LB_NJ

Book a refundable then later convert it to the nonrefundable rate as it gets to final payment. This gives you the best of both options.

Also, if you book non-refundable and there is a flash sale you may lose the deposit in order to take advantage of the flash sale. Insurance usually does not cover cancel for any reason.

I usually try to book refundable unless there is a very significant price difference.

You also risk them changing the itinerary to one you do not like and you would still be out that part of the deposit.

So we have Informal, Gala Evenings AND Smart Attire! Three dress codes????

Only 2 going forward,

If they remove the jacket requirement on the Smart Attire nights it means I have one less item to pack.

Not really. If you want to find someone who knows nothing about his company, talk to one of its "Senior Executives". If you really want to know what's going on, talk to the receptionist. There is no way someone just changed these descriptions like that from 17 June onwards without a reason. And "Smart Attire" is a dead giveaway. Oceania calls it "Country Club Casual" which means the YMCA to some.

I was on a Princess Cruise and they called it:

• Skirts/dresses, slacks, and sweaters for ladies
  
• Pants and open-neck shirts for men"
  

Unfortunately to one person smart casual meant a clean T-shirt.

We will have to wait for the new definitions to show up to see what it really means.

I do think if they really change the definitions it will be bad for Cumard. There will end up being no real difference between that line and any of the other mainstream Carnival cruise lines. Really dumb marketing mistake.

I just called Cunard and they think the dress policy is changing. My Voyage Personaliser now states Smart Attire for some nights (used to be informal) and Gala Evening for what used to be formal nights.

Will be a couple of weeks until new definition.

I think the changeover will depend on the date of your cruise.

Perfect! That's exactly what I was looking for. I looked all over the website but never thought of the Voyage Personalizer.

 

Thanks!

I just called Cunard and they think the dress policy is changing. My Voyage Personaliser now states Smart Attire for some nights (used to be informal) and Gala Evening for what used to be formal nights.

Will be a couple of weeks until new definition.

I think the changeover will depend on the date of your cruise.

Guess we all have our priorities on what is importat to us.

 

Cunard however lays out its dress code for what it - and fellow passengers - expect. It also lists which venues are open to those who want to skip the formality. Seems fair to me as people have a choice. The OP prefers to stay casual and to his credit wants to know his options.

 

 

What does concern me however is the double standard for advice in "dress code" threads. Those who set out to flaunt the dress code in the restaurant and theatres are encouraged to "do what feels comfortable" and "be who they are". Those of us who dress formally as reqested however "worry over how people dress" and now "should be more concerned about hygiene than clothing". When did it become so wrong to expect a formal atmosphere on what is promoted as a formal night?

There is a reasonable balance. The dress code allows for a dark suit and tie. It does not mandate a tuxedo although that is what I will bring. A properly selected dark jacket (eg, black) and slacks (also black) would be indistinguishable from a dark suit except with a magnifying glass. I do not think that would violate the spirit of the dress code or annoy other passengers who are in part traveling on Cunard because of the formality.

On the other hand a plaid or herringbone jacket is probably completely inappropriate. I do agree that if you do not want to dress then Cunard is not the right cruise line. If the formality went away so would Cunard as there would be no reason for the line to exist, it would be just one more cruise line in a crowded field.

There are many other cruise lines (e.g., Celebrity, Oceania) that do not have the same dress formality.

Possibly and thanks for the suggestion. However, I have never cruised with P&O and hence have never had a reason to visit the P&O cruise personaliser at "cp.pocruises.com". Therefore it seems hard to envision a scenario where anything in my browser cache would have caused an attempt to access the Cunard voyage personaliser at "vp.cunard.com" to be redirected to the P&O cruise personaliser instead.

 

Now I do occasionally visit Cunard's UK web site at "cunard.co.uk" via a vpn connection, so it seems less far-fetched that something left over in my browser cache could have caused my recent hiccups where I found myself on the login page of Cunard's UK voyage personaliser while navigating through shore excursions within the US voyage personaliser. But it seems less likely that something in my browser cache would have caused me to be redirected to the login page to Cunard's German voyage personaliser.

 

Hard to know for sure, but my money's on those being glitches on Cunard's end. I have had no repeat of those recent glitches with the voyage personaliser for what that's worth.

 

Regards, John

I think that the same internal IT is shared by many/all of Carnival;s cruise lines. I had booked a cruise with Cunard and later booked a cruise with Princess. To my surprise when I logged in to Princess cruise's web site to put in my information (e.g., passport info) it was already there. Cunard must have linked it somehow.

You won't have any issue carrying on as much wine as you'd like, despite the stated limitation. I've carried on 10 bottles of wine & champagne for a 12-night cruise.

I have a question about corkage and unfinished bottles. We will definitely bring a few bottles onboard.

However, we are not big drinkers and may not finish a bottle at one meal. What happens to the bottle if we want to save it for the next night?

I get the sense, that CUNARD phone representatives / service in the US is very different from that in the UK ? Which is odd, isn't it.? I have NEVER had anything but kind and helpful and gracious persons to assist me, when I call the US #. And this is over a span of a number of years.

I live in the US and I think the calls go to California. I haven't called that often however, except for one time when I wasn't happy with the result they have always been helpful.

FYI, the result I was not happy with was when I booked online with a big box travel agent and they didn't tell me the deposit was non-refundable. I had booked over Thanksgiving weekend and it was several hundred dollars cheaper. Cunard was not willing to refund the deposit if I cancelled.

As Keith suggested, and since the wife already has a cocktail dress, bring a tie, white shirt and either a dark suit or a black sport coat and black slacks. These are useful clothes for traveling on land and should not over-burden your luggage. Then you will have full access to all of the QM2 every night. It would be a shame to be shunned to Kings Court and Carenthia and to miss out on all the rest. This work-around works for me as we sail QM2 to or from Europe and travel around the continent with cleverly-arranged luggage.

From Cunard's website: "Dinner jacket, tuxedo or dark suit with tie for gentlemen. A range of gentlemen's formal wear is available to hire on board ship."

So I guess it is possible to hire a tuxedo if you wished.

However, as others have said a dark suit with tie is acceptable. If you were going to take a jacket and pants you could do as suggested and use dark/black jacket and dark/black pants. In subdued lighting the appropriate jacket and pants will likely look like a suit. As suggested a tie (I would suggest dark/black tie) and nice shirt (some suggest subdued color, I might think white with cufflinks). The suggested mix if executed appropriately would likely not annoy anyone, except people who like to be annoyed. Wouldn't really take up any more room in a suitcase. Tie and cufflinks would take very little room and may useful on your trip. A shirt that uses cufflinks can generally be used anywhere a regular collared shirt can be used

I suppose it can be discouraging to many people because you have to pass a sign reading Princess Grill, but the stairway is in an area I would call the entrance lobby to the PG. It is not actually in the restaurant. One turns right for the stairway before reaching the maître d's desk.

Thank you for the information.

I don't understand why they just don't put a door on deck 8 so you don't have to go through the Verandah or go through these circuitous routes.

I READ SOMEHWRER

I think I read somewhere that the ship has plumbing problems. How bad are they? Do they also have air conditioning problems?

Also, I booked an 8 day interior cabin cruise (deck 7), is this too much for the smaller ship?

I booked a cruise on Empress because it is going where I want and like the idea of a smaller ship.

 

Dress Code – .... We would then take the hallway on Deck11 (we were on Deck 12 which does not run the length of the ship) all the wayback to the D Elevators and drop down to Deck 7 as there is no direct access toDeck 8 Terrace from Deck 8 except through the Verandah Restaurant. On the portside of the ship near elevator bank D Deck 7 is a hidden stairway that leads upto Deck 8 Terrace.

 

 

...

 

Harold Green

aka Jack Dawson

Could you say a little more about the hidden stairway on deck 7. from the deck plan it looks like there is a stairwell in the Princess Grill however, I assume I am reading the plan wrong.

Larry

i can't log in and getting this message.

The requested reservation is currently being modified. Please try again at a later time.

I have gotten that a number of times. I called them. At this point if I need something or want information I will just call them.

Is Countdown to Cruise working for anyone? It's a small feature from the old site, but I liked it. The menu option is there (on old looking screen) but not working. Otherwise, the site functions.

Not working for me yet, really annoying.

I posted some menus from our Dec cruise @

Thank you.

Although we like wine, we don't drink a lot. Also, I and my wife generally don't like the same wine. If the quality and price is there we usually buy wine by the glass when we dine out. What is the quality of wine by the glass and about how much a glass?

I agree with you that the updated website needs much work. I noticed they did add an option to "pay the remaining balance". I had guessed that this would be the next addition to the site.

 

My cruise is not until June, 2019, so I have enough time to wait for them to add the options to the site that it used to have.

 

At least now when I click on cruise planner, it loads it. I am no longer asked to enter my name, booking number, etc. The Cruise Planner page no longer shows the Countdown to cruise. I always enjoyed seeing how many days to go. I hope it appears somewhere.

 

I wonder who decided to roll out the updated site before it was ready. Is anyone running the IT department?

There is a countdown to cruise button on the website. You just can't reach the page.

The distillery may well have options available to ship directly for you. I would check with them regarding this during your visit. Might be worth consideration.

We traveled to the Caribbean in January and brought back rum as a souvenir. Different cruise line however they just checked it and placed it in our stateroom on the last day.

From the Royal Caribbean FAQ: "Additional bottles of wine beyond two (2) bottles that are brought onboard or any alcoholic beverages purchased in ports of call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the sailing."

You do have to check the bag for airline flying. No large liquid bottles in carry on luggage. We brought a large Ziploc bag for just such a purpose.

One thing we did not think about before hand is the weight. A 750ml bottle can be quite heavy. It will also take up room in your luggage.

Think about the added weight and room needed. If your luggage is close to the weight limit (or strength limit of the bag) already you may have a problem.

Also, the luggage cabins in aircraft can get quite cold. The alcohol will probably keep it from freezing however not sure it would do the flavor any good.

If shipping from the distillery is available at a reasonable cost it may be a good idea.

Im also a shareholder and really cant complain of the return it's given me over the last 7 years.

 

I also believe if someone is determined to buy an excursion or any other item off the website they will either call or book on board.

 

Not defending their poor decision.....just don't believe it will cause a large revenue problem. Much less than the news cycle issues of a hurricane in the Caribbean.

 

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

I agree that they made a mess of the upgrade, really stupid the way they handled it.

However, assuming this does not go on for too much longer, and you can arrange for travel documents, excursions, etc. over the phone. This is really just an annoyance although there will be a short term additional cost to the cruise company for having more people handle the phone calls.

If they were smart they would give out a small perk to travelers who are sailing soon, maybe a little bit of OBC. They should also send an email blast to all the people traveling soon to apologize and explain that they can call, etc. to arrange for things.

I have only booked 6 cruises however, none of them on the cruise company's website. I have either booked by phone to the cruise company or on a travel agent's website. If someone likes the price and wants to travel on a particular cruise not being able to do it on the website is a minor inconvenience.

Yes, for some reason Cunard seem to have restricted access to a lot if their website to US visitors, all still available to us in the UK.

 

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/fleet/qm2_obs

You are correct that from the US you could get to all the wonderful information on Cunard's website, including views from obstructed view cabins. Menu samples from various restaurants, etc. It was one of the most informative cruise ship websites in the industry.

Then they killed access from the US. Now it is one of the worst in the industry, at least from the US.

I'm surprised the read this part. I thought drinks on Cunard were weak and overpriced. No free pour like I've experienced on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and other lines ... and the only line I've ever sailed that charges separately for the alcohol, then another charge for the mixer. The end result is a higher price for a cocktail than I've paid on probably any other line except Oceania.

I have a cruise booked for this summer (July 4) on the QM2 so I hope it is worth it (minimum balcony is $300 pp/day).

However I was on Crown Princess in January and tried the margaritas. Price was ok however the worst margarita I ever had. They used sour mix and it was terrible. My wife didn't finish hers. Otherwise the ship was fine at $100pp/day for an inside cabin. After my cruise on the QM2 I'll be able to compare the 2 ships.

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?