New England Canada Sumitt Tours

[Denmal]

We have booked a 2020 October New England Canada RT from Boston on the Sumitt.  It will be our 3 celebrity cruise. We had done 16+ on Princess.  Wondering why type of tours will be offered. Any suggestions on some good ones.  And any advice about the Summit

 

 

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Denmal said:

We have booked a 2020 October New England Canada RT from Boston on the Sumitt.  It will be our 3 celebrity cruise. We had done 16+ on Princess.  Wondering why type of tours will be offered. Any suggestions on some good ones.  And any advice about the Summit

 

 

Really for the best possible info and answers, my suggestion would be to go to your specific Roll Call for that cruise and ask these questions.  Or another good source of info would be the specific board for your ports of call.

[warmwinds]

Not knowing your ports, or even if they still offer these tours,  I would say in general (from experience over a couple of these cruises):

 

We liked the combo that went to Peggy Cove and the Titanic cemetery.

 

We liked the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Sydney

 

We liked the photography one in St. John/Bay of Fundy because it went to so many different places

 

We did NOT like the evening maple sugar excursion in Quebec - too hokey.

 

We DID like the Quebec tour that went to the waterfalls and winery.

 

We did NOT like the ghost tour of Bar Harbor, but we did like the boat tour around Bar Harbor.

 

All others were neutral/in the middle.

 

Eat lobster every chance you can.

Edited June 17, 2019 by warmwinds

[Tatka]

If you are not opposed to renting and driving a car in St John, I really recommend doing so.

We did it twice

 

1) We drove to https://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/index.php/en/home

on the way back we stopped in St Martins to see sea caves.   It is longer drive of 2 hours each way, but views are amazing

 

2) last month we did the same but drove to http://fundytrailparkway.com/

     which is close (approx 45-60 minutes) and drove through the park making numerous stops.

 

Both places are absolutely amazing!

 

In Halifax where we stopped on many cruises we did Peggy's Cove and Titanic cemetery on 2 occasions (loved it first time, so decided to repeat 😉 ) , also loved Maritime Museum which is close to port.. and just walking through the city and waterfront.

[cachouonacruise]

I may have a different perspective, since I am a Canadian, living in the province of Quebec ( near Montreal). 

 

Of note, we did our cruise in the summer, which provided us with warm and sunny weather. In October, you will have the benefits of the beautiful colours in our forests, but you may experienced much cooler weather. So this will be something to take in consideration. 

 

We did our Canada New England cruise on HAL, but in case it may help, below is what we loved: 

 

Quebec city: Cruise ships normally dock in the heart of old Quebec. Unless you have a mobility issue, walking through the old streets of old Quebec, visiting the shops, the civilisation museum, and art galleries, trying the restaurants, climbing the hill ( on foot or via the funicular) to the Cap Diamant, where the Château Frontenac is located. Walking up the promenade to the Plaines d’Abraham and the Citadelle (quite a few stairs) offers beautiful ways to spend one day in port. In my opinion, no excursion is needed in Quebec! 

 

Charlottetown, we also just walked in town and had a fabulous lobster sandwich on the restaurant located on the wharf.

 

Sydney, Nova Scotia: We loved our sailing experience on board a nice sailboat on the Bras d’Or Lake and the nice visit in a nearby small village. (This was a great tour, but may not be available in October)

 

Halifax: It’s a bit of a bus ride, but we thoroughly enjoyed our guided tour to Peggy’s cove and lunch at the restaurant.

 

Bar Harbour: We only walk through the town streets and discover a beautiful Olive 

Oil Store. Really a high point in our visit!  We also enjoyed eating lunch on a terrasse! 

 

I hope this helps! Enjoy your cruise! 

 

 

[davekathy]

20 minutes ago, cachouonacruise said:

I may have a different perspective, since I am a Canadian, living in the province of Quebec ( near Montreal). 

 

Of note, we did our cruise in the summer, which provided us with warm and sunny weather. In October, you will have the benefits of the beautiful colours in our forests, but you may experienced much cooler weather. So this will be something to take in consideration. 

 

We did our Canada New England cruise on HAL, but in case it may help, below is what we loved: 

 

Quebec city: Cruise ships normally dock in the heart of old Quebec. Unless you have a mobility issue, walking through the old streets of old Quebec, visiting the shops, the civilisation museum, and art galleries, trying the restaurants, climbing the hill ( on foot or via the funicular) to the Cap Diamant, where the Château Frontenac is located. Walking up the promenade to the Plaines d’Abraham and the Citadelle (quite a few stairs) offers beautiful ways to spend one day in port. In my opinion, no excursion is needed in Quebec! 

 

Charlottetown, we also just walked in town and had a fabulous lobster sandwich on the restaurant located on the wharf.

 

Sydney, Nova Scotia: We loved our sailing experience on board a nice sailboat on the Bras d’Or Lake and the nice visit in a nearby small village. (This was a great tour, but may not be available in October)

 

Halifax: It’s a bit of a bus ride, but we thoroughly enjoyed our guided tour to Peggy’s cove and lunch at the restaurant.

 

Bar Harbour: We only walk through the town streets and discover a beautiful Olive 

Oil Store. Really a high point in our visit!  We also enjoyed eating lunch on a terrasse! 

 

I hope this helps! Enjoy your cruise! 

 

 

We leave on 8 September (2019) from Bayonne (14 nights) and arrive in Quebec city on the morning of 15 September and leave late afternoon on 16 September. Looking forward to our two days in Quebec city. First time visitors. 

Edited June 17, 2019 by davekathy

[Cruise Raider]

4 hours ago, Denmal said:

We have booked a 2020 October New England Canada RT from Boston on the Sumitt.  It will be our 3 celebrity cruise. We had done 16+ on Princess.  Wondering why type of tours will be offered. Any suggestions on some good ones.  And any advice about the Summit

 

 

 

We are doing the same cruise but in Sept 2020 instead.  While I've not sailed on the Summit before, I've been following the progress of her being 'revolutionized' and it looks like they've done a fantastic job!!  She is just beautiful.  We've sailed on the Infinity before so the deck plans look identical to me, save the few changes they've made when she was refurbished.  If one or more of your three cruises has been on an Mclass ship, you will notice the similarities.  

I, too, will be following about any advice about the Summit and the ports of call.  We've done a few CA/NE sailings in the past but never up as far as Quebec City, so that will be interesting.  I'm also excited about sailing out of Boston.  That looks like a nice embarkation port.  

[JFontaine]

I noticed for a Portland ME stop they described a tour to Kennebunkport as having pubs, antique stores, and a drive by of the Bush compound.  I am very familiar with Kennebunkport, and there is one store in town that might be described as a high-end antique store and there are no pubs.  There are a few restaurants in this charming town, and some clam/lobster roll shacks, and a few touristy type stores - and a drive by the Bush compound.  I love Kennebunkport, and have been going there for more than 30 years, in all weather, and I think it is great, but the description is not accurate. 

[cachouonacruise]

In my opinion, Québec City is one of the nicest cities in Canada. I wish you beautiful moments in Québec!

 

 

[hcat]

5 hours ago, davekathy said:

We leave on 8 September (2019) from Bayonne (14 nights) and arrive in Quebec city on the morning of 15 September and leave late afternoon on 16 September. Looking forward to our two days in Quebec city. First time visitors. 

When we were overnight in that port we spent one full day enjoying the city , and  for the second day we booked a Celeb  tour to outlying area...went to the falls and other nice stops.

 

To OP:   the CC  Port of Call boards are a big help as well as researching the Celebrity excursion brochure on line or through your online Cruise Planner,  for ports on any itin,,.and there are several threads on CC about the Summit,

[Northern Aurora]

Hard to give port advice without knowing the ports, but when in Portland we have done the Casco Bay Ferries mail run twice, and throughly enjoyed it both times.  Go to the Casco Bay Ferries website for details and the times.  The ferry pier is within easy walking distance to the cruise ship piers.

 

 

 

[TeeRick]

On 6/17/2019 at 12:35 PM, davekathy said:

We leave on 8 September (2019) from Bayonne (14 nights) and arrive in Quebec city on the morning of 15 September and leave late afternoon on 16 September. Looking forward to our two days in Quebec city. First time visitors. 

We absolutely loved Quebec City.

[Tatka]

On 6/17/2019 at 3:40 PM, cachouonacruise said:

In my opinion, Québec City is one of the nicest cities in Canada. I wish you beautiful moments in Québec!

 

 

 

I would say it is most European and beautiful city in North America.

 

I don't think excursion is necessary there. It is easy to walk and explore on your own.

[Holly g]

On 6/17/2019 at 6:39 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Hard to give port advice without knowing the ports, but when in Portland we have done the Casco Bay Ferries mail run twice, and throughly enjoyed it both times.  Go to the Casco Bay Ferries website for details and the times.  The ferry pier is within easy walking distance to the cruise ship piers.

 

 

 

Did you pre book the ferry or just walk over there without reservations?

[Northern Aurora]

On 6/19/2019 at 4:06 PM, Holly g said:

Did you pre book the ferry or just walk over there without reservations?

 

 

I know that the second time we did the Casco Bay Ferries mail run we just walked over without reservations, and it seems to me that the first time we did the same.  I remember that our thinking the second time was that if the weather was really bad we would opt for something else.  Portland has a lovely art museum, and that is what we most likely would have done had the weather been really bad.  I don't know what the mail ferry passenger capacity is, but it is not highly limited.  

[vickykay]

We also did the ship’s tour to Peggy’s cove, etc and enjoyed it very much ( we usually do 

riveted tours).  In Bar Harbour we booked with a private company, located right in town, that did a tour through Acadia National Park and then spent the afternoon walking around town.  I can’t remember the name of the company but you can easily find it online.  Need to book ahead.  

[Nextcruise42]

Oli's trolley does trips to Acadia from Bar Harbor and they are popular. I've been to Bar Harbor several times and Acadia, a walk through town and oh yeah a lobster roll. A perfect day.

[dazey]

W are booked for this cruise in October. Should we consider one earlier as it might be quite chilly?

[Nextcruise42]

We did New England  last year first week in Oct.  and had only one sunny day out of 7. However we have had fabulous weather in mid to late Oct. as far north as Quebec. As far being chilly I only needed a light jacket preferably waterproof.

[happy cruzer]

Anyone do the "whale watching" tour through Celebrity for Bar Habour?  How many passengers do they allow on the Catamaran?

 

Thanks.

[vickykay]

Yes, it was Oli’s tour of Acadia.  And of course a lobster roll!