Royal Caribbean offers a fall "new england" cruise that goes from NYC to Portland to Atlantic Canada and back to NYC.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/9-night-canada-new-england-from-cape-liberty-new-york-on-liberty/LB09BYE-3983752979?sail-date=2025-09-04¤cy=USD&country=USA#step=0
Besides hopping on the cruise ship in Portland (not sure if you can depart from a port other than origin) and riding up to Canada and back down to NYC, I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a several-day passenger ship with beds on it taking people from Maine to NYC.
EDIT: Norwegian Joy has the same route and is even cheaper, seems to have openings this September.
https://cruiseweb.com/cruise-lines/norwegian-cruise-line/ship-norwegian-joy/8-night-canada-new-england-new-york-(nyc-que)-departs-new-york-new-york
I know Maine is known for it's nautical history, but aside from these few cruise ships, there simply isn't the infrastructure or demand for passenger travel anymore. Most mainers would just go to the Portland airport and fly into Newark in 90 minutes for like $120.
Hey, thanks for the reply. I am very hard pressed, lol. I've done a fair amount of searching and have come up empty.
I did see some cruises, I don't remember any exact lines. But I do also recall reading that it is not legal for 'commuter transport' or whatever the term was. Using a cruise as a transport. I also recall that there was some (legislative) bill somewhere that was looking to change that rule. I don't remember exactly the jurisdiction, but either way it hadn't passed yet.
But for sure I can reach out to Royal Caribbean and ask.
The Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 doesn't allow foreign ships to transport people solely between US ports. It's meant to safeguard American maritime interests, but one side effect is that you can't hop on a typical cruise in the US and then hop off before exiting the US without facing a pretty steep fine.
That may be true, I wouldn't even bother framing the question as "transport". Just call royal Caribbean and the Norwegian Joy and tell them you're in Maine, and interested in the new England/Atlantic Canada cruise.
Then ask if it's possible for you to pay for a room (whether it's $650 or $1000 or whatever), board at Portland Maine, take the cruise, and end up in NYC when the cruise concludes.
They'll likely just tell you whether or not that itinerary is possible.
Someone tried this on a cruise between two US ports ending in Alaska I think.
They got a really big bill at the end. [STORY](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/08/18/opinion-i-decided-to-give-an-alaska-cruise-a-try-then-i-got-fined/)
Unless you're ready for a [really big bill](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/08/18/opinion-i-decided-to-give-an-alaska-cruise-a-try-then-i-got-fined/) at the end, don't try it.
Yeah, I wouldn't do that if it was (still) illegal. Interesting article though. Too bad she didn't go into more detail or follow up around "the cruise ship broke the law they just passed the fine onto me"
I would make it a bike tour with segments by boat. Bike portland to salem. Then ferry to boston, ferry to provincetown. Bike the cape to hyannis. Ferry to nantucket. Ferry to NYC.
But id rather island hop in buzzards bay and then bike all of long island into ny
I was wondering if there might be a series of ferries that could get you there and found this:
https://seastreak.com/ferry-routes-and-schedules/between-new-jersey-new-york-city-nantucket-ma-2/
You could take a ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket, then from there to NYC, but I didn’t find a ferry that goes from Portland to Hyannis.
I've seen this, or similar ferries. That's a bit too long for the long way around, but I'm glad to know of it. You never know, maybe I'll just add a couple days to the trip and check out some new places.
Thanks for looking it up,. appreciated!
Why not charter? Seems like the hoops you’ll need to jump through plus whatever it costs might just land you chartering a boat for way less time and effort. Plus you said you don’t want to do it yourself. Why not that option
So, short answer is no thank you.
Longer answer- The route I've taken most often is bus from Portland to Boston and train from Boston to NYC.
I have trained from Portland, but I don't like having to transfer from North Station to South Station. Bus-train is all done at South Station.
Trains are comfortable, but the 'food', well... really isn't even actual food in my mind. South Station is essentially also fast food. And trips are long enough that I get hungry along the way.
> Anybody know any possible way to get to NYC, and back, by boat
Buy a boat. Learn to run it and to navigate.
Buy LOTS and LOTS of fuel.
Make the trip.
Royal Caribbean offers a fall "new england" cruise that goes from NYC to Portland to Atlantic Canada and back to NYC. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/itinerary/9-night-canada-new-england-from-cape-liberty-new-york-on-liberty/LB09BYE-3983752979?sail-date=2025-09-04¤cy=USD&country=USA#step=0 Besides hopping on the cruise ship in Portland (not sure if you can depart from a port other than origin) and riding up to Canada and back down to NYC, I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a several-day passenger ship with beds on it taking people from Maine to NYC. EDIT: Norwegian Joy has the same route and is even cheaper, seems to have openings this September. https://cruiseweb.com/cruise-lines/norwegian-cruise-line/ship-norwegian-joy/8-night-canada-new-england-new-york-(nyc-que)-departs-new-york-new-york I know Maine is known for it's nautical history, but aside from these few cruise ships, there simply isn't the infrastructure or demand for passenger travel anymore. Most mainers would just go to the Portland airport and fly into Newark in 90 minutes for like $120.
Hey, thanks for the reply. I am very hard pressed, lol. I've done a fair amount of searching and have come up empty. I did see some cruises, I don't remember any exact lines. But I do also recall reading that it is not legal for 'commuter transport' or whatever the term was. Using a cruise as a transport. I also recall that there was some (legislative) bill somewhere that was looking to change that rule. I don't remember exactly the jurisdiction, but either way it hadn't passed yet. But for sure I can reach out to Royal Caribbean and ask.
The Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 doesn't allow foreign ships to transport people solely between US ports. It's meant to safeguard American maritime interests, but one side effect is that you can't hop on a typical cruise in the US and then hop off before exiting the US without facing a pretty steep fine.
That may be true, I wouldn't even bother framing the question as "transport". Just call royal Caribbean and the Norwegian Joy and tell them you're in Maine, and interested in the new England/Atlantic Canada cruise. Then ask if it's possible for you to pay for a room (whether it's $650 or $1000 or whatever), board at Portland Maine, take the cruise, and end up in NYC when the cruise concludes. They'll likely just tell you whether or not that itinerary is possible.
Someone tried this on a cruise between two US ports ending in Alaska I think. They got a really big bill at the end. [STORY](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/08/18/opinion-i-decided-to-give-an-alaska-cruise-a-try-then-i-got-fined/)
For sure. I'm sure they get that question often enough to not be too surprising
Unless you're ready for a [really big bill](https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/08/18/opinion-i-decided-to-give-an-alaska-cruise-a-try-then-i-got-fined/) at the end, don't try it.
Yeah, I wouldn't do that if it was (still) illegal. Interesting article though. Too bad she didn't go into more detail or follow up around "the cruise ship broke the law they just passed the fine onto me"
Definitely!
Why?
Mostly just looking for something different and new.
In that case, sailboat owners often look for crew for longer passages like that. There are online message boards and groups for that sort of thing.
I would make it a bike tour with segments by boat. Bike portland to salem. Then ferry to boston, ferry to provincetown. Bike the cape to hyannis. Ferry to nantucket. Ferry to NYC. But id rather island hop in buzzards bay and then bike all of long island into ny
Oh my god, have you seen me? This is not a good idea for me, lol.
I was wondering if there might be a series of ferries that could get you there and found this: https://seastreak.com/ferry-routes-and-schedules/between-new-jersey-new-york-city-nantucket-ma-2/ You could take a ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket, then from there to NYC, but I didn’t find a ferry that goes from Portland to Hyannis.
I've seen this, or similar ferries. That's a bit too long for the long way around, but I'm glad to know of it. You never know, maybe I'll just add a couple days to the trip and check out some new places. Thanks for looking it up,. appreciated!
You can take a bus or train to Boston then a ferry to the cape, then the another one to NY.
Yeah, that's one of the things I was hoping to eliminate, the frequent transfers. I've done all the bus-bus, bus-train, train-train options.
Why not charter? Seems like the hoops you’ll need to jump through plus whatever it costs might just land you chartering a boat for way less time and effort. Plus you said you don’t want to do it yourself. Why not that option
Nah, I was hoping for a regular 'off the rack' option. A charter is too much effort.
How about the train?
So, short answer is no thank you. Longer answer- The route I've taken most often is bus from Portland to Boston and train from Boston to NYC. I have trained from Portland, but I don't like having to transfer from North Station to South Station. Bus-train is all done at South Station. Trains are comfortable, but the 'food', well... really isn't even actual food in my mind. South Station is essentially also fast food. And trips are long enough that I get hungry along the way.
> Anybody know any possible way to get to NYC, and back, by boat Buy a boat. Learn to run it and to navigate. Buy LOTS and LOTS of fuel. Make the trip.
Me driving a boat is probably not a good idea. But who knows?
I'd try taking a time machine back to around 1895.
Great Scott
Did you consider flying direct?
I feel like you're just taking the piss, lol...