LB_NJ

I live in the US and have bought travel policies here that include travel within the US that cover medical (usually not past $100k, but also include evacuation) but are ok with preexisting conditions if you purchase the policy when you book the cruise.. AS above the polices are not that bad, around 10%. I would absolutely not get less than $250k for US coverage.

Are you allowed to bring on bottled water?

Had not noticed it before but the US passage contract that Carnival posts on the US website is a little different than the one they make you agree to when logging in through the Voyage Personaliser.

Not sure what this would mean if it ever ended up in a US court or in arbitration.

That's correct on both counts concerning how the alcohol policy is stated in the US passage contract but not enforced by Cunard. However, that alcohol policy is not included in any of Cunard's UK documents that I can find. As near as I can tell, the closest thing to a passage contract available on Cunard's UK web site is an 18-page "Booking Conditions" document which makes no mention of an alcohol policy at all. Now there could be some UK document I don't know about that mentions a limit of one bottle of wine or champagne per passenger. If so, I will gladly stand corrected concerning what is communicated to UK customers about the alcohol policy.

 

Also, here is how the policy is currently worded in the Cunard UK FAQ. In the past, a limit of one bottle per passenger was mentioned there, but no longer.

 

"You may bring wine or champagne on board (over the age of 21) to celebrate special occasions. However if it is consumed in any of the dining rooms, alternative restaurants or bars then each bottle will be subject to a corkage fee of $20 (fee subject to change). ..."

 

Regards, John

Wasn't suggesting the contract applied to you. It does however probably apply to US resident citizens boarding in the US. Not sure who else it applies to.

Multiple different contracts may apply to different people on the same ship, it might also depend on where they board. I haven't been able to even see the Cunard UK website recently since it appears Cunard cut off access to it from the US. The UK website used to have a lot more information than the US website.

If you have read the reviews at various places you should come to the conclusion that Cunard is a mainstream cruise line. People debate where it lies in relation to the other mainstream cruise lines like Princess, Celebrity, etc. Where it fits is completely subjective and depends on what one considers important.

There are also the luxury lines, e.g., Crystal, Seabourn, Regent. People I know swear by these as they find it better value to them for the money.

Personally, I would not book Grills. I do not fly first class either. However, I will sometimes spend money on a very nice restaurant or for an unusual experience. I once pent over $500

to stay in a bunk room on the top of Mount Washington, New Hampshire in the middle of winter (extremely cold and windy, Google it). For me that was very good value, others may think it a total waste of money.

Also tastes differ even comparing somewhat similar things. I once went to the US Grand Canyon and another US National park called the Petrified forest (both in Arizona). My friend who had been to both told me before I went that the Petrified forest wasn't worth the trip. Personally, I thought both parks were somewhat equivalent in enjoyment. I might even give the Petrified Forest a small edge.

For what you are probably spending on Grills you could probably get a Britannia Club balcony, go to Verandah every night and still have significant money left over. You could probably also fly somewhere and have a very nice vacation.

On this website you will see reviews from multiple people for the exact same cruise (independent of cruise line) where some people loved it and some thought it the worst cruise ever.

Whether or not Grills is worth the money depends on what YOU value and what other options you have for similar amounts of money. It is all completely subjective. The taste of food (unless it is really bad/defective) is also subjective. The best recommendation is, if you have a friend who's taste you know is very similar to yours and who has traveled on the QM2, ask them and ignore everything you see on any of the boards.

This is from the US passage contract with Cunard (on their website) regarding alcohol:

"Guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne per adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage."

I assume many passengers ignore this on a regular basis, I also assume that Cunard does not enforce this all the time. However, this is Cunard's policy.

Also, FYI from the Cunard website the below explains how they minimize (not eliminate) movement:

Stabilisers: Queen Mary 2 has four ‘VM Series’ folding fin stabilisers built by Brown Brothers of Edinburgh, Scotland. They are a one-piece, passive-type design (which means they don’t have flaps) and when combined reduce the ship’s roll by 90%.

Each stabiliser:  weighs approximately 70 tons is 8.2 feet wide

extends beyond the ship’s side by 20.5 feet 

has a surface area of 168 square feet

provides 1070 kN lift

takes approximately 30 seconds to extend or house

Just tried to make a reservation for a 2019 cruise and it wouldn't take my CC. Will try later and hope the room is still there.

Their website seems really screwed up. I am going to give it another week before I try again. The people on the phone seem helpful enough. That is how I booked my trip.

FYI, ships do move, not sure if the cups they have for children have covers. Just in case you might want to bring a cup with a cover.

I'm taking my first ever "cruise" this August, with a TA from NY to Hamburg.

 

Is there an advantage to boarding early? I'm one of those people who don't mind waiting to be last to board a plane; I'd rather sit in comfort than stand in a line, so I'm thinking I'd rather not arrive at the terminal to board until absolutely necessary. If I'm given a specific boarding time, and show up at that exact time, will I still need to stand in line for an hour?

 

I'm just not sure what to expect...

FYI, traffic in NYC can be extremely unpredictable. I don't mind boarding planes last however I don't like running through airports to catch a flight either. You might want to allow extra time to get to the port and then unfortunately sit for a while just in case.

If you think you might get seasick there are room recommendations that are all over the site that you should really consider:

book a cabin as low as possible and in the center (from bow to stern) of the ship as possible within the category (eg, inside, ocean-view, balcony) you want.

It is simple physics that the lower you are and closer to the center of mass of the ship there is less rocking and rolling.

Personally I do better when I am in a place with a view and can get fresh air.

I think you are brave, if I had experiences as you describe I would not set foot on a cruise.

Reasonably priced and quite good? Try Becco on West 46th (Lidia Bastianich).

And, though touristy, plenty of local families eat at Carmine's on West 44th.

Like Peruvian? Pio Pio on 10th Avenue

Though further away, one of my favorites is the original Socarrat paella restaurants (in the Chelsea)

 

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Was in NY the other day to go to the MET and ate dinner at Becco since it was in the correct direction for us, we've eaten there before, and we weren't dressed for a fancy restaurant. I concur that the food is good and reasonably priced for NY. It can be noisy and a little crowded especially if people are eating there just before curtain time, it is in the theatre district. It is also "walkable" to the pier.

The buffet is usually very busy on embarkation day as people push shove and fight to fill up their plates with as much food as possible, because obviously the ship will run out of food the next day. :eek::eek::eek:

I saw somewhere on this forum that the MDR was open for lunch on embarkation like on some other lines. Why not go there to miss the crowds?

How much does the cost of a cruise/crossing on Cunard compare to any other ship you have been on? I've never been on a cruise myself, so don't have a point of comparison, but the other ships I'd have any interest in traveling on are significantly more expensive than Cunard.

 

For me, the cost of a 7 day TA crossing and then a return flight is cheaper than just purchasing an airline ticket to & from Europe, so the cost of the crossing is a bargain.

 

The savings I have made will more than cover the cost of gratuities, drinks, and any other "incidental" onboard purchases.

As another newbie, one other cruise on a sister ship company ship (Princess), there are a couple of things to consider. First, Cunard travelers like to dress up, there is a stricter dress code on Cunard than other cruise lines, which means you may have to bring on extra clothes just for that reason. You can travel for just the cruise fare plus port fees (quoted in the final price). You DO NOT have to buy anything extra on the cruise (except the gratuities really should be paid, the amount of gratuities for the different cabin classes are listed on the Cunard website and there is a few dollars per bag for the porters at embarkation). I strongly recommend travel insurance however that really is true even if you fly both ways. The reason I say you can travel for the cruise fare is that all food is included, as well as entertainment. So is non-bottled water and some non-alcoholic beverages. Soda is extra, but not required, if you drink ALOT of soda a soft drink package is available. You can also bring onboard a couple of bottles of wine (not hard liquor) to enjoy in your cabin without any charge. Drinks in the bars can be purchased a la carte, if you need to. The bottom line is that you do not need to spend anything extra. That said you probably will. Most people cruise because they want the experience.

What other cruise lines are you considering? Cunard is a mass market line, some say top end of the mass market group. Think Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity, and Norwegian. The high end, think luxury, are lines like Crystal, Seabourn, Viking Ocean Cruises, Azamara, Regent, Silversea Cruises, and some people include Oceania in the group.

WARNING: You probably will not get seasick on an airplane. On the QM2 you will be at sea in the open North Atlantic (known for waves) for 7 days. The North Atlantic is especially rough in winter. Unless you have cruised before you may not know if you will get seasick. Being seasick for seven days would not be my idea of a fun vacation.

FYI, I assume you have considered the cost of getting to the port of embarkation from your home and from the port of debarkation to where you are traveling to in Europe.

I called this morning. They said lots of people were having problems and to try again on Monday.

Most of the cigaret action is on deck 7 aft.

Does this mean there isn't cigarette smoking mid-ship on deck 7 promenade? I am concerned because I have a balcony cabin on deck 8.

Will Cunard let you bring bottles water aboard?

Personally, I would not eat in Little Italy. Just too very touristy now. China town can be fun. New York has so many great restaurants and things to do, some of the world's best museums, you really need to narrow down the type of food you want to eat, how fancy a restaurant, what you want to spend, etc. The restaurant scene in NY is very dynamic. Restaurants open and close all the time. Some can go downhill fast. FYI, the best restaurants can be booked well in advance. E.g., some may already be booked for when you plan to be here. Zagat should help. You can also look at Bloomberg.com. I am not sure I really trust tripadvisor.

Top of the rock is nice, so is the empire state building. I think June may still be OK since it is before the summer tourist season gets into full swing, however I have seen huge lines for both top of the rock and the empire state building, weekends of course worse. You might want to check out a water taxi. Fyi, in June the weather should be great for central park, the whole park is nice. Personally I would try to stop at Cleopatra's needle in back of the Met. There are some people that offer walking tours of central park that can be interesting. Although very touristy the double decker tour buses could be fun, especially if the weather is good. The buses provide a good way of seeing the most of Manhattan.

Do they strictly follow the schedule in New York or will they let you on earlier then your specific time.

I've been to Quebec many times, but not by ship. I think of Quebec (the old city part) as a great city to walk in depending on the amount of time you have and if you enjoy walking. Also, while anything is possible, I think they have to make port in Quebec because although you booked it as a round trip Cunard sells it as two one way cruises. New York to Quebec and another cruise Quebec to New York.

If you have a choice JFK is easier, no bridges or tunnels even though technically Newark is a few miles closer. Depending on the day of the week or the time of the day leave sufficient time. It could easily take over an hour once you get in the car if it is rush hour. As I write this Google maps says it is 1 hour and 11 minutes from Newark airport to the cruise terminal, and 56 minutes from Kennedy.

Also, if it is rush hour it may be more difficult to arrange transport on the spot.

How is the food in the Empress Main dinning room, is Chops worth the price? I know these are somewhat subjective questions however any advice would be appreciated.

It sounds like people really like Chops. I know it is a matter of personal opinion however, is Chops much better than the main dinning room (worth the upcharge)? I will be traveling on the Empress of the Seas. An older smaller ship.

Went on my first cruise in January, Fort Lauderdale down to Caribbean. People DO get seasick. We were lucky however, I heard of others who had to stay in their cabin the whole first day. FYI, they had to close ALL the pools that day due to motion of the ship. I would suggest talking to your doctor and being prepared. If you don't need the medicine great.

Others have also said the same thing about being lower on the ship and in the middle. If you are worried about being seasick you might want to trade this off against noise. Again, personal choice.

You may also want to check out the location of the sit down restaurants. Because of when we booked (last minute) we ended up in an aft restaurant so you could really feel the motion of the ship on the first day out.

There are many different opinions as to dining: fixed time, anytime, buffet. Personally we liked fixed time in a dining room, we had a nice table for 2. Didn't really like a buffet and with fixed time the staff gets to know you and for example they would bring us what we drank without even asking. Again, this is up to you. However, with anytime dining in the main dining rooms there can be a wait for dinner. On your cruise it may not be a problem or it could be an hour wait. If you do get into a higher class meal venue with the mini-suite the food may be better, if that is important to you.

FYI, at least one of the nights will be a formal night and people do tend to dress in the dinning rooms a little nice than at the buffet even on non-formal nights. My personal opinion is if you are going to a sit down dining room on a formal night you should dress nice.

FYI, you did not ask however unless it was a free perk you might decide ahead of time if you want to buy a drink package (there are both soft drink only packages and liquor based packages). There are numerous threads regarding whether or not these make sense. Also, at least on the Crown Princess the bartenders were not that good.

Finally, you did not ask but did mention your teenage daughter was going with you. Depending on your particular cruise there may be many other teenagers or very few. Princess tends to skew a little older and is typically less of a party boat than Carnival. However, I tend to think the age mix is extremely dependent on the particular cruise. Our cruise started out of Fort Lauderdale (Florida is one of the retirement capitals of the US) and during a time when school was in session. As a result very, very, few under the age of 21. A few more people in retirement age then in the general population however there seemed to be a good mix of ages across the board from twenty something couples and singles through 80 year olds.

We liked our cruise and will go on an additional cruise with Princess assuming we like the itinerary.

Went on a cruise on Crown Princess in January.

Brought two bottles of wine on board that we had in our cabin. No problem. We carried them on in hand luggage, I would not put wine in checked luggage.

They were screw top so did not need a cork screw. These were not great wines however, for some wines screw top is better than cork. Cork has it's own problems.

At one of the ports brought on Rum. We checked ours however I am sure everybody did. Not sure they even looked at that port of call.