Canada and New England cruises from Philadelphia: one way to Quebec City, or round trip

Canada and New England cruises from Philadelphia are late-summer and fall voyages on Norwegian Cruise Line. This schedule has 7 of them, from 7 September 2027 to 17 October 2028, and every one calls at Saint John, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown.

The first thing to decide is whether you want to come back by sea. Of these sailings, 5 end in Quebec City and 2 are round trips. On 3 November 2026 the lowest fare was $1,279 per person, for the cheapest cabin listed with two sharing, taxes and port fees included. The table at the end of this guide lists every sailing.

What Canada and New England cruises leave Philadelphia?

Norwegian Pearl sails them in the fall of 2027, and Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Dawn in 2028. Most are 11-night trips that leave on a Tuesday and end in Quebec City. The October sailing each year is a round trip that comes back to Philadelphia by Portland, Maine.

Leaves	Ship	Nights	Ports	Ends
Tuesday 7 September 2027	Norwegian Pearl	11	Boston, Eastport, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, La Baie	Quebec City
Tuesday 28 September 2027	Norwegian Pearl	11	Boston, Eastport, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, La Baie	Quebec City
Tuesday 19 October 2027	Norwegian Pearl	11	Boston, Eastport, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, Portland	Philadelphia
Thursday 31 August 2028	Norwegian Gem	9	Portland, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown	Quebec City
Tuesday 5 September 2028	Norwegian Dawn	11	Boston, Eastport, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, La Baie	Quebec City
Tuesday 26 September 2028	Norwegian Dawn	11	Boston, Eastport, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, La Baie	Quebec City
Tuesday 17 October 2028	Norwegian Dawn	11	Boston, Eastport, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, Portland	Philadelphia

Every sailing leaves Philadelphia at 4pm except Dawn's of 5 September 2028, which leaves at 5pm. Norwegian lists Pearl as built in 2006 and refurbished in 2025, for 2,344 guests, Gem as built in 2007 and refurbished in 2026, for 2,388, and Dawn as built in 2002 and refurbished in 2024, for 2,290.

What is the itinerary of a Canada and New England cruise from Philadelphia?

The 11-night trips spend a day at sea, then call at six ports in six days: Boston, Eastport in Maine, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown. The one-way trips then spend a day at sea before La Baie and Quebec City. The round trips turn at Charlottetown and come home by Portland, Maine.

These are the 2027 times from the itineraries on sale.

Day	One way to Quebec City	October round trip
Tuesday	Leave Philadelphia, 4pm	Leave Philadelphia, 4pm
Wednesday	At sea	At sea
Thursday	Boston, 8am to 8pm	Boston, 8am to 6pm
Friday	Eastport, 1pm to 8pm	Eastport, 11am to 7pm
Saturday	Saint John, 8am to 4pm	Saint John, 8am to 4pm
Sunday	Halifax, 10am to 7pm	Halifax, 10am to 7pm
Monday	Sydney, 11am to 7pm	Sydney, 11am to 7pm
Tuesday	Charlottetown, 10am to 5pm	Charlottetown, 10am to 5pm
Wednesday	At sea	At sea
Thursday	La Baie, 11:30am to 8pm	Portland, 11am to 7pm
Friday	Quebec City from 9am, overnight	At sea
Saturday	Leave the ship in Quebec City	Philadelphia, 7am

Dawn keeps the same days in 2028 with small changes. On its one-way trips Saint John runs from 7am to 3pm. On the round trip of 17 October 2028 most stops end earlier, Boston at 4pm, and the ship is back at 8am.

Norwegian Gem's 9-night trip of 31 August 2028 is shorter and leaves on a Thursday. After a day at sea it calls at Portland, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown, spends another day at sea, and reaches Quebec City at noon on Friday for the night. It skips Boston, Eastport and La Baie.

How long do you get in Boston on a cruise from Philadelphia?

Twelve hours on the one-way trips, from 8am to 8pm on the first Thursday, the longest port day apart from the night in Quebec City. The October round trips leave Boston earlier, at 6pm in 2027 and 4pm in 2028. Norwegian Gem's 9-night trip of 31 August 2028 does not call at Boston.

Boston is the first stop, the morning after a day at sea, so it suits a full day ashore. Eastport, the next day, is a shorter call, from 1pm to 8pm on the one-way trips. The Bermuda trip of 13 May 2027 also calls at Boston, which our Bermuda guide covers.

Which ports do Canada and New England cruises from Philadelphia visit?

Saint John, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown are on every sailing. Most also call at Boston and at Eastport, Maine, and the one-way trips stop at La Baie before Quebec City. Portland, Maine, is on the October round trips and on Norwegian Gem's 9-night trip.

• Eastport, Maine. The Port of Eastport calls itself the deepest natural seaport in the continental United States, and puts its Breakwater Terminal in the heart of the historic downtown.
• Saint John, New Brunswick. Port Saint John calls it the only city on the Bay of Fundy, home to the highest tides on the planet.
• Halifax, Nova Scotia. A Sunday from 10am to 7pm on most sailings, and a Monday on Gem's trip.
• Sydney, Nova Scotia. The Port of Sydney is on Cape Breton Island. It publishes a walking map of the waterfront and downtown and says the sites on it are within walking distance of the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion.
• Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. A Tourism PEI release of February 2024 quotes Port Charlottetown as saying its waterfront and historic downtown are steps from where passengers come ashore.
• La Baie, Quebec. The Port of Saguenay runs the Bagotville wharf for international cruise ships, and calls the Saguenay the only navigable fjord in North America.
• Portland, Maine. Thursday, 11am to 7pm on the round trips, and Saturday, 7am to 3pm, on Gem's trip.

Can you cruise from Philadelphia to Quebec City?

Yes, one way. On this schedule 5 sailings end there. The ship arrives on a Friday morning, or at noon on Gem's trip, stays the night, and you leave it on Saturday morning. The Port of Québec says most passengers leave the ship between 6:30 and 10:30am.

That gives you a day and an evening in Quebec City on the Friday. The port says its Ross-Gaudreault terminal is near Old Québec and the Petit-Champlain district. On the Saturday it offers luggage storage for passengers who have left the ship, open 8am to 5pm at CAN$10 a bag when we read the page on 3 November 2026.

No sailing on this schedule goes the other way, from Quebec City back to Philadelphia, and the round trips do not call at Quebec City.

How do you get home from Quebec City after a cruise from Philadelphia?

By air, with a passport book, or by train. Quebec City's Jean Lesage airport lists nonstop American Airlines flights to Philadelphia and nonstops to several other U.S. cities. VIA Rail runs from Quebec City to Montreal, whose airport has U.S. customs preclearance and where Amtrak's train to New York starts.

On the airport's Philadelphia page, read on 3 November 2026, American had two departures a day from 13 September to 3 October 2027 and three a day from 4 to 10 October 2027. Pearl's one-way trips end on Saturday 18 September 2027, in the two-a-day run, and Saturday 9 October 2027, in the three-a-day week. The 2028 flights were not listed yet.

The same airport lists American to New York JFK and Charlotte, United to Washington, and both to Chicago, for dates in 2027. Quebec City is not on CBP's list of preclearance locations, last modified 24 June 2026, so you clear U.S. customs when you land. Montreal is on the list.

By rail, VIA Rail gives Québec to Montréal as 270 km and 3 hours 19 minutes on average, with 35 departures a week, as read on 3 November 2026. From Montreal, Amtrak's Adirondack runs to New York, a trip Amtrak lists at 10 hours.

A one-way also changes how you start the trip. PhilaPort's release of 2 December 2025 puts the terminal next to Philadelphia International Airport, so a flight home to PHL lands close to where you set off. Our cruise parking guide and airport guide cover the details.

Do you need a passport for a cruise from Philadelphia to Canada?

For the one-way trips, yes, if you fly home. CBP says U.S. citizens need a passport to enter the United States by air from Canada, and the passport card is not accepted for international air travel. For the October round trips, CBP's closed-loop rule lets U.S. citizens use a government-issued photo ID and proof of citizenship instead.

The Government of Canada recommends that American citizens always travel with a valid passport. It accepts other documents showing name, date of birth and citizenship only from travelers who do not have a valid passport and are not traveling by air. For the train home, CBP accepts a passport card, an enhanced driver's license or a trusted traveler card at a land crossing as well as a passport.

CBP also warns that the countries a ship visits may ask for a passport. Our cruise documents guide covers the details.

When is fall foliage on a Canada cruise from Philadelphia?

Tourism Nova Scotia says colors there usually begin to appear in late September and peak around mid-October. It adds that Cape Breton and higher ground often color earlier, while coastal and southern areas may peak later. The late-September departures reach Nova Scotia in the first days of October.

These are the Nova Scotia days on each sailing, from the itineraries on sale. Sydney is on Cape Breton Island.

Sailing	Halifax	Sydney
7 September 2027	12 September	13 September
28 September 2027	3 October	4 October
19 October 2027	24 October	25 October
31 August 2028	4 September	5 September
5 September 2028	10 September	11 September
26 September 2028	1 October	2 October
17 October 2028	22 October	23 October

The early September sailings reach Nova Scotia before the colors usually start. The October round trips get there around 22 to 25 October, after the usual mid-October peak, though Halifax is on the coast where Tourism Nova Scotia says the peak may come later.

Is there a cruise from Philadelphia to Niagara Falls?

No. No cruise on this schedule goes to Niagara Falls, and none sails further inland than Quebec City. Niagara Parks describes its land as running along the Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The Port of Québec, on the St. Lawrence, calls itself the last deep-water port before the Great Lakes.

Quebec City is 1,300 km from the Atlantic, the Port of Québec says, and it is where the one-way voyages from Philadelphia end. Niagara Falls would be a separate trip from there, by air, rail or road.

How much is a Canada and New England cruise from Philadelphia?

On 3 November 2026 the lowest fare was $1,279 per person, for the cheapest cabin listed with two sharing, taxes and port fees included. One-way trips started at $1,279, before the trip home, and round trips at $1,439. The lowest rate per night was $124.

Trip	Lowest fare on 3 November 2026	Lowest per night
One way to Quebec City	$1,279	$124
Round trip by Portland	$1,439	$131
9 nights, Norwegian Gem	$1,279	$142
11 nights, Pearl or Dawn	$1,369	$124

On a one-way trip, add the flight or train home, which the fare does not cover. Fares move often, so check the sailing you want. The Canada and New England page lists the same sailings with a link to each one, and our Philadelphia cruise season guide shows what else leaves in September and October.