warringtonian

We have booked a cruise on Ambition from Liverpool in 2023 but had a few problems with the website:

The payment would not go through until I phoned customer services.

One of the phone numbers came back as no such number

When I logged on afterwards it said that the ship sailed from Tilbury, not Liverpool.

Hopefully these are just teething problems.

We sailed on Cruise and Maritime twice. The first time was OK but the second was poor. The entertainment as amateurish and the food limited. The waitress in the dining room told me not to bother with the buffet as it was the same food as in the dining room. Having said that, I welcome the fact that they are sailing from Liverpool so I might give them a try.

It always amazes me that they don't have, say, a Nespresso machine in each cabin. Other cruise lines have them and many hotels, especially in USA.

We also were on the crossing with the NSO last year. Highly recommended.

I once had a waiter approach me in the grills room to see if I wanted a drink and I said that I fancied a margarita but that drinks on ships always tasted like they had forgotten the alcohol. He said "Leave it to me" and came back with a drink that tasted exactly like it should.

We were in 13007 last year and it was fine

Last time I asked the "Cuban" cigars were not Cuban at all, just made with Cuban tobacco.

Sadly, nothing has been done to the bathrooms. Perhaps there was a reason, other than financial, why the shower curtains were not replaced with a door. Even the QE2 in its later years had glass doors on the showers, at least on the modest cabins we occupied.

 

 

The new Britannia Club cabins on Deck 13 have gorgeous bathrooms with a swinging glass door on the shower stall. Although they are the same size and layout as those in the original Britannia cabins, it shows what can be done.

I agree completely about the deck 13 cabins. We had a week in them last year and have booked a round trip next year

Thank you I am confident it will work out, hopefully shortly!

Like your husband I have hearing problems as I can only hear in one ear. My first time on QM2 was a three week voyage and they put us on a table for 6 in the middle of the Britannia restaurant and refused to move us so I had to stop dining there. Since then we have used Britannia Club where you can dine when you like but more importantly it is much quieter.

Yes you can, from the Cunard website -

 

"You can purchase up to a maximum amount of $1000pp USD ($1000pp per sector for World Cruise voyages) of gift credit (also known as on board spending money)."

 

It's not refundable though so don't forget to spend it all !

It used to be possible to buy OBC at advantageous exchange rates, I don't think that's the case anymore but if you are worried about worsening exchange rates it's certainly possible.

Yes, I can remember buying advance credit at $1.80 to the pound. Sadly, those days are long gone.

We have been in Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill and Queens Grill, although only the first two were on QM2. I think that the Britannia Club is the best value and we have done that twice and booked for a two-way Atlantic crossing next April also. You have to watch the prices, the Club price has come down £300 since we booked (they call it fluid pricing).

We were in the choir last year and can really recommend it. They had two choirs and each one sang for one NSO performance.

I'm not really complaining, just pointing out how the prices vary. Last year we paid £2,579 each for the same cabin and that was just for one way, although we did get three nights in NY, so the two-way trip seems a bargain.

I booked two Club cabins last December for a voyage in April 2019 at a cost of £2,499 each. Now I find that Cunard are selling them at £2,199 each. Quite a reduction? My travel agent contacted Cunard who said that it was "fluid pricing" and there was nothing they could do.

We got to see backstage for free on our last voyage by joining the ship's choir. We were accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra with Anthony Inglis conductor and choir-master.

We were transferred to Brooklyn from our hotel last year and arrived at 12.30 to find that everyone else had the same idea. Boarding took over two hours. The staff blamed it on people ignoring their assigned time.

We have just returned from a TA B2B Southampton to NY. We did the bus to Macy's option for our NY day so we could explore the area on foot as we pleased. The trip is offered as a tour that you can book once on board (it wasn't advertised on voyage personalised before we left) and it costs $49 each person. It might seem quite expensive for what is essentially a shuttle bus, but we wanted to ensure that we would get back to the ship in plenty of time. We set off from the port at around 7.30am and it picked us up at Macy's for the return trip at 2.30pm. Jo.

We did a Westbound in 2007 and booked a Manhattan trip. It took so long to get through immigration that we only got 30 minutes in Manhattan. Cunard did refund us the cost of the shuttle though.

We too will be on the M929B crossing! Not going through Heathrow, stopping twice in Southampton, once in Hamburg and Lehavre (no driving, trains, time and hotels to see them!) and the National Symphony are the appeal for us! We enjoyed the QE2 one-way crossing and a Carribean cruise on the QM2. See you onboard!

We did an Eastbound crossing last year and we were in the ship's choir with Anthony Inglis and the NSO. Highly recommended.

It would probably be thought a bit rude. And even the tables for two are only about a foot from the next table.

When we boarded at NY last year everyone turned up at 12.30 despite being given different boarding times so it took us over two hours to get on board

I like the obstructed views on deck 8 as I hate heights and it feels safer when you are looking at a lifeboat rather than down at the sea

We had the 'free' drinks package, and bought a bottle of Bombay Sapphire and Baileys home unopened. Your post caused to check our bottle of gin, its 47% against our currently open bottle at 40%. I see some hazy afternoons on our summerhouse veranda this summer!

I may be wrong but I think that American proof spirit is a lower value than British so 47% American may be 40% British

You should be aware that tables for two are usually only about six inches from the next table so not really private. We have always ended up talking to the next table as if we were a table for four (or six)

I was once in the Grills Lounge and mentioned to the waiter that I fancied a margarita but that they tended to be very weak on cruise ships but he promised me a real one and it was.

We have been in Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill and Queens Grill. The last two are very nice but not really value for money unless you have lots to spare. The best for value is the Britannia Club as you have a separate dining room, attentive waiting staff and you can dine when you like.