Anything Montreal

A couple of questions for our upcoming cruise.

We will be coming from the airport on bus 747 & staying at the Le Petite in old town. It looks like JEANNE-MANCE is the closest stop to the hotel. Is that correct & will there be taxis available there or is another stop preferable?

In earlier part of this thread, it was said that Bus715 is specifically geared to tourists. I looked at the bus route but not sure which stop is closest to hotel.

Merci

See post #498 for answer about bus #747

Bus # 715: From Le Petit Hotel, 168 Saint-Paul West if you are going east bus stop #60719 (Place- Jacques-Cartier) is a 1 minute walk from your hotel.

If you are going west, bus stop #60728 is a 3 minutes walk from your hotel.

A full map with the stops and timing can be found here:

http://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/planibus/en/715.pdf

Has anyone did a taxi from YUL to cruise port recently? Some places I read it's $40 flat fee, but I know when I was there before there was no flat fee.

The flat fee of 40 CAD plus tip has been there for a while.

The flat fee of 40 CAD plus tip has been there for a while.

In 2014 the taxi we took used the meter, no flat fee was used.

http://www.admtl.com/en/access/taxis-limousines

The $40 Flat Fee still applies. Be sure to advise the cabbie and the hailer.

Above link is from Montreal airport website.

if you paid more, you got taken.

From the airport, we will be staying in a condo at Tour des Canadiens, adjacent to Centre Bell. If I read the 747 schedule correctly, we would get off at Rene-Levesque / Drummond stop, and then it is a short walk from there. Other suggestions? We are traveling in mid-August, so it is my understanding that Uber may still be in operation until September.

If you are staying at La Tour des Canadiens-1 at 1288 Canadiens-de-Montréal Av. to get there with the 747 bus, the stop is indeed René Lévesque/Drummond then it is a short walk to your accommodation. There is an alternate route with the subway (orange line) but it is longer. The easiest way to see and print the instructions in English, for all public transport in Montréal, is to use the STM website here ("Getting Around" option):

http://www.stm.info/en

The airport in the application is listed as "Pierre Elliot Trudeau Aeroport"

For Uber, I have no idea, hopefully somebody else can answer that.

Other new direct flights from Montréal.

 

Air Canada - Lima, Dallas, Phoenix, Reykjavik, Tel Aviv...

 

Air Transat - Porto

 

For more info. here is the article:

"Montréal-Trudeau consolidates its position as an international hub":

http://www.admtl.com/sites/default/files/2017_Mtl-Trudeau_Intl_Hub_A.pdf

Low-cost Mexican airline Interjet also coming to Montréal with direct flights.

"Interjet announces new routes between Canada and Mexico" :

http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/interjet-announces-new-routes-between-canada-and-mexico-622292703.html

*Praise for Montréal's updated cruise terminal":

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/praise-for-montreal-s-updated-cruise-terminal.html

A few questions after going through all pages:

1. Is there free wifi at the airport?

2. Has the customs situation improved (earlier post mentioned 3 hours or so to get through)?

3. We're arriving late August, so uber should be fine, right?

4. We're thinking of staying at a place close to Highway 138 (don't know street name)and Rue Saint-Dominique. Is that either close to tourist attractions and/or mass transit?

5. Is HAL using berths 34-37. AlexandriaQuay, or what now?

Much thanks for all the wonderful information on this thread.

A few questions after going through all pages:

1. Is there free wifi at the airport?

Yes - YUL WiFi (only 60mins free, but you can reconnect and accept the T&C for another 60mins over and over)

 

2. Has the customs situation improved (earlier post mentioned 3 hours or so to get through)?

Immigration/customs I can't help with; we're always on domestic Canadian flights. Wait times for security are tracked here and you'll also have to do US pre-screening if you're flying out - with the kiosks in place the flow should be much better than the bad old days. The YULi app may be useful to you (even if you're not burning data, you could use it on-site with free WiFi)

 

3. We're arriving late August, so uber should be fine, right?

In theory yes - although there's always the possiblity of more action by taxi folks near the end of the trial to help 'persuade' local legislators Uber Is Bad.

 

4. We're thinking of staying at a place close to Highway 138 (don't know street name)and Rue Saint-Dominique. Is that either close to tourist attractions and/or mass transit?

Sherbrooke (zoom in further on Google and you'll see the name change from 138) & Rue S-D is a great location - you're on the edge of Old Montreal, close to the many bars & restos up St Laurent (parallels S-D one block west), and about a quarter mile from St Laurent subway station.

 

5. Is HAL using berths 34-37. AlexandriaQuay, or what now?

Since the new terminal is definitely operating, everyone should be back to Alexandria except for the already-planned 'too many ships' weekends in October on the schedule. Keeping the temp pier as a permanently-available option sounds to me like it may be to entice more large ships (those which can never get under the bridge) to use Montreal in the future, as well as coping with any future flooding.

Since the new terminal is definitely operating, everyone should be back to Alexandria except for the already-planned 'too many ships' weekends in October on the schedule. Keeping the temp pier as a permanently-available option sounds to me like it may be to entice more large ships (those which can never get under the bridge) to use Montreal in the future, as well as coping with any future flooding.

Thank you for all your help!

Murray Hill Linousine service must have recently raised their rates. It is not $55 flat rate, but I was quoted $165. Two taxis is much less.

Is it possible to reserve a taxi?

Murray Hill Linousine service must have recently raised their rates. It is not $55 flat rate, but I was quoted $165. Two taxis is much less.

Is it possible to reserve a taxi?

The fixed rates only apply to walk-up fares, not prebooked ones. Your attempt to book a limo in advance means they're likely also charging you a 'meet & greet' fee and possibly using the regular distance/vehicle size tariffs rather than the fixed airport zones. I'm guessing from your mention of 2 cabs that you have a bigger group and wanted a single large vehicle?

I don't believe you can prebook a cab at all from the airport, but even if you can it'll jack up the price. The whole point of making walk-up fares fixed rate is to improve efficiency - prebooked cars clog the system hanging around on-site for their patrons, while the walk-up system means that the cabs and limos flow smoothly. By using the good system you're helping everyone waste less gas and time, so you get rewarded with lower fares. Here in Vancouver it's the same basic deal - walkup cabs and limos are $x to a given location but prebooking adds a fixed $50 to each vehicle.

I did notice that documents indicate changes coming July 10th after this month's taxi/limo governing body meeting - perhaps a Francophone local can clarify exactly what's going on but based on the new tariff zone maps it looks like downtown will now be further subdivided for limos, with the eastern side of downtown zone now stopping at Saint-Laurent instead of Papineau. Plus there were always parts of the city that a tourist might think is downtown, but are not in the official downtown taxi zone!

In short, depending exactly where your hotel is your quoted fare may be simply the new regular rate for a 'deluxe limo' to your hotel plus a Meet & Greet fee...

Thanks. I had not realized that taxis were at a premium in Montreal. We are a party of eight, so we will just stand in line and wait for our taxis.

< sniped >.

 

I did notice that documents indicate changes coming July 10th after this month's taxi/limo governing body meeting - perhaps a Francophone local can clarify exactly what's going on but based on the new tariff zone maps it looks like downtown will now be further subdivided for limos, with the eastern side of downtown zone now stopping at Saint-Laurent instead of Papineau. Plus there were always parts of the city that a tourist might think is downtown, but are not in the official downtown taxi zone!

 

 

In short, depending exactly where your hotel is your quoted fare may be simply the new regular rate for a 'deluxe limo' to your hotel plus a Meet & Greet fee...

Thank you for your post Martin, very informative. Indeed, according to the link you put in your post, the limo rate for downtown from the airport will be going up. On July 10th, it will be 58 CAD (including taxes) but this is "sans réservation" i.e. without pre-booking/reservation. There is therefore a surcharge to have somebody waiting at the airport.

Taking a cab is cheaper at 40 CAD. Here is the taxi map (taken from the Ville de Montréal - Bureau du Taxi website):

Downtown cab rate from the airport:

The "taxi downtown map" goes all the way to Papineau whereas the "limo downtown map" stops at Saint-Laurent. If you want to go further east with the limo it will be 63 CAD. according to the map on the following limo website (page 1):

https://www.ctq.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/documents/secteurs/taxi/Repertoire_des_tarifs.pdf

For people who still want to reserve a limo, I have no company suggestion since I never took one. However, Viator sells private transfers and you can check the reviews. Viator is affiliated with Trip Advisor and therefore Cruise Critic. So, I guess it is OK if I put the link here:

https://www.viator.com/Montreal-tours/Transfers-and-Ground-Transport/d625-g15

We are a party of 4 and will be going from the airport to Old Town Montreal. Are there any "Van size" taxi that can handle 4 with luggage or will we need to plan on taking 2 taxis?

There are van-sized taxis in Montréal. I remember taking one once. On the other hand, I don't know if there will be some in the taxi line-up when you will arrive at the airport.

The last time I went through the airport, I saw a dispatcher inside asking passengers how many were in their party. So, my guess is, if you want a large taxi, he/she will call one up for you. Hopefully, these vans can handle luggage for four too.

Interesting video on the history of the Port of Montreal

"Port of Montreal | Trading with the world from then to now":

Will be disembarking in Montreal. Flight doesn't leave until after 3 so hoping to do some sightseeing after we leave the ship and prior to flight. Is there a place to store luggage near the cruise port?

There is luggage storage at the cruise port. More info in this link:

http://www.port-montreal.com/en/access-to-berths.html

Thank you so much! Assume shouldn't be an issue storing after cruise? Are there places to see near the terminal and any bagel places near there?

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The storage just opened with the new terminal so until reports come in from cruisers about the service I don't believe anyone can answer how efficiently it's run yet.

Bagels - you'll find them all over, even Timmies has edible ones, but if you're talking Montreal and Bagels then you really only have two choices: Fairmount or St-Viateur. If you don't yet have a position in the religious war of which is best you could try both, but unless you're a party of vegantarians save tummy room for a smoked meat sammich in Schwartz's deli (go fatty or go home I say). Or avoid them all because if you get hooked you'll never find another product like 'em!

The storage just opened with the new terminal so until reports come in from cruisers about the service I don't believe anyone can answer how efficiently it's run yet.

 

Bagels - you'll find them all over, even Timmies has edible ones, but if you're talking Montreal and Bagels then you really only have two choices: Fairmount or St-Viateur. If you don't yet have a position in the religious war of which is best you could try both, but unless you're a party of vegantarians save tummy room for a smoked meat sammich in Schwartz's deli (go fatty or go home I say). Or avoid them all because if you get hooked you'll never find another product like 'em!

Thanks! Are any of these bagel places within walking or public transportation distance from cruise terminal?

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We will be visiting Montreal and Quebec City in just a few weeks for a few days (not on a cruise). Does anyone know if Uber is still available in the Province? It is my understanding that they have permission to provide service until September, but not sure if things have changed in the past few months.

We are really just looking for service from/to the airport, otherwise we are using public transportation everywhere else (metro, bus, train, etc.), and by foot of course! I believe a taxi is CAD $40 from the airport to our downtown condo in Montreal, and there is the 747 (?) bus for super cheap with the pass, so just looking at our options, especially with luggage.

Thanks! Are any of these bagel places within walking or public transportation distance from cruise terminal?

Transit - definitely. Both bagel spots are close to each other, with Schwartz's easy to hit en route to or from (but it would be at least a 2 hour walk there and back). Google Map listing all of them, currently set to Walk as Transit doesn't allow multiple destinations - pick one at a time and click the Bus icon to see your choice of buses.

If you wanted to burn some calories you could stuff yourself in Schwartz's, pick up bagels from either or both S-V&F for later, walk up the 'mountain' of Mont Royal (which is laughably tiny in height, but does give great views over low-lying Montreal below, and the Oratory is impressive) and then come back through downtown through universities/museums/more churches and wend your way back to the pier.