foliage it peaks in the northern part of New England and Canada in early October, southern ME and NH usually 2nd week, in MA where I live 3rd week and later south of here. We had an abnormally warm fall so it peaked late Oct/early Nov here last year. As far as doing the similar cruise, what are the ports. Newport is nice but I wouldn't base my decision on that because it's just okay in my opinion. The mansions are worth seeing. Growing up here, I think that there are many nicer, less "touristy" areas that give you a real sense of New England. I lived in Newport one summer while in college at the Salve Regina summer program so I do know the ambiance of the area. The towns like Little Compton outsideof Newport are so much prettier. If you have any questions feel free to ask. Good luck booking your cruise. It's a tough decision to pick the right one!

[kcrowdis]

Thanks for the info, it is helpful. Noticing where you are from I do have one other question for you. As I mentioned one of the stops on this cruise is to Boston, Mass. My husband and I have been there before for a long weekend. We did the Freedom Trail and everything associated with it when we were there last. We went over to Harvard. We did Cheers. We went to the obversation deck of one of the tall buildings (forgive me I forgot the name of it). Do you have anything you recommend for Boston that may be good for some one who has already toured much of the area? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Redsoxfan11]

Thanks for the info, it is helpful. Noticing where you are from I do have one other question for you. As I mentioned one of the stops on this cruise is to Boston, Mass. My husband and I have been there before for a long weekend. We did the Freedom Trail and everything associated with it when we were there last. We went over to Harvard. We did Cheers. We went to the obversation deck of one of the tall buildings (forgive me I forgot the name of it). Do you have anything you recommend for Boston that may be good for some one who has already toured much of the area? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

That would be the Pru (prudential) lol. Boston Common and the swan boat rides are fun I haven't been for 3 years but it was $2 a person, walk along Newbury St which is the high end shopping district with lots of cafes etc..., Chinatown has great food and shopping, Faneuil Hall Market place is sooo much fun, the statehouse, the public gardens, The Italian North end, a tour of Fenway when the Red Sox are out of town...There's so much to do here. The Science Museum, the Aquarium and the JFK Library are all wonderful too. Have fun in our neck of the woods!

[Capebreton]

Your best bet is the last week of sept or the first 2 weeks of Oct , you just never know , but heres hoping the leaves are still on the trees with out a wind storm

:)