bkecky

I so grateful for this post. It states exactly what I would and have wanted to say for quite a while.

 

Sarah, I am enjoying this post because of your very intentional approach and dedication despite certain replies. Please stay on course and most importantly remember this fabulous journey with your family

Ditto. I see a lot of things of threads/posts on this forum that aren't of interest to me. I've seen "live from" reports that don't address the specific aspects of a voyage that I am interested in. I simply skim over them or don't read them and move on with my life.

I have really enjoyed your food photos - nice to have a visual of some of the dishes I have thought about ordering but wasn't sure about (including the spa dishes where I wonder if I will be starving a couple of hours later!).

As a previous poster stated, you have shown an incredible amount of maturity throughout this. Keep it up! As the recent responses have shown, many of us are enjoying this.

You can have breakfast in your cabin daily if you wish - it's your holiday! Only exception is disembarkation day.

And please don't worry about setting yourself apart! There will be a mix of guests - some seasoned cruisers, some not. It doesn't matter, just enjoy yourself!

We have done many cruises and have just finished three on three different cruise lines!

 

I love cruising and really enjoy large tables and meeting new folks. BUT--I am so sick of folks trying to one-up each other! No matter what someone has done, they have done it better!

 

I enjoy hearing of other folks' adventurer, but I am sick to death of people who just want to do one better!

 

Any suggestions for this feeling? Have you just switched to tables for 2?

 

(I Plan to post this on all three of our last cruise lines.)

Thankfully haven't experienced this on a table as we usually dine on a table for just the three of us. But I have experienced it in other areas like at the bar. I tend to just not pander to it and ask someone else present what they like or if they have had any experience with *insert topic*. After a while they should get the message. If it's that bad, I imagine others on your table might be just as irritated and will welcome the diversion. It's a shame if you have to move if you like others on your table but I think if it gets to the point where going to dinner becomes a chore or you start to dread that part of the day, you should move. You don't pay all that money to have someone spoil your experiences. Dinner should be something to look forward to.

Yes I have to say the world seems to be going backwards, I understand a ban on smoking but feel sorry for those who have given up or are trying to give up and use an E-Cigg.

As you say its not hard to see a Black one with a blue light is not a real one, if they didn't have the word cigarette they would be allowed.

Things have happened over the last year that I never thought I would see in my life time and don't agree with but I have no say in it.

I say to you just be discrete use it when you want.

Yes, it is annoying. Although I did see a a lady on a cruise last year smoking one at the bar in Hemispheres on the QV and no one said anything. I believe this ban was in place then but it seemed no one minded. Will have to seek out some hiding places! No way I am going on deck to smoke an e-cig in the Baltics!

Salacia - I believe you have the sequence correct. Although I used to take full advantage of any smoking area, I do understand why they banned it in these areas. I didn't like it much as it was an inconvenience but was at least happy that I did have Churchill's, which was often the liveliest place on the ship! But it seems extremely unfair if they are really restricting cigarettes in Churchill's. It seems if the decks are closed off due to bad weather and you are on any ship other than the QM2, then you either risk it and go outside or abstain. And I have seen people risk it before... I'd personally be too worried I wouldn't get back in!

Wasn't it always supposed to be just cigars in Churchill's but it was never enforced?

I kind of understand not allowing e-cigs in Churchill's due to the severe lack of space. But why can't we smoke them in public areas? I was really hoping to use my e-cig on my upcoming cruise but I don't want to keep trekking to my cabin. Especially as I don't smoke them for a period of time equal to a full cigarette.

The only reason I can possibly think of is that they may be mistaken for real cigarettes and therefore they may get complaints. I understand that some people may mistake the orange light and water vapour for a cigarette but the ones with the blue lights? I can't imagine anyone mistaking those for real smoking! Or perhaps I have the whole reason for not allowing them completely wrong! Just seems it's all gone a bit OTT.

I have had the same thing. Sometimes they have taken a long time. However a few times the cards have never turned up and I have thought perhaps it may be the postal service where they should have gotten sent from. But last time I was late posting and they got posted from Southampton and still none of them turned up! Royal Mail or Cunard? Who knows... But a year on, I think I can safely say they aren't going to turn up!

Ok so I've been reading a few threads over the last few days....if you dine in one of the restaurants you can ask for more of the same course? Is that correct? I don't think I've ever done that in a normal restaurent!

Yep! Well, not just the restaurants, you can pretty much get more food wherever! I've done it for the pub lunch because in my opinion it's the best lunch available on board. But yes, you can ask for another portion of the same or a different dish altogether if you fancy trying something else. Actually that's a cruising tip: take an outfit that's a little more generous around the waistline so that you don't feel bad or uncomfortable towards the end of the cruise! I always start off in my "small" clothes and the dresses get looser as the days go on :D

Sorry to offend, but if you were conducting a marketing survey, this would be the kind of information you'd want to have.

Not sure any marketing survey I've ever taken has asked if I've inherited my wealth!

If your interest is purely scientific, then I would suggest more scientific means of gathering the information rather than asking people on a forum to speculate. The only understanding of society you collect this way is how people perceive their fellow passengers (sorry, guests...). Unless of course someone wishes to put forward their own reasons for travelling grills and how they can afford it. But I doubt enough people would contribute to be able to observe a trend.

Anyway, in honest answer to your question, from my experience there is no general trend or majority. Having said that, I've never really asked anyone about their income or how they afford their voyage unless they have brought it up themselves... which has happened on very few occasions and certainly not often enough to make a sweeping statement about the majority.

 

It would also be fantastic to have new shows, how many more years will they show "Appassionata". It has been featured for about 6-7 YEARS.

A couple of years ago I asked about this. More out of curiosity as I usually don't go to the shows but I was wondering about those guests who travel frequently and see the same shows repeatedly. I was told that there is a contract regarding shows and that when they buy the rights they then have to show them for a minimum period of time. If I recall correctly, I thought this period of time was 5 years. So either what I heard is completely wrong or they renewed the contract and they are going to be around for another few years! :eek: Of course it may have just been ship speculation, as so many of these things often are.

Have just finished reading every post on here. Thank you for taking the time to post your experiences, especially as you have your school work and exams too! I'd much rather have a delayed report than no report at all. Plus I cannot imagine uploading all of this whilst on board with the dodgy internet connection! I lose my patience checking my email and social networks onboard!!!

Keep up the good work! :)

Amazing post! Thank you Becky, all very helpful, shame you aren't on the TA, could of shown me the ropes!

 

Good news about not needing a morning suit or Top hat, that'll save a bit of expense pre-voyage. Is this the same for the masquerade night too? Guessing everybody doesn't need masks? :D

 

Ray66: That was the one that was most tempting for her, BUT she wants to do some shopping also....

 

BlueRiband: I was brought up on the idea of tea in the afternoon and dinner later....only one problem, I don't like your traditional "English breakfast tea". I always feel like a part of my Britishness dies when people ask me if I would like a cup of tea and I explain that I don't like it :( Weirdly I do like green tea, fruit tea etc, just not English breakfast tea with milk in.

I wish I was doing a TA! They are my favourite type of cruise! So relaxing! Should also say that sitting at the bar can be quite sociable as the crew will usually strike up conversation and also there are usually a few other people sitting there who are looking to socialise. Please report back on how you find it!

Ahoy Cruise Critics and Cunardists!

 

I am a 29 year old male who has never set sail on a Cruise ship or Liner.

 

Last Thursday I spotted on twitter the news about the 175th Anniversary of Cunard and the planned celebrations in Liverpool 2015 which is where I am based. I thought it would be a lovely trip across the Atlantic for my mother & father to take (and myself if I could afford it).

 

When visiting them at Easter I put this idea forward to them, and unfortunately with it being a year ahead they weren't too keen. I thought it about and was planning on celebrating my 30th in July with a few friends abroad. It occurred to me that why didn't I spend it with the two people that meant the most to me and have a lot for me over the last 30 years. I looked at the planned cruises in July and was pleased to find the transatlantic round-trip.

 

I told my parents about this and unfortunately my dad still didn't go for it (claustrophobic, can't swim), my mother however was open to this new idea. After much debate and number crunching we have decided to book a Transatlantic Voyage RoundTrip from Southampton to New York and back!

 

I started with a lot of questions but most of them have been answered either through the Cunard FAQ or the search facility on here.

 

I was thinking I would put all my queries on this thread rather than make various new topics! Would be grateful of any help you experienced hands can give :)

 

1) Daywear: Can I wear trainers around the liner in the day? I'm a sport coach and making the transition to shoes for 15 days straight... not sure my feet could handle it!

 

2) Shore Excursions: What would you recommend in New York, and also if going on the 3-stop what would you visit? What Excursion would you recommend for someone with walking difficulties (my mother has to stop every 10mins for a rest)?

 

3) On board walking: is it stable or would you recommend a walking stick. Are there many stairs?

 

4) First sitting or early sitting at dinner and why?

 

5) How big are the primo size coffees on the coffee card?

 

6) Is an inside cabin big enough for me and my mother?

 

7) Would you recommend deck 4,5 or 6 for inside cabins?

 

7) What is the weather usually like for late July / early August?

 

8) Are there many other late twenties / early thirties aboard or will I be in the minority?

 

9) Lastly: Is it normal for me to be SO excited about this trip, like a child going to Disney? I don't think I've EVER looked forward to a holiday so much, and I've been pretty much spent every waking minute looking at YouTube clips and reviews. Is that normal!!??

 

If can think of any more tips to help a first timer out, feel free to share :) (I originally spent 30mins writing this out, before the forum logged me out meaning it's now taken me an hour)

Hi,

I'm 27 so a similar age group and thought it might be useful to share my experience of Cunard. I usually travel with my grandparents so I am kind of in a similar situation to you.

To be honest there is a chance that you may be in the minority age-wise. However as you are going in the summer you may get more of the 20s/30s age group on board - I have been on a few summer cruises when there have been quite a big group of us but on winter cruises I have been the youngest on board except a couple of babies. Only problem is sometimes there are quite a few teens and then it kind of skips the late 20s/30s age group or there are a lot of couples in their 30s (I'm aware of making myself a gooseberry!). Although I don't have experience with the QM2, on the QV they used to have an 18-30s meet-up but last year I found to my dismay that it had become an 18-25s and I was too old! :eek: I gatecrashed the meetup anyway and no one seemed to mind when I told them I was a year out... But regardless of whether there are people of the exact age group, I have always found without exception that there are people to make friends with. I've made great friends over the years, some my own age and some older. It has never been an issue that I've felt out of it or lonely on Cunard. I usually find the pub is a great place to meet people and I've met some nice people asking to join their quiz team. Also some of the activities might not seem for young people but give them a go anyway because sometimes you have an unexpected good time and it's an opportunity to meet people.

In terms of the walking, my grandpa also has a few problems. Lifts are aplenty (except during the muster station drill!) but the major problem he has is the walk across the decks to get to places. So maybe it is worth getting one of those folding sticks that you can just tuck away in case?

Trainers in the day I would say are fine (I've seen many people wearing trainers) - if you go to the gym it's kind of unavoidable anyway to get there. I sometimes wear trainers because of walking around the decks and not wanting to slip but I always move off around 6pm if I start to see first sitting coming in dressed up. It's not really nice for them to be all dressed up and me sitting there in my trainers!

The dinner seating, I have found that the early sitting is too early. I am quite lucky in that my grandparents feel that it is too. The only problem with the later sitting is that I like to do the quizzes after dinner and sometimes I feel a bit rushed with eating later. But similarly I tried the early sitting and I felt like I only had half a day, especially when doing hair and make up. Might be something to consider for your mum. Also the evenings felt very long on early. I think this depends on what you intend to do with your days/evenings though. I personally don't go to shows because I have usually seen them before or there are other things going on I want to do. So without that the evenings were a little too long and I found that often I was waiting for people to come from the second sitting. Of course, as another poster suggested, your mother may prefer to eat earlier. Probably something to discuss together regarding what your priorities will be.

As for getting excited, I get excited every single time I board a Cunard ship! From a personal point of view, I love the formality of it because it's something that cannot be found that easily any more. It is a great experience! Just immerse yourself in it and even try some things you probably wouldn't do usually. I hope you have a wonderful time!

Actually, no. All they have to do is rotate shifts. Those that work late shifts, start late. Those that get off early, start early. Same with the Casino. We've been told that the casino has to close early to allow the casino staff to "get their rest". Please.....there are shifts. We have a friend who has a daughter working on Celebrity. Her favorite nights are when a "fellow worker" is getting off the ship to go home. The plan is to close the casino as early as possible so they can have the going away party downstairs. Obviously all the staff work very hard jobs but the bottom line is still...they obviously chose this job and it does involve passengers. :)

Casino staff I can understand (especially as they have those nice port days off!) but the bar staff I think is a different matter. You still cannot expect them to work unlimited hours until the passengers decide it's time for them to close. Just as your wouldn't expect a bar at home to stay open until the punters decided it was time to close. They need free time (even if that does include time to let their hair down) and rest otherwise they would go insane! There is a reason that Cunard provide White Star Parties for the crew. I know from having worked similar hours as a bar waitress abroad, it can really make you ill if you don't get that down-time. And even if those crew may not be working, they still have other duties they may have to be up for, such as emergency drills, IPM, cabin inspections, staff meetings etc. OK, if you are opening Cafe Carinthia at 6am, you will be let off around 10pm. However if you are working the "late shift", it's not like a bar on land where you will be working the next evening. I had a close friend on Cunard and I know that closing the pub could still mean that sometimes you would be there again in the morning. Yes, you are compensated by a longer afternoon break but still... They have to have firm closing times otherwise you would get some passengers (probably including myself :eek:) there until REALLY late. I'm sure if Cunard felt there was a financial benefit to extending opening hours, they would accommodate them. As it happens, I have rarely seen much of a "busy" nightlife except on odd occasions on any Cunard ship since the QE2's Yacht Club, with the exception of the odd night here and there. And even that was dependent on the cruise.

Hello:

 

This is what I don't get: Even though tons of passengers show up for this evening of dancing and are apparently having a really good time dancing and drinking and making Cunard money in the process, at Midnight the band closes down never mind many people are having a great time. What is that all about???? You could actually sense the room deflate as if some of bad news was beign delivered. Why would Cunard do this and lose the revenue from the drinks people buy????? Any ideas....Please do not tell me Cunard is concerned about the band being overworked when the poor cabin steward are so overworked with all the many cabins they have to service twice a day...

 

It's probably not a case of overworking the band but overworking the bar waiters. Afterall, even though the Queen's Room may not be serving drinks in the morning, those bar waiters will be relocated to somewhere else. Imagine if they worked them until everyone had left and then they had to start work again in the morning and they did this 7 days a week for months on end. That would make for some exhausted crew!

 

Well then, I suppose it must have been a quirk of the hosts on that particular crossing. I'd actually not seen it on other crossings particularly; not that I'm usually paying much attention. I've danced with a few hosts on occasion myself, but usually don't go dancing on my own, or I'll go to G32.

 

I haven't been on the QM2 myself but on the QV the hosts often came into Hemisphere's after the Queen's Room. They did seem to dance with certain ladies more than others. I did wonder if it was because these ladies may have attended the singles get-together and had perhaps met the hosts there so they knew they were enthusiastic dancers. When I was a teenager I attended some dance classes on P&O and they had the young officer cadets there learning to dance and to act as partners in addition to the hosts. I was in my element being a teenage girl and having all these young officers to dance with!

 

 

On one crossing I was with a group that liked to dance every night in the Queens Room. I watched the gentleman hosts, and they consistently asked the younger, prettier women to dance and ignored the older ladies. Not very nice.

 

Really? I haven't had that experience at all! Last year, my friend and I (we are mid-twenties) were desperately trying to get a host to dance with us and they were very reluctant. We sat in the Queen's Room for well over an hour before my friend finally got up and asked one to dance herself. A few years ago a host also told me that he wouldn't be able to dance with me for a while because the older ladies would complain. Similarly when I did a cruise alone I was never asked to dance. I wish I had been on your cruise! I might have actually got to dance a bit!

I did a two week Med cruise alone and had a great time! I met a lot of people from participating in the activities and seeing the same faces at the bar in the evening. There are singles meetings and there are hosts to dance who will ask you to dance. It's a very social environment so you won't have any problems at all. The QG has larger tables if you request one but bear in mind it is open seating so you may want to ask your fellow diners what time they intend on coming to dinner so as not to miss one another. I am sure you wouldn't regret taking a cruise alone as you won't be alone for long and I have seen many solo cruisers on each voyage (I usually do the two week Med).

Some other stuff I look forward to:

• sitting on the balcony the first night after I have washed my hair and watching us sail away into the sunset before dinner with the sea breeze in my hair.
  
• The first meal when i am starving from travelling and there is a big steak with my name on it.
  
• The first drink after you have unpacked and we all cheers and say happy holidays.
  
• the first formal night and seeing everyone all dressed up!
  
• it being perfectly acceptable to strike up conversation with whoever is sitting next to you without being weird
  
• the first karaoke night when all the officers collect in the pub
  
• waking up early the first morning and realising im on the ship!
  
• taking off the lifejacket after the muster station drill and dashing up on deck so as not to miss a minute of the sailaway party
  
• when the sea gets a bit rough and being rocked to sleep
  

the chilled fruit soup...and pretzel rolls. Odd, because I'd never make or have it at home, but I do look forward to having the chilled banana soup for lunch after embarcation.

oh the garlic soup on the qe2...hope they have it on the qv! i love to hate the lifeboat drill but the best part for me is sailaway. having a glass of champagne and having a nose at who i will be spending my two weeks with and if i see anyone from the previous year! always nice when you are surprised by a face or two from before.

i always eat late and i love sitting in the bar watching the first sitting come down in their formal wear even if i do feel a bit of a scruff as im still in my shorts!

oh i cant wait to be at sea again!

One of the most memorable characters I have ever encountered on a cruise was a widowed woman, let's call her "Carole". One night my grandmother and I went to the midnight buffet and when we returned my grandfather had this woman sitting next to him. We all thought she was rather eccentric but it was only when I went down to the spa for a treatment that we realised how strange she really was! The therapist instantly recognised my name and said oh I know this name. Is your grandfather Mr ____. I replied yes and she said well there was a woman who came in a few days ago who was saying that Mr _____ had said he was going to run away with her in Monte Carlo but she wasn't sure what to do because there was a 22 year old officer who she thought she was in with!!! "Carole"? I asked. It was. I immediately went back to the cabin and retold what I had heard and we all had a good laugh (except my grandma who was sincerely worried how many people she had told about Mr____). We found as the cruise went on the gentlemen and crew on the ship would separate when they saw her coming! She was a nightmare! She also said she had bought over 200 outfits on board and the steward had to help her choose one each night...Needless to say we didn't need to question my grandfathers sincerity on that one!

On this particular cruise I also came across a gentleman who I presumed was alone as he was quite elderly and always alone at the end of the bar. Me being me I talk to anyone and I often went over for a chat after dinner thinking he might be a bit lonely and looking for company. One night I met his wife but she always went to bed early. The last night comes and he says to me, you know you are a lovely girl and very beautiful so how much? My jaw nearly dropped to the floor! I said I'm sorry but that was not my intention and secondly your wife is on board. Oh no, he says, I do it all the time at home!

Same cruise I got friendly with a girl a little older than me with a husband much older than her. One day her husband goes off to take the photos to the cabin and she starts telling me what an athlete her husband is in bed. I didn't quite know what to say and some sort of nervous laughter escaped (this man was 87, he could barely walk!). Husband then returns and she says oh, we were talking about naughty things darling. Ah he said so you told her then. Told me what? I ask. We are swingers we were wondering if you had a boyfriend on board. No i curtly reply, not my thing. Well you can come alone, he says! I scuttled away and we never spoke again that cruise. But by god! In one cruise I had been mistaken for a "lady of the night" and a swinger and my grandpa as some sort of gigolo! It was quite disturbing at the time but now we have a laugh about that cruise. I'm just glad it all happened near the end!

As my family always say, i could be in a room with 200 people and there would be one strange one and they would find me. think i'll be a little more selective with who i talk to in future!

As an afterthought one of the most embarrassing stories that I can remember was something that didn't happen to me but I imagine was highly embarrassing for the person involved. A fellow passenger got slightly confused with the cabin facilities. She called to the purser to inform them that her microwave wasn't working and the purser told her that he was sorry but none of the cabins were equipped with microwaves. The woman continued to insist that she had one and that it wasn't working so the purser had no choice but to send up maintenance. When the maintenance arrived they saw that what the woman had thought was a microwave was actually the safe and she had been trying for an age to heat up her pizza slice in it! This was told to me by the bar staff in the club on board who I was friends with and by now it was all round the crew. I imagine a lot of pointing and whispering was going on when she was around!

I have had so many as i am generally very accident prone!

When I was a young teenager I had a bit of a crush on the pianist in one of the bars and he asked me if I could get him some shrimp from the midnight buffet as I was going. I gladly agreed but in my excitement to present him with his shrimp on the way back I tripped over the stairs and fell from top to bottom, landing at the bottom of the atrium with the shrimps in my lap and my skirt around my waist.

Only last year I went out to smoke on deck at night as the smoking areas were really far from the restaurant and I was wearing a floaty strapless dress. the wind was really bad outside and I struggled to open the door. When I finally got the door open it slammed shut behind me and as I walked forwards I realised my dress was caught in the door and had been pulled down revealing my all to the other smokers. Devastating...