exlondoner

16 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

nybumpkin,

Hi from one New Yorker to another.....

 

We are booked for the July 4th and awaiting for their release. I know according to cruise documents Pre Cruise Documentation is due around 4/30/19 date. We just passed Final Payment so I believe things are going to start to move faster.

 

So hoping for end of April beginning of May.....

 

Enjoy the Good Weather...

We are on QM2 in mid June, and the excursions appeared on our VP fifteen weeks in advance. Haven't had the paper version yet though.

7 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

My first crossing on Queen Mary 2 was in a Grills suite, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The only problem booking a Grill suite for your first voyage is that you are not likely to go back to Britannia after the experience. But here I am with voyages 17 and 18 this year, and all of them have been in a grills suite. For me the experience is worth the expense. 

Exactly my problem. We booked Queens Grill on QE2 for the holiday of a lifetime in 1997, and now, after about 20 trips, Cunard are a lot richer for it...But worth every penny for us.

The seats looking forward in the library, and the bridge viewing area. And, while not somewhere you can linger, the outside lifts from Deck 7 to 11.

I'd stay with late. It gives you time for tea, then to enjoy the sailaway, and, if you feel like it, a brief nap to gather your strength for the evening.

I'd forgotten those chairs: they were really comfortable, much more than they look.

6 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

Winter Garden

The QV exit doors to the pool area are automatic and to the ship's side, while on the QE the doors are manual and central.  The QV walls by the Pool are actually sliding doors and open back. 

And now I think about it, only one ship has an opening roof, I think QE. They don't often open it though.

And the two ships are even more alike since QV had its refit.

I think the doors from the garden lounge to the pool area are differently placed. I think only QE has a croquet area. The QV has a much bigger travel office, where some of the shops on QE are.

But generally speaking, I can never tell which ship I'm on.

I think there was a particular problem with the QE2, which had about 1,500 passengers, some with an extremely high sense of entitlement, and only one small launderette.

Lucky you. Just so long as those less fortunate are aware of the restriction.

U.K. customers , FCDs only last a year. That is, you must make a booking within a year, not take the cruise.

Those of you who have been on this board for a long time may remember the wise and witty posts of the inestimable Cruachan, now sadly deceased. On the subject of the QE2's laundry, he said something to the effect that though he had served in the British army for many years, in a regiment noted for its robust approach, never had he encountered a level of savagery comparable to that found the the QE2's laundry.

You have been warned.😀

I believe the costs of Indian visas are reciprocal. It is very expensive and complicated for Indians who want U.K. Visas, so the reverse applies. And why not? 

Also two night cruises are often part of longer cruises: for instance those to Hamburg are part of Atlantic crossings. Certainly our next cruise which would include two 2 nighters (if that makes sense) has Gala Nights on both those sectors, not just smart attire.

22 minutes ago, jimdee3636 said:

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. I guess I'll either have to cancel or be cautiously optimistic and try to work something out with the maitre d' immediately after embarking.

 

It seems to me, though, that Cunard should be able to guarantee a table for two in advance. Holland America does it. We've sailed with HAL nine times (just got off the Volendam earlier this week after a thirty day voyage) and have always gotten a guaranteed table for two in advance (and they've never failed to give us one). Cunard should realize that this is a priority for at least some of their guests. The last thing you need on a relatively long cruise is to worry about being seated each night with the "wrong" table-mates.

If your worry is uncongenial tablemates, rather than tablemates per se, my impression is that quite a lot of people ask to be moved after the first night for that reason, so it should be resolvable. 

If it is really a concern, could you go for Britannia Club?

It seems to vary somewhat. We have three Gala nights on a nine night QM2 cruise, including the night before we disembark.

1 hour ago, Underwatr said:

I don't think the rooms are loud in the evening. You might want to avoid forward rooms on lower decks if you'll be visiting a port where the ship might anchor.

 

Britannia restaurant is a typical large banqueting space and it can have a corresponding level of ambient noise. I'm not sure whether the upper level is louder or quieter but the back corners on either side (next to Britannia Club) should be quieter, I assume.

 

 

The OP said they were in the QG.

7 hours ago, AnnintheGarden said:

I will be traveling for the first time on Cunard on the QM2 in QG with a child who suffers from Mesophonia. Noises can be upsetting to her and as we three will be sharing a room she will have no place for retreat.

 

I will bring a small white noise machine, but does anyone have other suggestions? 

 

Are the rooms sometimes times quite loud in the evening?

 

Are there times and events that could be overwhelming? Things to avoid?

 

I plan on having us breakfast in our stateroom to give her a calm start to the day. 

 

 

I think the QG restaurant is usually quite quiet, especially, if you get there fairly soon after it opens in the evening.  Best if you get a table away from any of the service stations, where there tends to be a degree of rattling, inevitably. On cocktail party nights, everyone tends to come up more or less together quite late,  so particularly worth getting there early.  Lunch is often extremely quiet, especially on port days. In the evening, I have found the pop-up restaurants, Coriander etc,  to be extremely placid and quiet.

Some of the tables in QG are extremely close together, while others are more on there own, so worth pursuing the latter.

While Cunard ships are rarely noisy, there is a lot of live music, such as string quartets, about the ships, not loud but audible. 

I should make sure Cunard shoreside know about the condition, though whether it gets communicated to the ship is in the lap of the gods. In QG, you get lunch on embarkation day, so make sure you go and discuss your needs with the MD. Lots of people get their tables changed before dinner, so he can accommodate you.

If the weather is nice, she may find your balcony a retreat with the gentle waves providing their own white noise.

i think she'll be fine.

I should have thought the name Cunard on its own had those satisfactory connotations.

Do you think they audience tested their website changes?

21 minutes ago, schattenfell71 said:

Hello from Germany,

 

as you might know, we will do our first trip with the QM2 in June. We have two ports with the city of Brugge and St.Peter Port.

 

From today on I can book several shore excursions on the "My Cunard" site and I have some questions about it:

 

1. Will it be better to book these excursions right now or on board?

2. Will there be any transport from the harbours into the town for those who will not book a Cunard shore excursion?

3. Please tell me your thought about these excursion: Private or book with Cunard?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Greetings from Germany

Thorsten

I am on this trip too, I think.

1. It is usually cheaper to book in advance, but worth waiting if you've got on board credit you want to use.  In over twenty years of Cunard, I have never had a trip I want.sell out before boarding.

2. They do not provide a free shuttle to Bruges, only to Blankenburg Station, which is near Zeebrugge. If you look on the voyage personaliser, it will show you what trips to Bruges are available...and the price.

I can never really understand why Cunard use the White Star name at all. After all, the companies were at one time serious rivals, and Cunard was finally more or less forced to take them over by the British Government, if they wanted help building the Queen Mary. Furthermore, White Star had a shocking safety record, culminating in their most famous ship not even making it across the Atlantic once.

Why should Cunard want to be associated with any of that?

On. b): you get two bottles per cabin, so one can be wine, the other spirits, if that is your choice. They give you a list to choose from. In my experience they have been replenished, but that may depend on the goodwill of the butler. 

38 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

 I can't see anything about green paint but Cunard would have a problem with smoking and playing bagpipes in your cabin so I don't really understand your point.

 

"Can I take a musical instrument on board ?

Yes, however it will not be possible for you to play them within your stateroom.

For bagpipes, it would be preferable if you use a chanter to practice on.

It will be possible for you to play them in a show lounge or other such room from time-to-time pending that no shows or activities are scheduled there, and only between the hours of 10am and 10pm.

Please contact the Voyage Director when you embark and they will be able to advise you on which venues and what times would be most suitable for your practising. Please be aware that there may, on occasion not be a location available to you.

Please note that your instrument will contribute to your luggage allowance where applicable and should be stored in your cabin."

Merely saying that what you do in your cabin is sometimes other people's business.

13 hours ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

I don't understand the judgmental comments about people who choose to do what Cunard itself has no problem with. What we do in our cabin is our business...in all ways!

Not really. Obviously, drinking a glass of your own wine is no problem, but smoking, playing the bagpipes, or smearing the walls with green paint would all be other people's business.

37 minutes ago, naturelovergirl said:

So, with the schedule for disembarkation... Are you all saying that if you are willing to carry your own bags, you can leave when you want and not follow the schedule that Host Hattie shared here? Or is there a time slot for those who are willing to carry their own bags?
Thanks in advance for the advice 😊

If you register for self disembarkation, you can get off before any of the groups in the schedule, often about 07.30. Everyone else has to wait for their luggage to be unloaded. Self-disembarkers don't.

54 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

This is only a privilege that happens in the US we very rarely if at all get "free drinks packages" in the UK.

It does happen sometimes. A couple of Christmases ago, we had a free drinks in the Grills offer.