Montreal & Boston pre, post cruise ?'s

[ccmg]

We are booked for a 2012 HAL Canda/New England cruise. Never been to Montreal or Boston and wondering how much time to allow. The cruise is Dat to Sat and thougooht we would arrive in Montreal sometime on Wed. We would leave Boston either on Mon or Tues. Will this give us enough time to really "see" the cities.

[138east]

What exact dates are you looking at? For Boston you can definitely do the downtown area Sat-Mon. If you want to get outside the city to Lexington/Concord or Salem you might need another day. Your main problem in Boston will be finding a reasonably priced hotel. What is your hotel budget?

[ccmg]

We are on the July 7-14, 2012 cruise. Haven't really thought about the hotel budget yet. Flights are now available and I want to book them using FF miles. Would like to get them booked asap. That's why I'm trying to decide if we should fly in Wed/Thurs and leave Mon/Tues. lol

[138east]

You're not coming during the fall folliage season so that's good in terms of getting a more reasonable hotel. If you disembark on a Sat morning, you can drop your bags off at your hotel and have most of the day Sat and all day Sun. You can buy a Hoho trolley ticket that is good for 2 days so you can get around to all the sights in downtown Boston.

 

Take a look at Hotwire and set up a trip watcher for your dates - it's really too early to find anything for next July. I would suggest looking for our favorite Back Bay 3.5* hotel for under $150 - this is the Sheraton. For a 2+ day stay my first suggestion for an area is Back Bay, then Quincy Market/Financial, then Boston Common/Theater, and then Waterfront. Hotwire now offers the ability to insure your stay for a few extra $$$.

[ccmg]

Thanks for your help. I'll be checking on those hotels.

Some of the times have changed on the flights since I last looked. There use to be a non-stop to Montreal but Delta is stopping that around Feb. Flying out of CVG, they have the best price. They have a very early flight that will get us to Montreal around noon, so I think we will fly in on Thurs. That means we will be home for July 4th! That gives us the rest of Thurs, all day Fri and Sat morning, if we still would like to do something, before boarding the ship.

So now need to decide if we want to do a later flight on Mon or a mornig/midday on Tues. Lots of non-stops to choose from. Seems easier to leave Tues, then we won't have to mess with luggage after checking out.

[138east]

One option with luggage is the Rowe's Wharf water taxi. If you buy a ticket to Logan ($10/pp), you can store your luggage for free at Rowes Wharf until you are ready to go. You take the water taxi across the harbor and then get on a free shuttle bus to the Logan terminals.

[megr1125]

I love MOntreal...my mom and i used to stay all the time at the Spring Hill Suites in Old MOntreal...really nice....and you can get around pretty easily....you can walk about 4-5 blocks to get on the subway system (it is downholl going, but uphill coming back...it isn't bad though..)

 

Lots of things to see and do...you can take a city tour.....there is a casino....i love the VIARail/Amtrak station called Gare Central..it is really pretty and they have lots of food stands with great eats! (good for lunch if you're in the downtown area...)

 

I don't really like the Marriott Chateau Champlain..we used to stay there...it was renovated but I still prefer the Spring Hill Suites...

 

there is a lot to see...if you can do 2 or 3 days that would be fun.....hopefully some Canadians will have more info for you...

[Twickenham]

Ah, two of my favourite cities for getting Look No Further rates with Marriott. In case you don't know, Marriott has a lowest-rate match policy, called "Look No Further", where if you find a lower published rate, they will match it plus give you 25% off the lower rate. This excludes certain rates (including pre-paid, 'voucher' rates), but I've gotten several claims accepted, including the Marriott Château Champlain (which is fine if you can get it for the right price, although the SHS is closer to the port), and the Marriott Copley Place in Boston, where I'll be staying this week for $105/night :)

 

Here's how it works:

 

-Reserve the cheapest rate you can find on marriott.com - I checked for your dates, and it's a fully cancellable $249;

-Submit a claim here: http://www.marriott.com/hotel-rates/pop-up.mi , within 24 hours of making your reservation, providing the link to the lower rate - I found a rate of $153.33 on AA.com for your dates;

-If the claim is accepted, your rate will be reajusted to around $115.

 

If for whatever reason they reject the claim, you can still cancel, but this is the same site I used for my own claim, so you should have no problem.

[138east]

I love your strategy. If they accept the $115 rate, is it cancellable? It hardly matters unless you really think you might not go - that price will be hard to beat on Hotwire. It might hang around for a while, so maybe you don't have to make an immediate decision. The Marriott Copley location is terrific because it's actually connected to Copley Place - even a bit better than the Sheraton should it ever come up on Hotwire.

[megr1125]

Carol..yes you can cancel the LNF guarantee rates via Marriott....

 

Twickenham...glad you popped by!!! And I may try your strategy...with AA.com since those rates are not prepaid.......

[Twickenham]

I'm writing this in the safe confines of my room at the Marriott Copley Place. All I can say is, if you can get this place for $115, it's a steal. While the standard rooms could use some updating decor-wise (remember wallpaper borders?), everything is in good shape and very comfortable, and the public spaces are lovely and modern - and quite frankly look much better in person than the website pictures! And this location just can't be beat, connected to Copley Place and accross the street from Prudential Center, as well as a Shaw's with quite a good wine selection (remember, HAL lets you take as much on as you can carry!).

 

Just to specify, the LNF rate I believe keeps the same cancellation conditions as the original marriott.com booking, so theoretically a prepaid-to-prepaid comparison would still be prepaid. But as I've always managed to find a cancellable rate for my comparisons, so I've never tested the system, so to speak.

 

There are obviously some restrictions with Marriott's LNF rate match policy, but if you can make it work, it is among the best deals out there.

[megr1125]

i don't think prepaid rates qualify under the LNF guarantee...

 

enjoy Boston....stay dry...(not sure how long you're in town....)

[ccmg]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for all the info. Other things in life had taken priority over the cruise and this is the first time I've been here in months. Will be looking into this tomorrow!

To recap cruise is Sat, July - Sat July 14. We will be flying into Montreal on Thurs, the 5th and flying out of Boston on Tues the 17th.

[138east]

I'd look closely at Twickenham's strategy first. If that doesn't work, then Hotwire. There's currently a 4* hotel in Quincy Market for $201 that is highly likely to be the Nine Zero - very nice right on Boston Common. There are some less expensive hotels, but nothing that would be nearly as nice as the Nine Zero.

[monicajay]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for all the info. Other things in life had taken priority over the cruise and this is the first time I've been here in months. Will be looking into this tomorrow!

To recap cruise is Sat, July - Sat July 14. We will be flying into Montreal on Thurs, the 5th and flying out of Boston on Tues the 17th.

 

Lucky you if you are into Jazz. You are arriving towards the end of the festival, the world's biggest, but there still will be lots of cool stuff going on. I would book your hotel soon as hotels fill up as even people 60 miles away will go and stay in the city to see a show and get into the party.

 

Check the Jazz site calendar. There are ticketed shows but there is also lots of free street stuff (in my opinion more fun):

 

http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/questions-en/festival.aspx

 

Choose a hotel either downtown or in Old Montreal depending on what your other interests are.

 

You are visiting Montreal at the best time of year. Don't hesitate to ask more questions.

[Twickenham]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for all the info. Other things in life had taken priority over the cruise and this is the first time I've been here in months. Will be looking into this tomorrow!

To recap cruise is Sat, July - Sat July 14. We will be flying into Montreal on Thurs, the 5th and flying out of Boston on Tues the 17th.

 

Well, the jazz festival will make it difficult to find any deal in Montreal, but the rate I found on AA.com for the Marriott Copley Place in Boston is still there, so you should have no problem getting a LNF rate of $115.

[monicajay]

Well, the jazz festival will make it difficult to find any deal in Montreal

 

So true BUT the fact they will get to be in Montreal for this amazing event will make the extra room charge all worthwhile.:D

 

Just noticed on your AA. site the Intercontinental for the 5th and 6th of July at $123.00 This is an amazing deal for a lovely hotel. It is just at the beginning of Old Montreal and is also convenient to Downtown. With cobblestone streets in parts of Old Montreal bring good walking shoes.

[ccmg]

Since neither of us have ever been to Boston, I have no clue about some of this. I was wondering if renting a car is a must. Would the Marriott still be a good location for us if we don't have one? What other transportation would be available from there? We want to be able to see as much as we can but maybe we don't need to car for the entire time?

You have all been so very helpful. Really appreciate it!

[138east]

Renting a car in Boston is a must NOT. You will pay a fortune to park it and the one way streets will drive you nuts. Public transportation (the "T") in the downtown area is very good. There is also the Ho Ho trolley (Old Town Trolley + others) which go to all the major sites and offer 2 day passes. Be prepared to walk - many things are close together. Take a cab from the port to your hotel and then back to the airport.

[Twickenham]

Since neither of us have ever been to Boston, I have no clue about some of this. I was wondering if renting a car is a must. Would the Marriott still be a good location for us if we don't have one? What other transportation would be available from there? We want to be able to see as much as we can but maybe we don't need to car for the entire time?

You have all been so very helpful. Really appreciate it!

 

I must concur with 138east - do not, under any circumstances, rent a car. We actually flew down to Boston on this trip (using up some orphaned FF miles), and the Marriott is ideally placed for public transport - between 2 T stations (on separate lines), plus the Old Town Trolley actually stops right in the entranceway (off-street, the only hotel where it does that). If you want to take the Duck tours, they start across the street from the hotel. Tons of restaurants, and a grocery store, nearby.

[monicajay]

Since neither of us have ever been to Boston, I have no clue about some of this. I was wondering if renting a car is a must. Would the Marriott still be a good location for us if we don't have one? What other transportation would be available from there? We want to be able to see as much as we can but maybe we don't need to car for the entire time?

You have all been so very helpful. Really appreciate it!

 

FYI

You certainly don't want a car in Montreal either.

[pizzalady1]

Since neither of us have ever been to Boston, I have no clue about some of this. I was wondering if renting a car is a must. Would the Marriott still be a good location for us if we don't have one? What other transportation would be available from there? We want to be able to see as much as we can but maybe we don't need to car for the entire time?

You have all been so very helpful. Really appreciate it!

 

You might also look at lastminutetravel.com. Last May we did the HAL cruise from Boston to Montreal and got the Hilton Back Bay throuh LMT for $155. The Hilton's back door is across the street from the Marriott's front door.

 

We did not have a car and did not miss it. We got HOHO tickets from Groupon for 1/2 price (which had a stop at the Marriott). Between the HOHO and the MTA, we did not miss a thing in Boston. We spent 1 1/2 days and were able to see everything we wanted to.

[ccmg]

Made a reservation for the Marriott Copley Place today. Got the first 2 nights for $249 but the last night, Momday July 16th the rate went up to $299. The AA site still had the $153.33 rate for all three nights. Filed a claim with Marriott for the LNF. Now just need to see if I get it!

 

Great to hear we won't need a car in either city. What's the best way to get from YUL to the hotel? Still deciding which one, but the AA sites price for the Intercontinental looks really good. Didn't get a chance to check out Spring Hill Suites yet. Cab? Lino service? Other? Did pick up new booklets on Montreal and Boston from AAA today about attractions, dining etc. It's not the regular tour book. Other than that they were of no help at all. No one there could tell us anything about either city or weren't willing to. Rather bizarre. I just looked at my husband and said I'll just do all my research on cruisecritic. I always get the best advise there for our trips anyway.

[138east]

If you can get the Marriott Copley place for $153, then stick with it. It would be great if you can get it for less, but $153 is a great price regardless. The location is perfect, it's close to transportation, and it's an integral part of Copley Place, which means you have that whole indoor mall area + the walkway to the Pru Mall available to you in case of bad weather.

[ccmg]

Marriott came back with a better price than the $155 however, they did not give us the $115 rate which would have been the additional 25% off. They claim that the price was higher on AA's website when they checked it. However, it is still showing that rate today. Have offered to fax them the page, which I printed so yesterday's date is on it and we are still within the 24 hr period.

We will keep it but there's a difference of around $66 plus the additional tax.