3rdGenCunarder

Maybe I'll split my gamble. I'm not a huge fan of Verandah, so I booked a lunch. I doubt I'll have much trouble bookinng that on board, so I will cancel that. I really want to try Nordlys, so I'll keep that one, and maybe use my credit to go a second time if they won't honor a cancel/rebook. It looks like it's Nordlys every night.

Thanks. I guess I will cancel and rebook onboard. PITA, but not much I can do about it until then. I have to say, HAL is good about honoring "dining credits" on the website, which is why I was surprised Cunard didn't. suppose they want to give people paying for the meals first chance at reservations--of course, I did pay for mine, in my bookinng!

Okay, so this morning, everything populated on the calendar as it should, even the specialty dining I just booked. But now I have a new question. I have a Diamond discount on Verandah, and one alternative dining credit from my booking. When I booked dining, neither was honored by the system. I would call my TA but she's out on leave. So, is there any point in calling Cunard about this, or should I wait and fight it out with the ever-so-helpful (Not!) Front Desk?

I have a question for those who have done this cruise. With northern lights tours departing as early as 6:30, do the make any accommodation in the Lido schedule to give people a chance to eat before they go out? I believe Lido dinner normally starts at 6;00?

Is anyone else having trouble with the calendar function in "My Cunard?" When I look at each day, it tells me I have nothing booked. But I have booked tours for some of the ports. If I go to "my bookings," I can see the tours I've purchased. If I then go to my calendar, I see the tour for the first port, but not for the subsequent ports. And if I move through the calendar and then go back to the first port, the tour for that port is gone again. I have my email confirmations and I can see "my bookings," so two out of three are correct. I suppose that's a good score for Cunard IT?

I've only done an independent tour (Hoonah Adventures or something like that) and it was great. Small boat, not crowded. I think the ship tours use the large two-deck boats, but I'm not sure. Have you tried contact any of the independents to see if they ever do tours a little later for a ship that arrives at 6 PM? Here's a review of what sounds like a ship's tour in ISP. The picture shows mostly 2-deck boats. Icy Strait Point Whale Watching Tour Review – Cruise Maven

Some words stir up strong feelings. Back in my teaching days, we called it "loaded language." Also hyperbole. I think the OP vented without addressing his main problem. I think he got on the ship and discovered the casino was not what he wanted/expected. You know how something that's a big deal to you goes wrong and then everything after that is wrong, too? Even if it really isn't.

I had an aft cabin on Eurodam this past winter and had no issues with vibration or soot. It depends on the itinerary and how far apart the ports are. Sometimes they have to rev the engines to go the distance to the next port. I think I was on deck 7. I was happy with the cabin, except that the walk to the spa was very long!

Activation sounds like a name for an endurance-training vacation. Active vacation run together, like staycation. I'm disappointed in the spa, with the thermal suite being windowless and the heated loungers in the same room as the pool. They're separated from the pool by a glass wall. There appear to be a lot of hard spaces, so it could be noisy. I love the natural daylight and quiet of the lounger area on the Vistas, both Cunard and HAL. I'll take a look but doubt I will buy my usual pass to the thermal suite. I'm also disappointed that the video didn't show us the "promenade" deck to see if it will be any better than the HAL Pinnacles' "promenade" decks. So far, from all the advance info I've seen, those are the only things that I'm concerned about. Most of what I disliked about the K'dam appears to be different on QA.

Our very first cruise was in 1978. I'd like to say I was in pre-school then, but that would be a lie. I guess we were among the younger cruisers, but it seemed like such a mix of ages, I didn't particularly notice. At some point, HAL got the reputation of being "God's waiting room." 7 or 8 years ago, I met a woman who complained that the ship was "full of old people." She looked to have at least 10 years on me, and I guess my facial expression gave away what I was thinking. She said, "Well, my husband and I are at the upper range of the passengers, but what I mean is I want to see more of a mix." I deserve credit for not saying "Well, bless your heart for contributing to the demographic you don't want to see." On that same cruise, I met a couple I estimated to be in their 80s who had been to Africa the winter before. I commented that it requires a LOT of shots. He said , "Yeah, that was expensive. I want to go back to amortize the cost of the shots over a second trip." Later, I saw a woman in a motorized wheelchair. Her partner was working the joystick for her. She wasn't among the "old" folks, but still, she was traveling despite it being difficult. And I thought, nope, not God's waiting room. It's a place where we can point up to the sky and say "NOPE, NOT YET!"

Have you asked about this? The Passenger Vessel Services Act doesn't allow the ship to transport passengers from one US port to another without a stop in a foreign port. I hope other posters who know more of the what-ifs regarding this will be able to explain. @TheMichael, your post reminded me that I had the problem of a double-booked room several years ago. We checked into a hotel, were given a card key, and when we opened the door, we saw someone's possessions around the room. We went back to the front desk and got it fixed easily enough, but it did make me wonder if someone else would get the key to my room.

I'm doing this cruise this fall. I may have to sleep in my clothes so I can run up on deck. How do they make the announcement?

Yes, the high in high tea is the height of the table, not the level of poshness. (But I do love a good plowman's) I went to tea on Eurodam last winter. The tea was stewed, not steeped. I don't mind a strong cuppa, but this was way too strong in proportion to the delicate sweets. I'm told you can ask for a specific kind of tea, but I don't know how I would have done that in the chaotic service. I was at a large table that filled gradually, and it was difficult to flag down a waiter for more goodies as people joined our table. Still, it was better than on American Queen Navigator, where the scones were served with little packets of jam like you get at a diner. Sugar free grape jelly?????????

maybe that's equipment for Starlink?

I agree with @Caribbean Chris, procedures and priorities vary from port to port. Remember that the ports are run by port staff, not the cruise lines. The workers put on whatever tie or scarf the cruise line gives them to look like they're cruise line employees, but they are not.

I've done the train and that's easy. The train does not stop at the border for inspection. You get off the train in Vancouver and collect your luggage (if you did checked luggage) from the platform (sidewalk) by the train. Go into the station, show your passport (I don't recall having a form to fill out, but maybe we did--it was pre-covid), and you're good to go. I've heard that the bus crossing (which is at the border, not Vancouver) requires you to take your luggage from the bus, through customs, and then back to the bus.

Wow! Good for HAL, having someone ready to greet you and expedite your boarding.

Our first voyage on Cunard was on QE2 in 1988. We went standby, $999 fly one way, sail the other. I was working in NYC at the time and called the Cunard office there every day to see if we had made it up the standby list. I think the man gave us a cabin to stop me calling! I picked up my tickets at their office on 5th Avenue and my plane tickets from British Airways a few blocks down the street from Cunard. It felt so much more sophisticated than getting tickets from a suburban travel agency! We flew to England, had a few days there and sailed home. We had a very far forward inside u/l cabin down on 5 deck. And we had he roughest weather I have ever encountered on the Atlantic. I foolishly watched "the view from the bridge" on the tiny TV. Watching just one cycle of up and down did me in. I was seasick for the first 24 hours of the crossing. Then we passed through the storm and things were better. We reserved deck chairs on Sun Deck ($12 for the whole crossing). Dennis was in charge then. Crusty old guy, but somehow everyone loved him for it. I think Roger was his assistant. Later Roger took over when Dennis retired. I loved having a cushion brought for me when I walked to my chair. Blanket for a cold morning. Tea and bouillon for elevenses. Afternoon tea chairside. There were entertainers in the evening--comedian, magician, singer, dancers. We did have lectures during the day. I looked at the programs I kept and there were interesting topics. Talks about architecture of NYC and a doctor talking about lipo and plastic surgery. A costume designer who had done the costumes for the BBC "Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "Elizabeth R." There were "infomercial" talks by people from the Steiner Salon. There were celebrities, too. I remember that we saw Telly Savalas while we were walking around the first day. He was with his wife and child. I never saw them with him again, although I saw him again once or twice. It must be difficult for a celebrity being recognized and having strangers know what your kid looks like. The creepy factor is much more now, of course, but even so... He was dressed casually in khakis and polo shirt. But the day he gave his talk on shooting movies on location, he was all "who loves ya, baby" with the silk shirt and gold chains and sunglasses. After the talk, he posed for pictures with passengers. Then Mr. Movie Star went away, and he was a regular person again. Edwin Newman, a news correspondent, gave a few talks. I still remember that one was about language. He was very picky about usage and complained about the misuse of "hopefully." "Hopefully, we will have good weather" is not the correct use of the adverb. A correct example would be "Can you lend me $10?" he asked hopefully. He complained about it a lot at work so someone put a sign on his door that read "Abandon all hopefully ye who enter here." The ship had been late arriving, so we left late. Sailing down the Solent at midnight or whenever it was called for something festive. So DH ran inside to get us glasses of champagne to drink on deck. The bartender made him swear he would return the glasses, which he did. They were nice glasses, better than what we'd seen on previous cruises (HAL), so we were carful. The next day, we realized it was the QG Lounge. DH had just gone to the nearest bar without realizing it wasn't for everyone. That bartender was very kind to have served him AND let him take the crystal glasses out. I still have our final bill. Those two glasses of fizz cost $11. (A Coke in the Lido was 55 cents) The ship was still two classes. The Queens Room was for First Class passengers only. I think that distinction was only on transatlantics at that point. We never saw it again after that. Alan Bennell was captain and Elaine MacKay was social directress. @david,Mississauga, I am envious that you got to sail on the France. I didn't meet her until she was the Norway, late in her life, when NCL let her get shabby.

It's a beautiful ride on the train and the border entry (handled at the Vancouver station) is easy. The downside is that if you want to take the train on the morning of your cruise, that one leaves very early. 7:30 or 8 AM. IIRC. The later train goes in the evening, so you would have to stay in Vancouver overnight. There are buses that leave in between the times the trains go, but I prefer the train.

Thanks for coming back with the update. I'm glad you got your money back, but it shouldn't have taken so long.

I know it adds to the cost, but think about an airport hotel for the night before. I usually do that for an early flight, even though I'm 20 minutes from the airport. At a hotel, I roll out of bed, get dressed and I'm a short shuttle ride from the terminal. At home, something always seems to need doing last-minute and I feel rushed.

Yes, that is helpful. I got the impression that it just ran back and forth to city center. We will be at the same out-of-town dock, so I will need to work out some transport. I've got the bus routes figured out if the shuttle doesn't look helpful.

@bitob, I've read through this thread again, and I'm not seeing anything about the port staff. When your luggage wasn't found, did you talk to the port staff? My recollection is that there is almost nobody from Cunard in the terminal. When someone took my bag from mistake (at Red Hook), I asked one of the port supervisors if there was anyone I could contact from the ship to see if it was still onboard. They found a woman from the ship, who shrugged and told me all luggage was offloaded. Anything after that was not her problem/responsibility. Cunard showed no interest in helping me. Port staff, OTOH, were fantastic. Given the help I received (story below), I don't understand why someone from the port wouldn't have taken point on your situation. I doubt Cunard hired the divers. It was probably the port. They have a system for dealing with lost luggage and I think you should have been given a contact there. When I couldn't find my bag (no, it wasn't in the water), the supervisor from the port staff helped me look and the only thing we could figure out that the lone bag at my color/number location belonged to someone who took my bag by mistake. His bag had a tag for a ship leaving that day from Bayonne. She called over and had his account flagged so that when he checked in, they could ask about his luggage. When they asked, he said yes, he had all of it. Of course, by that time, he had given it to a porter to go onto the ship, so nobody could look at it. He had the right NUMBER of bags, but not all of them were his. At that point, she gave me forms to fill out to get my bag returned. She and I were sure it was in Bayonne, loaded onto the ship. In the meantime they got Mr Idiot's bag delivered to Bayonne. Later that afternoon or the next day, this woman took the time to call me, saying my bag was on Something of the Seas. It had been found abandoned in a hallway. Mr. Idiot probably just pushed it out there when it was delivered because it wasn't his. If he had let someone on Something of the Seas know that there was a stray case with a Cunard tag on it, my bag might have been offloaded before the ship sailed. Two weeks later, the bag was delivered to my home at no cost to me.

I had an easy departure from Vancouver last year. The flight was very early, so I had to stay overnight before it, but after hearing terrible stories about long lines, I breezed through. Arrival mid afternoon on a weekday wasn't as easy, but wasn't awful, either. The longest wait/chaos was getting to the person who would take the little slip of paper from the immigration kiosk. So don't let Vancouver airport be a deal-breaker if a cruise looks good. I always go a day or two early for a cruise, for all the reasons people mentioned above. I'm lucky to be near a hub, so I can usually get a direct flight, but even so, "stuff" happens. I can usually find interesting things to do in the port city, so I just consider it an extension of the vacation.

Like if you have to ask, you can't afford it. The problem is, I don't know Miami airport well. If I were flying out of FLL, I would have no question--that's an easy connection. Since United will let me change flights for free, I'll watch availability of seats on other flights and put off the decision for now.