Sailing from Quebec

[johnmik1]

We are looking at the Zuiderdam cruise from Quebec on 9/30 and the airfares I am seeing are more than the cruise cost.The only direct flight I could find from O'Hare was $1700pp one way.A bit high for a flight under 3 hours.Is there a way to see the HAL air pricing without paying for the cruise?TIA

[Turtles06]

Have you checked flights into Montreal? 

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, johnmik1 said:

We are looking at the Zuiderdam cruise from Quebec on 9/30 and the airfares I am seeing are more than the cruise cost.The only direct flight I could find from O'Hare was $1700pp one way.A bit high for a flight under 3 hours.Is there a way to see the HAL air pricing without paying for the cruise?TIA

The only way I know is to put a cruise on hold through the website and it will generate a booking number.  This is accomplished by going through the booking process all the way to the payment and choose Put on HOLD.  Do not pay anything.  You then use that booking number to look at flights.

I hope this helps.

[CruiserBruce]

For this September 30th? Flights are probably getting pretty full.

[YXU AC*SE]

Look at Ottawa (YOW) or Montréal (YUL) as potential alternate airports.   I can see OW ORD - YUL for 138 USD on 29 September w UA.   OW business class 375 w/ AC on the 30th.   FlightEase may be easy, but doesn't always yield the best pricing results.    For specific point to point air advice check the Cruise Air sub forum here . VIA Rail is an easy / enjoyable ride from YOW/YUL to Québec, and it brings you an easy walk to the cruise dock.     Scott. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by YXU AC*SE

[Heartgrove]

Looking at the 9/29 Air Canada does a codeshare with UAL. It shows ORD-YYZ-YQB at 2:40 pm - 7:55 pm for $702/pp. With bags plus tax and fees it is $1,650.84. Probably what you found.

 

The airfares are volatile so keep checking as they do fluctuate, especially morning to afternoon and sometimes lower on Tuesdays.

[CNSJ]

HAL does have transfer service from both Montreal and Quebec City to ship.

[visagrunt]

Nonstop from ORD to YQB will be eye-wateringly expensive.  Only one airline operates the route and only once per day on a small aircraft.

Given the ease of US to domestic connection at YYZ or YUL (no need to claim baggage, a dedicated transit facility for customs and immigration and no need to re-clear security) there really is little reason to avoid connections.

[Mary229]

11 hours ago, CNSJ said:

HAL does have transfer service from both Montreal and Quebec City to ship.

This is probably the best solution 

[rafinmd]

16 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

This is probably the best solution 

 

11 hours ago, CNSJ said:

HAL does have transfer service from both Montreal and Quebec City to ship.

Not to mention that Montreal is a fantastic city in it's own right

 

Roy

[johnmik1]

I have given up on this cruise as there are to many variables involved.We will just have to wait till our sailing on Nieuw Statendam  on 11/26.Many thanks for all the reply’s.

[cruisepro19]

Hi johnmik1,

 

If you are able to get into Toronto, ON - there are flights from Toronto Island Airport flying with Porter Airlines flyporter.com .  This is a much smaller airport than Pearson International Airport in Toronto.  It is easy to get to from Pearson Airport or from the Via Rail line.  It is right downtown Toronto on the lake, and has flights daily to Quebec City.  This is the airline my mom and I flew last year on our East Coast Canadian Cruise with HAL out of Quebec City.  I personally much prefer flying out of the Toronto Island Airport whenever I can (Pearson airport is huge and the wait times can be long).  Hope this helps.

[Boatdrill]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:51 PM, johnmik1 said:

We are looking at the Zuiderdam cruise from Quebec on 9/30 and the airfares I am seeing are more than the cruise cost.The only direct flight I could find from O'Hare was $1700pp one way.A bit high for a flight under 3 hours.Is there a way to see the HAL air pricing without paying for the cruise?TIA

Look for a non-stop flight when you're searching. Sometimes the fare is less than a direct flight.  

Edited August 9, 2023 by Boatdrill

[CruiserBruce]

3 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

Look for a non-stop flight when you're searching. Sometimes the fare is less than a direct flight.  

Whoa...we need to define the terms "direct" and "non-stop"....

 

My experience...a fair amount of flying, non-stop are almost always more expensive. How many airlines do a "direct flight" that is not non-stop? Southwest?

 

Keep in mind the OP said they were canceling the plans due to the complexities of the travel.

[RuthC]

50 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Whoa...we need to define the terms "direct" and "non-stop"....

Non-stop means you are on a flight that takes off once, and lands when you are at your final destination. 
Direct flights have the same flight number throughout, although there may be one or more stops. There may even be a change of planes (like from a smaller to a larger plane), so long as the flight number remains the same. 

The two words are not interchangeable, because they do not mean the same thing. 

[CruiserBruce]

8 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Non-stop means you are on a flight that takes off once, and lands when you are at your final destination. 
Direct flights have the same flight number throughout, although there may be one or more stops. There may even be a change of planes (like from a smaller to a larger plane), so long as the flight number remains the same. 

The two words are not interchangeable, because they do not mean the same thing. 

Agree. But the number of direct flights is pretty rare, in my experience. I think most people think direct and non-stop are one and the same thing