Really Bad News...Montreal

[solocanadian]

Peter: Sorry to read about your surgeries. Sure hope they did the trick. When all this student rioting started in Montreal, I wondered why you weren't commenting on CC. Glad you are home & recovering.

[COLLEYBERRY]

 

 

We have several friends who live in Montreal....they have assured us it is indeed media hype.....and from first hand accounts by our own CCers who are actually enjoying Montreal as we debate this issue....I feel quite confident the cruise ships will be sailing into Montreal this summer.

[laurette1]

We live in this wonderful,vibrant city,we marched with over 100,000

 

people on may 22nd,all of us endorsing the students' demands for an education

 

that will not result in unmanageable debt levels.The march brought together

 

elders,young families and students.It was awesome,joyous and peaceful like

 

most of the students' protest marches...and yes,a few hotheads will always

 

get all the media attention..unfortunately.Be reassured,Montréal is one of

 

the safest cities in the world...and it's"joie de vivre" very contagious!!

[Jo-Bob]

Well....I'm on my way to Vancouver tomorrow. Can't wait:) But....I'm so nervous. What if a Stanley Cup riot should break out? Maybe it's still going on:eek::eek:

 

Those riots are STILL on the news....almost daily.....it must surely be unsafe for me to travel as a tourist for the next few days! And I'm going to be at BC Place on saturday night! That's basically across the road from GM Place...home of the Canucks!! It could erupt at any second!

 

Sorry for the sarcasm. Montreal is A-ok. Really. Make sure you keep your head on straight and you'll be just fine. It's a wonderful place.

 

(and I am sooooooo going to enjoy Roger Waters...not sure I'd even notice a riot:))

[Sunshine91]

Hmmmm............

 

Just a few thoughts - Granted, I haven't researched a bit about what's happening in Montreal. All I know is what I've read here on this thread. But every Canadian here has indicated that the activities are occurring in the evenings. Doesn't Maasdam usually depart her port cities before 6pm or so? And if Montreal is a terminus city at the beginning/ending of a week-long cruise, Maasdam is only going to visit once every 14 days. So this whole thing could be resolved by the ship's next visit. Or not. Anyone who's going to the city should keep tabs on the situation, visit the US State department website, & don't be stupid when travelling, especially at night.

 

John & I were in London in March 2003 when the war in Afghanistan broke out. There were huge protests in the city, mostly in Parliament Square. To prevent damage, all the statues were boxed up. It was actually very interesting to see how another country reacted. Especially fascinating was the difference in the media coverage. The BBC simply reported what was happening. And then they showed the wild, out-of-control American media orgasm of coverage. "Over-egging the pudding" they called it. A spot-on phrase.

[santa fe]

i took part in a protest march 2 days ago, i am not a student and i am 65 years old, these protest are now become a social issue more than the original issue on the tution fee for university (proposed increase of 87% over 7 years).

 

This is not a civil war in Montreal and the march is not spread all over the city...the tourist are not the target and could avoid the places were it is held very easily.

[nimiq]

Hello all,

 

I also live in Montreal and this is not at all like some have said. Yes the students are protesting but come on this is not a war zone. This is getting out of proportion. Actually why would Hal not come to Montreal when most cruise line home port are more dangerous than Montreal on a riot night.

 

For sure its never fun to see people out in the streets shouting and making noise but all will be back to normal soon.

 

sea ya

Eric

 

Hal Westerdam March2012

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Caribbean Princess Nov2007

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NCL SUN Nov2004

Visit of QM2 Oct2004

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Golden Princess Apr2003

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NCL SKY Nov2000

[COLLEYBERRY]

[quote name=laurette1;Be reassured' date='Montréal is one of

 

the safest cities in the world...and it's"joie de vivre" very contagious!![/quote]

 

 

 

I can certainly attest to that....both our children attended university in Montreal(one at McGill and the other Concordia )

 

We have spent hours exploring this lovely city as a family. Old Montreal is like visiting Europe without the transatlantic flight.:)

 

The "joie de vivre " is very contagious in Montreal.Not to mention the women dress beautifully;) The music ,the food, ..it is a multi cultural city that has much to offer.

 

Brava to you Laurette.....people protesting should warm our hearts folks, not frighten us.....many people sacrificed much to allow us this right

[sail7seas]

We're are the marches occuring?

 

Are they up in the area of Le Baie?

[COLLEYBERRY]

We're are the marches occuring?

 

Are they up in the area of Le Baie?

 

No.. they are in the city of Montreal.....Le Baie is miles from

there.

[sail7seas]

McdGill (and other schools) have so many locations throughout Montreal, I could not pinpoint where the marches are.

[wilsonqbc]

Hardly anyone from Mcgill is prostesting anything !!

there is a little parade every night in the St Denis street, Berrie Metro area,

Nothing to get too worried about, only injured people are idiots who tease the police, bit of pepper spay in the face, or a club on the head, have been normally very peacefull but a few nights some of the hard lined idiot trouble makers broke some windows, and torched a police car about a week ago. and threw rocks at the police!!:( A lot of them have been arrested anyways.

Not the best situation ok, but far from the dangerous place and do not go there warning.

Its not all over the place, and would not effect anyones travel plans or safety! maybe a delay if your driving and ended up in the area.

In Quebec city had a few sit ins, and marchs of a few hundred people.

there was one big one one day but thats about it.

The Media is blowing it out of porportion like usual.

Now people are peacfully marching drumming on Pots and Pans?? lol, Weird!!

 

Glad you are felling Better Math Guy, yes ok its a bit troublesome reading this in the papers or seeing news footage, but I have been to montreal several times during this and it has not effected me, except a delay on the Bridge one day, as they were protesting in that area, which is near the Park they always gather at "Emilie Gamelin" near Place de Arts.

[iancal]

Vancouver had a shameful hockey riot last year. Is that a reason to boycott Alaska cruises from Vancouver????

[Sea42]

Vancouver had a shameful hockey riot last year. Is that a reason to boycott Alaska cruises from Vancouver????

I probably would avoid most cities on the day their teams are playing for the championship in any pro sports. Except Green Bay, of course :D

[wilsonqbc]

Now its gotten to the point of Protesting the New Law, Bill 78,

Protesting for the Right to Protest, and more older and younger are joining in

[room010]

If you want objective, balanced, factual, non-hysterical news ddon't rely on US media reports :rolleyes:

[jkrislc]

While I don't want to minimize what is happening, but I'm currently in Montreal precruise and will be boarding the Maasdam tomorrow. The only evidence I've seen of the protests was in the free newspaper left at the door to my hotel room. We took the Metro, busses, went to several markets and parks, and even walked several kilometers throughout the city and didn't see any signs of the protest and I wasn't purposely trying to avoid it as I wasn't even sure where it was centered. My only slight concern was on the Metro because of past actions I had read about (smoke bombs) but even those dozen or so trips were uneventful.

[COLLEYBERRY]

Now its gotten to the point of Protesting the New Law, Bill 78,

Protesting for the Right to Protest, and more older and younger are joining in

 

 

"All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

 

Canada is not known for doing "nothing" Proud of my nation and proud of the people of Montreal.!!!

 

I am quite sure a populace trying to have their voices heard....will not interfere with anyones cruise plans...but if it should... well ... tough.:)

[Winters in NZ]

:eek:

NOT SO!. The student strife in Montreal has been on the nightly TV national news. It's no joke. Even with new legislation these students are behaving like anarchists. They are just thumbing their noses at authority. I would not care to go out in down town Montreal in the evening during all this nonsense. It's a crying shame what is going on there right now. I used to love visiting Montreal when I lived in Ottawa.

Once again. the problems in Montreal are NOT MEDIA HYPE.

 

I appreciate solocanadian's post which encapsulates my own views.

 

I still fear this long summer which eventually is going to become in Montreal, a hinderance to tourism in Montreal, or how it wil eventually prevent boarding of the Maasdam in this once great port.

 

I don't have a crystal ball, perhaps any future problems in Montreal might be avoided. I really don't know, nor do I quite frankly care any more. I will spend my time in Vancouver, and in Boston cheering on the Sox or I will be attending other venues in the USA, which these days are quite frankly more tourist-friendly and provide lack of worry for me.

 

My plans for Montreal, although only a 2 drive away no longer exists for me.

 

Today, I read the CTV.ca Montreal site.

 

A Montreal mother-of-four, Sandra Suissa Moghrabi has launched a Facebook site " Montrealers-time to take back our city."

 

"It is about people like me who want to be able to take their children, park downtown, and walk without fear that the streets will be blocked with fear that Molotov cocktails, that smoke bombs will be thrown without fear that bombs will be lit. It's for people like me."

 

That's all I will say on this topic. I'm just too tired to worry about this any more.

 

Good luck if you do come to Montreal, and if you run into problems to get onto the superb Maasdam, I hope it works out for you.

 

Cheer to all. Peter

[Himself]

Vancouver had a shameful hockey riot last year. Is that a reason to boycott Alaska cruises from Vancouver????

 

It would not stop me. I have been even known to wear a Black Hawk Jacket in Vancouver and those BlackHawk games with the Cannucks can be rough.

[COLLEYBERRY]

 

 

Hoping you are feeling better soon Peter ... you certainly have faced great challenges ...wishing you restorative rest and look forward to more posts in the future.:)

 

Best regards Colleen

[Himself]

I appreciate solocanadian's post which encapsulates my own views.

 

I still fear this long summer which eventually is going to become in Montreal, a hinderance to tourism in Montreal, or how it wil eventually prevent boarding of the Maasdam in this once great port.

 

I don't have a crystal ball, perhaps any future problems in Montreal might be avoided. I really don't know, nor do I quite frankly care any more. I will spend my time in Vancouver, and in Boston cheering on the Sox or I will be attending other venues in the USA, which these days are quite frankly more tourist-friendly and provide lack of worry for me.

 

My plans for Montreal, although only a 2 drive away no longer exists for me.

 

Today, I read the CTV.ca Montreal site.

 

A Montreal mother-of-four, Sandra Suissa Moghrabi has launched a Facebook site " Montrealers-time to take back our city."

 

"It is about people like me who want to be able to take their children, park downtown, and walk without fear that the streets will be blocked with fear that Molotov cocktails, that smoke bombs will be thrown without fear that bombs will be lit. It's for people like me."

 

That's all I will say on this topic. I'm just too tired to worry about this any more.

 

Good luck if you do come to Montreal, and if you run into problems to get onto the superb Maasdam, I hope it works out for you.

 

Cheer to all. Peter

 

Peter:

 

Thank you for sharing. I have not been in Montreal since 1976. The press in this part of the United States has not found the situation in Montreal to be "news worthy" I am sorry to say.

[iancal]

I suspect that jkrislc's comment above about his on the ground experience in Montreal is just a tad more accurate and representative of the situation than that of someone sitting in Ottawa reading the news reports.

 

Alarming cruisers in this was is a dis service.

 

Let's just hope that the MUC police force is more professional and more law abiding than their colleagues in Metro Toronto.

[Typhoon1]

If you have first hand knowledge of the situation consider it credible

 

If not, consider it over blown.

[Cruiser Craig]

These reports are greatly exaggerated, although I suppose things could change. I live in Montréal and so far I haven't ever been even slightly inconvenienced by these protests. In the last several months, however, I was almost pickpocketed in Athens by a team of three, one of whom was distracting me, I was overcharged in Turkey, followed and accosted by a shady individual in Santiago, avoided a major demonstration in Mexico City (where you can find panic buttons to attract the police in the Zocalo), saw someone get mugged on the quai as my subway departed a station in Paris, and was approached by petty drug dealers and prostitutes in the des Paquis quarter of Geneva. Montréal, in comparison, is pretty tame.