Have you always wanted to see fall colors in New England but not necessarily from behind the steering wheel of a car? You’re not alone.
The next question: Short of backpacking or hiring a limo and driver (options not for everybody), what’s the best way to enjoy nature’s most glorious season up there without worrying about room reservations, slick roads and bad gas prices?
Well, last October–in time to give you ideas for this year’s leaf season–we tested two popular fall color options: a New England motor-coach tour and, a week later, a New England/Canada cruise.
Here’s what we found:
First, everyone seemed to have had a good time. That goes for both the bus and the boat.
So did we.
No one among the other 43 passengers on the CaravanTours motor coach openly groused about the overall tour. A few had problems with the occasional long walk from the lobby to their hotel room, and others weren’t pleased with the dinner service in Vermont, but that was about it.
Of the 1,250 guests on Holland America’s MS Maasdam who didn’t share our cabin, we chatted up dozens (in buffet lines, on excursions and at the gaming tables), and all said they were happy with the cruise–despite some rough going.
Now admittedly, comparing a bus trip and a cruise is a little like comparing pumpkins and kumquats, but both took people where they wanted to go with minimal effort from them.
And a quick confession: On the whole, we’d rather drive. But that’s us.
All aboard.
– – –
BY SHIP
Boston to Canada on an excursion in freedom
dong, Dong, DONGGG . . .
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Halifax, Nova Scotia.”
It is Eric, cruise director of the MS Maasdam, greeting us on the ship’s loudspeakers.
“Guests wishing to go ashore may do so via the gangway located on the Main Deck, deck No. 5. . .”
It is Day 3, and it is drizzling, and the flags along the dock are straight out and flapping madly. Later today, the rain will turn harder and horizontal–but I will, nonetheless, be onshore.
I will be in Halifax’s Maritime Museum, looking at Titanic remnants. Survivors and victims were brought here in 1912. Among the souvenirs: John Jacob Astor’s lifejacket and a rolling pin fashioned from a Titanic timber.
Tonight, the MS Maasdam will lose one of its five engines.
dong, Dong, DONGGG . . .
“The positive aspect,” the captain will explain, “is that with this reduced speed, the ship’s movements are probably a bit more comfortable.” As comfortable as they can be bobbing atop 47-foot swells in a 60 m.p.h. gale . . .
Look, I don’t want to go negative here–so for the sake of fairness and to save this whole “compare fall color experiences” concept, I’m going to do a little selective reporting and try to keep the playing field level.
Which means never mind Halifax (a mess), Sydney (mostly dreary), Prince Edward Island (gloomy with drizzle) and Quebec City (cold, cold rain) and the fact that four of my five prebooked shore excursions were wiped out for one reason or another. And that many dinners were . . . well, were missed because of, in the words of our captain, “the motion of the ocean.”
Positive.
It was sunny and beautiful in Bar Harbor, Maine. That was Day 2. Spots of sunshine during an excursion out of Sydney, Nova Scotia, extracted bursts of color from hillsides of maples at peak. That was Day 4.
Day 6, our day at sea highlighted by a run up the Saguenay Fiord, began uncertainly, then turned spectacular.
“Talk about your beautiful days,” said the woman next to me as we watched, from the deck of a ship that was gliding with the grace and stability of a swan, past the fiord’s sunshine-bathed tapestry of reds and golds and oranges.
“Better than driving?” Better than driving, she said.
“No traffic jams, no rest stops, no `I’m sick of being here’ stops,” she says. “Very few things worse in life than being on a two-lane highway, one lane each way, in a no-passing zone behind someone who’s going 20 miles under the limit . . .”
Ever considered a bus trip?
Before she could add words to the scowl–
dong, Dong, DONGGG . . .
“Good afternoon, Maasdam, it’s time for another session of Super Snowball Jackpot Bingo! You can’t win it if you’re not in it . . .”
Our adventure began in Boston, in water shared by Old Ironsides and, in another time, by tea. It ended a week later in Montreal, in a city no longer shared by the Expos.
In between, on our own or with a group, we explored a rocky shoreline within Acadia National Park, saw those Titanic things and some art in Halifax, enjoyed a bus ride through the Nova Scotia countryside, lunched on local mussels on Prince Edward Island, sailed through a fiord where we saw whales and seals, and got a taste of Europe (and other good things) in Quebec City.
Not all of us. Some of us. On a cruise–unlike a motor coach–you’re free, within the seven or eight hours (more or less) allowed by a port stop–to do what you want to do, or, if you prefer, nothing at all.
Onboard we played a little blackjack, enjoyed cocktails and conviviality at the piano bar, checked for messages on the Internet, watched a cooking demonstration, learned to line dance, power-walked the deck, bid for artwork, shopped for $10 wristwatches, sat through good and bad entertainment, and, of course, played Super Snowball Jackpot Bingo!
Not all of us. Some of us. Others of us found a deck chair and a blanket, curled up and read. Or climbed into the hot tub on Lido Deck. Or hit the spa for the $79 massage/facial combination. Or just stayed in our staterooms and dozed through “Forrest Gump” or “The Last Samurai” on the ship’s TV . . .
All of us ate. All of us.
Conviviality–almost mandatory on a bus tour–is optional on a cruise, but there’s almost no getting around it. It begins during the boarding ritual, in the check-in line.
The two behind me, from Greensboro, N.C., were taking their second cruise. The first, in 2003, also on Holland America, was to Alaska.
“We weren’t sure we’d like it,” said the female half, “but now we’re hooked. Unpack once, and sail away . . .”
It continues during the obligatory lifeboat drill.
“We never did this in the Navy,” said the guy behind me.
“Quiet on deck, please,” said the guy in uniform in front of me.
It continues when I’m spotted by the Indonesian who will be my stateroom steward.
“My name is `Wahyu’,” he said. “Wahyu, whah me, whah not?”
And it continues in the first chow line, when the woman in front of me, with no prodding whatsoever, volunteers that she and her husband have been married 34 years and the kids are finally out of the house and now they can do this and isn’t this great?
Then, except for the ever-present Wahyu (“Everything is OK?”), we would blend into the 1,251, sometimes acknowledging the other in passing, sometimes not.
Fall color. On good days, just leaving the ship was enough. Bar Harbor’s streets have trees, and marked trails along the shoreline offer a mix of maples and marine. Charlottetown, the port of entry for Prince Edward Island, has tree-lined streets and squares; Halifax has fine old cemeteries; Quebec City celebrates fall with almost as much enthusiasm as it celebrates winter at Carnaval time.
Sydney? Gateway to the Cabot Trail and Cape Breton. It takes a rental car–or an excursion.
Our excursion is the Bras d’Or Lakes Grand Tour ($99). It’s a chance, by motor coach, to see farmland and hills, and the hills are covered with color–but the color really only pops when the sun breaks through, which isn’t often.
When the bus does stop for a leaf-peeper photo op, the sun is behind clouds. When it moves–“Oh,” said a passenger, “that would’ve been a picture.”–there’s no stopping . . .
Guide, without benefit of a fwompp: “Aren’t these absolutely breathtaking?” We keep moving. Frustration builds, but no punches are thrown.
Interestingly, the seven-hour bus ride generates a familiar communal feeling. Names are exchanged. Stories are told.
We are on a Fall Color Bus Tour–but it’s still a cruise.
“For one thing, it’s not hauling luggage on and off,” said Jim Wright, here from California with his wife, Kathy. “On a cruise, the hotel room comes with you.”
Gail McKnight, from Orlando, is here with her mother, from Stuart, Fla. Mom has been on cruises, but this is Gail’s first. Consider a bus tour instead? Her nose scrunches.
“I was on a bus tour when I was younger,” she said, and let it go at that. “At least on a cruise, you can move around, go different places . . .”
It is a good excursion. There are stops at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum–a Bell home is nearby–and a heritage village saluting the Scots who settled here.
When it’s over, we blend into the 1,251, sometimes acknowledging the other in passing, sometimes not.
At every port on this cruise, there was at least one excursion designed to take advantage of fall color: hikes, bike tours, horseback rides, kayaking trips, bus rides.
A key difference: On a cruise ship, all excursions are optional. It can be a fall color tour–or not. Bob Grant, from outside Detroit, was on this cruise for the second time. “I decided I’ve seen all the tours,” he said. “I’m playing golf.” He had four tee-times set up.
On a bus tour, the excursions are built-in. It is Fall Color Immersion, plus whatever the itinerary throws in for texture. That’s it.
On the bus, the bus is a tool. On the cruise, the ship is Everything–and the leaves are a diversion.
Which is better?
I’ll leaf it to you.
– – –
THE CRUISE
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE
Canada & New England
(All meals, including an extensive breakfast buffet [or sit-down service]; dinners in main dining offer a choice of six or seven entrees; there are other dining options throughout the day, including the reservations-only Pinnacle Grill [$20 surcharge], plus 24-hour room service. Expect 2004 excursion prices to be moderately higher for 2005.)
DAY 1
Boston
Board the ship, endure the traditional lifeboat drill; find a spot on deck to enjoy the sail-away from Boston, then unpack and, at dinner, meet dining table-mates.
My dinner entree: Pan-seared fresh red snapper. On the dry side, but good.
Entertainment: A “welcome” show featuring comedian-fiddler Dave Levesque.
DAY 2
Bar Harbor, Maine
Excursion: Ocean Trail Hike (Acadia National Park), $49. An easy guided hike along a marvelous rocky coast, with commentary on the natural and commercial history of the area. Then ample time to roam the attractive tourist town.
Lunch, on my own: Clam chowder, lobster roll, $13.98; Island Chowder House, Bar Harbor.
My dinner entree: Black and white sesame-crusted salmon fillet. First-rate.
Entertainment: “Up On the Roof”–an oldies revue; band and most singers pre-recorded, but dancing energetic.
DAY 3
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Excursion: None. Planned: Sea Kayaking, $79, canceled, stormy weather. Walk around town, visit the city’s Maritime Museum (featuring Titanic artifacts) and the terrific Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Lunch, on my own: Fish & chips, $11.95; Salty’s, Halifax.
My dinner entree: Roast prime rib. Nicely done.
Entertainment: Comedian-fiddler Dave Levesque. Maybe, on a rolling ship, he wasn’t feeling funny. Left early.
DAY 4
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Excursion: Bras d’Or Lakes Grand Tour, $99, including lunch. (Original choice, a longer Cabot Trail excursion to Cape Breton, canceled due to weather-related road damage.) Pretty drive, some of it along the province’s scenic Cabot Trail, with beautiful lake views, plus visits to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum and Highland Village, a heritage museum. (Passengers who stayed in Sydney found little to stay there for.)
Lunch, tour-buffet entrees: Roasted chicken or baked salmon (or both; better than expected); Inverary Resort, Baddeck.
Dinner, premium ($20 surcharge): Crab cakes, clam chowder, porterhouse steak (three sauces), chocolate mousse; Pinnacle Grill. The perfect steak was worth the bump.
Entertainment: Singer Annie Frances. Best of the shows.
DAY 5
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Excursion: None. Planned: Biking on the Confederation Trail, $69, canceled, weather. (Four excursions canceled; others departed as scheduled.) Walk around the compact town, with a stop at the historic Province House, then seek out PEI delicacies.
Lunch, on my own: Local mussels (one pound) in white wine and garlic cream sauce, $6.40; Gahan House, Charlottetown.
My dinner entree: Surf (tiny) and turf (good). Bonus: the cruise-traditional baked Alaska march.
Entertainment: “Romance on Broadway”–a revue. Skipped it. Lost a little in the casino instead.
DAY 6
At sea (Saguenay Fiord)
Excursions: None. Activities (a partial list): Golf chipping contest, art auction, shuffleboard tournament, line dance class, blackjack tournament, cooking demonstration, bingo. Scenery: Thrilling. Bluffs, great foliage color–plus seals and whales along the way.
Lunch: Ship’s buffet. Should have tried the Alaska-style salmon bake on the pool deck.
My dinner entree: Osso bucco. OK.
Entertainment: Illusionist Brad Ross. Lots of energy, little magic. Left early. Lost a little more.
DAY 7
Quebec City
Excursion: None. Horseback Riding Tour, $99, canceled pre-boarding. (Some others canceled due to weather; a few ran as scheduled.) Walk around one of North America’s most charming old cities until, after a sumptuous lunch, the cold rain cuts it short.
Lunch, on my own: Wild caribou filet in black peppercorn sauce, with seared foie gras, $43.75; Le Saint-Amour, Quebec City. Best meal of the trip.
My dinner entree: Spanish paella. The prime rib (an encore) looked better.
Entertainment: “Party Gras”–a party-based musical revue. Left early.
DAY 8
Montreal
Flawless disembarkation.
— A.S.
– – –
THE BUS VS. BOAT TALE OF THE TAPE
COMPARISON
Motor coach: New England Fall Colors, CaravanTours
Ship: Canada & New England, Holland America Line
PASSENGERS
Motor coach: 44 (limit; coach seats 54)
Ship: 1,251 (published capacity: 1,266)
AVERAGE AGE
Motor coach: Mostly vigorous retirees, a scattering of 40s, some mature singles.
Ship: A mix, but mostly mature (45 to 65) couples with some groups, some honeymooners.
TOTAL MILES
Motor coach: 968 miles
Ship: 1,962 miles
CREW
Motor coach: 2 (plus walk-on guides and hotel, restaurant personnel)
Ship: 532
DIMENSIONS
Motor coach: 45 feet long, 8 1/2 feet wide.
Ship: 718 feet long, 101 feet wide.
INCLUDED MEALS
Motor coach: Seven breakfasts, no lunches (coach makes a daily lunch stop), four dinners (limited entree choices; restaurants ranged from acceptable to very good). Lunch stops variable; dinner options not included range from acceptable to excellent, depending on location and personal budgets.
Ship: Seven breakfasts, six lunches, seven dinners (six or seven entree choices at dinner, plus alternate dining options; plus 24-hour food service, as needed). Many passengers bypass ship’s lunch to check out opportunities in port, at own expense.
FORMAL NIGHTS
Motor coach: None; all meals casual.
Ship: Two; alternate dining options (including room service) available.
ROOMS, STATEROOMS
Motor coach: Good to very good hotel rooms, most similar in size and quality to an upscale motor hotel (e.g., Courtyard by Marriott).
Ship: Standard outside stateroom cabins surprisingly roomy (197 square feet), including lavatories large enough for bathtubs; larger available, some with verandas.
BAGGAGE HANDLING
Motor coach: Transported between bus and hotel rooms daily; passengers repack almost daily.
Ship: Delivered to cabin on arrival and to dock at departure; passengers unpack once.
VALET, LAUNDRY
Motor coach: Limited to Hyannis’ two-night stop (hotel valet), at extra cost (or bathroom sink, free, as needed).
Ship: Daily, as needed, at (reasonable) extra cost, or bathroom sink; passenger coin-operated machines onboard.
COST
Motor coach: $1,086 per person, double occupancy ($1,519 single w/supplement).
Add cost of non-provided meals.
Ship: $1,927.15 per person, double occupancy, outside stateroom ($2,369.37 single w/supplement).
TIPPING
Motor coach: Discretionary for tour director, driver, guides.
Ship: Discretionary but expected; $10/person/day automatically added to bill to cover dining and stewards, but can be adjusted; 15 percent added to beverages; guides discretionary.
TOURS, EXCURSIONS
Motor coach: None, but tours of towns, key sights and attractions integrated into the itinerary. Limited opportunities to explore independently.
Ship: Multiple offerings, from easy walks to kayak and flightseeing adventures and more, at prices from $19-$249 (most $39-$99 in 2004; mostly slightly higher for 2005). Independent exploration possible at all ports, within variable timeframes.
EVENING ENTERTAINMENT
Motor coach: TV in rooms, some in-room movies; some hotel bars.
Ship: Showroom entertainment (of variable quality) nightly, plus casino, bars, movie theater, in-room movies.
INFORMATION
Motor coach: CaravanTours, 800-CARAVAN; www.caravantours.com.
Holland America, 877-SAIL HAL; www.hollandamerica.com.
(Prices were for 2004, including taxes and fees. Motor-coach prices, which are firm, were unchanged for 2005; cruise price, when checked, was about $30 higher for 2005, but cruise prices are subject to fluctuation based on demand. All prices subject to change for 2006. Airfare not included.)
— Alan Solomon
———-
asolomon@tribune.com
