2019 Sep 24-Oct 8 New England & Canada

We were hoping to see the fall colors on this cruise from New York to Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, Quebec, and Montreal. This was a busy cruise with nine port days and only one sea day. It started ominously with a delayed departure due to a high level of gastrointestinal disease on the prior cruise.

The ship was docked at the Brooklyn terminal that had a view of the Statue of Liberty with the sun setting behind it. I was a little disappointed in the lack of exciting excursions available at the various ports of call.

Cliff Walk Newport R.I.

We hiked Newport's Cliff Walk, flanking the magnificent mansions along the coast that included the Vanderbilts Breakers home.

We did the Freedom Trail walking tour starting from Boston Common that spent a little too much time at the Central Burial Grounds. It was a good history refresher of the American Revolution but really nothing much to see.



Bar Harbor is the gateway to Acadia National Park, which is the most popular National Park, as measured by visitors per acre, per our comedian guide. Also cruised on the four masted Margaret Todd schooner that took us around the many islands in Frenchman's Bay.

Saint John is on the Bay of Fundy and is the home of largest tidal change in the world at over 50 feet. The geography of the Bay also creates a unique phenomena where the the tide change actual causes the Saint John river to flow upstream.

Peggy's Cove

Halifax just survived Hurricane Dorian two weeks ago and is most famous as the recovery port for the Titanic rescue operation. Peggys Cove is a scenic small seaside village that took a long time to drive to.
Sydney is on Cape Breton Island on the northern tip of Nova Scotia. We saw the first glimpses of fall colors here as we took an 8 hour bus tour of the Cabot Trail on a cold and blustery day.
Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island was the site where the Confederation of Canada was established in 1864. The city is also the inspiration for the Ann of Green Gables series of books.

Chateau Frontenac

Quebec is a beautiful historic city with the Hotel Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac as one of its most famous buildings.




Just outside the city is the spectacular Montmorency Falls which is 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls and the beautiful St Anne Basilica.

Montmorency Falls Quebec

Notre Dame Basilica Montreal

St Anne Basilica Quebec

We rode the Via Rail train from Quebec to Montreal, another beautiful historic city. Montreal has a French half and a British half architecturally split by Rue Saint Laurent. The Notre Dame Basilica is the jewel of the city. The Montreal Botanical Garden and the Olympique Stadium are two popular attractions next to each other creating a huge park


area within the city. Montreal has a 33 kilometer long Underground City and mall where residents hibernate during the frigid months.