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We were on Queen Elizabeth in June in Queen's Grill. On a morning we needed to tender, we did not get priority tender tickets. We called the Grills concierge, who told us were were not entitled to priority tenders, which we knew was wrong. We went down to get a regular tickets, and there was a 1.5 hour wait, which also was annoying, as Celebrity seems to get folks off the ship faster. We spoke to the person who was managing the tickets, and he said he could not do anything and to take it up with the home office when we got home. It was all very annoying, as it delayed our touring by more than an hour. When we got back, the concierge tracked us down and was all apologies, saying that she should have sent the priority tickets. A couple of days later, she reached out to us to let us know a port that was to be tendered was now docked, and we would not need priority tickets. The experience was annoying, especially the insult added to injury of being told to contact the home office, but on the whole it did not affect the trip at all. We've cruised four times since cruising resumed, twice with Celebrity, once with Azamara, and once with Cunard. We tend to go into the experience with a lot of grace. Knowing how much money cruise lines lost during the height of the pandemic, it amazes me that things aren't even worse when you get on board. I imagine most cruise lines will struggle with staff and standards for years to come. And that's ok with us.

In a Q4 now on QE. Products are Penhaglion Quercus. Nice smell. We didn't ask about bar soap and just bought a bar when we got to Juneau. 

25 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

According to article in NY Post Biden has ended it or will end it very very soon like within a couple of days. Cunard and others probably won't be far behind perhaps.

It has ended as of today for those of us who need to return to the U.S. or for visitors coming to the U.S. It will be re-evaluated by CDC in 90 days. For us, it means we do not have to work out a test while onboard QE June 23 for a return to U.S. June 24. Great news for us.

6 hours ago, wjfan417 said:

It looked fantastic. We stayed at El Palace, right by it.

We stayed at El Palace Hotel Barcelona as well a couple weeks ago and had a fantastic stay.

4 hours ago, zipcruise said:

Could someone please tell me, where Azamara docked in Livorno? Did you need a shuttle from port to town? Thank you so much in advance.

Hello. This past week we docked in the "new (very much working) port" due to expected high winds, which did happen upon departure. Some hours were really rough on the way to Rome. Shuttle buses were provided on the half hour except during lunch break 12-2 where they ran every 45 minutes. Bus dropped in the center of town. The captain apologized for not being able to dock in the usual, old port.

14 hours ago, kool kruiser said:

Does this mean that masks are no longer mandatory in any setting on all voyages worldwide ?

We are on Pursuit now and I would say nearly all people are wearing masks except once seated in venues or outside. And this is with only about 250 pax on board. 

When we received notice about the change in terminals for the cruise which we are on now they said it was due to construction in WTC. 

Last thoughts - we thought the crew was superb overall. We were in concierge class, so no retreat experience. Several servers we spoke with had 20+ years. We thought the food was realy good - except for the beef dishes and a horrible experience in Fine Cut the second night, which kind of put us off the beef dishes on the entire ship for most of the week. We tried to adjust our interpretations of medium to theirs, but it still didn't work. Beef was often quite raw, cool, and not juicy or flavorful. We'll be back on in November, and many of the crew will be turning over around that time. It will be intersting to see how things going with a fully packed Thanksgiving cruise.

13 hours ago, camella said:

 I'm concerned about the internet because I'm going to be bringing my daughter and her friend who can't live without the internet!!  Wondering if you can upgrade using the Captain's club internet money that we usually get. 

We looked into the upgrade, and I believe it was just under $200 pp with CC discount. The speed was worse than the old days when internet first came out on ships at exorbitant prices. 

On 6/26/2021 at 2:21 AM, Kreative03 said:

The hallway on Apex is slightly different - silver squiggles (almost mirrored) with white sparkly rock sculptures. Definitely a different vibe.

Here are another few random observations. First, the regular internet is painfully slow. The old pay-for internet was better. I can barely read this page on my tablet due to the way the formatting is coming up. Same on phone. The upgrade for faster internet is about $200. We were told as long as you are sitting in a deck chair, you do not have to wear a mask. None of the entertainment staff wear masks - drummers, guatarists, game show hosts for example. That's odd. Almost to the person the staff has been great. They're all very friendly and open. Our party of six had a poor experience in Prime Cut last night - undercooked steaks, barely warm food overall, desserts on the menu not available, big ice balls in the ice cream, Caesar dressing that tasted like mayonaise, etc. Service was amateur from a very kind waiter with two years experience. We were one of about five tables in the restaurant at the time. The manager was more than gracious and asked if we'd like to come back. We're not sure yet. Cosmopolitan the first night was much better. Otherwise, the trip is great. The mask wearing is not really a big thing.

We were in Barcelona and Venice this past June and July on both ends of our QV cruise. In both places, we had wonderful conversations with locals about tourism. The main issues are cheap airfare, short-term rentals to tourists in flats that used to be low and middle-income housing, the rise of the middle class in formerly underdeveloped countries (and their desire to travel), and large cruise ships. They would like to attract tourists who spend more time, engage in activities with locals, and spend more money in the local economy. Instead, the factors mentioned above attract very short-term crowds (think weekend bachelor parties) who disrespect local customs and leave mounds of trash that must be dealt with by locals.

In both cities, they mentioned corrupt local governments hoarding cruise taxes and large corporations pushing out local merchants. The little money tourists do spend largely goes to interests outside the local economy. In both cities, we stayed three days with people who live there. Throughout the cruise, we sought out local experiences that didn't accrue back to the cruise company. For example, in Venice, we took a gondola rowing lesson from a women owned non-profit. They thanked us for spending time with them and supporting the local culture.

(Side note - to the poster who said locals are leaving Venice, it has much to do with all the factors mentioned above and, ultimately, getting priced out of their homes. They would love to stay if the conditions were more tolerable.)

We try to think of ourselves more as travelers than tourists.

A couple of weeks ago we were given a peak. I think they are quite nice with two distinct rooms and dark woods. The balcony is narrow. The butler kept saying our Q6 deck 5 aft was better due to the large balcony and open floor plan. It was very nice, but this would have been even better, I believe.

Cunard charge (last week):

 

$24 for a one-day adult pass (unlimited, but in reality I suspect most people only used it there and back).

 

$36 for a two-day adult pass.

 

I know it was $24 but I can't be 100% sure on the $36 one.

 

A one way ticket was $13 I think.

We were there last week as well. Venice is small enough that it is very walkable, so it's worth figuring out how much you would actually use a pass,since it takes quite a bit of time back and forth to the ship. We did the people mover in, then the vaparetto to where we needed to be, walked all day, and took the Allaguna from St. Mark's back for a total of 16.50pp.

We are in 5191 in August.

We'll be joining in Barcelona next week in this suite and will likely take a good number of pictures. There has been some good coverage already, so perhaps we might post some things we haven't noticed yet. I figure with at least new carpet, mattress, bed linens, and perhaps drapes, the suite might achieve a level of that "new ship smell." Shame about baths not being touched.

On board. What do you want photos of?

Interiors of 5191? :eek: Thanks!

Just notified we will be going to Mykonos first on 6/21 and then Santorini on 6/22. Maybe they are trying to avoid all of the large ships there on 6/21. We have notified our Santorini tour company to see if we can change dates.

One thing you might want to consider is going to one of the city's public pools. We have friends in the city, and every time we visit, we go to the pools several times during our visit. It is very relaxing, very inexpensive, and an authentic, local experience, if that is what you are looking for. Another must do is the hot dog stand by the water (Baejarins Beztu Pylsur). It's very famous, and it is nothing like an American hot dog once you add all the condiments - and that IS the way to do it. I would not spend the money to travel to the Perlan, though it may be included on your organized tour. It's a nice vantage point, but we did not find the museum very interesting. If you like architecture, the relatively new Harpa concert hall is a must do and easily walkable. The wall were designed to recall fish scales. The city has lots of neat shops and coffee shops, and you can spend some quality time just wandering around.