laverendrye

I’ve stayed twice at the Château Bellevue in the past few months and recommend it as the type of lodging you are looking for. It’s well located facing the Parc des Gouverneurs in the Upper Town. 

It’s Canada, so Canadian dollars. 

Taxis from the airport to downtown, in which the Springhill is located, are at a fixed rate of $41. 

http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=8177,92215612&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

40 minutes ago, Mimosa09 said:

I’ve never had a problem with motion sickness on a river cruise, but you still might want to be prepared bc of the bus tours. Had a problem when we did the Almafi coast in Italy & with the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. But now that I reread what river cruise you are on, you shouldn’t have a problem. We did the Bordeaux cruise last fall with Uniworld and there wasn’t any bus excursions that were curvy roads. Now I’m wondering if the bus excursions on the Duoro River cruises are on curvy roads....

The Douro River flows through a deep valley and some of the excursions involve curving roads and switchbacks. The trip to Salamanca, however is across a fairly flat plain on straight roads.

I’ve been enjoying your trip report, and especially your photos. I’m looking forward to hearing of your visit to the Normandy landing beaches as I was fortunate enough  to return to Normandy this past June for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of DDay at Juno Beach.

 As a side note, I was curious that you mentioned that Notre-Dame de Rouen was the city’s largest cathedral as I was unaware that Rouen had more than one cathedral. I did notice that you posted a photo that you described as the second cathedral but I suspect that it was the church of Saint-Ouen, which while a beautiful and ornate example of high Gothic architecture, is a parish church and not a cathedral. 

You should also be aware that in winter up to 75% of the summer flow over the falls is diverted for hydro electric generation.  

As I have written in another thread, poutine is junk food best enjoyed from a chip wagon after a night of carousing. However, you will likely want to try it at a reputable hour and at a place where you can sit down to eat it.  Most restaurants will have it on the menu, but you should try one of the snack bars where it is a specialty. In the Upper Town, try Snack Bar St-Jean on Rue St-Jean or Chez Ashton which has one of its many branches just off Rue St-Jean.  Both places offer a number of varieties involving different meats and sauces but I recommend the classic of frites, cheese curds and brown gravy.  Mind you, I haven’t eaten a dish of poutine in ages. 

I've cruised five times with Uniworld, both solo and with a friend, the last time in 2016. I've enjoyed the cruises and Uniworld very much.  But no more. 

I've found that Uniworld pricing, discounts, and now single supplements, have combined to seriously degrade its value for money.  I cruised the Douro on Uniworld back in 2012 and again on Emerald in 2018.  For interest, at the time I priced a similar Uniworld cruise to compare with Emerald,  and the Uniworld cruise came out at several thousand dollars more. The only significant difference seemed to be that Uniworld included all drinks, while Emerald offered complimentary wine and beer at lunch and dinner. The quality of Uniworld's excursions was a bit better than Emerald's but certainly not enough to justify such a price difference.  The food, cabin quality and service were just about identical on each. (I never book a suite and a butler on a river cruise seems to me to be utterly over the top).

 So next April I will be travelling with a friend on a 21 day Emerald trip from Hanoi to Siem Reap. Emerald offered a very good price, including airfare.  It will be interesting to compare this to a Mekong cruise I took back in 2012 with Viking (essentially a Pandaw cruise). 

I'm afraid that for me at least, Uniworld has priced itself out of the market.  

I cruised the Mekong with Viking 7 years ago and can confirm that for many of the stops  there is no dock but only a steep mud bank with steps dug into them. At these stops the crew would muster up the bank to give a hand to the passengers. At one stop we transferred to a sampan to get to the villages. 

Ashore we were sometimes walking on dirt roads with uneven surfaces through the villages or transported by a variety of means including ox carts and pedicabs. There were often quiet a few steps to manage at temples and ruins such as Angkor Wat. 

I don’t want want to be discouraging but you should be aware of some of the physical challenges on this trip. 

Your best bet would be a cruise from Baie Sainte-Catherine as it is a bit closer to Québec City than Tadoussac and you don't have to take the ferry across the Saguenay. As well,  cruises from Tadoussac stop in Baie Sainte-Catherine to pick up passengers so there is nothing gained by going to Tadoussac unless you want to visit the town and the Marine Mammal Interpretation Centre there.

The main operator in the area is Croisières AML and you can find schedules and fees on their website. You'll see a bit of the fiord on their cruises, mainly to see the belugas, but I think that a full cruise of the Saguenay might be a bit too much for a day trip from Québec City. It's about a 2.5 hour drive to Baie Ste. Catherine and if you don't want to rent a car and drive, AML has package bus-cruise tours to pick up passengers in Québec City and return them at the end of the day.

14 hours ago, 1city@atime said:

We will be disembarking in Quebec and staying 2 nights. Anyone have tips for us. Places to see, dining, tours, transportation, etc? Appreciate any info.

Have a look at this topic where you will find lots of suggestions include some which I recently made. 

The only occasion I have experienced significant motion on a river boat was crossing Lakes Ladoga and Onega in Russia.  These are Europe's two largest lakes and I seem to recall that there were whitecaps when we were crossing them although I didn't have any motion sickness.  The rest of my river cruising has been very calm indeed. 

14 hours ago, Floridiana said:

Since Bucharest is not on the Danube, how long is the bus ride from the port to the city?

My recollection is that it was about an hour from Bucharest to the port of Giurgiu where we embarked.

I think that Jacques Cartier Park would be a bit ambitious. You would really want at least a full day to take advantage of its hiking trails and other outdoor activities. 

It all depends on your priorities, but with your time available I would concentrate on the city with perhaps a side trip to Montmorency Falls. If you do want to spend a full day outside the city then I would recommend renting a car and visiting the falls, Ste-Anne de Beaupré, the Canyon Ste-Anne, and Île d’Orléans. 

As for French restaurants, of course they abound. I’m not sure if you are looking for a haute cuisine or bistro style restaurant.  If the former, then you might look at L’Initiale, Laurie Raphaël, or for a real splurge, Le Saint-Amour.  As for bistros, Le Continental, Le Cochon  Dingue and the Lapin Sauté are all long time favourites, but there are many to choose from.  If you want traditional Québecois cuisine, you can try Aux Anciens Canadiens or La Bûche, but I find the food very heavy especially at the latter. They are both very touristy if that’s what you are trying to avoid.  

The question of where “locals” eat is interesting.  Of course you will find loads of tourists at every restaurant in Old Québec and along Grande Allée, especially during the high season. If you want to avoid your fellow tourists but without venturing to the far suburbs, have a look at the trendy St-Roch district. I haven’t eaten there but the restaurant L’Affaire est Ketchup is well recommended. You’ll also find some good boulangeries there as well as on Rue St-Jean. Also on Rue St-Jean just outside the walls is J.A. Moisan, one of the oldest grocers in North American and a Mecca for food lovers.

I hope this is helpful 

I would certainly include a visit and tour of La Citadelle, the vast fortress that dominates the city.  If you are there before Labour Day, you can attend the ceremonial Changing of the Guard by the Royal 22e Régiment in their scarlet tunics.  http://lacitadelle.qc.ca/en/.  

You might find a walk along the Promenade des Gouverneurs interesting.  It's a wooden boardwalk just below the ramparts of the Citadel that starts at the western end of the Dufferin Terrace and continues to the historic Plains of Abraham. I would caution that it includes 310 steps, and nearly all are up if you are starting from the Dufferin Terrace end, but there are some spectacular views of the river below along the way.

There are many other historical and cultural things to see, but it depends where your interests lie.  You could certainly spend a good amount of time wander through the upper and lower towns poking you nose in here and there.

I wouldn't bother with a car.  You certainly don't need it in the city and it will be a hindrance within the walls of the old city. Overnight parking would also be a problem if your hotel does not provide parking, whether free or not.  You can get to Montmorency Falls from the centre of the city by public transit, or a guided tour if you prefer. I'm not sure what you mean by NP.

For a 10:25 flight to Toronto, so long as you are at the airport by 9:25, you should be fine. It's also helpful that you will be travelling on a Sunday morning when traffic in the city should be very light.  I wouldn't worry about it.

18 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Day 11 - Disembarkation Day. We are welcome to relax on the ship or walk around town until our transfer arrives at 11:30. As you probably got the idea we had a fabulous time. 

 

I realized I forgot to mention about purchasing cork or port to take home for souvenirs. I’ll tell you what Pilar told us. You get what you pay for. The cheap cork from sidewalk vendors is made in China and will fall apart and crumble soon after you get home. While driving look out for the trees that are being harvested for cork. Your guide most likely will point it out. 

 

Port— the very cheap stuff is made for cooking. When you taste a port and you like it buy it. Of course the older the port is the more expensive. But remember once the bottle is opened an exposed to the air you must drink up immediately. I also ordered a Port and Tonic as my drink of choice while on the ship. White port with tonic water. Very refreshing and of course something unique to Portugal. 

 

Uniworld — I didn’t go into specific details. We enjoyed our vacation very much. The wonderful Portuguese crew was a big factor. Was there room for improvement, of course, but nothing worth publishing. 

 

My advice whether you are planning a Duoro River Cruise or on other River is to remember “the devil is in the details”. Compare each detail of the itinerary very closely. 

 

Happy Travels!!

Just another note on port. It’s true that you should drink vintage port within a day or two of opening as otherwise the oxidation will ruin it. However other ports such as ruby, tawny, white and late-bottled vintage can be kept for up to a month or two after opening without very much deterioration. This is why they come with re-useable corks. 

Got2Cruise, thanks so much for your wonderful trip report. It brings back many fond memories of my Douro Cruise with Uniworld 7 years ago. I remember many of the same excursions which you have described. I returned to the Douro last summer for another cruise with Emerald and enjoyed it just as much, although I think that Uniworld had an edge on its excursions and Emerald was not quite so generous with its Port. But then on Emerald we learned how to make the delicious Pasteis de Nata! 

21 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Tonight at dinner, Ana the restaurant manager, and Esteves the head bartender, demonstrated the centuries old tradition of the ceremonial opening of vintage port. Of course all the guests were able to partake in drinking. The method involves first heating the cork, then pouring ice water over it. The cork then is removed easily. The sediment of the port then has to be strained. Then poured into a decanter to rest. (Look up the exact specifics because I know this is a simplified explanation from my memory lol) 

It’s not the cork that is heated but the neck of the bottle. The whole object in doing this is to prevent the cork, which may have been in the bottle for many years, from crumbling. When I was on my Uniworld Douro cruise the demo was in the afternoon. Special tongs are heated up and then clamped around the neck of the bottle while the bottle is slowly turned. Then cold water is poured on the neck and it breaks off cleanly cork and all. After the maître d’ and sommelier demonstrated the technique they asked for a volunteer.  I leapt to my feet and got to hold the red hot tongs while a second bottle was uncorked. I received a glass of vintage port for my efforts, but little did I know that dinner that night would feature vintage port for all. I recall that I had several glasses then as some of my table mates had no love for port at all.  This technique is only used for vintage port which is bottled soon after fermentation and aged in the bottle. Other ports, such as ruby, are either drunk young, or are aged in casks and bottled before sale, such as tawny and late-bottled vintage ports. These all come with reusable corks. 

 Uniworld was very generous with its ports, with a different one served each night following dinner. Thanks for the memory!

Yes, JK Rowling lived in Porto for a few years, and was a faithful customer of the Livrario Lello. You can visit this beautiful bookstore with its intricate double spiral staircase, but most times it a bit of a zoo with all the visitors. They now charge a fee, which can be applied to any book purchase, but I suspect that most of the visitors don't buy anything.

BTW, my first Douro cruise was with Uniworld back in 2012 and I remember Pilar Garrido in Lisbon as the Uniworld rep--she was indeed an excellent and enthusiastic guide.  

9 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Ok so the waiter- he told he was still drunk because he celebrated a birthday with friends the night before 😳. He also forgot to bring soup to someone in our group then got upset when we asked him to remove it from our tab. He said he’d rather just bring the soup. We told him that we had to leave. He then started complaining about other wait staff who were supposed to bring the soup and said he’d have to pay for it. We wound up leaving him a large tip which more than covered for it. Just an odd experience.

 

The bakery was in town. You will walk right by it! So yummy! 

Interesting indeed!  He was not, thankfully, representative of restaurant service in Germany, at least as I have experienced it over the years.

15 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We had a great day shopping and did a ton of walking! Pretty town! Had lunch with our new friends from Australia. Super fun group! Our waiter was... interesting🤣 We’ve decided that German customer service is quite different from the US. 

 

 

Can you elucidate on how your waiter was “interesting” and how German customer service differs from that in the US?

9 hours ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

OK, I had to Google "Poutine", LOL!  Sounds like a heart attack on a plate.😂

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

 

Recipe:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/poutine-recipe-1973715

You’re absolutely right. Poutine is junk food pure and simple, perhaps best enjoyed in the wee hours of the morning after a night of carousing. An exception might be the poutine au foie gras at Martin Picard’s Au Pied du Cochon in Montréal, but I still wouldn’t order it.

I wouldn’t worry about what to wear. These concerts are tourist events and the seating is likely to be uncomfortable and the room overheated. If you wear what you would wear for dinner aboard ship you will be fine. 

As Maryann NS says, Peggy’s Cove can be beautiful without the hordes of visitors that are usually all over the place. Fat chance of that happening when there is a ship in port or even any time in tourist season. I’d stick to Halifax which has so many interesting things to see and do. 

It certainly was AC's fault.  Much the same happened to me as my seat near the front was exchanged for one almost at the rear of the aircraft.  As I had booked the flight on points through Aeroplan, a quick phone call to Aeroplan rectified the situation.  But what happened to you is unacceptable.