3rdGenCunarder

As others have said, the embarkation lunch is never announced. It's sort of a state secret--nobody will tell you about it. I think it stopped being Mariners only (and yes, sometimes 1 or even 2-stars were turned away) about 7 years ago, maybe more. I've had a wine tasting very late on a cruise once or twice. It's more likely to happen if the cruise is port-intensive. Our table laughed when the sommelier kept mentioning the wines that were in the packages. Too late to make a sale. I don't think there was a Mariner luncheon on my last HAL cruise (last winter). Don't recall a cocktail party, either. If there was, I guess I missed the invitation. I didn't think to inquire about either event. There was a supply-chain problem with the tiles with a new design. We got a letter about it, and my steward explained it, too. He asked if I had a tile from Eurodam, and when I said I didn't, he said he'd find one for me. And he did. It was the old design, but I didn't care. I don't think he dug out a tile for me because I'm 4-star. He was just a really good cabin steward. That's the thing about HAL. The service is good no matter how many cruises you've sailed with them.

@Oopsa, try asking some questions of the port of call boards. You might get some good advice/suggestions there. And have you joined the roll call for your cruise? There might be people organizing small group tours that you might join.

If you're taking a ship's excursion and you get to the appointed gathering place on time, they will hold the excursion for your group. An exception might be public transportation, like a train ride. That would leave on schedule. Don't write off tendering completely. Just give yourself extra time. If there's a port you don't wish to visit, then staying on board can be a nice quiet break. I do that on a Caribbean cruise if there's a stop in St Thomas. Been there, done that more times than I can remember. So I can get a nice lounger by the pool, enjoy an uncrowded spa, etc. On a world cruise, you'll have plenty of sea days to relax, but the feeling of having the ship to yourself is a treat.

I was on QE in 2022, and we tendered into Juneau. As is typical of tender days, people with booked excursions met in one place and got priority for tenders. Everyone else went to the Queens Room to get tender tickets. Since I didn't have an excursion, I didn't rush to get my ticket. They started giving out tickets at noon. I went at 12:45, and they were only calling number 7. I got 18, and it was almost an hour until they called that number. LOTS of very unhappy people waiting and waiting. Other than that, I haven't tendered from a Cunard ship in something like 8 years. I don't ever remember it being that bad on QM2. So maybe my experience in 2022 was because there was something odd going on that day, but consider that a worst-case scenario. When will you be in Juneau? My cruise itinerary says arrival in Juneau is "early morning." I hate that Cunard doesn't give times! But the Alaska cruise schedule does give times, and for my cruise "early morning" is 7 AM. You can check your itinerary here: Cruise Ship Schedule Calendar Combined Ports (claalaska.com)

When K'dam was new, noise from outside the LC area was a problem, even with a crew member stationed outside with a "Quiet, please" sign. They moved LC into the BBKing venue, which was better for sound, but LC got odd times, with BBKing getting the prime evening time.

Hilton Midtown is on the West Side, 6th Ave and 53rd. The Hilton on the East Side is the Millennium Hilton UN Plaza. Definitely an easier trip to Brooklyn. I think Cunard is smart to offer a Brooklyn hotel. It's more convenient to the port. I know that a lot of people want a few days in NYC, but others just want to get to the ship conveniently.

I agree that the two new ports aren't as good as the three you lost, especially St John. Portland isn't a huge city, and it's a great place to have lobstah. Maine Day Adventures does foodie tours. I've done one of the Portland tours and it was a lot of fun. Great stories, nicely varied tastes.

I'm doing the "photo safari" whale watch. It leaves kind of early and QE will tender when I'm there, so I hope booking through the ship gets me ashore quickly. @palive22, I think it's likely there will be an ice white night. And if they don't, I'm sure you can wear your outfit on another gala night. Is there a roll call for your cruise? If Cunard doesn't do an ice white gala night, maybe the roll call group can decide on your own ice white night.

I enjoy researching travel, so I check out ports and options early. I booked my Juneau whale watch as soon as tours showed up to be sure I'd get it. It's a small-group tour, maybe 15 people, and last time I looked, it had only one spot open. What's the Mendenhall glacier boat tour?

Didn't QE's schedule come out later than the others? Maybe that's why the dress codes aren't announced yet? Maybe managing four ships is stretching the brain power at Cunard too far? No word yet on gala nights for my July cruise on QE. At least one port doesn't have tours listed, either.

I have CO, too. I did it for the upgrade, which was a great value. I forgot about the CO line at guest services. Thanks for the reminder! I rarely find anything I want in the shops. Last winter, we got a refund of port taxes for some reason, and the last day it seemed like everyone was in the ships looking for something inexpensive to blow off the last-minute credit.

I never heard of "side to side" before. There's always something new to learn here!!

I know, but I find it hard to believe Celebrity (or anyone) offers less than HAL. Granted, it's a few years, but a friend enjoyed her Celebrity cruises.

I see increases more often than price drops on cruises I've booked. I think it's because I tend to book cruises with unusual itineraries. When I do the math, I tend to forget that the value of the HIA dinners is only half because I'm 4-star. The value of the tour credit does depend on the itinerary. Last winter, I used the HIA, and when one of the tours was cancelled, there wasn't anything else I wanted, so I think I lost a little money on that. This year, I have the standard HIA, and I have booked more tours than HIA covered by a small amount. I also have $300 obc plus $250 shareholder credit. What do you do with a lot of OBC when you have HIA?? Grats will consume some of it, and I'm planning to book some tours onboard. Sort of related question. Can I book tours through the Navigator once I'm onboard? I'd love to avoid the queue at the tour desk.

LC had talented musicians and great arrangements. IMO, that was the one music category where HAL outshone Cunard. Some ships have a classical duo, but I don't know if that has made it to all of the ships, or if it ever will.

I'm sorry, but did you really say variety????? Last winter on Eurodam, the choices were Lincoln Center (thank God!) or three overly loud venues doing rock covers (BBKing didn't do real blues). And there were the dancers in the showroom, which were repeats of performances I'd seen before. That's a large ship (by HAL standards) and yet they offered little variety. The smaller ships do not have to have fewer options. There are plenty of venues. Most do not lend themselves to large crowds, but HAL used to offer more choices of entertainment in their various bars than they do now. I have sailed HAL a long time, and I've seen the erosion of variety. I just looked back at a 2015 cruise on Veendam. A guitarist and a piano player alternated in Mix (different times, but both each night). The Neptunes (outstanding jazz combo) played in the Ocean Bar. Adagio played classical music in the Explorers Lounge. The HAL Cats played by the pool sometimes and also in the Crows Nest (which used to be lively at night!). Granted, I didn't care for the Hell Cats, but they were an option. And there were production shows and guest performers in the main showroom.

Sorry to hear that. I love PEI and I'd be disappointed, too. I know experienced cruisers say not to choose a cruise for one specific port (although I've done that), but itinerary has a lot to do with our choice of cruise. It seems there are more reports of changed itineraries recently. I had a whole cruise cancelled because HAL was messing around changing their schedule. They need to plan more carefully so that they don't disappoint people.

Happy New Year! Come back after your cruise and tells us all about it.

Are you sure about those numbers? That sounds extreme, but I do expect the ship to feel more crowded. I certainly felt it on a HAL pinnacle compared to a HAL Vista. The large MDR on the HAL pinnacles makes for a noisy venue. I don't know if Cunard can/will do something to control the sound. I want to trust Cunard to do a good job with the layout of QA, but I also want to have an enjoyable cruise. Although I'm normally happy in Britannia, I've booked PG for my QA cruise. It's going to be warm weather, a lot of sea days, and I'm looking forward to lounging on the Grills Terrace.

Thanks to both of you for the entertainment info. I didn't expect much on the stage. I know there are no more production shows, and I won't mind if Step One isn't there, as I've seen them several times. It sounds like Zaandam's offerings are more to my taste than I had on Eurodam was last winter. I was lucky to sail before Lincoln Center was dropped. That was my main source of evening entertainment.

The Nov date is wrong. I was able to submit my request via email in Mid-December.

Was this just for your cruise or all cruises?

I just logged in and I was able to see excursions, dining, and even my itinerary. I did have to watch the spinning circle of doom for about 10 seconds, but then it worked OK.

If anyone has been on Zaandam recently, I'd appreciate hearing about the entertainment choices. I know the smaller ship has fewer options, so I'm not expecting much, given how HAL has diminished the entertainment. Also, I should know this, but how many gala/dressy nights are there on a 14-day cruise? It's a 2-week cruise, not two 7-nighters back-to-back. I think it's likely to be 3? And does HAL do anything special for Mardis Gras? It's a sea day, so I hope that will be one of the gala/dressy nights. Even if it isn't, I'll probably dress up a bit more. Finally, has anyone seen Pinnacle offer a special Valentine's Day dinner? It's about $80. Kir royale, lobster and caviar starter, soup or salad, veal chop with king crab leg or black cod, caramel mousse or creme brulee. I'm not doing it, as I sail solo and like the regular Pinnacle menu better anyway. I just looked at the "sample menu" again, and I guess this is something they do each year because the menu is dated February 14, 2020.

I am trying to be hopeful that, although QA is a Pinnacle ship, Cunard will make better use of her spaces than HAL does with its Pinnacles. It isn't just the arrival of the Pinnacle ships that has diminished (I won't say "destroyed") the experience on HAL. It's their reduction of entertainment. I don't see that kind of change happening on QA. The "jumbotron" doesn't have to be a constant annoyance. We'll have to see how Cunard uses it. I know some lines have it glowing all day--at night, it's what you see most clearly when there's a Carnival or Something of the Seas in the distance. HAL does keep the screen on, but when I was on K'dam 4(?) years ago, there was no sound in the daytime. And the movies at night were great. The promenade deck...can't find a hopeful note there, no matter how hard I squint.