Pre-Cruise in Quebec City
Tomorrow, we will embark on our 142nd cruise aboard Crystal Cruises’ recently re-introduced Crystal Serenity. As is our custom, whenever possible, we fly into the city of embarkation at least one day prior to embarkation. We do this as a precaution just in case there are airline delays or cancellations.
Today, we flew from DFW to Chicago aboard a 737-800 which departed at 7:00am. That meant we had to be at the airport at 5:30am for check-in. Needless to say, we were very tired on the flight to Chicago. Fortunately, the flight was extremely smooth and we had exit row seats offering extra legroom.
Our flight arrived on time in Chicago and we were able to relax for a couple of hours in the Admiral’s Club lounge prior to our final flight to Quebec City. The Admiral’s Club in Terminal 3 at ORD is large and appears to be recently updated. Fortunately, it was not that busy today for some reason.
Our flight from Chicago to Quebec City was aboard an Embraer 175 commuter jet with 1-2 seating in “First Class” and 2-2 in coach. We had bulkhead seats right behind First Class and lots of legroom. Overhead bin storage was scant, but we were able to cram our two roll aboards in sideways along with my backpack. I was a little concerned after boarding when I looked out the window and could see what appeared to be duct tape wrapped around the engine cowl!
I am sure this is NOT duct tape, but rather some aircraft-grade metal tape, but still, not confidence inspiring. This was an old aircraft. Nevertheless, the Embraer got us to Canada on-time, safely and in relative comfort.
Getting through Immigration and Customs in Quebec City was MUCH easier than our previous visit to Toronto, which took nearly an hour. There were no long lines here and the process was much smoother. We claimed our luggage and then proceeded to order an Uber to take us to our hotel. Note: there is no LYFT service in Quebec City, only Uber and of course, taxis. It takes about 30 minutes to get from the airport to the lower town of Quebec City where our hotel is located. Actually, that’s about the same amount of time it would take to get to the cruise port.
It is lightly raining when we arrive at Hotel Le Germain, our pre-cruise hotel for this journey.
Check-in was a breeze and, as soon as we entered our room (Classic King #702), we realized why this hotel is the perfect pre-cruise hotel in Quebec City. A quick look out of our window and we can see Crystal Serenity docked a short walk from the hotel!
Crystal Serenity Docked in Quebec City
If not for the rain, we could easily roll our luggage the two or three blocks to embark the ship. However, it is raining and that may require we get another Uber if the rain persists.
Our Classic King room at Le Germain is large and has all of the amenities you would expect from a luxury boutique hotel. The property met all of our main requirements for a great pre-cruise hotel:
Excellent location
Comfortable bed and pillows
Quiet room
Great bathroom
As mentioned previously, the hotel is only two or three blocks from the port. And, you can easily walk to a variety of shops and restaurants nearby. We were able to walk only a couple of blocks to a wonderful local pizza restaurant.
We did discover that many restaurants and shops were closed on Monday. So, we were lucky this place was open. In fact, the pedestrian shopping street near the hotel was nearly empty.
Many shops and restaurants are closed on Mondays
We can highly recommend this pizza restaurant. They have a wide variety and everything is cooked in a brick oven. Our pizzas were delicious.
My pizza at No. 900 Pizzeria
After dinner, we are very tired and ready for a good night’s sleep. We did make a quick stop at a nearby gas station/convenience store to pick up a bottle of water before heading back to Hotel Le Germain.
Tomorrow, we will board Crystal Serenity. This will be our fourth Crystal Cruise, and the first since the re-launch of the luxury brand.
