sfred

As regards bringing beverage items onboard, the legal folks at Cunard have managed to create conflicting paragraphs in the latest Australia T&Cs, dated 9 November 2023, ::

Paragraph 25c states:

And then a few paragraphs later, paragraph 30b states:

As we know, in addition to being inconsistent with each other, both paragraphs are inconsistent with normal practice, where passengers may bring any amounts of any type of beverage onboard.

FYI also, the exact types of wine available in the collections often varies from the PDF on the website that @TowandaUK posted.  These were the wines available on QE in August 2023.  Apologies for the wrinkles in the photographed paper.

On QE in August 2023, the US$ prices were

Captain 6 bottles  $310

Captain 12 bottles $550

Commodore 6 bottles $445

Commodore 12 bottles $750

Sorry @Host Hattie I think we both clicked on submit at the same time.

Open 7.30a - 9.00p

Excellent, thanks @bluemarble for sourcing a photo of QE in Port Lincoln today.  This makes port number 642 in total, and 30 in Australia.

Hi @alibabacruisers.  In Cunard's Australia T&Cs, paragraph 18.b details the refund schedules which vary based on the fare category you purchased:

You indicate that the time has passed for losing the deposit, so if Cunard stays strict to the T&Cs you are probably out of luck.  That said, I understand that sometimes they are flexible on transferring the deposit if you rebook at the time of cancellation to a new cruise at a higher fare. 

My only personal rebooking experience is on the same cruise at a lower fare.  In these instances, I lost the original deposit but my new rebooked fare was lower still, so I was money ahead. 

Good luck - please let us know how you go.

QE is in Port Lincoln, South Australia today.  A maiden call, it is part of a rescheduled southern itinerary to avoid Typhoon Kirrily in northern Queensland.  @bluemarble reported on the change in this other CC thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2986639-qe-itinerary-change/?do=getNewComment

Unfortunately I can't find a webcam showing QE in port.  Is anyone onboard at the moment who can contribute a photo to our "Where in the World" game?  Port Lincoln is an unseen port in the game.

I did find a Port Lincoln webcam that broadcasts live views of an osprey nest. 
on a barge at the entrance to the Lincoln Cover Marina in Porter Bay.  But while the camera does show an endangered osprey bird, it does not show QE.

Cyclone Kirrily will make landfall at Townsville this evening.  Back up to category 3. 

FYI, current QLD storm track forecast as of 10a local time on Wednesday 24 January.  Cunard was probably wise to reroute QE.  The earlier forecast of category 3 (wind speeds of 118–159 km/h) has been downgraded to category 2 (89–117 km/h), but still probably not something that QE would want to be sailing towards.

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

@sfred, unfortunately that means you won't be seeing QE at Brisbane this time around. I hope the storm impacts won't be severe for you. On the plus side, Port Lincoln will be a new Cunard port if they do call there.

Rats - I was going over to the Brisbane terminal on Wednesday to have a look and get some photos.  Sympathies to all QE passengers and crew for missing out on the Queensland barrier reef trip they were expecting.

The current track of the storm is shown in the below screen shot from ventusky.com.  Current wave heights are shown in meters, and winds are 40-60km/hr, not too bad at the moment.  Landfall is expected between Mackay and Townsville later this week.   The only forecast impact on Brisbane is some rain expected on Friday and Saturday.   Townsville is approximately 1,300 kilometers north from Brisbane.

6 hours ago, NE John said:

Has anyone sailed in these forward PG suites? Any positive or negative first hand experiences?

The layout seems more “squarish” and open compared to the regular PG’s on Vista’s. 

We've been in 5.001 and for us it was excellent.  We'd happily do it again anytime.

Pros

• Cabin size and layout.  Feels more spacious than regular PG cabins.
• Forward looking window over the bow.  You can also peer around the balcony divider to see forward from the balcony.
• End of hallway location is quiet (except for occasional crew using the deck 5 forward outdoor area during daytime).
• Good wifi connectivity.  Access point is nearby in hallway.

Cons

• Mechanical noise from line equipment when docking.  You will definitely know when you have arrived in port in the morning.  We're early risers so are always up anyway.
• Hull banging noises from the bow plates in moderate to heavier seas.  Can be disturbing at night.  Not a problem when seas are calm to moderate.
• A lively ride in heavier seas, especially in the pitch axis.  Not a problem for me - I like being at sea - but I can understand how it might be an issue if susceptible to sickness. 
• Curtains must be closed at night, and no lights outside on the balcony.  The cabin is forward of the bridge and you have to keep a darkened ship for bridge visibility.

Let me know any questions.

This anecdote isn't directly relevant to the OP's question, but a few years back we were doing a short weekend getaway on QE from Melbourne to Brisbane via Sydney.  Out of curiosity I investigated the Cunard options for the one way airfare from Brisbane to Melbourne to start the trip.  The offer was for flights from Brisbane to London to Melbourne, for approximately A$12,000 in economy class.  I'm sure it was just the typical Cunard IT bug, but in general I've never seen the sort of good airfare deals here that UK and US passengers enjoy.  Anyone in Aus/NZ experienced differently?

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

Found the one I was thinking of

@Host Hattie's link has some great photos of the Frontier fare.  @martinmct also posted the actual Frontier menu from the 2023 sailings.  It is on post 329, page 14, of the "Queen Elizabeth Position" thread.  I wish they had Frontier during our 2019 Alaska trip - looks very tasty.

1 hour ago, NE John said:

What a great benefit for QE to dock right in the center of town. 
Can larger/mega cruise ships dock so close or do they have to tender?

33 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

QM2 has docked there (at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal). Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas which qualifies as a "mega" cruise ship has also docked there.

As @bluemarble says, the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) is a very capable berth for its location right in the city.  Maximum beam and length is 50m x 375m.  For comparison, QM2's beam at waterline is 41m and length is 345m. 

Alternatives for any ship unable to dock at the OPT either because of size or occupancy (OPT is only the single berth) are Athol buoy (500m radius) which requires tendering to the OPT, Woolloomooloo at the Navy's Garden Island facility, or White Bay Cruise Terminal on the other side of the Sydney Harbour bridge.  While White Bay can accommodate ships up to 35m by 333m, the major limitation is fitting under the bridge clearance of 49m.  QE's air draft is 56.6m.  There was talk pre-covid of building an additional cruise terminal in Botany Bay, near the airport, but that scheme seems to have been scrapped. 

Yes, a rather wet morning in Sydney for QE's passengers and crew, and the forecast is for much the same all day.  Current weather radar shown below.  Sydney is in the centre.

There are some reviews and photos on the below two Cruise Critic threads in the Alaska Ports and Princess boards.  We've only done standard class ourselves.  Apparently the luxury class can only be purchased through cruise ship excursions, as it is not mentioned on the White Pass and Yukon Route web site.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2601333-skagway-white-pass-scenic-railway-luxury-class/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2283767-luxury-car-white-pass-railroad/

8 hours ago, EarleyretiredJB said:

Will Cunard provide a shuttle bus into city centres? (Akita, Kanazawa, Busan in S Korea and Shimizu)

I haven't been to these Japan ports with Cunard, but there are several regulars here on the Cunard Cruise Critic board who have, and hopefully they will be able to help.

In Busan Korea, there are two cruise terminals, as shown in the below google maps screen shot.

The Busan International Cruise Terminal, at the lower right of the map, is on the seaward side of the Busan Harbor Bridge.  Ships like QM2 cannot fit under the bridge and must use this terminal.  QE can fit under the bridge, and sometimes will use this seaward terminal and sometimes will use the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal, at the upper middle of the map, depending on availability. 

If using the lower right terminal, Cunard supplies shuttle buses into the city.  If I recall correctly, shuttles drop off near the Lotte department store, at the middle left of the map.  If using the upper middle terminal, you are already in the city and a shuttle is not needed.

Best wishes for your voyage!

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

There certainly are quite a few Brighton Beaches around the world aren't there?

Good morning everyone!

Australia has a few more Brighton Beaches in addition to the Melbourne VIC one.  One is nearby to me in Brighton QLD, just north of Brisbane near Redcliff.  Another is out in WA, in Scarborough just north of Fremantle/Perth.  A third similar one is Brighton-Le-Sands beach, in Botany Bay near Sydney airport.  A pity that no Cunard ships were nearby to any of these at the time.

A popular name indeed for a beach.

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

It used to say in the FAQs that they were changed every three days. I can’t find it now, but that may be simply because I’m no good at searching. In any case, I suspect this is the result of a lazy or forgetful steward rather than a change in policy. We had our sheets changed pretty often on QV in the summer.

From the Australia FAQ:

Sounds like the problems some have encountered may be a steward or laundry availability issue rather than a Cunard policy change.  Or possibly too the FAQ may be outdated. On our last QE voyage (in PG) our bed linens were changed quite regularly.

Wow - four new locations added within a little over a day. 

638  New Plymouth, NZ

639  Nordfjord, Norway

640  Hrisey, Iceland

and pending confirmation from @Colin_Cameron,

641  Dusky Sound, Fiordland, NZ

Here's another New Plymouth webcam of QE's departure this evening.  By the time of the next refresh, she was out of view.

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

I think you will see a couple of familiar names who posted those earlier images and identified them. 😉

D'oh!  A pity that my memory, like the Cruise Critic search function, only goes back for a limited time!

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

We should certainly remove Milford Sound from the "unseen" ports list now. My suggestion is to add Dusky Sound as another "unseen" Cruise-By Call and change the existing entry for Fiordland in our "seen" ports list to read as follows.

 

"Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand"

Sounds good.  I will do so in my PowerBI dataset.

57 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

That image is from the "Chimney North-East View" webcam on the Primo website at primo.nz. They host a variety of webcam images around the New Plymouth area.

The New Plymouth chimney, part of the local electrical power station,  is a rather prominent local landmark and can be seen from many parts of the town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Plymouth_Power_Station

I was last in New Plymouth in 1988 (gasp - over 35 years ago) while doing a work project in nearby Wellington.  I drove up one weekend and had a look around.  It was winter in NZ, and I remember the town as rather pleasant but with a biting cold wind and rain coming in off the Tasman sea that day.  Today doesn't look too much warmer for QE's pasengers and crew.  Only 22c and light rain.

New Plymouth is port number 638, and number 11 in New Zealand.  Nice to have another new port in our southern lands.  105 are South of the equator, 40 of which are West longitude and 65 East.

When I was looking at our seen and unseen lists to verify New Plymouth, I noticed that the unseen list includes Milford Sound as a NZ cruise-by, and the seen list includes Fiordland NZ.  Fiordland is the overall name for the national park encompassing Doubtful and Milford sounds.  @bluemarble, should your recent Christmas post of QE in Milford Sound count as a new port, or should we remove Milford Sound from the unseen list given that we have Fiordland?  I tried a search for Fiordland to see what photo put it into the seen list, but there are 0 results so the post must be too old to not be searchable anymore.