3rdGenCunarder

Yeah,,, a quad on a holiday week could see you bumped. Take a look at the deck plan and maybe choose a different cabin in your category and move to that as a preventive measure? What was it about the quad that made you choose it? Is there a not-quad nearby?

It was standing room only for some of the speakers on Queen Anne recently. Cunard records the presentations and runs them on cabin TV for those that don't go in person. No droners on that cruise--one woman had lots of pictures, and she just talked about them, as if she were giving a tour, not a lecture. I felt as if I were at the places she talked about. It's been ages since I've seen a guest speaker on a HAL cruise, good or bad. I miss the days when port talks were more about the port than the ship's excursions. Many of the guest priests are well traveled. Perhaps if they would offer to do a port lecture or some other travel talk, HAL would be more inclined to have them on board.

For quite a while, HAL has been doing more for the longer voyages than the short ones. Only legendary and grand get guest speakers, etc. Perhaps it's because they can fill short cruises more easily, so they feel they don't have to make an effort. I rarely do a 7-day cruise, but I do 10-14, and I would appreciate some of the enrichment and entertainment that the longer cruises get. But I don't expect it to happen.

Thanks for posting that. The description sounds exactly like the cruise I did last year--I was on one of the fortunate sailings that had no problems. Sounds like he connected with the same vendors. Pictures look like the cabins were redecorated, or else they showed the other ship.

Aw, come on, Cunard. Singles pay for the whole cabin, give us the OBC for the whole cabin! (Or pro-rate it for the Britannia cabins where we pay "only" 75-85%)

Congrautlations on the good table! The window tables are lovely. I don't take my camera to meals, but I do take my phone if I have a table with a view. (And go ahead and take food porn pix if you want to) Friends who cruise with us say that their son-in-law is the "window whisperer" because they always get a table by the window in Britannia when he sails with them--and he's the newest addition to the group, so he hadn't "earned" it. Service in PG on QA was very good. Our table tried just about every flambe option. It isn't on the menu, but you can request crepes suzette.

I think three out of my four visits to Ketchikan were damp. The first time we were there, it was the last cruise of the year. The salmon were spawning, and they die after they spawn. It hadn't rained in over a week, and locals were thrilled to have rain (although they apologized to us for their joy) because it would help wash the dead fish out to sea. They are proud of their rain!

I just looked at this cruise. It's a great first-time itinerary for Alaska. Excursions are expensive in Alaksa--everything is expensive there! I would say the two must-do excursions are the train in Skagway and a whale watch in Juneau. I don't know if the ship's train tickets are more than buying on your own, as it's many years since I've done the train. For the whale watch, do your research--look for a company that uses small boats so that you aren't in a crowd jostling for a spot at the rail. The Alaska port of call board has tons of information. US laws require a stop at a foreign port, which for Alaska cruises is usually Victoria. Some cruise lines do a useless 4-hour stop in the evening just to meet the requirement, but I see that you would get a full day so you can actually do something there. September has a reputation for being rainy but I've done Alaska in September twice and had good luck with the weather. I've had a rainy day here and there, but never a downpour. I disagree with the video expert about the flight tours being must-dos. I love flying in a small plane (but not a helicopter), but I'm not sure these tours are the best use of your time and money on a first Alaska tour. If you've sailed the fjords of Norway, you don't need to fly to Misty Fjord.

It wasn't when I was teaching. But a few parents would call and demand a better grade for their (usually lazy) kid.

Is all of check-in handled downstairs (the way it was years ago) or do you still start at an upper level for the first steps (the way it was 2 years ago)?

Two of my favorite things to do in Vancouver! Bard on the Beach is great!!!

We didn't watch the Simpsons, either, but DH always made a point of looking for Homer.

Mine is 9 digits with a B after the numbers. I think this goes back to giving couples the same number plus A or B. DH had the A number and mine is the same digits but followed by B. Our first crossing was 1988.

@Pushpit beat me to it! This is the whole mural. Homer is to the left of the Statue of Liberty's hem. he's a bit worn from all the times people have touched him.

I don't remember if it's 2 or 3, but along one of those hallways, there are bronzes with animals and figures and aspects of different regions of the globe. For North America, there's a baseball of football player, a grizzly bear (I think?) and Homer Simpson! I'll see if I can find a picture.

@NE John, thank you for starting something about my favorite Cunarder! I'll be on her in a few weeks, so your comments will be a good warm-up. Congratulations on your upgrade! I'm sorry to hear Gastown has become so dodgy. It was a bit rough when I was in Vancouver two years ago, but it sounds like it's worse now. That's a shame, as there are some nice restaurants there.

I trimmed the post because I wanted to respond to the comment about the hallway. I love to stand in those hallways on 2 and 3, where you can feel the vibration of the engines and realize that you're traveling in a magnificent machine! Did you find Homer Simpson?

Sometimes, if a tour is on a bus, they can an extra bus and run an additional group. But the excursion you want involves specific tickets and may not be "expandable." Your best bet is to keep checking the website and hope to catch a cancellation. When someone cancels a tour, the tickets do go back into inventory. I've called Cunard to ask if there's a waitlist and been told they don't do that.

This is one of the best reviews EVER! Your writing style is fun to read. After many trips on QM2, I am enjoying seeing the ship anew through fresh eyes. You did well to find the glass elevator so early in your voyage. I wish I'd thought to call it the Tardis!

I sat up there a few times. The loungers that had the cushions were near the rail, and that's where I usually sat. I did notice a lot of people walking through behind where I sat, but they weren't stopping. This happened more on the first few days when people were exploring/finding their way around. I wasn't bothered by them, more curious to see if anyone on staff challenged them, but as there was no staff, it didn't happen.

That's correct. CO is the packagae that includes a cabin upgrade (within the same "meta category") if available. HIA does not include an upgrade. HAL has so many packages and offers that it gets confusing.

I've never seen the Ice White theme on other ships or other itineraries. Although they call it Ice White, glaciers are actually blue, and on board the dress suggestion is white, blue or silver.

I asked for a change on my recent cruise on QA because most of the people at the table (PG) for 8 arrived later than I did, and I don't like to eat late. I asked if I could be moved to a table where people arrived earlier. I know I didn't displace anyone because when I was shown to my new table for 6, one of the people there said "Ah, now we have a complete table." It would be interesting to know how much spare seating there is in the grills restaurants. There did seem to be a fair number of empty seats in PG. One couple were at a table for 6 and it was never set for more than the two of them. Nobody took my place at the table for 8. And I saw other tables not occupied, even on nights when we lingered, chatting, after finishing our dinner.

Happy Anniversary, even if it isn't how you envisioned it. And thank you for coming back to add details. If they can't move you, at least I hope they do something--Pinnacle dinner, some OBC by way of apology.

That was my first thought, too. I agree, it's a fairly large jump in the cost to choose your cabin. First, you are offered nonrefundable deposit/guarantee OR refundable deposit. That second choice used to mean you would get to choose your cabin AT THAT PRICE but now they have a second step where you have to opt to pay more in order to get the cabin of your choice. And the stories of people getting moved around, as happened to the OP, are making me wonder if I should have just gone for a guarantee on my next booking, since it seems that could be my situation anyway. SHAME ON HAL for the way they handled this. Of course they could have sent the steward in to look for stray bags. Or they could have left a phone message or a Navigator message for the occupants of that cabin to ask if they had the bags. And a big SHAME ON THEM to the people who got that cabin and didn't do anything to help the bags get to their new location. Years ago on a Cunard ship we got a last minute upgrade (that really was an upgrade!) and our bags didn't follow us. We went to our original cabin and our bags were still in the hallway outside the door, so we just dragged them to our new room.