Marc, please add Pat and I as well as our friends Mike and Addy to the CANADA roster.
I also have a suggestion for those on this cruise who would like to see more of the spectacular Autumn foliage and scenery in the Hudson Valley and Adirondack regions of New York State in conjunction it: fly into New York City (which because of greater competition may be a good deal less expensive than flying into Montreal) and take Amtrak’s
Adirondack train from New York to Montreal. The Amtrak guide to this trip is available from:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer/Page/1241337978894/1237405732511 - then click on Adirondack Route Guide. While schedules and costs for October 2011 are not yet available, this October (as well as for many years past) the train leaves Penn Station in New York daily at 8:15 AM and arrives in Montreal’s
Gare Centrale (central train station) at 7:10 PM, and the per-person fare is $62.00, with discounts available, among others, for senior citizens (62+) and AAA members. This is a comfortable train with a bar and snack-type restaurant, but it’s not one of Amtrak’s new super-trains.
When flying into New York, you can actually take the train from Newark Airport into Penn Station, although unless you get a very early-arriving red-eye, you can’t fly in the day you take the train up to Montreal – it leaves too early – and hotels in New York are expensive – in the $300 and up range during the week at that time of year! Those who are willing to take a bit of a chance on their hotel can try the famous but not-so-well-rated Pennsylvania Hotel, just across 7th Avenue from Penn Station. It’s phone # is (or was, when telephone exchanges had names as well as numbers)
Pennsylvania 6-5000, made famous by the Glenn Miller song of that name. Read the reviews at Trip Advisor [go there and search for Pennsylvania+Hotel+NYC] and/or elsewhere before booking here though – clearly chancy even if it is wonderfully located. Obviously, there are other hotels near Penn Station, and plenty elsewhere in New York from which to choose. We’re from Albany, and will almost certainly fly there (Albany is a Southwest Airlines city so we’ll get there nonstop from Tampa) and visit family before catching the Adirondack train across the river at the Albany-Rensselaer station.
Leaving New York City, the train runs up the east bank of the Hudson River, so a seat on the left (port) side of the car is most desirable. An hour or so north of the City, the train runs right through the infamous Sing Sing Prison, cutting off the view of the river briefly. At Albany about 11:00 AM, the train crosses the river and (switch sides of the train you’re sitting on if possible) starting about noon at Saratoga Springs begins it’s run through the Adirondack region of New York State, which will continue as it comes out on the west shore of Lake Champlain between Ticonderoga and Port Henry just before 2 PM. Incidentally, the Adirondacks are a State park, the largest in the continental US and the largest park of any type east of the Mississippi. Another two hours or so along the Lake and north of it bring travelers to the Canadian border where a 1½-hour stop is scheduled to clear customs.
ADVISORY: Persons with US misdemeanor convictions, (for example, driving under the influence, reckless driving) can be denied entry to Canada because such offenses are felonies there! See
http://www.1800duilaws.com/article/travel_to_canada.asp (among others) for more complete and reliable information. The entire trip is in daylight, so you get to view the scenery the whole way.
In Montreal, the central train station is right under the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth Hotel, a well-rated full-service establishment that will cost $175-$250 this fall. Nearby (walking distance) are the Hilton Bonaventure, on top of the adjacent Place Bonaventure, a bit higher at around $200 and up, and the Marriott Chateau Champlain, a bit higher yet at around $210-220 and up, also a bit lower rated. We’ve found Marriott hotels like to extract the last possible dollar from guests, with for example refusals to accommodate guests (e.g., charging to hold luggage for a few hours), as well as with resort, Internet and phone fees, etc., and this is apparently beginning to be reflected in their ratings. We’ll stay at the Bonaventure as we have several times going back to the 1970s. We love its contemporary style and location, and the last time we stayed there (2006/7)
it’s coffee was among the best we’ve ever had, anywhere – if only Regent could learn from them! We’ll probably stay at least one extra day in Montreal – it’s a lovely city with an amazing old town and many great restaurants. But mainly, we’re really looking forward to sailing again with Ngaire, Ken as well as with 80+ of their friends and clients!
If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me: count_florida@hotmail.com. Disclaimer: not an agent;
no affiliation with Brown & Keene, except as a very superbly satisfied long-term client! I’ve also posted this suggestion in the main Regent area of LCT.
