TheOldBear

This is true even in Britannia - we has the same waiters in 2010, 2017 & 2022 - and on our 2019 sailing they stoped by to say hello.

Some items are extra cost, but there is no delivery fee.

On QM2 balcony rooms on decks 4, 5 & 6 are in the main hull, not in the superstructure above the promenade deck. Instead of a glass front, there is a large aperture cut into the hull just above handrail height. They are sheltered in that they remain usable even in extreme conditions - an oasis of calm when the weather decks are closed due to hurricane force winds. We tend to book midships, category BU or BV rooms. It is offered - but it may not be the best value for you. For us it is a moot point, as CunardCare is not available to New York residents. You may want to head down the page to the travel insurance forum or check with a specialty broker [the trip insurance store] Final fare payment is typically due about 120 days before sailing. For some insurance carriers and coverage [pre existing conditions] the policy must be purchased within a time window after making the initial deposit. I believe that Cunard can arrange both hotels and flights - we are fairly local so have not considered either. [Our dinner table mates for both our 2017 & 2019 sailings flew in the day of the cruise, and had misplaced luggage each time] They do seem to be well hidden before booking Internet plans at https://www.cunard.com/en-us/the-cunard-experience/staying-connected Drinks at https://www.cunard.com/en-us/activity-types/bars-and-lounges/a-world-of-drinks We use 'world club' credit to offset the internet prices - and do not feel that any of the drinks packages represent a good value for us.

We explicitly book round trips - single cruise card for the Brooklyn to Brooklyn sailing. If it's booked as two separate 'voyages' - you will have two different six character 'booking reference' strings that you use to login to the 'voyage personalizer' [ my.cunard.com ]. If you have only been provided with a single 'booking reference' try logging in to my.cunard.com and see what it shows in the booking summary - if the booking is for the complete round trip, that should show in the summary page. [you will need to login anyway to complete cruise paperwork] If it only shows part of your vacation [like just the eastbound crossing], and you only have a single booking reference, get in touch with the travel agent - they should have received a confirmation for each booking.

The typical cheapie surge protector has an internal part [a metal oxide varisistor] that shunts the live leg of the circuit to ground if about 130 volts are exceeded. This is typically a one time event for the life of the suppressor [MOV is fried, even if the power strip's circuit breaker or fuse trips] - and the reason why these devices are dangerous anywhere except north american domestic power outlets.

If you have booked this as a single 'voyage' for the eastbound crossing, cruise and westbound crossing - you only need to unpack once, and you will be issued a cruise card [red on top as it's your first time] valid for the entire sailing. There will be an immigration check with an officer of the UK Border Force - these days it's an electronic passport stamp - so when the ship arrives in Southampton you can just walk off. [And when you want to get back on, your card identifies you as 'in transit' so you can walk past the folks waiting to embark] Cunard provides a shuttle bus to near the 'West Quay' shopping center, or you can take a taxi or Uber. [I plan on visiting the Solent Sky museum this October]. If rain is in the forecast, there are usually umbrellas available to borrow at the gangway. There _may_ be shore excursions for your visit [check on my.cunard.com] , there are none posted for our sailing. We have met with some of Mrs Bear's facebook friends for lunches at the Dancing Man or Duke of Wellington pubs for a pleasant afternoon. There are posts on this forum and the British Isles / Western Europe forum about some do it yourself tours - e.g. a rail excursion to Salisbury and Stonehenge. Look for postings by "John Bull" for local knowledge. That is also the forum for Bruge [and its port city Zeebruge] for your visit to Belgium. Norway is covered by the Northern Europe forum - and Iceland has been moved to a new forum.

The word is 'layers' - including a lightweight, windproof, outer 'shell' layer [jacket]. Your cruise will likely not be taking the northern 'great circle' route of a crossing, so the weather trend will be warm - but as always there are exceptions that cannot be forecast.

You [and your passport] are assigned a time to meet with a UK 'Border Force' officer, typically in the upper level of the Britannia restaurant. On of direct crossing in 2017 our passports acquired their first stamps - for later crossings its all electronic, no stamps. Apparently back in the steamship days, there was a similar arrangement with US officials on the westbound crossings - that arrangement likely ended about the same time the Queen Mary was retired to Long Beach.

The shuttle drop off is near Bargate and the West Quay Mall. The Tudor House is about a quarter mile back toward the harbor. It’s on St Michael’s square opposite tSt Michael’s church (with the very tall steeple.) Our last Southampton visit was on a Sunday, and we had the ‘Sunday Roast’ at the Duke of Wellington before getting an Uber back to the ship.

There is a baggage drop for checked luggage outside of the terminal. The drop area has many badged porters with carts. We are fairly local so have never used a bus transfer - likely all checked & tagged baggage is taken from the bus and into the terminal while you deal with stroller and carry on luggage. The terminal operator's site for the Brooklyn Cruise terminal is https://cruise.nyc/brooklyn-terminal Once the terminal doors are opened, there are waiting areas both before and after security screening. In 2022 the paperwork check was right after security screening, and as Mrs Bear had mobility issues we were directed to a priority line. It's likely that the toddler+stroller will also result in priority. There will be a final paperwork check [and perhaps a fresh picture for photo id], and then boarding by groups will start. Not that many facilities in the terminal while waiting. Pre-lockdown there were a few vending machines - I don't know if they have been restored. I believe the restrooms have baby changing tables. Most folks will be directed to escalators - but there are also elevators to the boarding 'airbridge' to the ship.

On QM2 - the Golden Lion apparently has extended lunch hours, but we normally will use King's Court as we need to make an appearance for muster station check in anyway.

One resource as you are 'here' is searching this forum for each port name for the Norway ports [the Scotland ports would be in the UK/Western Europe forum] In addition, each Norway port's visitor bureau has a tourist information web page [for example visittromso.no ] with info on history, climate, maps, public transit, sightseeing - and links to local tour operators.

In addition to the usual suspects (taxi, ride share) the 'Silver Line' hybrid bus/train SL2 line stops near the 'Black Falcon' cruise terminal - there are 4 indicated stations where you can change to the Silver Line SL1 to Logan Airport terminals. see https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/media/route_pdfs/batch_6954/741-742-743-746-S2-P3.pdf I think with any quality of luggage, I would elect for taxi or ride share.

Back in 2017 our table mates in Britannia for the round trip crossing were a couple who received an upgrade fairy blessing of a promotion to Queen's Grill [It was also the trip they reached diamond status on World Club - that _may_ have provided the upgrade fairy a hint].

You would need to be able to pay the 'out of network' costs [e.g. US hospitals and doctors are not part of UK National Health] and transportation expenses. Since available policies and coverage options vary by residence / citizenship you would need someone with proper local knowledge [just as for US folks, we recommend the 'trip insurance store'].

The starboard side 'relaxation lounge' is past the locker room entrances. The Thermal Suite is in the middle with lots of surrounding rooms - no place for windows.

The Manhattan schedule https://cruise.nyc/MCT-schedule does have a few Princess sailings, but the Manhattan October 19 sailing is a Viking ship. Note that the cruise.nyc schedules are the official schedules as posted by the cruise terminal operator [always subject to update - but they are the current schedules]. Some terminal operators [e.g ABP in Southampton UK] have schedules including arrival and departure times, but cruise.nyc only lists the scheduled day.

There is an overhang with a rubberized walking track from the Lookout, above the deck 13 balconies then down steps to the 'sun deck' area

As stated, thermal suite admission is included on the day of massage services. For just the thermal suite - check the prices on board. We usually find that a three day pass is less expensive than two individual days, and often the price per day is reduced further with more days and longer sailings. The days need not be used consecutively [skip a day or two], and multiple entries he same day are permitted.

I think the original poster was interested in arrival timing, not departure timing. The NY Cruise web site does not list scheduled time of arrival pier side, and the ship's earliest disembarkation time is likely some time [an hour? half hour?] after the ship is secured to the dock. With those limitations, I would set an alarm for no later than 90 minutes before the scheduled arrival pier side [2 hours before earliest disembarkation ]. [I wonder if the purser's desk could share when the Pilot is expected on board - that would be a good time to set an alarm] If you have a view to starboard, you may see the Coney Island 'Parachute Drop' tower. The ship's tv channels may offer a bridge camera view or a ship's track to gauge your approach.

As stated in previous replies - the QM2 does not do 'repositioning' cruises. Instead the schedule is based on crossings, with side trip segments at either the North American or European ends. The crossings and most of the side trip segments may be booked as one 'voyage' or the individual crossings and cruises can be booked piece by piece. An example from our sailings - this fall's eastbound crossing starts in Brooklyn, has port visits in Newport RI & Boston MA - the Eastbound Crossing starts from Boston. Arriving in Southampton, many passengers will disembark, and be replaced by passengers who have booked either a one way cruise to Hamburg, or a round trip stopping at Hamburg. In Hamburg some passengers will disembark - having started at either Brooklyn or Southhampton. Some new passengers will board, and may be planning on disembarking at Southampton, LeHavre or Brooklyn. Arriving at Southampton, some passengers will disembark and others will board. The next day, QM2 arrives in LeHavre and once again some passengers disembark while others board. Finally QM2 makes the westbound crossing and all passengers must either disembark or otherwise leave the ship to 'zero out' to allow boarding by US rules. At each port stop [Southampton, Hamburg, Southampton again, LeHarve] the 'in transit' passengers have to option of going ashore or just staying onboard. This long example is just one of a dozen or more crossings and side trips. There is also the option of taking one crossing, disembarking for a land vacation and then later rejoining for a crossing going the other way. Some folks will plan on a combination of a land vacation, a QM2 crossing and another line's repositioning cruise - if that best fits their schedule and budget.

I bring two formal shirts - and use the ship's laundry service to clean and press when necessary.

Just checked the USA version of cunard.com - you can log in to an account, but once logged in there is nothing useful you can see or do without a login. Even the 'pay my balance' needs you to enter booking reference, not pick from a list.

We may be seasoned TA travelers - we have done six crossings so far on QM2, but have never done a repositioning sailing. The crossings have been on round trip sailings with both eastbound and westbound legs, and no flying. There are multiple options for London to Southampton - rail, bus and car service. There are discussions about the options over in the Cunard forum and the Western Europe / British Isles forum. Posts by "John Bull" are usually informative about transportation and lodging options.

The NY Cruise web page has schedules through year's end. Princess seems to be using the Brooklyn terminal - schedule at https://cruise.nyc/BCT-Schedule There are several threads on this forum where hotels are recommended for Brooklyn departures [we are almost local, so have not explored any hotel options].