Asking those who have done New England in october

We are experienced cruisers who are not bothered by rough seas. A friend may join us on our upcomng New england/Canada cruise, but she is very bothered by rough seas. i told her I would post and ask what experiences people have had on New England/Canada cruises in past Octobers. thanks for any information.

Been twice in October on that cruise loved it and never experienced rough seas

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Expect anything.

There have been hurricanes and tropical storms that have affected Canada NE cruises - I think of several years that this did occur.

We had a snow storm in Quebec on one of our cruises.

We are experienced cruisers who are not bothered by rough seas. A friend may join us on our upcomng New england/Canada cruise, but she is very bothered by rough seas. i told her I would post and ask what experiences people have had on New England/Canada cruises in past Octobers. thanks for any information.

Hello Ellie,

We have done Canada cruises in October twice. On the first, out of Baltimore on X, we hit some unusually heavy weather coming around Delmarva peninsula due to a convergence of systems. The remainder of the cruise was lovely. We took the repositioning out of Quebec two years ago in October and had beautiful weather up to Charleston and caught some high winds and rain that kept us from making port. We will be doing the repositioning out of Quebec again this October and will expect whatever whether that will be presented. Book the trip and enjoy the cruise.

Regards,

Tom

Don't know if you are sailing round-trip New York or between New York and Quebec. When I sailed out of Montreal on another line a few years ago there was more motion of the ship on the St Lawrence river than on the Atlantic. On that cruise were were one day ahead of a nasty Canadian cold front in Charlottetown, Sydney, and Halifax but it caught us midday in Bar Harbor; the tender ride back to the ship was quite an adventure. So number of tender ports is something to consider.

Hello Ellie,

 

We have done Canada cruises in October twice. On the first, out of Baltimore on X, we hit some unusually heavy weather coming around Delmarva peninsula due to a convergence of systems. The remainder of the cruise was lovely. We took the repositioning out of Quebec two years ago in October and had beautiful weather up to Charleston and caught some high winds and rain that kept us from making port. We will be doing the repositioning out of Quebec again this October and will expect whatever whether that will be presented. Book the trip and enjoy the cruise.

 

Regards,

Tom

We have booked two consecutive weeks and I am not the one bothered by rough seas. We have done everything from TA's to Antarctica, and have had all kinds of seas. But my friend is thinking of booking one of the weeks with us, and she gets quite seasick in rough seas, so I told her I would be honest about all the information I can get. Thanks for the information you gave. I should have mentioned that this is Regal, round trip New York.

Hurricane season is June to October. September is usually the worst. I've lived just outside of Boston for 70 years. I would think you will be fine for your cruise. If you're going for the foliage, I'd be happy to ship you an entire bag of colorful leaves from my yard.

We did the same cruise as tailspintom, Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale. It was a really great cruise. As he said, Charleston was the only rough spot, and we were not able to pull into that port. I hope your friend will give it a try. We saw so much, did so much, made so many memories. The history in Boston, the lobster in Maine, the sights in NY, turn of the century mansions in Newport, the beauty of Canada. It was one of our favorite cruises. I just looked at my journal for that trip. My husband is subject to sea sickness. The only time he had to take sea sick meds was on the St. Lawrence River between Saguenay and Halifax. On the day of the missed Charleston visit I noted he ate a huge breakfast and there was no mention of him being seasick. :)

We were on the Ruby Princess repositioning cruise last year that started in Quebec City, went through the New England stops, and ended in Fort Lauderdale. That was in late October through early November. Much of the cruise was relatively calm, but when we hit the open ocean (coming out of the passage from Saquenay) heading toward Nova Scotia, the seas were very rough for about a day. The ship was really rocking and rolling - it was pretty much hang on for the ride. We were told even a lot of the crew got seasick. About the only people that appeared to be walking in a straight line that day were those that had too much to drink!

We also had to bypass a stop in Charleston, South Carolina because of high winds.

BTW, if your cruise covers Halloween on the ship (like ours did), it was a lot of fun - passengers & crew really got into it (lots of costumes all day, plus a contest in the evening) and the decorations on the ship were fantastic - including lots of extraordinarily artistic (and scary) craved pumpkins!

Hurricane season is June to October. September is usually the worst. .

Hurricane season ends at the end of November.

On both of my cruises we ran into bad weather (in October).

First one RT NYC. Really bad rains, tendering suspended in Newport about 2 hours after it started. Those who did make it off the ship got to stay at the port for the day. Tendering back was pretty scary. Took probably an hour due to bad winds. After our cruise, it sailed to FLL. The ship had to book it due to a hurricane as I had friends who continued on.

Second cruise - snow storm in Quebec missed next port of call (Newfoundland) due to rough waters and wind.

Hurricane Sandy was in October 2012 and greatly affected Canada NE cruises - you can do a search on that. Some ships were tied up in port for a few days.

We went early Oct 2013, do not recall a lot of rough water maybe one night seems most ships do on the first or second night.

The real roughness we had was this was during the Government shut down so many excursions were not available, fortunately it re opened when we arrived in Boston so we had the chance to see the USS Constitution and the museum opened that morning.... it was cooler weather wore jackets or sweat shirts almost each time we went into port.

We have done the Canada/New England cruise 5 times - all in the Oct time frame. The only time we hit any motion to speak of was whatever day they used to get to the starting/ending point - say we start in NY and the first port was in Canada and we worked our way back from there. That first day (on the way to Canada) they went further out and at a higher speed - the rest of the time it was just meandering down the coast line.

We went on another line the first week of October. Seas were fine. Portland was extremely foggy and they cancelled excursions to sail around the lighthouses. We took the bus ride and had a great time, actually got to see the lighthouses working.

Kathy

No matter what anyone says about their personal experience, weather "happens" and it can be rough. Very rough. Remember the "Perfect Storm"? I lived in Marblehead at the time and will never forget. Just a few years ago, a Princess ship rode out a hurricane in Boston harbor. On the other hand, weather can be gorgeous and the seas relatively smooth. Once you're north of Cape Cod, the seas will be very cold and can be rough as the Gulf Stream turns toward Ireland south of Cape Cod.

We were on the Crown, Oct. 2010. Worst weather was approaching Quebec. Captain ordered everything on deck be secured and told passengers to stay inside.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thanks to all who posted.

I never cruised to NE in October because I live here and I like to tell everyone. October is a great month to visit. The weather most of the time is very good not to cold and not to hot. I lived in Chelsea & Boston all my life.

Tony

Mid October 2009. We hit a Nor'easter after leaving New York and hit heavy seas. I am told a fellow passenger broke her leg (But have no first hand knowledge of it). The following day our port of Newport was cancelled and all were barred from the open decks. The next day in Boston we had a perfectly beautiful Autumn day! The further north we got, the cooler it got, but never bitterly cold.

Bad weather can happen in any month, but so can good. Its a roll of the dice.

We did the Quebec to NYC cruise last October. The weather was not too bad and about what we expected. The seaway/river was fairly calm as was the first part of the ocean while visiting the Canadian provinces. We missed Bar Harbor because of the wind (tender port). The sail along the US Atlantic coast was a bit rough but not bad. BTW the trees had not changed yet so we saw really nice green trees. :rolleyes:

i read through this thread and it's all about rough seas. I'm thinking about a princess 5 day to canada in october and the sites ive reviewed say about 50 for a low and 65 for a high. i'm not a sun worshipper out 10 hours at the pool but headed north in october just seem rather chilly and i'm assuming thats why the cabins are cheaper. but just wondering your experience with outdoor activities onboard in october? ive watched a tour of the outside decks of the regal and see there are a few nice hot tubs and i love the idea of the pizza and grill out there, but not in the 50 degree temps.

i'm actually booked on an 8 nite anthem cruise to the bahamas in december and choose that ship because i've see videos of all the indoor pool areas. one thing i do feel looks great on regal is the central atrium area and compared to the breakaway (which is the only ship i've been on so far) , it seems wonderful. as well as much more indoor seating area.

i read through this thread and it's all about rough seas. I'm thinking about a princess 5 day to canada in october and the sites ive reviewed say about 50 for a low and 65 for a high. i'm not a sun worshipper out 10 hours at the pool but headed north in october just seem rather chilly and i'm assuming thats why the cabins are cheaper. but just wondering your experience with outdoor activities onboard in october? ive watched a tour of the outside decks of the regal and see there are a few nice hot tubs and i love the idea of the pizza and grill out there, but not in the 50 degree temps.

 

This thread is all about rough seas because that is what the original question was. If you have a different question you should start a new thread rather than bump one that was dormant for a year.

The cabins are hardly cheaper; because of the short season Fall Canada/New England cruises are among the most expensive in North America. For this fall on Princess lowest fare in an inside cabin for a seven night cruise is $999, for the 10 night $1599 ( though including prepaid gratuities for the current promotion).

These cruises are very port intensive; outdoor activities onboard will be only a fraction of your time at best. To me the cool weather makes the burgers and pizza slices taste warmer. For watching a movie on MUTS just be sure to snag one (or more) of the blankets. If on the lone sea day you wish to sit outside and catch some scenery you just have to dress for the temperature--same as when you go ashore. If I'm reading you correctly and your feelings are that having to check each day for how many layers to put on is too much of an inconvenience compared to dressing (and packing) for the tropics, you had more or less answered your own question: an October Canada/NE cruise is not for you.

We are experienced cruisers who are not bothered by rough seas. A friend may join us on our upcomng New england/Canada cruise, but she is very bothered by rough seas. i told her I would post and ask what experiences people have had on New England/Canada cruises in past Octobers. thanks for any information.

As long as there are no tropical systems or "Nor'easters" moving along the coast, sailing should be pretty smooth overall.

Our only October cruise was round-trip from New York City to New England and Canada. We had great weather except for a rainy day in Newport. But even then, the seas were not too rough. I think one reason is that the ports are fairly close together.

Our only October cruise was round-trip from New York City to New England and Canada. We had great weather except for a rainy day in Newport. But even then, the seas were not too rough. I think one reason is that the ports are fairly close together.

For the OP:

I get sick on winding roads if I'm not the driver. Really. I get horribly sick in any kind of weather on a boat/ship. I went to my doctor and got a prescription for the patch. It's called TransdermScop. It's a little round band aid looking thing that goes behind the ear. One patch is good for maybe 3 days (unless you manage to forget and find it in the bottom of the shower...). I have been through weather where the outer decks were closed off due to the high winds and the pitching of the ship. People who "never get sick" went to lie down. I had steak and lobster and felt fine. I have been through rough weather in a cabin all the way forward and high up. I don't get even a little bit sick. I don't know if your friend would be interested in it at all but they may want to ask their doctor if it is a good fit for them. Some are sensitive to it and say they are drowsy or have dry eyes. I don't have a problem with it at all. If I didn't have the patch I would toss my cookies even taking a tender ashore. That little patch is the only reason I can cruise at all.