We_like_to_cruise

I have the same question - anyone have any insight please? Thanks !

Thanks everyone !

Is it true the lanai cabins on Volendam do not have refrigerators? Thanks !

Still waiting nearly a month for the credit on our cancelled transfer from NY port to LGA. According to our TA, they are "still working on it" Anytime I return an item in a store the credit appears within a day or so. We were on the June 9 TA and due to "power problems" were 4 hours late to Brooklyn. Cunard decided to put us on an 11:30 am shuttle for our 2 pm flight out of LGA. Hmm, let's see, wait on the queue to disembark at 11:30 am, find our luggage, go through immigration/customs, locate the bus, wait for all of the passengers to get their luggage and themselves on the bus, drive 30+ minutes to LGA, wait for passengers to get off the bus, wait for luggage to be offloaded, check-in and find our gate. NO WAY this will work out. And of course the airline recommends that you be at the airport two hours before your flight! Forced to wait nearly an hour online at the excursion desk to cancel the shuttle and were assured we would receive our credit card credit in a few days. Many of us were inconvenienced by this 4 hour delay and Cunard did almost nothing voluntarily to assist. A fellow passenger - nothing from Cunard - advised me to ask at Guest Services for internet access. (The first cruise we ever took without a package!) We were anxious to check what our options might be if we missed our flight. They refused to help and told us to come back the next day where, after again waiting in a long line, we were eventually given 24 hour access to the internet. Gee thanks - nice of you to help after we spend thousands of dollars on this voyage and YOU are screwing up our plans. Still, waiting for that lousy $100 was just the icing on the cake of a very disappointing cruise experience on QM2. We would have to agree with much of what was said on the "Cruise with Ben and David" Youtube video. Their too-long video could use some judicious editing but to our minds we agree service and food were at best a 2/5. Here are some examples: Inexperienced wait staff in Britannia Dining Room, incorrect orders delivered to us, food not hot, a sommelier who lazily reached over my wife's head to hand me a glass of wine instead of walking all the way around (!) to the other side of our table for two, a staff member who said "The water dispenser is over there" when we asked for glasses of water in the buffet, a shockingly rude and unfriendly staff encounter and unfortunately more. Pitiful. Food was just ok in the MDR with limited choices and lackluster service. The buffet - nothing was hot and not much variety. Same old stuff day after day. The only really nice meal we had was at the Verandah Restaurant. Yet at the end of the meal when our check was presented we were advised (three different times!) that the gratuity was not included. A little excessive and not appropriate for such a lovely venue. Yes, so disappointing. We had such high expectations for QM2 anticipating an upscale experience. I brought my tuxedo and suits to wear for dinners. My wife dressed up each evening. We were ready to be wowed, but Cunard did not deliver. And, the planetarium - something we looked forward to - was still inoperative. When I queried a staff member for thoughts on when it would be fixed, he just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. Our room was adequate, with a fantastic cabin steward, but marred by the extensive rust on the balcony. Don't they have any paint on this ship? We have been on dozens of cruises on most of the major cruise lines with voyages ranging from three days to over one hundred. Were excited to finally try Cunard, but now will cross it off our list.

Spouse "hated" that there not enough bathrooms near public spaces. I "hated" that (at least on the Scarlet Lady back in May) MANY of the men's bathrooms had inoperative automatic faucets. No matter how you waved your hands no water came out. A staff member told me you had to "hit them" and sometimes that worked. It also explained why many seemed loose. Aggravating to have soap on your hands and not being able to wash it off. Bad enough that many do not wash their hands after using the facilities - even worse when one is incapable of doing so. Disgusting and a health hazard. Hand sanitizer does not kill norovirus. https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/prevention/index.html

You were looking for recent experience - we had our luggage delivered last week to our cruise ship! We did leave prior to the pickup date and arranged to leave our bags with a neighbor where they were picked up by Luggage Forward. The service was top notch and highly recommended. I would definitely use them again !

Lines, lines, lines – everywhere and for everything. Recently back from the TA, our first VV cruise, and probably our last (not just because of the lines). We have been on dozens of cruises on most of the major cruise lines with voyages ranging from three days to over one hundred. This cruise was inexpensive transportation to Europe and we were excited to check out the buzz on VV. Ultimately it wasn’t for us. We loved the vibe of the ship, met many nice people but the cruise experience did not live up to the hype. That is for another review. EMBARKATION Having been granted “priority boarding” thanks to status match DBE, we were instructed by Sailor Services to arrive at the Miami cruise terminal between 1pm and 1:30 pm. There we joined – literally – hundreds of other “priority boarding” pax. (One VV rep opined there were nearly 1,000 pax with this perk). “Priority” ain’t worth a damn if everyone has it. Nearly an hour in line standing outside and we were finally aboard. The weather was in our favor that day; cannot imagine standing outside in typical Miami heat and humidity. And rain ??? Every other cruise line we have been on offers you a seat in the air conditioned terminal as you await with your group for embarkation. WTH Virgin ? DINING RESERVATIONS Next we wait in line for another 20+ minutes to fix the dining reservations the app cancelled a few days before sailing. And that was after a looong time unsuccessfully adding them pre-cruise between starting and restarting the crashing app. Calling Sailor Services also did not help, but a friendly TA we met on another cruise seemed to have it taken care of for us. Alas, it was for nought as the app deigned to delete and rearrange our reservations. DINNER Lines to enter the dining rooms were not too bad – except for The Wake. We gave up listening to the musical entertainment with a pre-dinner drink at The Dock House, as the line to enter The Wake often stretched right down the middle of the hallway and through The Dock House. You could not even see the entertainment. SHOWS Every show we attended required at least 30 minutes waiting on line if you wanted a decent seat. We went to see the a capella group “Moonshot” and got to the end of a long line. Curious, I went to the front of the line. Guests 1 and 2 got on line one hour prior to the performance! Some lines for The Manor stretched through the casino all the way into the Roundabout bar area. PORT Our first port on this TA was Funchal, Madeira, after nine days at sea. Due to a prior medical emergency, our arrival time is a bit later at 12:30 pm. Hoping to avoid the early rush of disembarking pax, we prepare to leave a bit after 1 pm to meet our scheduled semi-private tour. BUT, not so fast. We are instructed to wait in a lounge and are forbidden to disembark. (Barriers are even put in place to prevent this). No real reason is given. After 10 minutes or so, I speak with a fellow passenger who has already been waiting 30 minutes. Eventually, to the sound of loud grumbling by many, we are given permission to now wait on another line to get off the ship. Returning to the ship is even more of a joke. The line stretches on as we wait and wait, slowly moving one step forward. The ship has one gangway open and one person checking in each of the hundreds of passengers on line. (Again, for comparison, most ships we have been on have TWO gangways and each has TWO agents checking oncoming passengers. Never waited in a line like this). When we finally got to the front, I asked a rep why the cruise line did not provide waiting passengers with a cup of water or a cool washcloth - she said “That’s a great idea!” This is not anything new to anyone who has been on any mainstream cruise line. Disembarkation VV allows very late disembarkation, seeemingly another great perk. Unfortunately that leads to more lines of disembarking passengers and more lines at the taxi queue. Honestly, this did not affect us, as we had an early flight. But we did keep in touch with newly made friends who complained about the excessive time waiting in yet another line to disembark. Sometimes lines cannot be avoided. But it seemed excessive on this sailing.

Honestly not a fan of the lines everywhere. Lines for embarkation, lines for dining reservations, lines for every show (at least 30 minutes for each). Did not go on vacation to wait on line.

We thought embarkation was a disorganized mess. Lines everywhere and even the people in charge didn't seem to know what was going on. Then more lines onboard to get our dining reservations sorted after the app deleted them all. Fortunately once onboard and settled we are having a very good time. Enjoying the food and meeting new friends.

What can I expect on Scarlet Lady ? Thanks!

So, after all of you provided helpful advice, and after a long time on the app and the phone, eventually, as noted above, our new TA was very helpful in getting all of our dinner reservations in place. Today I wake up to numerous messages on the VV app. All of our previous reservations have been cancelled and new ones - different dates, times and restaurants are on my Agenda. WTH ?? Not an auspicious start to our first cruise with VV. 😞

Good morning. Where would an early bird go for a hot cup of coffee on Scarlet Lady? And what is the earliest time it might be available? Thanks @

I have unsuccessfully been searching "My Cunard" to verify that my OBC and shareholder credit have been applied to our voyage. It does not appear to be in the "Booking Summary" or "Before You Sail" as I might expect. Could someone please point me in the right direction? Thank you!

Thank you @alserrod for taking the time to provide all of this useful information !

So, we are not booked in a Rock Star or Mega Rock Star cabin, and according to Sailor Services are not eligible for any VV shuttle to the airport. I am trying to figure out other ways to accomplish this. I did see that a company Moventis provides this service for €16, but don't know which of the 7 terminals the Scarlet Lady will dock. (The Port de Barcelona website provides the error message "No data available in table" when researching ship arrivals.) Can you help? We don't mind taking trains, buses, taxis or Ubers! Thanks !

Thanks again for all of the replies. We had no success with the app and minimal success by calling. Even the reps on the phone were complaining about the "slow computers". And we got disconnected twice while on hold ... However, we happened to meet a nice TA on another cruise and he called his office to make the reservations for us. Now he is our new TA ! 🙂

We just got off the Flora (fantastic!) and full-face snorkel masks were "not recommended". The ship had plenty of snorkeling gear in all sizes as well as wet suits. Enjoy your trip !

Lots of thumbs up for Celebrity on this thread. However, we sailed with them recently and it was not so great. Undoubtedly it depends on which ship you sail on and your cabin category. Looking forward to our first VV cruise coming up soon !

Thanks all for your useful advice !

Hi, Our first VV cruise, 2 weeks long, is in a couple of months. I recall reading on this board that we could sign up for dinner reservations at some point prior. Could someone please remind me of when that becomes available. What restaurants to do you recommend we sign up for first? In addition to dining are there other things/events we should be thinking about? I have read mixed reviews of using the app to sign up. Are there other options? Thanks for any advice !

We spent almost four months on her last year and had a blast !

Actually, you can walk and we did it. Here are the directions. (We pre-purchased tickets for 9 am and had no problem. Good luck !

Agree there. The smoking in the casinos on Princess is definitely a negative for us. And, when that door to Churchill's Lounge opens, the clouds of smelly smoke drift out into the hallway.

We sail on all of the major cruise lines and book by destination not by ship. Our expectation is that food and service in the line should be similar among all of its ships.

Well, we spent almost four months on her and enjoyed it very much. You can read and see more details on the ship and our experiences on my "live from" post linked up above.