Winters in NZ Posted May 24, 2012 #1 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I havent been posting anything for the last month or so, but I am now devasted with the Information now emanating fron Montreal. We only live a mere 2 hour drive from Ottawa to Montreal. Last year among othe cruises, we really enjoyed the Maasdam doing B2B to Boston, although the high depths of the St. Lawrence River did force the Maasdam to port at Quebec City rather than Montreal. We had also enjoyed the Zaandam last September, Vancouver to Hawaii,to San Diego. Absolutely beautiful HAL ships. And those were great cruises. Now let me talk about Montreal, and I would recommend..avoid this now downhill city. About one month ago, I had two emergency brain surgeries at the Ottawa Civic Hospital....but really, I wasn't up to speed with what was actually taking place with the news updates in Montreal of anarchy, civil disobedience and turmoil in the subways, downtown roads and bridges. Admittedly, I am schocked to read about the decline of the former great City of Monteal . I came back home 2 days ago....and now catching up on more events in Montreal, I am totally shocked if any cruiser is actually going to arrive in Montreal to board the Maasdam. What will happen to future Maasdam cruises entering the City of Montreal... and will anybody even decide to land into Montreal, board the Maasdan, or even take a chance with staying in any Montreal hotel ? I am really concerned if HAL will ever return to Montreal. Thanks for letting me blast off with talking about my definite concerns of Maasdam ever avoiding Montreal or Quebec City, and probably rightly so in the future. God bless all of you. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted May 24, 2012 #2 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I havent been posting anything for the last month or so, but I am now devasted with the Information now emanating fron Montreal.We only live a mere 2 hour drive from Ottawa to Montreal. Last year among othe cruises, we really enjoyed the Maasdam doing B2B to Boston, although the high depths of the St. Lawrence River did force the Maasdam to port at Quebec City rather than Montreal. We had also enjoyed the Zaandam last September, Vancouver to Hawaii,to San Diego. Absolutely beautiful HAL ships. And those were great cruises. Now let me talk about Montreal, and I would recommend..avoid this now downhill city. About one month ago, I had two emergency brain surgeries at the Ottawa Civic Hospital....but really, I wasn't up to speed with what was actually taking place with the news updates in Montreal of anarchy, civil disobedience and turmoil in the subways, downtown roads and bridges. Admittedly, I am schocked to read about the decline of the former great City of Monteal . I came back home 2 days ago....and now catching up on more events in Montreal, I am totally shocked if any cruiser is actually going to arrive in Montreal to board the Maasdam. What will happen to future Maasdam cruises entering the City of Montreal... and will anybody even decide to land into Montreal, board the Maasdan, or even take a chance with staying in any Montreal hotel ? I am really concerned if HAL will ever return to Montreal. Thanks for letting me blast off with talking about my definite concerns of Maasdam ever avoiding Montreal or Quebec City, and probably rightly so in the future. God bless all of you. Peter Peter - I am sorry to hear about your emergency surgeries. It sounds like everything is ok now? Speedy recovery and happy to see you back on the boards:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising-along Posted May 24, 2012 #3 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I am so sorry to hear about your emergency surgeries, and hope you are well on the road to recovery. :) We stayed overnight in Montreal post-cruise just a couple weeks ago.....I guess ignorance is bliss, we didn't see anything like you describe. We walked for 5 hours around the city too. I have to admit I didn't feel as safe as I did in Quebec City, but didn't see anything terrible either. I'm very sorry to hear this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon1 Posted May 24, 2012 #4 Share Posted May 24, 2012 The media tends to hype these stores. I suggest you take them with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristinaMatz Posted May 24, 2012 #5 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I'm from Montreal and I can say that it's happening all over the province even in Quebec City. For now all the protests are happening at night. Yes there has been some violence but not to the extent that the media has portrayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted May 24, 2012 #6 Share Posted May 24, 2012 About one month ago, I had two emergency brain surgeries at the Ottawa Civic Hospital....but really, I wasn't up to speed with what was actually taking place with the news updates in Montreal of anarchy, civil disobedience and turmoil in the subways, downtown roads and bridges. God bless all of you. Peter So sorry to hear about your surgeries -- hope you are doing well by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted May 24, 2012 #7 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Our news reports haven't mentioned anything about the situation in Montreal or Quebec. I'll have to start paying more attention to the National news. Thank you both for the reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdmlynek Posted May 24, 2012 #8 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I think that there are many port cities that have dangerous parts. Montreal is relatively safe. Cruisers need to take appropriate precautions wherever they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted May 24, 2012 #9 Share Posted May 24, 2012 So sorry to hear of your illness and surgeries but very happy to hear you are now home. I have read a little about the demonstrations and the students and what I read saddened me. We always go Boston to Montreal to Boston and love our day in Montreal Unrelated to these incidents, we cancelled our b-to-b for this year so, in our case, fate worked in mysterious ways, it seems. Thanks for sharing here and let us hope the situation rapidly improves. All best wishes to you for a great recovery from your surgeries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1of4 Posted May 24, 2012 #10 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I am happy to hear you are feeling better. My brother in law is in the Montreal General hospital as I type this for 2 cancerous brain tumours and the results are not yet known. He had the first surgery to remove the largest tumour on Tuesday of this week and although the reports in Ottawa must be alarming, the city is not anything like what you have reported. Being from Montreal and still having family living there, I can say the reports are very much blown out of proportion. Yes the students are upset and holding rallies every night; yes SOME (very few) are displying violence but as for everything, those few get the attention of the media. Everyone who lives in and around Montreal are still going about their daily routines unhindered. I see no reason for HAL to be even concerned with "the situation". Hope you continue to improve and make a fully recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonN Posted May 24, 2012 #11 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Peter - Sorry to hear about your surgery and hope you are feeling better. This is the first I've heard of any issues in Montreal. We fly there in 2 weeks to spend 1 night there before boarding the Maasdam. We are staying near the airport but were looking at restaurants in other areas for dinner. Sounds like we may need to change those plans but guess I'd better go do some research to see what's going on. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted May 24, 2012 #12 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I haven't seen HAL make any statements or even hint at anything regarding Montreal. Have I missed an announcement? :confused: I am sure they are monitoring conditions carefully and have no doubt they will respond responsibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jade13 Posted May 24, 2012 #13 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Unrelated to these incidents, we cancelled our b-to-b for this year so, in our case, fate worked in mysterious ways, it seems. I am really surprised to hear this. You never miss this cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jade13 Posted May 24, 2012 #14 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I am really concerned if HAL will ever return to Montreal. Thanks for letting me blast off with talking about my definite concerns of Maasdam ever avoiding Montreal or Quebec City, and probably rightly so in the future. God bless all of you. Peter I am glad to hear you are doing better. Can you share exactly what is going on in Montreal? We have been there a number of times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startwin Posted May 24, 2012 #15 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Glad to hear you are now recovering. The student riots are - hopefully - somewhat similar to the Occupy movements all over, and therefore while an inconvenience things will eventually get back to normal and travellers will not be affected. I just wish they would realise (the students, I mean) how lucky they are in paying very little in university fees. Unfortunately, there is anarchy all over the world at the moment. But don't give up on Montreal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathfinderEss Posted May 24, 2012 #16 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I havent been posting anything for the last month or so, but I am now devasted with the Information now emanating fron Montreal.We only live a mere 2 hour drive from Ottawa to Montreal. Last year among othe cruises, we really enjoyed the Maasdam doing B2B to Boston, although the high depths of the St. Lawrence River did force the Maasdam to port at Quebec City rather than Montreal. We had also enjoyed the Zaandam last September, Vancouver to Hawaii,to San Diego. Absolutely beautiful HAL ships. And those were great cruises. Now let me talk about Montreal, and I would recommend..avoid this now downhill city. About one month ago, I had two emergency brain surgeries at the Ottawa Civic Hospital....but really, I wasn't up to speed with what was actually taking place with the news updates in Montreal of anarchy, civil disobedience and turmoil in the subways, downtown roads and bridges. Admittedly, I am schocked to read about the decline of the former great City of Monteal . I came back home 2 days ago....and now catching up on more events in Montreal, I am totally shocked if any cruiser is actually going to arrive in Montreal to board the Maasdam. What will happen to future Maasdam cruises entering the City of Montreal... and will anybody even decide to land into Montreal, board the Maasdan, or even take a chance with staying in any Montreal hotel ? I am really concerned if HAL will ever return to Montreal. Thanks for letting me blast off with talking about my definite concerns of Maasdam ever avoiding Montreal or Quebec City, and probably rightly so in the future. God bless all of you. Peter Glad you are doing better and I hope you stay well. I haven't heard anything about Montreal, glad you brought this up. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winters in NZ Posted May 24, 2012 Author #17 Share Posted May 24, 2012 The media tends to hype these stores. I suggest you take them with a grain of salt. I have googled "montreal student riots 100 days", and "montreal riots May 2012". I generally read online the Montreal Gazette, and I have the Ottawa Citizen newspaper delivered at home every day, which are now reflecting the riots which have been taken over by anarchists and students. The Occupy tent cities last year at downtown Confederation Park in Ottawa, the huge tent Occupy area in downtown Montreal, and the equally large Occupy tent area on Georgia Street in Vancouver was set up next door to the Fairmont Hotel...a beautful majestic landmark....were all non-violent. The big difference now by anarchists, separitists and professional students in Montreal is thuggery. Typhoon..you can see the rioting, if you wish, on various reporting and archived videos by the CBC, CTV, and the Montreal Gazette. You can take any of this with a grain of salt, if you wish or not. You're decision. In any event, I feel that eventually the HAL Maasdam will come to a decision vis-a-vis pulling the plug on Montreal . Anyways Typhoon, all the best. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaofami Posted May 24, 2012 #18 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I'm so happy to hear you're feeling better and hope you continue to have an uneventful recovery. The news about Montreal is sad. We've been there several times both on land and cruise trips. I hope things settle down there quickly so Maasdam doesn't have to change it's itinerary and the city returns to normal. Sail, I too am surprised to hear you canceled your Maasdam B2B which you do every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapper1 Posted May 24, 2012 #19 Share Posted May 24, 2012 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/05/24/montreal-arrests-kettling.html Here is a link to a CBC report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOW Posted May 24, 2012 #20 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hard to say about Montreal, I haven't been on the ground there since right when this was starting. Could be some media hype, but then perception is reality, and if people go elsewhere then it's Montreal's loss (though perhaps Quebec City's gain, according to this article.) Peter, glad you're doing better. I go to the Civic sometimes -- in fact organising an event there next week -- indeed there are worse places to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted May 24, 2012 #21 Share Posted May 24, 2012 <snip> \ Sail, I too am surprised to hear you canceled your Maasdam B2B which you do every year. Yes, this will be the first time in years we will not do this cruise. BUT we are booked already to do it next year. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise sail Posted May 24, 2012 #22 Share Posted May 24, 2012 We live in a Montreal suburb and have read newspaper reports of the student marches.Last night was the first time we have gone downtown in a while.We were inconvenienced by construction delays on the roads saw a few more police cars then usual but did not see any students marching or rioting.We parked in Chinatown had dinner went to the Old Port to see the Cirque du Soleil's new show,walked arround the port and Old Montreal until 11PM.At this time I would just stay away from where students marching and enjoy your visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COLLEYBERRY Posted May 24, 2012 #23 Share Posted May 24, 2012 We have the right to protest here in Canada.....I am quite sure the students protesting higher tuitions to the universities ,would find it very amusing we are concerned about interuptions of cruise plans. Montreal is a beautiful city...always has been and always will be...there's nothing to worry about folks.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minoushka Posted May 24, 2012 #24 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I live in Montreal it is still a great city the students are not completely wrong re their protest however for tourists do not worry plenty of fun things to do here we are peaceful peoplemontreal has loads of fun planned for all summer Ignore the media they really like exaggerating to make news I. M sure all maasdam cruises will not. Be affected ....summer kids are off school Michele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solocanadian Posted May 24, 2012 #25 Share Posted May 24, 2012 The media tends to hype these stores. I suggest you take them with a grain of salt. :eek:NOT SO!. The student strife in Montreal has been on the nightly TV national news. It's no joke. Even with new legislation these students are behaving like anarchists. They are just thumbing their noses at authority. I would not care to go out in down town Montreal in the evening during all this nonsense. It's a crying shame what is going on there right now. I used to love visiting Montreal when I lived in Ottawa. Once again. the problems in Montreal are NOT MEDIA HYPE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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