Winchester Ranger

Don't panic. It will not affect the NY to Soptn trip.

 

I will keep the board posted.

How do you know that for sure :confused: and I'm on that crossing :cool:

PS - both Sea Scanner and AIS show her currently ripping along at 18.8 knots so I'm guessing the superglue is holding.

These recommendations are exactly what I was looking for - the King's Court / Winter Garden tip is a winner.

Picked up my new Tux shirts last night and then endured an evening of my other half scowling silently at me from across the living room as I unwrapped them (because she isn't coming) - my offer of sending her a photo of me in my Tux drinking champagne strangely didn't improve her mood. Also made sure that my team at work has enough work for the next 2 weeks, explained the European concept of completely disconnecting from work to a wonderful but bemused gathering of my American co-managers, and then paid a visit to my chiropractor to ensure that I'm in fighting trim for the trip.

I fly to New York on Tuesday, and I'm tingling with anticipation for the first sight of her on Wednesday morning at dockside as I pull up in the taxi, who knows maybe I'll go crazy and do a stretch limo - that arrival moment is the the same with every cruise for me, kind of like this but without the big hat (and hopefully without the iceberg too):

Winchester R...

Guess you're saying, "Drinks for the House!" What ship and dates do we find you?

BTW, how much does Cunard charge for a glass of Veuve Clicquot, and how do you pronounce that V.C. name?

T&C

Pronounced verv cleeko - $80 plus 15% gratuity, best $92 you'll ever spend. Sail dates below :D

Please can I be on your table? I'm partial to a drop of white wine with dinner and it appears that you might need help spending your obc. :D

 

Failing that, perhaps we could meet up for a glass of champagne :D:D:D

I plan on blowing most of my $675 in the Champagne bar - feel free to join, the Veuve Clicquot is on me :D

Winchester Ranger,

 

Have a wonderful time! The secret of enjoying your crossing is just that: just enjoy what each day brings. Relax. Have fun. …It will be effortless for you :)

 

I have enjoyed your preparatory postings and questions and will be very disappointed if you don't give us a review after your TA.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

Jimmybean

Jimmybean - it's a deal, I'll try and do some type of crossing blog, I can't promise it will be good, but I will definitely make the effort.

PS - I'm also hoping for a really rough crossing.

TA crossings should be 5 days, there is nothing worse than being on a 'crawling' ship.

Sadly as long as Cunard continues to fill QM2 with older cruisers who are not in any hurry this will not change.

That's a great result, well done. May I ask you booked in the UK or in the States? We paid the Cunard fare for two weeks in the summer and the price dropped hugely closer to sailing but we had fun trying to spend our $2320 obc, I had to hit the shops on the last day to get rid of $500 and found it quite stressful, of course when we sailed again in October without any obc I saw so much I wanted to buy.......especially a globe around the $600 price, if we get a good deal next year it still may be mine :D

Hi - it was a US booking. The secret appears to be to prime the first agent with your sob story, and then have him relay it to a supervisor.

They also sent me an updated itinerary showing the $675 credit. So my booking story so far is:

1. Made original booking about 6 months ago.

2. Canceled and re-booked to save $200.

3. Received an upgrade to a higher cabin.

4. Received additional $500 OBC.

I learned a lot, I hope this will help others.

Good for you, have a great time spending that OBC

Thanks Hattie - I'll be doing my very best.

**Update**

I just called Cunard and asked if there was anything they could do for me in my most polite voice, thinking that they would either:

a) Quote the cancellation policy (which they did)

b) Maybe offer me a few dollars of additional OBC.

The agent didn't even quibble and said simply "that's a huge price drop - let me get you right over to a supervisor".

So sure enough they did offer me OBC, but my jaw nearly hit the floor when they asked if $500 would make me feel any better. Are you kidding me, FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS !!

So I now have a total of $675 of OBC - lord knows what I'll spend it on, and that by the way is what I consider to be stellar customer service, so I will be sailing with Cunard again.

I already canceled and rebooked my cruise once and saved myself $200 in the process.

Now I see that although unavailable, my $2300 BY cabin on QM2 is now priced at just $1398, with category BZ still available at $1310 - so I could have saved nigh on a thousand dollars, twelve hundred from my original booking in fact.

If I ever do another TA I think I'll wait until much closer to the actual sail date to make the reservation - that kind of price drop leaves me with a distinctly ripped off feeling :mad:

The good news - if the price for the inside cabins goes any lower I think I'll just sell my house and live on QM2 :)

Edit - the Grand Duplex was priced at $62,000 when I made my original reservation, it's under $30,000 now.........

I would happily take any reduction - 8 days is too long.

Wonderful, all noted - thanks :D

I sail on QM2 in 17 days, and after a lot of prior cruises this one is very special for me for reasons that aren't important right now. I've been doing my research and I see so many comments about "secrets" they have discovered only after 4 or 5 trips.

This will probably be my one and only TA so I need to get it right first time - can anyone help me out with a "secret" :)

Thank you Winchester Ranger for posting this. A superb video, the triumph of good over absolute evil. Thank you again.

You're more than welcome pepperrn.

It's easy to forget that for some people a TA meant more than just a journey, or even a new life, for some it literally meant the difference between life and death.

I loved this, so I thought I would share.

Didn't you get the $175 on board credit ?

One of the best reviews I have read about a TA crossing. Can you tell us a little more about your class of cabin and your thoughts on it ?

And thanks of course :D

Perhaps a naive question, but how do you know when the Upgrade Fairy visits you? Do you get notified via email? Do you only accidentally find out if you check the status of your reservation online? Can they do it any time? Etc..

I received an email that was entitled "Upgrade Notice" - of course I suddenly developed unrealistic expectations and desperately scanned for a PG or QG code :D

Thanks for the advice, guess I'll roll with it.

So I have been bumped from my lowly DC (restricted view balcony) to cabin 625X - a BY category sheltered balcony.

Is this a good move ??

So I received my sail packet in today's mail complete with dress code requirements by day, luggage tickets, and....a warning about dual nationality, something that applies to me.

The brochure states that dual nationality must be declared at check in, and only one passport must be used for the cruise. If I'm only using one passport then declaring dual nationality only serves to "flag" me as a potential problem, on the other hand if I just keep quiet and do my usual trick (when flying) of using each passport for entry to each country to speed up the immigration process and avoid the idiocy of having a 30 day visa for my birth nation then I could end up throwing a wrench in the works when the passenger manifest doesn't reconcile.

I have a feeling that there's a lot of this with the increasing numbers of dual nationals (hence the warning in the sail packet).

Does anyone with dual nationality who has sailed TA have some personal experiences to share ?

A little off topic as this isn't is any way connected with Cunard, but as most of the transatlantic cruisers tend to hang out here I thought some of you might be interested in this recently posted video tour of the SS United States, the transatlantic speedboat.

Obviously she is in poor condition, and heavily stripped out, but I still found it fascinating to look at the old layout of the first class cabins - you can see the location of the bathroom, entrance way, and general layout.

Oh the stories she could tell. Anyway, hope you find it as interesting as I did.

You did this yourself ?

Superb work, absolutely superb.

Darn it ,I booked this one too early again :-(

 

04 Oct15 QM2 7 night CA/NE Quebec City to NYC

IS Gty $899

OV Gty $999

Bal Gty $1099

+ tax of course.

FLASH rates for new bookings only.

Your US TA will have details .

I canceled and re-booked for my November TA when they dropped the fare price and added the $175 OBC - took me 10 minutes and I saved $200.

Why not try it ?

I'd be grateful if you could give us some details of menus in the MDR, especially the dinner options.

Thanks !!

Funny you should mention that. I was there for it. The boat had water compensated fuel tanks, like an old diesel submarine, where as you burn fuel from the tank, you take in water to the tank, so that the ship's displacement, trim, and stability are unaffected.

Fascinating to finally get the true story - I clearly recall the good old Beeb gleefully reporting that the team had procured cheap water contaminated fuel from the Fred Bloggs Diesel company or some such.

Bouncing across the Atlantic at 40 -50 knots in a high powered speed boat could not have been much fun for the occupants, I would not envy them that experience for 3 days plus.