Quebec City - How to get to old city from ship

Does anyone have specific directions on how to get to the old city from the ship. Also I am interested in walking the walls? Has anyone done this? How long does this take?

Any links to a map would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I think you will enjoy this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=366805&highlight=Quebec+City

She hasn't updated it like she had said but what is there is very good. We were in Quebec in 2002 and in our walks came upon part of the wall - over the road, gate-like. Very interesting for a 'westerner' to see!

Here is a map: http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgstaticmap.cfm?destination=quebec_city@127&ref=miniguides&cur_section=nig&sort=name&pg=1&map_name=Quebec%20City&file_name=quebeccity_city.gif&back_page=/miniguides/mgresults.cfm

We were there on the Maasdam a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the city. Your ship will probably dock right at the base of the old city. There is a lower and upper old city and you will be able to walk from the ship to the lower city where there is an elevated train that you can take to the upper city. It lets you off right on the walls and near the famous hotel that you can see from below.

Unfortunately I lost all my links from this cruise when I had a computer crash so I can't share any really good links but if you do a couple of searches on the web I'm sure you can find some good ones on the historic sites in Quebec.

I did find this write up I did of what we did in Quebec that might help.

We had been contacted several weeks prior to our cruise by our TA that we were going to be

receiving a free half day tour during our stop in Quebec as part of the benefits for booking the

cruise through their agency, Vacations-To-Go. Evidently they pick several people each month for

this extra benefit and after 6 cruises with them it was our turn. The actual tour was provided

through something called Giantstravel and the firm doing the tour was a company called Select

Travelers Escorted Tours. We also got a free hour cocktail party earlier in the cruise one evening

before dinner where we met our host Faith Kaplan, a very nice and friendly lady.

Anyway the result of all this was we had our morning in Quebec planned so we went to breakfast

early in the Lido to be ready to leave for our tour at 8:15 gathering in the Explorers lounge. We

brought our nametags from the cocktail party and had our names checked off on the list. There

were about 45 people going and we left the ship around 8:30 to board two buses and begin our

tour of Quebec. We visited the Place Royal, Cap Diamond, the Plains of Abraham, Dufferin

Terrace and the Chateau Frontenac. We then got back into the buses again and drove along the

river to Manior Montmorency for a morning snack of cake and coffee or tea. From there we were

able to walk along a scenic walkway to view Montmorency Falls that are actually higher than

Niagara Falls in NY state. We then took the gondola ride down from the cliffs down to the

parking lot to re-board the buses for another drive across the bridge to the Island of Orleans. We

then visited the Sugar Shack for a taste of fresh maple sugar candy before returning to the ship

around 1:30.

We decided to continue to tour the lower city of Quebec on our own. We wandered around the

scenic area where there are many souvenir shops as well as other shops carrying higher quality

merchandise. We had seen the cable cars (elevator?), I can't remember the French word for it,

that provide an easier way to get to upper city when we were on the tour and found the station in

the lower city and returned to the upper city to take in the sites up there with a little more free

time. We wandered around the upper city until a little after 4 when we decided it was about time

to find our way back down. We had wandered to a park on the one side of the old upper city and

found the stairs leading down so we came down that way. Coming down isn't near as hard as

going up would have been. The whole area both upper and lower city were very crowded because

this was the beginning of a holiday weekend for Canada and the province of Quebec so tourists

were there from both other countries and other parts of Canada.

Quebec is the last walled fortified city left in North America that has retained most of its walls

and many of its gates. It is someplace I wish we had more time to visit but we saw a lot in our

short visit and hope to return for a longer visit some time in the future.

Once back on the ship we checked the daily program and noticed the cheese and wine party on

the rear deck on departure and decided to join the festivities. Once we got out on deck we noticed

our whole table of dinner mates had found a place with seats and we found two chairs and joined

them enjoying a little wine and cheese as we pulled away from Quebec City. Unfortunately the

sun was directly behind the city as we pulled away so the pictures I took weren't as good as the

ones I got when we were docking in the morning but I was still out there taking pictures as we

pulled away from Quebec.

Have a great next cruise.

The old city is very easy to do on your own. It is less than a five minute walk. You will be able to see where to go from where the ship docks. It is a fabulous city. Enjoy.

Sue

Was there any problem with the language in the shops in Quebec? I don't know any French. Do they accept US dollars? Thanks in advance.

Most of the tourist oriented industries have people who speak both English and French but almost all the signs are only in French, which can make it a little difficult to tell what they mean. You would be better off to exchange US $'s to Canadian $'s because there is a difference in their value. 1 dollar US is worth 1.10 Canadian. Most tourist places would probably take US dollars but again you would be better off having some Canadian money. You should be able to get that either at an ATM, Bank or on your ship.

Have a great next cruise.

Hi !

I live in Quebec city, so feel free to ask your questions...

Here is a link to the Quebec port authorities. You should find many informations regarding the cruise terminal.

http://www.portquebec.ca/en/00.php

Here is a link where you should find informations regarding the city itself (where to go, what to see...)

http://www.bonjourquebec.com/

Hope this help !

Alain R.

Quebec city

About the language, don't worry. As another poster said, all of the tourist oriented shops and restaurants have multilangual personnel.

About the signs in French, well, it is a law that says that we can't have bilingual signs... Strange isn't it ? I have never understand this law...

Alain R.

I think you will enjoy this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=366805&highlight=Quebec+City

She hasn't updated it like she had said but what is there is very good. We were in Quebec in 2002 and in our walks came upon part of the wall - over the road, gate-like. Very interesting for a 'westerner' to see!

Here is a map: http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgstaticmap.cfm?destination=quebec_city@127&ref=miniguides&cur_section=nig&sort=name&pg=1&map_name=Quebec%20City&file_name=quebeccity_city.gif&back_page=/miniguides/mgresults.cfm

I want to say that I am very sorry from the fact that I didn't update my blog as I said I would do. We were very busy this summer (away from the city most weekends) and I didn't get a chance to go to the city at all. Since the cruise ship time is here, I will do my best (but I don't promise anything) to go to the city and add to my blog prio to September 15. I can't do it this weekend since we are away for a 3-day ATV ride but the weekend after we have nothing planned.

We are planning a cruise starting in Quebec. We will be flying in from the west coast probably to Montreal. What sort of plan would you suggest to get to Quebec. Considering we will probably arrive late evening, two days prior to sailing from Quebec. I have read Fromers and learned about car rental, train and flights. We will also have lots of luggage since the cruise is 16 days long. In the states we would plan on paying around $80/night for a hotel and would like something comparable. I have been unable to figure out what part of Quebec that I will find the Princess Cruise Port also. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Personnally, I like the train better. See VIA Rail website for information and call them, I think they have an airport-train station shuttle.

As for hotels, In the Pointe-à-Carcy Port Area (where your ship will dock - see my blog, link posted above), they will be quite expensive. For something under 100$ CDN, I think you will have to go to other areas but then you won't be as close to touristic areas and you will have to spend on taxis. You should look for the Auberge St-Pierre, it's very close to the pier area (2-3 blocks) but probably in the 130-160$ per night range.

A previous poster stated that rail from Montreal to Quebec would be about the same as airfare which they quoted to be about $400.00. Via rail is actually quite a bit cheaper than that....depending on what class you chose. If you reserve a comfort class supersaver fare, the round trip for 2 adults would run anywhere from $185.00C to $210.00 Canadian. Of course the supersaver seats do tend to sell out first. check viarail.ca for more info. You state you will probably arrive late evening, not sure if the train will leave late enough for you, you might have to stay in Montreal overnight if you arrive very late. Hope this helps you.

We are planning a cruise starting in Quebec. We will be flying in from the west coast probably to Montreal. What sort of plan would you suggest to get to Quebec. Considering we will probably arrive late evening, two days prior to sailing from Quebec. I have read Fromers and learned about car rental, train and flights. We will also have lots of luggage since the cruise is 16 days long. In the states we would plan on paying around $80/night for a hotel and would like something comparable. I have been unable to figure out what part of Quebec that I will find the Princess Cruise Port also. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Twocats

you can check the Orleans bus web site http://www.orleansexpress.com/english/pierre_elliott_trudeau.htm

The link shows the price for a ride from the PTrudeau (Montreal/Dorval) airport to Quebec city but they also mention there is a stop at central station which is downtown Montreal. Not sure exactly where the bus depot is in Qubec but I`m sure you can take a taxi from there to the port located in old Quebec. At least this is seems to be less expensive than the other options you are looking at.

Have a great trip.

Not sure exactly where the bus depot is in Qubec but I`m sure you can take a taxi from there to the port located in old Quebec.

There are two bus depot. One is located in Ste-Foy (a 15 to 20 minutes ride by taxi) and the other is at "La Gare du Palais" wich is at a walking distance (5 to 10 minutes by foot) from the ship's dock. So your best bet would be to go to La Gare du Palais.

As you can see in the attached picture, it is a building with the same architecture as the Château Frontenac. This is also where the train (Via rail) stops.

Alain R.

Quebec city

When the cruise ship docks in the port of Québec city, you are pratically in Old Québec, you'll see the Chateau Frontenac up on the Cap Diamant and just below it is part of the Old city, very easy to walk around and walk up to the Chateau on the Dufferin terrace, all alround there it is beautifull or take the elevator up from the old city, don't forget to tour la Citadelle where you can witness the change of the guards in the morning

enjoy your cruise