jdaa

I have this exact same question about Customs in Boston. How much "extra" time should we plan on, due to Customs? We're arriving Friday, September 22nd, and we'd like to get off the ship around 9:00 AM or so. Trying to book a tour time, after we check into our hotel.

Thank you Roy for your helpful comments!

I am guessing that you have not used a luggage service when clearing a USA port.

 

In USA ports you have to have the luggage with you to clear USA customs. You can't hand them over to a luggage service until you are outside the terminal area.

 

Just have a porter help you with this.

 

I can't help you with the rest of the questions as we use two other luggage providers.

 

Keith

Yes, you are exactly right. With past cruises we've handled our own luggage when disembarking a USA port. We've only used Luggage Forward in Europe.

We're on a Montreal to Boston itinerary, and have booked Luggage Forward to handle our luggage when leaving the Quest in Boston. The instructions from Luggage Forward say "Please turn your mobile phone on during disembarkation and proceed though customs with your luggage. Our agent will meet you in the customs waiting area".

We've used Luggage Forward several times previously, and in the past have always just put our suitcases in the hallway outside our cabin the last night night of the cruise, and never saw them again until they were delivered to our home post-cruise.

This sounds like it could turn out to be a bit of a hassle, and we're wondering if it wouldn't be almost as easy to just take the luggage with us rather than having it shipped. If anyone has used Luggage Forward when disembarking in Boston, I'd love to hear from you! How did it work out? Did you have to wait on the Luggage Forward representative to arrive? Have any issues in meeting up with them? Thanks for sharing your experience!

Also second the idea of visiting Sanary-sur-Mer.

We were in Bandol earlier this year. We did a long inland trip to Les Baux de Provence and St. Remy de Provence. Almost anything in Provence should be accessible for a day trip as long as you don't mind the 1-2 hour drive... Cassis looked to be a very nice town and our guide mentioned that the Calanque National Parc is gorgeous. We picked up multiple bottles of wine to drink on board. The Bandol area is known for their reds while Cassis is known for white and rose.

As someone who's spent a fair amount of time in the area, I say this is very good advice!

If you want a private wine tour, we did one as a cruise stop from Bandol (with Gaetane) several years ago. She was charming and took us to two beautiful wineries:

http://www.provencewinetours.com/private-tours/

Or if you don't mind driving, cars are easy to rent and the roads are good. We love St Remy and Les Baux.

Thanks! Will contact Seabourn to see if they can track down our missing credits!

I'm expecting an onboard credit from our TA. We just received our final cruise package (the one with luggage tags). In the past, our onboard credits had been listed in the enclosed booklet, but not the case this time. The booklet has a different "look" than in the past, so just wondering if Seabourn still lists OBC's on these documents?

Yes! That is the one, Érablière du Lac-Beauport. Hope you all enjoy as much as we did. I would for sure do it again.

I was looking at going to that same sugar shack on our own. Can you describe your evening there? Would it be good if not part of a tour?

Will try to remember to post feedback of how we like our tour in September.

Thank you for the update!!

Thanks Jan!

Can anyone tell me how long it will take to clear customs in Bar Harbor?

We're scheduled to be in port from 8am to 5pm, and I've booked a private tour for that day to begin at 9:30am. Now I'm wondering if that is too early?? I've just learned that Customs will board in order to clear all passengers before anyone is allowed onshore, and so there could be a substantial delay. (We're in Halifax the day before Bar Harbor.)

Thanks so much!

How long it will take to clear customs in Bar Harbor?

We're scheduled to be in port from 8am to 5pm, and I've booked a private tour for that day to begin at 9:30am. Our guide will meet us as we exit the tender. Now I'm wondering if that is too early?? We're on a fairly small ship (780 total passengers and crew) if that helps. We're in Halifax the day before Bar Harbor.

Thanks so much!

With whom are you booking the tour? Thanks!

 

 

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At Your Service Tours

Thank you hrwi for your input! So nice to have the opinion of someone who is familiar with the area!

The itinerary for the 5 hour tour is:

Historic district of Bar Harbor

Acadia National Park

Seal Harbor

Northeast Harbor

Lunch at Beals Lobster Pound in Southwest Harbor

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

The 4 hour tour ends after Northeast Harbor (no lunch or Lighthouse).

The 3 hour tour appears to be Acadia National Park only.

We are having great difficulty deciding between the 4 and 5 hour tours, so any feedback is appreciated! We have a maximum of 7 hours shore time, and three ships in port that day. Our first time in the area.

The parking beside the terminal should open on Sept. 9th. It is very close to the terminal. So, for your cruise date, you should be ok, but I would have a plan B just in case. Other parking alternatives are nearby.

 

The luggage consignment service is available both for embarking and disembarking passengers from 7:00 to 17:00, 4.00 CAD per bag.

 

More info. for parking and luggage consignment in this link:

http://www.port-montreal.com/en/access-to-berths.html

 

I don't know which car rental company you are using, but several have offices near the terminal. Here is a link with the adresses and maps to get there from the terminal:

http://cruises.alamontreal.com/access-to-montreal/

 

Also, maybe you are aware of this already, but all road signs in Québec are in French. So, I would bring a GPS along. Because of traffic, I would enter downtown Montréal after 9:00 to avoid rush hour.

Great information!! Thank you so much!!!

If part of your tour includes passing through Southwest Harbor at lunch time, then stopping there is fine. Beal's gets 4.5 stars out of 5 in the TA rating. I wouldn't go there unless it is part of your tour travels. The food is good but it is not convenient to Bar Harbor.

 

SBtS

The itinerary they have suggested for the 5 hour tour is:

Historic district of Bar Harbor

Acadia National Park

Seal Harbor

Northeast Harbor

Lunch at Beals

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

The 4 hour tour ends after Northeast Harbor, in which case we'd go back to Bar Harbor for lunch on our own.

We're really wavering between the two options. Was thinking since it will be crowded in Bar Harbor, we might be better off eating lunch out-of-town? Also hoping the scenery would make the extra driving worthwhile? Your thoughts/advice is appreciated!!

This will be our first time in the area. My husband is very interested in a lobster lunch--no fresh lobster where we live!

I have this exact same question. There will be three ships in port the day we are there. Will Bar Harbor be overrun with tourists (weekday, mid-September)?

For some wonderful seafood lunch just outside the port head to Water Prince Lobster Shop. They have something for everyone. Try the seafood chowder and Island mussels. Kelly Ripa was here a few years ago and loved this little restaurant so much she raved about it on her show.

 

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Will we need dinner reservations for Water Prince Lobster Shop? We'll be there on a Monday night (September 18).

Has anyone ever been to Beal's Lobster Pound? It's in Southwest Harbor, which is a bit of a drive from Bar Harbor. We're doing a private tour, and that's where our guide has suggested we have lunch.

I would really appreciate your help! We're sailing September 12, 2017 on the Quest.

Our cruise documents say "PIER: IBERVILLE PASSENGER TERMINAL A, check in starts at 0200P"

And the port schedule indicates our berth is H3.

We will have a fair amount of luggage. Is the parking area reasonably close?

This question is for anyone familiar with the newly-renovated Montreal Cruise Terminal. We'll be driving in the day our cruise departs in a rented car, and I'm trying to figure out the logistics. I'd like to park at the Terminal, leave our luggage, then go return the rental car . We'd return to the terminal on foot, after exploring the area for a few hours.

I plan to drop luggage around 10:00 AM, and our ship does't begin boarding until 2:00 PM. I see that short-term parking is available at the Terminal, so assume that's no problem. My question is: will we be allowed to drop off luggage at the Terminal before the ship officially begins boarding?

We've done this a couple of times before at very small ports, when we can drive right up to the ship. Just not sure if it is allowed at a larger, more organized Terminal where there may be several ships boarding at the same time?

Fabulous information! Thanks so much MightyQuinn!!