kmerlin14

8 hours ago, jimdee3636 said:

I'm seriously thinking of booking the same QE Vancouver-to-Tokyo cruise, but for 2020, not 2021. I have a question for anyone who's taken it previously: What are the demographics of the guests, in terms of nationality? My only Cunard experience has been a 21-day New York to Southampton round-trip (by way of Liverpool, Reykjavik, and Atlantic Canada) this past July. On that cruise, I'd estimate that nearly 70% of the guests were from the U.K., and another 10% from Germany, France, and other European countries. I loved that international mix, but I wonder if anyone other than Americans and Canadians cruise out of Vancouver.

Some of our table mates were from Australia and we met some people from India/Canada and Germany in the Buffet. There were a number of Chinese dancers on board and I think there were some Koreans as well. You would probably get a lot of Japanese passengers too. We were on the loop cruise so I imagine the Vancouver to Tokyo cruise would have even more Japanese passengers. The demographic was pleasantly international

Cunard was awarded some Glacier Bay permits so they could be waiting for that. 

We really enjoyed our hike with Wild Wolf tours in Ketchikan. She took us to the end of the road in a small van and told us what it was like to grow up there. We also got to the museum before all the tour buses

Just saw the Queen Mary 2 sail past the restaurant window as she left the port of Halifax tonight. I hadn’t realized she was going to be in port today. 

23 minutes ago, candle in the wind said:

I may be wrong but I was under the impression FCC's were discontinued and only bookings are now taken on board to get the OBC. I asked about it last year and that was the answer, but maybe they have been reinstated.

I was able to get pay a future cruise deposit while I was on board the Queen Elizabeth in June and then get the on board credit when I took it to my travel agent to book a cruise when I got back home if that is any help. 

I go to Hopewell Rocks quite often, so I think I only wandered out on the beach at St. Martin's once, and I'm not sure how long before and after the lowest tide you can access the caves. You'd probably want some type of footwear that can handle the mud even at low tide. Usually I do some hikes along the Fundy trail when I go to that area. The scenery can be quite spectacular. 

Here's the link to the Fundy Trail website.

http://fundytrailparkway.com/

There is parking at both places. I suggest you go onto google maps and try and do a street view of where you are going if you can. The parking for the Reversing falls is a left hand turn just after you go over the bridge over the falls. That will take you into a large parking lot which also serves the restaurant. 

The Fundy trail near st. Martins has parking and lookoffs along the trail. (There is a fee to go onto that parkway). I can't remember if the caves are before or after the entrance to the parkway, but there was a big parking lot near there as well and I like the fish and chips in the restaurant.

If you are driving yourself , keep in mind that Saint John has a lot of one-way streets, so it will really help to have a navigator in the car with you. I usually get lost several times when I visit. Allow extra time to get places and especially to get back to the ship.

Www.thehopewellrocks.ca has some tide tables if you are able to check the day you are in port. You can usually access the ocean floor for about seven hours of the twelvish hour cycle

I was in Saint JOhn this weekend so I went to their private tour booth in Babour's Store to see if they had a tour to the Hopewell Rocks and they said they don't. It is a two hour drive to get there and another two hours back so the timing is very tight. They usually do tours to the Fundy Parkway/St. Martin's area which would give you the tidal experience as well. Some ships do offer a ships excursion to the Hopewell Rocks site though.

I go to Halifax on business quite often and I think you will find it is easy for find interesting things to do right by the cruise ship dock. I'm not a big fan of driving in the city, so I usually park my car and walk everywhere. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is right on the water front and it has good exhibits on the Titanic and the Halifax Explosion. Pier 23 has a good museum on the role of the port in Canadian Immigration and it is right on the waterfront as well. There are also the Historic Properties and there are sometimes festivals on the waterfront like the buskars. 

Further up the hill, but walkable for a five-year-old is the Discovery Centre which would appeal to kids. The Citidal is also very interesting, but it is higher on the hill and the hill is steep, so if you don't like hills you might want to splurge for a taxi. The Halifax Botanical Gardens and the Nova Scotia museum are also interesting and there are many interesting historic buildings as well. You should be able to pick up a map at the tourist info which is also on the waterfront. I think HMCS Sackville, Thomas the Tugboat, and the Bluenose II are often in port as well, so there is plenty to see close by the cruise ship. 

I'll be honest, I usually find Peggy's Cover underwhelming, probably because it is usually so crowded. We often take pictures of the buses in the parking lot when we go. Lunenburg is a world heritage site and I find it much more interesting, but that could be because some of my ancestors were among the founding families. But both of them will mean spending part of your port day on the bus or in a car. If you do decide to go, try to eat at Shaw's landing in Dover. The food was fantastic there and we were so glad we'd eaten there instead of braving the crowds at Peggy's Cove.

And we are doing the Eastern Seaboard cruise in 2020, so I appreciate hearing about Boston and New Port. Our other ports are Sydney and double Quebec city.

On 7/22/2019 at 5:56 AM, Nicole&Pete said:

thanks very much for your help, that is a good point about the toilet positioning. the other cabin we are considering is 5063 which now I look does have a smaller balcony I think. I think the ones in the forward and aft on that deck are standard size balconies but this one looks smaller to me.

We were in 5067 (directly across from the laundry room) and found it very pleasant. I think I managed to attach some photos that show you what the view was like from the balcony. (One was deliberately shot to include the lifeboats). The sofa was right beside the doors, so we could sit there and look out if it was cold. We'd planned to go on deck for the Hubbard Glacier day, but the view was so good form the balcony, we just stayed in our room. I put on the tv to either the forward deck or deck five station and we were able to hear the naturalist's comments that way. We even made a cup of tea because there are coffee and tea making supplies in the cabins.

They also had refreshments out on the decks during the scenic viewing and I was able to get a glass of water in the Queen's room when I wanted it. There was a cooler there and I think I saw some on the deck when we did our walk arounds. I suspect you will enjoy your cruise and you won't have to worry about running back to the lido for something to drink. I preferred the coffee and tea in the Lido to the coffee in the MDR. And the tea in the Queen's room is really good.

My first sentence seems to be jumbled in with the pictures so I'll repeat that we were in room 5067 and it was very quiet. I found being across from the laundry room a bonus because I could shift the laundry over, set the alarm on my phone,  and then go watch the dolphins from my balcony.

7 hours ago, Harley52 said:

Did you leave from Vancouver and what ports did you visit.

We just got back from the Vancouver-Ketchikan-Juno-Skagway-Icy Straight-Hubbard Glacier-Sitka-Victoria-Vancouver loop and very much enjoyed it. I found that all the staff were very pleasant and we were very pleased with our cruise. I'm sure you will have a very good cruise. 

We were on deck five midships for Alaska and the Captain opened the crew area on that deck for scenic viewing during Hubbard glacier and some of the other scenic sailaways. (She did ask us to be courteous and quiet because we were sharing the area with the crew.) We went a few times and I can't remember there being anything there that should cause noise. On that sailing, they brought some refreshments via the starboard side, so they sometimes asked us to use the port corridor. The corridor was a little cooler when the deck was opened up, but I found the fresh air pleasant. We quite enjoyed deck five.

Queen Elizabeth Round trip June 10-20 trip reportI started a trip report for the Queen Elizabeth June 10-20 sailing. It will talk about dancing, clothes for hiking, and I haven't seen any reports for this ship and Cunard hasn't been to Alaska for 30 years.

Our ports were

Vancouver

Inside Passage

Ketchikan

Juno

Skagway

Icy Strait

sailing the Hubbard Glacier

Sitka

Sea day

Victoria

Vancouver-disembark

I started a trip report for the Queen Elizabeth June 10-20 sailing (or at least I thought I did, see below) It will talk about dancing, clothes for hiking, possibly a little bit about navigating the food offerings as a prediabetic and I haven't seen any reports for this ship this season and Cunard hasn't been to Alaska for 30 years.

Our ports were

Vancouver

Inside Passage

Ketchikan

Juno

Skagway

Icy Strait

sailing the Hubbard Glacier

Sitka

Sea day

Victoria

Vancouver-disembark

Now I can't find it to link to it, so I must have done something wrong. Or does the new thread need to be approved first. Once I figure that out, I will try to post the link.

Day 3: June 12 Ketchikan

The weather met my expectations in Ketchikan--it poured. Our cabin faced the town, so we had a nice view from the balcony. This was the only port where I'd planned a private excursion because were had a fairly long time in port and they did guarantee the ship return. I also liked the sound of the hike from the description and reviews on the internet. We went with Tracy from Wild Wolf Tours. Embarkation was easy and then we waited by the gang plank for her like she said in her email. She'd warned us we might have to wait a bit and we did. I wore my waterproof hiking shoes and hiking pants from Eddie Bauer that are water repellent, quick drying, breathable, and stretchy (just perfect) and a tmax type long-sleeved shirt with a puffy jacket and lined rain jacket and poncho. Most of the clothes I brought were spot on, but the one regret I did have was that I brought a lined waterproof jacket instead of the unlined waterproof one that I had bought for the trip and then left behind. Turns out that the lined jacket wasn't as waterproof as I thought so it was a bit clammy by the end of the hike where my sleeves stuck out of my rain poncho. Memo to self--if you buy something specially for a trip, maybe you should actually bring it on said trip instead of leaving it behind. 

However the hike was awesome. Turns out my line dancing friend was on it was well and there were only 9 of us, so it was easy to hear the guide when she stopped to tell us things. She grew up in Alaska so she was able to give us some insights into life here. I was fascinated when she told us how the grade seven students go camping for their school closing trip. then in grade 8, they have to live off the land for three days. Her daughter had to eat sea cucumbers even though she didn't really like them. 

Tracy took us to one of the totem museums first before all the bus tours got there and led us around and told us the story of how raven brought sun to the world and what it was like to live in the clan house long ago.

Everyone would have lived and slept here, but there wouldn't have been a railing in front of the fire pit.

After that, she drove us to the end of the road so we could go on the lunch creek falls trail.

All that rain made the falls spectacular 

When we got back to the van, she had a snack of salmon dip and crackers for us and it was absolutely delicious. After our hike,we explored the town of Ketchikan and did a little bit of shopping. A number of people have mentioned that ulu knives make a great souvenir, so I looked for some and found one that came with a cookbook. It had been made in Alaska as opposed to China and I thought I'd look at the cook book and decide if I wanted to get more as presents. By that time we were cold and wet , so we returned to the ship because it would be leaving anyway. Innocently, I put my backpack through the scanner, only to have everyone get all excited and pull me aside. Turns out we aren't allowed to bring an ulu knife on board the ship. They confiscated it and told me I could have it back when I disembarked. I didn't get to read the recipe book and I figured I'd better not buy any others after that reaction. My husband also took great delight in texting my daughter about how her mother was now on the naughty list. Then we changed into dry clothes and headed up to the lido for tea because we were discovering the joys of afternoon tea. (Another clothing note since many people are wondering about clothes for Alaska--I made sure to always have a dry set of clothes  to change into whenever we went out in the rain. One of my fleece sweaters was only worn inside or on dry days so that it would always be dry when I wanted it.) I will write more soon.

June 11-Cruising the inside passage

When we woke up this morning, the view from our balcony looked like this so I decided it would be perfectly acceptable to go line dancing instead of looking at the scenery. 

There were a lot of people on the floor, but I was able to hold my own more line dancing even though the dances were all new to me. Once I figured out which steps and what order to do them in without adding any extra steps, I was even able to start pointing which direction we were supposed to be going , so I actually made a friend or two on the dance floor. After that, my husband joined me for the group waltz lesson and we picked up a couple of tips for our waltz. After all that exercise, I was starving, so we headed to the Lido for lunch. We ate there for lunch most days because the food was very good and it allowed me to vegetable load for the day. (Boy did that strategy backfire on the day that they held the chocolate buffet)

This was also our first formal night and the black and white ball. We were still too intimidated to actual dance at the ball, so we headed up to yacht club and danced there instead because there was no one on the floor. It was rolling quite badly by then so it made for some interesting dance moves. Many nights we would have dinner, go to the show, and then head to the yacht club to dance before grabbing a snack at the late night buffet. 

We just got back from our wonderful trip on the Queen Elizabeth and I thought I'd do a trip report since i haven't seen one for this itinerary. Internet was very limited so I couldn't really do it live, so here is the replay.

We chose the queen Elizabeth because it was a round trip that began and ended in Vancouver and the ten day itinerary allowed us to visit more ports. We also love to dance, so I wanted a ship with a good dance floor. We have now decided that this ship was a good fit for us because we had a wonderful time.

Our trip started with us flying in on the 8th of June because we don't like the stress of flying in the day of. This gave us the chance to explore Stanley Park and my husband finally got to see the Vancouver aquarium. We stayed at the Hotel Marriott Residence Inn. It was quite convenient, but I found that the bed was very soft and I woke up in pain on the second day. Luckily I was able to work out the kinks doing yoga in their gym. My husband says his side of the bed was fairly firm, so it may have just been a one off. We also decided it would be better if I didn't use the safe after I accidentally pressed two buttons by mistake and programmed it with a combination that we didn't know after I locked our passports inside. I suspect I wasn't the first person to do it, because they called someone to unlock it for us.

The morning of our cruise we had a good breakfast and checked out and decided to drop off our luggage at the port. It was about 10:30, but the port was too busy so they wouldn't' let us down and the driver had to drop us off in front of the hotel with all our luggage. It was on wheels so I figured we may as well walk around Canada Place for a bit. Around 11 o'clock we found an elevator that took us down to the luggage drop off  and we eventually found the place where we could drop it off. After that we headed to the checkin because the train and airport transfers hadn't arrived yet. That part got slightly confusing because everything I'd read on the departure ports said that check in was after security for the port of Vancouver. However, this time it was before security and we missed a turn in the maze and ended up in security before we'd received our id cards, so they sent us back to get them. It was still quiet and we got through the next two steps fairly painlessly and reached the place of the chairs where we were to wait for the boarding call. The person I sat beside seemed a little cranky about the wait, but it seemed reasonable to me and there were plenty of chairs for everyone to sit on, so it seemed quite civilized. They gave the boarding call before I even had a chance to haul out my book. Our cabins weren't ready yet, so they invited everyone up to the lido restaurant where they fed us. Before we were finished eating, they announced that the cabins were ready, so we headed down to unpack before muster drill. We were quite pleased with our cabin and enjoyed it for the entire trip. It was right across the hall from the laundry room which meant I could put in a load of clothes and then go out on the balcony to watch the dolphins until it was time to shift the laundry. (I set the time on my phone so I wouldn't' trigger any laundry room drama.) We were also on deck 5 and the captain opened the bow for scenic viewing several times during the voyage. Sometimes we took advantage of it, sometimes we just watched from the balcony in our cabin. The laundry room closes to passengers at 9pm so there wasn't any noise during sleeping hours. I wouldn't hesitate to chose that cabin again. We were also able to sit on the sofa and still see the scenery. At night we would leave the drapes open so we could watch Alaska go by. 

Our muster station was in the theater and they had us carry our life jackets there and made sure everyone knew how to put them on. On the Allure we watched a cartoon detective movie that seemed more concerned about hand washing than what we should do in an emergency.

After that, it was time to dress for dinner and meet our table mates because the early dining had been moved from 6 pm to 5:30 pm. That was a bit of a scramble on some nights but our table mates were very interesting and congenial and they helped to make our trip special. Two of the couples at our table liked to dance as well and they were great for moral support. This particular cruise had a number of very good dancers on it, so we were too intimidated to dance in the Queens Ball room for a number of nights because we are just social dancers. the first night we went to the show in the theater. 

On 5/5/2019 at 8:56 AM, cruiseluvva said:

I just read on another site than Britannia dinner sittings have been changed to 5.30 and 7.45! Whether or not this is just for Japan, I don’t know.

We are on the Vancouver to Alaska round trip and our travel agent got an email saying our early dining time is moved to 5:30. We board Monday so will know for sure then. MDR will be empty for the early sitting when we go to Juneau 

I talked to my travel agent about it and she mentioned that if the ship didn't make it into the port for any reason, it would be up to us to rejoin the ship n our own. So I think we will plan on embarking in New York so we don't have to risk that because it would mean missing most of the cruise. Or I can try and find an itinerary going the other way.

11 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

I wonder if this is something new for the QE Alaska itineraries. I know Cunard used to specify "Jacket Optional" on embarkation day for their QV Mediterranean fly cruises. This is this first time I've seen this mentioned on other types of cruises (and on the last evening rather than embarkation day). Are others seeing "Jacket Optional" on other itineraries? Not seeing it on our upcoming QM2 crossings, but I can see why they might do that on itineraries such as the QE Alaska itineraries where the last day is not a sea day.

I just thought that the jacket optional on embarkation day was to accommodate someone who might not have had their luggage delivered before dinner--especially with them moving the time of the early sitting to 5:30 instead of six. 

3 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

They did not charge anything. Permission was granted in advance and our "cruise cards" read SOU - YHZ. There was, of course, no refund for the shortened voyage of one and a half days.

 

The reverse is also possible. British friends were on board one of the e/b crossings the next year when the QM2 called in Halifax on its way to Southampton. They told me about 20 people had made arrangements to board the ship there instead of NY.

How would you go about doing something like that. It would be so much easier, and I suspect cheaper in the long run..

On 4/12/2019 at 10:33 PM, Calliope said:

Judge Seitz clearly means business, and even as a Carnival Corp. shareholder I applaud her. Apparently the $40,000,000. fine originally levied against Carnival's Princess brand was not enough to dissuade the passenger shipping companies under the Carnival Corp. banner to straighten their act up to comply with her original order.  Judge Seitz has even ordered Carnival Corp. Chair Micky Arison and President Arnold Donald to be present at the June hearing. I imagine that they are in for quite a serious tongue lashing and their demeanor could influence her ruling at the time.

What is the date in June? The Queen Elizabeth will be in Alaska then.

11 hours ago, Stella1250 said:

I put one upside down, and the other right side up together. I also usually rubber band them together so they fit snug. Stuff the toe with a half stocking to prevent too much squishing and I am ready to go! I always stuff my husbands shoes with socks so they are not smashed and we have all those extra socks.

Thanks. I was visualising you stacking about six pairs together. That should work for my dance sandles. Now to decide if we want to get a suit travel bag or just go with regular suitcases. My husband is thinking of bringing his kilt and paraphernalia for the formal nights and then a couple of pairs of trousers and this lovely jacket I found when we went into the store for his suit. (It looks great, but doesn't seem terrible prone to wrinkling and it will be comfortable to dance in. Most of my dresses won't wrinkle so I'm wondering if we need the suit bag or not.

On 2/24/2019 at 3:22 PM, Stella1250 said:

Unfortunately, there are 4 left feet in this family. We will probably watch all of the dancing, but I am sure we will not venture onto the floor. Most of my dress shoes take up very little room as they are heeled sandals which fit inside each other to pack. Luckily LOL

I'm trying to picture this. Do you do them as pairs or stack them all up at once. My problem is deciding which of the 12 pairs of dance shoes to bring.