Lilydes

Professional tour operators have their reputation to protect to get you back late to the ship. It's very rare somebody misses the ship and if you are on a British Isles cruise really not the end of the world.

 

 

The most respectable tour company can be affected by adverse weather, a bad accident closing roads, having an accident themselves etc.all these could make the tour late for the ship, which will not wait.

I was also on the British Isles cruise on QM2 where two busloads of passengers were very late. If I remember correctly the hold up was due to adverse traffic conditions outside Glasgow. Since then, we have only taken localised outside tours, so if something did happen we could jump in a cab and get back in time.

As for missing the next port on a BI cruise not being the end of the world: if the next port is over the Irish sea or the English channel, it comes very near it!!

Dancer Bob is not being 'scornful' as you allege - as an ex-dance host himself he is simply describing how things were on his last cruise. "Giving it a go for a bit of fun" is all very well but it's worth remembering that Cunard have gone to great lengths to provide a first class ballroom and a professional orchestra and it would seem more considerate to both Cunard and other dancers if complete novices could at least first try to master just the very basics of general dancing. If the only aim is 'a bit of fun' then one of the nightclub discos would seem to be the perfect place. Yes, we know, you have paid your money the same as everyone else but on occasions a little forethought is handy, and perhaps this is one of those occasions. And no, you do not have to be a good dancer to dance in the Queens Ballroom but it really does help if you have at least some idea of what you are doing.

Wow! How pompous is that! Paul Ritchie asked me to dance once, I told him I didn't know anything about ballroom dancing and he replied it didn't matter.

Perhaps only those with a musical background should listen to the string quartet, as by your logic Cunard have only provided the quartet for those sorts of quests.

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I suppose you could always look on the bright side Tom.

 

You're not going to have to listen to Johnny Prescott or Lembit Öpik.:o

I have been on two cruises with Lembit Opik and he is a delightful, nice and kind man. He joined in with all the ship's activities and everyone thought he was fab. He also knocked up a very interesting quiz to fill in some time.

As for John Prescott.....he was on a cruise with me last year as a private guest. I had better not say anything regarding his behaviour on board.......except not so much man of the people as man of the senior officers.

Incidentally, Thelma Barlow MBE was also on the same cruise as a guest and she was a delight.

Many years ago there would always be a couple of excellent dancers on a Cunard ship, and several women you could practice with. Not now. My trip on QE in January, there was not one single woman who could even keep time with the music, let alone actually have bothered learning any basic figures. There were six hosts, who spent much of their time standing around; even in dance class, not all of them got partners. Nobody at all for me.

These people you are so scornful about are not professional or competition dancers: they are on holiday and "giving it a go" many for the first time in proper ballroom conditions. If someone asks them to dance they are assuming it's for a bit of fun not to be marked out of ten and would probably be very upset if they knew your attitude.

They sometimes have charity lunches as well.

If you know the day before. What about if you decide ten minutes before dinner time? As I said previously, I've never come across this before.

Quick step? American vs. International? Line of dance? OH MY! :eek: I thought all I would have to know is whether to count to three or to four! Perhaps I will just be a wallflower.....

Never mind all that, just get up and dance.

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As for Cunard,"not encouraging" (children taking up space/tables at 'no extra charge') I would have thought that the idea of an additional fee in these 'alternative venues' is to generate more revenue for Carnival/Cunard ?

 

 

Please see my earlier post why Cunard brought charges in for alternative dining. As for children taking up space, they would be sitting at their parents table.

Perhaps your table mates had notified the staff ? I can only remember one occasion when we waited because on the other times somebody missed dinner, they let the staff know.

No. There have been numerous occasions tablemates have not turned up and had not notified the dining room. In fact it's only on here that I've learned that people ring to say they won't be attending dinner.

We've never experienced dinner being delayed if table mates don't show up in the evening. It's a common occurrence.

What are the parents supposed to do with their children? Phone up a babysitter? As I've said, the galley has a selection of children's dishes that can be quickly be prepared. As for not "encouraging" this, we are talking about Cunard aren't we?

No, but if dining at a table of four or more, it is good manners to let your table mates know in advance.

Stewart

But don't think you have to put yourself out running around looking for tablemates or waiters. You are on holiday, your time belongs to you and no one else. No one will think bad of you if you don't tell them you won't be there.

The daily programme will say if a passport or photo ID is needed, but it's a good idea to have a photocopy as well just in case your passport gets lost or stolen.

 

After having two guests ending up at the local A&E and one missing the ship(!!) on various cruises, we now always take our passports and insurance documents ashore with us.

They would do substitutes. The galley has a selection of children's menus.

I was told that charges were applied due to people taking the mick when the special dining was free. Too many people booking then not turning up.This meant genuine bookings being turned down as the restaurant was fully booked, then half empty in the evenings.

There is more to sailing on a cunard ship then just dressing up you know. As for Cunard thinking the passengers don't care anymore, a couple of people wearing jeans among hundreds done up like fish suppers isn't going to cause an uproar in the boardroom.

I can assure you that no one will be policing what your 82 year old mother will be wearing, despite what some on here may say.

As the OP is surely aware, I have received many upgrades. Two particularly good one's of note, Princess Grill to Queens Grill and one 'Lobby View' to Britannia Club.

 

And for many of us it is pretty well known why we get them and certainly not being socially shy has its advantages.

I would regard myself and my son as rather solitary when we are on board and I have had some spectacular upgrades. I've gone from an inside to Princess Grill, Princess Grill to a penthouse and Princess to Queen's. Also various balcony upgrades. There is no logic to why I've had these upgrades, it must be random.

I must be telling lies then.

Just be sure some adult is willing to take responsibility for the childrens' behavior. They should be removed if they start screaming or destroying the experience for the other passengers. jmo.

What a ridiculous statement to make. Of course they are well behaved and I've never seen a child screaming anywhere on a ship. That includes a Christmas cruise when it was wall to wall kids.

Yes, children and babies are allowed. They look lovely all dressed up.

I got lost on the QM2 once and wandered into a crew karate class.

From my experience of these 2 day cruises, the guests make a point of dressing up even though they don't have to.

They have a small pool on Queen Victoria, so I assume it's the same on Queen Elizabeth. I know their bar drinks are lower than standard bar/pub prices. From what I've heard from various crew members over the years, you need the stamina of an ox and be able to function on very little sleep. All crew departments like to play very hard.

I second Dancer Bob's comments about shoes. The fashionable hi-heels are not really suitable for the ballroom dances -- like foxtrot, waltz, V Waltz, tango, or quickstep. Get a pair of decent dance shoes, 2 - 2.5 inch heels, can be latin practice shoes. And don't show up at group dance class in bare feet. It's not only the smell, but also unhygienic, and puts other dancers at risk of stepping on your toes, causing unnecessary embarassment, etc.

 

Glad to hear re Maria and Silvana. Next year, I'll likely be on QM2, NY to S'ton, 07 October 2018 crossing. I'll be in NY area 05 - 07 October for sure. So I could come up to Toronto before then if something can be arranged? Or all of you can sign up for the TA, QM2 07 Oct 2018.

So after the ho ha about the dress code, we now have a shoe dress code?

You Do NOT need proper dance shoes. What is the point of all the expense of dance shoes when all you are doing is a spot of dancing on a two week cruise? Wear what you like on your feet, it's up to you not the dance hosts who are their for the guests, not the other way round.