New England cruise - Quebec City

[luv2travel77]

I noticed that the New England 10-day cruise sailing out from Quebec City is a 2-day stay in port to start off. Is it an error in printing?

 

I totally understand a 2-day stay at a port during the middle of a cruise if the destination is popular like the Panama Canal, Hong Kong, etc. But to have a 2-day stay at the beginning or at the end of the cruise, is it common? What are the reasons for it?

 

Are there a significant number of passengers that only board on the 2nd day (from Quebec City) or disembark on the second to last day of the cruise (to Quebec City)?

 

Thanks for your input.

[Astro Flyer]

I noticed that the New England 10-day cruise sailing out from Quebec City is a 2-day stay in port to start off. Is it an error in printing?

 

I totally understand a 2-day stay at a port during the middle of a cruise if the destination is popular like the Panama Canal, Hong Kong, etc. But to have a 2-day stay at the beginning or at the end of the cruise, is it common? What are the reasons for it?

 

Are there a significant number of passengers that only board on the 2nd day (from Quebec City) or disembark on the second to last day of the cruise (to Quebec City)?

 

Thanks for your input.

I recently sailed on the Crown from Quebec ending in Ft. Lauderdale. Our cruise was an overnight in Quebec & as I recall passengers were suppose to embark by 11:00pm on embarkation day but could be wrong. I have no way to know for certain if it was possible to embark on the 2nd day; if so, don't know how many.

 

I thought it was great to overnight in Quebec City & even after arriving the day before embarkation, there were many other things to see in the area. :)

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Your first night is in port, we boarded at lunch time, due to flights we

 

had one night in a hotel first it was a great way to see Quebec and we had snow.

 

yours Shogun

[spongerob]

We were on the repo from Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale this year and have previously been on a Canada/New England cruise that ended with a 2-day call in Montreal.

 

Personally I didn't like ending the cruise with an overnight stay because it felt like the cruise ended as soon as we docked. That entire day prior to disembarkation just didn't feel right.

 

On the other hand, starting with an overnight stay had its advantages. It gave us a chance to enjoy Quebec and tour outside the city to places we otherwise would not have visited. The only downside was that the first evening, after boarding, wasn't quite as festive since the excitement of sailaway was absent. It really did not detract from the cruise.

[Coral]

Yes - it is correct. It is so you can see Quebec as many fly in the day of the cruise. They do tours on the next day on the ship and everything.

[luv2travel77]

Thanks for all your responses!

[2little time]

I noticed that the New England 10-day cruise sailing out from Quebec City is a 2-day stay in port to start off. Is it an error in printing?

 

I totally understand a 2-day stay at a port during the middle of a cruise if the destination is popular like the Panama Canal, Hong Kong, etc. But to have a 2-day stay at the beginning or at the end of the cruise, is it common? What are the reasons for it?

 

Are there a significant number of passengers that only board on the 2nd day (from Quebec City) or disembark on the second to last day of the cruise (to Quebec City)?

 

Thanks for your input.

I believe the main reason to start in Quebec with an overnight is so Princess can make the money from the port excursions. Otherwise they would miss out on all the revenue from that one port. I believe that may be the reason for the overnight in the destination port as well.

[MustangGT]

We will be on the NY to Quebec City cruise next fall. We are looking forward to having an extra day in Quebec City without having to pay for lodging and meals.

Will we be able to leave the ship very early the next morning for our flight home? Not sure how that works. Thanks!

[The Big Booper]

We will be taking the RCI Brilliance in Oct 2012 on a repo from Quebec City to San Juan and the ship will leave the day after we board. We were advised that all the lines do this to allow us to have extra time to tour the city and surroundings. Good idea.

 

And you don't need ship's tours to go around the area, DIY.

[Aussie Gal]

We are also on a cruise next October where we have an overnight in Quebec before leaving. We are looking forward to spending 2 days in this city and being able to explore it at leisure. We had a 2 day stay in an embarkation port in Capetown last year when we boarded the Ocean Princess and it was great to know that we had another day to explore that city.

 

Jennie

[Astro Flyer]

I believe the main reason to start in Quebec with an overnight is so Princess can make the money from the port excursions. Otherwise they would miss out on all the revenue from that one port. I believe that may be the reason for the overnight in the destination port as well.

 

There are plenty of things to easily do within walking distance or many of us took independent tours. Just like other overnight port calls (Venice, St. Petersburg, etc) there are so many things to experience & I'm thankful to have the extra time like I did in Quebec. With 2 days things aren't as rushed so easier to enjoy indepentdently without a ships tour.

 

There's no way to know Princess' motivation but as a passenger I'm glad to have the extra time in port where I can tour independently.

[caribill]

Day 1: Embarkation day

Day 2: Port day -- a day to take shore excursions if you wish or see the city on your own

 

Princess does this in several ports, not just Quebec City. Examples (not every voyage):

Manaus, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro

Papeete, Tahiti

Venice, Italy

[luv2travel77]

Makes sense now. There are really no big hotels in the Old Quebec area, unless you count the Chateau Frontenac whose room rates go for about the same as per night of the cruise (2 passengers) anyway. Most of those smaller hotels nearby have little vacancies year round so where would the 3000+ passengers stay?

 

Being from Quebec, you'd thought I knew better. :) I guess I should have asked if it is possible to embark one day later and have them take off a day's portion from the cruise fare? Just a thought. :) Don't think it's possible though...

[MustangGT]

We will be overnighting in Quebec City at the end of our cruise next fall. How early will we be able to leave the ship on disembark day? Trying to get flights arranged. Thanks!

[Pam in CA]

I believe the main reason to start in Quebec with an overnight is so Princess can make the money from the port excursions. Otherwise they would miss out on all the revenue from that one port. I believe that may be the reason for the overnight in the destination port as well.

So what you're saying is that Quebec doesn't hold enough interest for passengers to want an extra day to explore? Any revenue from ship's tours in a port are minor compared to the port charges for every hour the ship is in port. Doesn't matter which port. It makes little financial sense for the cruiseline to stay in port longer than it has to. Not only are there hourly port charges but the ship is paying for power and water, depending on the port, and they are losing onboard spending in the shops and casino.

[Astro Flyer]

We will be overnighting in Quebec City at the end of our cruise next fall. How early will we be able to leave the ship on disembark day? Trying to get flights arranged. Thanks!

 

I would consider the Princess earliest flight departure recommendation when booking a flight home. Being overnight before disembarkation should mean no unanticipated delays & would most likely begin walk offs around 0700. There's so much to experience in Quebec & even arriving a day before our overnight boarding we barely scratched the surface of everything to do in the Quebec area.

[MustangGT]

I would consider the Princess earliest flight departure recommendation when booking a flight home. Being overnight before disembarkation should mean no unanticipated delays & would most likely begin walk offs around 0700. There's so much to experience in Quebec & even arriving a day before our overnight boarding we barely scratched the surface of everything to do in the Quebec area.

 

Thanks for the reply! Where do I find the Princess recommendation? We have spent time in Quebec before and are looking forward to the extra time there. As you said, there is so much to see and do!

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for the reply! Where do I find the Princess recommendation? We have spent time in Quebec before and are looking forward to the extra time there. As you said, there is so much to see and do!

 

I thought the time was in the Cruise Personalizer but I couldn't find it for any of my future cruises. I called Princess last week for a cruise ending in December for which flights will soon be available & they provided me with the earliest time. I wish there was a way to find it online but I wasn't able to locate it. :o

[MustangGT]

Thanks again Astro Flyer! We opted for a 4:00 p.m. flight. I'm sure we can find something to pass the time. Hopefully, Princess will offer an excursion so we don't have to deal with our luggage.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks again Astro Flyer! We opted for a 4:00 p.m. flight. I'm sure we can find something to pass the time. Hopefully, Princess will offer an excursion so we don't have to deal with our luggage.

 

Hopefully they'll have a tour/transportation package for you. The pier was an easy walk & funnicular ride for us to the upper town which brings you to the Frontenac Hotel & all of the other great sites in Quebec.

[Tweedy]

I'm resurrecting this older thread as I have a question about muster drill. Since the October cruise has an overnight the first night of the cruise, do they still do the muster drill on the embarkation day or is it done the day we actually sail away?

[simok99]

We arrived in Quebec from Manchester uk via a long bus trip from Montreal and arrived at the ship to check in at 2.30 am...that's probably why they have an overnight stay.

[Astro Flyer]

I'm resurrecting this older thread as I have a question about muster drill. Since the October cruise has an overnight the first night of the cruise, do they still do the muster drill on the embarkation day or is it done the day we actually sail away?

 

According to the Patter for the same cruise last October that you're sailing from Québec it was on the second day after the overnight just after sailing. We sailed at 4:30 PM & the muster drill was at 4:45 PM.

[Tweedy]

According to the Patter for the same cruise last October that you're sailing from Québec it was on the second day after the overnight just after sailing. We sailed at 4:30 PM & the muster drill was at 4:45 PM.

 

Thank you! :D

[caber]

We took a taxi to the Montmorency Falls. It had snowed the night before and looked fantastic.