Cruises Departing from Boston

Boston cruise ships - all the details!

 

Cruises departing from Boston offer 3 great choices of cruise ships: Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn, Royal Caribbean Line's Jewel of the Seas, Holland America Line's Maasdam.

Each cruise ship has its own personality, and offers different cruises out of Boston.  If you know where to look, you can usually find terrific cruise specials and cruise discounts.  Best of all, they offer wonderful on-board amenities, dining choices, and activities.  These cruise ships are basically like top-notch resort hotels - but with lots more to do.  Whichever cruise from Boston you choose, you're sure to have a wonderful time.

Here's a quick overview of the ships and trips out of Boston's Black Falcon Cruise Terminal, tips for finding the best cruise prices and having a great time on board, and how to find cruises to other destinations.

 

Cruise ships departing from Boston

Norwegian Dawn, Jewel of the Seas, and Maasdam arrive in Boston in late spring, launch numerous cruises from Boston between April and late October, and then depart to spend the winter in warmer locations. 

Although most cruises departing from Boston are round-trip, a few are only 1-way or offer a 1-way option.  Don't forget that you can also find 1-way cruises from other destinations arriving in Boston as well. 

Boston's cruise ships - destinations and amenities

Here are all the details about each ship with cruises departing from Boston to help you choose which one you'll like the best:

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas

Jewel of the Seas spends only September and October based in Boston, offering fall foliage cruises departing from Boston to New England and Canadian ports.  In late October, she leaves from Boston on a very special repositioning cruise from Boston to the Caribbean, where she spends the winter. 

From May until the end of the summer, Jewel of the Seas is in Europe doing Baltic cruises.  Finally, at the end of the summer, she makes another repositioning trans-Atlantic cruise from Europe back to Boston.

Jewel of the Seas is the largest of the cruise ships departing from Boston, and is as beautiful and sparkling as her name suggests.  Of the 1,050 cabins, almost 80% have outside windows, portholes, or balconies.

Jewel's 9-deck high atrium and glass-sided elevators with ocean views, as well as many other light-filled public spaces, provide a lovely environment for passengers.  Quality service focuses on comfort.

Six dining spaces give you lots of choice and flexibility.  The 2 more formal dining spaces have 2 seatings per night, while the others are more casual and less-structured.

Entertainment options include a 3-level lounge with Las Vegas-type shows, a smaller cabaret lounge, a movie theater, numerous bars, and a casino.  For quieter moments, you can retreat to the well-stocked library.

Recreational options include 3 pools, including one in a gorgeous solarium and another with a waterslide for kids, 3 jacuzzis, a fitness center, excellent spa services, a sauna, a steam room, a 2-deck gym, miniature golf and a putting green, rock climbing, a jogging track, and a basketball court.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn

Norwegian Dawn offers weekly 7-day round trip Bermuda cruises from Boston from mid-April/early May through late-September/early-October, and then 7-day Canada and New England Cruises for a few more weeks.

Norwegian Dawn 1,120 cabins along with 11 decks, 13 restaurants, and 12 bars and lounges.

Norwegian Dawn's design supports Norwegian Cruise Line's freestyling cruising approach.  This means that the ship is similar to a high-end resort, where you have total freedom of choice about dining, activities, and entertainment - and tons of choices right at your fingertips. 

Dining options range from large traditional cruise-type restaurants to small speciality restaurants (some of which require per-person surcharges), including Italian, French, a Brazilian steakhouse, and Asian - and pizza delivery 24 hour a day.  Poolside cookouts and barbeques provide additional choices.

Entertainment options include a gorgeous theater, a casino, a library, a cinema, a game room, and cyber cafe, as well as classes of various sorts.  You'll find lots of bands on board playing a wide range of music, plus more entertainment in most of the ship's bars.

For exercise, you can swim in the regular outdoor pools or the spa's indoor lap pool.  There's table tennis, golf-driving nets, shuffleboard, basketball/volleyball courts, and fitness classes at the spa.

When booking, you can choose from the usual range of cabin options - plus luxury 3-bedroom "Garden Villas," the largest - almost 6,000 square feet each! - suites of any of the cruises departing from Boston.  Lots of the cabins can interconnect, making this ship ideal for large family groups.

Norwegian Dawn offers a number of recreational facilities and daily planned activities for children and teens.  Teens also have their own video arcade and disco-type "club."

Holland America's Maasdam

Luxury cruise ship Maasdam spends the winter and spring cruising around the Caribbean, and then makes a repositioning cruise up to Canada and finally back to Boston in May. 

Between May and October, Maasdam makes 7-day and 14-day cruises departing from Boston to New England and Canada and back, including fall foliage cruises . . . except for one 35-day period, when she makes an exciting cruise from Boston to Europe and back to Boston, taking you along the paths that the early Vikings might have followed on their New World explorations.

In October, Maasdam again cruises from Boston to Canada . . . and then makes one more repositioning cruise down to the Caribbean for the winter.  Even though this repositioning cruise doesn't originate in Boston, you may still want to check it out due to the interesting ports and big savings!

On the distinctive black-hulled, 10-deck Maasdam, striking art and sculpture scattered throughout the ship and especially in the 3-floor atrium set the stage for the elegant experience and flawless service that Holland America strives to deliver.

At the heart of the ship, in the light-filled atrium, stands Luciano Vistosi's "Totem," a majestic soaring sculpture fashioned from almost 2,000 pieces of sparkling glass.  Other art includes Edo-era Japanese pieces, abstract murals, and lovely paintings scattered throughout the ship. 

You'll experience a number of small luxury touches - fresh-squeezed orange juice, freshly made popcorn at the movies, and daily tea service each afternoon. 

Although not much smaller in size than Jewel of the Seas and Norwegian Spirit, the Maasdam has only 633 cabins, of which about 80% have outside views. 

Like other Holland America cruise ships, the Maasdam serves excellent wines and gourmet cuisine.  The "Rotterdam" dining room features 5-course menus, an extensive wine list, and 2 seatings.  Formal nights are very special here.  Although smaller and more intimate, Pinnacle Grill also showcases elegant dining, fine linens, crystal, and china. 

The less formal Lido Restaurant offers a relaxed ambiance and cooked-to-order dishes.  In the even more informal Explorations Cafe, you'll find a comfortable spot for reading, computer time, and coffee.

The Culinary Arts Center hosts cooking demonstrations, tasting events, and cooking classes.

Recreational choices include an outdoor pool, a second pool in a solarium, 2 jacuzzis, a fitness center and sauna, plus a sports deck with tennis courts, ping pong, shuffle board, volleyball, spa, and billiards.

Club HAL caters to children up to age 12, and provides supervision.  The Loft is a place for teens 13 - 17 to hang out with other kids their age.

In addition to entertainment such as concerts, magicians, and comedy shows in the 2-level lounge, the Maasdam has a movie theater, bars, casino, cyber cafe, and library.  Classes are offered on topics such as digital photography and crafts.

Comparing and choosing cruises departing from Boston

How do the different ships offering cruises departing from Boston compare with each other?

Cruise ships vary based on passenger space, amenities such as food and entertainment, and service - and of course price.   You'll pay more for larger cabins, more food choices, and better quality food.  Some of the more expensive cruise lines offer fewer entertainment choices and more classes and other "enrichment" options. 

Although cruises used to be mostly "all inclusive" (except for tips and personal expenses), the trend now is to charge for some or many items.  On all but the most expensive luxury lines, expect to pay for alcohol, some dining options, and certain activities, such as spa services.  When comparing cruise lines and prices, your cruise travel agent can explain what's included - and what's not. 

Cruise prices also depend on your room type, how high up it is (higher = pricier), and whether or not it has an outside view.

Cruise line categories (including cruises departing from Boston)

Cruise lines using U.S. ports are often grouped in categories as a way to compare them.  Here's a quick overview of typical categories (and number of stars), and where the cruises departing from Boston (shown in bold) fit in:

Top Luxury (5 stars) - Top service, larger cabins, few passengers on board, bigger food budgets, more "all inclusive," more formal or sedate ambiance.  Larger ships have live entertainment, movies, and "enrichment" options.  Top Luxury lines:  Crystal, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Radisson Seven Seas, Seabourne, Silversea, and Windstar.

Deluxe (4 stars) - High level of service, more entertainment and nightlife than Top Luxury cruises, more food options than First Class.   Deluxe cruise lines:  Celebrity, Cunard. 

First Class (3 stars) - Emphasis on delivering a great cruise experience rather than personalized service or gourmet food.  Some food, entertainment, and service options may be at added cost.  Extra charge for alcoholic drinks, soda, water.  May have a strong emphasis on "selling" - cruises make their money on alcohol, casinos, spas, and on-board shops.  Lots of entertainment options and lots of passengers. First Class cruise lines:  Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, Orient, Royal Caribbean.

Standard (2 stars) - Older, smaller cruise ships.  Small rooms, and not much entertainment or service.  Standard food.  For the adventurous traveler, these can be a great bargain. 

Specialty cruises (ratings vary) - Not necessarily ocean-going ships; not direct competitors with regular cruise lines.  May offer interesting experiences.  Boston's Liberty Clipper tall ship cruises fit squarely in this category - especially its specialty cruises beyond Boston Harbor.  I give Liberty Clipper a 5-star rating!

Depending on what kind of cruise experience you're seeking, you may prefer one cruise category to another.  However, each category offers terrific values - and you can usually find tempting cruise specials and cruise discounts for most of them.

What about other cruise destinations?

Cruises departing from Boston offer convenience, especially if you live in Boston - but what if you want to go somewhere that they don't go, or at a different time of the year?

Not a problem.  You can easily fly from Boston to another port city in the U.S. or another country, and depart on the cruise of your choice! 

A travel agent specializing in cruises can help you find the best options, and often can bundle deeply discounted flights and even hotels with the cruise to keep costs low . . . sometimes very low.

My own best cruise discount experience happened when my husband and I needed hotel reservations for a few nights in Helsinki on our way back to the U.S.   "Why not take an overnight cruise to Stockholm, explore the city, and take another overnight cruise back?"  she asked.  "The fare each way costs less than a night in a hotel room . . . plus the cruise company will throw in a free hotel room for an extra night in Stockholm."  She was right - it was a big savings - and a magical cruise!