LittleFish1976

What about luggage tags? Do they provide them when you arrive at the port?

Not sure if this has been posted here somewhere but I've just seen this on the Princess board and it clarifies a few things. Ocean Now and Room Service.pdf

You're welcome sanne. Glad you had confirmation that works out well for your family.

These cruise contracts are rather Orwellian - anything that you did agree to yesterday may become something you did not agree to tomorrow. They include clauses allowing them to alter everything, pretty much. From what I have seen, and I've seen a lot of informaiotn about this in the last 24 hours, if you booked prior to 14th December, 2022 then you do not have the 'benefit' of free room service, or free meals at Alfredo's and there is a charge to use the app to order food and drinks (one-off charge of USD14.99). The door swing menu for breakfast is still free of charge - for now- so your first thing in the morning tea and coffee is safe. I think they're counting on 'confusion' so we just pay up as a way of avoiding the confusing scenarios of what's included and what's not once you're on board.

If they live together and are in a relationship then the law views them as being in a de facto relationship which is as good as married in the eyes of the law so I should think the answer is 'yes'. Do the T&Cs mention 'de facto spouse'?

Well found. What an excellent solution - couldn't be easier and cheap as chips.

How do people manage to get these 'huge' on-board credits?

No, the theme nights are not what we would call 'fancy dress'. No costumes.

Prior to covid I used ANZ card insurance for a cruise. I was very concerned about making sure I would be covered for a cruise by them, and more importantly for any medical evacuation from the ship. I emailed them and asked them if they could confirm those things. The email they sent me was comforting as they clearly stated that yes, I was covered for those specific eventualities. I felt happy having it in writing from them and particular to my situation. They can also send you the master policy number for complimentary insurances in case you need to present it as proof of insurance anywhere.

I suppose you could always zero out your account every week/fortnight or so if on a very long voyage to control the size of each payment 'shock'.

What an awful shame it is that Cunard are doing away with dance hosts under most circumstances. It totally changes the product and the experience for many of us. Hopefully it will prove to be an ill-advised change and they'll be forced to walk it back (so to speak). Post-Cruise Questionnaire; I emailed Cunard after my most recent cruise a few months ago requesting I be sent a questionnaire to make sure I received one. Request was in vain; no questionnaire ever sent. @Lakesregion what sort of 'fighting back' would you have us do? The customer only has the power to speak to her friends about her experience and to take her cruise funds elsewhere. Neither of these choices will have any effect on Cunard's plans for their ships. They have their own ideas about what product they wish to offer and who they wish their customers to be. If we ain't it, it seems it's too bad. Cunard do not listen to any feedback that doesn't align with their preconceptions, it seems to me. They've chosen the market they wish to attract and are shaping it thus.

And this one is 4 years old! Still has small sofa and two basins as per description, above. Anyway, they give a good indication of the space available in these cabins.

Go to the World Voyage roll call. There are people there doing segments including the Sydney to Singapore, mentioned above.

There's a Cunard board here; it's fairly well patronised. Of course with only three ships and all of them smaller than the super-ships of other lines, there are fewer passengers and therefore fewer potential cruise critic contributors. Which voyage is this that you're going on?

The Australian and New Zealand call centre for Cunard is absolutely useless and I say that from bitter experience. They cannot action anything or look up anything out of the ordinary. The seem to only be able to do what a customer can do on-line. (I've rung the Cunard UK call centre and the help I got was monumental - the person I spoke to was helpful and had the ability to take action for my request. Like chalk and cheese from the Aust/NZ call centre which is not in Aust or NZ at all). I know someone who was on the same ill-fated cruise as me earlier this year who directly rang the Sydney office to speak to someone with some authority to get their issue resolved. That's what I'd be doing if I were you and what I would do next time I have an issue with them. There's also the option of sending them an email via the website; it will take a while for them to answer but they will do so eventually. Or email the Australia NZ email for them which I think is: cunard.aspac@carnivalaustralia.com

In my experience (but it depends which market you're in, I think) the prices go up closer to sailing and there's rarely more OBC to be had. I've already booked the 18 day sailing Tokyo-Tokyo from 29th March to 16th April, 2025. Booked it three months ago in a Britannia Balcony.

Also, Tripadvisor is CruiseCritic's parent company - basically a travel agency.

The Sounds are very weather-dependent and are often missed on cruises for that reason. View them as a bonus if you get to see them

I had a refund from Cunard recently for $600-odd for a cruise I had to cancel. They refunded it very promptly to the credit card I had used to pay for it. HSBC was not involved and no code etc. Keep on their case if you're having trouble - their accounting and call centre are really awful to deal with.

Not too bad a price. Christmas on Cunard would be lovely - turkey and pud for sure!!

Yes that's true they can provide transport but some companies' offices close at 6pm (for example) and being off-site and having to get there after waiting for luggage and the queue for customs and immigration can make it difficult to predict the time as well as often being quite late. Sixt, for example, is a great company to rent through but I don't use them if I'm picking up a car at the airport as they are off-site. Also, it's a hassle if you have to return the car before their office opens in the morning - there's a drop-box for the keys there but you then have no transport to the terminal (and as a single female traveller I don't wish to wait there in the dark for a cab at say 4.30 in the morning!).

Some car rental companies at AKL airport are not exactly on site and have closing times that can be difficult for international arrivals. Check where your proposed company is located before committing i.e. do they have a desk in the terminal?

Maybe post this question in the roll call for your cruise?

Some people (even or maybe especially kids) have the *opposite* reaction and get hyped up and wide awake on phenergan. Happened to a friend of mine who flew by herself from Melbourne to Edinburgh with a babe-in-arms and a 14 month old, both of whom she had doped up with the phenergan hoping for a manageable flight. Apparently the trip almost cost her her sanity!