tacticalbanjo

I think the natural way is to throw your laundry in to claim your machine in the dog eat dog world that is the laundry room then turn round to get the detergent. By the time you've read the instructions its too late. The detergent itself works really well and dissolves just fine even if you have to use two sheets to get rid of toddler eating stains.

Sorry, it’s not the best photo but this was from 4005.

The dining charge appears to be for a speciality restaurant. It's fair enough for that to be charged for as passengers would also have to pay for it. Crew get internet connectivity at much lower prices than passengers pay. From https://theinsider.carnivalukgroup.com/stay-connected-new-and-improved-internet-service/cunard-crew-internet/

QM2 wasn't built with families in mind and almost all the four berth cabins are inside cabins. There are a few QG cabins that will take four in a double sofa be but if these aren't available then as bluemarble said, there isn't anything you can be upgraded into. The waitlist is handled externally these days and likely you haven't been given the option of bidding for an upgrade because there inventory of 4 berth staterooms is so limited. If you are travelling with three or four people then it is very much a matter of what you pay for is what you get. I now travel with a toddler and we now have a much smaller selection of staterooms to pick from which is a shame but I'd rather be on board than not so I suck it up. That being said this should have been explained to you politely

I also accidentally printed boarding passes double sided and had to have it redone at Southampton. Apparently if some of the barcode shows through the paper it can upset the scanners. They just printed a new barcode off onto a bit of receipt and away we went.

My 2 year old has 5 Cunard trips under her belt and I've never had a bad experience. This is not to cast doubt on your experiences as I'm sure we've all read perfectly truthful reviews which are the complete opposite of what we experienced on the same cruise because we were lucky enough to avoid the annoying passenger/poor service/broken toilet etc in question. I'm probably too oblivious to notice any dirty looks or snooty comments!

At the moment with no trade deal, USDA beef has to comply with UK regulations to be imported. That might change in the future. But if you buy it in the UK, it should be hormone free. Although as pointed out, it might be horse instead!

US beef and UK beef taste difference. US beef is generally grain fed and has a much higher fat content which generally makes it more tender and since fat is flavour, more flavoursome. UK beef is grass fed which makes it leaner. Australian beef is often grass fed and grain finished which makes for a best of both worlds product. It's horses for courses really, I don't think there are any significant nutritional differences. I like US and Australian beef for long, slow cooking methods like smoking as the fat effectively bastes the meat while cooking. UK beef tends to need to be braised to get to the same level of tenderness with long cooking methods. TL;DR: There are some dishes where you might prefer US beef to UK beef because the different production methods give different flavours and fat content.

How do I know I don't like it until I've read it? 😁 We've also met some really interesting people over the few years we've been sailing with Cunard and it is one of the big things that brings us back. A couple who had fled Iran before the revolution and left family behind. A NYC police officer who scared everyone else on the table off with his political views but did have some fascinating stories. All the ladies I've met at the craft hour over the years. Whatever else might change, I hope that the passenger mix continues to be as diverse, friendly and fascinating as ever.

I'm howling at the thought that people expect Cunard to be devoid of tattoos, budgie smugglers and, horror of horrors, P&O passengers. I loved my time on QA and didn't see any of the aforementioned delights. I didn't want to get off and I'm looking forward to my 2025 trip on her. Mid 30s avec sprog, 130 nights and definitely not discerning for what it's worth.

I've done FaceTime video calls on the essentials package. My husband and I came to the conclusion that it might be difficult to block FaceTime without blocking other Apple services like iMessage. Some websites are blocked on the Essentials package. I was able to access most of what I wanted although Reddit seems to be on the block list as is TikTok both of which I would consider to be social media although the TikTok block is understandable due to the bandwidth requirements.

$60. The pours were 75ml per course which works out at half a bottle of wine.

I'm sure you'll have a great time. If it's the same menu and I suspect it will be, the langoustine ragu in champagne butter sauce is absolutely heavenly.

I do indeed. Also some photos of the food.

I meant the pop up on QM2.

I had a great time when I went in early June. Expensive but it was worth it for me.

I have in the past taken Cunard's flight from London to meet QM2 in New York, arrived at JFK and gone straight to Red Hook. The fares were so low including the flight that they were taken as little bonus trip so a night in a hotel would have added substantially to the cost. I knew there was a risk that we wouldn't make the ship but also knew that it would have been Cunard's problem to get me home from whatever adventure we ended up going/not going on. There is absolutely no way that I would risk such a thing on a more important trip (like a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska!) or when travelling with a child.

I booked in January for a June 2025 Alaska trip and was told by my agent that it would be possible to add flights at a later date. We didn't book with Cunard at the time because they were quoting the same price for my toddler as the adults. We're hoping the prices might shift when they know which flights will actually be booked. If not, I'm happy booking a flight for a few days ahead.

Be prepared for them not to be flexible about changing rooms. I asked if it was possible for me to send my only just 2 year old into the night nursery with the under 2s instead of letting her stay up watching movies and they said no. Maybe there is some sort insurance or resourcing issue? But the staff all have experience with kids of various ages and will be able to tailor the experience to your daughter.

I was also on this trip and had crisps in the Golden Lion on at least 3 nights that I can remember. I wonder why they didn't have them in the Commodore Club?

I'm getting on for the last two weeks, embarking in Istanbul and sailing back to Southampton. I'll be taking a private car service home. Looking in My Cunard, they are pointing people towards Intercruises's Cruise Connect service. Intercruises is Cunard UK's coach service partner. You need to book directly with Intercruises for this service. They have a drop off point at Heathrow T5 arrivals and Victoria Coach Station. I don't have any problem pricing up a drop off only booking. As Pushpit says, there will likely be the opportunity to book a coach via the Tour Office. I'm not 100% because I've not taken the coach before but I strongly suspect that regardless of how you chose to make your way to London, you will have to collect your own bags in the arrivals hall and take them to your mode of transport. I can't imagine that baggage is allowed to go through the customs hall without its owner.

It's also stocked in Tesco and Sainsburys. It's the one of the few supermarket coffees that has a roasted on date but it's hard to find freshly roasted beans due to how the supply chain works. Probably better than Illy as a mainstream coffee roaster but not exactly top drawer speciality coffee. However, I suspect that for Cunard, consistency is a bigger priority than fresh beans and a variety of flavours.

Here are a few more activities; I’ve not done a TA with my 2 year old but we have done 5 trips on Cunard and the days tend to be pretty similar across the board. The staff are pretty good at tailoring activities to the ages of the children in the kids club. On my recent QA trip there were two older children in the kids club with my 2 year old but they adjusted things to suit everyone - the big kids had more difficult puzzles than the little one, my child had more help with art work etc. They even did a dragon painting together which I was amazed at. What kind of 7 year old wants a 2 year old to mess up their artwork! But these kids were lovely and the staff knew what they were about. Outside of the kids club which is realistically only an hour or so in the morning once you exclude lunch and getting ready for dinner you can head for a swim, sit and do a quiet activity while the grown ups get a coffee or take a stroll around the promenade deck. Afternoon tea is great for everyone. But there aren’t really that many child friendly things so if they are happy in kids club that it’s probably the best place to be. I couldn’t keep my daughter out of the kids club and I did feel a bit guilty about not spending time with her on holiday but she had a blast, I got to relax and she enjoyed all the one on one time at meal times. She had so much fun that when we got in the car at the weekend she announced that we were ‘going cruise ship’! Sadly we were only off to the garden centre and have to wait until October for our next cruise.

Debit card preauthorisations regularly come up on other cruise forums too so you might struggle to find an alternative line. It also comes up about petrol stations and online shopping deliveries, essentially, any service where the goods/services are delivered before the invoice is sent and the final bill will not be known until after the goods/services is delivered. And yes, you get better protection in the UK when you use a credit card too. I use a commission free credit card for all foreign currency spending. Cunard aren't likely to rip me off but if I use if in the wrong place abroad then at least fraudsters can't clear out my current account and make my mortgage or bill payments bounce.

I’m currently on QM2 and have been experiencing the same issue with slow dinners. We’re on early dining but have been given a table on deck 3 with the open diners. Everything seems to be going swimmingly then grinds to a halt as the section fills up. I don’t know whether it’s the waiter or that the food isn’t being sent up until there is a few tables worth but dinner is taking upwards of two hours each night and not once have we made it to teas/coffees before we’ve had to ditch because we’re sailing with a two year old who has a limited amount of patience for waiting. We keep being left with finished plates in front of us for extended periods of time. Most annoying for me is that twice there hasn’t been a high chair waiting for us even though we’re on fixed dining so the waiters knew to expect us. I should have had a word with the Maitre’d but each night I think things have improved and when we finally finish the meal all I want to do it just get going so we can get the little one settled into kids club. We have no hope of seeing a show because we mostly haven’t been getting out in time and kids club kicks out at 10.45 which makes a 10.15 show impossible. It’s definitely not the Cunard that I know and love and I hope it improves soon. Even Britannia on the Maiden was better than this! 😂 Everything else has been great though. Our steward is excellent. We’ve enjoyed the quizzes in the pub each night. As ever the kids club staff have my daughter enjoying herself so much that she never wants to leave.