minz56

...The good thing about being on a sector cruise is that the dining room will be open if you arrive at the right time as well as afternoon tea that day. It's pretty much business as usual onboard.....

That's a very good point about embarkation day on a world cruise sector being "business as usual".

I have a boarding time of 1pm for my QE Sydney/Kobe sector next Saturday so all things being equal I should be able to make the Britannia Restaurant for lunch :cool:

one lady who was mugged in Santiago, they took her medilert bracelet and left her diamond earrings, we wondered if the infirm were now resorting to crime....

one lady who lost her luggage twice, she has only been away from home 2 days,

one lady who did her insuln injection at the table (I admire and love her already)

some brexits - some remains - alas...no trumpites....

and others who I have yet to get to...I mean...who would leave that end of the table with that going on and worrying about who's who at the other end??????

It made for a very lively night and I think we will all get on famously......I hope....

This is what I love about Cunard - the wide range of people you have as dinner companions. On my one and only QM2 TA (though I have been on QE2 many times) our table consisted of:

A retired US Naval Admiral

A retired high ranking civil servant from Bermuda who had a delightful story about his daughter meeting the Queen

A retired "improver" with Hoover. He definitely had a 1950's boffin look about him. Nowadays he would be a Product Development Manager!

An elderly spinster from the East End of London who constantly complained about the single supplement - I was to discover after the crossing on the bus to Manhattan that she had just inherited over a million dollars from an Aunt!

A lively lady from Australia who worked in the arts in Sydney

... and me!

Just love it! Enjoy the time with your table companions.

Amendment to my previous post - QM2 does not go to Australia, but is a 'there and back' to Asia only. Here is the itinerary:

New York City, Southampton, Cadiz, Athens/Piraeus, Haifa, Port Said, Transit the Suez Canal, Suez, Dubai, Doha, Muscat, Mormugao, Colombo, Phuket, George Town/Penang, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tianjin, Incheon, Seogwipo, Hong Kong, Nha Trang, Phu My, Singapore, Port Klang, George Town/Penang, Langkawi Island, Chennai, Cochin, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Salalah, Al Aqaba, Suez, Transit the Suez Canal, Port Said, Limassol, Rome/Civitavecchia, Barcelona, Lisbon, Southampton, New York City

QV and particularly QE will be in Australia/NZ.

Interesting itineraries ... QV does the "traditional" world cruise, while QM2 is a "there and back" to Australia voyage with both ways via the Suez Canal. QE is an interesting hotchpotch with many short sectors and an extended amount of time in Australia and NZ. It would seem that a full QE world cruise will not be sold - just the sectors making up the voyage. Also I wonder if there will be further Alaskan cruises after the end of the "world cruise". That would make a lot of people happy :)

I booked my upcoming QE world cruise sector last year on a double upgrade offer in the Australia/NZ market. This was from the lowest inside category to any balcony category up to category BD (as I recall). They were also offering a 50% single supplement so overall it was a great deal for me.

However, as Aussieflyer points out, not all deals are equal and you do need to read the fine print carefully. In your case the deal was not what you hoped for, but it was hardly a scam.

Safe travels!

I will be waving in Auckland and boarding in Sydney :D

Sadly, Asado, Jasmin, Aztec, and Prime Menus have gone. Now all Lido Alternative Menus are identical to QM.

 

Top Tip: On all formal nights take the Verandah special wine pairing menu. Book early in advance with the MD. You will not regret it.

Yes, I had in my mind that the options have been standardized across the fleet and this was confirmed elsewhere as well.

Good tip re the wine pairing menu ... I will definitely look out for it. Can you remember how much it was?

Interesting - I just posted the same query about QE on another thread.

It is interesting to hear the comments about these dining options on QM2. I am not sure if they have Coriander on QE, although I have in my mind that I read somewhere that the offerings will be consistent across the fleet ... but I could be wrong!

Yes, I am interested to know this too - I am on QE in less than four weeks time.

Also, I am wondering how they oragnise the alternate dining options in the Lido (Asado, Jasmine, Aztec etc). I assume that only one of these operates on any particular evening - is this correct? Also, how does the booking work? Do you know a few days in advance what is coming up?

I am also trying Verandah so menu tips would be appreciated :)

NO!! Polo shirts are just jumped-up T-shirts. When Cunard states "shirts" it means a proper shirt with a real collar, capable of maintaining a tie if desired.

The informal dress code only states that a tie is optional. It makes no reference to the need for a shirt.

To the OP: A polo shirt would be fine IMHO, particularly on the first and last nights.

I recently booked the Verandah on my upcoming QE cruise (WC sector Sydney to Kobe) and the price was US$29. The price is still US$29 on VP.

So ... very confusing

What both Zider and Mandranuc are alluding to is a VPN Service that allows you to switch your location to different parts of the world.

Thus you could switch your location to the UK if you are in Germany so that you can see the cunard.co.uk site.

Some of these VPN Services are free, others are not.

Stella Tortoise is $5.95 plus 15% = $6.84 /1.24 = £5.51 pint

You would pay that in a pub in Auckland for a pint of beer.

I think Cunard's prices are middle of the road - neither cheap nor very expensive. And the strength/weakness of the US Dollar against your local currency will make a difference as well.

I was at looking at Ponant itineraries for 2018 (and also for 2017) and noted that there are many gaps in the published schedule.

Does anyone know why this is the case? Do they charter a lot? Or perhaps all of the itineraries have not been released yet?

Any insight would be appreciated.

It's $89 for 4 hours, free for Platinum members. There are also per minute plans and I think Gold members get 2 hours free. Diamond get 8 hours - how would one ever use all that time?

 

We were on deck 8 and had a good, strong signal throughout the voyage. Very pleased!

... unfortunately all too quickly as I have to maintain and update the content of my business website daily.

I am very interested to hear that the system has been upgraded although the reports coming through in this thread seem to be mixed. I will be on QE next year on a WC sector so will be crossing my fingers that the speed and connectivity are reasonable.

You should be able to find YouTube videos of Q3 cabins on both QV and QM2

....Buying a wine package 'in advance' saves you the 15% service charge you'd normally pay when purchasing onboard....

I am a little confused by this statement Bell Boy. My understanding is that if you purchase a wine package in advance, then the price paid includes the 15% service charge. Are you saying that if you purchase the same package on board that 15% service charge is added?

ie for a 6 bottle Captain's Collection package:

In advance - US$260 including 15% service charge

On board - US$260 PLUS 15% service charge

This does not seem right to me, but I don't have any personal experience. I am hoping that the cost in advance and on board are the same for wine packages, as I would prefer to buy on board.

Of course if you buy your wine individually, bottle by bottle, then a 15% service charge will be added to cost of each bottle.

Thanks for posting! I've been waiting to see real photos of this cabin for a while. It does indeed look lovely.

I will be looking to book a sector of one of the 2018 world cruises based on prices in the Australia/NZ market.

From experience there are no deals until the previous world cruises are over (in this case, 2017) and they start to focus on the next year.

So, I have no plans to book until mid 2017. Deposits are non-refundable here too, so that is a factor as for others.

I'm confused again. On checking Bon Voyage, they have the cabins round the other way .. KB on Deck 3 & 3L and KC on Deck 2 & 2L

Yes, confusing. I thought perhaps they had re-categorised these cabins, but I went through a dummy booking for October 2017 and the KC cabins were still those on Deck 3/3L.

To clarify, if you want a single cabin with two large round windows then you need to be in one of 3002, 3004, 3006, 3008, 3010, 3012 - however they categorise them.

Can anyone confirm which of the single grade cabins have the double circular windows. Cunard customer services "weren't sure".

 

Photos seem to suggest KB are wider than longer and have double windows, and KC are longer and less wide, with one window - however, the Cunard deck plans seem to suggest the reverse.

 

Help!

Yes, you are right it is the other way round. It is the KC cabins on Deck 3 (where the photo gallery used to be) that have the two large circular windows.

I was almost in one for the 11 October TA but had to cancel!!

This is interesting. Does one not need a tuxedo for formal nights? I know basically nothing about the different types of men's formal attire. It would be nice to just bring a black suit that can be worn with a bow tie (and vest?) on formal nights and with or without a tie on informal nights.

 

A tuxedo is not mandatory for men. The dress code states that men should wear either a tuxedo or dark suit on formal nights, so what you are suggesting is fine. I generally go for a black suit and mix and match as you suggest.

Minz56 - great points! I remember that's why I hated early dinner on our Med cruises... sail away and sunsets! The only sail away we will miss is from Bay of Islands but still... that would be pretty special. I need to rethink this.

You could always do a specialty restaurant (Verandah, or one of the Lido pop-up restaurants) that evening and dine later.

I too have been pondering this for my Sydney/Kobe cruise on QE next year. While I have always been a late sitting person in the past, I did start to think about the benefits of early sitting, but two factors made me stay with late:

1. All of our sailaways are at 5pm, 6pm or 7pm so those would largely be missed with early sitting.

2. At this time of year the sun will set at about 6.30pm for most of the cruise and I would hate to miss sunset from my balcony each evening.

Quick question from another newbie... I have finally been able to get into the personaliser (with help from my travel agent and Cunard) and under "dress code" it says I will see what dress is required in my itinerary. It does not... am I missing something? I am only on a 5 night cruise but there are two sea days so I presume there will be a formal night.

I am guessing you might be on the Auckland/Sydney sector of QE's 2017 world cruise. If so, then it is too early for this information to be on Voyage Personaliser, but you are safe to assume that at least one of the sea days will be formal, probably the first.