Se1lad

For reference this is the page I quoted from: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/inspiration/queen-anne/open-spaces Looking at the deck plan it would seem pointless to secure access from the lifts but leave the access from the two entrances fore and aft to the terrace open.

A group of non grills passengers kept occupying the hot tub on QM2 on one of my TAs - while I was sitting nearby waiting for it to come free I heard them talking about being on the second sitting for dinner so I knew they weren’t in grills. Annoyingly they were always in the hot tub at the same time each day which was when I was wanting to use it. On QV last November on one of the sunny days the grills terrace was rammed. I’m assuming someone had gone and had a word with one of the stewards as just as I arrived about 10 people were asked to leave. Regarding Queen Anne I quoted what Cunard says on their website. Looking at the deck plans it looks like the grills terrace could end up getting busy with people walking through from the Sun bar area to the wellness studio and forward lifts, hopefully there will be some form of access control to prevent this happening.

There appears to be a reasonable amount of deck space on the higher decks, or am I missing something? One positive is that it looks like access to the grills terrace is going to be a bit more secure, and the infinity hot tubs sound good: Take pleasure in the sweetness of doing nothing, whiling away hours in the beautiful Grills Terrace, exclusive to guests of our Princess and Queens Grill Suites. Accessed with your suite room key, this peaceful space features two infinity hot tubs with a view out to the horizon

The UK website still says this: You may bring one bottle of wine or champagne on board to enjoy within your stateroom. You are welcome to buy alcohol ashore as a gift or souvenir, which will be held for the duration of your cruise, and returned to you when you disembark. I imagine Cunard say this so that they can refuse someone who has caused an alcohol related issue on board for buying more en-route for consumption, or for limiting it on future cruises (if they are even allowed to cruise again!) However it's a bit unfortunate as it doesn't reflect what actually happens. If you were a first time cruiser on Cunard (but had cruised with other lines that do enforce this) you would probably not question this and potentially miss out on saving a bit of money. If you search a bit more on the FAQ page there is a reference to the corkage fee but this isn't clear either - you could interpret this meaning (i) you can bring on one bottle of wine/champagne for a special occasion and it's subject to a corkage fee if consumed in one of the ships restaurants/bars/lounges (ii) you can bring on an unspecified amount of wine/champagne which is subject to a corkage fee if consumed in one of the ships restaurants/bars/lounges, plus one bottle for special occasions which is not subject to a corkage fee when in fact the answer is (iii) You can bring on as much wine/champagne as you like, regardless of the occasion, and it subject to a corkage fee if consumed in one of the ships restaurants/bars/lounges All bottles of wine or champagne brought on board by guests for consumption in any of the ship's restaurants, bars or lounges, are subject to a corkage fee. Please be advised that guests are allowed to bring on board one bottle per person for special occasions. Groups who want to supply their own wine for wine tasting seminars or for consumption in any of the restaurants, bars or lounges will be charged a corkage fee. If a bottle of wine/champagne has been bought for you (on board) as a gift, please ensure you carry the gift card with you to avoid having the corkage charge applied to your on board account. The corkage fee is $25.00 per bottle and will be charged to your on-board account. (Corkage fee is subject to change).

I nearly booked 11,153 on my 2019 TA (they were some of the last Q5 and Q6 available) thinking it would be a quiet location with not much foot traffic outside. My TA advised against it as I was glad I took their advice.

I imagine the only circumstance there might be dogs in the kennels would be if the first or last segment was to or from New York and some of the allocation was sold as a 7 night Transatlantic - though I am not sure if Cunard would have the staff on to look after them as it's not a normal crossing.

We ran into a similar issue when on board - if you want a cocktail that's not in their system (there are extra cocktails they can make which are not on the printed list - however there lots that are not) then they have to price it per ingredient. They are quite happy to do it if you ask however - so you could ask for a double cassis and a glass of prosecco which would probably give you the quantities you were after - though doubt you would get much change out of $20. There was an off-list cocktail my friend wanted which had 3 x single measures of spirits. If we ordered just one then it would have been charged at roughly 3 x $9 for the single shots - so a $27 cocktail. As I ordered one too they could charge 3 x $13 for double shots, so the price came down to $19.50 a cocktail. An interesting thing we found with cocktails that they have on their system but are not on the printed menus is that they dont seem to review the prices so often. Whilst prices for the menu cocktails have gone up, the ones only on the system don't seem to have increased.

It sounds like they are making them using the correct proportions - all recipes vary slightly but Diffords for example uses 15ml to 120ml ratio. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1109/kir-royale if you want a really sweet one just ask and they will double or triple the cassis for you!

I think it would have been reasonable of Cunard to inform their customers so they had a choice. As you say, I expect the majority would have decided to keep their holiday.

If I’d already paid for a Q5 or a Q6 there’s no way I would be paying any more for a hotel!

When I sailed in November the vibration was intermittent. On complaining I was advised that the problem only occurs in certain conditions - swell, speed, current etc. on our 10 night trip we had about 6 nights where it wasn’t noticeable, 2 nights where it was moderate, and 2 where it was severe.

I was onboard QV for the 15th Nov cruise in one of the rear cabins. They ended up giving us a separate cabin to sleep in as the vibrations were so bad, and a bit of future cruise credit as a goodwill gesture. We were a bit late leaving Cádiz as there were divers underneath looking at the propeller- it looks like they have tried to fix this multiple times. Hopefully the nuclear option of a dry dock sorts this once and for all, and that there are no delays to impact the 4 night cruise to Hamburg on the 7th Jan. I’m back on board in one of the rear cabins for this cruise - I’ll report back on any improvements!

Does this mean the world club parties are coming back? 🙂

I’d love to hear more about this! She was trying to tell you what you could and couldn’t eat?!

That’s good to know! Does the Mr Black make this more of a post dinner drink?

I’d like to give that one a try! I couldn’t see Mr Black on the list you uploaded from the grills lounge - did you bring your own bottle from your suite?

It’s only the liqueur coffees that are chargeable.

Loving the detailed review. I’m interested to know if you asked your butler for any ingredients to help with your cocktail preparations in your suite - lemon juice, maraschino cherries etc?

I felt sorry for the medical officer/doctor at the last party I attended pre Covid. Three elderly ladies surrounded him and started bombarding him with questions about their various ailments. They appeared to be trying to outdo each other with who had the most wrong with them!

I’ve found that if you order off menu cocktails they tend to be better value than those on the list - you are frequently just charged for one shot of the primary spirit in the cocktail.

That’s excellent- hopefully Cunard will follow suit seeing other lines such as Saga have already reinstated the cocktail parties!

I normally dine at 7.30ish and like to take a couple of hours over dinner when on holiday so a 10pm show works perfectly for me. If I’m finished a little early then it’s the perfect excuse for an after dinner cocktail!

Some of my friends are currently on a Saga cruise - first one where the cocktail party has been reintroduced .

I was surprised the first time I booked QV how little price difference the was between Q3-Q6. On QM2 there’s quite a jump from Q5 to Q4. As you say, Q3s and Q4s on the vistas are not comparable to those on QM2. I think I prefer the Vistas for cruises in warmer climates where the more private terrace and courtyard for al fresco dining is great for grills. On colder or TAs then I prefer the QM2.

Based on your extensive cocktail knowledge I’m sure you have already tried these previously - I love a traditional Bloody Mary with about 10ml sherry added, or alternatively substituting the vodka with gin - ie a Red Snapper.