Saint Lawrence River

I would like to take a Canada only cruise up and down the Saint Lawrence.

Does such a thing exist?

HAL sails Boston to Montreal and Montreal to Boston (b-to-b or one segment or the other) and, of course, that takes the ship down the St. Lawrence. It is a fabulous 7 day (or 14 days if you do b-to-b) cruise and my late DH and I did it year after year.

They also sail Boston to Quebec City and the reverse as do some other ships.

Of course, that is not only Canada but includes Montreal, Quebec City, Sydney, Halifax, Charlottetown, Bar Harbor and Boston.

NCL Dawn sails Boston to Quebec City and the reverse. Their itinerary does not include PEI which is too bad. It is a lovely port. They stop at both Sydney and Saint John, New Brunswick, Halifax and I think Bar Harbor.

Every summer, the CTMA Vacancier navigates between Montréal and the Magdalen Islands (Cap-aux-Meules) with at least a stop in Québec City. The ship is a ferry not a cruise ship, with all the bells and whistles, but they do have a cruising programme.

Different packages are offered including art and culture, cycling etc. For 2016, amongst others, there will be a “Gourmet Islands” and a “Wine and Local Flavours” cruise. In September, they have an itinerary which goes up the Saguenay Fjord with stops in Havre-Saint-Pierre or Chandler. I have never taken this ship but here is a link to some Trip Advisor reviews:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g499336-d2365414-Reviews-CTMA_Cruises-Ile_du_Cap_aux_Meules_Iles_de_la_Madeleine_Quebec.html#REVIEWS

This is an add-on to my previous post. Just stumbled on this "old" CC review of the CTMA Vacancier. Here it is:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1446371

Every summer, the CTMA Vacancier navigates between Montréal and the Magdalen Islands (Cap-aux-Meules) with at least a stop in Québec City. The ship is a ferry not a cruise ship, with all the bells and whistles, but they do have a cruising programme.

 

Different packages are offered including art and culture, cycling etc. For 2016, amongst others, there will be a “Gourmet Islands” and a “Wine and Local Flavours” cruise. In September, they have an itinerary which goes up the Saguenay Fjord with stops in Havre-Saint-Pierre or Chandler. I have never taken this ship but here is a link to some Trip Advisor reviews:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g499336-d2365414-Reviews-CTMA_Cruises-Ile_du_Cap_aux_Meules_Iles_de_la_Madeleine_Quebec.html#REVIEWS

We used to sail Saguenay Fjord on Maasdam and would stop at the Madonna statue. That was always a highlight. The ship would stop, they would play the Ave Maria on the speaker system, Captain would turn the ship so all would get a view from all locations on the ship. Every time we went was different experience and all were beautiful. The weather, sun, clouds etc really made a difference for our experience.

Every summer, the CTMA Vacancier navigates between Montréal and the Magdalen Islands (Cap-aux-Meules) with at least a stop in Québec City. The ship is a ferry not a cruise ship, with all the bells and whistles, but they do have a cruising programme.

 

Different packages are offered including art and culture, cycling etc. For 2016, amongst others, there will be a “Gourmet Islands” and a “Wine and Local Flavours” cruise. In September, they have an itinerary which goes up the Saguenay Fjord with stops in Havre-Saint-Pierre or Chandler. I have never taken this ship but here is a link to some Trip Advisor reviews:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g499336-d2365414-Reviews-CTMA_Cruises-Ile_du_Cap_aux_Meules_Iles_de_la_Madeleine_Quebec.html#REVIEWS

Thank you for your posts. We went to the Iles de la Madeleine last May on the Maasdam and loved it. We want to go back so have been thinking of taking the CTMA cruise. We need to give Montreal a do-over anyway (my mother was quite ill in Montreal at the end of the same cruise so didn't get to do anything there). With the CAD tanking, this would be a perfect year to do that, if I wasn't so concerned about losing my job.

It helps to know that the "cruise" ship is really a ferry; it helps lower the expectations to a realistic level.

HAL sails Boston to Montreal and Montreal to Boston (b-to-b or one segment or the other) and, of course, that takes the ship down the St. Lawrence. It is a fabulous 7 day (or 14 days if you do b-to-b) cruise and my late DH and I did it year after year.

 

They also sail Boston to Quebec City and the reverse as do some other ships.

 

Of course, that is not only Canada but includes Montreal, Quebec City, Sydney, Halifax, Charlottetown, Bar Harbor and Boston.

 

NCL Dawn sails Boston to Quebec City and the reverse. Their itinerary does not include PEI which is too bad. It is a lovely port. They stop at both Sydney and Saint John, New Brunswick, Halifax and I think Bar Harbor.

 

Just a correction regarding NCL cruises itinerary. Their itinerary does include PEI with a stop at Charlottetown. At least the 14 day we just scheduled for October 2017 does. This is a totally new itinerary for us, and I am just learning the names/locations of unfamiliar places like La Baie, so hope I have not stated incorrect information.:). Port stops are ( not in sequential order ) Quebec City, Charlottetown, La Baie, Halifax, Saint John, Sydney, Bar Harbor, Portland and Boston. We actually make two stops in Halifax, one on the QC to Boston leg, and once on the Boston to QC leg.

There are other ships which cruise the St. Lawrence seaway including the Thousand Islands area:

http://www.cruisesaintlawrence.com/EN/index.aspx

http://www.stlawrencerivercruise.com/index.cfm?page=schedules

http://www.adventurecanada.com/trip/mighty-saint-lawrence-2016/?gclid=CjwKEAjwubK4BRC1xczKrZyj3mkSJAC6ntgrqstWED9rkzghex124kWyGozaKXrqhhIti9fQAmj1FRoCJjDw_wcB

there is a Canadian company called CTMA Cruises, goes from Montreal to Isles de la Madelaine (Magdalen Islands ) and back, 7 days. It is a car ferry as well as a cruise ship with cabin accommodation. We are actually booked on it for a September 2016 "tasting" trip. The Magdalen islands are quite beautiful (been there before).

Anita

there is a Canadian company called CTMA Cruises, goes from Montreal to Isles de la Madelaine (Magdalen Islands ) and back, 7 days. It is a car ferry as well as a cruise ship with cabin accommodation. We are actually booked on it for a September 2016 "tasting" trip. The Magdalen islands are quite beautiful (been there before).

Anita

CTMA cruises also mentioned on posts #3 and #4 with links to reviews.

"New active cruise concept to debut on the St. Lawrence":

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/new-active-cruise-concept-to-debut-on-the-st-lawrence.html

Don't know if this is relevant, but just in case: I was curious if we would see much while cruising up and down the St. Lawrence. It IS, after all, a river instead of the usual ocean that most ocean cruise lines navigate. However, that was seldom the case, as the ship went too far from shore to see much. Most cruise ships also cruise at night, so there's not much to see ANYWAY. The exception, I suppose, was the Saguenay River (fjord type area), where our Captain also paused at the Madonna as someone else has already mentioned.

We went on Oceania this past fall; loved the cruise, even the places I didn't think I'd like much (Boston comes to mind) and the places that didn't seem to have much to see (Havre St. Pierre in Mingan archipelago comes to mind). Going through the Cape Cod was pretty interesting, too, as I didn't even know it existed before the cruise.

For those still looking for a cruise going up and down the Saint Lawrence, in October 2018 Crystal will be offering one. It will leave Montreal then go all the way to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ( French territory near Newfoundland) then back to Montreal with other stops along the way. Here is a link for more info.:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruiseto/cruiseitineraries.cfm?port=141&cl=12&startDate=2018-10&endDate=2018-10&depcity=153&portofcall=6030

There are transatlantic cruises from Montréal to Hamburg which have all the St. Lawrence ports. The cruise line is German so the on board language is German only. If you understand German and are interested look at http://www.phoeixreisen.com.

In July and August 2018, the Aidavita will be doing loop cruises from Montréal visiting Québec ports, Newfoundland, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (French territory) etc. This company is also specialized for German passengers. Here is the link:

https://www.aida.de/

"New Cruise Line Jacques-Cartier Unveils 2018 Deployment":

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/16800-new-cruise-line-jacques-cartier-unveils-2018-deployment.html

Here is their website for more info.:

https://www.croisieresactives.ca/en/