The official Quebec, Saguenay and Baie-Comeau cruise ports thread!

[Intr3pid]

I have sailed a similar itinerary (on another cruise line) in the past, and here are my thoughts.

1. Try and stay in Quebec City for a night before or after the cruise. Probably one of the best ports you will ever visit. Maximize your time in the town. You can take a guided tour of the old Quebec fortifications (highly recommended), watch street performances around the chateau, and indulge in the afternoon tea. (A lot of cruisers end up staying the night at the chateau.) Other good attractions include the Montmorency falls and Jacques Cartier park.

2. While the Saguenay fjord is amazing, the best part is near the mouth of the river, where it meets the St Lawrence. There isn't much to do in the town itself, as it is quite a bit further up the river in the flat lands. Although Montreal and Quebec City are plenty bilingual, this town takes pride in sticking to speaking French even when they know English. A bit impressed that Disney can arrange enough English tour guides!

3. Tadoussac, a town at the mouth, would offer the best touring. You can do Alaska-style whale watching, and there is also a suspension bridge that lifts you high above the water. Or, you can make your way to the mountains in - and I can only ever copy/paste this name - Parc national des Hautes‑Gorges-de-la-Rivière‑Malbaie. Unspoilt and breathtaking.

4. While a city tour of Halifax isn't bad, it's still a small city, and you may run out of things to see. Halifax citadel is worth a tour, and there is a free-ish tram they run in the downtown area that you can hop on/off with kids. (Peggy's Cove is also worth a quick side trip.) My personal favorite - by far - would be a visit to the town of Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

5. BTW, a better stop than Baie-Comeau would have been Gaspe, as the landscape at the end of the peninsula is jaw-dropping. You could visit the town of Perce with its imposing rock, and the coastal drive would remind you of Bug Sur/California 1. Or, alternatively Sydney (NS) would also work, as you could tour the Cabot Trail.

6. The best attraction in the Baie-Comeau area would be a tour of the Daniel-Johnson dam, but it's a 3-hour drive up north. The Glacier Gardens are nearby, however. You could use this day just to relax on the ship.

 

[mevelandry]

So, it seems like the hotel that Disney is booking in Montreal for guests who want a pre-night is the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. Looked at their website, looks like a nice property, but the cheapest room is $350 CAD which is about $275 US. Or $400 CAD for a room that includes breakfast. I usually try to not go higher than $150 US/night for a hotel, with breakfast included.

booking.com shows a fair number of hotels in Montreal below that price point, and some of them have decent ratings. I'll probably do some more research on those, and then factor in the cost of transportation from airport to hotel, and back to the airport in the morning.

Don't get me wrong, the Queen Elizabeth in a great location if you want to visit the Old Port, it is awesome and probably worth every penny (I'm very fond of the Marché Artisans where you can buy all kinds of delicacies and the Rosélys for its afternoon tea experience) but yes, it is pricey and it's quite far away from the airport as well. Do they pick you up at the hotel?

It would be exactly on the 747 bus trajectory though (the 10$ for 24 hours bus ride I talked about earlier in this thread).

I think you might be able to score something for 150$ USD near the airport. Check the hotel I posted pictures of earlier. I've seen rates go under 200$ CAD so you might get something interesting there. Not sure they offer breakfast but there is a restaurant (Eclipse) who serves good food.

 

[mevelandry]

I have sailed a similar itinerary (on another cruise line) in the past, and here are my thoughts.

1. Try and stay in Quebec City for a night before or after the cruise. Probably one of the best ports you will ever visit. Maximize your time in the town. You can take a guided tour of the old Quebec fortifications (highly recommended), watch street performances around the chateau, and indulge in the afternoon tea. (A lot of cruisers end up staying the night at the chateau.) Other good attractions include the Montmorency falls and Jacques Cartier park.

2. While the Saguenay fjord is amazing, the best part is near the mouth of the river, where it meets the St Lawrence. There isn't much to do in the town itself, as it is quite a bit further up the river in the flat lands. Although Montreal and Quebec City are plenty bilingual, this town takes pride in sticking to speaking French even when they know English. A bit impressed that Disney can arrange enough English tour guides!

3. Tadoussac, a town at the mouth, would offer the best touring. You can do Alaska-style whale watching, and there is also a suspension bridge that lifts you high above the water. Or, you can make your way to the mountains in - and I can only ever copy/paste this name - Parc national des Hautes‑Gorges-de-la-Rivière‑Malbaie. Unspoilt and breathtaking.

4. While a city tour of Halifax isn't bad, it's still a small city, and you may run out of things to see. Halifax citadel is worth a tour, and there is a free-ish tram they run in the downtown area that you can hop on/off with kids. (Peggy's Cove is also worth a quick side trip.) My personal favorite - by far - would be a visit to the town of Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

5. BTW, a better stop than Baie-Comeau would have been Gaspe, as the landscape at the end of the peninsula is jaw-dropping. You could visit the town of Perce with its imposing rock, and the coastal drive would remind you of Bug Sur/California 1. Or, alternatively Sydney (NS) would also work, as you could tour the Cabot Trail.

6. The best attraction in the Baie-Comeau area would be a tour of the Daniel-Johnson dam, but it's a 3-hour drive up north. The Glacier Gardens are nearby, however. You could use this day just to relax on the ship.

I agree with most of your points.

To explain a bit of 2. You have to know that from the moments we were invaded by the British, keeping french as our main language has been quite a battle. The further you go from Montreal and Quebec, you will encounter less "mixity" in ethnicities and less different languages.

This region is known for its people to be much more friendlier than other regions but also more conservative (not necessarily religious) than the rest of the province and definitely more protective of their primary language, which they speak with a very thick and recognizable accent (among all french canadians).

Let's just say that while I lived in that region, I stood out with my passion for english. Lol

 

[mevelandry]

Part 2 regarding point 2 of SyracuseWolvrine - Between the age of 17 to 21, I was living near Val-Jalbert and St-Félicien (which are in the Lac-St-Jean part of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region) of course I find Val-Jalbert and Zoo of St-Félicien more interesting than the town of "Saguenay" (which was, up to recently, little towns that were merged them into one) with the exception of anything related to the Fjord National Park.

 

[Anisum]

We are booked on the Sept 27 QC>NY cruise. Our plan is to fly into Montreal on the 26th, spend the night, then use the DCL transfers to get to the port. We will be flying on Porter Airlines from EWR to YUL (with a stop in YTZ). I've never experienced Porter before, but both flights are under 2 hours, so how bad can it be?

Any suggestions for hotels in Montreal reasonably close to the airport? (I'm not sure which hotels (if any) DCL will offer transfers from, so we were planning on going back to the airport in the morning). Also (and I realize this is an unusual question), are there any Tim Hortons around that still make donuts on-site (as opposed to the frozen/trucked in variety that you find most places)?

I'm doing something similar. I'm glad to hear from others that Porter is good. I was originally going to go with as close to the airport as possible since I wasn't sure where Disney was going to set up their temporary desk for transfers from Montreal.

 

[LeslieG]

Any thoughts on the Baie-Comeau port adventures now that they've been posted? Also, I thought there would be whale watch excursions in some of the ports, but there are none.

 

[mevelandry]

Any thoughts on the Baie-Comeau port adventures now that they've been posted? Also, I thought there would be whale watch excursions in some of the ports, but there are none.

Can you screenshot them?

I'm surprised too. I thought there would be one for Saguenay...

 

[Shadowfan]

Can you screenshot them?



I'm surprised too. I thought there would be one for Saguenay...

 

[mevelandry]

I'll get back to you regarding those.

It's funny because my job is a bit related to Innu Culture...

 

[belle07]

Hi! Does anyone know if Disney offers airport transfers from Montreal to Quebec? We had our flight changed on us, we originally were flying into Quebec and had transfers from the airport. Not sure what to do now. Thanks!

 

[Anisum]

Hi! Does anyone know if Disney offers airport transfers from Montreal to Quebec? We had our flight changed on us, we originally were flying into Quebec and had transfers from the airport. Not sure what to do now. Thanks!

They do. It's a little more expensive but you can change your transfers to the Montreal airport by calling Disney.

 

[LeslieG]

Hi! Does anyone know if Disney offers airport transfers from Montreal to Quebec? We had our flight changed on us, we originally were flying into Quebec and had transfers from the airport. Not sure what to do now. Thanks!

I called for transfers from Quebec City to Montreal, and after much searching, she finally found that it was $70 pp. I assume it would be the same in the opposite direction.

 

[lorenni]

Hi! Does anyone know if Disney offers airport transfers from Montreal to Quebec? We had our flight changed on us, we originally were flying into Quebec and had transfers from the airport. Not sure what to do now. Thanks!

I would push back on that. It’s the equivalent of changing a flight to land in Boston instead of NYC. Not like Newark instead of JFK.

If the airline made the change ask if they will cover the cost of the transfers. Or even better change you to another airline. Assuming there is not other flight on your airline that goes to Quebec City.

 

[LeslieG]

Does anyone know if the ship sails through the fjord at Saguenay, or do you have to take the port adventure on the small boat?

 

[Intr3pid]

Does anyone know if the ship sails through the fjord at Saguenay, or do you have to take the port adventure on the small boat?

If the ship is going to the town of Saguenay, it will have to sail through the fjord on the way in and out.

 

[cruiser21]

I called for transfers from Quebec City to Montreal, and after much searching, she finally found that it was $70 pp. I assume it would be the same in the opposite direction.

In that case I think Id just rent a car.Theres also a bus that's 25.00 CAD pp. Orleans express or something like that. If we do this cruise I'll probably rent a car. I've done that in Seattle, Galveston, Mco it's the most economical for 4 people.

 

[mevelandry]

Hi! Does anyone know if Disney offers airport transfers from Montreal to Quebec? We had our flight changed on us, we originally were flying into Quebec and had transfers from the airport. Not sure what to do now. Thanks!

Just want to point out that with Orleans Express busses departing from Downtown Montreal, if you book at least 10 days in advance, you can get bus tickets for 25$/pp each way (that's 20$ USD for you). The Gare du Palais, if I am not mistaken, is at less than 15 min walk from the port. They leave from Montreal at almost every hour of the day but they are not all discounted at that price. They are perfect for those who would like to visit and stay in Montreal the night before.

There are also Orleans Express busses from Montreal Airport to Quebec but I think they are at least 65$/pp each way and only start running by 11:00 AM from Montreal Airport.

 

[mevelandry]

If the ship is going to the town of Saguenay, it will have to sail through the fjord on the way in and out.

I'll never get used to the name "Saguenay" as IMO those merged towns are all so different.

 

[belle07]

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions, we ended booking a whole new flight with a different airline flying into Quebec. Getting excited for the cruise!

 

[HiYaPal]

Hi Everyone! We will be joining you on this cruise. Hoping there will still be foliage but thinking we may miss it since the weather has been so weird this year! Originally from New York but now live in Wisconsin. My husband is born and bred Wisconsin. I am sure he is going to enjoy challenging whether Quebec City or Wisconsin has the best Cheese Curds! This cruise will get us to 3/4 of a Grand Slam as we have already been on the Wonder and Fantasy.

I have read all the previous posts and all of the information on hotels...so, thoroughly confused at this point. We are flying into Quebec City. Jeff wants to stay as close to the post as possible. We think this is considered Old Quebec City, is that correct? Price is a consideration. Is Auberge Place d' Armes close to the port? But we are also looking for something with a little more charm than the typical Marriott. Would you be willing to please provide some more recommendations? If we have to end up doing a Marriott, which Marriott is closer to the port? Thank you very much!