Cruise Liner Fan

Sorry to hear that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away. Was she going to be the godmother for the Queen Anne entering service in 2024? If not has it been announced on who will be the Queen Anne's godmother?

I did do this tour aboard the QM2 in 2013

Since I'm going back aboard the QM2 in 4 weeks from today (October 7th-October 25th) Does Cunard still offer $120 behind the scenes tour like the Bridge, Engine control room and other areas of the ship the passengers the passengers normally don't get access to? I was last aboard the QM2 in October of 2016.

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Is Cunard a "royal line" (whatever that is)?

I guess so. Queen Elizabeth II the monarch well she did christen the QE2, QM2 and the current Queen Elizabeth Cruise Ship.

Thanks for the reply. Too bad they could not do the refit during the time when all ships were out of service during the Covid-19 pandemic 

I'm going aboard the QM2 on October 7th for a 18 night NY-Southampton-Hamburg-Southampton-NY roundtrip transatlantic crossing. Does anyone know when is the date for her next refit?

Here's an article about 1950's Cunard posters on a site named "flashbak.com" (a site that is new to me). I thought it was interesting, especially the advertising slogan "No wonder more people prefer Cunard" which appears on many of the posters. It also includes one of my favorite Cunard promotional videos, "Getting There Is Half The Fun", which we have discussed on this forum before.

 

Getting there is half the fun! Fabulous 1950s Cunard Posters

 

I figured others on this forum might find this article of some interest as well.

Thanks for the link for the 1950s Cunard advertisements. Regards,Jerry

Yes, here is the new code.

As my way to protest this dress change on the first and last night out aboard the QM2 I will dress with a sport jacket, shirt, neck tie and smart trousers which I assume is dress pants not jeans. For the nights in between the first and last nights aboard the QM2 I will dress with a dark suit with a white shirt and a neck tie and I really don't care what the casually dressed people aboard ship think. What is next? Would it be that the passengers then can walk into the ship's dinning room only wearing their underwear? (sarcasm) And then after that it will be changed to the Adam & Eve night for the passengers who want to bare it all (again sarcasm) Believe me that I don't want to see any passengers in their birthday suit. LOL Regards,Jerry

We've seen the speculation and the outrage but how have the dress code changes affected your thoughts about sailing on Cunard ?

 

(I've made the poll anonymous)

Did Cunard change the dress code? I hope not. Regards,Jerry

There are 3 different issues getting mixed up, here. Responsible owners who want their dogs transported across the Atlantic, pay a ( I think, very large ) fare for them to travel in the kennels. I am sure those dogs DO NOT leave the kennels. The owners go up there to visit them, and walk them in the special area.

 

Then there are the so-called C O M F O R T D O G S with their Wal*Mart purchased "vests" who stay in the cabin with the owner, and go everywhere, and pee at will.

 

Then there are the genuine service dogs who are extensively trained for their duties and are WELL BEHAVED and never soil in the wrong places, and are not barking at all, and they are with the owners at all times.

When I was last aboard the QM2 in October of 2016 there was one handicapped passenger who had his service dog which was a Golden Retriever with him all over the ship. This same passenger even brought the Golden Retriever into the G32 Club. All the passengers in the G32 Club including myself were happy to see the dog in the G32 Club. The handicapped passenger even danced with his dog in the G32 Club. Regards,Jerry

Does Cunard advertise on the Radio and or TV in the UK? Here in the USA, I was surprised to hear a Cunard commercial on the Radio though the commercial was about the 2019 Cunard Queen Elizabeth cruises to Alaska. Regards,Jerry

But they are doing less transatlantic runs the last couple of years aren't they? So if they are constantly sailing full why do less runs when they are only game in town? I may be wrong but the QM 2 never used to do runs to the Fjords or the Baltic states did it? But this year it has.

 

You have to consider for whatever reason no other company has tried to take cunard on on direct transatlantic crossings have they? What would have happen if Holland America decide to attempt to return to their former glory of Amsterdam to New York crossings and if Celebrity whose luxury and levels of service blow cunard away so I have been informed and are widely considered the top in the industry what would happen then?

Actually the number of QM2 transatlantic crossings each year have stayed about the same since the QM2 entered service in 2004. It is unlikely that Holland America would return to doing regularly scheduled transatlantic crossings because first they would have to build an Ocean Liner to do these crossings and you know how much more expensive it is to build an Ocean Liner vs a Cruise Ship and second the Carnival Corporation owns both Cunard and Holland America so it is unlikely that Carnival Corporation would want to compete against itself in the transatlantic market. Concerning whether Celebrity would want to enter the transatlantic market again they would have to build an expensive Ocean Liner and since Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean International who would probably not want to enter the transatlantic market knowing that the transatlantic market can only support one Ship and that Ship is the Queen Mary 2. Regards,Jerry

Odd that because the nightclub on the QM2 has always been practically dead every time we've gone in, aside from a few crew members off duty.

When I was last aboard the QM2 which was in October of last year 2016 which was a roundtrip transatlantic crossing New York to Southampton and staying aboard for the return crossing to New York, the DJ in the G32 Club which is the QM2's nightclub told me that when the QM2 does transatlantic crossings, on most nights during the crossing the G32 Club is packed with passengers. And what the DJ told me was correct. He said that it is only when the QM2 is on a cruise that on nights before the QM2 is to arrive at a port of call in the next morning during the cruise that really only a very few bother to show up probably because most of the other passengers go to bed early to be able to get up early to have an early breakfast and then go to their shoreside excursions. And I do remember that happening when I was aboard the QM2 for a cruise not a crossing. I do hope that I can go aboard the QM2 again next year in 2018. Regards,Jerry

It isn't just the delayed departure that offends, its the fact that some - and I suspect a lot - of public areas will be out of bounds on the first evening.

Arrogance on the part of Cunard - they'll obviously make more in terms of cash and (perceived) prestige, so why bother that they're grabbing something repeat customers have already paid for?

They speak of "valued customers" in their correspondence. The real valued customer is the film company and its large cheque. When that gets waved around, they lose interest in regular passengers. But I bet they'll continue to bombard us with brochures. Well, more fool them.

The fact they won't talk to me, our travel agent or the firm selling the overall package speaks volumes, I think.

I am glad that the QM2 was built and I do understand the income that Cunard will get from this film premier. But you are right that to make up for this silly film premier charade, Cunard should make it up to loyal passengers like you aboard the QM2 for this Dec. 8th crossing being disrupted by this silly film premier charade by offering a discounted fare for a future crossing or cruise. Regards,Jerry

I also spoke to CUNARD today about the absolute mess that they have made of the dates on their website. It is frankly appalling that they have put this out in the public domain without basic checks. It isn’t just one cruise that is showing the wrong dates, it’s virtually every single one. Whoever put this together and authorised the release should be fired. This has been going on for weeks, errors all over the website and when you report it,the agents don’t work from the same website, so struggle to understand what you are telling them. It seems that QE arrival date in Southampton could be anytime from beginning of August to 16th September, depending on which sector you book. I can only assume she is going via the Bermuda Triangle.

Or the Queen Elizabeth may sail through the Sea of the Twilight Zone. All joking aside Cunard so far is not doing a good job in promoting these Alaska cruises. Regards,Jerry

We are onboard now but haven’t yet made it to the Commodores or YC. The band and singer in the Queens Room are good, entertainment in the theatre mixed. The ship is very quiet in the evening and most people seem to go straight to bed after the theatre finishes at 11.15. Last night the show for second sitting was at 7 instead of 10.30 and we noticed the ship seemed dead earlier as a result. As I had said we haven’t been to the higher decks yet in the evening so things may be different. Still enjoying ourselves as we like the dancing in the Queens Room.

 

 

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If it is possible when and if you go to the Yacht Club would you please report on this thread your experience at the Yacht Club. Because I would like to compare it from the times I was aboard the QM2 at the G32 Club and also aboard the now retired QE2 at the QE2's Yacht Club. Regards,Jerry

Cunard won't talk to me about this. Or our travel agent, it seems. Taken our cash for a Princess Grill, so an expensive trip, but now there's the lure of making a quick buck by renting out the ship. Or at least space on the ship we've paid to use. And they pretend this is somehow exciting for the suckers left with second best. I think they're in breach of contract and should do something significant to make amends. Our boarding time is noon, 12 hours ahead of departure. Who will pay the $100 bill for a return cab trip back to Manhatten? Can't see us booking too quickly again in future - shame as the Atlantic crossings have been fun previously. Cunard's arrogance and cynicism have already spoiled the trip for us.

I don't blame you. The QM2 is built to be a passenger carrying Ocean Liner used for crossings and cruises not to be a floating movie theater being used for Hollywood premiers. Hollywood itself has it problems with its recent scandals that is turning off people from going to the movies. I myself will not go to the movies anymore because of this recent scandal, high movie ticket prices and other reasons which I don't want to reveal what these other reasons are. What publicity does Cunard think that it will get by holding this film premier aboard its Flagship the QM2? Another question I'm asking is who's idea was it to have this film premier aboard the QM2? Cunard or 20th Century Fox? I hope that Cunard did not come up with this idea. I guess that if 20th Century Fox did ask Cunard use of the QM2 I know that Cunard probably said yes for a fee thinking that they could use the income from the movie studio. It is interesting to note that this coming December will be the 20th Anniversary of the release of the movie Titanic and that 20th Century Fox was also involved in the production of that movie. And at that time 20th Century Fox did not call Cunard to stage the film premier of Titanic aboard Cunard's then Flagship and the only Ocean Liner doing transatlantic crossings the QE2. Remember that Cunard and the Titanic's owner the White Star Line did merge in 1934. 20th Century Fox presented the film premier of Titanic at the Tokyo Film Festival. Regards,Jerry

Here is a link to a video of the Yacht Club aboard the Queen Elizabeth of people dancing to the music

Regards,Jerry

I have seen TV commercials here in the USA that a certain bed bug exterminator uses a certain dog breed, I think that the dog breed is a beagle, is used because the dog is trained to sniff out where the bed bugs may be hiding and then the room is fumigated with a cold chemical to kill the bed bugs. Maybe the time has come for Cunard and the other cruise lines to have a resident bed bug sniffing dog and bed bug exterminator aboard their ships. Regards,Jerry

In My Honest Opinion the best thing to happen to the QE2 is to sail the QE2 back to the UK to be used as a floating hotel/convention center in the Port of Southampton. The reason why I think Southampton is the best location for the QE2 is that Cunard still uses Southampton as the homeport for its ships. The question I who lives in the USA am asking to Cruisecritic members who live in the Southampton area or in the UK is that Is there dock or berth space available in the Port of Southampton to permanently dock the QE2? Regards,Jerry

What is described as the best ballroom at sea - The Queens Lounge, doesn't mean it isn't the largest.

 

Having looked at the deck plans and photos for the Koningsdam, it does appear smaller than QE and QV.

 

If Carnival deprive Cunarders of two essential ingredients of a Cunard Ship, ie Decent Queens room and promenade deck, they are likely to disappoint a large part of their customer base.

Just to reiterate that the MS Koningsdam is a larger Ship than Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth. The deck plans of both Vista Class Cunard Queens are different as compared to the Holland America Vista Class Ships. And the new Pinnacle Class Cunard Ship entering service in 2022, Queen What Ever Her Name Will Be, will be my guess about 30 or 40 feet longer in overall length compared to the MS Koningsdam. Regards,Jerry

And here is a youtube video that a QE2 passenger filmed of Queen Victoria sailing alongside the QE2 when both Ships did a tandem crossing in January 2008

Regards,Jerry

My answer to Egremont and Mcloaked is that the new Cunard Queen entering service in 2022 is based on the Pinnacle Class Cruise Ship design which is an enlarged design of the Vista Class Cruise Ship which Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth is based on. Both Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth are 964 feet long and 106 feet wide. The Pinnacle Class Cruise Ship is 975 feet long and 114 feet wide. And the new Cunard Pinnacle Queen will probably be stretched out another 30 or 40 feet in overall length to be either 1005 feet long or 1015 feet long. Regards,Jerry

I will also add that the Pinnacle Class Cruise Ship design is a Holland America design that their first Ship MS Koningsdam is based on. Regards,Jerry

Given that Carnival are looking at 3000 passengers, the ship will also need the 'biggest ballroom at sea'.

 

The Queens Room on Big Band Ball on QE in August was completely crammed every night, the thought of adding a further 1000 passengers to a similar size floor to that of QV an QE would be put anyone off sailing on her for life.

My answer to Egremont and Mcloaked is that the new Cunard Queen entering service in 2022 is based on the Pinnacle Class Cruise Ship design which is an enlarged design of the Vista Class Cruise Ship which Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth is based on. Both Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth are 964 feet long and 106 feet wide. The Pinnacle Class Cruise Ship is 975 feet long and 114 feet wide. And the new Cunard Pinnacle Queen will probably be stretched out another 30 or 40 feet in overall length to be either 1005 feet long or 1015 feet long. Regards,Jerry

YouTube is a very good source to find videos about Cunard and other passenger ship lines which would even include videos from years ago. In the 1950s the Cunard Line did release this promotional film titled "Getting There Is Half The Fun". This film was filmed aboard the Queen Elizabeth sailing a transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton and it is 33 minutes long. The start of this film does show the other Cunard Ships at that time in the 1950s. The film source is probably old 16 millimeter film so there are a few frames missing probably where the film broke apart and had to be scotch taped together again but it is worth viewing for people like us who like nostalgia about the great Ocean Liners. Here is the link

Any thoughts about this film? Regards,Jerry