Petulia

I also have received the same email as Host Hattie but can’t see any reference to providing proof of being ‘fully vaccinated’. 
 

Folks have previously mentioned having to download an NHS App to have access to this these details.
 

Is this no longer a requirement do you think?  🤨

It’s been a while so trying to recall, but didn’t they have a thing about toy bears? The magnets are quite handy for attaching printed cruise itineraries and other notifications etc to the cabin walls. 
 

Harrods merchandise used to be on sale also? 

We’ve used a mix of £, $ and € in the past, but pop them in an envelope so the recipients have no idea until later what they have been given! 
 

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

I believe U.K. Chips are best made from a favoured breed of potato. Do you know which it is? The things in the third photo look more like potato wedges to me - worthy, but not really chips.

King Edwards as an alternative to Maris Piper? 🥔🥔🥔

…and chunky chips make a great ‘chip butty’. 😄

Thanks for your interesting review of this longer round trip QM cruise. 
 

Pleased to read that you enjoyed a day touring in the New Forest. Such a lovely area right on the doorstep of Southampton. We have had a couple of great stays pre cruise in country hotels with wonderful gardens. Did you visit Beaulieu village or the Motor Museum? We found there were a number of donkeys sedately roaming the village and one had firmly parked himself in the entrance porch of the Montagu Arms…and wasn’t about to move for any guests! 

15 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Was your QM2 voyage during 2015 by any chance? If so, perhaps you managed to book under the terms of "The Grills Suites Inclusive Package" introduced in 2015 in connection with Cunard's 175th anniversary. That package included bottles of wine from the Captain's Collection (4 bottles on voyages of 13 days or less, 6 bottles on voyages of 14 to 20 days, and 9 bottles on voyages of 21 days or more).

Hi, this cruise was in mid July 2017, an 8 day Fjords cruise. Looking back at the emails from our agent, it rather looks like the ‘package’  was courtesy of the TA rather than Cunard. 
 

But I do recall sailing on Celebrity in 2015 when we did receive a free drinks package and gratuities. Happy days! 😊

I can’t believe you weren’t given a glass of ‘fizz’ when you first boarded.
The cheek of it! 
 

Cheers 🥂
 

A few years back in the good old pre covid days we were fortunate to be given a complimentary drinks package when booking a Grills cabin on the QM2. It was called the Captains Classic Collection, of four bottles of wine. 
 

Our sommelier sorted it out for us and OH, if I recall rightly, signed a chitty for each bottle. I’ve no idea why this package was included by our UK travel agent….we were grateful and so didn’t ask too many questions! 😋

@exlondoner So sorry to hear that you’re feeling rather poorly with Covid. Has it affected both of you? 
 

Two more (sea)days on this cruise? Hope that you will feel better very soon and that you are well looked after. 

Hi, I think from memory, embarkation  time maybe noonish but can start earlier in our experience.

According to the Cruise Ship Schedule in mid October the QM2 will depart from 106 berth which is the Mayflower terminal. Two P&O ships are using 46 and 38/9 berths, 46 is the  Ocean terminal. Of course this can change, but if you are booking car parking with CPS, their website will confirm which terminal. 
 

We take wine on board with us and have never been checked, their onboard wine. is quite pricey…unless you have a generous OBC. 🥂
 

The grills lounge, when the bar is open, serves complimentary coffee, and you can have a lovely afternoon tea there also. 
HTH

Have a great trip. 

1 hour ago, D&N said:

I hope to get a photo of Queen Mary 2 for the sunrise thread as she approaches Villefrance-sur-Mer on Thursday 21st July. Not sure how good it will be as she'll be about 8 miles from our window. There's not much point in going to the seafront as that would only cut the distance to 7.25 miles and I'd lose 15 metres or more elevation.

 

I think we'll catch a train to Villefrance-sur-Mer later in the morning and get some closer photos and selfies with her, then go on to Monaco for a cheap al fresco lunch.

So envious. ☺️

Villefranche is such a lovely picturesque spot, we had a great day on our last visit (sometime back) and like yourselves caught the train to Monaco after enjoying a good meander along the front. 
 

As a memento we bought a couple of mounted coloured prints done by a local artist who was selling her work from a stall just uphill from the shuttle drop off. One was a lovely overhead view of the village and coast road/promenade. 

20 hours ago, Lilly57 said:

Trying to decide which ship to choose for Norwegian cruise, both itineraries very similar few weeks apart.  We have sailed on QV and QE in the past.  Would be grateful for any thoughts on which you would choose and why.  Thanks

Hi, all other things being equal(ish) ie. itinerary / cabin choice / price, I would say there is something rather special about sailing up the Fjords on the QM2. 
 

She’s such an imposing ship and amongst the also imposing mountains and scenery….she just seems right at home. 🙂

@exlondoner

Hope all goes well with your tests today and embarkation goes smoothly tomorrow. We also have fairly elderly family sailing on this cruise and so hope that everyone acts responsibly and mindful of other passengers as well as themselves. 
 

Will you be sailing straight into a heatwave? ☀️☀️☀️☀️

Hi Daisy, we decided in 2017/18 to do all the three Queens for a second time. One Fjord (QM], one longer Med (QE) and lastly a Baltic cruise on the QV in July 18….scorchio it was! 

I think we chose the right ships for those itineraries, firstly sailing up the Fjords on a ship of QM’s impressive height was special. Secondly, the QE was undertaking a unique voyage celebrating the 50th anniversary of the QE2 with past Cunard masters and staff on board. And lastly the QV was making a maiden call at Kiel where the Captain and some officers had afternoon tea alongside the ship with local dignitaries, in nearly 30C temperatures! 
 

So each ship and cruise had its merits and hard to choose a favourite going forward…it would depend on the itinerary….I think. 🙂

PS We do prefer the Queen’s Room being central as in the Vistas. 

Hi there, greetings from a newbie to posting on this forum.

I look forward to reading your review of this cruise and in particular about the Bar Harbour stop. The reason being  sixteen years ago we did a NYC / Quebec round trip on the QM2…’Splendours of the Fall’ cruise they called it. The weather was cold but good except for an Atlantic storm on reaching Bar Harbour and the local Pilot sent us on our way! So am hoping you can fill in the gap, so to speak. 😀

4 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

Sunny skies this morning but now clouding over.  A few small fishing boats about.

Expecting strong gale force winds tonight of 70 knots and seas of 7m (23feet)!  Moderating tomorrow.

Better batten down the hatches then and hope it’s not as bad as predicted.

Thanks for your review so far, interested to hear how you get on. 

We’d thought about doing one of the round trip 4th July cruises a few years back, but with the complexities of cabin and segment choices, it never happened. 😧

25 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

I think the only part of the Grills experience where the QM2 actually wins is with her Princess Grill cabins, which are far superior to those on the Vistas.

I’ve only seen (brochure) photos of the PG cabins on the QM2 but they look very nice, a more square shape and well lit. Whereas the PG’s on the two smaller ships are now looking rather dated imo, especially the bathrooms. But there is a plus, due to their location midships and the minimum time it takes to reach the Grills area on decks 11 and 12. 🙂

Lol……Major Tom

Aww, I think you need to treat your good lady wife to a nice bar of Molton Brown or L‘0ccitane instead then…. 😄

For us the best part of the Grills features are the sole use of midships decks 11 and 12. You’ll be given a dedicated ships pass which allows access to these decks by lift. Two lovely restaurants and a central lounge ( with bar) and best of all, the hidden open air courtyard  where you can enjoy a tasty lunch, perfect in good weather. 

There are other great features, but nice to discover them for yourselves. 

3 hours ago, 2BACRUISER said:

On the P&O pages there is much talk of Arcadia floating around channel empty after disastrous first cruise back in service so it may be she will take the H&W spot???? Accordingly sources she is in dire need of repairs on water system and general. 

That’s interesting to hear as the initial reason given by P&O was ‘staff shortages’. 
Suspecting there was more to this sudden removal from service, we decided to cancel our forthcoming Arcadia cruise when the final balance was due in May. It will be interesting to see if she does return in July for the remaining season. 
 

With apologies for sidetracking the OP’s thread. 😳

On 5/22/2022 at 12:10 PM, Tillylovesseabourn said:

Cruising  from Southampton for the first time. Could anyone tell me please, which is the closest parking to the ship? Not concerned about price, just need to be as close as possible for aged parent to board ship. Also what is currently the procedure when driving to port re testing and priority boarding QG?

many thanks

Hi, I see it’s a bit since this first post but just wanted to add that sometimes the ship can return to a different terminal from the one that you departed. It came as a bit of a surprise when it first happened to us and we were only informed near the end of our cruise! 
 

You can check out the terminals your ship will use on the website ….

https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk//Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

If you do use CPS they will transfer your car to the new terminal for your collection. 
 

Hope the link works….🙂