Choose summer sun or autumn colour when cruising out of the US Eastern Seaboard, says Jane Archer
Like this and want more details? Click here to download and save as a PDF.
What island destination links the words ‘shorts’ and ‘triangle’? If you said Bermuda, go to the top of the class, and give yourself a few more points if you know where the island is.
Not in the Caribbean, as many people think (blame that on its membership of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation) but in the Atlantic, 650 miles or so off the coast of North Carolina in the US.
While some ships visit for a day, a few sail there from the US, stay three nights – big ships dock at King’s Wharf at the island’s western end, smaller vessels berth at Hamilton, the capital – and then return to the US.
The season runs from spring to early autumn, when many ships switch to autumn foliage cruises in Canada and New England.
Bermuda shorts
Three days is enough time to explore Bermuda. It is just 21 miles long and two miles wide, made up of a series of islands linked by bridges and causeways. Cruisers can do DIY tours on the local buses or ferries or take a ship’s excursion, go snorkelling, scuba diving or relax on one of Bermuda’s beaches.
It’s a cost-effective way to see the island, especially for the Brits, as there’s a shortage of air capacity from the UK. However, the number of cruise calls fell sharply last year from 163 to 128. Due partly to declining sales, many believe it was also a tactic by the cruise lines to force the Bermuda government to change the gambling rules and allow ship casinos to open in port.
The legislation changed last October for ships in port for more than one night, opening an extra on-board revenue stream for the cruise companies. For 2014, the number of cruise calls is increasing slightly to 131, but a bigger increase comes in 2015 when Holland America Line (HAL) resumes Bermuda cruises on the 1,350-passenger Veendam, which were axed at the end of 2012.
Six departures from Boston will run between May 2 and July 4, alternating with one-week Canada and New England cruises. A one-week Bermuda cruise costs from £648 cruise-only, but the two itineraries can be combined from £1,198 for two-weeks.
Royal Caribbean offers Bermuda cruises through the summer from Cape Liberty and Baltimore, alternating with voyages to the Bahamas and Caribbean, and Celebrity Cruises has weekly seven-night voyages from Cape Liberty this year and next that stay in King’s Wharf for three days.
But the island’s biggest supporter is Norwegian Cruise Line, which has seven-night cruises from New York to Bermuda on Norwegian Breakaway and from Boston on Norwegian Dawn this year and next that stay three days docked in King’s Wharf. Prices start at £479 cruise-only on Breakaway departing September 7.
Legends of the fall
From summer sun to autumn foliage: once the Bermuda season is over, ships spend the autumn in Canada and New England.
Most lines are there only for September and October when the autumn foliage is at its best. (HAL seven-night cruises between Boston and Quebec City throughout the summer are the exception to the rule.)
Beyond leaf-peeping, cruisers are also drawn by the history and culture of Boston, Halifax, Quebec and Montreal, and the quaint New England towns of Newport and Bar Harbor.
A few ships call at Saint John in Canada for an excursion to the Reversing Falls, a twice-daily phenomenon when the tides in the Bay of Fundy rise faster than the river can empty it, causing the river to run backwards. Clients starting or ending their cruise in New York can add a few nights for more sightseeing and shopping.
Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian offer Canada/New England cruises after Bermuda, but clients have plenty of other cruise lines to choose from including Carnival, Seabourn, Silversea and Crystal Cruises.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises have voyages between New York and Montreal this year and next, while Princess Cruises has seven-night cruises round-trip from New York and 10-night cruises from New York to Québec City and vice-versa. Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is cruising from New York to Québec and back over 12 days.
For clients who don’t want to fly, P&O Cruises has a 25-night round-trip sailing from Southampton on the adult-only Arcadia on September 22 priced from £3,619. Aurora will be making the same journey in 24 nights in September 2015 from £2,599. Fred Olsen also has a no-fly autumn foliage voyage, a 32-night round-trip from Southampton on Balmoral departing September 1.
Tried & tested: Crystal Symphony
New England might be famous for autumn foliage, but there are plenty of other excellent reasons for clients to choose a Canada and New England cruise, as I discovered on a 10-night voyage from Montreal to New York on Crystal Cruises’ ultra-luxury ship Crystal Symphony.
There’s the French culture and cuisine in Montreal and Quebec City, beautiful scenery along the St Lawrence River, and the story of the Titanic in Halifax – it sounds like an odd attraction, but the ill-fated ship is a big crowd-puller.
There’s also that little spat between the British and Americans that started with tea being thrown into the sea in Boston and led to a War of Independence, and Bar Harbor’s delicious lobsters.
Crystal has autumn foliage and lobster-themed voyages in Canada and New England each autumn, and this year they’ll be on Crystal Serenity for the first time, but starting and ending in Québec because the ship is slightly larger than Symphony and can’t get under the Transcanada Highway Bridge into Montreal.
To make up for that, Crystal is offering a three-night land trip combining time in Montréal and Québec, with a first-class rail transfer between the two cities and included sightseeing from $2,850. Alternatively, there is a two-night tour to Toronto and the Niagara Falls from $1,365 or a complimentary transfer between Québec and Montreal.
Crystal Serenity prices start from £3,236 for a seven-night round-trip cruise from Québec departing September 29.Crystal Symphony returns to the route in September and October 2015, offering mainly seven-day cruises between New York and Montreal round-trip from each city, but also a couple of 10-day voyages.
Book it: £1,916 for a week from New York on September 13.
