66 Lakes. Guests might choose to explore the various wetland habitats on one of the Military Pro Zodiacs or note the local flora and wildlife that inhabit the marshes on one of our military-grade special operation boats.” At the other end of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Atlantic Canada offers its own unique landscape and culture. Made up of the provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the region features many picturesque cruise ports. More than 600 vessel calls will be made over 2023 in a record year for the region, after Viking’s expedition ship Viking Octantis kicked off the season in April. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is also among the visitors to Atlantic Canada and offers two itineraries to the region. The 27-night ‘Glacial Landscapes and Wildlife of Canada and Greenland’ itinerary departs from Liverpool, UK, onboard Bolette and includes calls to both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, where guests can visit the site of a 1,000-year-old Norse settlement, L’Anse aux Meadows. Borealis’s 26-night ‘Canada in the Fall’ itinerary, meanwhile, departs from Southampton, UK, in October each year, and arrives in Atlantic Canada as the foliage changes colour for the autumn. “We time our cruises to reach Canada when the world’s largest population of humpback whales usually feed off the coast of Newfoundland, giving nature lovers the chance to spot misty blowholes and arching fins and flukes,” says Martin Lister, head of itinerary planning and destination experiences at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. “Stepping ashore, our guests revel in visiting destinations including La Mauricie National Park and Corner Brook to see colourful autumn foliage and scenic landscapes along the Saguenay National Park and River, St. Lawrence River and Gros Morne National Park where they can walk on the Earth’s mantle.” Pearl Seas Cruises, on the other hand, offers sailings across the entire Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway and Atlantic Canada region onboard its small ship, Pearl Mist. The 15-night ‘St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes’ itinerary begins in Quebec City, Quebec, and ends in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including stops in Montreal in Quebec, Cleveland in Ohio and Detroit in Michigan. Like Fred. Olsen, the cruise line heads to Atlantic Canada for the autumn, with a 10-night itinerary beginning in Quebec City and visiting ports such as Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island and Halifax in Nova Scotia, before ending in Portland, Maine. “In 2024 Pearl Seas is offering the only fully stabilised, 100 per cent private balcony ship on the Great Lakes, and our small ship cruises on the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and Georgian Bay offer a number of stand-out ports of call,” says Paolella. “Small ship cruising, bar none, is the most spectacular way to explore this magnificent region, and it is, without a doubt, a journey worth the trip for guests from countries further afield. There is nowhere else like it in the world.” “ It is, without a doubt, a journey worth the trip for guests from countries further afield” Alexa Paolella Pearl Seas Cruises A visit to downtown Muskegon is one of the many shore excursions available to visitors in the Great Lakes ASSOCIATION HIGHLIGHTS: REPORT
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