Nieuw Statendam arrival & overnight in Quebec City — can we leave the ship very early to get to the airport?

[Machta]

Good day, all.  We’re booked on a cruise this fall on the NS from Boston to Quebec City.  I’m booking flights.  Since the ship overnights in Quebec City the last night of the cruise, can we disembark very early the next morning to go to the airport?  There is an inexpensive and relatively quick pair of flights back to Denver that leave at 5am (!).  I figure we’d have to leave the ship no later than 3am, which is a totally bizarre thing to do, but . . . Thoughts?

 

[Shmoo here]

8 minutes ago, Machta said:

... I figure we’d have to leave the ship no later than 3am, which is a totally bizarre thing to do, but . . . Thoughts?

 

Ugh, what a way to end a vacation getting up in the middle of the night to catch a plane.

Edited May 15, 2022 by Shmoo here

[CruiserBruce]

Yes...once the ship is docked and any Immigration procedures cleared, you can leave. If you can go ashore to tour, you can go ashore to depart. If you are debarking during non-normal debarkation hours, you will need to carry your own bags off.

[Machta]

1 hour ago, Shmoo here said:

Ugh, what a way to end a vacation getting up in the middle of the night to catch a plane.

Well, for us it’s preferable to waiting until the next day to leave, or taking three flights instead of two.  

[Florida_gal_50]

The airport is fairly far away, I’m thinking a 1/2 hour but it’s been a few years since I’ve done it so you’d probably have to leave earlier than 3.  There are not a ton of “good” flights timing wise out of Quebec City so I don’t blame the op.

[mfabz]

Leave the ship after dinner on the first day.  Stay at a hotel at the airport for the night.  Much easier!!

[happyglobetrotter]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The airport is fairly far away, I’m thinking a 1/2 hour but it’s been a few years since I’ve done it so you’d probably have to leave earlier than 3.  There are not a ton of “good” flights timing wise out of Quebec City so I don’t blame the op.

Don't leave too early, check to see what time they open the airport that morning. 90 minutes or less before leaving should be fine. The airport is never very busy.

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by happyglobetrotter

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, happyglobetrotter said:

Don't leave too early, check to see what time they open the airport that morning. 

True.  I would want to be there 2 hours ahead so hopefully they would be open then, but of course check.  I assume that you’d clear customs there as well so that takes additional time.

Edited May 15, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[lostatsea200]

I agree, leave the ship and find a hotel near the airport.  It has been several

years since I have been to Quebec City, so I am not certain if there are hotels

in that area.  Also look into booking a flight from Montreal.  I am sure that

Holland America  would have a shuttle to Montreal airport on the last day.

You will find lower flight costs and better times.  If you are like there are

trains and bus that go the airport in Montreal.  

 

 

[Fouremco]

Have you considered flying home from Montreal instead? There are mid-afternoon direct flights YUL-DEN for under $500 CAD, and a range of flights from Quebec City to Montreal that would allow you to depart the ship at a far more reasonable time. For example, as I don't know your actual date, I searched for a flight on August 5 and there's a 2:25 PM United flight (operated by Air Canada) for $417 CAD, arriving in Denver at 4:42 PM.

 

You could also take an uber to the Montreal airport. The drive is under three hours, and gives you more flexibility on departure time from the ship. If you target an 11:25 AM arrival at YUL for a 2:25 PM flight, you could leave the ship at 8:25 AM, a lot better than 3:00 AM. 

[Florida_gal_50]

26 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Have you considered flying home from Montreal instead? There are mid-afternoon direct flights YUL-DEN for under $500 CAD, and a range of flights from Quebec City to Montreal that would allow you to depart the ship at a far more reasonable time. For example, as I don't know your actual date, I searched for a flight on August 5 and there's a 2:25 PM United flight (operated by Air Canada) for $417 CAD, arriving in Denver at 4:42 PM.

 

You could also take an uber to the Montreal airport. The drive is under three hours, and gives you more flexibility on departure time from the ship. If you target an 11:25 AM arrival at YUL for a 2:25 PM flight, you could leave the ship at 8:25 AM, a lot better than 3:00 AM. 

Good information but none of these options are free or without hassle.  Frankly I’d rather get up early, I do it every weekday so it’s not the end of the world to lose a few hours of sleep compared to doing trains, planes and automobiles.

[Fouremco]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Good information but none of these options are free or without hassle.  Frankly I’d rather get up early, I do it every weekday so it’s not the end of the world to lose a few hours of sleep compared to doing trains, planes and automobiles.

Quite right, none of these options are free. On the other hand, I'm not aware of any option to get from Quebec City to Denver free. But they do offer an alternative to getting up at 2:00 AM or so, something that you may do but most passengers probably would try to avoid if possible.

[Florida_gal_50]

8 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Quite right, none of these options are free. On the other hand, I'm not aware of any option to get from Quebec City to Denver free. But they do offer an alternative to getting up at 2:00 AM or so, something that you may do but most passengers probably would try to avoid if possible.

I’m not saying it’s free to get from Quebec to Denver.  Is it free to get from Quebec to Montreal?  An Uber would be very expensive I would think.  I know that asking people that are retired to get up early one day can be a huge ask.  I didn’t see the op asking for alternatives.

Edited May 15, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[Fouremco]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I didn’t see the op asking for alternatives.

OP asked for our thoughts. My thoughts are that there are options that would allow them sleep in and disembark later in the morning.

[Machta]

Wow, this thread sort of took off.  I appreciate everyone's input.  I did book the very early flights but they are refundable and changeable, so I'll look in to some of the other options.  My husband has some really strange sleep patterns and won't mind getting up in the middle of the night.  I'd rather get to the airport and check our bags then get on a train or bus to Montreal.  I hadn't thought of getting a hotel at the airport, but I'll check that out.  Thanks for your thoughts (and yes, I absolutely did ask for thoughts!).

 

[chefchick]

Piggybacking off this (hope the OP doesn’t mind) as I am booked on this same itinerary in September.  Flying home to seattle, there are flights available from both Quebec City and Montreal airports but of course the later is much less expensive.  The “problem” is the train transfer.  There is one available at 8:10am at the gate du Palais station but how early would I have to disembark to make that train do you think?  Or, for those who have done this itinerary before, does HAL offer transfers that will take you to all the way to YUL or do they only transfer to Quebec City airport?

[*Miss G*]

37 minutes ago, chefchick said:

The “problem” is the train transfer.  There is one available at 8:10am at the gate du Palais station but how early would I have to disembark to make that train do you think?

 

The train station is literally right next to the cruise terminal… approximately 3 minutes by taxi or a 1km walk.

 

38 minutes ago, chefchick said:

does HAL offer transfers that will take you to all the way to YUL or do they only transfer to Quebec City airport?

 

Log into your booking, click on the last day of your itinerary, and you should see what transportation offers they have available.

[YXU AC*SE]

2 minutes ago, chefchick said:

  There is one available at 8:10am at the gate du Palais station but how early would I have to disembark to make that train do you think?  

 

From Quai 22 where the ship will be docked to VIA Rail - Québec Gare du Palais is an easy 15-minute walk.  If you were off by 07h00-ish (self-disembark) you could walk and basically board the train upon your arrival at the station.  It overnights there. 

 

The train will take you to Gare Dorval which is adjacent to YUL (there is a free shuttle that will take you to the airport proper. VIA arrives at Dorval at 12h26. Allow about 20 minutes for the shuttle transfer).  Scott. 

 

   

[bluesplayer]

On 5/15/2022 at 5:44 AM, Florida_gal_50 said:

The airport is fairly far away, I’m thinking a 1/2 hour but it’s been a few years since I’ve done it so you’d probably have to leave earlier than 3.  There are not a ton of “good” flights timing wise out of Quebec City so I don’t blame the op.

Yes the Quebec City airport is at least 1/2 hour from the port.