Jim_P

Thanks. I'm doing Sydney to Hong Kong so it looks as though my itinerary won't change for the time being.

I take it you are both on QA? I'm booked on QM2 but havnt had any notice of cancellation yet.

49 minutes ago, Rayhorn said:

With the issues seemingly concentrated around Noumea, is there a chance that cruise lines would still visit Isle of Pines, Lifou, or Ouvea, or is NC off limits no matter the port?

The biggest issue there is with insurance (the cruise lines as well as passengers travel insurance). While ever there are travel warnings in place against New Caledonia insurers won't cover it and cruise lines won't go there.

Id be stoked to get that itinerary change instead of going to the same tired old New Cal ports.

I think there's still a chance of a boutique line like Ambassador snapping her up. She's the right size and age and cruising is booming right now. 

I'll be doing my first transatlantic crossing on QM2 in march going westbound. I've been on the QM2 a few times on legs of her world voyages but doing a crossing is a bucket list item. I have no idea what to expect in terms of weather at that time of year. Im hoping we may get some wild seas. 

I wouldn't think so. What it actually is is a credit, you have to buy the internet package at the normal price and then they credit your account back $45. I couldn't see them crediting back double for the one plan.

2 hours ago, pooh/tigger said:

How do I do that? I’m not computer savvy 

If you exited the hotel and turned right, a very short distance there's a left hand turn. If you go to street view on Google maps this is what you'd  see. It's right where you want to go.

You can go down Hickson St but its easier and just as quick for you to turn right on George St when you exit the hotel and walk for about 2 minutes then turn left into Circular Quay Way, or if you dont mind a couple of steps just go down the stairs just to the front right of the hotel (where google maps says "Cadmans Cottage") which will take you straight to where you need to go.  If you look at Google maps you can see the Carnival Splendor in the port. Where the front of the ship is is the side of the terminal you enter. 

49 minutes ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

Is Queen Isabella the Queen of Spain who gave Christopher Columbus the 3 ships that he discovered America? the names of the 3 ships were the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria

Also the name of the queen consort wife of Edward II who went on to overthrow her own husband.

If Cunard ever built another ocean liner I'd love to see names like Mauretania or Aquitania thrown into the mix, but naming a cruise ship after the famous Atlantic greyhounds doesn't really fit for me.  

Lucania was the first ever ship to do a around the world cruise, that could be fitting. 

I think Queen Isabella has a nice ring to it.

2 hours ago, new to cuising said:

I think any twenty year old ship will have mechanical issues from time to time. Worth remembering out of all the cruise ships in service at the moment our beloved QM2 is now one of the older vessels and spends far more time at sea than any of the others. Many spend each year probably in one port or another for upwards of 200 days whereas QM2 probably has little more than 100 days in port a year (estimates) so QM2 has greater wear and tear, and less port time to address issues.

Yep, not to mention she goes through much rougher seas and weather. Probably not many other cruise ships out there you could build a snow man on (as some people did earlier this year!).

According to people on board now the Planetarium is back up and running as of today.

Am I the only one who finds the planetarium incredibly underwhelming and somewhat pointless? It was probably a cool feature and bragging rights for a ship to have in 2003 but in 2024 its not that impressive and its something that lasts 20 minutes and you might do it once or twice on a cruise. Personally I'd much rather see Illuminations remodeled into a state of the art cinema with more comfortable seats.

The waiters call it the A la carte menu. It's not advertised anywhere. If theres nothing on the daily menu that appeals just ask the waiter what options are on the a la carte menu.

It already has incteased, though one wonders how long demand will remain for the same couple of old ships going to Moreton Island and Venuatu over and over. 

I was on the QM2 a year or two ago during its world voyage. I heard the story from some other  passengers that during the Asian leg of the voyage prior to Australia she was being shadowed by two Chinese warships.  Cunard contacted the Admiralty about the situation who gave Cunard the directions to outrun them and show that if needed Britain had access to a very large and very fast troop carrier.  

I don't know the full veracity of the story, but it was the story doing the rounds on board, and it was at the same time that the QM2 met up with the HMS Spey in the Gulf of Thailand. Makes me wonder if there was a little more to that meeting than a publicity photo op.

She was a UK navy ship (HMT Queen Mary).

True, but a lot of those were cargo ships. It would be interesting to compare Cunard's passenger capacity then to now. I think 1958 would be in front, though Queen Anne with her 3000 capacity may have tipped the scale. 

Who knows, with all this anti cruise ship tourist stuff, perhaps the age of the ocean liner might return where people will go on cruises that have no shore days to travel to destinations. I'd love to be able to travel by cruise ship rather than flying. Given how increasingly horrible flying is, as well as increasingly expensive, is I could see that being an emerging market. Cunard's TA crossings only seem to be getting more popular and selling out much faster.

2 hours ago, Cpt Pugwash said:

I have never travelled with Cunard only P&O i am shocked to hear that in these days people can be stopped from going into certain parts of a Cruise Ship they have paid to travel on.

That's almost every single cruise except some of the very expensive luxury lines. If anything the "exclusive" spaces on Cunard ships make up much, much less of a footprint than the spaces on other cruise lines.

You dont have to be concerned or plan, about the only "off limits" areas you'll stumble across are the two Grills restaurants, which are easy to stay out of, and a small terrace at the back of the ship that is out of the way and signposted that its for Grills passengers.

It's as bad in Australia. Logging into My Account does literally nothing and gives you access to nothing, other than it remembers your email address and CWC number if you make a booking.

34 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

I did see a sign for the Chef’s Galley, and peeked in there, but it seemed to be like a small cafeteria so it didn’t look very welcoming. I couldn’t figure out what it was so I kept on going. 

Yes, a lot of people miss the Chefs Galley completely (on my first trip on QM2 I never ventured in there). I think a lot of people think its one of the ones you have to book or pay for as its right next to one that you do. But you just show up and they seat you. In the evening its an Italian pasta and pizza restaurant. Only a basic menu, but I loved the food and the service was always excellent. During lunch it serves hamburgers and gourmet hot dogs.  I generally went there when the menu in the MDR didnt have anything that really appealed to me.