TouchstoneFeste

Try cunardonboardservices@cunard.com

JB is good.

As @esrs says, Luggage Forward has easy-to-use luggage tracking. However, putting an air tag in a shipped bag (which we've done a couple times) is no different from putting one in a checked bag at the airport - which is what they're for, after all. The FAA rules (and I assume these are equivalent to other international rules) are a little complicated https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/lithium-batteries-baggage but you can ship or check devices with lithium batteries in them as long as they are secured from accidentally activating. Loose lithium batteries, no. The FAA seems to be trying to make a reasonable accommodation ...

And (my usual cross-referencing to other forums) see this thread in the British Isles/Western Europe forum: Any advice from a fellow named John Bull can be trusted.

However, customer service has provided me with lists of expected speakers for upcoming voyages when I asked. (With the proviso that things change.) (And most recently they did have one prominent speaker who was not listed in advance.)

I imagine they would berth at the new port/terminal, Galataport. You'll find multiple discussions in the "Other Mediterranean Ports" forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/149-other-mediterranean-ports/

Skean dhus - or sgian dubhs :) - are explicitly disallowed. Even a plastic would probably be unwelcome. Even without it, it's a great look.

And that TSA lock might be acceptable, since in your case the authorities with the most skin in the game would be in the U.S. Contact LF directly; they've always been very responsive to my queries. They've also always handled our luggage respsonsibly, so I didn't hesitate too much over allowing it to be opened, but I get your concern. For what it's worth, they have insurance as part of their booking price ($400 per bag I think?) and additional insurance is inexpensive. As I recall it cost us $20 per bag to insure each for $1,500; and higher levels of coverage are available. Which reminds me.... While you are completing the booking for international shipment (not domestic) they'll ask for a packing list. They don't require a detailed item-by-item list, just clicking on general categories like "Clothing", "Accessories", etc.

We used them last December (and previously) and we're planning to use them again for two future cruises. They don't serve all port/cruise line combinations but you should have no problem with disembarking from a Cunard ship at Civitavecchia. I've never been through Civitavecchia, but I assume the procedure will be the same as at other ports: Cunard will unload all your luggage (including anything you plan to ship) to a holding zone; you'll need to get all of it through any customs/immigration yourself. The LF agent will be waiting with a "Luggage Forward" sign. The luggage has always arrived at the destination ahead of schedule; as a result, it has always arrived in our stateroom at a different time from our self-managed luggage. As you're shipping home, that wouldn't matter, but it will be delivered to your house on their schedule, not yours. We've arranged to have a neighbor receive it for us if it would arrive before we did. They don't have designated staff at each destination - they use agents and the actual shipping is done by a major service like UPS. Note that when shipping internationally, they'll want your luggage to be unlocked. Also, some items which you can easily check at an airport may be disallowed for international air shipping. This is clearly stated in their terms of service, but I missed it the first time. I tried to ship a disallowed item in a thoughtlessly locked bag outbound to our cruise. They called to request the lock combination, and they kindly FedEx'd the item back to our house at their own expense. (Not sure this would be as easy on return shipping from overseas.) We recommend it.

There were department heads (Chief Engineer, head chef, etc.) involved in each segment of our tour last December, along with a lengthy visit to the bridge, so it's not hard to imagine "operational reasons" being legitimate. While that could also be a euphemism for "insufficient sales", ours was sold out.

The insertion of a slight "y" at the beginning of the "oo" sound in many words is simply a characteristic of the Received Pronunciation (and others) in British English. Think of the word "Duke". In America (and some other non-RP accents) this is normally "Dook"; in RP there's a tiny little "y" in there: "Dyook". It may sound overly posh to some, but it's just the way they pronounce it. I think we can safely choose whichever pronunciation we prefer - "Coonard" or "Cyoonard". And personally I place the stress equally on both syllables, perhaps a slightly stronger stress on the second syllable.

Not silly at all. Luggage Forward provides oversized tags but the cabin number is not very prominent so we also use the Cunard tags (on a different handle; the LF tags are seriously huge!) so the onboard luggage handlers have something familiar to use. The first time we used LF I thought I saw something about not having other tags. I haven't seen this notice since, so probably they meant to get rid of airline routing tags/stickers; or I'm just an idiot. We shipped without the Cunard tags and one of our bags got misrouted to a neighboring cabin.

We were there in December, and they've refilled a few of the shelves so you can get a glimmer of what the Long Room looks like normally. Even mostly empty, it's pretty awesome. Plus there are exhibit cases along the floor level full of fascinating stuff.

Yes. But again, I didn't track it carefully - I didn't take note of the cost of each glass of wine she ordered, for example. I just noticed that a few showed up on our account then a week after the trip we got a refund (but I couldn't trace the refund directly to any combination of charges). Hence my use of the word "appeared".

It appeared to me (admittedly I didn't keep track in detail) that the $13.50 limit was actually honored on our December crossing; we seem to have been charged for only glasses of wine which clearly exceeded the limit (over $16, for example). In fact we got a refund after the fact which may have covered some of them.

Real curiosity, not meaning to be argumentative. Do the stewards have "all door" medallions? Will the doors unlock as they pass by?

Others are noting that you're not really kicked off, but as @LadyL1 points out, those cabins do need to be serviced early. I think the logic from the passenger point of view is that getting off first also gives you shorter queues for immigration, porters, taxis, etc.

Perhaps so they didn't have to say things like "Queen Mary shut down for repairs".

Indeed, I had to look up what *other* Mr. Bates might have been referenced. The Post Office scandal fellow?

I've been able to find out the probable speakers just by asking customer support: cunardonboardservices@cunard.com They may not know much at this point, and things can always change.

There are pre-tied ones where the hardware is under the bow itself. But the clips for adjusting the length aren't hideable even if your tie isn't pre-tied. I've ended up with three different length bowties to adjust to my variable neck :)

I never realized that! Thanks for the info.

First, I should say (as many others on this forum have also said) that it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the evening if a few individuals aren't "up to code". I think it really would bother me if a large proportion of people disregarded the dress code - it would change the overall atmosphere. But that's not the case (yet?) A few comments, though: Certainly the idea of black tie is dated, but I would dispute that it's inherently elitist ... not if you can get a Marks and Spencer tuxedo for £100. Or perhaps it's elitist, but in an acceptable way? In modern, but still fully formal, dress, either winged or "standard" collars are acceptable. Likewise either cummerbunds or waistcoats. With the appropriate tie! The dress code for formal nights does specify a "dark" suit and a tie. This is really always a discussion about men's wear. From my experience, the women on gala nights are virtually always appropriately dressed. And often spectacular :)

Not at all. That and/or the dark grey would be very nice, I should think.

A standard collar is fine in black tie as long as it's an actual formal shirt (cufflinks and studs) - doesn't have to be a wing collar. Likewise, a standard black silk necktie is fine - doesn't have to be a bow tie. I know I'm sounding like a prig, and gala nights are not black tie per se. Just sayin' - if you want to dress black tie, go full black tie. Anything less can look sloppy (in my opinion, of course), and you'd be better off just going with the "dark suit". (I'll give ground on the cummerbund, as long as you keep your jacket buttoned.)