August 5, 2025 – Montreal, Canada – Partly Cloudy – mid 70s.

August 5, 2025 – Montreal, Canada 

Turnaround Day for Continuing Passengers

Note:  Whatever bug I picked up has gone away and my symptoms are gone enough that no antibiotics were needed. I also don't get the impression that there is COVID or anything else on this ship - based on the buffet process and other indicators.  

We both ordered Room Service so I wouldn’t have to deal with the crowds in the Windows Café – there are only 8 back to back passengers.  That's good news for me because it means I don't have to throw in any new talks.

I had some cereal and two pancakes and two eggs OM.  It was good but still hard to eat in bed, especially having the coffee on the small night stands.

Old Montreal is just across the street from the Cruise Terminal, which is a clean bright and looks-new terminal. We waited for most of the disembarking passengers to leave the ship before we scanned out.  

Even though it is a workday, there isn't a lot of foot traffic on the street and a lot of the restaurants haven't opened yet.  We walked up hill to where most of the interesting architecture was.  Here’s what we saw:

The Port of Montreal Sign was interesting and different.  It's hard to tell what it actually says but being composed on different flags/symbols makes it unique.

We walked along Rue St Paul (oldest street in Montreal), which runs parallel to the water and then turned left to the Old City.

Mickey D’s Old Montreal – I popped into the McDonald’s to use their facilities (they had none).  I also didn’t stay long enough to find out how much a cono costs.  The structure of this McDonald’s was totally different from other stores – no golden arches.

Palais de Justice de Montreal is a courthouse located on Rue Notre Dame.  

It was completed in 1971.  In front is a cubic abstract structure called the Allegrocube (created in 1973, made of bronze, and about 7 feet in height).  

It is a kinetic sculpture whose halves can come together.  It undergoes constant maintenance to protect the patina.

Quebec Court of Appeals.  This is the highest court in Quebec, Canada.  Cases in both Montreal and Quebec City eventually make their way to this court.

Hommage a Marguerite Bourgeoys Notre Dame. An outdoor sculpture on the Rue Notre Dame, honoring Marguerite Bourgeoys, who was a pioneer in education in New France. It is located inside a fountain in a park and was dedicated when the park opened in 1988.

I also took a picture of a Park next to Place Cartier, which I couldn’t identify through Images or Google.  There were tables and benches - seemed like a good place to each your lunch if you worked in one of the government buildings.

The Lucien-Saulnier Building.  Another courthouse in Old Montreal.

Place Vauquelin. Located next to the courthouse, the statue was unveiled in 1930 and honors Jean Vauquelin, a naval officer who played a significant role in several local battles. The statue was re-inaugurated in 2017 following a renovation.  There were a lot of people at the fountain and I was lucky to get this people-free photo.

Montreal City Hall (Hotel de Ville de Montreal).  Houses local government. It was built in 1878 and is located on Rue Notre Dame near Place Jacques Cartier.  It is a National Historic Site of Canada and the Office of the Mayor of Montreal.

Place Jacques Cartier.  A square that runs downhill to the water 

and contains numerous restaurants and shops.  The establishments were just opening up - Ellen checked out one of the stores while I found a comfortable seat in the median. There was also a Ben and Jerry’s 

and a monument to Horatio Nelson – Nelson’s Column (located at the top of the Square).

Went back to the ship to get a seat when the Window’s Café would open (and ahead of the new crowd getting on).  We were, for the first time, able to eat lunch on the Sunset Veranda and yes, a Leffe beer joined us for lunch.

We watched the sail away from the Living Room.  The Canadian fires had turned the sunset orange red.  

We also saw the Olympic Stadium, main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics (the Olympics of Nadia Comaneci and Bruce Jenner).  

I got a different perspective from Deck 10.

After dinner, we went to the “Welcome Aboard Show”, which, in this case, became the first production show, "Club Crooner" (due to a scheduling issue - it was supposed to feature comedian, Scott Harris - he was unable to get to the ship so he'll be on later in the voyage).

I was once again introduced by Bernardo and waived to the audience.  It was confirmed that there are only 7 continuing passengers – an all-new crowd.

(I found out that Quest is once again sailing full – post cruise handout.  There are 650 guests on board including 324 Americans, 139 Canadians, and 60 Brits.   Good news for speakers – lots of English Speakers on board.

We didn’t stay for the whole show.

Back to the room – Stateroom 6041 – our Fortress of Solitude.