Is Early September a Good Time to Go?

Is the first week of September a good time to cruise the Canada/NE itinerary weather-wise? I checked last year's weather on the internet and it showed the Canadian ports at about 20 degrees. I'm just worried about bad storms and hurricanes and getting seasick. I've always wanted to see Eastern Canada and as it is expensive to fly within our own country I thought I cruise there for a short visit. Thanking you in advance for any comments on this itinerary, the weather and anything else you would like to share.

The whole Canada/NE cruising season is in hurricane season.

October will give you cooler temps but better foliage, if that's what you're after.

My family can only cruise this itinerary in the first week of September. Has the weather ever been so bad that it affected the entire cruise and it was a washout. I'm taking this cruise for the ports and of course to visit Eastern Canada as I'm from Western Canada. Thanks.

Ever? Yes. Canada/NE trips have been moved to mid atlantic or Bermuda itineraries due to hurricane issues. Not in the past few years but it has happened.

My family can only cruise this itinerary in the first week of September. Has the weather ever been so bad that it affected the entire cruise and it was a washout. I'm taking this cruise for the ports and of course to visit Eastern Canada as I'm from Western Canada. Thanks.

Honestly, there are no weather guarantees.

Having said that, the September issues over the last few years have been with getting to Bermuda, not New England. But it's always possible that a weather event could happen that would cause an itinerary change. One of the most commonly mentioned events is skipping Bar Harbor due to fog.

I did a three day cruise to nowhere in March where we were supposed to go to Halifax, dock for an hour at midnight, and come back to Cape Liberty. That never happened because of a storm. We sailed south to South Carolina and came back.

There are many options for Canada sailing from New York, Boston, and Montreal/Quebec. What exactly are you looking at?

Hi Carol. Thank you for all your helpful advice on the East Coast Departure forum last year. As we're from the West Coast of Canada, I've always wanted to visit Eastern Canada. For some reason it's quite expensive to fly within our own country. With cruising I can visit some US ports that I've never been to and of course visit Halifax and New Brunswick. I've always had to take Bonine as I get seasick except while cruising in the Caribbean. This year while cruising Anthem back to Cape Liberty, I had to take Bonine on the last sea day as the water was choppy coming back. Will cruising the Canada/NE itinerary be like this all the way through? I guess I'm worried that the weather will be so bad that we'll be stuck in the cabin for 7 days and be sick. It appears that September/October is the only time to cruise this itinerary. HAL has cruises going there as well with more Canadian ports but smaller ships. As I'm travelling with a young child I just don't think HAL will be a good fit for us even though I like the itinerary. I guess my main concern is how bad would cruising out of NYC to Canada be in early September? This year it appears a Carnival ship just missed Hurricane Hermine before it left on this itinerary. I know no one can predict the weather one year out so that's why it's such a hard decision to make. Thank you for listening. Any comments appreciated.

You should want a smaller ship with more interesting ports. There will be other children on board. September has the advantage of not so many cruise ships in port. We have not had a hurricane here in quite a few years but there are no quarantees.

We just got back from our Canada/New England cruise mid-September. We had great weather. It was mostly in the 70s. It was a little early to see the leaves change. Of course, that can vary year to year.

Elaine

We also just returned from 12 days starting in Montreal on September 9. Montreal and Quebec City were very warm - low to mid 80's. But this was - I was told - a bit unusual. As we sailed on, it cooled off a bit, but was in the upper 60s, low 70s most days. We did not have any impact of storms, but a few showers. We did have some pretty heavy fog in Bar Harbor.

As mentioned by others, this was too early for the leaf-peeping. Everything was very green, I would wait at least until Oct 1 if this is important to you.

I've always had to take Bonine as I get seasick except while cruising in the Caribbean.

I've done the Canada trip (both ways) and Bermuda a couple of times, plus Alaska and Hawaii, and not a single one of them had anything like the bumpy rides we've had in the Caribbean!

But to be fair, that is the exception. The Caribbean is usually calm, but there is the odd storm upon occasion. The St Lawrence is the same. I have had three trips to Bermuda and they all had at least one day each way that was quite rough.

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Many thanks for your comments. I've decided to go for it and just booked for early September next year. It appears hurricanes in September head towards the Caribbean so I should be okay, right? I hope Carnival gives out free seasick meds! Bonine works for me but they don't sell it in Canada. I usually stock up when I'm on a cruise. I wish you didn't mention about the bumpy ride to and from Bermuda as I'm heading there next May - LOL! Thanks all.

Many thanks for your comments. I've decided to go for it and just booked for early September next year. It appears hurricanes in September head towards the Caribbean so I should be okay, right? I hope Carnival gives out free seasick meds! Bonine works for me but they don't sell it in Canada. I usually stock up when I'm on a cruise. I wish you didn't mention about the bumpy ride to and from Bermuda as I'm heading there next May - LOL! Thanks all.

Carnival does not give out free seasick pills.

Are you staying in your embarkation port the night before? You could purchase the meds at a drugstore near your hotel or you could buy them online and have them shipped to your hotel. I buy sunscreen from Amazon and have it shipped to the hotel whenever I need to fly for a cruise.

Darn - no free seasick meds. That's probably why I don't cruise Carnival a lot (just my 2nd cruise with them). I guess Royal Caribbean is more generous or they don't want guests sick all over the place as they keep a supply in the Medical Centre for anyone to take. I'll look for a Walgreens or CVS as I will be staying near Times Square most likely. Thanks everyone for all your advice.

Our cruise is booked for Oct 12, 2017. Any thoughts on the weather and fall foliage in mid-October?

cidymom, our cruise last year started at the end of August and continued into the first week of September. We had hot weather in Montreal, where the cruise started and perfect, warm weather in Bar Harbor, our last port call. We encountered a little choppy weather leaving Sydney and going into the Atlantic, but nothing real bad. BTW, Meclizine, which is like Bonine, is really cheap at drugstores.

Kylie, our first Canada/New England cruise began in NYC on October 10. By the time we got to Quebec City, it was COLD, like possible snow cold. So just plan on layering. Everywhere we went, people had their Halloween pumpkins out on their lawns or in front of their stores. It was such fun seeing that. On that cruise we were a little too late for the full fall foilage, but there was still plenty of red and orange to see. (I love your lovebird avatar.)

We cruised out of Montreal Sept. 30 (this year) to Quebec, Saguenay, Havre St. Pierre, Corner Brook, Halifax, Saint John, Bar Harbor, Portland, Boston, Newport, and ending up in NYC. Most of the cruise was in October and the weather was fabulous, except perhaps in Havre St. Pierre, where it was nice but quite cold. Warm gear solved that, though. Mostly I was wearing a very light jacket, and occasionally switched to a warm sweater with light jacket. The leaves were gorgeous all places except perhaps Montreal, where they were maybe one third at peak. Of course, we didn't really get out in the country, and in the country rather than in the cities is where we saw most of the colors - in any port we went to, Canada or U.S. During the time we cruised, we only experienced some rocking and rolling at night one night. It didn't bother us, but did bother some passengers and crew. Of course, this was during the time that Hurricane Matthew was raging around the Carolina coast in the U.S., and while we were pretty far away, I believe the winds were impacting our travel. The Captain announced that we would leave Portland an hour and a half earlier than planned due to potential rough seas that night.

Our travels were mostly in early October, and the weather, this year anyway, was pretty much perfect, although I should have taken a winter cap and light gloves along for Newfoundland and Cote Nord of Quebec province. Leaves were perfect, too, although people on the cruise before ours didn't have nearly as good luck - with little leaf color and lots more gray days than blue., with a little rain. (We DID have only very rainy day in Portland.) You just never know....

The itinerary and cruise, however, were wonderful, so I would heartily recommend a Canada/New England cruise to just about anyone. Even if you cruise too early to see fall colors, I think you'll still love it. If you go to Saguenay, rent a car and explore some places outside LaBaie. If you go to Bar Harbor, go to Jordan Pond. On Oct. 8 it was stunning. I'm working on my pictures now and hope to post a mini review with pictures in a few days.

I'm surprised to hear that a cruise line hands out Dramamine, although I suppose you can PURCHASE it on any cruise line. If you're afraid of seasickness, I would try to book a mid-ship cabin. However, I think many people will find a very smooth ride, especially since some Canadian itineraries start out on the St. Lawrence, which is a river and therefore a bit more sheltered than the ocean.

In Nova Scotia the fall colours this year peaked at the end of the second and beginning of the third week of October. That is fairly normal. The earliest to change are the maples, including those which turn bright red. The oaks which turn a rusty brown just turned colour a few days ago. This year we lost some leaves, especially in eastern Cape Breton, due to high winds and rains on October 10 thanks to the tail end of Hurricane Matthew. One ship diverted to Halifax from the Bahamas because of the hurricane.