Quebec to Montreal

[babs135]

Hopefully by September of next year we will have Covid-19 under control and cruising will have resumed.  We are booked on a cruise which has a 3 nights stay in Quebec.  Is it worth spending a day in Montreal and what would be the quickest way to get there?  Or are there any other areas just beyond Quebec City we should be thinking of visiting?  We will be there very early October.

[BklynBoy8]

6 hours ago, babs135 said:

Hopefully by September of next year we will have Covid-19 under control and cruising will have resumed.  We are booked on a cruise which has a 3 nights stay in Quebec.  Is it worth spending a day in Montreal and what would be the quickest way to get there?  Or are there any other areas just beyond Quebec City we should be thinking of visiting?  We will be there very early October.

Hi Babs,

You selected a wonderful sailing.

 

We did this sailing with the QE2 in the past and it was a wonderful trip to remember. The sailing down the St. Lawrence and Montreal is really wonderful to view. I truly enjoyed it and would like to do the 14 days sailing again in the future on the QM2.

 

Please enjoy the anticipation leading to the trip and the research of the trip of sights to view in Montreal. Maybe you can contact the Tourism Board of Canada and Montreal and Google for further information.

 

 

[princeton123211]

7 hours ago, babs135 said:

Is it worth spending a day in Montreal and what would be the quickest way to get there? 

Montreal is wonderful and well worth going to see. Via Rail (the Canadian national passenger railway) runs many trains a day between the two cities. I would even consider spending one of those nights in a hotel in Montreal if you found something worthwhile. Travel time is about 3.5 hours by rail. Drive time is about 3 hours. You can actually stay on top of the train station at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel for convenience. 

 

Quebec City certainly has all the medieval European flair that people enjoy, but Montreal is far more dynamic and diverse. Montreal has an amazing dining scene, great museums, and did I mention how amazing their restaurants are? By no means am I saying that Quebec City isn't worthwhile, but it is definitely far more tourist driven than Montreal is. 

 

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

We did this sailing with the QE2 in the past and it was a wonderful trip to remember. The sailing down the St. Lawrence and Montreal is really wonderful to view.

I didn't think QE2 was small enough to get to Montreal-- I believe the farthest it could go in the St Lawrence was Quebec City. 

[babs135]

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Hi Babs,

You selected a wonderful sailing.

 

We did this sailing with the QE2 in the past and it was a wonderful trip to remember. The sailing down the St. Lawrence and Montreal is really wonderful to view. I truly enjoyed it and would like to do the 14 days sailing again in the future on the QM2.

 

Please enjoy the anticipation leading to the trip and the research of the trip of sights to view in Montreal. Maybe you can contact the Tourism Board of Canada and Montreal and Google for further information.

 

 

We couldn't resist the itinerary as apart from New York and Boston all the other ports are new to us.  Coupled with UK and back on the QM2 , what more can we ask for ?  

[BklynBoy8]

2 hours ago, babs135 said:

We couldn't resist the itinerary as apart from New York and Boston all the other ports are new to us.  Coupled with UK and back on the QM2 , what more can we ask for ?  

Babs,

WOW, Boston too!

 

Boston is one of our favorite Ports of Call! We were suppose to have left this Monday on the 4th July sailing and Boston was suppose to be our second stop. Coming from NYC, we do experience a different energy in Boston. Very Historical and Beautiful. They also have many good restaurants. Entering into Boston Harbor is always a highlight of the trip.

 

As said in the past, one day we will also attempt that trip too!

[Qcsailor]

Hello babs 135,

 

I second much of the information given by princeton123211. Montreal is definitely worth spending a day. My only concern is that you'd waste more than half a day of precious time travelling back and forth between Quebec and Montreal. But if you don't plan to come back to Quebec anytime soon and want to have a glimpse of Montreal, that's the opportunity! In this case, ViaRail is a good option. You can bord the train at the Gare du Palais that is just a 5 mins taxi ride from the ship. And you'll be dropped off right in the heart of downtown Montreal.

 

It's true that the QM2 can't go farther than Quebec. She's to highl to go under the Quebec bridge. For the QE2 i'm not sure she ever came to Quebec...at least i don't remember.

[BklynBoy8]

47 minutes ago, Qcsailor said:

Hello babs135

For the QE2 i'm not sure she ever came to Quebec...at least i don't remember.

Unfortunately I am not sure when you started to sail on Cunard but the QE2 did in the past sail down the St Lawrence to Quebec City.

 

We had a extremely lovely and interesting cruise to Quebec City in 1983 with a Maiden Stop at Cornerbrook. Our stops in Quebec City and Cornerbrook were welcomed by the Royal Mounted Police & their Band with a Labrador Retriever pierside.

 

As a Souvenir, Cornerbrook put out a special edition newspaper of the QE2 arriving into port on the front page. Each passenger was given a copy on board if they wish.

[Qcsailor]

BklynBoy8, you are absolutely right, my mistake. I did not live in Quebec at the time and I was not yet addicted to cruises! After a short search, I found some videos of QE2 leaving Quebec, beautiful! I had the chance to sail on the QM2 last year (First and only experience with Cunard). I would be so excited to see other Cunard ships coming to Quebec. In fact, this year, I would be delighted to see any cruise ship in Quebec! 😪

[princeton123211]

On 6/25/2020 at 5:04 PM, Qcsailor said:

I would be so excited to see other Cunard ships coming to Quebec. In fact, this year, I would be delighted to see any cruise ship in Quebec!

QE2 visited Quebec City many, many times over the years. I was talking about going all the way to Montreal which I'm nearly positive she never did because of her height and size. I do believe the old Sagafjord and Vistafjord/Caronia both visited Montreal numerous times as Cunarders. 

[Qcsailor]

Yes, absolutely. The published Quebec bridge clearance is 46m (high tide) and according to Wikipedia the air draught of the QE2 was 52.2m  (the average tidel range is around 3-4m). Even some of the smaller ships that normally go all the way up to montreal (Veedam, Zaandam, Maasdam, etc.) are sometimes stopped at Quebec. Here's a picture taken by another cc member from my last cruise on the Zaadam passing under the bridge. The captain said the clearance was about 3 ft. Scary! 

[Qcsailor]

Credits for the above picture and a wonderful review

 

 

 

[Solent Richard]

On 6/25/2020 at 9:39 AM, babs135 said:

Hopefully by September of next year we will have Covid-19 under control and cruising will have resumed.  We are booked on a cruise which has a 3 nights stay in Quebec.  Is it worth spending a day in Montreal and what would be the quickest way to get there?  Or are there any other areas just beyond Quebec City we should be thinking of visiting?  We will be there very early October.

Hi Babs.

 

Did that exactly one year ago on Arcadia. We only had two days in Quebec and I carried out extensive research on DIY to Montreal by rail. You may have better luck but only if you did it on Day 2 as the best train leaves rather early (in our case less than an hour after our sceduled arrival)

The good news was that P&O did a Full day excursion which we took. There is an account of our day in my cruise blog of the 'whole' cruise so you will have to scroll down to the itinerary section if interested...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2019/10/28/arcadias-canadian-round-trip/

 

Personally I thought the day was good value for money and was very pleased we booked early prior to the ship sailing as it had sold out  by onboard.