New England foliage

[casperthecat]

We have always wanted to see the fall foliage so we are thinking of a Seabourn cruise next year. There are 2 options, Montreal to Boston or vice versa. One on 31st August and one on 11th September. Please could someone help me decide if a cruise is a suitable way to see the scenery at its best. The other option departs on 22nd September and is round trip Montreal. Thank you for any advice.

[DavidTheWonderer]

We did the Montreal round trip last year and it is a spectacular itinerary. The later date also increases the chances that the colours of the foliage will be particularly nice: that always depends on the year of course, but late August - early September is usually too early for that. Of course, the later date increases the chances that it will be cold.

[JPH814]

We did his cruise in late September and had a wonderful time. From Montreal to Boston. HOWEVER- there was virtually no fall color on the trees. Why? Most of the trees along the trip are evergreens. 

[ab21au]

We left Montreal on the 1st Sept a couple of years ago and did not get any fall colors. I was asking a similar question prior to our booking and was told - go early and get potentially better weather - go later and get better chance of fall colors but more chance of not so good weather. 

 

We loved the cruise, the scenery was spectacular even without the fall colors. 

[sleepy22]

We live in Ottawa (2 hrs from Mtl) and the closer you can go to Canadian Thanksgiving the better your chances of seeing fall colours.   They usually peak around our Thangsgiving. 

[DavidTheWonderer]

6 hours ago, sleepy22 said:

We live in Ottawa (2 hrs from Mtl) and the closer you can go to Canadian Thanksgiving the better your chances of seeing fall colours.   They usually peak around our Thangsgiving. 

For our non-Canadian friends, Canadian Thanksgiving this year is Monday October 14.
I was in Ottawa last week, and the colours were coming along nicely, but not yet quite at their peak.  In Toronto, there are still few signs of colour. I'm guessing Quebec City etc. will be just about at their best right about now.

[alwaysonaship]

We went once in  mid October and the weather was beautiful. We are on the Quest and it is 40 some degrees, raining, it really is just the luck of the draw. 

[raphael360]

I can offer the following advice Having lived in central Pennsylvania for over 25 years, :  Timing of the "changing of the leaves", as we called it, is not an exact science.  The dates the trees are in full color vary from year to year, mostly depending on the weather. It can differ from plus or minus 1 to 2 weeks every year. 

 

The US has had record highs this summer so I'd guess the changing of the leaves will be on the late side.  Another thing to keep in mind is how long the leaves actually stay on the trees after they change color.  Some years the leaves stay on the tree for a week or more and some years they drop in a day or 2 if a bad storm hits the trees.

 

We did the Montreal to FLL cruise twice.  It was 70 degrees in Quebec City on Oct. 12, 2015 and and below 32 degrees on Oct. 26, 2016.  We plan and mother nature laughs.

Edited October 2, 2019 by raphael360
sic

[casperthecat]

Thank you all very much for your insight. It seems like this won’t be the cruise to see the colours but will still be an amazing experience. I’m watching prices carefully as it’s still expensive to book at present, but I think this is one for us to do with our expectations managed!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The best bets for seeing some spectacular color on these cruises is perhaps the cities themselves (weather cooperating, as above.)  Montreal itself, around early to mid-October should be lovely, especially if you get up onto Mont Royal.  Ditto Quebec City and Trois Rivieres.  Can't vouch for the maritimes--they're not known for the stunning reds that the sugar maples produce.