snoozy

We are doing a westbound transatlantic crossing on 4th August.

The airfare included was economy.

We asked Cunard to upgrade us to Virgin Uppers and it was only a £450pp supplement. Evening flight from JFK to London Heathrow.

To book the flight independently would have been $1,000's of dollars more.

Cunard are flexible with what flights you can have and I have always found them much better value than trying to do it oneself.

Thank you for clarifying the situation Platonic. We're on Queen Victoria in December, and have the free drinks package included. The $9 limit includes quite a few of my regular choices. Still need to buy Veuve Cliquot when we dine in the Verandah :p. I'm looking forward to it so much.

On a QM2 transatlantic crossing a couple of years ago many of the British passengers wore a red poppy and if I remember correctly the captain conducted a memorial service on Remembrance Sunday.

I love crossings. It feels to me like you're in a QM2 "bubble" on a crossing, away from the hustles, bustles and stresses of daily life.

Love the proposed new décor and furnishing in the Queen's Suites. I also like the settee at the bottom of the bed. Plenty of room for unpacking in the walk-in dressing room/wardrobe I find. Or ask your butler to oblige. :)

In August, we took a Westbound T/A in Queens Grill. 8 nights via Halifax. Transfers to a well known hotel in Manhatten, 3 day city pass, a Broadway show, transfer to airport and flight back to UK.

This was booked through a UK cruise travel agent for slightly less than Cunard's price of a Queens Grill T/A only.

We rang Cunard to check their prices were up to date, which they were, so we booked with the travel agent.

It was a Cunard fare, so we had a choice of stateroom too.

I remember a couple of years ago prices with Cunard and travel agents varied tremendously on "like for like" cruises. Cunard then announced that their pricing structure would be the same, whether you booked through Cunard or through a third party travel agent.

I think, and this is only my opinion, when the travel agents put together a package ie Transatlantic crossing, hotel, Broadway show, city pass etc. they can get around this pricing agreement with Cunard, as it is no longer a "like for like" deal.

Three weeks ago on a transatlantic crossing we asked for champagne and received the house champagne which was fine.:)

Definitely Kettle Chips in Chart Room and Grills lounge. I observed one of the staff bringing half a dozen large bags through the lounge. I asked our server in the Chart Room and he told us they were Kettle Chips. This was last week on QM2.

Why would you want to buy them when you can take advantage of their yummy Cunard 'in house' ( made onboard) crisps . served at any of the Bars ;)

I love the bowls of crisps you get in the Chart Room with drinks. Didn't realise they were made on board. They're very moreish.:)

A couple of years ago on a back to back transatlantic crossing we noticed the daily quiz in the Golden Lion had the same questions as the week prior. It's a shame we hadn't taken more notice, we could have been champions :)

ooooh lovely, thank you for the quick response.:)

We are sailing on QM2 August 11th, transatlantic. I've read on the roll call that it's a World Club Sailing. Does this differ in any way from the usual transatlantic crossing?

Thank you.

Denise

Hi Toad

 

Snap!

 

This is my first post on this site in two and a half years.

 

I got suspended for a time for daring to ask if anybody knew what happened to another member, who, it turned out, was suspended for something that he didn't know, so I was guilty by association. Then some of my posts disappeared and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

I've been reading the posts recently and the moderation does seem more reasonable and grown up, so maybe I'll be back!......I can just hear the groans.

 

Stewart

 

PS

I didn't even mention that my wife and I always travel Grills

Welcome back BigMac, I loved your last comment, it made me smile.

Such sad news.

My husband and I were very lucky to have heard John present informative and interesting talks whilst on board QM2 on a number of occasions. His knowledge and passion for his subject was contagious, and his talks were always one of the highlights of our voyage.

I loved sitting in the theatre listening to his presentations.

R.I.P. John

Well it hardly talks luxury does it?

 

David.

I don't think Cundards' bathrooms are particularly luxurious. They're dark and generally rather cramped. But as I don't spend all day in there, it's something I can put up with.

5 star luxury hotels very often have the fix head showers in my experience.

thank you for the blog and pictures, you have an excellent eye for taking great pictures.

My husband is 6ft 5in and manages to shower using the fixed head type.

Thank you for posting these wonderful photographs. I particularly love the first one.

Hello everyone,

A quick update. Sadly we won't be travelling on 20th August round trip as hubby has been taken ill. Hopefully we will make it to Brooklyn one of these days.

Thanks again,

Denise :)

I was really apprehensive about the cab drivers on our very first trip. I had seen the suggestions here for the black town cars.....so that's what I wanted and I even mentioned that I would appreciate a calm driver. I didn't even know what to say when I saw that our driver only had one arm. He was very good....not much help with luggage though. :)

Well as long as he was calm:rolleyes:.

We won't be taking luggage into Brooklyn so we should be fine if we get your driver.

Thank you all. I've decided to take the plunge, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Just got to persuade my sister in law now!

 

 

If we go we will pack our formal wear & go with the flow & use elbows if we have to.

 

 

I'll let you all know what I decide.

wineoclock, I'm glad you have decided to take the plunge. We went on a 3 night short break a couple of years ago, Southampton - Zeebrugge - Southampton and after reading some of the comments on CC I wasn't particularly looking forward to it, I almost didn't pack my evening gown and hubby's dinner suit, but in the end popped them in the case.

The trip was very different from the longer cruises we have taken with Cunard, but it was still a very positive and enjoyable experience. One of the things we noticed was that there was a much younger crowd on our sailing, lots of people new to Cunard who seemed interested and excited about their trip and the ship. It was interesting to see that the majority of passengers were dressed formally for dinner even though there wasn't a formal dress code.

I didn't see any bad behaviour at all, more fun and a bit more partying, but definitely nothing untoward.

I can't recall any big theatre productions or insights speakers, but I assume that the reason for that was there simply wasn't the time. One thing I did notice was the huge queue for afternoon tea in the Queens Room. I expect that this was due to the fact it was available on only two afternoons, and a lot of people wanted to experience it.

I'd be interested to know how you get on.

Denise

I am reminded of an episode from the sit com Frasier, called 'Door Jam' (Season 10).

 

After experiencing the silver level of an exclusive spa, Frasier and his brother Niles discover there is a gold level. They are outraged and complain endlessly. Frasier's producer Roz mocks them for their obsession with climbing the tiers:

 

Roz: It's a spa! How much better could it be? I mean, are they

gonna carry you around like a sultan? You gonna be massaged

by supermodels? And what if you do get through the gold

door? What next, the diamond door? And after that a

titanium door! And after that a plutonium door!

 

If you haven't seen the episode, you can find it online easily.

 

While I do think another level of Cunard World Club is actually needed, I'm not hung up about it. I do concur with several others who have pointed out how much of a hot issue loyalty tiers is with posters on other lines' forums. On Princess people get very passionate about the 'Elite' level. Princess cruisers take great pride in telling you their status. It was THE topic of conversation on the first night of my cruise last December.

 

So, any takers for Titanium or Plutonium? Here's some of the perks I'm thinking:

 

Titanium (more than 300 days):

 

- a titanium pin

- express line at the Kings Court and a 30% larger plate to pile even more food on

- roped off section of the promenade deck for deck chair use

- head start of 5 squares in every bingo game

- the right to a kettle in your stateroom

- priority laundrette use / reservation of washers and driers

- 40% larger chocolates at evening turn down

 

Plutonium (more than 1000 days)

 

All of the above, plus:

 

- as a plutonium pin would be hazardous to one's health, you get a very special 'it's not as good as the QE2' complainers' memorial pin

- priority lifeboat embarkation in the event of sinking

- the right to wear whatever you like on formal evenings

- the ability to select the exact dog kennel cage for your pooch on Transatlantic crossings (new K-grade cage selection through booking website)

- the ability to not only delete all gratuities, but to demand gratuities from Cunard to the sum of $200 USD

- ability to upgrade yourself to whatever stateroom you like within your class of travel

- trumpeteers to announce your arrival on board

- guaranteed clotted cream at afternoon tea

This is so funny, thank you for making me laugh.

Denise

Here's a good overview of eating and drinking places close to the ship:

 

Eating and Drinking in Red Hook (NY Times)

thank you Underwatr, I'm looking forward to doing having a look at that link.

Denise

They are good and I always use them. I suggest that you don't call them until you are outside by one of the pick up points (1-3) so you can tell them exactly where you will be. Your task then is to spot their cars in the myriad of similar vehicles, their card which they show in the window is a red and crescent or dome shaped representation of their name.

Thank you for the very good advice capnpugwash, much appreciated.

Denise

Arecibo was our go to for a few years. The last two years...not so much. Their promise to be there in 10 min. has resulted in making several more calls and waiting........not a big deal, but recently we've ended up with extra aggressive drivers. I know that's considered normal around NYC but we've had other companies where the ride didn't feel life threatening. Their rates though are very reasonable. I'm sure it's just luck of the draw......but my luck doesn't seem to extend to drivers. :p

brigittetom, we've had a mixed bag of NYC taxi drivers in the past, but on the whole they've been fine.

On one memorable occasion, we'd spent the evening down at the South St Sea Port area, and hailed a yellow cab to take us to Times Square. It was during one of the worst storms I can remember, and visibility was terrible. Our driver was cheerful, and drove fast, very fast. I asked him how he could see with the torrential rain, windscreen wipers going super fast and all the spray from other cars, his reply, "I can't see a damn thing". :)