ednria

You will find non ship excursions less crowded and cheaper. 😉

The tradeoff is that if something delays the non ship excursion, the ship will not wait for you. you have to pay close attention to excursion time, travel to and from the ship and how near the dock the non ship operator is allowed to the ship. all the time hoping there is not an accident on the road that would delay you.

We are usually not excursion people, would rather wander the ports of call.

The most tedious part of the operation will be customs. You did not indicate whether you are travelling in "steerage" or in the "grills". The lines at customs for "grills" pax are, understandably, shorter, as there are fewer of them. While going thru customs in "steerage" is more time consuming, self-disembarkation does speed up the process considerably.

For transfer, we have contacted Arecibo Car Hire. They are reasonable, will pick you up right out of customs and deliver you to your destination quickly. shuttle buses only leave when the shuttle is full, or all pax accounted for.

Just my 2 cents worth, but unless there is a compelling reason for the early 2017 booked cruise, I would vote with my feet.

We did a WB crossing, departing Soton on 15 Dec '14. On the 19th, I was comfortably ensconced, in shorts and short sleeved shirt, on my balcony. It was brilliant sunshine, warm air, and a perfect time for a nap. Always keep in mind, it is the North Atlantic, and it doesn't really care what the calendar says.

Book the winter TA and enjoy!

I spoke to staff in PG and they said Caviar and Lobster are paid dishes in PG but no real changes.

Thanks for that information, and I appreciate your taking the time to check on that.

Hello again, Capn, as others have said, we have missed your excellent reviews/commentaries.

As you are currently on board, perhaps you can address the matter of the updated PG/QG off menu options. I know from your post that you are not in a grilles suite, but perhaps one of your many contacts can enlighten us?

Thanks, and do enjoy your time on board.

Pretty sure it's unlikely but thought I would ask..

Is your concern for the weather being too hot, or too cold? Either way, follow Underwatr's advice. if you don't want too much sun, reverse the advice.

We are so excited! We cancelled our RCI cruise for 2017 after looking at some YouTube videos of the lounges at night. Yikes!

 

We really want to try something besides Princess for 2017 so Celebrity looks closer to what we are used to but still enough differences. A couple of ports I haven't been to and excited to see Roatan again.

 

We booked Concierge class. What can you tell me about that type of booking?

 

Any other tips and thoughts on the Equinox would be appreciated.

FYI, there is a roll call started for this cruise on the "Celebrity Connections Roll Call" page, elsewhere on this site. You might check that thread for further information.

In a related vein on this thread, the chocolates are smaller.

We did TA's in 2012 and then again in 2014. The chocolates in 2012 were about 25% larger. Since we bring them home after the sailing (seems to make the sailing last longer), we still had one or two from 2012. They are definitely smaller now, than in 2012.

a penny is a penny, and considering the number of chocolates per night, probably accumulates quickly.

If it were me, I would fly over and cruise back. I have talked to others who have cruised on way and flew home. The hassles of flying after a nice visit tend to ruin the experience. By flying over, then sailing back, you get an extension of the vacation,and arrive rested and relaxed.

Your boarding time will be included in your document package that you will receive a few weeks before departure. However, when sailing Cunard, we have never had a problem with arriving earlier than our scheduled time.

Whether or not the Brittania Club is worth the extra cost is a personal decision, we have sailed BC twice and enjoyed the trips immensely, same for PG/QG. Although our trip in PG recently was almost decadent.

Thanks to all who responded. It's nice to have my thoughts confirmed by those who have experienced the same scenario.

One less item to worry about. Now all we have to do is decide which cruises we will agree on, and figure out how to pay for them!

we are considering a EB TA, an Icelandic cruise and a WB TA. In the newest Cunard cruise pamphlet there is schedule of the EB docking in Soton on 16 Aug and the Iceland cruise departing on the 16 Aug. Is it doable to disembark from QMII and embark on the QE the same day? How is luggage transferred?

Thanks.

Oops!☺️ Not being a "tweeter" I didn't think of that.

I find this thread interesting, entertaining, and educational. I did a Google search of Brian and Beryl Garnett, and the only meaningful return I got was this thread.

I also Googled Beccy Meehan and got lots of hits, but nothing on this story.

Seems that there should be something somewhere that mentions this.

Again, thanks to all for your responses!:)

As the information rolls in, I see we have a lot to consider. Fortunately, we have plenty of time to do so. Am intrigued about the non-Cunard tours. Will have to look them up, thank the stars for the internet!

Thanks for your quick response. Very helpful. We usually like to go out on our own, but doing that requires visas, and am not inclined, at present, to do that.

Again, thanks.

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year!

I know this is a little early, but we have a lot of planning to do. When can we reasonably expect the 2017 schedule to be posted?

Also, for anyone who has done the Baltic cruise, can you give me any information on the 2 day shore excursion in St Petersburg? Such questions as cost, is it worth the cost, recommended alternatives? Thanks

Finally, how many formal nights?

I am surprised that they are waiting that long for the refit (Dec 2016). We were on the Dec 15 crossing, and aside from the many obvious problems mentioned in this and other threads, we noticed a glaring problem in our cabin. We were in PG for this crossing, and on a particularly windy day, as I stepped out onto the balcony my wife brought to my attention that the ceiling over the head of the bed separated from the wall, and raised up about 10" from the wall. the whole ceiling along that wall was separated from the wall, from a thin separation at the edges of the wall to the opening mentioned above. We mentioned this to our cabin steward and a maintenance man changing some of our light bulbs. Don't know if anything was done, as the wind abated after that, and we never noticed it again.

As someone else mentioned, our balcony metal was more rust colored, that white. Needs work, stem to stern.

Just completed the second part of a two part survey sent me by Cunard. Much of it was straight forward "...How do you enjoy/compare/rate..." type questions. Usually, an easy way to qualify for whatever compensation is offered. However, there were numerous questions on the survey that did not pertain to DW and I, but that response was not offered, hence Cunard now has made up data to confuse their survey. Their answer options left us with no option but to make up stuff. Not well thought out.

I would suggest Mrs Doubtfire as head of housekeeping.

I fail to find much "good" in the recent turns of this conversation.

Like Pepper, I never thought to look in a "café" for a library. Very clever! It does look quite comfortable, and appears more spacious than QM2.

I, also thank Salacia for enlightening me.

We've done Rotterdam and QM2, not QE.

 

I agree that from a lectures standpoint, as well as the abundance of high quality lounge music, QE must certainly win the day. (If you like ballroom dancing, it's a no brainer, QE for sure!)

 

Points in Rotterdam's favor are the more spacious and better-appointed standard cabins, plus their library is the largest at sea and is drop dead gorgeous with so many features and handsome decor, comfy oceanview seats. Out of 30+ cruises, I'd say that is easily my favorite library/sitting space at sea!

 

Based on our recent QM2 voyage, I'd hazard a guess that food and service are fairly comparable.

 

Size? Rotterdam carries about one-half the pax load as QE. We loved the intimacy, and reduced crowds are a plus on a port-intensive itinerary.

 

Age? QE wins, but Rotterdam is one of HAL's two flagships, and she had a makeover at the end of 2012. I'd expect her to be lovely in spite of her 17 years...just a teen!

 

Dress? I am guessing your itinerary is port-intensive, in which case a somewhat less formal dress code might be welcome.

 

Demographics? I'd expect a similar pax makeup on both.

 

All in all, I don't see a clear favorite, i.e., it seems you have two fabulous choices! For destination cruises, I am all about the itinerary. I might suggest you be sure your comparisons in that regard take into consideration where the ship docks in each port, as on some itineraries, there is a much better dock than others. For example, we did Rotterdam in the Baltics and were at the city dock in Stockholm, while other ships were at a suburban dock that necessitated time-consuming (and fee-based) transfers.

 

Good luck with your decision-making, and have a wonderful cruise!

 

 

 

 

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Everything I have ever read has featured QM2 as having the largest library at sea. I just looked at the MS Rotterdam deck plans, and could not find any mention of a library.

Could you have inadvertently typed Rotterdam rather than QM2? I have never been on the Rotterdam, just citing source material from the web. I understand that the discussion compares QE and Rotterdam, but all references indicate QM2 with the largest library.

If you are not on a back to back, then no, you cannot leave a bag(s) on board. QM2 does not have the storage space. As you stated that you would be touring for a time, then you must take all baggage with you.

However, there is an on shore storage facility. Go to the pursers counter, explain what you need. They will take care of you. We did this 2 years ago. The bag was picked up the night before, and when we embarked some 6 weeks later, our bag was waiting for us in our cabin. The normal cost, I believe, is 65 USD per bag for 30 days. At least that is what we paid.

In the US there's a tendency for small brewers to over-hop their beer for my taste, but I'll take a good ale from a local brewery long before I'll willingly drink a Budweiser.

Well said! Personally, I have recently acquired a taste for Belgians, but still enjoy a well crafted beer/ale.