Bahama or New England/Canada for Sept.?

[peekinglemer]

We are looking at booking a "bonus" cruise the third week of September. We live in NY and don't want to fly so we are looking at either the Port Canaveral/Bahama cruise out of Baltimore or the New England/Canada cruise out of NY.

 

After taxes and fees are figured in (Canada's fees/taxes are double) both cruises come out to about the same price.

 

It would be nice to try something new (Canada) but we are worried about the weather that time of year. We are use to warm (if not HOT) weather when we cruise.

 

Any opinions? Has anyone done the Canada cruise? Thoughts?

 

Thanks

[Miller_KC]

We did the Canada cruise on Sept 21 in 2013 and loved it. It was chilly in Portland and North especially when seeing light houses on the coast. A heavy sweater or light jacket is all you need though. The Canadian cities were very inviting and we are definitely glad we went.

 

We were just a couple of weeks too early for the leaves to be changing in New England but was able to see some great colors further north.

 

In New York we stayed in a hotel just off Broadway and could see our ship in port Saturday morning. Be prepared for the crowd but we felt safe walking around for blocks.

 

If you do the hop-on / hop-off trolley in Boston, remember that if you get off and do the Boston Tea Party museum, you will not have time for any of the other stops. It is a guided tour and you can't really shorten your visit there.

[BJs mom]

We did the New England/Canada cruise out of NY last September 6 and the weather was beautiful. Perfect for being out and about and enjoying the beautiful ports. We loved this cruise but it's not shorts, flip flops laying on the beach if that's what your looking for. Much more to see and do than a Bahamas cruise. :cool:

[peekinglemer]

Thanks Miller KC. This is exactly the kind of info. I was looking for. Bummer about the leaves not turning yet. That would have been amazing to see.

[peekinglemer]

Ha ha. My husband's name is BJ. I'm guess you are not his mom though.

 

We cruise a lot (sometimes twice a year). We have never done New England though. I think it would be great seeing/doing something different. We will have our 9 year old son with us also. He loves the water and beach. Think there will be enough to do to keep him happy?

[BJs mom]

Hmm, that's a hard question, my grandson is a history buff so he loved it but he's not crazy about the beach even though we live about 6 miles from the beach. Of course, there's the kids club on the ship but as far as the ports are concerned, you would have to look at each excursion to see what you think he would most enjoy.

 

One suggestion, go to the Canada ports on cc and check out what other cruisers have to say about their experiences.

 

 

 

[snc_cam]

Ha ha. My husband's name is BJ. I'm guess you are not his mom though.

 

We cruise a lot (sometimes twice a year). We have never done New England though. I think it would be great seeing/doing something different. We will have our 9 year old son with us also. He loves the water and beach. Think there will be enough to do to keep him happy?

 

We were on the same cruise as BJsmom and did enjoy the "different" cruise from a caribbean one. We enjoyed it so much, we booked it for this Sept as well.

 

Not sure how much a 9 yr old will enjoy it. My impression it is mostly an adult-type cruise. But as with all cruises, people of different ages will enjoy it. Though, there were NOT a lot of young kids on the ship in early Sept due to school.

[amypete]

We have also done the NE cruise on Princess about that time of year. It was wonderful and after a hot summer, the weather was refreshing! Actually it got warm on some days. Wore capris and light sweaters.

 

It was fun to visit those ports, totally different atmosphere than the warm summer spots.

[arby70]

We took a cruise in to Canada and the NE a number of years ago. Not flip flop weather but this is a different type of cruise. We were on our ship for 2 weeks (not Carnival) and once we were further north we had fall colors. But our cruise went thru the first week of October too. Fall colors in New England were not at peak at that point, but weather of course is different from year to year. We had a very nice time on our cruise and enjoyed all the historic tours and areas we visited.

Edited March 10, 2015 by arby70

[buckirj1]

It'll still be warm in the Canada/NE itineraries in September (think 50s and 60s), unless you think those temperatures are too cold for your liking. I don't think that's cold by any means, but you best know your comfort level. It's a great itinerary, though. Everybody should do it at least once. Unless you're me, and do it over and over.

[CruzrwKidz]

We cruised to Canada from NYC in September 2010 (4 ports). My boys were 8 and 12 at the time. The adults loved the trip (6 of us) and the kids dealt with it. There are very few kids on this cruise as most are in school, so not really anyone to make friends with and hang out with even in the kids clubs. In fact, our ship was filled with a rather "older" crowd. We were early 40s at the time and didn't find many others on the ship in our age-range. Again, all of the adults really enjoyed the ports and we are planning to go back when the kids are gone, but it wasn't the best fit for our kids.

[RCmommy]

We have done the Canada/New England cruise and we live in Canada. We went the second week in October and the kids swam in the pool before leaving port. To say my toes have never seen flip flops in September would be a lie. We do get warm days and we live in the snow belt!

 

We did St Johns NB, Halifax NS, Boston, Newport and Bar Harbor. If you go to Halifax, rent a car and drive to Peggy's Cove. You will not be disappointed. Halifax is beautiful and the people are beyond friendly.

 

Go to St. Johns and take a tour or private driver to the Bay of Fundy. There are only a number of spots in the world where you can see tides like these. It is gorgeous.

 

Bar Harbor was lovely. We did the HOHO bus and went through Acadia National Park. Awesome.

 

Boston was nice, been there before but took a trolley to the USS Constitution and then to the Tea Party Museum. I would rec. both.

 

Newport is a nice area but the kids would have been bored so they stayed on the ship. We had no desire to go see the mansions but many did. We got off and walked around and the weather was great.

 

We have yet to go to Quebec but if I could have fit that in on our cruise as well I would have in a heartbeat. Quebec has tons to offer. The other port I would love to visit is Newfoundland.

 

I love the warmth and sunshine, but a beach is a beach in my opinion. To see the other Canadian provinces and another US national park was far better IMHO.

[RCmommy]

We cruised to Canada from NYC in September 2010 (4 ports). My boys were 8 and 12 at the time. The adults loved the trip (6 of us) and the kids dealt with it. There are very few kids on this cruise as most are in school, so not really anyone to make friends with and hang out with even in the kids clubs. In fact, our ship was filled with a rather "older" crowd. We were early 40s at the time and didn't find many others on the ship in our age-range. Again, all of the adults really enjoyed the ports and we are planning to go back when the kids are gone, but it wasn't the best fit for our kids.

 

We has 39 kids on our entire cruise, including our two. Both of my kids had a great time. The crowd on the ship was more mature but we had a hoot. Some of the seniors we sat with were downright hilarious! I would rather sail with them again then the college spring breakers! :):)

[RCmommy]

If you do the hop-on / hop-off trolley in Boston, remember that if you get off and do the Boston Tea Party museum, you will not have time for any of the other stops. It is a guided tour and you can't really shorten your visit there.

 

We did the HOHO trolley and had time to visit the USS Constitution, the tour at the Boston Tea Party and got off to eat at Chipolte near the University.

Edited March 10, 2015 by RCmommy

[Cyber Kat]

We did this cruise (the 5 day) last Sept 1st and we had dense fog on the way up but it was warm. Started out in Saint John with a downpour, but it cleared up and was absolutely gorgeous for the rest of the trip. 70s and sunny. On the way home we saw a whole pod of whales swimming with dolphins - so fabulous! We want to do it again - the 7 day next time.

[peekinglemer]

You guys have me convinced. New England/Canada is the way to go.

 

I think this will be a one time chance for us to do this itinerary so I think I am going to go for it.

 

Thank you all for your advice and stories. Much appreciated.