New England early October

[westlab]

Am I crazy to even try to find a New England cruise leaving Boston the first week in October. Months ago, we made reservations for flight in/out of Boston. Now, we are wondering if we could fit a cruise into our time line.. arrive in Boston Sept 28th and depart on Oct 12th.

Two requirements.. must fit within our reservations and must be verandah.

[Alayne]

Am I crazy to even try to find a New England cruise leaving Boston the first week in October. Months ago, we made reservations for flight in/out of Boston. Now, we are wondering if we could fit a cruise into our time line.. arrive in Boston Sept 28th and depart on Oct 12th.

Two requirements.. must fit within our reservations and must be verandah.

 

We are going on the Jewel of the Seas leaving Boston on October 2 and returning to Boston on October 9. It is a 7 night Canada/New England cruise with stops in Portland, Maine, Bar Harbor, Maind, Saint John, NB and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 

It's a beautiful ship, been on it three times before this. Check and see what they have left for balcony cabins.

 

Cyndi

[Alayne]

It looks like they still have some good balcony cabins available.

 

Cyndi

[westlab]

I did find that cruise.. sounds good. What are the excursions likes? where? cost?

 

I know that the "extras" can add up in a hurry.

 

I got this cruise idea because I have not yet booked lodging for 2 weeks in New England and am finding that the few places still available are expensive. Thought a cruise might not look so expensive to my DH when he figures in hotels/gas/food etc.

[Alayne]

We haven't made any decisions yet for excursions except in Bar Harbor and we have a reservation on Oli's Trolley. We don't have to pay until we get there, then just pick up the reservation 1/2 hour before the time of the tour. The price for that is $29.00 per person for a 2 1/2 hour tour. There is a shorter tour that costs less but I don't remember how much it is. I prefer private tours as opposed to ships' excursions and usually find that they are less money. If you go onto www.rccl.com you can check out the tours they offer and see the prices.

 

Cyndi

[slyfox0113]

I did find that cruise.. sounds good. What are the excursions likes? where? cost?

 

I know that the "extras" can add up in a hurry.

 

I got this cruise idea because I have not yet booked lodging for 2 weeks in New England and am finding that the few places still available are expensive. Thought a cruise might not look so expensive to my DH when he figures in hotels/gas/food etc.

 

If you enjoy museums, we went over to the Titanic museum in Halifax and then walked along the promenade and into town. Had lunch at what was advertised to be the first pub in Halifax then walked back to the ship. The Museum was very interesting. We enjoyed it and spent quite a good amount of time. If you are so inclined there is a brewery near the museum you can visit. We walked over to everything. No excursion cost.

[westlab]

Thanks for the input.

[Alayne]

Thanks for the input.

 

If you go into the "Ports of Call" and click on New England and Canada there are a lot of suggestions there for excursions.

 

What part of the country are you flying from?

 

Cyndi

[Donder1]

The first week in October begins the "Peak Season" for Fall colors. It is the most beautiful time to be in Maine.

 

In Portland, go to Freeport to shop and visit LLBean. Get their credit card ahead of time and you can ship everything you buy with it FREE. Also, all monograming is free, too. Visit Wicked Whoopies in Freeport, yum!

 

Skip Kennebunkport unless you REALLY love the Bush Family. You can't get near their home and, frankly, you can go on line if you want a picture of it.

 

Have the clam chowder at Gilbert's (next to where ships dock). Ask anyone. It looks like a hole in the wall but is great food, great lobster rolls, too.)

 

Be sure to visit the IM Pei's designed Portland Art Museum. He did the new additions to the Lourvre in Paris and the Smithsonian Museum of Art in DC. The Homer and Weyth collections are fab.

 

Shop on Exchange St. near ship. Wonderful boutiques. Be sure to drop in at Lovell's Designs.

 

Skip Duck Tour and tours of harbor. If you really want to go out into the harbor, go to Admiral Perry's summer home on Eagle Island. Pack a lunch. (GILBERT'S)

 

Another great area to visit is Sebago Lake area to see Fall colors.

 

Have fun in this great town. Maggie