steveoelliott

As the OP, I can honestly say I have been amazed by the amount of feedback / advice the community have provided.

I definitely need to invest in a night light (especially for use in the bathroom as those lights are so bright), an eye mask and some ear plugs.

I also do intend to see my doctor to see if there is anything they can prescribe me to use as an absolute last resort next time I am away. However, I suspect here in the UK they will be reluctant but it doesn't hurt to ask. I have tied melatonin and Nytol and frankly they are useless in my view.

8 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

Do you sleep okay in hotels?   Maybe it is because of the strange   bed   and  bedroom

Generally I'm OK away from home... I suspect it may be the excitement / noise.

9 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

Maybe you would do well to speak with your doctor rather than cruisers on  a public internet  forum?    Good luck.

Thanks for your kind feedback....

To be frank I'm not looking for a medical remedy / intervention as generally I don't have issues with sleep. However, I am interested and curious to see how fellow cruisers find their sleep patterns are when on-board.

1 minute ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for the feedback, hopefully it didn't spoil your cruise.

 

No it was mildly irritating...

Hi all,

I am reaching out having recently returned from a 14 day cruise with Cunard on QE which encompassed the Canary Islands so 7 of these days were port days. I travelled on exactly the same cruise some two years previous but on that occasion the cruise was only 12 days (less stops).

One issue I have found is that I often find it difficult to sleep or remain asleep at night. If I stay out late at night and indulge myself then I tend to get off to sleep nicely but due to background noise of cabin stewards, fellow guests who are early risers and room service etc. I am normally awoken no later than 6am. After this time I really struggle getting back to sleep.

On the other hand, if I take it easy and try for an early night will fall asleep around 11pm only to then wake up at 2:30 – 3:00pm for no reason and then struggle to get back off to sleep.

The upshot of this is that during both cruises I have never got more than 6 hours sleep a night and many were only 4 hours. At times I felt absolutely exhausted but try as I may I couldn’t nap in the day.

Back at home I seldom have many sleep issues. Once or twice a month I may get a restless night but during these holidays I really got to understand what it must be like to be an insomniac.

I’m keen to know others experiences or am I unique J

I love cruising and I’m determined to not let it put me off!

Hi all,

In the interest of assisting fellow cruisers I just wanted to give my balanced and candid feedback regarding the cabin my wife and I shared on a 14 day Canary cruise with Cunard 1-15th October 2018.

General Cabin Feedback

The Cabin was clean and not showing significant signs of being tired although a ship refit is imminent. The cabin was also very well maintained / cleaned by our steward, Edgar.

Cabin Position:

This cabin is at the rear most end of the ship with only a few staterooms before the aft.  It is on deck 8 right below the Lido pool area. Ordinarily we would opt for a cabin with a passenger deck above and below to ensure less chance of noise but our choice to go away was last minute and there were few options left.

Ship Movement / Sway

Despite 4 metre sea swells on one evening we didn’t feel this cabin put us at any disadvantage having stayed previously in mid ships deck 5. I did hear other passengers complain that were at the front however. I have therefore concluded anything rear on mid ships is fine for ships movement etc.

Plus Sides of Being Below Lido Pool Area:

One single flight of stairs and a turn left / right gets you right into the buffet where you can get all the food / beverages you wish for when not using the other more formal dining venues. My wife and I found this very convenient. It was also very convenient for the Lido pool deck being as were less than a minute walk from it.

Negative Sides of Being Below Lido Pool Area:

As our cabin was directly below the Lido deck, every morning at around 6am we could hear deck chairs being dragged across the deck above us. This disturbance lasted only for around a minute but could be mildly irritating and I suspect for some this would be a big issue.

Now at this stage I am risking sounding like a miserable so-and-so but I did actually struggle with sleeping on this voyage (not due to the deck chairs). One evening we decided not to go out and have a quiet night in with a view to going to sleep around 10pm so I could be fully refreshed for the next day. However… there was a deck party right above us and when this finished at 10:30pm I assumed that would be it. To my frustration it started again for the second sitting diners and continued until 12:30pm. I have no issues with late night parties and ordinarily would have been there myself. However, when I haven’t had a decent night sleep for days and am awoken by “Rock around the clock” with some loud mouth on a microphone repeatedly yelling “1,2-1.2.3, 1,2,3,4” you may understand my grievance. In my view at no stage should somebody lying in bed in their cabin with the doors / windows hear every word spoken, accompanied with the thuds of dancing and foot tapping from the entertainers through the floor. I’ve stayed in hotels above nightclubs with less noise!

In fairness although some (including my wife) feel I am being a little “grumpy” in my feedback regarding the party, bear in mind I am 33 and this was only an issue for me once. If you were the kind of folks that liked to regularly retire early then with the Lido parties, this location is best avoided.

Hope that helps somebody...

Thanks... It is a very pertinent point that you highlight. Of course nobody intends to miss the boat but should it happen being without a passport would be a disaster. A photocopy may help one get back home but will do little for getting to the next port of call ASAP.

I can't see them bothering with taking your possessions off.

Do they even track who is not on board and make an effort to contact them? I doubt they care.

I also suspect if you were to call ahead and advise the boat of a few minutes late arrival, they would be unsympathetic.

Hi all,

Although I have been on QM2 before, it was for TA. I am wondering whether for each day we are in port for my upcoming cruise I would need to take my passport with me when on land? As you can imagine it will be a pain but I imagine there isn't really an alternative unless it is somehow tied to the card.

Thanks...

Thanks all for the comments thus far... We booked together and the bookings are linked so fingers crossed.

Thanks all... I suspected a late sitting would not be most people's preference and therefore we would get what we asked for.

On the wine, I don't mind paying the corkage fee... How does it work? Did you hand it to the sommelier on arrival? In many cases I will likely open it and decant myself... I remember being looked at aghast when I asked them to decant wine that I purchased from them (which clearly had sediment) before.

Hi all,

I have travelled on QM2 from NYC to Southampton and on this occasion we took the Cunard Fare and purchased all wine on-board. We opted for late dinner sitting and preferred this.

However, this time my wife and I are going with our parents. We chose the early saver as this really did make economic sense... I have selected our dining preferences for both bookings and told they are linked. I am hoping that the 4 of us will be on the same table, in a late sitting, on a table for 10.

When I called Cunard, they advised this is all best effort and even as a family we could be split. I was also advised that as early savers there is no way we can be moved. However, I believe this to be inaccurate. I'm sure they would accommodate if availability permits. I also would imagine many folks prefer the earlier sitting so swapping may be possible. Any thoughts???

Moving onto the Alcohol policy; it is my intention to bring 12 bottles of wine for 4 passengers (3 each) but Cunard say one per person. Apparently this has recently changed. For 12 nights this seems a little restrictive and I don't think 3 bottles per person is unreasonable. I would like to point out that I do intend to pay to corkage in the restaurant, although they may not even notice given that some of the wine I am bringing is the same as on their wine list but up to 75% cheaper when purchased from my local merchant. When I can drink a £100 bottle of wine for £25 + corkage fee, this makes sense, especially with the sterling being so weak.

Any thoughts from the more experienced Cunard cruisers?