We want to take a cruise to Nova Scotia in August, 2010. Any recommendations? Would we be better off waiting until the last minute to try to get a better deal?

From where?

The only ones we've seen travel out of Boston or Montreal. We'd prefer to spend most of our time in Nova Scotia, and are hoping to find a small, economical ship that stops at more Nova Scotia ports.

Nova Scotia is not very big...from a "cruise ship stopping @ ports" perspective. I can think of Halifax port & Sydney port & maybe somewhere along the South Shore of NS but otherwise, that's about it. I don't think they have docking facilities for cruise ships in many NS harbors. But, maybe I am wrong.

Have you considered flying to NS & touring around in a car? I think you wld see more of NS that way.

I have no clue what there is to see(except water!!)if you are "cruising" b/t Boston & Nova Scotia or Montreal & Nova Scotia. Seems like a waste of time to me....if your overall objective is to see & experience Nova Scotia.

My recommendation is similar... if you want to see Nova Scotia, fly in to Halifax and rent a car. There are great parks, nice coastal roads, etc. and I can't imagine trying to do them on a cruise excursion.

Right, astein. There are not many ports along the way to the "great parks & nice coastal roads"!

well, there are things to see in New England/Nova Scotia cruises. NCL runs a cruise from Boston to Quebec City that stops in Portland ME, Bar Harbor, Halifax, New Brunswick. and I think Sidney in NS.

There are cruises that stop in PEI as well.

New York based cruises generally stop in Newport RI and may stop in Boston on the way to NS.

That said, none of these spend more than a day or so in Nova Scotia so may not really suit your wishes. Not that they wouldn't be nice

I think NCL may be the only line which departs from Boston. Celebrity departs from New York. There could be others.

Lucy55,

I too recommend flying to Halifax and renting a car.

Nova Scotia isn't overrun by society because it simply isn't on the way to anywhere (no "Newfie" jokes here). The roads there aren't exactly built for rapid transport from one destination to the next, but are great for the remote-seeming, country life that is quite pleasant to be around.

Rain and fog are certainly part of that life, but in August hopefully those will give way to sunshine and moderately warm temperatures.

While Halifax harbor might be a nice spot for stopping on some cruise, I don't know of any other areas of NS that would have enough to warrant a cruise ship stop of any significance.

Besides, the best tides to see in and around NS are NOT those on the Atlantic coast. Fly in and rent a car and drive to the Bay of Fundy!