Faircliff

There is a luggage consignment service at the cruise terminal for disembarking passengers. Cost: 4 CAD per bag. Opened until 05:00 PM.

 

More info. here:

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

 

For tours, I have used Viator not in Montréal but elsewhere. They are affiliated with Trip Advisor and therefore Cruise Critic so I guess it is ok to put the link here:

https://www.viator.com/Montreal-tours/Shore-Excursions/d625-g24?page=1&activities=all&sortBy=PRICE_FROM

We used this luggage service when we arrived back in early Sept 2017. Just ask any worker to direct you. It was a small room off the main area. Very nice Security guard there. (It's not the same place you leave luggage for boarding). We were given a stub to reclaim it. There was NO charge! Didn't really understand that but it was great. we went off for about 5 hours. Saw the great museum right across the street and shops further along the waterfront.

(y) That's great! But I meant the trolley in Boston! :confused:

OH.. Yes. Provided I had more time in Boston the second time around.

Thank you for the heads up! Would you do it again? Hope you had a great cruise!

Oh yes, I would do it again. We had great fun and saw a part of Canada we had not seen before. :)

We're doing the 7 day from Boston to Montreal next summer on the Maasdam. Which ports can be done on your own? Are there any attractions that really should not be missed?

There really so many things that should not be missed, which is why we opted for the 14 day cruise so that we would see things twice. I guess it depends on your interests and tastes.

Having said that, a lot more of the ports are doable on your own than in other parts of the world. We particularly liked the excursions through the cruise ship because they guarantee you will be back to the ship on time. Also, due to high winds we missed Sydney on the way down – I understand it sometimes happens – and the excursion was immediately refunded to our account.

Old Town Quebec is very walkable from the ship; literally across the street. Charlottetown too is right there, although a lot of people head out to the Anne of Green Gables attractions. We loved both the Anne & Gilbert play and the horse trolley. Be sure to walk into the main part of town, don't just stay by the Harbor.

Sydney is a place you really need an excursion; there is almost no town to speak of but really neat things in the countryside.

Halifax itself is probably walkable if you are fit. We really Enjoyed the Canadian Museum of Immigration (Canada's Ellis Island) which is literally neat door to the cruise terminal. And of course you'd need an excursion or car for Peggy's Cove.

In Bar Harbor the ship's tenders let you right off at the bottom of the main street. Lots of touristy shopping but Acadia National Park is with seeing and you'd probably need some sort of tour with the limited time on shore.

I love Masada, but she really does have plumbing issues that are not the result of putting the wrong items in the toilets. On our last Maasdam cruise several years ago, we saw many leaks from pipes overhead.

 

We did the New England cruise back and forth from Boston and loved the itinerary and especially the delicious lobster in every port.

They did seem to be vacuuming the carpets outside the staterooms a lot so perhaps there were leaks....

I very much enjoyed reading your review, thank you for posting it here. In a couple of weeks I will be doing the Hal excursion Anne & Gilbert and I am sure that I will enjoy it. I do however have one concern. I am 76 and have COPD therefore I can not walk fast. Does the Guide allow plenty of time for old people to walk, are there any rest stops or should I plan to take a bus or taxi?

Our guide walked VERY fast. There was one person who could not keep up and she ended up calling a cab both ways.

We talked to someone who said they booked the play directly with the theatre and took a cab each way. It cost less than the ship's excursion.

This is what we were thinking of doing. Just staying on the trolley the whole route, then doing the harbor cruise after. Is it interesting enough to stay on and not get off and explore? We have no real desire to do any shopping or eating. Also, if you DO get off, explore, then you just go back to where you got off to wait for another trolley so you can hop on again??

We found it interesting enough to stay on the bus and not get off at different stops. Getting on and off would be fine provided you have a lot of time in town. We were getting back on the ship that day at 4 pm to return to Montreal, so we had limited time. Yes, if you get off you just reboard the trolley at the same stop, or walk to another stop on the route. However, when you get off at various stops, sometimes there is a large crowd getting back on and you may have to wait for more than one trolley. Factor this in to your time. Start as early in the day as you can-less crowds.

Also, remember that the trolley from the ship connects to the main route and you will have to transfer to another bus. Be sure to leave yourself time to get the other trolley back to the ship in time IF you are reboarding as we did.

Actually, I wasn't impressed with the Harbor portion and it takes a lot of time waiting to get on, and for the cruise itself.

Tour 'guides' as you have described make themselves look utterly foolish...they should be reported after exhibiting such hostility. But, c'est la vie.

 

Having been on this ship on 5 previous Canada/New England cruises, I found your report to be quite thorough and informative. Great job !

Thanks. I wouldn't say the tour guide was hostile. It was more a "poor us" attitude aiming for sympathy... I think. Or, perhaps she truly believes they are put upon, having heard it for centuries. When other provinces see the extra money they receive from the Federal Government (often lead by French Canadian Prime Ministers) THEY are the ones who should feel inferior.

Thank you for posting your review.

Did you notice if Maasdam still has a book exchange cupboard in the Library?

Yes, it does. Also a good selection of books to borrow.

Did you hear of any plumbing problems on board the Maasdam during your cruise?

There did seem to be the odd plumbing problem which was brought to our attention by a notice in the daily printout. I think most, if not all, were caused by people putting things other than the official toilet paper down the toilets. And, continuing to pump flusher when it didn't work. this overloads the pressure in the system. Our toilet wouldn't flush one day but we mentioned it and it was fixed before we even return to the room. Given that all these rooms have people in them 24/7 365 days a year, I am amazed that they are in as good of shape as they are.

Welcome Home!!

I just would appreciate if you would do a review of what you thought of the ship, where all you ate, what you did in the various ports.

I did write a review but for some reason it wouldn't load. Here it is (just ask about anything I don't mention)

We had heard that the Maasdam was an older ship and this had its pros and cons. We really appreciated the smaller size which is getting harder to find nowadays, although admittedly it does not have the glitz that many cruisers want. For us, between 50-65 years old, it was just fine. Our main concern was the itinerary and going round trip from Montreal. Most of the larger ships cannot go further than Quebec down the St. Lawrence.

We boarded about 1 pm and I was surprised at how few people were there. No crush and we were on the ship very promptly. We immediately went to the main dining room for lunch, even though the staff won't tell you it is open.

One of the older, and smaller ships, the Maasdam still was serviceable and we never noticed anything that was dirty. We had trouble flushing the toilet one day but that was fixed before we got back to our room. The staff everywhere were very friendly and always had a "Good Morning".

Glad to see the Maasdam and HAL were respectful of the endangered whales and slowed the ship to 10 knots through those restricted areas. This made for excellent whale and dolphin viewing and was so restful it was one of our favourite parts of the cruise. It meant leaving one or two ports a hour earlier, but was well worth it.

The shops onboard were pitiful, as was the selection of things to buy. Unless one was looking for diamonds, I guess. I was looking for great HAL t-shirts to remind me of this cruise but the ones they had were only for the ship, not our itinerary. They did have some "local" t-shirt options on one of the blowout sales events but all the t-shirts were size S or M. I don't think anyone on our cruise would have fit those, especially if they were eating the food provided. We had OBC to spend and didn't want drinks so it made it difficult.

We mostly ate in the main dining room. We were on a waitlist for, but managed to get, early traditional dining upon boarding. The wait staff were great and the food, on the whole, was very good. We did not go to specialty dining options: Canaletto's (the Italian speciality restaurant) was a joke. To me, food and atmosphere are the most important in speciality dining. Canaletto's is a segregated section inside the Lido cafeteria. Other than the $15 charge you would think you were still eating in with the noisy masses. You could be at a table and just over the railing behind you could be the Lido. It really should be its own room. We went to 3 of our 4 Gala/Formal nights but really didn't dress up too fancy.

Breakfast we had in the Lido (loved the mini croissants) and one or two lunches. Really liked the omelette and pasta bars where they made-to-order. For the first time we had burgers and fries out by the pool. The vegetarian Portobello mushroom burger was to die for! And, their fries were probably the best I've ever had. We returned to the ship for lunch a few times just to indulge in these. Interestingly, I talked to a couple of people eating in the Lido cafeteria who weren't award that they were allowed to go to the main dining room for free. And, they thought they had to dress fancy every night.

Not only did we find it hard to get a decent seat in the show theatre, unless one got there an hour before, but there always seemed to be heads in front of us making it difficult to see. I don't think the showroom is laid out all that well. The entertainment in the main theatre was hit and miss. There didn't seem to be as many shows as I've seen on other cruise lines, and I would give what they did have about a 6/10.

We listened occasionally to very good music in the three bars.

We did enjoy the Microsoft sponsored classes they had on board. Since we couldn't dock in Sydney on our way down due to high winds, we had an extra sea day. These classes were informative and helpful.

We purchased the 7 day option for the hot stone benches and thermal pool. While they were nice I don't think it's worth the money. $249 per couple. Most days after we returned from a port intensive day and had a filling dinner, we were too tired to make the effort to go. While the thermal pool was interesting, I would have preferred a Jacuzzi for the sore muscles.

One beef we had was that many of the interesting activity options were scheduled right at the time of the early dining seating. We missed a number of things we would have liked to go to because they were scheduled at dinner time and not repeated.

We mostly did HAL shore excursions and liked all the ones we did, though most were overviews of the areas. As Canadians from provinces other than Quebec, we were a little bummed out when our tour guide in Quebec for the UNESCO sites tour, thought she had a busload of Americans and proceeded to complain that French Canadians were still considered second class citizens. Not true. Talk about a huge chip on her shoulder! Otherwise, she was very knowledgeable.

In Charlottetown we had a wonderful walking tour guide who dropped us off at the play "Anne & Gilbert" which was fantastic - and then guided us back to the ship with more history. Loved Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadian National Park. In Boston we did a local (non-ship) Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus that stops about a block from the cruise terminal.

Most ports had Wi-Fi areas right at the pier, along with shops, which was very convenient for both passengers and crew. Also, pretty well all of the ports and cities we visited were very clean.

We found the idea of doing the 14 day cruise very convenient. There was the chance to see each port twice and do different things each time. But, we sure were tired after 14 days of mostly hot weather and glad to be heading home.

Upon returning to Montreal, disembarkation was handled smoothly and we left our suitcases at the port. We'd been told there was a charge for this but we found there was no cost. We walked along the waterfront and visited the excellent museum across the street from the pier and then (later) headed to our evening flight.

BTW... We had an inside cabin on deck 5 and it was great. I've had balcony cabins and outside cabins before but I find that I sleep so much better in a quiet, darker inside cabin. It was very roomy with two double beds's twin beds and a couch area. No claustrophobia at all The bathroom and shower were clean and in fact better than some hotels I've been in.

Totally agree. I believe the number was 515 until all the whales died. That would bring it to 500 or less.

 

So glad that steps have been taken.

 

Why have they moved? We don't know. Climate change? Food change?

 

Just the same these lovely mammals deserve to be protected.

The general consensus and what we heard from locals in the ports was that due to climate change, the waters around Gaspe are now warmer so many of the fish have moved north, causing the whales to chase them for food. Normally, I believe, these whales are around the Bay of Fundy.

One of our tour guides said that she used to surf near Cape Breton but there have now been sightings of great white sharks in that area as well - also having moved north due to the warmer oceans and fish migration. She is staying well clear of those waters this summer.

It seems as though the government means business.

 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-gulf-of-st-lawrence-vessel-fined-1.4281022

Good for them! I believe there are less than 500 of these Right whales alive and it would be a disaster for them to become extinct for the sake of the almighty dollar.

Thank you so much for your answer! That's just what I needed to know. Based on that information, I went ahead and bought a ticket for the Trolley. One more question-- how do I let them know that I am going to be there? Their website is a little confusing -- it says that they stop where the cruise ships dock on the regular route, but only on days when there are ships in port. So I assumed they'd stop there on the day our ship (a large one) is there.

We thought they'd stop too but the people before us had been waiting awhile. If there isn't an email link through their website, you might try giving them a phone call just to give them a heads up. It could save you time and grief. Enjoy your cruise and the trolley.

I hope if there is an impact on your trip it is only a small one. And, I am pleased to see that you are understanding about the situation. Perhaps you can let us know how it goes and how HAL is handling it.

Having now done the cruise I must say HAL handled it very well. We left early from Quebec, but only by one hour which was no big deal The ship went 10 knots through the restricted area and it made for a wonderful, relaxed cruise with plenty of whale and dolphin watching.

Do you remember what any of the choi es were?

 

Thanks :)

Yes, beef short ribs, which they said was a casserole but wasn't and really was far too much meat at lunch. There was halibut one time but hake another; both white fish. The vegetarian option was some sort of goat cheese tart. A scallop and artichoke soup appetizer or a meat tartar salad thing. The dessert both times we did it on our 14 days cruise was a lemon pie with blueberries and maple. Very nice. Oh, and sparkling wine included. Plus, everyone got a ceramic tile of the Maasdam. The staff did have to clean the entire room for the lunch crowd that was very soon arriving so one really couldn't linger a long time.

I'm just back from the 14-day Canada/New England round-trip from Montreal on the Maasdam. While it is fresh in my mind, does anyone have a question? I know the ship has now headed south - I wish them luck!! - so your questions/answers might pertain to next season.

We have bought Old Town Trolley tickets. Their website says they stop at the cruise ship pier whenever there is a ship in port.

Yes, they say that, but when we got to the stop other people there said they had been waiting and finally phoned the office. It seems they don't always stop there when a ship is in, so you would be advised to let them know the date/time you will be there.

The stop is about a block from where you get off the ship. Leave the terminal and turn left. Walk about a block to where you see a white tent (the kind people have at BBQs). They will take you to the office/stop #1 and you'll transfer onto the main route. You'll return the same way.

Despite warnings, there were only 4 people at our stop so we had not trouble getting on. There are more people at stop #1 but they have more buses and things move quickly. Just aim to do it as early as you can; later in the day it's a big of a zoo.

My cruise ship is in Boston from 11AM to 8PM on a weekday. It looks like the trolley only runs until 5PM. I've been to Boston before, but it's probably been 20+ years, so I think it would be a good way to get reacquainted. I'm just concerned that it might be a bit of a time crush. And if I wanted to stay in Boston after 5PM, I guess I'd have to Uber/Lyft/taxi back to the ship.

 

Also, I'm wondering what it's like trying to get on the trolley at the pier if there are hundreds of people disembarking at the same time. I was going to buy direct from OTT (it's cheaper and there's a senior discount) but if the cruise ship(s) have monopolized the trolleys -- I guess I'm not sure how that works. They have designated departure times, so maybe they reserve a certain number of seats? I had a bad experience with the HOHO bus in Barcelona -- the lines to get back on were so bad I only got off one time.

 

Can anyone share their experience with OTT in Boston and offer some advice?

We are just back from the Canada/New England cruise and we booked the HOP-ON-HOP-OFF OTT online. The stop is just about a block from where you get off the ship, BUT you should let them know you are going to be there (time and date) as the trolley does not always stop there - it's a sub route. Having said that, it was perfect for us. We got on and did the full route (not getting off) which I think was about 2 hours. We then had a free Harbor Cruise included in our tickets. That was ok (so-so). Then, we got on the sub-route back to the ship (which you get at stop #1) and he even dropped us at the door.

The trolley trip offered by the cruise lines is often a tour which is not HOP-ON etc. It cost more so we went right to the source on the internet to book. There were not hundreds of people getting on this option. I think there were 4 of us from our ship.

Anyone have copy of recent Mariners Champagne brunch menu for Canada/New England?

 

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We are just back from the 14 day Canada/New England cruise and the menu for the Mariners brunch was different in both directions. I think it is pretty much at the whim of the head Chef. Three choices if I remember correctly.

Does anyone who has sailed on the Maasdam this summer to Canada know what day the Mariner's lunch is? I suspect it will be on the only sea day on the trip. If that is the case, that may conflict with plans for a nice lunch at the Pinnacle Grill.

Yes, it is on the Sea Day and it's rather nice to sleep in a bit, skip breakfast, and then enjoy the Mariner's brunch at 11:30 am. We found it a great chance to meet a wide variety of other passengers.

Just back from a Canada/New England 14 day cruise on the Maasdam and while we were looking forward to the Chocolate Parade, I can't say it was a big event for us after all. Kudos to HAL for implementing it, BUT do we all really need MORE chocolate (or food) on a cruise. We were so well fed... and overfed with wonderful desserts and free anytime nibbles in the Exploration Café... that we really didn't need the chocolate concoctions, especially that late at night.

The only real negative I noted with the event was our fellow passengers. As soon as the crew members came out with the sweets, hundreds of passengers (I think everyone on the cruise was waiting on deck 6) descended on them like hungry seagulls. There was jockeying for position and I'm sure many a crew member feared for their lives. It was a sad example of Western World greed.

Having said that, the goodies were tasty (even the cupcakes) and the "entertainment" of the event the HAL provided was fun.

I didn't attend on the second event, but rather was content with being overstuffed by dinner.

I'm sailing today from Boston up to Canada on HAL, assume this will have impact on my cruise. I have no issue with it though.

 

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I hope if there is an impact on your trip it is only a small one. And, I am pleased to see that you are understanding about the situation. Perhaps you can let us know how it goes and how HAL is handling it.

YAY :) I saw that too. about time.

 

the fisherman were ordered to cease fishing earlier in the season because of lines caught and seen in the whales so it is not for lack of trying.

 

No one knows why these whales have moved to here, but they are endangered and need to be protected. We have already lost nearly 10 percent of the species this year alone.

 

there are not many of them. It would be nice if we could find a way to get them back to where they belong near the Bay of Fundy where it is safer, but I am so glad that action has been taken.

I wonder if their changing location has to do with water temperature and climate change? Or it could be that the fish have migrated further north. Whatever it is, you are correct and they must be protected. :)

This must a change in the current rules. Currently all ships traveling up the river from a certain point are speed restricted/\.

It is a change as of today. Further speed restrictions are to be enforced. Looks like HAL understands the need.