3rdGenCunarder

Yes, unless you're on a PInnacle ship--I wish HAL would widen it's vocabulary, this sounds so confusing! So on Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam, Koningsdam, there is a CO dining room, and breakfast is served there for Neptune suites and people who buy CO. On the other ships, Neptune suites still get breakfast in the Pinnacle restaurant. People who buy CO do not get breakfast in the Pinnacle restaurant.

How often were you asked if you were in the grills? That usually doesn't happen. Honestly, I can't recall that happening, whether I was in the grills or not, and I have almost a year's worth of day's on Cunard. Most of the people who sail in the grills don't feel a need to show off about it. The "ship within a ship" thing on Cunard is overstated. Yes, the grills have their own restaurants (but so does CO on HAL). There's one lounge that's for the grills (but Neptune suites have their own lounge). The one "separate" area on Cunard not HAL is the deck space, the Grills Terrace.

It should be just the journey fare. Since you aren't going, you don't owe taxes or fees to any port.

My British friends say they don't find it very "British," but more "American." I suppose, as a company with transatlantic roots, it's somewhere in the middle. I agree with the various comments here. Cunard is way ahead of HAL on entertainment and enrichment. I used to think of HAL as "Cunard lite," but HAL has reduced so many aspects of the product, that I can't say that. It's just HAL. Fine for what it is, but nothing close to Cunard. The only thing HAL does better is variety of itineraries, but as was said already, they have more ships to do that. @Thetideishigh2021, whether the TA is at the start or end of a longer cruise, there are options for storing and/or shipping luggage. If I'm combining touring with a TA, it's usually a westbound at the end of the trop, so I ship the posh frocks to the ship to make the touring easier. Yes, it adds to the cost, but the older I get, the more I'm willing to pay for convenience.

The confusion with this is the advantage fare (which doesn't show online), priced between the nonrefundable guarantee cabin fare and the HIA fare. Adding HIA to the advantage fare usually works out to $50 pp pd.

Ohh, makes sense. It did look a bit dry for a flower. If it is grenadine and curacao, that's awfully sweet. I wonder what booze (or grapefruit juice?) is in it to balance the sweet. I've seen a lot of "new" drinks that had way too many ingredients to make me want to try them. The bar at a B'way theatre may have "theme" drinks with names that relate to the show. They usually sound disgusting, although I have to say the "close shave" at Sweeney Todd was good. Rum, lime, sparkling water and something else. I tried to duplicate it at home and didn't like it. Sometimes it's more about where you are than what's actually in the drink.

I would guess grenadine at the bottom and blue curacao at the top. I can't tell what the flower is. The fancy layered drinks were a bartender's show-off when I was first cruising.

Ohhh, you've made me homesick for my favorite ship! I'm glad you enjoyed QE. She is elegant! I agree that Cunard's enrichment is outstanding. And, sadly, I agree about the internet. I thought it was pretty good last summer on QE. OTOH, last fall on QM2, it was atrocious. And the excuses! One of the front desk staff told me the problems were because of the storm that had hit NE Canada and "the electric lines were down." Okay, they do plug in the ship at the Halifax dock, but this was a sea day!!

I always take a copy of the fax or email and the stock statement just in case the obc doesn't show up. I can't remember HAL ever getting it wrong, but Cunard has so I just take the proof as part of the paperwork for any cruise I do.

Cruising is supposed to be part of the "hospitality industry." Some people just don't get it.

I've never seen any, either.

My TA always requests a large (6 or 8 table), whether it's Britannia or PG so that's arranged in advance. In PG, I go to lunch on embarkation day and see where my table is. In Britannia, I walk through in the afternoon and see where the table is to make sure it's a 6 or8.

It wasn't double HIA. HAL's website usually only shows two fares. One is nonrefundable deposit no perks. The other is refundable deposit and HIA. In between, there's "advantage fare" which you need to ask about, either with a PCC or a TA. Advantage fare has a refundable deposit and is more expensive than the lowest fare, but not as expensive as the HIA fare. The difference between advantage fare and HIA fare is usually $50 per day per person. So what appeared to be double HIA was two steps up between lowest fare and HIA.

What makes gala night "gold?"

Don't worry. QE is wonderful. The ship is a comfortable size, and the decor is lovely. I've been in Britannia and PG and while the PG food and service are better (for the price, they should be!), I was happy with the food in Britannia. Try some of the cocktails in the Commodore Club. I'm partial to the honeysuckle daiquiri, but the Mary Pickford is good, too. @Brummel, when were you last on HAL? Their entertainment has declined in recent years. They dropped to wonderful Lincoln Center group. Now their entertainment consists primarily of VERY LOUD cover bands. And a pair of piano players whose abilities (especially in singing) vary greatly from one ship to the next. Cunard has a much greater variety and quality of entertainment.

Sad but true on HAL. I don't like loud music, so there's little going on in the evening that I want to do. It isn't worth dressing up just to have a drink in a bar with no entertainment.

My BF's daughter's wedding was black tie. It was lovely. And I agree about packable fabrics. DH's tux did fine in a garment bag, even for a week pre-cruise. Five minutes with the shower on hot and it steamed out perfectly. My dresses are the same. Good quality fabrics travel well. And if something turns out to be a wrinkler, it doesn't get invited on the next trip.

Part of what makes afternoon tea so expensive is the time and labor that go into making all those tidbits. A restaurant near me tried afternoon tea for a while, but they didn't make any money on it and knew if they raised the prices people wouldn't come. So they gave up, sadly. If you're ever in London, try tea at the V&A Museum. That was my treat on my first solo trip to London. It was a lovely service, and the food was delicious and generous. Tea at the British Museum used to be nice, but the last time I was there, they went all modern with thick wide cafe au lait cups and long narrow serving plate instead of the traditional tiered plate.

You're kinder than I am. I would say that gritty lettuce IS terrible. And I've seen the trend in salads where what sounds like a main ingredient (goat cheese) is barely a garnish. The other trend is veg as a garnish not a portion. I love vegetables and sometimes ask for extra portion of veg. Ah, I was wondering why that looked so much better than the afternoon tea I had on HAL. On my last cruise on HAL, the offerings were as you describe. The tea was oversteeped. Okay, it's black tea. But that doesn't mean it should be as dark as tar!!! I miss HAL's "house" tea, a lovely Darjeeling.

These are all nice ports, but if the point of booking your original cruise was the canal, I can understand cancelling. I think a lot of people will cancel. Let's all hope the rainforest lives up to its name and the canal gets back to normal operations at some point. I love planning, too. Sometimes I spend so much time planning that by the time I get there, I feel like I've already been there!

This raises a question for non-pinnacle ships. Is there a priority line in the MDR for breakfast and lunch?

For last winter's cruise, I had HAL's insurance. When I added HIA, it bumped up the insurance, which makes me think it isn't refundable and should be insured.

Yes! I was lucky enough to get a seat at the very back. The train wasn't crowded, so I got lots of good pictures.

I think fixed dining moves along a bit faster. The waiters get to know you and anticipate requests, like knowing someone always wants iced tea, or knowing that people want to order wine. Subtle things like learning the cadence of your table's meals and being aware of when you're nearing the end of a course and being ready to clear plates.

I should hope it's there. Great line from a wonderful movie. My mother loved that movie. I wonder if that's where she got her desire to cruise. Wish I'd thought of that question while she was still here. My interest in cruising came from hers. We saw Mom and Dad off, and I KNEW I wanted to cruise. One night at dinner on QE2, we were doing the "desert island" thing--if you could take only 5 movies, what would you choose? My five all included ships--Now Voyager. Sabrina (the original), An Affair to Remember (Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr), Shall We Dance (Fred and Ginger) and I can't remember the fifth one.