Dowunder

All the above is very good advice. For a suggested on your own itinerary, catch the earliest train you can from Civi station. It takes about 50 mins to Termini and from there about a further 10 min walk down via Cavour to the Colosseum / Forum area. After about an hour or so exploring that area take the Metro from Colosseo station (right there) to Spagna station for the Spanish Steps. From there it is about a 5 minute walk down via Condotti to via del Corso, the main retail street in Rome. About halfway up del Corso check your map as the Trevi fountain is on your left. Retrace your steps cross del Corso and a bit further up on the right is the sign to the Pantheon and probably a good place for lunch.From the Pantheon it's another 5 minute walk to Pizza Navona. On the far left side and outside the Piazza there is a taxi rank for your return to Termini. Fare approx. €12. Plan to be back at Termini by 3:00 pm.

Of course it is impossible to see all of Rome in a day, but it is an easy walking city and the big sites are quite close together.

First video of QV entering dry dock appeared this a.m. on Cunard's FB page.

So you also get the chance of a price adjustment after having booked In Australia? I thought it just applied to those in the US. It is really quite unfair for us in the UK not to be able to do this.

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To the OP,

Have you tried clicking on the Find a Cruise tab at the top of this page? ^^^ You can get quotes from TA's on there.

I should have added that we were able to pay $200 price drop insurance with our TA. Money well spent as we are still way ahead .

It's perhaps wise to use a TA, but keep an eye on Cunards website as prices fluctuate so much on all cruise lines. For example I booked with our TA for a BE cabin on QV for $ 4,800 p.p I monitored Cunards website every day and discovered that BE cabins had been reduced to $ 3,100 . The TA hadn't informed me so I called her, she made the price adjustment through Cunard for exactly the same cabin. A big saving. By all means book with a TA, but keep an eye on Cunard's website.

The April edition of The Cunarder features the QV refit. All looks very smart, new alfresco dining area, tea and coffee making facilities and flat screen TVs in all cabins. Changes may annoy traditionialists but look great to newcomers.

Tea and coffee making facilities (and biscuits in most) have been available in hotels, motels and b & b's in Australia for many, many years. I hope they will be available in the refitted rooms on QV when we sail on July 1st. !

Hmmm.

I just checked on my cruise ex Venice on July 08th. On various cruise schedule websites every other cruise departing Venice on that day lists times of departure from VCE as well as arrival and departure times at all ports of call. Only Cunard doesn't show times. Annoying

We are on that cruise, check with Cunard, but all independent sites have us leaving Venice at 9:30 pm. Most other arrivals on that cruise are at 8:00 am departing 6:00 pm. It's most annoying of Cunard as most other cruise lines list the times. They would have to book the ports months in advance so they would certainly know them and when it's so easy to find out with a Google search I really don't know what the point is.

Enjoying both your blogs and looking forward to QV in Melbourne on March 13th. BTW don't just see the Koalas and Kangaroos, Melbourne is a very sophisticated City and great for shopping and restaurants. Supernormal , Cin Cin and Cumulus on Flinders Lane in the City are all great for lunch, but there are many others.

Solent Richard, no indication of berth. Virtually all ships berth at Station Pier ( QV will be here on March 15 ) as the light rail terminus right at the wharf provides easy access to the city. It is very rare for ships to berth at the other wharf as indicated. It may have been that Station Pier was fully occupied on that occasion . There is constant talk of Station Pier being upgraded as berthing facilities for ships to Melbourne are inadequate . Much to the chagrin of the City Council and tourist authorities, Sydney gets about 300 ships per year while Melbourne,with its poor facilities, gets about 80. Having such a magnificent harbour in Sydney of course helps.

QE to be based in Melbourne for 2 months from early 2019. That certainly makes it a whole lot easier for Aussies to enjoy the Cunard experience !

A spectacular sight live on breakfast TV and ten years later the two Queens this morning together on Sydney Harbour.

We have sailed with Celebrity and agree that the constant on selling of restaurants etc. is annoying. Also the seemingly lack of any sort of dress code leaves a lot to be desired. We have chosen Cunard this time because of its reputation and itinerary. It's July 1 Med. cruise on QV departing from Rome is perfect for us. It visits places that we have seen and some we have not. Itinerary is definitely a prime deciding factor, but then of course we are looking forward to the elegance and taste of the QV.

And here. CC make up your mind.

Love the new roll call format and type. Clean, fresh and modern. Well done CC.

Cunard uses a pricing algorithm similar to to the one airlines use. If say, three months before sailing, the ship is 70% sold and history shows that it usually is 80% sold, the prices will be dropped. Conversely, if the cabins are 90% sold, the prices on the remaining cabins will be raised.

Thanks for that I will check again before final payment which is about 3 months out.

Of course it's all about supply and demand. Our Queen Vic. BE for July 2017 Med cruise started at abt. $A 4500 pp, dropped to $A 3000 in June, 12 months out, naturally we booked, went to $A 5000 and is now $A 4250. Will it go to below $A 3000 just before sailing. I don't think so.

Naples has always had a bad reputation, but it has been cleaned up a lot and on our last visit 2 years ago it was almost clear of rubbish. Sure there is lots of poverty and squalor, but it has an edge like no other and I love it. There really is lots to explore if you do your research, but always be aware of pickpockets, but that also goes for Rome, Barcelona etc. leave your valuables on the ship !

Enjoying your report and looking forward to our Med. cruise on QV next July.

We like the Specialty restaurants, but at that price the Verandah would be hard to justify. We will definitely wait until onboard for a discount when they find the Verandah is under patronised.

Dubai airport is huge beyond imagination with duty free shops everywhere and I mean everywhere.

Hopefully they will be selling discounted bookings when on board as they do on Celebrity for instance. At that price I will definitely not book Verandah in advance.

This is a very annoying aspect of Cunard's scheduling. Other cruise lines seem to be able to advise arrivals and departures with much more accuracy. I did find a website that showed virtually all our July 1 Med arrivals at 8:00 am and departures at 6:00 pm except for the Venice overnight. Now I don't know how accurate that website is, but it would be much preferable if it were Cunards.

We intend to dine in the Verandah restaurant on the QV at least 2 or 3 times. Is it wise to pre book on the VP or should there be no problem obtaining a booking on board ?

Just got a $2,700 reduction for 2 on July 1 QV 14 day cruise. I thought about waiting, then I thought no, that was just too good to refuse.

Yes I have had a better Cunard booking experience with a TA. Lower deposit and increased OBC. But yesterday our July 1 cruise with Queen Vic had a promotional price drop on our balcony booking of $A 1,325 pp. a significant saving. Consequently we did have an OBC drop from $US380 to 280, a minor concern when we saved $A2,700 for two for the same cabin. So keep an eye on Cunard's website, but I would suggest book with a TA.

One of the great cruising sail aways make sure you are on the port side.