exlondoner

16 minutes ago, Deafcruise said:

 

Is that americano?

Sorry, I'm not good at coffee designations. It is ordinary filter coffee in a cup with milk in a jug. I think Cunard's version of Americano comes in a glass mug.

And also entertainers frequently leave and join mid cruise. So they must fix the immigration requirements for them.

1 hour ago, BigMac1953 said:

In QG, you will be offered as much fruit juice as you can consume!

 

We always request a pot of tea and pot of coffee to let us drink at our own pace.

 

Tea and coffee is also served after lunch and dinner.

 

Regarding the drinks package, you can only have one small measure of spirits or wine every 15 minutes, so if you return from a trip and you're trying to have a couple of quick beers to quench a thirst, forget it. Many drinks/cocktails are not included.

 

Not good value.

 

Stewart

And you can get free ordinary coffee in the bar anytime they are open.

In fact this must happen all the time, when passengers or their travelling companions are taken ill, or indeed when people miss the ship. So how can they stop you?

5 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

There is a diamond symbol on Grills cruise cards but I think it's unlikely that it could be seen by a casual observer in the theatre or Illuminations.

So there is. I'd never noticed it and probably would have assumed it to be related to WC status.  Anyway, other than when they are buying things, the only time I've ever seen other people's cards exposed is when they are trying to get the lift to take them to Deck 11.

Which card? How?

1 hour ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

The original Tourist Class restaurant was called Britannia. It was later re-named Tables of the World. Mauretania was the most recent name it had.  Princess Grill was expanded to have a second restaurant named Britannia Grill. It was created out of a corner of the Columbia, later Caronia, restaurant. Off-hand I can't remember the dates when all these chages were made. It gets confusing!

So it was. And I think they swapped the locations of the Mauritania and Caronia restaurants at some point, so the model of the Mauritania was outside the Caronia.

We've had both Britvic and Schweppes, sometimes simultaneously. I'm sure they'll supply diet if you want.

22 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

The first time we made a crossing in First Class was in 1979. Although the décor of the Columbia Restaurant was nothing special (I thought Britannia was more attractive) the food and service were superb. The head-waiter asked at every lunch if we wanted something special at dinner. We didn't order anything because the menu of the day was extensive and always had many items we liked.

 

There was traditional "silver service" at lunch and dinner. Even the Britannia Restaurant offered this in the 1970s.

It wasn't until the last year of the QE2 (2008) that we dined in this restaurant again. Now called Caronia, the restaurant was far more attractive than it was as Columbia. There was no longer any First Class so the menu was the same as Britannia. Everything was served plated from the galley and there was no off-menu items offered. Perhaps some were available on request, but we were quite pleased with the regular menu. It was not open for lunch on embrakation day. 

 

The service was excellent and, of course, it was one-sitting with flexible times as the Britannia Club is today. So we are glad we have it as our last memory of the QE2.

On QE2, the Britannia was one of the PG restaurants. The equivalent to the current Britannia was the Mauritania.

I live near Southampton, and think it severely underrated, as it is an interesting city. But, unless you have a lot of time, I would get straight on a train to Oxford or London, having made suitable arrangements for your luggage and booked your accommodation in advance. Oxford is small and quite samey  (how many colleges do you need to see?), but London is practically infinite.

One or two trains an hour to Oxford, at least two fastish ones to London, but again worth booking in advance, if you can, as can be much cheaper.

1 hour ago, cruiseluvva said:

We are looking at QM2 99 nights in 2021.

 

There is a UK TA currently offering a chauffeur driven car to and from Soton for this cruise.

It's immigration .(i.e. Passports) that is specifically checked  on route, though it's all part of Border Force.

4 minutes ago, rjsretired said:

My husband does not like to wear a tie or a Jacket.  Does this mean that Cunard is not the right ship line for us?

Not necessarily, but you will be restricted as to what parts of the ship you can use in the evenings.

How does your husband keep warm without a jacket?

19 minutes ago, daisybel said:

Thank you everyone for your interesting replies. Do the invitations come in a nice white envelope or just a generic one popped in the slot in the door way (which was the case on our last cruise with our names on a label stuck on) -  Not like the “Old Days”

 

I think the SOs party invitation certainly came in a white envelope. I wish they'd stop doing this, it is such an unnecessary waste.

2 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

I'm sure I've been to Senior Officers' parties in the evening, perhaps it depends on the itinerary.

Yes, I'm sure you are right. In fact the one before lunch was one of the nicest I've been to. It was a lovely day, the roof was open, it wasn't too crowded, and the nibbles were excellent. And a drink before lunch is quite as nice as a drink before dinner.

17 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

And thank goodness for that, and long may it last on Cunard. The first thing I do when boarding the ship is put away my tablet and smart phone, they'll come out only occasionally should I ever need to check an email. 

 

re;  Daily Menus, these are displayed outside the various restaurants and buffet area. Hopefully Cunard will not feel they have the need to 'race into the 21st century', with waiters taking orders on a tablet and guests having to wear wrist bands or medallions to gain access to their staterooms.  

In the Grills you get a copy of the menu delivered to your stateroom, which gives you something to keep as a memento.

Baldercash, I would pack the extra sweater if you can, so you have an extra layer if it's cold.

Trains from Oxford usually go to Paddington or Marylebone.

36 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

A new phonimium, the WC top tier members now have their pre-dinner cocktail gathering at 11.15 in the morning.  While others have a pre-dinner drinks 45 minutes prior to dining in the evening.

Questioned this, with the answer "Too many top tiers"

Not that new. We attended a senior officers party at this time about five or six years ago.

For Bergen, I should just take the shuttle into town and wander.

55 minutes ago, BiggDawg said:

 

Yeah, I get that.

I'm familiar with US tipping custom, and certainly even NYC, which is different.

 

But I'm looking at Southampton (LGW to SOU), where the tipping is clearly not like US.

I really wouldn't bother tipping at Sotyhampton. They get paid well enough for doing their job, just like shopkeepers or librarians, and don't expect anything more.

At,Southampton, they usually seem to be ready by about noon, so if you board after that there they are waiting for you. Recently on a couple of occasions they have let people on board a bit earlier, and claimed the staterooms are not quite ready. This leads to people being encouraged to go to the Lido and wait, but certainly with QG cabins they have actually been ready even then.

38 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

Thank you I have visited Beaulieu and the Auto Museum, It was pleasant. I hope they have the New Forest tour, because I have done all of the other places. Some more than once. The New Forest tour is about four hours which is about as long as I want to be on a bus. 

If there isn't a tour and you are an energetic type, you might like to consider this. Take a train to Brockenhurst: there are at least three an hour and it takes about 20 minutes. At Brockenhurst Station you can hire a bike for a couple of hours. Once you are out of the village, you can see the more rural parts of the Forest, away from the roads. I can't ride a bike so have never done this, but it is a very popular way of seeing the area.

37 minutes ago, akmday10 said:

Thanks all for the responses. Thanks majortom10, the tables to sign up sounds good, I think we will wait until we get on board. 

 

With the drinks package, there is a limit to 15 alcoholic drinks per day, but I doubt anyone would reach that. And yes everyone in the stateroom must purchase. Also spirits are single measures, wines by the glass are 150ml. You will need to wait 15 minutes between each drink I think. The package includes alcoholic drinks under $11, soft drinks, mocktails, teas, coffees, and 500ml bottles of water. 

 

When on holiday, we tend to drink a lot, and likely over the course of the evening have around 7 drinks or more. I personally would never go for a drink over $11 as I think it is a waste of money to go for the more expensive drinks when they actually have plenty around $8-10. We will also enjoy a bottle of wine at dinner, which is not part of the deal, therefore I have looked at the wine list and theres a page at the back - 'wines by the glass', out of 25 choices, only 7 of them are over $11, you would have the choice of 18 different wines. 

 

Now normally on cruises, we would not buy tea/ coffee or water as you can get it in the lido, but as it is included in the drinks package, we think we might as well make the most of it. We do late sitting, and like to have a few drinks before we head down to the restaurant, and then we do not normally head to bed until 2am, this is why the package appeals to us. 

 

For one day, I think a lot of people spend over $69 on drinks. I've worked it out below what I think I will spend on the cruise.  Of course a lot of people will not drink this much, or may drink more. 

 

10am - Tea or Coffee $3.25 

12pm - Wine with lunch $8.75 (150ml)

2pm - Tea and Coffee $3.25

3pm - Cocktail $10.50 

4pm - Bottle of Water $3.25

7pm - Cocktail $8.95 

8pm - Cocktail $10.50 

8.30pm - Wine with dinner $8.75 x 2 (150ml) 

10pm - Cocktail $10.50 

11pm Cocktail $8.95

12pm Cocktail $8.95

1am - Cocktail $10.50

1.30am - Bottle of Water $3.25

This totals up to $111.35 and with the gratuity it would be just under $130 for drinks in a day, thats nearly double what you would pay with the drinks package.If you only drink Pints, which are roughly $6.50 without gratuity, then you would have to drink around 10 a day. 

 

I hope this helps anyone questioning the drinks package, and how could anyone possibly spend $69 a day on drinks. 

Then it is  indeed good value, and I much admire you stamina for staying awake that long. 😀 I still think it is mean that one can't splurge the entire $138 on a superior bottle of,wine, say.

Is this the $69 per person package, which both occupants of a cabin have to buy? And there is a limit to the price per drink? I'm not sure I would buy it at all. You would have to have an awful lot of drinks to make it worth while.