exlondoner

I don’t think leaving you alone is really an option for a shipping company. They need to know you can get out without help in an emergency, or, if not, what help you would require. 

One thing I am baffled by is ‘they were there to serve in the most colonial way possible.’ What on earth is a colonial way of serving, let alone a most colonial way?

My own experience of service in Cunard restaurants is one of warmth and efficiency.

30 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Semi serious comment here

 

Pack any sticks in luggage. A jobsworth might question the need and ask why an assistance form hasn't been filled in.

Μy thoughts exactly. 

And perhaps a very discreet gold ring with a ruby? 😀

Looking at our latest menu, there are various symbols to denote things like gluten free. One of these, possibly a broccoli floret, signifies ‘wellness option’, which I suspect is the low calorie one.

3 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

I think you might want to read up a bit more about the christening and name controversy....

 

It was a source of considerable embarassment to Cunard and caused some measure of offence in Scotland. I still remember seeing letter boxes in Scotland with the "II" defaced.  Indeed, during the back and forth over the proposed name for Q4 naming her QUEEN ELIZABETH II was rejected early on for not wishing to cause offense in Scotland where, of course, there was no Queen Elizabeth (I) as sovereign.   And why Cunard thereafer was happy to use "QE2" thereafter.  

Yes, I do actually know all that, just as I know Brooklyn is one of New York’s five boroughs. Why assume ignorance on my part, or indeed that it was a mistake in the part of the Queen? As I say, look at her expression.

14 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

I'd rather listen to the crowd and the look on Sir Basil Smallpeice's ....

Why? 

Look at her face.

36 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

 

WantedOnVoyage

 

The advice given to judydoc has been fine. What some aspire to and the reality are totally different these days.

Pre Covid, my husband would no more go tie less, than fly to the moon. In his own rebellious way, he's ditched them and that's from an 'old style' dresser. Still got the jackey tho' but that's his choice.

 

Like it or not, times have changed and when asked for advice, objective replies should be given and the reality is, 'Smart attire' is def. more casual  than it used to be.

 

Give incorrect info and lovely folk who would be the future of Cunard, might be put off and as I hope we have another 20 yrs of cruising in us, I hope Cunard survives. Tie less but with the option for us to scrub up if we want to.

Always remembering the variable ferocity of the air conditioning.

35 minutes ago, new to cuising said:

Given that our late Queen Elizabeth II mistakenly thought at the naming ceremony that the Cunarder QE2 was named after herself, perhaps it's time to formally name a ship after her

You think it was a mistake?

16 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I'd add a ps and say apart from two bow ties to ring the Gala changes, my husband hasn't taken a [non Gala night] tie with him for two years now.

 

He doesn't miss them one jot! 🙂

Mine sometimes wears one, partly so he doesn’t forget how to tie a tie.

5 minutes ago, judydoc said:

On Gala night Men must have a jacket?  Shirt and Tie are not enough?

Yes, jacket on formal nights, if you want to dine anywhere other than the Lido or equivalent.

7 minutes ago, Harters said:

Agreed. But only applicable if you live fairly close to the departure/arrival port. I am looking forward to my next cruise which is a Southampton to Southampton one, so we can drive - but these are rare for my preferred cruise line. 

That is true. Being lucky enough to live where I do, I would never cruise other than from Southampton. 

18 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Where have the senses of adventure, commitment and accomplishment gone?  A 20-25 minute walk with rolling luggage is hardly much different than what a lot of people insist on doing in large, busy airports all the time!

 

Of course, if the weather is bad, different situation.

Why make life unnecessarily difficult? One of the joys of cruising is not having to deal with airports.

33 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

Well as someone who sometimes works in a high rise hospital, we're all trained to throw chairs, legs first, at windows. Or charge at the window with the chair. If you get the middle of the glass area it will shatter. This PSA is hopefully something no-one here needs to do, but should bear in mind. I can imagine the risk in hotels is greater though.

I think the available chairs in my cabin might be too heavy for me to hurl at anything, though one never knows if desperation is driving. However, I think it would be preferable to allow the doors to be unlocked from inside. 

3 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

For safety reasons (e.g. if there was a fire in the corridor) I very much doubt the balcony doors were centrally locked such that someone in the stateroom cannot get out. It's also quite a tricky bit of engineering to do this for hundreds of doors.

 

Whereas at turn-down service the steward would normally ensure the door was bolted closed, using the turn-bolt on the door. But you would be free to open it again. As noted, if the wind is up there could well be a reverse suction effect, with a pressure difference, so that you would need quite a lot of arm welly to get the door open, and if you did get it open there would be quite a bit of whistling going on as you did so. When that happens then I tend to get the message since the other risk is that once out of the balcony can you then get back into your stateroom? Pushing the door open from the outside is easier than pulling from the inside, it should be said.

 

It's quite common for the captain to request or to advise that balcony doors not be opened during bad weather.

I hope you are right. The thought of being locked in my cabin is terrifying, exactly because of the (very unlikely) scenario you describe.

6 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Ahhh... an important detail! I was referring to Ocean Cruise Terminal Berth 46 and was staying at Novotel Southampton; there are a number of hotels closer to that pier.

I wouldn’t walk. It is possible, but a horrid walk along busy roads, and it will probably rain.

33 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

My wife thought our's was locked as well. With the application of a lot of brute force I managed to get it open about 1/4 inch but no further. It was just the wind stopping it.

Yes, usually when we come back from dinner, we have found the balcony door has been locked, but can be unlocked. If there is a strong wind, you need very strong arms to open it though.

8 minutes ago, D&N said:

That's an odd response.

My problem while carrying baggage off would be the slow moving people in front of me.

But I'm quite polite so I just toddle along at their speed until I come to a point where it is wide enough to pass.

I can’t see why it should be a problem either. And, quite honestly, looking at the average load of Cunard passengers, how many of them are going to be keen to hump large suitcases about if they don’t have to?

Can you explain a bit more about the locking of the balcony doors?

Wolf Rock Lighthouse?

Incidentally, if that is QA, she has a surprisingly elegant profile from afar.

Will ponder for a bit, but happy fourth birthday to the Thread, which has been both fascinating and informative. And isn’t it pleasing how quickly things went back to normal? There were those who said cruising as we knew it would never again be possible.

29 minutes ago, FSW2024 said:

I’m looking into a lot of the anti-sickness stuff, but with some of them, like Stugeron, I don’t think you can drink when taking them or that’s the advice anyway. 

That’s right, but only at the time. For instance, we were once scheduled to encounter quite a fierce gale in the channel the night after leaving Southampton. The Captain advised us not to drink with dinner, take a seasickness pill before retiring, and with luck we would sleep through the whole thing. Which is what happened. Drinking then resumed. Anyway I suspect you’ll be fine between Southampton and Hamburg.

1 minute ago, FSW2024 said:

Yes, I know I’m in the worst place on D13 if there is a lot of motion. The way I’m looking at it is, as this is only a very short trip, it’s just a test to see how I get on.
 

One of my friends wants to go transatlantic to New York within the next couple of years and there’s no point in me agreeing to go if I get really seasick or if I don’t enjoy cruising for any reason. So best to have a trial run with a short one first.
 

it’s actually another friends 60th birthday at the end of next week so I’ve bought this trip for us as a present for her although she’ll have to wait awhile for it being May next year. So it’s sort of ‘dual purpose’ in that it gives me a chance to try it out as well. My friend has been on one short cruise before which I think was with Celebrity. I think she’s going to be pretty surprised when she opens the envelope next Friday though. 🙂 I’ve printed off a load of colour pictures of the QM2, cabin, restaurant etc & am posting them to her, with strict instructions not to open it until next Friday! 🙂 I’ve told her I’m taking her ‘somewhere’ and she’s put the May dates in her diary, but she doesn’t know where yet! 

I hope she has a suitable passport.