The Cartier Connoisseur ~ New York to Montreal on Oceania Insignia: Saguenay, and Quebec City, Quebec, Canada ~ September 24 and 25

September 27, 2024

Saguenay, Quebec

September 24, 2024

Saguenay is a city in Québec, Canada. It’s known for Saguenay Fjord, which leads to the St. Lawrence River. The Musée du Fjord has history displays and an aquarium. La Pulperie de Chicoutimi museum charts regional history in an 1800s wood-pulp mill. Exhibits on the area’s huge 1996 floods are on show at the Musée de la Petite Maison Blanche.

Map Showing Saguenay's Location

We initially had an excursion planned that would have taken us to the Fjord Museum, but the museum trip was canceled, and Oceania substituted school buses for the tour buses that had been advertised. The price remained the same; we decided to cancel. As it turns out, a Viking ship was also in port. Being the larger company, they were given our docking space (which turned into a tender port for our ship), and I suspect they commandeered our tour bus and the tickets to the museum.

From Our Port Hole - the Arrival of Viking Star

That said, we decided to get off the ship and go for a walkabout in town. As you can see from the photos, as the morning wore on, our blue skies were overtaken by clouds, turning our day grey and overcast. There wasn't much to see, although there was a "craft fair" with overpriced "stuff" for the tourists. It was good to stretch our legs and get out into the fresh air.

Sign Seen in Town -- We Decided Against the Purchase

Canna Lilies and Blue Cow

Eglise Sainte-Anne

We stopped at this church, where we were greeted by a lovely parishioner welcoming us to the church.

Eglise Saint-Anne

Showdown!

This show (which we saw twice - once during the Bermuda portion of the cruise, and again tonight) - was really a lot of fun. The premise is that Josh, the singer/dancer on the far left, is the emcee of a program called "Showdown." There are three competitors vying for the right to compete against Josh to see who is the winner. Members of the audience are pre-arranged as "judges." On this night, I got to be a judge.

A Collection of Chocolates

Every night, our steward, Putu, who is from India, places a square of dark chocolate on each of our pillows. One night, Jeff didn't remove his, and he ended up sleeping on it and woke to a chocolate mess and the wrapper stuck to his back. Since that night, he began stacking up the chocolates in this little "cubby" above our telephone.

Quebec City, Quebec

September 25, 2024

This stop in Quebec City was probably our favorite port on the entire cruise. Quebec City, or Ville de Québec, as it is known here, is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. Explorer Samuel de Champlain founded a French settlement here in 1608, and adopted the Algonquin name, Kébec, which means "where the river narrows."

Quebec City is one of the oldest European settlements in North America. There are ramparts around Vieux Québec - the only fortified city walls remaining in the Americas north of Mexico. The area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Our excursion gave us a tiny "taste" of this beautiful city, and we both declared that we needed to return. Our bus driver took us through the industrial part of the city and up to Vieux Québec, the old town. There is a funicular that you can take to get up the hill. This was not part of our excursion, but we will definitely ride it on our next trip.

Funicular in Vieux Quebec

Our guide, an older gentleman with a French Canadian accent, took us by bus to the waterfront in Old Quebec City.

Old Quebec City Waterfront, Statue of Samuel de Champlain

Statue of Champlain

Our guide told us that Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer and diplomat, on July 3, 1608 at the site of an abandoned St. Lawrence Iroquoi settlement. Champlain, who came to be called "The Father of New France," served as the administrator of Quebec City for the rest of his life. This statue commemorates Champlain, but interestingly, the sculptor didn't know what he looked like! After giving us a short history lesson, Jean gave us some free time to wander about Old Quebec.

Hotel de Ville (City Hall)

Châteaux Frontenac

The Château Frontenac looks like a castle. It was built in 1892 but has styles that evoke the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It has over 600 rooms on 18 floors and several turrets. Our guide said that The Château Frontenac is the most photographed hotel in the world.

The hotel sits on the Terrasse Dufferin, which was built in 1838. The Terrace's wooden boardwalk offers incredible views of the St. Lawrence River and the Île d'Orléans.