Saguenay Fjord -or- St Lawrence River ?

[Dani83]

Hello! I am hoping to do a Canada/New England cruise in autumn 2013.

I have 2 itineraries that I really like (both with HAL):

 

 

Veendam -7 nights

~ Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, Saguenay Fjord, Quebec City

 

Maasdam -7 nights

~ Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, cruise Gulf of St Lawrence, Quebec City, cruise St Lawrence River, Montreal

 

 

So my question is:

-Which would be more scenic and worthwhile....cruising the Saguenay Fjord (with Veendam) -- or cruising St Lawrence River between Quebec City & Montreal, and also Gulf of St Lawrence (with Maasdam)?

 

 

......And I have been to both Quebec City and Montreal, and I love them both, so it doesn't matter to me where the cruise ends. And also, most of the ports are similar. I am just wondering more about the scenery along the way, if the Saguenay Fjord or going further down the St Lawrence River would be more beautiful!

 

 

Any comments would be appreciated... Thanks :)

[Twickenham]

First, a little geography lesson: you're going through the Gulf of St. Lawrence regardless. That's where PEI is, after all. So the difference is actually: Saguenay & overnight in Quebec City, or no Saguenay and sail to Montreal. While I've always thought it would be cool to sail down to Montreal, it's mainly a nighttime sailing, so sightseeing will be limited. OTOH, the Saguenay Fjord is quite beautiful. I would be inclined to take the Veendam.

[biker@sea]

The highlight of my cruise was spotting the little white Beluga whales in the Saguenay Fjord by the statue . Both time we went we saw them in the same area.

[Dani83]

While I've always thought it would be cool to sail down to Montreal, it's mainly a nighttime sailing, so sightseeing will be limited. OTOH, the Saguenay Fjord is quite beautiful. I would be inclined to take the Veendam.

 

Thanks for your opinion. I guess I wouldn't be missing much scenery further down the St Lawrence to Montreal, if it's mostly sailing at night anyway. The Saguenay Fjord sounds beautiful, from what I have heard.

 

 

The highlight of my cruise was spotting the little white Beluga whales in the Saguenay Fjord by the statue . Both time we went we saw them in the same area.

 

Amazing! What times of year did you take this cruise? I would be going in September/October, so I wonder if the belugas would be in that area at that time of year... And also, which cruise ships did you take?

[Sailingpeace]

No doubt, Saguenay fjord ! As you mentionned, having seen The Saint-Laurent up to the Fjord then Quebec, the last part is not totally uninteresting, but nothing compared to the fjords. Had you not seem Montreal , that could have made a diference if you wanted a city trip, but scenery wise, obvious choice, teh fjords. Have a great cruise.

[Dani83]

No doubt, Saguenay fjord ! As you mentionned, having seen The Saint-Laurent up to the Fjord then Quebec, the last part is not totally uninteresting, but nothing compared to the fjords. Had you not seem Montreal , that could have made a diference if you wanted a city trip, but scenery wise, obvious choice, teh fjords. Have a great cruise.

 

Great, thanks for your input!

 

I will definitely book the cruise that includes Saguenay Fjord...:)

[wandb]

Dani83---

 

Can you spend an extra 3 days? Join us on the 10 day Colors of Canada and New England cruise on the Eurodam on Sept 22. We begin with an overnight in Quebec City and end in NYC. The cruise includes a day cruising Saguenay Fjord and a day cruising the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We are actually flying into Montreal a couple of days early so that we have time to see that city also.

 

B.

[wilsonqbc]

Amazing! What times of year did you take this cruise? I would be going in September/October, so I wonder if the belugas would be in that area at that time of year...

 

Oh yes they would still be there, Ive seen them in December and Feburary

the Fin and pilot whales are the ones that migrate around late October.

[Dani83]

Oh yes they would still be there, Ive seen them in December and Feburary

 

the Fin and pilot whales are the ones that migrate around late October.

 

 

Great! I would love to see the belugas...

 

 

Dani83---

Can you spend an extra 3 days? Join us on the 10 day Colors of Canada and New England cruise on the Eurodam on Sept 22. We begin with an overnight in Quebec City and end in NYC. The cruise includes a day cruising Saguenay Fjord and a day cruising the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We are actually flying into Montreal a couple of days early so that we have time to see that city also.

B.

 

Yes I looked at the 10-day cruise too....if I can take my vacation for longer than a week, this cruise looks wonderful also!

[hvsteve1]

I'm a little confused about the replies. We're doing Montreal to Boston on Maasdam and our itinerary shows leaving Montreal at 4 PM, spending the entire next day on the St. Lawrence and arriving in Quebec the next morning so it is not nighttime sailing. The gulf is also an entire day. As seeing Montreal is a key part of our trip, we will stay for several days pre-cruise. As we have already spent a week on PEI and several weeks in Nova Scotia, we will probably not even book any shore excurisions for those stops. I was just taken aback for a moment when I read we would be sailing the St. Lawrence at night.:eek:

[Twickenham]

Look at your itinerary again. The St. Lawrence cruising is the same date as departure. Maasdam has been doing every two week summer stops in Quebec on Fridays and Sundays, with turnover in Montreal on Saturdays, for years.:)

[banditoo]

Glad the original question was asked as I was going to ask the same thing and found the question already here. We are looking at either Veendam or Maasdam out of Boston in mid to late May of this year. One thing that I need further clarity on is the cruising on the day after Charlottetown. Both ships have a day of cruising from Charlottetown to get to Quebec City however Veendam says scenic cruising Saguenay Fjord and Maasdam says Cruising Gulf of St. Lawrence. They both arrive in Quebec City the next morning. Both itinerary maps look like they are exactly the same for that portion of full day cruising so what is really the difference? Does the Veendam deviate off on a different route to see the Saguenay Fjord?

[Jocecruise]

I'm a little confused about the replies. We're doing Montreal to Boston on Maasdam and our itinerary shows leaving Montreal at 4 PM, spending the entire next day on the St. Lawrence and arriving in Quebec the next morning so it is not nighttime sailing. The gulf is also an entire day. As seeing Montreal is a key part of our trip, we will stay for several days pre-cruise. As we have already spent a week on PEI and several weeks in Nova Scotia, we will probably not even book any shore excurisions for those stops. I was just taken aback for a moment when I read we would be sailing the St. Lawrence at night.:eek:

 

 

it can't be that long! Montreal-Quebec is not far apart!!

[sunny88]

We called Holland today asked about the info. of Saquenay Fiord, two of the agents told us they don't go to Saquenay, do you have any info. about this route? like when the ship arrives Saquenay and how long will be in that area?

We could not get any info. on Holland's wet site. Thanks.