steeler33

Thanks. I managed to convince them that if you can’t get to a port in time then it’s a timetable issue. Much harder than it should have been but at least they paid out in the end. 

To be fair, it was only our recent experience of the Britannia open dining that's led us to contemplate Club next time. I'm not sure it's worth it to use really, but Open dining for us was variable between okay at best (but not the Cunard service we've had on all the other ships) and a car crash at worst, so we have to decide now between Britannia 2nd sitting + some use of the speciality restaurants, versus Club. 

Thank you. Clearly I shouldn't have gone with Cunard's recommended partner. What a swizz.

Has anyone that was on this one successfully claimed missed port cover form their insurance? Holiday extras rejected my claim due to the issue being technical and not either weather or timetable related. My argument that the technical issue caused a timetable problem seems to have fallen on deaf ears so far. Very annoying. 

We’ve not made good enough speed to make Barcelona on time now, expected docking is now 1000, meaning many of the longer shore excursions have been cancelled. We managed to book onto something else but there wasn’t much choice given the short time to arrival. 
 

Captain said they’re expecting to push out our departure time from Barcelona until midnight. Hopefully they sort out the AziPod and we can get back to something like the normal itinerary. 
 

Freedom dining has improved and it’s a bit more attentive now. We’re going a bit later and not far off 2nd sitting time anyway, but I wonder if its down to people opting for the lido or the alternatives though, it’s definitely quieter in the dining room. It’ll be interesting to see how the next gala night holds up and if that’s any better than the chaos earlier in the week. 
 

Nice and relaxing though. If you’re going to be stuck pootling along ok one engine it might as well be in the warmth with an ice cream 😀

So far my impressions of the ship have been good. I like the design and personally it still feels Cunard to me. I like all the other ships and this one is just a bit different. We’re booked on for next summer too so I’m glad we like Anne!

That said, we’ve always either been Britannia 2nd sitting or PG. we decided to try out freedom dining this time and we won’t do it again. Despite separate queues marked  Walk-ins and Reservations they are not using them. Everyone in one queue regardless. The first night wasn’t great but first night allowances (table next to us described the service as having the flair of a dept store cafe) but last night was much worse. Stand for 30 mins before you’re seated (30 mins after our reservation time) and then another 2 hours to get through the meal. Free glass of fizz for gala night was helpful as we didn’t get a wine list or see a sommelier again. 
 

We saw several angry conversations with the Maitre D, and our neighbours, new to Cunard, said they wouldn’t be coming again. What a shame. The personal element has all gone - we didn’t expect to have that relationship with the same team in freedom but they’re so busy nobody has time to ask if you had a nice day. The plates are just plonked down and they have to get onto the next table. It lacks any personal touch or flair that made dining an experience on all our other trips. 

If we could switch to 2nd sitting we would but it’s full. Come at 1730 or queue was the helpful suggestion we had instead. 

Well enjoy the rest of the trip but the dining has spoiled it a bit so far. Hopefully it improves. Will definitely change our dining choice for next year when we get home. 

I’d rather have gone to Cadiz too tbh but if we can’t get there in time it’s understandable. And maybe a port like Barcelona improves the resources to repair whatever the issue is. Either way, what can you do? Not much point stressing. Like you say I hope people are civil about it as I’m sure nobody wanted to be in this situation. 

I’ve spent a day going East on a Westbound crossing so I have prior form too for unusual itineraries 😂

AziPod fault which requires internal work alongside so we have to skip Cadiz and crawl our way at reduced speed to Barcelona so an extra sea day. Shame, but these things happen and at least the weather is good. Hopefully we’ll be in Barcelona on Friday morning on time. 

I think it might not be until 5th August that Anne and Victoria are in port together (Civitaveccia)

If Cunard want to attract younger passengers (sweeping generalisation but it’s younger generations that aren’t used to being disconnected) then they need to get the tech right, but they also need to be aware of their existing customers which means bringing it In as an option. You might want to use the phone and paper, but I’d rather use my phone. They need to make sure *both* are available, both work and both are up to date. 

At the moment it’s a half baked web server which barely works, and just cements the idea that the digital options aren’t worth using. Do it properly, with a proper integrated app that gives live daily programmes, account data, excursions and restaurant stuff. Put messaging in so I can be in contact with other family members on board without needing to use the internet if people want to use it. 
 

Print the programmes and deliver them as they currently do, let people *choose* what works for them. It's not a choice worth making at the moment given how flaky the digital option is. 
 

Western Mediterranean (H418)

Queen Anne, 28 Jul - 11 Aug 2024

• 29 July - Black & White
• 3 Aug - Masquerade 
• 6 Aug - Red & Gold
• 9 Aug - Roaring 20s

Western Mediterranean (H418)

Queen Anne

28 Jul - 11 Aug 2024

• 29 July - Black & White
• 3 Aug - Masquerade 
• 6 Aug - Red & Gold
• 9 Aug - Roaring 20s

For the main menu, should you want, mention it to the maître d' on the first night. They then bring you the next days menu the evening before, you can choose what you want and they'll do it GF. You'll get GF bread and GF petit fours. Very little fuss made, just a menu in advance. Never been any issues for my wife.

Gutted. We'd bought a FCD on our last trip knowing we couldn't do 2018, but summer 2019 we would. We're stuck with school holidays (no kids, but I have a teacher!) but there's nothing grabbing us. We've done the Atlantic, Norway and Iceland recently and fancied the some sun, but we can't as there's nothing actually in the school holidays. Oh well, it's only £50 each down the drain, but I won't make that mistake again.

Only sailed with Cunard, maybe it's time to take a look at other lines :(

Typical excursions are available here: http://www.cunard.co.uk/destinations/usa-cruises/new-york/new-york-city/

They might not all be available, but it'll give you an idea of what they offer.

You could use a free VPN to connect via the UK and get round the geofence.

https://www.tunnelbear.com is very good and easy to use. You can select a tunnel in the UK and then as far as Cunard know you're in the UK so will get the British website.

Sign up via the .xclusive TechRadar plan link and you'll get a lot more data available for free,

Those photos above sum up the weather we had on a roundtrip last August. Some hot days (though as always, windy), some cool days, wet days, dense fog. It really is as unpredictable as people say.

I suspect I was given incorrect information, but as I had no intent to book Freedom even if it were available I didn't question it. I wondered if it were something new for 2017 but again, I wasn't interested enough to make an already long phone call even longer!

When I booked on a cruise for summer 2017 in Britannia, I was offered Early, Late or Freedom (pager) dining by the Cunard call centre. I don't want to be stuck in random tables throughout the dining room each night so went with our normal second sitting, but it was the first i'd heard of Freedom dining on Cunard.

We did the same last year. The vast majority of the excursions on the link below were on offer. We spend some time looking through them online, picked what we wanted to do and booked it once on board.

http://www.cunard.co.uk/destinations/regions/usa-and-canada-cruises/new-york/

Our TA Roundtrip in August has 8 formal of 16 nights. Can't wait. I'm not taking all that luggage to not get some wear out of it all :)