Caribbean Princess- Quebec to NYC- Aug. 2022 hopefully helpful notes

[Maggie4nc]

We just returned from a wonderful 10 day trip from Quebec City to NYC in August, 2022. The itinerary lent itself to a great mix of relaxing and busy.  We loved the small towns where we could just wander and the bigger cities were action packed.  Always glad to be back on the ship where Princess took great care of us and ensured a fantastic trip.

I made notes of some things I noted or wish I had known.  Things I think future cruisers would like to know.  

Getting there

-ArriveCan was only needed when we boarded our flight to Canada in the US.  The airlines checked our vaccine cards and ArriveCan status. Take screen print of ArriveCan barcode. That way you don't have to log into app to get code.  Waiting to log in took the most time for people.

-A mask is required on flight into Canada

-Landing in Quebec is a dream. Quiet airport and the staff very helpful.  You need to scan passports at little self service stations. Very similar to how it is in the US  when returning from foreign land.  

-Once we had luggage, we walked outside and hailed a taxi. There were plenty available and cost was equal to Uber.  

Arriving at port

-I have to say it was a bit chaotic.  It seemed like we went through a lot of hoops for nothing. No one really knew what the heck was going on.  It seemed like a waste of time and aggravation for people who had "green lane" status.  It was much easier in Fort Lauderdale in December. Hope they figure that out.

The Ship- Caribbean Princess

-It's a smaller, older ship.  Needs to be updated but nothing ever got in the way of our enjoyment of our cruise.  We liked all the entertainment options were full and lively.

-Steamers and Planks are being used as buffet overflow only.  No specialty dining at those venues.

-The staff all wear masks.  We noticed a good portion of passengers also wearing masks, about 30%.  Towards the end of cruise we heard more reports of illness but nothing official was mentioned.  

-We were boarded by the Canadians and reviewed of Covid procedures.  The ship received one of the highest scores given.  Well done!

-There were places it was freezing on the ship.  Make sure to bring a sweater. 

Cabin- BA Balcony B426

-Love those closets! We bring extra hangers, but more are available from cabin steward or via Medallion app-The bathrooms are our least favorite part of the ship. 

-The shower is small and there is a curtain. 

-There is no bar soap, so had our attendant bring some. Liquid soap was ok, but didn't lather much.  Wish I had brought from home.

-There is no space in shower for toiletries. Bring the travel bottles with suction cups on the back for easy storage in shower.

-There are only TWO outlets and NO USB outlets. They are at the desk area of cabin. Thank goodness we brought an USB station and some long charging cables. 

-Bring approved extension cords too!  

-We used magnetic hooks and clips on walls to keep things organized.  Glad we brought them.

-Hair dryer is from the 70's, bring your own.

-This cruise had temps from 60-85degrees.  The room struggled at times to keep up.  Mostly it was freezing.  Towards the middle of cruise it seemed they got it all figured out.  Again bring a long sleeve sweater.

 The itinerary

-Quebec City- An absolute gem!  What a surprise.  Easy town to walk around. It's like being in Europe with out the long flight. Princess had a shuttle out of port to outside of town.  Was fine for us, but some found the walk from shuttle to town too much.  There were cabs available at port and think they would be a good option.

-Saguenay- Get up early as watch sail in.  It was so quiet and beautiful watching the Fjords roll by.  We messed up our excursion reservation to hike the national park and weren't booked.  It turned out to be a rainy day, so maybe that was a blessing. Hubby went for a run and I walked the town.  There is a great  local soap shop that many passengers stopped by to stock up for remainder of cruise. 

-Charlottetown- No excursion, just enjoyed the town.  It was busier than Saguenay and had lots of  local shops

-Sydney- We had booked a rental car but ended up canceling it.  Everything was an hour from port and we didn't want the hassle. It was a rainy day again, so we walked the town. Neat little churches and homes to tour for free.    

-Halifax- Our ship was the furthest out so we all needed to do the port shuttle.  Lots of "meet and wait" in dining rooms to be hearded on to busses. Was envious of RCL and HA that docked right in town.

Halifax was a great city.  Lots of things to do. We walked to the Citadel. They fire the cannon at noon everyday, so it was fun to be there for that. Walked back to ship via the harbor which is action packed.  Very easy city to get around and enjoy.

*Before getting off ship to Bar Harbor we all had to clear customs as our cruise originated outside US.  You are given a time to show up to have passports checked.  We were given a time of 8am when doors open. Unfortunately, the people that don’t think times mean anything started to que up and the line to get in was crazy. If you are early you won’t be allowed in. Everyone that had a time late than 8 had to be moved to another area.  Once the doors opened the process was quick and painless. Just be aware if planning an excursion in port that you may be delayed getting off the ship.

-Bar Harbor- Tender port.  Just seems like they could do it better.  Lots of waiting and chaos. They used some nice shuttle boats but also used some life boats that were small and filled with diesel fumes.  Fine in an emergency but not a great way to travel.

We rented bikes and did the carriage trails in Acadia national park.  I rented an e bike and was very glad I did.  It was lots of uphills. Husband is an avid biker so he was fine with regular bike.  Great day and beautiful national park.

Boston- An amazing city.  We took taxi from port.  Again, easy and quicker than Uber.  Same price and you don’t have to wait for Uber.  Taxi’s are right there. Cost about $13  about 15-20 min drive. We did bike tour of town as we had already done Boston before. Loved ship was there almost all day.

NYC-Disembarkation

-We did self assist for the first time and will never look back.  We had our luggage and just walked off. We had had enough of the "meet and wait".

-Used Carmel car service to drive to LGA.  Cost was around $60.They were early to pick us up and ride to LGA was about half an hour. We allowed an hour just in case. LGA is a beautiful airport now that construction was done.

 

 

[kleffy8]

Thanks!!

[G&Gcruisers]

Thanks for the tips.

Are the taxis at Quebec airport vans or cars? We have a group of 5.

[Maggie4nc]

Just now, G&Gcruisers said:

Thanks for the tips.

Are the taxis at Quebec airport vans or cars? We have a group of 5.

They had both.  We ended up in a mini van and it was just the two of us. 

[G&Gcruisers]

Thank you, so much.

[rcclfanbp]

Thank you for your post Maggie4nc.

[Dbld777]

Thank you for all of the great info and tips. We are on the same itinerary in late Sept.  We have reserved two ebikes at Bar Harbor for touring the carriage roads. Can you provide a little bit more detail on where you rode to and how long it took you? Did you follow the National Park Service map or some other recommended route? Other watch outs for using the ebikes on the carriage roads? Thank you.

[Maggie4nc]

2 hours ago, Dbld777 said:

Thank you for all of the great info and tips. We are on the same itinerary in late Sept.  We have reserved two ebikes at Bar Harbor for touring the carriage roads. Can you provide a little bit more detail on where you rode to and how long it took you? Did you follow the National Park Service map or some other recommended route? Other watch outs for using the ebikes on the carriage roads? Thank you.

The bike shop gave great explanation of how to get to park and the routes to take. They used the Park Service map and we used that.  There are lots of signs on trails too.

We started at Duck Pond Bridge, rode past Eagle Lake to Jordan Lake Pond House (the only place that has food and drink if you need.)From there we went back up the other side and headed up to Witches Pond and Bubble lake.  If looking at Park map we went to stops 5,6,8,10,14,15,16,17,7,9,6,4,2,1,3 and back to 5, in that order.

In total, from bike shop and back, we went 21 miles and it took us about 3.5 hours with stops (total active biking time was 2.5 hours).  Just enough time to have lunch and walk about town.

There are lots of people biking.  The ebikes we had were great as you could easily choose the assist. There are 4 levels and you could switch it off too.  I had used very little battery in the end and was never concerned about running out.  Carriage Roads are all gravel and wide, lots of bikers some walkers. Take downhills slow as gravel can be slippery. Our bikes didn't have a bag or basket so we were glad we had brought back pack for snacks and drinks.  Both the bikes did have a bike water bottle on them.

[SingBill]

Thank you for a very informative review

[caroleidt]

We were on the same cruise - BD B735. We had originally booked BF L235 but were "upgraded". As far as we were concerned it was a downgrade, as we prefer upper decks and forward, and the room and balcony were the same size, but it was a fine room. I agree that the bathroom, with its tiny curtained shower, was the worst aspect of the room. The shower had shampoo and shower gel in dispensers, leaving only a tiny soap alcove for my own products - I find it hard to believe that many people are happy to use some random brand of shower gel and shampoo. I agree that some suction cup containers would be useful.

 

The crew were great, and although the ship is an older one, we love the many entertainment venues. Listening to music in the piazza, and the elite lounge, held each evening in the Skywalker's Lounge, high over the back of the ship, with near 360 degree views, were two of our favorites. We booked the Sanctuary for both of the sea days, but the Caribbean Princess has Cabanas that block the view for many of the regular loungers.

 

A real lowlight was the Medallion app. I had made dining reservations for the same time and place each day, but when we got on the ship they had disappeared, and I had to make new reservations for each day. Worse, that part of the app was extremely flaky and so I had to write down the dining times & places. The only good thing was that, although prior to the cruise I'd been unable to book the Crown Grill steakhouse for our anniversary, there was a reservation available once on the ship. The Journey View aspect of the app, which is where you should be able to view the activities on the ship, almost never worked and is unusable when it does, but fortunately you can find the OceanConcierge online at caribbean.princess.com (when you're on the ship) and it has a more traditional view of the activities. I really hope that princess is able to overhaul this really awful app.

 

Itinerary

 

In Quebec City many people were waiting for the Hop On - Hop Off bus, and when one finally arrived they only allowed a few people to board. So we took a Lyft to the Citadelle, and then walked from there. It is a very walkable city, and so beautiful. We focused most of our shore activities and dining on outdoor venues, and many beautiful sites can be enjoyed without going inside, and there were many restaurants with outdoor terraces.

 

In Saguenay we took a non-Princess tour of the National Park by bus. It was run by Fjord et Monde and we booked it through TripAdvisor. It was a smaller group than what was available through Princess. The guide was great, and the scenery was beautiful. We're sleepyheads, so we missed the sail-in, but the sailaway was truly gorgeous, including a lovely sunset.

 

In Charlottetown we took the small group tour to the Anne of Green Gables park. It was fun to see, and our guide provided some great history as we drove across the island.

 

In Sydney we walked the boardwalk down to the Wentworth Gardens and then back through the town toward the ship. We had lunch at the Boardwalk Taproom and Eatery which was quite good.

 

Halifax is walkable, though the main sites are a bit of a walk from the ship. I think that was the day I got the most steps on my FitBit. The Citadelle and the Public Gardens were highlights.

 

In Boston we took a Lyft from the port to Bunker Hill, then walked the Freedom Trail in reverse, given that it was Saturday and crowded. So many sites to see (I hadn't done it since I was 12)!

 

 

 

 

[live2skide]

On 8/18/2022 at 11:53 AM, caroleidt said:

We were on the same cruise - BD B735. We had originally booked BF L235 but were "upgraded". As far as we were concerned it was a downgrade, as we prefer upper decks and forward, and the room and balcony were the same size, but it was a fine room. I agree that the bathroom, with its tiny curtained shower, was the worst aspect of the room. The shower had shampoo and shower gel in dispensers, leaving only a tiny soap alcove for my own products - I find it hard to believe that many people are happy to use some random brand of shower gel and shampoo. I agree that some suction cup containers would be useful.

 

The crew were great, and although the ship is an older one, we love the many entertainment venues. Listening to music in the piazza, and the elite lounge, held each evening in the Skywalker's Lounge, high over the back of the ship, with near 360 degree views, were two of our favorites. We booked the Sanctuary for both of the sea days, but the Caribbean Princess has Cabanas that block the view for many of the regular loungers.

 

A real lowlight was the Medallion app. I had made dining reservations for the same time and place each day, but when we got on the ship they had disappeared, and I had to make new reservations for each day. Worse, that part of the app was extremely flaky and so I had to write down the dining times & places. The only good thing was that, although prior to the cruise I'd been unable to book the Crown Grill steakhouse for our anniversary, there was a reservation available once on the ship. The Journey View aspect of the app, which is where you should be able to view the activities on the ship, almost never worked and is unusable when it does, but fortunately you can find the OceanConcierge online at caribbean.princess.com (when you're on the ship) and it has a more traditional view of the activities. I really hope that princess is able to overhaul this really awful app.

 

Itinerary

 

In Quebec City many people were waiting for the Hop On - Hop Off bus, and when one finally arrived they only allowed a few people to board. So we took a Lyft to the Citadelle, and then walked from there. It is a very walkable city, and so beautiful. We focused most of our shore activities and dining on outdoor venues, and many beautiful sites can be enjoyed without going inside, and there were many restaurants with outdoor terraces.

 

In Saguenay we took a non-Princess tour of the National Park by bus. It was run by Fjord et Monde and we booked it through TripAdvisor. It was a smaller group than what was available through Princess. The guide was great, and the scenery was beautiful. We're sleepyheads, so we missed the sail-in, but the sailaway was truly gorgeous, including a lovely sunset.

 

In Charlottetown we took the small group tour to the Anne of Green Gables park. It was fun to see, and our guide provided some great history as we drove across the island.

 

In Sydney we walked the boardwalk down to the Wentworth Gardens and then back through the town toward the ship. We had lunch at the Boardwalk Taproom and Eatery which was quite good.

 

Halifax is walkable, though the main sites are a bit of a walk from the ship. I think that was the day I got the most steps on my FitBit. The Citadelle and the Public Gardens were highlights.

 

In Boston we took a Lyft from the port to Bunker Hill, then walked the Freedom Trail in reverse, given that it was Saturday and crowded. So many sites to see (I hadn't done it since I was 12)!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the great ideas.  Sailing Oct 20th and these are new ports to me.  

[live2skide]

On 8/16/2022 at 7:24 PM, Maggie4nc said:

The bike shop gave great explanation of how to get to park and the routes to take. They used the Park Service map and we used that.  There are lots of signs on trails too.

We started at Duck Pond Bridge, rode past Eagle Lake to Jordan Lake Pond House (the only place that has food and drink if you need.)From there we went back up the other side and headed up to Witches Pond and Bubble lake.  If looking at Park map we went to stops 5,6,8,10,14,15,16,17,7,9,6,4,2,1,3 and back to 5, in that order.

In total, from bike shop and back, we went 21 miles and it took us about 3.5 hours with stops (total active biking time was 2.5 hours).  Just enough time to have lunch and walk about town.

There are lots of people biking.  The ebikes we had were great as you could easily choose the assist. There are 4 levels and you could switch it off too.  I had used very little battery in the end and was never concerned about running out.  Carriage Roads are all gravel and wide, lots of bikers some walkers. Take downhills slow as gravel can be slippery. Our bikes didn't have a bag or basket so we were glad we had brought back pack for snacks and drinks.  Both the bikes did have a bike water bottle on them.

I'd love to know how you arranged the bike rental. Do you think it is safe for a woman alone?  (66 years old).  I cycle on a frequent basis, and love to include it when cruising, but have always done it with a group.

[live2skide]

On 8/16/2022 at 4:37 PM, Dbld777 said:

Thank you for all of the great info and tips. We are on the same itinerary in late Sept.  We have reserved two ebikes at Bar Harbor for touring the carriage roads. Can you provide a little bit more detail on where you rode to and how long it took you? Did you follow the National Park Service map or some other recommended route? Other watch outs for using the ebikes on the carriage roads? Thank you.

I'd love to see your review when you return from the cruise. Going in late October and will be on my own biking. 

[Maggie4nc]

49 minutes ago, live2skide said:

I'd love to know how you arranged the bike rental. Do you think it is safe for a woman alone?  (66 years old).  I cycle on a frequent basis, and love to include it when cruising, but have always done it with a group.

We rented through https://www.acadiabike.com/ .  They will send you to their sister store for ebikes. Both on same street, in town, walking distance from port. Their website has great info. They do offer a bike tour but it starts at 8:30am and we knew we wouldn't be able to be off ship and to visitor center by then.  

The area and paths are really safe. The bike company doesn't even give you locks for the bikes. The owner said "people don't steak bikes here."  At no time would I hesitate to go alone.  

[MJC]

"In Saguenay we took a non-Princess tour of the National Park by bus. It was run by Fjord et Monde and we booked it through TripAdvisor."

 

Caroleidt, how long was this tour? How far away did you go, and were there stops or was it mostly scenic? TYIA

[live2skide]

1 hour ago, Maggie4nc said:

We rented through https://www.acadiabike.com/ .  They will send you to their sister store for ebikes. Both on same street, in town, walking distance from port. Their website has great info. They do offer a bike tour but it starts at 8:30am and we knew we wouldn't be able to be off ship and to visitor center by then.  

The area and paths are really safe. The bike company doesn't even give you locks for the bikes. The owner said "people don't steak bikes here."  At no time would I hesitate to go alone.  

Thanks!!  

 

[Tangodancers]

Excellent info.  Thank you.  

When we have done other Princess cruises I have not been able to figure out how to listen to the commentary the captain or special guest speaker (park ranger etc) on the Sun Deck is saying when we are looking at the view from our balcony.  Is there a channel on the TV which will give us the audio heard on the Sun Deck?

[live2skide]

22 hours ago, Tangodancers said:

Excellent info.  Thank you.  

When we have done other Princess cruises I have not been able to figure out how to listen to the commentary the captain or special guest speaker (park ranger etc) on the Sun Deck is saying when we are looking at the view from our balcony.  Is there a channel on the TV which will give us the audio heard on the Sun Deck?

Great question. I would ask at guest services or the tour desk.

[Steelers36]

On 8/18/2022 at 11:53 AM, caroleidt said:

We booked the Sanctuary for both of the sea days, but the Caribbean Princess has Cabanas that block the view for many of the regular loungers.

Have they added the pricey Cabanas, or are you referring to the two square tents that are forward and center on that class of ship and they are used by Lotus Spa occasionally for massages?  If they added actual Cabanas, can you describe where they are located?  Thanks.

[JF - retired RRT]

23 hours ago, Tangodancers said:

Excellent info.  Thank you.  

When we have done other Princess cruises I have not been able to figure out how to listen to the commentary the captain or special guest speaker (park ranger etc) on the Sun Deck is saying when we are looking at the view from our balcony.  Is there a channel on the TV which will give us the audio heard on the Sun Deck?

There is likely a channel on the TV. There is one for the Panama Canal & Alaska.

[Lady Meer]

On 8/27/2022 at 9:08 PM, live2skide said:

Great question. I would ask at guest services or the tour desk.

On Caribbean Princess in August there was a live commentary along the seaway into Quebec which would be on the TV. I asked at guest services as we couldn’t find it on the TV and was told it wasn’t possible and to go on the deck 🙄.

[capriccio]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:38 PM, Steelers36 said:

Have they added the pricey Cabanas, or are you referring to the two square tents that are forward and center on that class of ship and they are used by Lotus Spa occasionally for massages?  If they added actual Cabanas, can you describe where they are located?  Thanks.

We used the Sanctuary on the Caribbean Princess in January.  We've been in the Sanctuary on a number of Princess ships (maybe even the CB back in the day) and this was the first time I've seen the cabanas set up IIRC like this along the bow.  There were only 4 lounges on either side of the 2 massage tents with direct view of the sea.  After the lounges were 2 cabanas on each side.  All the other lounges under the 'shade' were in 3 rows.  Then there were the always in the sun lounges above the Lotus pool. 

 

We were the second new passengers to get to the Sanctuary and the 8 direct sea view lounges were already reserved by passengers on the previous cruise.  We only saw 1 cabana on each side used very intermittently the entire week. 

                      

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by capriccio

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

We used the Sanctuary on the Caribbean Princess in January.  We've been in the Sanctuary on a number of Princess ships (maybe even the CB back in the day) and this was the first time I've seen the cabanas set up IIRC like this along the bow.  There were only 4 lounges on either side of the 2 massage tents with direct view of the sea.  After the lounges were 2 cabanas on each side.  All the other lounges under the 'shade' were in 3 rows.  Then there were the always in the sun lounges above the Lotus pool. 

 

We were the second new passengers to get to the Sanctuary and the 8 direct sea view lounges were already reserved by passengers on the previous cruise.  We only saw 1 cabana on each side used very intermittently the entire week. 

                      

 

Thanks.  My observation when we first sailed on Regal was the row of Cabanas went unused for vast majority of time.  You would think they would learn most folks not interested in paying the huge price. 

 

Your description was perfect and I can picture the layout easily having been in Sanctuary on CB, EP, RU, and KP combined many times.  I imagine they have done the same thing to at least some of the others.  Perhaps CB got them added since spends a lot of time in Caribbean sector where the demand is highest.

 

With the removal of loungers at the curved window section, I am not at all surprised to find out gone to B2B'ers.  I'd be good in the shade and then hope to move the next week when (hopefully) the previous B2B'ers were gone.  It certainly is a challenge on a Caribbean itinerary which we have not done for quite a while except for Nov 2019.

[Cali Viajera]

Is it necessary to make reservations for the e bikes?

 

[Maggie4nc]

40 minutes ago, Cali Viajera said:

Is it necessary to make reservations for the e bikes?

 

We were glad we did.  There were people walking in without reservations and they were sold out.