RachelG

Can’t edit my post above, but the clam chowder in Prime 7 wasn’t cold at all, it was piping hot. I was cold. Sometimes my iPad types it’s own ideas.

The one tree in Canada turning colors.

September 20,2022–embarkation in Montreal Quebec We woke up to a very overcast chilly day. Fog was pretty much the theme. We ordered the box breakfast, and I ate the protein while George ate the carbs. Then we set off for hiking at mont Rayole, the area for which Montreal is named. We ubered there, and our driver just set us out in the middle of nowhere. We wandered a bit then found the park headquarters and information. The information was sketchy, so we wandered some more along with a bunch of other people. Signage at this park is lacking. We eventually wandered up to the viewpoint , but we had wasted so much time wandering, that we had to come down. It was very foggy, so not much view anyway. We caught an Uber back to the hotel to get our luggage then to the port. There was a lot of construction and detours in the port area , but out driver was good. QuickLy onboard the ship and up to La Veranda for lunch with our friends. I had forgotten how tight the space in the buffet area is. Soon our CD, Ray Solaire, with whom we have sailed many times, came on overhead and announced suites were all ready. I unpacked and organized while George worked, talking to clients and lawyers. A mixed blessing since the time zone is close. Sailaway was at 6, and we met up with our friends in Galileo’s. Then to dinner in prime 7. They have refurbished, and the new chairs are great. Easy to move and not heavy. Dinner was outstanding. I had clam chowder, which I never order, it o was cold. Then shrimp and asparagus. It was great. Even George admitted to a good steak.

USD the iPad but could have done with the iPhone

You do NOT need to do 2 Arrivecan forms. We flew in on Sunday to Montreal from the Us and had completed the forms on Friday prior. We embarked on Regent Navigator today. No need for a 2 nd form.

Oh, well, that is just great! (Not)

We have been on Navigator several times previously—so we know what we are getting into more or less. Will be sure to report on how things are currently.

more of Montreal

Some pics from the gardens

September 19, 2022–Montreal, Quebec We had a great sleep in our very quiet and comfortable room. It would have been a great morning to sleep in as it was very overcast and raining outside, but we had business to attend. Canada still requires covid testing within 72 hours of boarding a cruise ship, and this presented somewhat of a problem for us, as that meant we had to do the testing Saturday afternoon or later. All the testing places in Tulsa closed at noon on Saturday, so our tests would be too old. I figured this out on Tuesday, so I ordered the Inspire proctored tests to be sent to us by priority mail. I received the test kit on Thursday. Appointment for test was 8:15 Monday. It went off like a charm, really very easy, and we had our negative results immediately. The forecast for today was temperatures in the 50s and heavy rain pretty much all day. Our original plan was to go hiking, but that was out. Unfortunately almost all the museums are closed on Monday. The only ones I could find open that we had remote interest in were the Notre Dame Basilica and Chateau Ramezay which is a historic site. I got tickets for the Basilica online. Breakfast was pretty disappointing. As I stated before, the Vogue Hotel is undergoing major renovations, and the restaurant and kitchen is closed. So you call the front desk, and they send up a box breakfast. A warmed English muffin, egg and cheese sandwich, a cup of yogurt (sweetened), an apple, a muffin, and some cheese, plus a hot carafe of coffee or tea. The highlight was the tea, which was good. I mostly avoid carbs, and this was very carb centric, so I ate my cheese and George’s as well as the egg off both our English muffins, while he ate the yogurt. If it had been unsweetened, I would have been great with just the yogurt. We ubered down to the Basilica in heavy rain. Fortunately, the hotel provided big umbrellas. It is a beautiful church, made me think I was in Europe, except that the stained glass windows show scenes from the history of Montreal. The stained glass is beautiful, and there are a few really special paintings as well. Then we walked in heavy rain and wind down to the Chateau Remezay. George was grouching the whole way. “I can’t believe you dragged me to Canada to walk around in the rain.” The museum is small, but well done. It follows the history of the founding of Montreal to the present, but the best part, IMO, was an exhibition at the end about Roald Admundsen. Really interesting. By this time, it was noon, and George was hungry, given his meager breakfast. We walked around the old town a little as the rain had temporarily slacked, and we found a pizza place which was basically to go, but had a small eating area upstairs. Pizza was pretty good, and the guy who runs it was nice. Since the rain was just a drizzle, we took another Uber to the botanical gardens which are great. We walked all over, to the Japanese gardens, Chinese gardens, alpine gardens, gardens of useful plants, shrub gardens, and rose gardens. All very nice though the rose gardens do need serious attention. Then to the greenhouses which were warmer and had nice plants. It started pouring again by the time we were done. I was able to find an Uber, but we had to walk out to the street in heavy water, and my feet got soaked as I was wearing tennis shoes. Back to the hotel to relax a little. We were really old and wet to the bone. It took quite a while to warm up and dry off. We had dinner reservations at Bis, an Italian restaurant down the street in walking distance, to meet up with our friends whore joining us for this cruise. They got in very late night for major flight issues. Bis is a very nice Italian restaurant, sort of like a wine cave. The menu has so many options it is hard to decide. Tough decisions, but I settled on arugula salad and pasta with spicy sausage and burrato. George had a caprese salad and pasta bolognese. Both were excellent and topped it off with tiramisu. So good. I could eat there every night.

September 18,2022-Tulsa to Montreal And we are off again, this time cruising from Montreal to NYC aboard Navigator. We have done this cruise before, but in reverse, several years ago. I had FCC’s from all the cancelled due to the pandemic cruises, which had to be used by the end of 2022. Back then, it seemed so far away that I thought “no problem “. But now we are here. Time went by very quickly. So it is time to set the table, as my friend Rich would say. We had uneventful flights, going from TUL to DFW then DFW to Montreal. I say uneventful as they were fine and on time, but there was one bit of stress. At the urging of many, I invested in Apple AirTags for our luggage. And when we arrived in DFW, I looked to see where our bags were. One, of three, was in DFW with us. The two others were still registering that they were in Tulsa at the airport. This was concerning as our checkin at the AA desk in Tulsa had not been particularly positive. The agent seemed very distracted and not friendly. She asked to see my ArriveCAN receipt, and when I showed it to her, she told me that wasn’t the right thing, that she needed to see the QR code, which was right there, just down further on the screen. It was weird. At any rate, we saw her put one bag on the conveyor but not the other two. At any rate, we went to the Admirals Club. The agent there was very sympathetic, but just told us that hopefully, our bags were on the next flight. Apparently they were, because when I checked while we were boarding the flight to Montreal, they registered being at DFW. When we were on the plane getting ready to take off, they showed as near us. And when we arrived at baggage claim, they were first off! I have only been to Montreal disembarking from a ship, and had heard horror stories about the traffic, so was prepared for the worse. It was pouring rain, but traffic was light and our Uber driver had us downtown at the Vogue Hotel in less than 30 minutes. The hotel is undergoing major renovations, and there is currently no restaurant open, but our room is very nice and obviously just redone. We took an Uber to the old town to have dinner at Brasserie 701. The original plan was to go early, walk around a bit then go to dinner, but it was pouring rain and cold (for us from Oklahoma who have been in 90F+ heat for the past 4months). So we just went to the restaurant. It reminded of somewhere in Paris with an elegant interior with closely spaced tables, chandeliers, and long bar on one side. It was bustling and a bit noisy, but good. The waiter brought us the wrong bottle of wine right off, but corrected it quickly. I had a wonderful salad of arugula, tomatoes and artichokes, while George had oysters Rockefeller then we both had mushroom ravioli. We should have probably only ordered 1 as it was way more Than I could eat. George couldn’t resist ordering chocolate panna Cotta, and I admit to sneaking a bite which was excellent.

Thanks for suggestions. We arrived without any issues. Pouring rain and is supposed to pour tomorrow as well, so cancelled the rental car as no good weather for outside activities. So now looking for indoor activities. The natural history museum at MCGill University is still closed for covid. glad I looked back at this thread as I didn’t realize I have to do the ArriveCAN thing again for the ship

Glad to see you are still cruising! We are still on Tokyo cruise in March 2023– as far as we can tell.

we are planning on doing Mont Royal on Tuesday morning before embarkation. And yes, planning on using uber in town. I will talk to my husband about the traffic issues though. He just doesn't much like cities. Did what you suggested with the arrivecan and it worked with that. I guess they don't really want to know where I will be for the entire trip.

I am trying to fill out the ArriveCAN form. We are in a hotel for 2 nights then on the ship. What do I list as my address in Canada?

Btw,got my inspire kits in the mail yesterday.

Yes. Big problem as lots of restaurants are closed Sunday and Monday which are the days we are there. But we have reservations at Brasserie 701 on Sunday night and Bis on Monday. We have a rental car reserved for Monday as my husband wants to get out of the city. What recommendation do you have for hiking not too far away? also, I am having terrible issues with ArriveCAN. It wants to know where I will be staying. I select other, as it is a ship, and it wants an address and will not let me go further.

It isn’t until Sunday. You are a week ahead!

Totally agree. Much nicer to arrive at the ship on your own rather than in a tour bus which is packed.

We always take the hotel credit and book our own hotels.

Tips are included. If you want to give more, donate to the crew fund.

You can bring as much on board with you as you want and drink it wherever and whenever you want. Regent doesn’t care. If you are drinking your own booze, that is less for them to pay for.

Cisterns were closed when we were there in June, but definitely a must do if open. The blue mosque and Hagia Sophia are definitely must do. I don’t think you could get a bad meal in Istanbul, but definitely go to one of the fish restaurants.

I have kind of decided the same. We will do a ship’s “hiking” tour (more like a casual stroll) in the morning then for the afternoon, I have found a trail which looks good, that we can access from the port.

that is what I ended up doing as well.