The official Quebec, Saguenay and Baie-Comeau cruise ports thread!

[Pens Fan]

I just noticed a post on Scott's blog about new *GT rates on these cruises. I was curious if they were any less expensive than the ones offered earlier. They are!

IGT 2727.52
OGT 2993.52
VGT 3889.52

All prices are for 2 adults. So, I guess they reduced the prices even further to the general public after PIF date. Folks on this cruise may end up with the ship to themselves - either that or with a bunch of cast members and travel agents. I know the transportation is an issue, but I'm really surprised how much trouble Disney is having selling these cruises. At one time we considered taking both cruises back to back as we wanted a longer cruise, but decided it was too expensive. That's why we ended up on a 12 nighter on NCL. I'm sticking with NCL because we like the different ports and have already set up all of our plans at each stop. Otherwise, it would be tempting.

 

[JanDave]

We are booked for the QC to NYC sailing on 9/27/18. *GT rates came out in March! We cancelled and rebooked due to significant cost savings.

 

[Pooh2]

We are booked for the QC to NYC sailing on 9/27/18. *GT rates came out in March! We cancelled and rebooked due to significant cost savings.

The GT rate dropped another $300 for VGT category last week.
We had already booked the first GT rate for this sailing a month.
Kind of bummed to miss out on the extra savings but did not expect it to go even cheaper.

 

[mevelandry]

The GT rate dropped another $300 for VGT category last week.
We had already booked the first GT rate for this sailing a month.
Kind of bummed to miss out on the extra savings but did not expect it to go even cheaper.

So my guess is you can't call to have them apply the % off on your current reservation? That sucks.

 

[lcsmom]

The GT rate dropped another $300 for VGT category last week.
We had already booked the first GT rate for this sailing a month.
Kind of bummed to miss out on the extra savings but did not expect it to go even cheaper.

Maybe you'll feel a little better: the new VGT rate is a little less than $240 under the VGT rate we paid in March. We, too, cancelled our original booking and rebooked the first VGT rate.
I follow the 9/20 NYC-QC group on that social media site and its quite obvious that numerous cast members and TA's are booking the new rates. Interestingly, I was on the Fantasy 10 day Southern last year and it was almost 2/3 cast members or TA's. That cruise went up to PIF with about half the ship booked. I think cast member rates were released before they released *GT rates several weeks after PIF date.

 

[mevelandry]

I have a feeling that itinerary won't come back on DCL... Ever. That's a shame.

 

[lcsmom]

I have a feeling that itinerary won't come back on DCL... Ever. That's a shame.

Exactly what I fear.
My just out of college daughter had to cancel her booking on this cruise and now she's thinking she won't ever get to do this itinerary. She can't stretch her vacation time to cover the weddings she's in and this cruise. She is now very sad.

 

[mevelandry]

Exactly what I fear.
My just out of college daughter had to cancel her booking on this cruise and now she's thinking she won't ever get to do this itinerary. She can't stretch her vacation time to cover the weddings she's in and this cruise. She is now very sad.

I think Princess does a similar itinerary. I know it's not Disney though.

 

[lcsmom]

I think Princess does a similar itinerary. I know it's not Disney though.

Thanks. I shall mention it to her. She was curious if she would still understand Quebec French as her high school teacher was from Quebec City and she may just plan a trip to QC next year instead of a cruise.

 

[Pens Fan]

Thanks. I shall mention it to her. She was curious if she would still understand Quebec French as her high school teacher was from Quebec City and she may just plan a trip to QC next year instead of a cruise.

NCL does a similar 7 day itinerary out of Boston which has more ports than Disney's. They also do longer (9 nights or longer) one way cruises between NYC and Quebec City. I was checking port schedules the other day to see how many other ships would be in port the days we are there. There are lots of other cruise lines that go to Quebec. I remember Celebrity and Princess, for sure, but there were lots of others.

That's why it baffles me that Disney couldn't sell two cruises to such as wonderful destination. It's a shame. If they can fill the Dream over and over again with it's meh itinerary, I really don't understand why they couldn't fill the Magic for two weeks with new and beautiful places to go.

Oh well - it's good for the customers that get to take advantage of the reduced fares!

 

[Barbamama]

It will be sad if they abandon this itinerary. I live in Quebec City (moved there from Montreal) and it is such a beautiful place! Really much to discover and fall in love with. The colder weather at that time of year and the kids being in school do make it harder to sell; there might have been more interest if they had offered it during the summer, even without the fall foliage. But of course, it would be difficult to compete with the European itineraries at that time of year, although trying something new could be appealing to some cruisers. My family is doing the 11-night Baltic this summer; we've done the Caribbean, Med, Alaska and Iceland itineraries, and we will probably hang up our lanyards and go back to traveling by our own devices for our next vacations, as we feel we have tried the main itineraries offered by Disney during summer vacations and we only started cruising because of the Disney factor which our whole family enjoys so much. We will be waiting to see what other options the new ships bring, so I hope they don't stop trying to vary their offer just because some itineraries might be less of a sure thing!

 

[cruiser21]

I just noticed a post on Scott's blog about new *GT rates on these cruises. I was curious if they were any less expensive than the ones offered earlier. They are!

IGT 2727.52
OGT 2993.52
VGT 3889.52

All prices are for 2 adults. So, I guess they reduced the prices even further to the general public after PIF date. Folks on this cruise may end up with the ship to themselves - either that or with a bunch of cast members and travel agents. I know the transportation is an issue, but I'm really surprised how much trouble Disney is having selling these cruises. At one time we considered taking both cruises back to back as we wanted a longer cruise, but decided it was too expensive. That's why we ended up on a 12 nighter on NCL. I'm sticking with NCL because we like the different ports and have already set up all of our plans at each stop. Otherwise, it would be tempting.

We're still not to the PIF date. June 29 is my PIF date.

It's very expensive to fly into Quebec and maybe people don't realize they can fly into Montreal or maybe they don't want the headache of taking a 3 hour bus drive. I think the Thurs to Thurs schedule is also bad for a lot of people. It requires missing a week and half of work instead of the normal 1 week.

 

[Pens Fan]

We're still not to the PIF date. June 29 is my PIF date.

Oops - sorry! I was thinking that as there was a foreign embarkation or debarkation involved the PIF date was 120 days out. That makes it even more interesting, though. I wonder if they could further reduce the price if the ship hasn't sold out when PIF does actually pass.

 

[lcsmom]

Thanks for mentioning Boston. My daughter might forsake Disney for a cruise out of Boston.

I, too, hope Disney doesn't abandon seeking new ports. We have yet to do the Iceland or Baltic itineraries. Unfortunately, my husband has now joined the large number of Americans that are uncomfortable taking a full two weeks off work. It will be a while before he can again take off almost three weeks as he did for Disney's Greek Isle cruise. And vacation time is probably one of the reasons this cruise didn't sell. This cruise requires at least 7 work days, realistically 9, if you are traveling from anywhere outside the Northeast. This is the main reason my daughter canceled. Flying into NYC around midnight on Wednesday and heading out of the very fascinating Quebec City immediately after debarkation so she could get back to work on Friday just didn't appeal.

 

[Intr3pid]

HAL runs one-way cruises between Boston and Montreal all summer long and during most of the fall. (They have done it for years.) Silversea places two ships for the fall colors on this route every year (one of which we sailed). Plus, a bunch of other cruise lines that will show up for that season.

Now, Most of the guests on these cruises are adults, which is a key reason why Disney is having such a hard time. Very few kids can take time off school immediately after August. Disney will always have trouble selling mid/late September cruises. They are going all-in with Bermuda in 2019, but expect very similar issues.

This itinerary could be improved though. Starting in Montreal will rope in folks from Toronto. So: Montreal, Quebec City, Quebec City, Gaspe, PEI, Halifax, and NYC has more must-see ports.

Or, a return from Quebec City, circling Newfoundland.

And I agree - starting/ending mid-week is never helpful.

 

[lcsmom]

Looks like Cruiser21 posted exactly and concisely my point (while I was distracted by a baseball game.)

And, have to agree, the ports are not the usual, easily researched ports. Even my husband's Canadian co-workers were surprised at Disney's choice of ports for their first St.Lawrence cruise. Hubby and I are quite pleased, but two almost 60 year old, empty nesters aren't the typical Disney cruise customer.

 

[cruiser21]

HAL runs one-way cruises between Boston and Montreal all summer long and during most of the fall. (They have done it for years.) Silversea places two ships for the fall colors on this route every year (one of which we sailed). Plus, a bunch of other cruise lines that will show up for that season.

Now, Most of the guests on these cruises are adults, which is a key reason why Disney is having such a hard time. Very few kids can take time off school immediately after August. Disney will always have trouble selling mid/late September cruises. They are going all-in with Bermuda in 2019, but expect very similar issues.

This itinerary could be improved though. Starting in Montreal will rope in folks from Toronto. So: Montreal, Quebec City, Quebec City, Gaspe, PEI, Halifax, and NYC has more must-see ports.

Or, a return from Quebec City, circling Newfoundland.

And I agree - starting/ending mid-week is never helpful.

I do think New England cruises in general tend to attract an older crowd. I've also talked to Canadians and North eastern folks who have no interest in taking a cold cruise.

It also seems like Fall cruises on any cruiseline to any destination have the best discounts. I think its a combination of a lot of things, school, holidays, saving money for Christmas, people already took Summer vacations, hurricanes etc. 5 years ago I had a cm at the onboard booking desk on the Dream tell me it's better to wait for a GT rate on a Fall cruise, and she was right there has always been lots of GT rates in the Fall.

If DCL didn't price their cruises so high to begin with they might get more bookings early on, but for some reason they don't do this.

 

[mmouse37]

We and extended family and friends just booked 5 cabins on this cruise. Prices were great. We are from the NY area and are now researching ways to get to Quebec. We do not want to fly. The drive is about 9 hours without traffic. We are thinking of doing one way car rentals or possibly chartering a small bus. Other than flying how are people getting to Quebec from the NY area?

Also, I read that there was a Hertz location right at the port terminal (see link) but I can't find it. I see one a few block away but not right at the port. Any locals have any info?

http://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/information-for-cruise-ship-passengers/customer-service

MJ

 

[mevelandry]

We and extended family and friends just booked 5 cabins on this cruise. Prices were great. We are from the NY area and are now researching ways to get to Quebec. We do not want to fly. The drive is about 9 hours without traffic. We are thinking of doing one way car rentals or possibly chartering a small bus. Other than flying how are people getting to Quebec from the NY area?

Also, I read that there was a Hertz location right at the port terminal (see link) but I can't find it. I see one a few block away but not right at the port. Any locals have any info?

http://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/information-for-cruise-ship-passengers/customer-service

MJ

By bus. Greyhound with a transfer in Montreal to Orleans Express. If you book you bus at least 2 to 3 weeks in advance you get the cheaper rates (like 25$ between Montreal and Quebec). I don't have a car and when I want to save cash going to New York, Greyhound is the way to go.

 

[mevelandry]

We and extended family and friends just booked 5 cabins on this cruise. Prices were great. We are from the NY area and are now researching ways to get to Quebec. We do not want to fly. The drive is about 9 hours without traffic. We are thinking of doing one way car rentals or possibly chartering a small bus. Other than flying how are people getting to Quebec from the NY area?

Also, I read that there was a Hertz location right at the port terminal (see link) but I can't find it. I see one a few block away but not right at the port. Any locals have any info?

http://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/information-for-cruise-ship-passengers/customer-service

MJ

By the way, IMO, Hertz is going to be just a small booth in the terminal. They will most likely bring the car you rent in advance to make sure it's available when you arrive.