Please--Need advice from anyone who has done the NYC to Montreal cruise

[Sheltieluv]

Hi Folks

I could use some advice from any of you who have taken the New England/Canada cruise, departing from NYC and ending in Montreal.

 

We are booked on the October 14-24, 2012 cruise and even though we are only an hour's flight from New York City, we are flying down the day before and will stay overnight in Manhattan. (I am a firm believer in arriving a day early, no matter what!):) So, we're set for that part of the trip.

 

The cruise departs from the Brooklyn pier at 9 p.m. (I checked the port schedule for NY and it's showing Brooklyn, and not Manhattan, which kind of surprised me.) What time should we leave our hotel to get to the pier? I was thinking around 2 p.m. but we can go earlier of course if that's what anyone advises.

 

Now here's where I can really use your help with options from Montreal on the 24th.

 

Option 1: We live near Syracuse, so if we rent a car and drive ourselves home, it will take a little over 4 hours. (that doesn't take into account any delays at the border, but we shouldn't be stuck there too long as we would cross at Alexandria Bay, or Ogdensburg). The car rental will run us around $150 one-way.

 

Option 2: Fly. More expensive, of course, but having never driven in/around Montreal, which I have heard can be pretty "adventuresome" this could be the less stressful way to go. Time wise, other than having to check in at the airport and all that stuff, and having to connect in LaGuardia before flying into Syracuse, it's about 4 hours.

 

(In both options, we would have to take a cab to the airport, because that's where the car rental would be.)

 

The cruise says "debark" at 7 a.m., but what time do you think we would actually be off the ship in Montreal?

 

Thanks for any and all help!

[RachelG]

Surprises me that you would be at the Brooklyn dock, but I looked it up and that is indeed what it says. Of course, that could change, so I would check closer to the time.

We are on the Sept 24 NYC to Montreal cruise, so I will scope everything out. But we leave from the Manhattan port, not Brooklyn, at least according to the schedule now.

My plan was to go to the ship around noon, have lunch on board, then get off and look around the area. I think this is near where the Intrepid is. My husband would like that. But we are again in Manhattan, not Brooklyn. If we were boarding in Brooklyn, I would probably spend the morning sight seeing, eat lunch somewhere nice, then board about 2 or so.

 

As far as Montreal, we have driven there and didn't have any issues whatsoever. I think it would be fine to rent a car and drive home unless there is some real reason you just want to fly. It took us forever to get through customs to go back to the US in the Montreal airport--so long I thought we might miss our flight, but we made it--just barely. Apparently they now have global entry machines there, but they didn't last summer.

 

If the ship docks at 7, you should be able to get off shortly after as the ship is not having to clear customs.

 

We sort of have the opposite problem as our flight to the US doesn't leave till 4:30 pm, and I am wanting to spend the morning exploring Montreal. But I don't know where to leave my luggage. There apparently is no luggage storage at the port. Wondering if the ship would allow me to leave it there for about 4 hrs since they don't leave till that evening.

[Sheltieluv]

Hi RachelG

Thanks for your reply.

It would be more convenient for us to leave from Manhattan for our cruise, so maybe that will change from Brooklyn. I'm going to look into the Intrepid as my husband, like yours, would enjoy that.

Thanks too for your Montreal info. I think we may just go ahead and rent a car. Even if we have to brave the Montreal traffic, it's no more stressful than flying these days!:rolleyes:

I hope you are able to find someplace to store your luggage so you can explore Montreal a bit. Maybe you'll be able to work something out at the pier; let's hope so.

I grew up in Northern New York just a few miles from the Canadian border and visited Montreal quite a bit when I was a kid--even went to the World's Fair there way back when! It's a city full of history, so I hope you get to sight see a bit.

Please let us know how your cruise in September goes; would love to hear all about it!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I believe there's a baggage check in the main train station in Montreal, which is under the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

 

As for renting cars, surely there are downtown rental locations--you shouldn't have to take a cab all the way out to the airport.

[hondorner]

It also might be worthwhile to call around or search the car rental sites to see if anyone has a pickup service at the port. We used Hertz in Miami; they have a free shuttle that takes folks to their downtown rental site. We did have to make a phone call when the ship arrived at the port. I would think the major car rental companies might offer something similar in Montreal.

 

By the way, we were also at Expo 67 in Montreal; it was our 2nd wedding anniversary. We were camping in a 1957 Volkswagon Bus :).

[Sheltieluv]

Don and Betsy--

Thank you for your advice--I will check it out!

 

And, I think I spied you in your bell bottom jeans at the Montreal Expo in '67.....:D Groovy, man!!! I was 16 at the time.....

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I was 19, and went twice, once in the summer, and one fall weekend. I definitely was wearing bellbottoms--everybody did in those days.

[Sheltieluv]

ah, yes, and we had long, straight hair, right, Don?!:D

 

As far as the car rental thing--there are at least 2 companies that will allow the one-way rental--Hertz and National. I've also posted this on the ports of call thread, and have gotten advice there too. Pricing shows National as the lowest so far.

 

Would love to stay overnight in Montreal on the 24th, but we have to get home and spring our dog from the kennel....

[captjohn]

Aloha

We did this cruise in reverse last year. So we took the train from NYC to Montreal.

The trip was very nice. I took us 12hrs at a cost of $61.00/pp. Just a suggestion.

 

John

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Somewhere around here maybe some old posts; The Train back to NY was highly recommended.

 

We did that cruise and loved it. We stayed in Montreal for three nights post cruise and it was worthwhile.

[TahoeTraveler]

Yes, we thought about the train too...but it is not a baggage train and allows carryons only. Not a good option unless you are shipping your bigger baggage ahead of time.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I guess it depends how much room they have for luggage in the passenger cars themselves. Probably somebody could answer that, who's been on the train. Usually trains like that have a space at one end of the car for luggage.

[Sheltieluv]

thanks, everyone, for your input and suggestions.

 

I checked into the Amtrak schedule from Montreal to Syracuse, and the first segment doesn't allow checked baggage. It's a 12-hour trip.

 

If we fly, we'd have to connect in LGA before arriving in Syracuse, plus there's the not-so-fun-anymore flying hassles.

 

I have checked into renting a car one-way from Montreal to Syracuse, and I think that's what we'll do. Bother cheaper and ultimately quicker than flying.

 

Thanks again!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sounds right--12 hours to Syracuse sounds nuts!

[count florida]

The Brooklyn cruise pier is very near the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel which connects the West Side Highway in downtown Manhattan to Brooklyn. Wall Street area hotels are convenient and just a short cab ride to the Brooklyn piers. The Intrepid museum is on the West Side immediately below the Manhattan cruise pier at around 44th St.

 

The train ride from Montreal is excessively long and although very scenic, particularly at that time of year (foliage season), it probably isn't worth the time it would take, particularly to Syracuse. However, The Amtrak Adirondack train (the one from Montreal to NYC) does have racks for un-checked luggage at one end of all of its cars. Carry-on luggage can go on overhead racks.

 

Driving in Montreal is like driving in any big city, and from the Trudeau airport, right on the routes southwest toward the 401 and Ogdensburg. The only issue is the airport is a good way from the cruise pier in Montreal, but that's where I would pick up the car for easy access to good highways. Were I you, I'd get and stay on the 401 (the main Canadian - Montreal-Toronto - superhighway) to the exit for Alexandria Bay, where you can make an easy cross-border connection to I-81. From Ogdensburg you would have to go a long way south to pick up US11 or take NY12, a decidedly slower route. Stay on the 401 in Canada to Alex Bay!

 

We did the same cruise last year, but in reverse and stayed on all the way to Ft. Lauderdale, The whole thing was GREAT! We're originally from the Albany area, so we visited family and friends there before taking the train to Montreal. If you stay over in Montreal - it’s a truly unique, great city, well worth a couple of day visit - we strongly recommend the SpringHill Suites right in the center of Old Montreal. It's very convenient to the cruise port, and just up the street from the main shopping-restaurant street in Montreal, it's reasonably priced and has very nice accommodations. Montreal is really worth a stop-over, it’s wonderful!

[Sheltieluv]

Hello, all, and thanks for your input and advice! It's been a very long time (many years) since we've been in Montreal; we may just decide to stay an extra day if time and finances allow.

 

(Count FL--We're familiar with 401---a few years ago we attended a Yankees/Blue Jays baseball game in Toronto and decided to drive the northern side of Lake Ontario and took the Wolfe Island ferry, crossing from Kingston. Fun, but a really long ride! We will definitely cross at Alex Bay on the way home.)

 

People think we're crazy to do a fall foliage cruise, as we have beautiful color around here, but there's just something about being on the St. Lawrence River that intrigues us; I grew up near Massena, NY, and used to go fishing w/ my dad on the St. Lawrence when I was a kid--he'd always want to cross over into Canada. Of course, all those years ago the guards would just wave us through! :)(BTW, I'm a SUNY Albany grad, and I used to laugh at my friends from Long Island who thought they were really "upstate" in Albany!)

 

Would love to take the train on the return trip from Montreal, but it's just waaay too long. We're really looking forward to this cruise, and being back on the Navigator again.