naturelovergirl

We love the Commodore Club, of course! But We also love the Midships Lounge- Gin & Fizz menu Both lovely venues with excellent cocktails The pub is great too Enjoy!

We are renting e-bikes in Skagway from Klondike Electric Bicycles. Might be something fun for you to consider if you enjoy things like that.

I’m quite sure you can get “Second Breakfast” and “Elevenses” which make any good Hobbit proud on Cunard. 😏 Bilbo and Frodo, of course, love the enrichment activities… but neither of them would like to sit at a table in Britannia with the anyone from the Sackville-Baggins side.

Alas, no. I do so on other lines, but not Cunard. My main advice is if there is something you MUST do for your excursion, or you will be heartbroken, go ahead and book it ahead of time to secure your spot. Then you can use your on board credit for things like drinks and other excursions you are not set upon. Enjoy!!!

I have had a gown for the Alaska "Ice White" Gala Evening since I booked Cunard in Alaska for 2020! (Obviously that voyage never happened) The evening gown has been sitting in my closet ever since- Now I will wear it for Cunard's 2023 Alaska! Mine is silvery with a bit blue... not quite magnificent glacial blue... but quite icy! ❄️

We got it. Answered that we love traditional cruising and dressing up in the evenings.

Cunard Queen Elizabeth 10 Night to Alaska August 7-17 Q326 August 7 Smart Attire August 8 Gala- Ice White August 9 Smart Attire August 10 Smart Attire August 11 Smart Attire August 12 Smart Attire August 13 Smart Attire August 14 Smart Attire August 15 Gala- Masquerade August 16 Smart Attire

Lovely to hear about everyone's holiday decorations! Wow, @techteach about your garland! How creative! We decorated our house for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. We love gazing at the beautiful memories of our life together with our tree ornaments and our home decorations. We will keep everything up through Epiphany (January 6).

@buchanan101 They certainly will tack on some extra money… paying for the convenience, of course… It is very good that you are savvy and will look at the cost of booking independently. We are always comparison shopping… and we are also very independent. But The excursions we bought from Cunard in Norway in 2019 were good and worth the convenience.. Right now the Cunard Alaska cruise I am planning for 2023, the excursions I’ve booked through them so far are fair. I also booked independently as well for experiences in Norway… and am doing so for Alaska as well. We typically do a mix. Also if any of your ports are tender ports… excursions bought through the ship are helpful.

I was on a different online forum talking about my love of Flåm and the best things there I had seen when we went on our independent first trip to Norway in 2017. (When I went to Norway with Cunard we did not go to Flåm) A fellow Cunarder said that she got to see the sights I talked about on a Full-Day excursion purchased through Cunard. All of that was pre pandemic… but I would assume that Cunard will offer some full-day excursions- They usually do in their ports. I typically find that Cunard does a good job not price gouging their ship sponsored excursions. I’ve always seen them as very fair. Norway is expensive, just is. I will always give the advice to budget and spend your money on experiences in Norway- get out of the ports and see the wonders. it is so magnificent!

I did say "ideal" of course. Hehehe But I have heard people talk on different travel forums about taking full-day excursions which have either all of these or at least two of them in the full day package. Note: I would absolutely only do a cruise sponsored excursion if I was to do multiple things so that you are guaranteed back on the ship. I did enjoy the train very much... but the Nærøyfjord is a UNESCO World Heritage site (So is Geirangerfjord- but both are very different) - and can only be seen via a tourist boat from Flåm... and then the Stegastein Viewpoint is very beautiful and interesting architecturally. If I could get a full day excursion that made it possible to see the wonders from the water, the train, and from above, I would see that as a pretty perfect Flåm day. Still... If I was to return to Flåm and could only choose one thing to do... I would go into the Nærøyfjord. I adore the Fjords.

I think in Flåm the absolute ideal excursion I would recommend would include all of these- a boat trip into the Nærøyfjord, a coach trip to the Stegastein Viewpont, and the train. All of them. That way you would really see a great variety of why Flåm is so special.

We had a great time in the Fjords with Cunard in 2019. It was our second trip to Norway... our first had been a land trip in 2017 traveling via train, rental cars, and ferries. Cunard did an excellent job for us in Norway. BUT The only advice I would give would be to look at your itineraries when choosing which line you want to go on. Compare and contrast. To me, itinerary is as important as the cost/amenities. 🙂

I just happened to order a port excursion yesterday- and after my order I checked the calendar to make sure the excursion had been placed on the day… and the dress code/theme was now there on each day 😊 I was surprised but pleased.

@bluemarble My cruise planner (Manage Your Booking- My Cunard) updated today with dress codes on the nights of my summer Alaska 2023 voyage. Let me know when you are ready for the list in order to create a Dress Codes/Themes discussion for 2023 cruises.

@TonopahI am so sorry to read about your brother… losing your sibling is so very hard, as I know all too well. Keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

Wow @Bigmike911! I had not heard that yet about the Mississippi River cruises!

When we were on Cunard in 2019 through the Fjords of Norway, the dress code in the evenings was adhered to extremely well by the passengers… and the Gala nights were gorgeous. During the day people dressed as they wished for whatever activities or excursions they were on. We do lots of exploring and hiking… so my day wear always included layers and hiking boots while in Norway. One of the best lightweight travel tips I have for glam-ing up your evening wear is sparkly jewelry and accessories.That can absolutely help, because it is easy to pack and does not take up a bunch of room. Enjoy!

Yes… I also wondered about the fare paid, @Bell Boy We have Fixed Second Seating chosen for our Summer 2023 cruise. I’m hoping that the kinks of the system are worked out by then. I absolutely prefer traditional dining to “anytime”.

According to the person I read on the other online Cunard specific group, they said they made reservations on QV and still had long queues (which is the unfortunate experience I had with “anytime dining” on another line a few months ago… we made reservations for every night and still stood in long lines)

@Bell Boy Question. I was reading on a different forum today of people who were also on QV- and they had signed up for 2nd Seating but found out that they had been moved to the Open Seating option once they got on board. They asked if they could go back to being in the Fixed 2nd Seating but were told no. The people this happened to were very unhappy as they dealt with extremely long queues and did not have the dining experience they were used to on Cunard. Did you encounter people upset with being automatically switched to Open Seating? Thanks.

We got our Moderna updated covid boosters last week at Walgreens Pharmacy in Florida (we got our flu shots last month). It was quite easy to schedule and get the booster done. My mom got her updated booster and her flu shot at the same time this year (and had no problems doing so), but my husband and I wanted to stay on our normal vaccination schedule. We always get the flu shot every year in September... and our covid booster last year was in October. It seemed to make sense to get in the habit of a "yearly" covid booster... so October it is!

@techteach and @Jujuonboard Lifelong ⚾Atlanta Braves⚾ fan, here!!! Hooray for postseason baseball!

We did pretty well in the hurricane… truly massive rains in our area. There was quite a lot of flooding from the dumping of rain around Central Florida…. Of course since Orlando is inland, it is nothing like the storm surge and category 4 damage seen on the coast. Luckily our home has good drainage being on high ground. So we have no water accumulation issues. Many of our friends were not so lucky. As expected we have many branches down in the yard. We have one fence post which broke, so two panels went down. Very minimal. Plus we have power. Grateful.

I am a fan of traditional seating because I prefer to keep the same table and the same table service. BUT As long as there still is a choice for people who want to continue having fixed seating then I am ok.