3rdGenCunarder

I think I was one or two cruises ahead of you that year, and the tendering in Juneau was a mess. I didn't go to get my ticket right away, figuring let the people in a hurry go first. I sat and waited for over an hour. I'm tendering in Juneau again this year. I have a tour, so that should get me off the ship in a timely manner. If the tour is cancelled, as it was 2 years ago, I won't bother to go ashore.

On QA, I had a full bottle of Cunard Prosecco on boarding. A half bottle of PA showed up at some point. I don't think there was any sort of card explaining why. It just materialized. I drank the prosecco, left the PA.

That's sensible. A woman at my table had a 1:00 flight. She was on the first coach out, so I was hoping that she got through before the accident backed up traffic so badly.

That is what they did. Because nobody has ever tossed a bottle into the Mersey... The bottle ziplined down to a target on the foredeck and smashed. The next day I went to the photographer's gallery and asked if they had any stock photos of the naming ceremony. They had one, a shot of the fireworks. The woman said the photographers couldn't get passes to the shoreside events to take pictures there. Sounds stupid to me, but perhaps the media company contracted to handle the event had sole rights to images. They didn't even put a photographer on deck or in the Commodore Club to take pictures of the bottle smash. I can't be the only person who would have bought that instead of trying to take a picture on the TV. The lack of stock photos was a lost chance to make some money. So was the lack of naming-specific items. The merch van ashore had t-shirts (the same one the dancing kids had) and tote bags for the naming, but none of that was on the ship. The Cunard logo shop was tiny, and the colors were mostly shades of green/teal, not the classic Cunard black and red. And our "special souvenir" was a booklet about Queen Anne's "journey" from design to ship. It was a compilation of articles from Cunarder and the website.

I agree with both of you. I was on that cruise and I decided not to stay ashore and stand in the holding pen when I realized my cabin had a comfy sofa and a nice TV. The general feeling about the ship from people I spoke to was that we were NOT the target audience for this ship--too old (not "trendy" enough"). I felt that Cunard is deliberately downplaying their history (not ONE maritime painting or model in Commodore Club????) because they don't want to seem dated or stuffy. The ship is pretty but she doesn't feel like a Cunard ship.

Don't wait until the last minute. Because booking the coach transfer affects your assigned disembarkation time, you need to fill out the form a few days before the end of the cruise. I travel solo, and for me it's the best combination of price and convenience. Last week there was an accident on the ramp we needed for fastest access to the tunnel to Terminal 2, and traffic was snarled. My flight was at 4:00, so I was in no danger of missing that, but some people on the bus were worried. I think I have an option for a 1:00 flight, but that's too close for comfort for me, so I stick with the 4:00. I think 1:00 is the earliest flight time they will accept for the transfer. Anything earlier and you need to get off asap and have a car service waiting.

OMG, Dennis!!! I have so many memories of Dennis. Then Roger, then Martin. In one of his cocktail party talks, Captain Wells talked about QE2 leaving, accepting that it was time, and commenting that we'll always have our memories of her. He was with Cunard a long time, moving up through the ranks and commented that he remembered his kids learning to walk holding Dennis's hand. I had to go up to him later and thank him for mentioning Dennis. I said he was quite a character. Captain Wells said, "He was rude to people and they loved him for it!"

Is there a display that shows where each car is? I find that helpful so I know where to stand.

I don't know how large the group was, as they didn't keep to themselves the way some groups (not RS) on large ships do. Because there was only one lounge, other passengers were invited to attend their lectures, which I thought was nice.

It would be great if he could get the Lakelorian we had on Navigator. Great speaker, good information. I wonder if he could get Road Scholar back again. They booked quite a few Great Lakes cruises.

I wish him luck with this (and I don't mean that sarcastically). I had a great cruise on the Navigator, although I know other cruises last year had problems, including the generator. But if he spruces them up and can match or beat Viking and ACL's prices, he could make it work. I hope he can.

That must be the company line to avoid giving details. I had an issue with the buffet on QV last fall, and I wrote a note to the head of F&B. I ended on a positive note, saying that our table in Britannia was fantastic. 10 people from 5 countries, age range at least 30 years, many-time cruisers and first cruisers. On paper, we seemed to have little in common, but we gelled quickly and had a wonderful time together, becoming the rowdy table in the back of the Britannia restaurant, laughing all the time. I asked how do they know what people to put together. She said "arranging tables is an art."

late Oct (10/30) in Alesund. Hurtigruten would be better for summer, to see a variety of small towns.

November in Narvik, on the "Arctic Train."

Ohhh, I have fond memories of tea served on Sun Deck on QE2.