Canada/New England cruise in September or October

We'd like to do a Canada/New England cruise in 2015 and at the moment we're favouring the 14 night Celebrity Summit cruise as we'd like to do a longer cruise that includes Quebec. Princess have not released their 2015 dates yet but we'd also consider their 10 night one way cruises.

The Celebrity Summit cruises are on September 6 & 20 and on October 4 in 2015. The Princess cruises for this year are on September 22 and October 12 for New York to Quebec and on October 2 for Quebec to New York so I would assume the dates for 2015 would be similar.

For the Celebrity dates I know that October 4 will give the best chance of seeing fall colours but also I've read that it can be very cool in October. For anyone who has cruised in September or October, or who lives in any of these areas, do you think weather on the September 6 would be likely to be warmer, with perhaps more chance of sunny days, even though we wouldn't see the fall colours that early?

I know we can't predict the weather and that anything could happen, but on a few different trips I've found September to be a nice time of year to travel. We visited Switzerland and Austria in September 2012 and had lovely weather and we've visited the Canadian Rockies in September a few years ago again with lovely weather.

I would like to know this too as we are planning an October 18 (15) cruise.

I live in the area. The weather can fluctuate on a day to day basis. It can even snow in October.

October would be a good time to see color.

I-Cruiser, are you looking at an itinerary departing from Boston? If so, find a hotel soon and book it. That weekend will be Head of the Charles, and hotels will be at a premium.

 

For anyone who has cruised in September or October, or who lives in any of these areas, do you think weather on the September 6 would be likely to be warmer, with perhaps more chance of sunny days, even though we wouldn't see the fall colours that early?

 

Native New Englander here! Born and raised in Boston, Mass., and living in southern New Hampshire.

My favorite time to vacation in New England is from mid-September to mid-October. The humidity is usually gone, and so are the crowds of tourists.

Early September is warmer than mid/late October, with the possibility of heat waves and high humidity.

By late October, there's a definite chill. We've had monster storms in late October recently: Snowtober blizzard one year, and Hurricane Sandy the next (which adversely affected my NE/Canada/Bermuda cruise.) Mid-October can also see strong, windy rain storms.

Be aware that September is high season for hurricanes, although there's no telling how many definitely will make it to New England in any year. (2008 saw at least 2 hurricanes affect the Northeast in September, both of which put a crimp in my vacations in Vermont and Maine that year.)

Generally, foliage peaks in New England in Mid-October. Here's an interactive map that shows how the color rolls across New England:

http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

Here's the peak foliage info for Canada (from http://www.torontosun.com/2013/10/02/best-times-to-see-fall-foliage-across-canada ):

Quebec - End of September to mid-to-late October

New Brunswick - Early October

Nova Scotia - Late September through early October

Prince Edward island - Mid-September to the end of October

Newfoundland - Late September to early October

On my late October NE/Canada cruise in 2012, coastal Maine was past peak, but Cape Breton, Nova Scotia still had color.

I live in the area. The weather can fluctuate on a day to day basis. It can even snow in October.

 

October would be a good time to see color.

 

I-Cruiser, are you looking at an itinerary departing from Boston? If so, find a hotel soon and book it. That weekend will be Head of the Charles, and hotels will be at a premium.

Oki, will do. Thank you for the advice.

We took a tour starting in Toronto for 5 days before getting on the ship. We really enjoyed it.

The pictures an story are on our website. We are happy to answer any questions.

As a New Englander all my life and someone who has loved Canada/New England cruises summer after summer, I would not book a cruise that late in the season. It is too likely it will be raw and cool. Of course, it can rain anytime but if weather is an issue for you, I think it too big a gamble for my taste.

JMO......

We'd like to do a Canada/New England cruise in 2015 and at the moment we're favouring the 14 night Celebrity Summit cruise as we'd like to do a longer cruise that includes Quebec. Princess have not released their 2015 dates yet but we'd also consider their 10 night one way cruises.

 

The Celebrity Summit cruises are on September 6 & 20 and on October 4 in 2015. The Princess cruises for this year are on September 22 and October 12 for New York to Quebec and on October 2 for Quebec to New York so I would assume the dates for 2015 would be similar.

 

For the Celebrity dates I know that October 4 will give the best chance of seeing fall colours but also I've read that it can be very cool in October. For anyone who has cruised in September or October, or who lives in any of these areas, do you think weather on the September 6 would be likely to be warmer, with perhaps more chance of sunny days, even though we wouldn't see the fall colours that early?

 

I know we can't predict the weather and that anything could happen, but on a few different trips I've found September to be a nice time of year to travel. We visited Switzerland and Austria in September 2012 and had lovely weather and we've visited the Canadian Rockies in September a few years ago again with lovely weather.

We are doing Celebrity's Sept. 20th, 2015 cruise out of Cape Liberty, New Jersey.

Of course, one can never predict, and there is so much more that goes into determining when the colors are at their peak. And then, even if they are at their peak, there can be a huge windstorm that takes them all away...

I originally thought that later in the year (Oct. 4th) would be the best for colors, but our travel agent talked us into a Sept. departure. We definitely wanted Celebrity, and between their 3 departure dates, we compromised with the middle one (Sept. 20th). It will be our first New England cruise, and we are so excited!!