Viking Oceans Cruises – Eastern Seaboard Explorer (Canada, United States) 13 Days

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Embark your ship and settle into your stateroom. Montreal enjoys a picturesque island setting on the St. Lawrence River. Historic Vieux-Montréal, or Old Montreal, evokes the early days of fur trading. The heart of the city is rich with stone houses, inviting boutiques and grand public buildings. The 1829 neo-Gothic Notre-Dame Basilica on the Place d’Armes, is one of the city’s most beloved structures; its colorful interior includes a deep blue ceiling sprinkled with gold stars and stained glass windows. In the Bonsecours Market, a classic Palladian-style, domed building, shops and cafés are a lively stage for daily life.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Vieux-Montréal, or Old Montreal, preserves the rich character of an old colony. Archaeological remains from the city’s first settlement are preserved in the Pointe-à-Callière museum. The silver dome of the Bonsecours Market, a splendid Renaissance Revival building, sheltered Montreal’s main market for over a century and briefly hosted the Parliament of United Canada in 1849. Adjacent, the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours is one of the city’s oldest churches, and the historic Château Ramezay once hosted Benjamin Franklin as he sought to recruit troops against the British.

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Quebec City is by many accounts the most French city in New France. The Old Town’s centerpiece, the magnificent Château Frontenac, seems transported from the palatial landscapes of the Loire Valley, and its French-accented streets lead past white-stone buildings that evoke old-world medieval villages. The only remaining walled city in North America outside of Mexico, Quebec City was fortified in the 17th century soon after its founding in 1608. Its strategic setting on the rocky promontory of Cape Diamond gave troops a close view of the St. Lawrence.

Shore Excursions – Historic Quebec City
Duration: 2 hours
Explore cultural and historic sites in Quebec City, hailed as the most authentically French city outside France. Begin your journey with a drive past the beautifully restored Place Royale market square in the atmospheric Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. The square is dotted with stone architecture dating as far back as the 1600s, including the oldest standing Catholic church in North America. Next, head to the Plains of Abraham, the site where the French surrendered to the British in 1759. Enjoy more spectacular river and city views from its cliffside perch atop Cape Diamond, the highest point of the Quebec promontory—it is named after the stones explorer Jacques Cartier found here and mistook for diamonds. Continue along the Grande Allée, the Champs-Élysées of Quebec, passing by the imposing Second Empire–style Parliament Building on the way back to your ship.

Saguenay, Quebec, Canada
Saguenay is one of southern Quebec’s most cosmopolitan cities. It consists of three boroughs: Jonquière, Chicoutimi and La Baie. Once neighboring towns, they were merged to form the present-day city in 2002. Except for some Inuit and Cree villages, there are no towns due north between Saguenay and the Arctic. Like so many Canadian cities founded amid woodland, Saguenay grew its pulp and paper trade with the late 19th century arrival of the Canadian National Railway. Since then, this resilient town has recovered from a great fire, a landslide and a flood.

Shore Excursions – Saguenay Discovery
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Learn how the Saguenay Fjord has shaped this scenic region at the Musée du Fjord and see the sights of Chicoutimi. Enjoy a panoramic drive and hear about the lives of locals during the 17th century, where settlers and First Nations peoples lived alongside each other. Continue to Chicoutimi along its main street, Rue Racine. Pause at the Little White House and discover how it miraculously survived the great flood of 1996. Drive by the Pulp Mill of Chicoutimi and hear how important the mill was to the economic prosperity of the region. Next, you will pass the Ha! Ha! Pyramid, a monument to the great flood, and learn about the unusual tale of its creation. Continue to the Musée du Fjord to learn about the local marine life at its saltwater aquarium and get hands-on at the touch pool where you will be able to gently handle a variety of species. After, return to your ship.

Scenic Sailing: St. Lawrence Seaway
A brilliant feat of engineering, the St. Lawrence Seaway comprises a series of locks, canals and channels that allow ships and goods to travel from the Atlantic Ocean up the St. Lawrence River to Lake Superior. Seven locks point the way between Montreal and Lake Ontario, detouring past rapids and several dams. The 27-mile Welland Canal lifts ships over the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Erie, sidestepping Niagara Falls. The Canadian-and American-operated waterway is known locally as “Highway H2O” for the traffic and trade it allows.

Gaspé, Quebec, Canada
Gaspé is one of North America’s earliest European settlements, set amid stunning natural beauty at the tip of the Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Claimed first by the French, then by the British, Gaspé is known as the “Cradle of French Canada.” Across a small bay from the charming town lies the rugged wilderness of Forillon National Park. With hundreds of species, the Gaspé Peninsula is a spectacular area for bird-watching, and the surrounding gulf is home to wildlife including blue and humpback whales.

Shore Excursions – Gaspé Museum
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Learn about the heritage of Gaspé at its city museum and see the historic site that marks Canada’s founding. Meet your guide and drive to the Berceau du Canada, an open air museum that commemorates the arrival of Jacques Cartier on North American shores in 1534. Enjoy free time to explore exhibits that bring Canada’s history to life through storytelling, reconstructed buildings and cultural interpretation. Continue to the Musée de la Gaspésie (Gaspé Museum), and delve into the rich cultural heritage of the Gaspé Peninsula. Through engaging displays, discover the region’s evolution—from Indigenous roots and European exploration to its modern-day identity. View more than 250 artifacts, documents and animated illustrations that highlight Gaspé’s pivotal role in shaping North American history. Cap your excursion with a short panoramic tour of Gaspé before returning to your ship.

Shore Excursions – Micmac Interpretation Center & Gaspé Museum
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Explore the history of “Land’s End” with a visit to a museum that preserves its past and showcases its present. Board your motor coach and follow along the shoreline of the Gaspé Peninsula to arrive at the Micmac Interpretation Center, a site dedicated to the conservation of local Indigenous life. With your guide, discover the heritage of the Mi’kmaq people as you explore a reproduction of a traditional 17th-century camp. Learn about life during each of the seasons, as well as Indigenous and European connections and customary art and traditions that live on today. After, continue to the Berceau du Canada—in English, the “Birthplace of Canada.” This historic site commemorates the arrival of Jacques Cartier and the symbolic birth of Canada in 1534, when Cartier claimed the land for France. After time for photographs, return to your coach and onward to your awaiting ship.

Sail the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Follow in the footsteps of 10th-century Vikings and sail the vast Gulf of St. Lawrence, an outlet for the North American Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Meet fellow guests and listen to the soothing sounds of classical music in the Living Room, an ideal setting for relaxation. Enjoy a cup of coffee or sip on a refreshing cocktail. 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Halifax exudes a fine European air and lies along the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Visitors by sea are greeted by the 1758 Sambro Island Lighthouse, the oldest surviving beacon in North America. In the harborside Historic Properties district, grand and charming stone buildings built in the 18th and 19th centuries grace the cobblestone streets. The city grew up around Citadel Hill, where Fort George protected the harbor. The fortress, along with the adjacent stately Halifax Town Clock, has been gloriously restored and preserved.

Shore Excursions – Sightseeing Hop-On/Hop-Off by Double-Decker
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
See historic treasures of Halifax on a hop-on/hop-off tour that lets you explore the sights that most interest you. You will meet one of the city’s distinctive double-decker tour buses at our berth. Its 11-mile loop takes you around the city, alighting your bus as you please to explore sites like the Halifax Hydrostone, Public Gardens, St. Mary’s Basilica, and Spring Garden Road. You might also peruse the excellent exhibits at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, or stop at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery to learn about the final resting place of more than 100 victims of the RMS Titanic. Tours make their rounds every 15 to 30 minutes, giving you time to linger at whatever sites you would like. Along the way, you will learn about Halifax’s fascinating history and culture from onboard local guides. Admission cost to the city’s various venues is not included.

Sail the Nova Scotia Coast
It was 1605 when French ships first plied these waters to establish Nova Scotia’s first European settlement. British and Dutch galleons followed, intent on conquest. By the time of the American Revolution, the British had won Nova Scotia, but Americans wreaked havoc along their coast, commandeering mercantile ships and ruining the economy for the redcoats and their loyalists. It all culminated in several naval battles here, the waters crowded with American and British war ships at full mast and the smog of booming cannons drifting over the sea. As you sail, explore our well-curated Library, tucked in a private alcove of the Living Room, and select from a broad range of titles. Read a book by the Main Pool, a calming oasis in any weather with its retractable roof, allowing for year-round swimming.

Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Boston is a city of firsts brimming with historic charms and a vibrant culture. Its compact size, stately architecture and plentiful green spaces make for easy exploration. Historic buildings appear on every corner, from the Old South Meeting House where Samuel Adams started the Boston Tea Party to the Old North Church where two lit lanterns signaled the British approach. Boston’s parks system also exudes a rich sense of history. The Boston Common, dating to 1634, is the country’s oldest city park and the adjacent Public Garden was the first public botanical garden.

Shore Excursions – Panoramic Boston
Duration: 3 hours
See major sites that played a role in a nation’s birth and visit some of Boston’s most historic neighborhoods. Transfer into Boston, where you will pause at Copley Square to see the elegant Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library. Your journey continues past Newbury Street, the Boston Public Garden and the Boston Common. Pass by the brick-lined sloping lanes of Beacon Hill and gaze up at the gilded dome of the State House. View the Old State House and the Old North Church—in 1775, Paul Revere ordered the famous “one if by land, two if by sea” lantern signal hung from its steeple to warn of the approaching British army. Next, cross the river into Cambridge, where you will enjoy a stroll through bustling Harvard Square. After, you may choose to return to your ship directly, or spend more time exploring on your own and return later via shuttle.

Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Boston harbors a lively and youthful energy despite its Puritan roots and Brahmin heritage. When Bostonians are not sipping coffee in an inviting outdoor café along the famed Newbury Street or walking the picturesque pathways of the Esplanade along the scenic Charles River, they are browsing the art and architecture that lend Boston its distinct character. The renowned Museum of Fine Arts boasts some 450,000 works, while the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum showcases the stunning collection of its namesake socialite in a recreated 15th-century Venetian palazzo.

Shore Excursions – Panoramic Boston
Duration: 3 hours
See major sites that played a role in a nation’s birth and visit some of Boston’s most historic neighborhoods. Transfer into Boston, where you will pause at Copley Square to see the elegant Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library. Your journey continues past Newbury Street, the Boston Public Garden and the Boston Common. Pass by the brick-lined sloping lanes of Beacon Hill and gaze up at the gilded dome of the State House. View the Old State House and the Old North Church—in 1775, Paul Revere ordered the famous “one if by land, two if by sea” lantern signal hung from its steeple to warn of the approaching British army. Next, cross the river into Cambridge, where you will enjoy a stroll through bustling Harvard Square. After, you may choose to return to your ship directly, or spend more time exploring on your own and return later via shuttle.

New York City, New York, United States
New York City is at once romantic and exhilarating. From the robust streets of Lower Manhattan’s financial district to the intimate warrens of Greenwich Village, the city overflows with culture, cuisine and architectural beauty. New York is for everyone. Music lovers marvel at Carnegie Hall or catch a 1920s-style jazz and blues show in Harlem. Romantics board a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park. Art lovers browse the Museum of Modern Art or the Guggenheim. And theatergoers attend the greatest shows in the world on Broadway, amid the glitter of Times Square.

Shore Excursions – Manhattan Highlights
Duration: 4 hours
Experience the pulsing excitement of New York on a half-day excursion. During a panoramic drive with your guide, pass Rockefeller Center, known as “30 Rock”; Times Square and the Theater District surrounding Broadway; the Empire State Building; and the glorious St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Your route takes you through some of the city’s most venerated and distinct neighborhoods: trendy Greenwich Village, SoHo, the bustling Financial District and posh Fifth Avenue, with its elegant boutiques. You will also glimpse the oasis of Central Park, 843 acres of green in the heart of the city. Stop in Lower Manhattan for a guided walk through the National September 11 Memorial and view the water features that sit within the original footprints of the Twin Towers. Your journey returns to Midtown Manhattan before arriving back to your ship.

New York City, New York, United States
Bid farewell to your fellow guests and journey home. Or spend more time exploring, perhaps joining one of our extensions.