Rare Suskies Posted June 21, 2009 #1 Posted June 21, 2009 We are seriously considering a summer 2010 New England/Canada cruise on the Maasdam, but I cannot figure out how to cost-effectively get to Boston and get home from Montreal (we live in southeast Pennsylvania). Airfares are really high. For those of you who have been on one of these cruises, how did you travel to the departure port and get home from the arrival port without spending a fortune?
Bramcruiser Posted June 21, 2009 #2 Posted June 21, 2009 I'm far from an expert and I have yet to do the cruise in question - that will be coming up next week :) - but I think you hit the nail on the head in regards to this rather unusual one way voyage. This cruise begins and ends in two different cities in different countries. I hear of a lot of people renting cars from Montreal back home to the US instead of flying. Apparently Enterprise allows such an arrangement. Hopefully others can mention if its reasonable or not price wise as I am not one doing this. Then again one must weigh the extra cost of flying home from Montreal against the extra day or so trying to get home. I must admit I was lucky. Being Canadian, I looked at the flight to Boston as my main challenge and managed to be in the right place at the right time - taking advantage of a deep discount seat sale months in advance. Montreal was actually less challenging as we're simply taking the train home but I do admit its more of a problem for Americans who are trying to get home. David
Two@Sea Posted June 21, 2009 #3 Posted June 21, 2009 I am also interested in this information. Anyone able to offer advise? Thanks!
papadave Posted June 21, 2009 #4 Posted June 21, 2009 I would suggest Amtrak from Philadelphia to Boston on the way up, then Amtrak from Montreal to New York on the way back (it is a pretty long ride) with one night in New York City, followed by Amtrak or even a bus back home to Pennsylvania.
Down-Unders Posted June 21, 2009 #5 Posted June 21, 2009 I would suggest Amtrak from Philadelphia to Boston on the way up, then Amtrak from Montreal to New York on the way back (it is a pretty long ride) with one night in New York City, followed by Amtrak or even a bus back home to Pennsylvania. I would like to do NYC-Montreal-NYC on HAL say on a fourteen day trip. :):):):):)
Sharon in AZ Posted June 21, 2009 #6 Posted June 21, 2009 I don't believe there really is a cost effective alternative, unless you drive instead of fly. We did this cruise in 2005. It is more expensive for a multicity flight instead of a round trip flight. We are doing this again for New York to Quebec on the Eurodam and I think I have got a good price for the air for the 3 of us. I do think it would be less expensive if we had done a round trip. You just have to take that into consideration when booking a multicity flight.
Jemima Posted June 21, 2009 #7 Posted June 21, 2009 Getting to or from either Montreal or Quebec City is a problem. At least OP lives in the eastern US. Getting there from the western US is much more difficult and expensive.
gooselace Posted June 21, 2009 #8 Posted June 21, 2009 Might want to post your question in the Cruise Air board - jump down to Cruise Discussions, then Cruise Air. Posters there often suggest alternate routings that are less expensive. Maybe even two one-way tickets on different airlines. Worth asking the experts on that board.
MARYVB Posted June 21, 2009 #9 Posted June 21, 2009 We went from Montreal to Boston. What we did was drive to Boston and PARK our car. We rented from Alamo on a one -way, one day, it only cost 130.00. We drove the rental to montreal, dropped everyone off, turned the car in, caught a ride back to the cruise port courtesy of alamo and when we got to Boston our car was there waiting. Do the Montreal to Boston leg, it really is easier. If you must do Boston to Montreal You might consider renting that car and driving back to Boston to do your return flight. Do yourself a favor and rent from the downtown Alamo instead of the airport, the prices are VERY different. We saved over 100.00 just changing our rental location.
Krazy Kruizers Posted June 21, 2009 #10 Posted June 21, 2009 We are from south western PA. One time we did back-to-back cruises so was able to get round trip air. But one time we did a cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Montreal. At that time we were able to get a direct flight to Ft Lauderdale which was reasonable. But coming home from Montreal -- had to go through Newark -- and that flight was costly.
Lurker1 Posted June 21, 2009 #11 Posted June 21, 2009 We are only two hours from Boston, so we drove and parked our car. Two years ago HAL had a bus that went from Montreal to Boston, but we stayed over, and had to fly back at probably a cheaper price than you could get today, but it we still thought it was expensive. But Lancaster PA is what, 6 or 7 hours from Boston so if you rented a car and drove their, you'd probably want to go a day early and then you have the hotel expense.
john kraft Posted June 21, 2009 #12 Posted June 21, 2009 Hello.My wife and I rode Amtrak back to delaware 3 years ago after our cruise. Of course im a rail fan so it was great fun for me. It was a long day but a very scenic ride. I now live near reading pa and would do it the same way today.
kelmac Posted June 21, 2009 #13 Posted June 21, 2009 We are seriously considering a summer 2010 New England/Canada cruise on the Maasdam, but I cannot figure out how to cost-effectively get to Boston and get home from Montreal (we live in southeast Pennsylvania). Airfares are really high. For those of you who have been on one of these cruises, how did you travel to the departure port and get home from the arrival port without spending a fortune? Suskies, My wife and I just completed this cruise this month. Before the cruise we flew to NYC (cheaper), spend a night and took Amtrack to Boston for a couple of precruise nights. After the cruise, spent a couple of nights in Montreal; flew to Toronto for a couple of nights; took the train to Niagra Falls for a two more nights; then flew Southwest Buffalo to Chicago for four nights; then home to ABQ via Southwest. All of our flights were pretty cheap and the train travel was fun. I know this doesn't help your situation much, but if you have some time you might be able to extend your vacation and find an inexpensive way home. Enjoy! Kel:)
mamaofami Posted June 21, 2009 #14 Posted June 21, 2009 We did a land trip to Montreal, then Quebec, and then Montreal. We flew to Montreal, then took a commuter plane to Quebec and then back to Montreal. Then flew back to New York. We used miles for the whole thing. The only inconvenient part was the trip between Montreal and Quebec.
ViolaSwamp Posted June 21, 2009 #15 Posted June 21, 2009 Amtrak is the option I would select for this itinerary. :)
Rare Suskies Posted June 21, 2009 Author #16 Posted June 21, 2009 Thank you all! You've given us a lot to think about. We are debating between the Veendam from NYC to Bermuda or the Maasdam Boston to Montreal. We were leaning toward the latter, because we just went to Bermuda last year and never did a New England cruise, and we like new experiences. But the extra time and travel costs can really mount up for a family of 4. My daughter's job has very limited vacation time, so we won't have the luxury of being able to take multiple days to get home. Thank you all again!
RuthC Posted June 21, 2009 #17 Posted June 21, 2009 The last time I ended a cruise in Montreal there was a flight direct to Boston. Now, true, that was a few years ago, and it was on a commuter plane, but there might be some flights even now. It was a very short flight. You could drive to Boston, leave your car and cruise, fly back to Boston, then drive home. I would think it's about a 9-hour drive. I'm an hour from Boston, and 8 hours from York, PA. Or, you could Amtrak to/from Boston, with the flight from Montreal to get you back there.
rkacruiser Posted June 21, 2009 #18 Posted June 21, 2009 When I have had an "open jaw" type of routing, such as what you are considering, I have found that booking air through the cruise line was much more inexpensive than anything I could book on my own.
Rare crusinbanjo Posted June 21, 2009 #19 Posted June 21, 2009 My Mom & Dad take the Amtrack train to Valley Forge PA from Boston all the time. mostly they make one train switch in Philadelphia and that is it. Mom & Dad are 80'2 and find it Pretty easy. I would take the train to Boston one way. On the way back I might try to fly back to NYC and take the train from there. NYC, of course can be difficult to get from the airport to Penn Station, but what the heck, it is a travel day, isn't it?
plattetrekkies Posted June 21, 2009 #20 Posted June 21, 2009 We are also in the planning stage for a Montreal to Boston cruise. But we are looking at flying to Manchester, NH round trip, renting a car & driving to Montreal. From Boston, we would then book a shuttle back to Manchester. We have friends who fly to Manchester when visiting Maine. Plattetrekker
dvdfreakmc Posted June 22, 2009 #21 Posted June 22, 2009 Amtrak is the ticket. We live in Philadelphia -- The Adirondack line goes from NYC to Montreal and it is a beautiful trip up the Hudson. Then back from Boston or the reverse. Just take the regional or Acela to NYC to start. We did it last year and are doing it again this year. Roundtrip for three, including Acela Express is around $450. Much less then flying and you can bring liquids with you and more luggage if you need it. FANTASTIC!
rsquare Posted June 22, 2009 #22 Posted June 22, 2009 We just did the reverse itinerary (Montreal to Boston) from southern NJ outside of Philadelphia. Both air and rail were unattractive because of the amount of luggage schlepping we would have to do (two wheelies, a garment bag for the formal stuff, a small duffel and my wife's CPAP machine). For us, the convenience of a rental car outweighed other considerations. We were lucky enough to be going with friends, which dictated the size of the rental, and made it somewhat more economical, but we would have done it in a smaller vehicle class if it were just the two of us. To put some dollars to this discussion, we paid the following: Rental car to Montreal: $184.38 (Kia minivan from Hertz with Sirius radio) Tolls to Montreal: $13.55 (using Hertz's EasyPass transponder) Van from Black Falcon terminal to Logan Airport: $45 (with just two, we would taken a cab for less) Rental car from Boston: $202.93 (Mercury Grand Marquis from Hertz) Tolls from Boston: $13.85 (using Hertz's EasyPass transponder) Fuel was another $65 or so. I suspect that this compares favorably with air fare, and more than favorably with Amtrak. The drive up was about 10 hours, including a great lunch at a Lebanese restaurant in downtown Troy, NY, and the drive back was about 6 hours including an equally great lunch at Rein's, off I-84 in Vernon, CT. Obviously, given your starting point, this can only be a guideline, and your tolerance for hours behind the wheel may differ from ours.
emtyt Posted June 22, 2009 #23 Posted June 22, 2009 We are seriously considering a summer 2010 New England/Canada cruise on the Maasdam, but I cannot figure out how to cost-effectively get to Boston and get home from Montreal (we live in southeast Pennsylvania). Airfares are really high. For those of you who have been on one of these cruises, how did you travel to the departure port and get home from the arrival port without spending a fortune? My sisters-in-law are taking this cruise on Saturday. What they did was book a flight in New York (JFK) to Boston with Delta using the multiple city option and their return flight from Montreal, QC to New York (JFK) for about $430.00 round trip. The flights are direct and take fro 1 Hr 25 mins to 1 Hr 44 mins. This will be the first cruise for one of my sisters-in-law.
macdons Posted June 22, 2009 #24 Posted June 22, 2009 Sometimes extending your cruise and doing back to back cruises is less than the airfare. The cruiseline generally gives you a break on the cruise when you book b2b. We have done it in the past with different cruises and if you have the time it is worth considering. We are taking a cruise from Montreal in Oct that ends in FLL. We will be taking a bus from Boston to Montreal. It is cost effective and the time is about 10 hours from Boston. It is cheaper than rail, car rental or plane. Just takes a bit longer!
kaneeta Posted June 23, 2009 #25 Posted June 23, 2009 I am lucky enough to live in NH so I just took the Greyhound bus home from Montreal. Only cost $40.00!
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