Why is the NE/Canada cruise so popular?

New England/Canada cruises represent a relatively low volume market. HAL currently services the NE market with two small ships, the Veendam and the Maasdam, which fill up due to small capacity more so than market demand.

 

Having said that, we enjoyed our NE cruise on the Maasdam.

 

igraf

 

 

 

I live in the New England area and love it, but was just looking to book a last minute cruise out of Boston. I find many of the cabin categories already filled and am surprised by this. Are they filled by locals or do many people book these as a first time to the area cruise?

Unless I've missed something Eurodam also does a New England/Canada cruise, that one from New York and only as far as Quebec due to the height restrictions between Quebec and Montreal.

The Eurodam was recently replaced by the Veendam on the New England/Canada route.

 

igraf

 

 

 

Unless I've missed something Eurodam also does a New England/Canada cruise, that one from New York and only as far as Quebec due to the height restrictions between Quebec and Montreal.

The Eurodam was recently replaced by the Veendam on the New England/Canada route.

 

igraf

The Eurodam does a few cruises after she returns from her summer Baltic season. We'll be on the Eurodam for a September Canada/New England cruise.

 

This will be our second cruise to this absolutely stunning region, and I'm sure we'll be back again. And our other favorite cruise destination is Alaska. We do not do humidity, heat, sun and sand well, so we really don't appreciate the Caribbean cruises (nor the Mexican Riviera). The Canada/New England cruises are a wonderful mix of big cities and little seashore towns and villages, unlike anything you find elsewhere in North America. We can hardly wait!

Veendam and Maasdam sail from Boston to Canada/NE. Carnival and NCL also sail to Canada.... NCL from Boston. I have seen Carnival ships in Halifax.

 

Eurodam sails NYC to Quebec City and the return.

 

I know there are other ships doing that itinerary but cannot specifically identify them.

The Eurodam was recently replaced by the Veendam on the New England/Canada route.

 

igraf

 

 

 

No, Veendam does Canada/NE from/to Boston for part of the summer and then does Voyage of the Vikings. When she completes that voyage, she again does Canada. Eurodam only does some sailings to Quebec City but those from/to Quebec City. No stops in Boston. Veendam did not replace Eurodam.

 

Veendam DID replace Maasdam for Voyage of the Vikings and Maasdam now does a complete season doing Canada.

 

My guess is HAL makes a good profit on those 'small ships' doing Canada. ;)

Edited August 13, 2014 by sail7seas

I like the itinerary because I'm visiting actual cities and towns where people live and work, instead of a tourist trap that has little other reason for being. They're also places that have medical care at a level I'm used to, should that ever become necessary. Another consideration is that I can get home quickly and relatively easily from almost any stop in the itinerary. That isn't as important now as it was a few years ago, but being able to get home quickly is still valuable to me. Embarkation is an easy train ride or short flight from where I live. Same for debarkation.

 

And the weather in summer and autumn is usually a dang sight cooler and less humid than here in the mid-Atlantic. Not this summer, but this summer hasn't been at all typical.

 

Having said all that, I'm ready to branch out. Maybe some warm weather, or Med cruises*twitch* goal of sailing the NCL fleet *twitch*, and I think I'd enjoy Norway and the Chilean fjords very much. All I need now is time and money!

As I said in my original post, we are from the New England area and love it. We actually live on Cape Cod. We have never done a NE/Canada cruise because we can easily drive to most of these areas and frequently do, but this year, I thought of doing a last minute cruise to the area and found many sailings quite full or completely booked which I thought was surprising, and wondered why. So glad to hear so many nice things about NE, thank you and I love it too. Now, I just want to book a last minute cruise, so do not convince too many people how nice it is until I can convince DH! ;)

OK, Toad, just to help you out, I take back every nice thing I said about our NE/Canadian cruise. It was horrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

 

Hope that helps and you can book that cruise!

OK, Toad, just to help you out, I take back every nice thing I said about our NE/Canadian cruise. It was horrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

 

Hope that helps and you can book that cruise!

 

Thanks GradUT I appreciate!

We live in San Diego and impulsively booked a last minute cruise to Mexico earlier this year. In our case, it was booked 3 weeks prior to the cruise.

It worked out well for us. A rep from HAL told us which week wasn't filling up as fast as the others, though one can also deduce that from the pricing.

 

igraf

 

 

 

As I said in my original post, we are from the New England area and love it. We actually live on Cape Cod. We have never done a NE/Canada cruise because we can easily drive to most of these areas and frequently do, but this year, I thought of doing a last minute cruise to the area and found many sailings quite full or completely booked which I thought was surprising, and wondered why. So glad to hear so many nice things about NE, thank you and I love it too. Now, I just want to book a last minute cruise, so do not convince too many people how nice it is until I can convince DH! ;)

My late husband's final cruise was the NE/Canada 10-day out of NYC, ending in Montreal.

He just could not understand why I wanted to take that cruise, since "We live here!".

I thought it great fun to see my home territory from a tourist's point of view. I saw things, even in nearby Newport, that I would never have noticed had I not been on that cruise. I think he had a good time, too.

Off topic post.....

 

I am just wondering and hoping all is well with Ruth. I noticed that she has not posted since August 11, 2014.

 

On a long cruise I hope?

I think she might be on the high seas. :)

 

Off topic post.....

 

I am just wondering and hoping all is well with Ruth. I noticed that she has not posted since August 11, 2014.

 

On a long cruise I hope?

 

I'm pretty sure I recall that she went on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver and now she's on the 14 day Amsterdam Alaska cruise from Seattle.

I'm pretty sure I recall that she went on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver and now she's on the 14 day Amsterdam Alaska cruise from Seattle.

 

Absolutely correct. I think RuthC has just under a week left on her cruise. Then, sadly for her but happily for us, she'll be back home and posting.

 

Roy

Thank you to the OP for posting this.

Friends of ours booked this cruise and I did ask them "why?". They mainly said the scenery.
Now I have some answers.

New York has been on my bucket list for a while but Europe keeps beckoning more loudly. :D

I'll definetly have to make an effort to get there soon. From what I'm reading October is the best time. It is difficult for me to get more than 2 weeks at this time (and I lose a few days getting there). I guess I'll have to consider retirement so I have extra time. :D

In response to the poster mentioning travelling a long way- We haven't cruised around Australia but have seen a fair bit. When you live in a place it's easier to do small trips to different destinations.
Australia is so far away from many interesting places so we don't have a choice really. Which is why so many Australians do travel I guess.

Mmmm. Time to start researching my next cruise. :p