Drysil

I'm coming a touch late to this conversation, but may be able to offer some practical items, as my wife and I cruised last June on QM2, just three weeks to the day after she had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

We chose to rent a transport wheelchair for use on the trip, since we could easily fly with it.  While we had numerous adventures while travelling to and from the cruise ship (it turns out that transport chairs are only barely sufficient for the tall order of a vacation), once on board our only major obstacles were the seams midship by the central elevators and at some exits to the outside on decks 11 and 12 (they are quite high bumps) and navigating to the Queen's Room for afternoon tea (this took us a try or two to perfect, and was still a bit of a journey even so).  

I can't imagine a scooter would have problems with any of these obstacles, and once you get the hang of which elevator to use to go where (and it does matter a bit, unfortunately), it should all be second nature.  

I will say that navigating the casino (if you are a gambler) was very challenging, as it is quite tight inside that room; Carinthia was similarly challenging due to space, though perfectly navigable with a bit of patience.  Additionally, while Cunard made excellent accommodation for wheelchairs in Illuminations, the seating location must be near the rear (of course), which means that the view into the projection dome isn't ideal.

Overall, we were really pleased with the staff attention to our mobility needs under the circumstances, would happily consider another cruise on Cunard were we in such a situation again, and are looking forward to our (fully mobile!) TA this coming July.  Enjoy your trip!

Ah, I didn't realize that the short itineraries were released so late.  Thanks!

Hey all, did some searching on the forum and couldn't find much on this topic -- does anyone know why there are no Reflection itineraries after April 2025?  Is it possible that Celebrity are considering selling her instead of 'revolutionizing'?  She's my favorite ship in the fleet, so I hope that's not the case!

Also interested in opinions on whether the chef's table meal is worth ~3x the specialty restaurant price. We'd happily pay this (and quite a bit more) for a fantastic meal on land, but I worry a bit about how great it can be with a ship's galley (however well fitted) as the source.  We're sailing again on Reflection in December, so this is timely information!

35 minutes ago, stiej said:

Does anyone know how travel insurance will work for this? We are booked on Amtrak at 215pm and will be missing the train and Saturdays is sold out so it looks like Sunday will be my first opportunity to get the train and we will have to stay in new York two night then. 

Every insurance policy is different, so I suggest you contact your insurer to determine best details. Acquiring a written statement of delay and cause from the liner will help your claim, to the extent that is possible; for example, I have such an email regarding the boarding delay tomorrow, and have confirmed that this is covered as ‘trip delay’ for my insurer and my

costs (such as they are) will be reimbursed from a claim.

Email on shore side is that all embarkation for the next cruise will be original time plus six hours. Quick turnaround! Curious how they’ll handle dining, but passenger health is definitely the most important thing.

I'm mildly curious (and not just academically, since I'm now on a six-night) what effects the added/removed days will have on formal nights.  I have little knowledge in this area; what is Cunard's normal kerning for galas on six night cruises?  On nines?

Along with 432 as reported previously, I received a notification this morning that M422 (7nt TA, July 21, 2024) has been shortened to 6 nights because the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is no t available on 28 July.  Passengers will be prorated a discount for the missing night and given $50 OBC as an apology.  Hopefully we'll be able to cancel our existing reservations and rebook.  Is the OBC thank-you transferrable if we rebook the cruise entirely?  I presume not, but wonder if others have had this experience elsewhere.

FWIW, I just rang Cunard here in the states and asked the representative I was shuttled to what the guest speakers were for our 4th of July cruise (M318).  She was more than happy to tell me, and had the information readily accessible (there was still one TBA).  If that's true fleet-wide at ~70 days out, it seems like some group action would get us a reasonable compilation of speakers.  I'll post in the roll call for now!

Thanks, folks, for all your great answers!  This is exactly the quality information I was hoping for.  Onward with the planning for our first Cunard voyage!

Hi folks --

   We were previously scheduled to take our first Cunard cruise -- a Southampton to NYC TA -- in 2024, but a good price came up for the June 30 NYC - NYC sailing (with fireworks in Boston!), so we're taking our first voyage a bit earlier than expected.  We're both excited, but I'm wondering about the difference in passenger mix from a TA originating in the UK (where I would expect a larger proportion of European travellers) to a cruise wholly within North America (where that might be a good deal less true).  Should I expect different attitudes?  Less adherence to the dress code?  More 'American' (for good or ill) approaches to timeliness, incidental social interactions, and drinking?  

   We obviously won't be changing our own approach to these topics (which I hope is largely inoffensive to our fellow travellers), but I wonder to what extent Cunard's more formal mythos prevails in all situations.  Thanks for the information! 

3 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Very good. Once again I do hope Cunard will be counting voyage M422 as QM2's 400th crossing. That does depend on a detail I mentioned in another thread as to whether Cunard has counted voyage M204P earlier this year from Southampton to the Caribbean and back (without a stop in New York or Florida) as two transatlantic crossings. I'm counting that voyage as such but Cunard may not agree with me. In any event, do enjoy your crossing however it's counted.

We will, and I promise I won’t hold you accountable if Cunard count differently! 😆

Got my M422 A1 booking finally settled today, and was excited to see that it might be a milestone cruise!  We'll see how it all pans out, but we're looking forward to our first TA and our first Cunard cruise in 2024.  Planning begins!

Wow, so late!  Guess I'll continue standing by, then.

This has been a great reference to take notes from for our trip in 2024.  Thanks for your considerable effort!

Super helpful information here, bluemarble, thanks.  As an aside, I attempted to call and book M422 in July '24 today, and the US Cunard agent I spoke to could see the voyage on her system but was denied the ability to book it.  As a new cruiser on Cunard, I don't know if this suggests release is imminent, but it is at least a bit more data on the situation.

Thanks for this -- should've done a better search, apparently!  I appreciate the extra time repeating yourself.

Hi folks --

   We're considering a TA in May-June-July of 2024, but I'm having some trouble finding out when Cunard normally release the summer schedule.  Can anyone give me a general idea?  Much appreciated!

Drysil

Ugh.

This was the BJ direction that X seemed to be heading in when I was on Summit in '18.  At that time, it didn't seem like the 6:5 / 3:2 split was *too* much worse than non-Vegas venues I'd been at;  I had to sit at a $15 table for 3:2, but that worked OK for me. I kind of wonder if the new(ish) partnership with MGM led to the vast increase in 6:5.....and what that means for both the partnership and the longevity of this........unfortunate......change.

My favorite part of the few days (mid-vacation) that I spent in north-central Italy a few years ago was exactly the thing you mention -- the quiet.  It was a great joy -- kind of an honor, in a strange sort of way -- to walk around the streets of a small town and simply be at peace, far from the tourist crowds, merely being for a little while.  It's made me seek out similar places in my subsequent travels.

9 hours ago, cruiseerf said:

Paul:   

 

Were you able to Match with Mlife over the phone or did you actually have to go to a Casino?   I just got off the phone with Mlife and they will only match when I go to one of their casino desks?  Thanks in advance.  Cheers! 

I did it on the phone with no problems, fwiw.  Perhaps try calling again and see if you get someone different.

We've had that Dec 6 cruise booked since last November, and we couldn't be more excited about it!  Good news -- the penguin excursions are already available to book, if you're interested in one coordinated by Celebrity.  If you're thinking of a private one, do tell, as we'd be delighted to know!

Shawn

Thanks, Norris, for your excellent review.  We last sailed on Reflection (our fav) in 2017 (too long!) two months after you on the same route, so I was delighted to have your careful review to follow prior to our departure.  Now we, too, are beginning to consider Az as a next line after our planned December 2020 cruise around Cape Horn on Silhouette.  It's been incredibly informative to see so much of the ship and her compliment, and I'm favorably inclined to book as a result!

Thanks again,

Shawn

Just to give you the other end of the spectrum, we were in one of the last departure groups from Reflection this last Saturday (group 46), and were off, through customs, and waiting for our shuttle by 9:45. Really, the whole process at Port of Miami is pretty efficient.

Thanks...do you have any idea on Captains Club host or Michaels host?

nigel_c has you on the Michael's Club info; sadly, I don't know who the CC host was. I can confirm the following additional info is still the same from Arno's chart, though:

Productions: Broken Strings, Elysium, Maxx

DJ: Gio (he was pretty fantastic, imo)