Canuker

What a shame that this perk thing doesn't work on a laptop.

Would have bee much easier than the hoops I had to jump through to get the job finished.

1 hour ago, Geomitz said:

...am i able to still park the car in the ocean terminal and either get a taxi/Uber or walk down to the QE2 terminal or do i need to give up my bargain of a car parking space? I've seen conflicting information online to where some say its fine and some say Ocean Terminal parking only.

Mum's the word, OP.

It's a 15 minute walk. Done it myself when we unexpectedly docked at QEII terminal.

No big deal. I'd go to QEII Terminal first, drop your partner and bags, but don't check in yet. Then drive over to the parking lot and walk back to your partner. Tell him/her you'll be gone < half an hour.

And, if you dock at either terminal upon your return you'll know where to go to get the car!

Hows that for a Yorkshire deal?

OP: "transatlantic" and February" caught my eye.

But I see your route, Fort Lauderdale to The Med, is mercifully farther south that the typical NYC W. Europe. You'll be sailing with the prevailing wind and currents, so, yes, quiet from a marine perspective is right, too. Given the view won't change for several days, I too would be tempted to nab an inside cabin and spend the savings elsewhere.

Lastly, check the space around your prospective cabin, to ensure that you get quiet fro above & below.

12 hours ago, sjde said:

Are the other Cunard ships pretty much the same? 

Yes and no.

The others are cruise ships, not liners but the onboard activities and service is quite similar (e.g. afternoon tea on all 3). QM2 is bigger than QV & QE, which are used much more on world cruises (choose your segment) and, say, summer Alaska season. QM2 is more the one for Atlantic crossings (NY - Southampton - Hamburg - NY), which, of course have zero en route port days.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2.

Both as a ship and in terms of on board service & activities, it is in part a throw back to the days of ocean liner (not cruise ship) travel. Think elegance.

She is built as an ocean liner. With so many transatlantic "crossings" (not cruises) she is well suited to the job. Some of the lower deck balconies are built within the metal hull, to withstand bad weather.

On one such westbound trip, we hit a storm south of Newfoundland. The captain warned us it was going to be bad. Force 12. So bad that he had to swing the ship round and sail directly into the weather, to avoid excessive side-to-side roll. Not many at dinner that night!

The bow of the ship was plunging below the waterline, waves were crashing right over the bridge. So they decided to switch the bridge cam off! In typical British understatement, the PA announced, "We recommend passengers not go outside on the open decks". You'd have lasted maybe 10 seconds before being swept away. 

QM2 is built - and manned - to take it.

Canuker.

1. Can the Princess medallion be used to locate another medallion(s), say, one's cabin-mate? Or a blue tooth device?

Or perhaps a mislaid medallion?

2. Are they programmable by users at all?

Great to read this, OP. Excellent news for someone who will aboard her in August.

With cruise lines eager to find new ways to separate passengers from their money, expansion of the casino at the expense of the Take 5 lounge seems almost inevitable. As a jazz lover who sails the Enchanted Princess in August, I just hope the takeover hasn't happened by then. It would not need a dry-docking to do it.

Another perennial issue has been tobacco smoke drifting from the casino into the lounge. From Princess' perspective, they are killing two birds with one stone. The only people disappointed are the minority of live jazz music lovers.

Smoking gamblers 1, jazz fans 0. It's a no-brainer.

I just hope Princess chooses to continue with live jazz, at another venue. That would suit me fine. It would suit the onboard musicians too, who use the jazz sessions to unwind, improvise and escape from the structured music of the theatre shows, dances, etc.

As with all crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster) the colder the water the better and fuller the flavour. Maine lobster over rock lobster every time. Icelandic shrimp over buffet style farmed 'rings' any day. And the higher the price, of course.

Cruiser: "Waiter, do you serve crabs?"

Waiter: "We serve everyone, sir".

17 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Do I just Google “port name” schedule?  Is it that simple?

zitsky: Try it.

I just googled "cruise port schedule San Juan" (San Juan being the Caribbean's busiest cruise port). Here's the first 3 listings:

Cruise Mapper: "San Juan (Puerto Rico) cruise port schedule".

Cruise Timetables: "San Juan Cruise Ship Schedule".

San Juan Cruise Port Terminal (the port's own website): "San Juan Cruise Port Schedule By Year and Month".

There were others listed by google too.

But here's why it's best to check more than one third party source: the ship I'll be on in that port in August showed up on only 2 of the 3 websites. San Juan's own site (the third one) does NOT show my ship in port the day she's there. The reason: she's not scheduled to dock at the usual "Cruise Port Terminal" but will tie up at another cruise ship dock nearby.

So it's not always straightforward, which is why it's a good idea to visit more than one site. Don't use these a gospel - use them to check against what your cruise line (the cruise line, not just the TA) is saying.

And finally, zitzky, despite all the research, it still may not happen. The final decision is that of the captain (along with the port authority); there are a number of reasons why a change may happen close to the planned docking time. One is to switch the vessel to another dock or terminal. Southampton, UK, for example, has no less that four cruise ship terminals, up to 1.5 miles apart. I have been on a cruise there that switched terminals.

In addition to a cruise line's own itinerary, it might be helpful to 'cross-reference' that with the cruise traffic schedule of each particular port.

The ports can also provide additional information, e.g. which particular dock is scheduled to be used, whether you can 'walk off' the dock area or not, shuttle buses, etc.

Keep an eye out for ports which will involve tendering, too.

Check on which other ships, if any, are docking that morning.

Any more that just yours will tend to stretch the C&I and shoreside resources.

OTBE, the sooner you step onto the gangway, given the 'all clear' the better.

Take all your own baggage of the ship yourself.

Give me crab over lobster any day.

A simply steamed crab, on a plate, unadorned, with shell crackers.

Yum.

Oh, and a good beer to wash it down.

OP here.

I'm very grateful for all these responses.

Seem that

1. I was indeed banging my head against a brick wall!

2. I'm not alone in my preferences

3. Princess is listening, because...

4....traditional style dining will be available to choose and book online come June 17 (hooray!), but...

5....that's only for cruises starting from September (boo...mine leaves August 10).

Well, at least I now know, re my sailing, that there's no way I can pre-book what I'm looking for. So I'll see what the guys at the MDR front desk can do for us after we board.

Opinion: a table for two wedged in between other tables for two seems to defeat the object of the sought after privacy and intimacy of the dining experience - no-one wins; maybe it's a generational thing. But I'm still glad that Princess has decided to restore the 'traditional' option, albeit too late for me.

Thanks again to everyone for the informative material.

Canuker.

PS I've just realized that I've received nothing from Princess about this new dining choice option. Presumably because I'm sailing before September. Had I done so, the wall wouldn't have had so many dents in it!

Computers versus humans

Am I banging my head against a brick wall?

We are a couple (just 2 people) who enjoy MDR dining, at a table for 6 or 8 people*.

We enjoy the same dining time each evening*, in the same MDR*, with the same group of people*. It's a great way to make new friendships, chat about the day's adventures and enjoy the company of people we've come to know.

On other cruise lines this has been easily arranged. On Enchanted Princess, currently, not so much.

I tried their online dining booking - no go. And, evidently we have to enter a booking separately for each day of the cruise? In our case, 14 days.

So I phoned Princess, not wanting to wade through all that.

It seems to me that there is one word that telecom customer service employees must never say. It's the word "No". After at least 20 minutes on the phone, she was getting nowhere either. When, eventually I asked her if the table selection I wanted (see * above) was available at all, she went to great pains to avoid saying "No". After dancing around the bush again, she suggested I should call back next day to see if a suitable table had become available.

I'm not blaming the rep in the slightest - just doing her job. But i.m.v., Princess needs to re-examine this whole convoluted dinner reservation computer (not human) system. We've gone from straight forward to so overly complicated that it, apparently, can't be done. 

Right.

Is there, in fact, a way to do this before we board?. Or would a chat with the Maître d'hôtel (a human!) yield better results, once on board?

Or - am I indeed banging my head against a brick wall?

About when (days ahead of sail date) are unsold cabins released that were previously block-reserved by TAs?

Are there any general rules that apply here?

I ask because knowing when these unsold cabins 'flood' back on tho the market may be an advantage (price-wise) for someone considering a cruise.

Nervous.

On 5/20/2024 at 6:37 PM, Pirateskigirl said:

 

There is not much to do in Holyhead besides a pub, 1.5 mile fishing jetty and the Maritime Museum. If you want to see Northern Wales book a ship excursion because the others are currently limited.

 

Seen better days - long ago.

OP: I expect you're glad you used you time for the Ffestniog Railway excursion. As you say, not much of interest in Holyhead. It exists almost solely because of the relatively short ferry journey distance between Wales and Ireland. Most people who go there merely head straight through to/from the ferry. I can't really understand why a cruise company would select Holyhead on a cruise itinerary. The town isn't geared to cruise ship visitors. And it terms of Belfast (previous day) and Glasgow (next day) it's well of the beaten track. A 'filler' day, really.  At least folk can say they went to Wales.

This is a perennial topic.

I've never understood the widespread resistance to getting / using a passport when outside one's own country.

Are they the classic 'bath-tub' yellow ones?

If yellow, they must be quite hard to hide.

Or is the idea to allow people to find them fairly easily?

Do children get involved?

You'll find a good picture, taken recently by a passenger, from a ship's high deck, of Southampton's port, showing the cruise ship berths. 

It's on this website, at:

It's part of post #2 (picture 3 of 3), by the OP. It gives a fine view of Southampton's cruise area for anyone seeking such information; a different perspective than a map.

As one who's both lived in and cruised to/from Southampton, I've added a description of what's in the picture in post #19 in that same thread.

I've added a description of what can be seen in the photograph (both cruise port and immediate surrounding area).

One of the nice things about Southampton for the cruise traveler is that the docks are right next to the main town. Handy for inbound or outbound land travel and for exploring while in port without the need to make arrangements. 

Aruba.

Any of the three ABC islands is terrific for scuba or snorkel.

OP: the two, despite both being 'British' are quite different.

As one who has used both, Cunard is certainly more 'elegant' than P&O.

P&O markets almost exclusively to UK residents, while Cunard is much more international.

If you enjoy fine dining, dancing and cocktail receptions, pick Cunard.

If you like bingo, deck and pub sing-songs and a much more casual atmosphere, take P&O.

Given that the scenery is a vital part of any fjords cruise, an itinerary that visits the places you want to see may be an overriding factor when it comes to choosing a ship.

When on a P&O cruise, I remember encountering an older lady who was categorical that she would never cruise with Cunard. When I asked her why not, she replied indignantly that "On Cunard they charge you in US dollars!"

On 5/15/2024 at 6:19 PM, Pirateskigirl said:

A few more pictures. 
 

Pirateskigirl (OP): this is a very useful photograph for anyone who may not be familiar with the layout of the port of Southampton.

The picture is looking north west, up the River Test. Southampton Water and the open sea is directly behind you. The three cruise ships are docked in the Western Docks (aka the New Docks), where the berths are numbered  1xx; you were fortunate to be docked in the Eastern Docks (aka Old Docks), away from all that turnaround traffic. I'm guessing your were at the Ocean Terminal, berth 46.

The dog-leg jetty across the middle of your picture is the Town Quay. Here a regular small ferry links the City to Hythe a village on the SW shore of Southampton Water. If you go, Hythe Pier is 700 yards (640m.) long. The good news is you can take the world's oldest continuously running electric pier railway, now over century old.

The vessel at the Town Quay is a Red Funnel high-speed ferry. The main dock for Red Funnel is just out of view on the far side of Town Quay. Both high speed and regular ferries link Southampton with Cowes on the Isle of Wight, which you will have circled on your way out into the English Channel. From the picture, it appears there is no ferry docked there, but I'm sure you would pass one as you head down Southampton water; they are quite frequent. A day out on the IoW is quite doable, while in port.

The deep-water container terminal in the distance also looks quiet.

For those looking for a handy place to stay, pre- or post- cruise, the rectangular high rise just to the right of the Mayflower Park greenspace on the far right, is The Holiday Inn Southampton. The town centre is off the picture to the right. Shopping, museums, nice pubs!. In that direction is also the main railway station, Southampton Central (for trains to London, Gatwick Airport and the North) as is the bus ("Coach") station for long distance buses, including Heathrow and London, each about 2km (1.25 miles) from where you're standing.

Speaking of pubs, across the street from the Town Quay, not quite in the picture (next to that dazzling white building, is The Dancing Man, a brewpub I can certainly recommend, with a nice patio overlooking the harbour. They do good trade in wedding parties, too.

Unlike ports elsewhere, the dock gates are quite open, with no restrictions if you choose to walk.

Lastly, just a little past the Dancing Man is the Mayflower Memorial, from where the Pilgrim Fathers (ancestors to many who visit Southampton) set sail for the New World. All around this area are the remains of the old town which date back to Roman times; you are free to clamber and explore these walls and battlements. The nice part of this area is that, conveniently close to the cruise ships, it's a fine are to explore and discover - especially on a day like yours, OP, in the sunshine.

From someone who used to live in Southampton, many moons ago, when many ocean liners departed for all corners of the globe

Best,

Canuker.