Zuiderdam - Canada & New England Circle from Boston

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Boston, MA

   United StatesDepart

   Flynn Cruiseport sits on Black Falcon Avenue in South Boston's Seaport, and its selling point is Logan: about four miles away through the Ted Williams Tunnel, often fifteen minutes. Boston works both as a homeport for Canada/New England and Bermuda runs and as a port call where you can walk off the ship and immediately be somewhere worth being.

   • The Freedom Trail - follow the red line from Boston Common to Bunker Hill, about three hours end to end
   • Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, touristy but efficient
   • The Institute of Contemporary Art, a 15-minute Harborwalk stroll from the terminal
   • The North End for dinner, which is the real argument for coming in a day early

   Getting ashore

   Flynn Cruiseport Boston uses the Black Falcon Terminal in the Seaport District; Logan is about 4 miles by the Ted Williams Tunnel, usually 15-20 minutes.

   Best months

   May-Oct (Sep-Oct for the foliage sailings north)

2. Day 2

   Eastport, ME

   United StatesPort

   The easternmost city in the United States, on Moose Island hard against the Canadian border, and a call only small expedition-style ships make. The population is around 1,300, the tides run roughly twenty feet, and downtown is a few blocks of brick storefronts. Come for the tidal drama and the emptiness rather than for a list of things to do.

   • Old Sow, the largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere, off the north end of the island
   • Roosevelt Campobello International Park, across the water on Campobello Island
   • Water Street's galleries and the Tides Institute & Museum of Art
   • Whale and porpoise watching in Passamaquoddy Bay

   Getting ashore

   Small ships use the breakwater pier downtown or anchor and tender in; the deepwater cargo berth at Estes Head is a mile or so out of town and is not the usual passenger landing.

   Best months

   Jul-Sep (a very short window, and fog is common even in high summer)

3. Day 3

   Saint John

   CanadaPort

   Saint John sits on the Bay of Fundy, which has the largest tides in the world. Here the range is around eight metres, and twice a day the incoming tide physically shoves the Saint John River backwards through a rock gorge - the Reversing Falls Rapids, which only performs if you time your visit to the tide table. The city behind the pier is a weathered working port with a genuinely good 1876 market hall, and you can walk off into it.

   • The Reversing Falls Rapids from Fallsview Park - check the tide times before you go
   • Saint John City Market, the oldest continuously operating farmers' market in Canada
   • The sea caves and covered bridges at St. Martins, about 40 minutes out
   • Hopewell Rocks flowerpot formations, walkable on the sea floor at low tide but 90 minutes each way

   Getting ashore

   Docked at the Marco Polo Cruise Terminal on the downtown waterfront, with an enclosed pedway through to Market Square and the City Market.

   Best months

   Jun-Oct; Sep-Oct for fall colour

4. Day 4

   Halifax

   CanadaPort

   Halifax was the port that recovered the Titanic dead, and it has never entirely let go of them - 121 graves in Fairview Lawn, an unclaimed deckchair in the Maritime Museum. Ships tie up at the Seaport piers at the south end of a long boardwalk that walks you into downtown past Pier 21, where a million immigrants first set foot in Canada. It is an easy, self-guided port.

   • The Titanic graves at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, laid out in the curve of a hull
   • Maritime Museum of the Atlantic for the Titanic and Halifax Explosion galleries
   • Halifax Citadel National Historic Site and the noon gun
   • Peggy's Cove lighthouse and the granite barrens, about 45 minutes out

   Getting ashore

   Docked at the Halifax Seaport piers; the boardwalk runs from the gangway into downtown in 10-15 minutes.

   Best months

   Jun-Oct; late Sep-mid Oct for fall colour

5. Day 5

   Sydney

   CanadaPort

   Sydney is the way into Cape Breton rather than the reason for the day. The pier is marked by a giant fiddle sculpture on the boardwalk, and the town behind it has been quiet since the coal mines and the steel plant shut. Nearly everything worth the day is a drive away, so decide before you dock - unplanned, Sydney runs out in about an hour.

   • Fortress of Louisbourg, a reconstructed 18th-century French garrison town, about 45 minutes away
   • The Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Highlands National Park, a full-day loop
   • Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site at Baddeck, roughly an hour out
   • Cape Breton Miners' Museum in Glace Bay, with an underground tour led by former miners

   Getting ashore

   Docked at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion on the Sydney boardwalk; the town is a short walk, but the sights all need a coach or taxi.

   Best months

   Sep-Oct (Cabot Trail fall colour); Jun-Oct season

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Portland, ME

   United StatesPort

   Portland is the easiest stop in New England: larger ships tie up at Ocean Gateway, smaller ones at the Maine State Pier, and the Old Port's cobbled blocks of brick warehouses begin about five minutes from the gangway. It is a walking call, which means you can skip the excursion entirely and still fill the day.

   • The Old Port - Commercial, Fore and Exchange Streets for lobster rolls, bookshops and breweries
   • Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, 15 minutes out of town
   • The Portland Museum of Art, strong on Winslow Homer
   • A Casco Bay Lines mailboat run out through the islands if you have most of a day

   Getting ashore

   Ocean Gateway Terminal takes the larger ships and the Maine State Pier the smaller ones; both are a 5-10 minute walk from the Old Port, and the Jetport is about 15 minutes by road.

   Best months

   Jun-Oct (the season is short; late Sep-Oct brings foliage cruises and cold mornings)

8. Day 8

   Boston, MA

   United StatesArrive

   Flynn Cruiseport sits on Black Falcon Avenue in South Boston's Seaport, and its selling point is Logan: about four miles away through the Ted Williams Tunnel, often fifteen minutes. Boston works both as a homeport for Canada/New England and Bermuda runs and as a port call where you can walk off the ship and immediately be somewhere worth being.

   • The Freedom Trail - follow the red line from Boston Common to Bunker Hill, about three hours end to end
   • Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, touristy but efficient
   • The Institute of Contemporary Art, a 15-minute Harborwalk stroll from the terminal
   • The North End for dinner, which is the real argument for coming in a day early

   Getting ashore

   Flynn Cruiseport Boston uses the Black Falcon Terminal in the Seaport District; Logan is about 4 miles by the Ted Williams Tunnel, usually 15-20 minutes.

   Best months

   May-Oct (Sep-Oct for the foliage sailings north)