Quebec in October

[cruisetime25]

We're thinking of taking the repositioning cruise to Fll from Quebec on Oct. 26th and we're wondering if it will be too cold to comfortably do any sightseeing. Also, will there be a lot of places not open for business that late in the season?

[World Gallery]

We did a New England cruise the year before last in late Oct. I think that people may say it can be unpredictable in regards to weather. It just so happen that the day we were in Quebec, they had a record breaking snow storm at the end of October but since we only had that one day there, we made the most of it and had a great day. We bundled up, wore raincoats, and did everything we wanted to do. The city did not shut down at all. It did stop snowing around 1:00 PM. Quebec is SO beautiful! We spent the day doing a walking tour in the morning and then went back and did the museums, churches and restaurants we learned about on the walking tour. The walled old city has a lot to do. Regardless of weather, if you go prepared, I think it would be fine.

[CasaSmith]

I agree you just have to be prepared for the weather. We went on a cruise from Quebec to FLL a few years back and the first two days we were in Quebec, it was cool and beautiful. Just goregous weather. The last day it was colder and rainy but that did not stop us from going around Old Town.

 

If you plan to take a cruise in late October expect it to be cooler than what it normally would be in September.

 

It is a beautiful time of year to sail. I loved that cruise. One of my favorites.

[zazou]

I don't know if this is too late to answer. The safe bet would be that it will be a bit cold and that you need to bring a windbracker (better if it's waterproof) with a vest. Often in the afternoon if late october you can only wear the vest but the morning and late afternoon are colder. This way, you will be prepared for both weather.

 

Most of the attractions will still be open but in thruth, I would only plan to do some walking on the streets, window shopping and enjoying a good meal as we have so many good restaurants. If you need to warm yourelf, we have a great museum right at the port (Musée de la Civilisation). We have a wonderful exposition right now about Rome (until January). Worth doing it.

 

Quebec City is beautiful and I hope you will have a good time here.

 

Isabelle

[eh2zed]

October is a great time to visit. Weather could be warm or cool but everything will be open. Best time for colours.

[Cruise_More_Often]

October is a great time to visit. Weather could be warm or cool but everything will be open. Best time for colours.

And not only the great colors, but when we were in Quebec City in mid-October, everyone had decorated for Halloween, and the lower part of the city was just awash with color. Spectacular!

 

We're doing another, similar cruise in September 2012 -- NCL Gem from NYC, visiting Halifax, Sydney, Cornerbrook and spending two full days in Quebec City before returning to NYC. 10 nights.

[travelbig]

You won't be spending too much time out on deck till you are south of NYC, but it's still a great cruise. Check weather.com before you go for each port, dress in layers and take an umbrella for each person in your group.

[cruisetime25]

Thanks to all for the great info. We're looking at the cruisetour with Princess going to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Is anyone familiar with this tour? It's a little pricey but we're wondering if we could do these places on our own with another couple. Any suggestions?

[travelbig]

Our next cruise is to NE/Canada on Sept. 29. Several days ahead we are flying to Buffalo and renting a car - going to Niagara Falls then flying to LGA - staying in Manhattan, then taking a car service over to Cape Liberty.

 

What I'm getting at is this - you can really do this on your own. Takes a lot of planning and reserving of the car and hotels, etc, but is way better than going with a group. If you take a garmin, that is even better.

[cruisetime25]

Great advice! So...what's a garmin?

[travelbig]

Great advice! So...what's a garmin?

 

Too funny! A Garmin is an electronic device that attaches to your windshield that you input your destination and it will give you turn by turn instructions on getting to that destination by satallite direction. On the little screen there will be a map of where you are and it keeps updating as you are traveling to your destination. Do a search on google for Garmin and you will see, for the best price go to amazon.com. They are worth their weight in gold. It is also possible to locate the nearest gas station, restaurant, hotel, etc. from where you are at any certain time.

[Hlitner]

Great advice! So...what's a garmin?

 

In simple terms its just a portable GPS unit. We own a Garmin unit that is loaded with the maps of both North America and all of Europe...and its invaluable when we rent cars around the world.

 

Hank

[dhyayi]

Too funny! A Garmin is an electronic device that attaches to your windshield that you input your destination and it will give you turn by turn instructions on getting to that destination by satallite direction. On the little screen there will be a map of where you are and it keeps updating as you are traveling to your destination. Do a search on google for Garmin and you will see, for the best price go to amazon.com. They are worth their weight in gold. It is also possible to locate the nearest gas station, restaurant, hotel, etc. from where you are at any certain time.

 

I agree with you, most of my stuff are bought on amazon, especially electronic stuff.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thanks to all for the great info. We're looking at the cruisetour with Princess going to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Is anyone familiar with this tour? It's a little pricey but we're wondering if we could do these places on our own with another couple. Any suggestions?

 

Yes, you could do this on your own. Look at the itinerary of the Princess tour. Are all the places on it things you want to see? I don't know about Niagara Falls, but the other 3 places have so many interesting things to see--you could spend a couple of weeks! The drive along the Seaway has lots of nice small towns to check out, and the scenery will be beautiful in the fall. Do some research and see if you can plan something that will please you more than the ship tour.

 

Are you planning to rent a car? Check into the cost of one-way rentals and restrictions on crossing the border. Also think about the amount of luggage you'll have with you and what sort of vehicle you'll need for 4 people plus luggage.

 

Look at a map, think about the distances, and do a few hours of internet research, and you should have some idea of how do-able this is for you and the other couple.

 

Good luck!

[Coral]

We flew in Oct 20th a few years ago and we had basically a white out with snow with several inches of accumulation. We boarded the ship on the 23rd with snow. Unfortunately because the snow was a white out - we stayed in the hotel (Fairmont) for 2 days. It was funny as the ship that overnighted in Quebec sent many of their tours to our hotel for the entity of the tour because going to the falls and other locations wasn't feasible.

[Backstage Traveler]

Coral, a snowstorm in October that bad is pretty rare, even for Quebec! That is too bad about your time in Quebec City. The Chateau Frontenac is nice, but who wants to stay cooped up in there for the entirety of their visit? Did you at least take the Chateau tour?

Also, I was wondering what you meant by saying that the ship sent their tours to the hotel - do you mean they didn't cancel the excursions, but took the people to a HOTEL instead?! That sounds very odd. I don't think I would be too happy to have paid to see Montmorency Falls and only see the inside of a hotel instead!

[mjwcruising]

Great advice! So...what's a garmin?

 

A garmin is a GPS system. They sell them at lots of stores including costco.

[Coral]

Coral, a snowstorm in October that bad is pretty rare, even for Quebec! That is too bad about your time in Quebec City. The Chateau Frontenac is nice, but who wants to stay cooped up in there for the entirety of their visit? Did you at least take the Chateau tour?

Also, I was wondering what you meant by saying that the ship sent their tours to the hotel - do you mean they didn't cancel the excursions, but took the people to a HOTEL instead?! That sounds very odd. I don't think I would be too happy to have paid to see Montmorency Falls and only see the inside of a hotel instead!

 

No - I didn't even know about the Chateau tour.

 

I think many of the ships tours included the Chateau along with other sites. Due to the weather, they cancelled the other stops on the tour and spent their entire time at the Chateau. I think other tours that weren't schedule to go there stopped there also as there were a ton of people in the lower level and they said they didn't want to go outside again.

 

We had hoped to spent some time in the city and then board the ship and do the Falls tours. Once we boarded the ship, we cancelled the Falls tour but some people went and they said they couldn't see anything. They said it was a waste of time as it was very slick, cold and visibility was zilch. It was weird to board the ship with snow on Lido deck.

 

I hope to make it back to Quebec City but not sure when that is going to happen. I wish my stop there had been more scenic - I was glad to be in a warm hotel with food (while very expensive!).

 

It is sort of funny - I live in Nebraska and one of our worse snow/ice storms happened in October. They cancelled Halloween here. Because there were still leaves on the trees, and with the ice, we lost half of our trees in our city. It wasn't pretty.

[newmexicoNita]

our cruise leaves out of Quebec on the 15th of Oct. I am praying we do not get any snowy weather. We are not expecting anything quite that bad, but realize we could have some pretty cool days and don't expect to use the pool much.

 

Nita

[travelbig]

our cruise leaves out of Quebec on the 15th of Oct. I am praying we do not get any snowy weather. We are not expecting anything quite that bad, but realize we could have some pretty cool days and don't expect to use the pool much.

 

Nita

 

The blizzard on Oct. 22, 2009 was a real fluke - not the normal weather at all for October. The locals said they had never seen anything like that so early in the season. Yes, it will be chilly and no one was out on deck till we got south of NYC, but that was the case for the year (Oct. 2007) we didn't have early snow too.

[3rdGenCunarder]

our cruise leaves out of Quebec on the 15th of Oct. I am praying we do not get any snowy weather. We are not expecting anything quite that bad, but realize we could have some pretty cool days and don't expect to use the pool much.

 

Nita

 

Are you on Maasdam? She has a pool with a sliding cover, which they close in cool weather.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

our cruise leaves out of Quebec on the 15th of Oct. I am praying we do not get any snowy weather. We are not expecting anything quite that bad, but realize we could have some pretty cool days and don't expect to use the pool much.

 

Nita

Nita I am praying for NO SNOW to.

[Backstage Traveler]

The weather here is currently amazingly warm (24 Celsius and sunny today), and the fall colours are beautiful. Here's hoping that it all stays that way untill you get here!! Having snow in mid october is very unusual, although it has obviously happened in the past. With the warm weather we are currently having, it certainly doesn't feel like winter is on it's way just yet! I was just in Quebec City this week, and it was HOT!