Glory to sail 4/5 day cruises from Boston

[nytraveller53]

Very interesting move...

 

For the first time, Carnival Cruise Lines will operate an extended schedule of voyages from Boston with a series of round-trip four- and five-day eastern Canada cruises aboard the 2,974-passenger Carnival Glory beginning in June 2012. Carnival will be the only cruise line offering short cruises from Boston to the Canadian Maritimes.

On the new program, Carnival Glory will sail from the recently refurbished Black Falcon Cruise Terminal on four-day “long weekend” cruises departing Thursdays to Saint John, New Brunswick, and five-day voyages departing Mondays and Saturdays to Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Saint John. The program will operate June 10 to July 26, 2012. A special seven-day cruise will be offered June 3-10, 2012, with visits to Portland, Maine; and Saint John, Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia.

“We are thrilled to offer these four- and five-day cruises from Boston which is not only a world-class destination but also provides a convenient and affordable drive-to homeport for millions of Northeastern U.S. residents,” said Gerry Cahill, Carnival’s president and CEO. “Carnival Glory is a fantastic ‘Fun Ship’ with so much to offer and on these cruises guests can visit charming and historic cities in eastern Canadian Maritimes while enjoying all the fun and excitement that Carnival is known for.”

“Massport’s facilities are economic engines for the New England region and we expected our $11 million in capital improvements to the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal would not only be appreciated by the more than 300,000 passengers who use the facility each year, but it would generate renewed interest from cruise lines in the Port of Boston,” said Thomas J. Kinton Jr., Massport’s CEO & Executive Director. “Bringing Carnival Cruise Lines to Boston for regularly scheduled service is not only good economic news, it will provide New England residents more choices in cruising vacations.”

“We are pleased to welcome Carnival Cruise Lines to Boston, and will work to make their Boston-Canada sailings a success,” said Mike Leone, Massport’s Director of the Port. “Carnival Glory provides a great opportunity for New Englanders and others to enjoy Eastern Canada during the summer months, and the shorter itineraries will be a huge draw for those with limited vacation time or who are looking to getaway for an extended weekend.”

Saint John is a nature lover’s paradise, highlighted by such landmarks as Reversing Falls, where the highest tides in the world intersect with the St. John River and force it to flow backwards twice daily, and the Bay of Fundy, with its gorgeous backdrop of rugged rock formations. Also popular is Saint John’s Historic District, lined with stately Victorian homes, elegant churches and quaint boutiques and eateries.

Founded in 1749 and known as the “Gateway to the Canadian Atlantic,” Halifax is a charming yet cosmopolitan city with outstanding restaurants, shops, and museums and unique cultural experiences. Here, guests can visit Peggy’s Cove, a fishing village famous for its granite coastline, tour the city’s many lighthouses, or observe the changing of the guard at The Citadel, a centuries-old fortress. Other on-shore activities such as kayaking and hiking are also available.

Guests can also experience the many on-board facilities and features of the Carnival Glory – a 270-square-foot Seaside Theatre poolside LED screen displaying movies, concerts and other programming, a 13,300-square foot spa, four swimming pools – one with the line’s signature Twister Waterslide – along with spacious and modern play areas for children, ’tweens and teens, and Serenity, an exclusive adults-only retreat. A wide range of dining venues – from twin full-service dining rooms and a two-level casual poolside eatery featuring a 24-hour pizzeria to a sushi bar and a classic American steakhouse – are available, as well.

[golfadj]

Obviously a test of the demand from Boston.

[rnvattes]

Very interesting move...

 

LIKE!

 

We are already sailing her in Feb 2012 in the W Caribbean. But, we here in the Northeast would LOVE to see more cruises departing from Boston! Especially with what the cost of airfare is becoming -- our airfare often costs more than our whole cruies! :eek:

[Crazy4Koko]

...meh.....

 

 

Why would I want to cruise to a port I can drive to in 8 hours?

 

 

Love the idea of cruising out of Boston, REALLY I do..but I'm sure parking prices will rival Logan's daily rate ( Thanks Massport!)...

 

 

but I personally feel that Caribbean/Bermuda itineraries would be much more attractive and competitive than Portland Maine and St. John, NB... Isn't it Norwegian doing Bermuda out of the Black Falcon ( beautiful terminal, btw)

[silkhair1]

Did it say when this was going to start?

[nytraveller53]

Did it say when this was going to start?

Yep - maybe you should read it again. Here's a hint - first paragraph.

[H82seaUgo]

Yep - maybe you should read it again. Here's a hint - first paragraph.

 

it's also in the original post announcing this.

[hubofhockey]

...meh.....

 

 

Why would I want to cruise to a port I can drive to in 8 hours?

 

 

Love the idea of cruising out of Boston, REALLY I do..but I'm sure parking prices will rival Logan's daily rate ( Thanks Massport!)...

 

 

but I personally feel that Caribbean/Bermuda itineraries would be much more attractive and competitive than Portland Maine and St. John, NB... Isn't it Norwegian doing Bermuda out of the Black Falcon ( beautiful terminal, btw)

 

They charge $15 a day to park at Black Falcon and $105 for the week. That's not that bad. But I agree with you in general on Massport ripping people off at every turn. If we didn't have plans for next summer, I'd book the ship now. The only port on this route that I'd have no use for is Portland, which is a short drive for us and we prefer Ogunquit in Maine in any case. Of course, NCL, HAL, and RCI already home port ships in Boston.

[girlscruise2011]

...meh.....

 

 

Why would I want to cruise to a port I can drive to in 8 hours?

 

 

Love the idea of cruising out of Boston, REALLY I do..but I'm sure parking prices will rival Logan's daily rate ( Thanks Massport!)...

 

 

but I personally feel that Caribbean/Bermuda itineraries would be much more attractive and competitive than Portland Maine and St. John, NB... Isn't it Norwegian doing Bermuda out of the Black Falcon ( beautiful terminal, btw)

 

I'm with you. I was all excited since I live in Mass and then I read Canada. I don't want to go to Canada. :( I want to go to the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Not saying that Canada is bad but not the place I would want to cruise to. Like you said, I'd drive there if thats where I wanted to go. Hopefully this is just the start and once they see demand is here in Mass they will expand the itineraries :D

[hubofhockey]

I'm with you. I was all excited since I live in Mass and then I read Canada. I don't want to go to Canada. :( I want to go to the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas. Not saying that Canada is bad but not the place I would want to cruise to. Like you said, I'd drive there if thats where I wanted to go. Hopefully this is just the start and once they see demand is here in Mass they will expand the itineraries :D

 

Is the only ship that home ports in Boston that goes anywhere south the NCL Dawn, which goes to Bermuda? Normally, I wouldn't consider NCL. But maybe it's worth a shot.

[elcuchio24]

...meh.....

 

 

Why would I want to cruise to a port I can drive to in 8 hours?

 

 

Love the idea of cruising out of Boston, REALLY I do..but I'm sure parking prices will rival Logan's daily rate ( Thanks Massport!)...

 

 

but I personally feel that Caribbean/Bermuda itineraries would be much more attractive and competitive than Portland Maine and St. John, NB... Isn't it Norwegian doing Bermuda out of the Black Falcon ( beautiful terminal, btw)

 

Exactly. I would book a carrib or bermuda cruise in a second out of Boston. But I'm not going to book a canada itin that has two stops in Maine, for obvious reasons.

[ktpc2005]

The demand for Boston has increased with homeport cruising, but I feel this is not the itinerary that Boston needs. The demand for Bermuda has grown a lot in Boston which prompted NCL to bring a larger ship in the Dawn for the Bermuda season. When I think summer cruise from Boston, I think Caribbean or Bermuda and not Canada.

 

Boston has Canadian cruises from RCCL HAL, and NCL in the fall which work, but I think the Carnival will attract passengers on the name alone. I have a lot of people that like the Carnival name but do not like to travel to NYC to take a close Carnival cruise.

 

I know that other cruise lines have been talking about adding a 10-12 day Caribbean/Bahamas cruise from Boston which might be something to look into.

[ktpc2005]

double post sorry

[Crazy4Koko]

The demand for Boston has increased with homeport cruising, but I feel this is not the itinerary that Boston needs. The demand for Bermuda has grown a lot in Boston which prompted NCL to bring a larger ship in the Dawn for the Bermuda season. When I think summer cruise from Boston, I think Caribbean or Bermuda and not Canada.

 

Boston has Canadian cruises from RCCL HAL, and NCL in the fall which work, but I think the Carnival will attract passengers on the name alone. I have a lot of people that like the Carnival name but do not like to travel to NYC to take a close Carnival cruise.

 

I know that other cruise lines have been talking about adding a 10-12 day Caribbean/Bahamas cruise from Boston which might be something to look into.

 

That would be something that could be a lot of fun, and a great consideration for 'some day'!!

 

When I first started cruising, I chose Carnival based solely upon pricepoint..as long as Carnival suits my 'not so fussy' needs, It will continue to get my business..What is amazing is that for as many cruises as I have taken, I have always had fun that far exceeded my expectations! I am also fortunate that as a general rule, we fly 'free' prior to any cruise we take. When that changes, then I 'might' look at other cruise lines, but from all I read here, Carnival still seems to be the 'best bang for your buck', and if it's gonna cost me $600 or more to cruise out of Boston based upon increased cruise cost and parking.... the heck with that, and I'll fly south and be warmer that much sooner!

 

I can completely understand why folks from the West coast would like to come East and see the beautiful colors of New England..matter of fact, I can pretty much understand why anyone would want to come to the East coast to experience as much as it has to offer, including the shores of Canada. But this Yankee would rather have sand between her toes and spf 50 on her nose!!!

[Katiebug430]

We're in CT and roughly equidistant from both NYC and Boston so it's kind of wash for us as to which port we cruise from. I think our next cruise from a Northeast port will be to the Caribbean or Bermuda, and I think the demand would be there for Bermuda cruises out of Boston. Whichever port offers us a trip to warmer climates after August 2012 (so DD can go to Camp Carnival) will be where we'll be looking to cruise.

 

Folks living in MA/NH/VT can drive to New Brunswick in an easy day's drive - I just don't see a lot of interest from New Englanders in cruising to Canada. We did a Canada cruise 6 years ago and are going again this summer with our baby, but I can't see wanting to go to Halifax and St. John every year regardless of whether it's out of Boston or New York. :confused:

[LPYRCRUISER]

We travel to Maine from Vermont every summer for a long weekend. I would definitely travel to Boston and jump on a ship to do this itinerary. I've wanted to go to Nova Scotia and PEI along with other New England and Canadian ports. This might fit our summer vacation plans! I'd much rather cruise this route than drive it.

[Crazy4Koko]

We travel to Maine from Vermont every summer for a long weekend. I would definitely travel to Boston and jump on a ship to do this itinerary. I've wanted to go to Nova Scotia and PEI along with other New England and Canadian ports. This might fit our summer vacation plans! I'd much rather cruise this route than drive it.

 

 

isnt' there a day ferry out of Portland to Nova Scotia?

[LPYRCRUISER]

isnt' there a day ferry out of Portland to Nova Scotia?

There used to be, but I heard last summer it wasn't running anymore. Even if it is, every single person I know who has taken it has been extremely seasick. No thanks

[elcuchio24]

There used to be, but I heard last summer it wasn't running anymore. Even if it is, every single person I know who has taken it has been extremely seasick. No thanks

 

Ya, the CAT out of portland and bar harbor. Jet powered catamaran. Used to do about 50kts, 3 hour trip, tons of fun. They even had a casino! Lost a government grant that was keeping it afloat, they are looking to replace it with another ship, something like the old Bluenose that used to make that run.

[dogbert's mom]

I live on the west coast and a cruise from Boston sounds like fun to me. If I'm paying airfare I like to see different east coast ports on pre and post cruise days.

[Ramblin' Ma'am]

I live in the Boston area and I'd consider this cruise. It seems Carnival is the only mass market line offering Canadian cruises in the summer. I don't want to go to Canada in October when it's 40 degrees there.

[buckirj1]

As an almost exclusive Canada/NE cruiser, I like this. While I like Boston as a port stop, I think I'd like it even better as a pre-cruise stay. I'm pretty much committed to NCL for 2012, but I'd like to try this someday. I think the 5 night itinerary is pretty much the perfect balance of port and sea days. I hope the experiment is successful.

[wiskt]

This appears more to me as CARNIVAL offering a shorter "cheaper option" to some residents and "first time cruisers" farther north. In the long-run...... get them on a ship for the cruise experience in hopes they would later invest into longer cruises and perhaps travel to Ports elsewhere to cruise from.

 

What the GLORY was able to do in NY was options to "drivable residents" (ie: PA, NY, NJ, CT) for a "cheap getaway" vacation to many getting them hooked for other ships. I'm guessing the MIRACLE? may take that leg over out of NY and hopefully a NEW ship arrives for different longer Southern itineraries.

[H82seaUgo]

This appears more to me as CARNIVAL offering a shorter "cheaper option" to some residents and "first time cruisers" farther north. In the long-run...... get them on a ship for the cruise experience in hopes they would later invest into longer cruises and perhaps travel to Ports elsewhere to cruise from.

 

What the GLORY was able to do in NY was to give the option for a "cheap getaway" vacation to many getting them hooked for other ships. I'm guessing the MIRACLE? may take that leg over out of NY and hopefully a NEW ship arrives for different longer Southern itineraries.

 

i wonder how the fares will compare. ny was no cheap getaway.

[wiskt]

i wonder how the fares will compare. ny was no cheap getaway.

 

 

...But when you factor in some last minute airfare prices, parking prices -vs- taking a local transport for me it was cheaper. The Canada cruises were always a fall back option I tooked to when booking last minute and simply wanted to enjoy a ship rather than a port.

 

Plus a ship cruising to CANADA from (closer) BOSTON as opposed to NY hopefully will be priced similar to what the BAHAMA cruises like Imagination offer to FL residents.