TheOldBear

Back in 2017 I received an allotment for each segment of the round trip  crossing. 

So so one booking, two internet allocations.

The classic remark about a crossing is “Days and days of nothing to do, and not enough time to do it”

There is a difference between a regular crossing (like my upcoming QM2 round trip), repositioning cruises and special event sailings (like HAL’s “Voyage of the Vikings”)

The repositioning cruises have been presented as a bargain in the past - but if demand rises, so do prices. There also have been some reports of ships either not offering all onboard facilities, or even having extensive interior work being performed during the cruise. 

Check reviews and and the discussion forums here for information and advice.

Have you joined any of the M930 crossing's roll calls? Or the M931 New England/Canada roll call?

Our last New England/Canada cruise was back in 2010, so my excursion information is far from current. I would say that for Bar Harbor a Cunard excursion is not essential. There were many tour busses waiting at the tender landing.

i believe the Canyon Ranch spa folks can do acrylic nails and fills. Gels were not listed on the voyage personalizer ‘spa’ menu,

Mrs Bear has gel nails - no fill ins on board may be a problem 

Was working fine on a couple of visits earlier today [Safari 12.1.1;  MacOS] and then needed to log in again from the site home page.

In the header above this text box, I can see the 'log in' icon, while currently logged in

Just tried in - no problems with the login screen, the terms screen - waiting for vp home page [insert hourglass icon here]

Seems a bit slow, but functional

A “Masquerade Ball” is one of the themed formal or ‘gala’ nights on Cunard. 

Just check the VP for M929B - both September 23 & 25 show as 'Gala Evenings' - so formal nights appear to be common on the short Hamburg/Southampton trips

1 hour ago, ann141 said:

 

Thank you- really useful to know.We are going in November this year on 19th but are staying on the ship as it goes to the Caribbean, back to New York and finally back to Southampton.It means we will see New York twice and hope to visit 9/11 museum first time and perhaps Central Park the second time.Have you any suggestions on the easiest way to visit it from Brooklyn? We visited New York briefly last year on a cruise and docked at Manhatten so saw some of the main sights then and also had the spectacular sail in! Hubby wants to go on QM2 for the iconic sail in so thats why we are going again so soon

For Central Park, I would advise taking the Red Hook to Wall Street ferry - and then either taking the red line [#2 or #3] trains to Columbus Circle [south west corner of the park] or the green line [#5] to 59th st and Lexington Ave [near the south east corner of the park and 'museum row'.

Download a NYC Subway map here https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2019-07/subway_map_web.pdf 

Things to do in Central Park https://freetoursbyfoot.com/things-to-do-in-central-park/

Comparing our first trip [2008] to our most recent - the nicest change was the improvement in 'indoor air quality'.

3 minutes ago, PRIORY ROAD said:

We only discovered this towards the end of our trip on QM2 in March.  We were booking a table for the alternative restaurant and spotted table cloths on the tables and asked if they were an over spill for the alternative dining.  They advised that it was the pasta and pizza restaurant and in the evening it is waiter service with no cover charge.  When we went there the tables were nearly all occupied.  I believe it may be a recent addition to the dining options for evenings as we have never come across it before when on QM2.  We will definitely be going again when on QM2 in a weeks' time.  

Back in 2010 the Chef's Gallery was used in the evenings as a demonstration kitchen. Reservations were required, but no surcharge. As I recall, only about 20 diners could be seated. [The Kings Court specialty dining had either a minimal or no surcharge]

The chefs explained ingredient selection, menu planning and several prep stations had overhead view on tv screens. This was interactive due to the intimate setting. Despite the entree being described as a 'Canyon Ranch' special, a very rich cream sauce was featured 🙂

32 minutes ago, JohnoClark said:

We booked a balcony Cabin.

 

What restaurants/ food services are included?

 

I read thread about special requests - what does that cover?

 

Any advice on the various options would be appreciated

 

You may want to also check the dining and faq links on the Cunard “voyage personalizer” - and some of the ‘sticky’ postings at the top of this forum.

Assuming you are in a Britannia balcony, your fare includes :

• A dinner seating in the main dining room, breakfast and lunch in the main dining room.
• Room service is available 24 hours a day (sometimes only 23 on eastbound TAs, or 25 on westbound)
• The Kings Court buffet always has something available.
• The Golden Lion pub lunch
• The Carthenia cafe has ‘small plates’
• The Boardwalk is open during nice weather 

Coffee, tea and non-fizzy soft drinks are also included.

Special needs (e.g. food allergies) can be arranged in advance. I did a behind the scenes tour, and saw that about a quarter of the Britannia galley was devoted to special needs/requests. This included a chef visiting our table nightly to clear the next nights dinner menu.

7 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

News organizations report on negative topics because it is more profitable than reporting on positives, knowing it is what the public wants. We can only blame the readers, not the news organizations, for that. The public's appetite for negative news is similar their habit of slowing down to see a car wreck. Onlooking someone else's misfortune makes us feel thankful that it did not happen to us. 

[Curmudgeon warning 😉 ]

Broadcast news media talking heads seem to like to appear to be voices of reason and authority, even when it is apparent they know nothing about the subject presented to the viewer. [with a choice of terms/usage grating to the ear]

Two minor, but frequently repeated examples from national newscasts

• On 'The Tarmac' at an airport - Apparently 'journalists' are taught that 'The Tarmac' is a standard airport feature, like runways, taxiways, aprons, terminals and ramps. Their repeated usages suggest that the phasing is intended to convey 'inside knowledge' and hence enhanced authority for the story or message. 
• Every US Navy vessel is called a 'Battleship' - This is seemingly true for every class excepting submarines and carriers

I’m also seeing the described behavior with Safari on iOS and  macos

i can confirm the home page login works, but nowhere in the form pages, including the boxes at the bottom of this page when not logged in.

Anyone can start a roll call thread - look for a roll call forum by cruise line and ship.

If a search there [by date and / or cruise number] comes up empty - then feel free to start a new thread. If't its a typical round trip cruise, the thread title would be date, port and cruise number [you may want to specify a date range  5 - 12 September - New Orleans - Cxxx 

You may want to name some of the ports in the title if space permits - that may help folks interested in shore excursions at those ports.

You will need your photo ID (for terminal security) and ship's card (for ship's security) to enter the terminal and re board.  Once in the terminal, stay to the left and walk around the folks waiting to check in. There may be some shore side staff to guide you to the left rear of the terminal to head up the ramp. [there is also an elevator]

If there was a delay in zeroing out the ship, and boarding has not started, there is a lounge area set up before the gangway entrance.

22 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Now that we're getting closer to the September voyage to Le Havre, I figured the actual shore excursions and prices might be available in the Voyage Personaliser for those on that voyage. If so, I'm curious, how does this list of possible excursions shown in the voyage itinerary compare to what is being offered in Voyage Personaliser and what are the real prices?

The D-Day landings were $145 

11 hours ago, clo said:

We have all our insurance(s) possible with USAA.  Does anyone use them for travel insurance?  TIA.

For some reason, I didn't think when comparing prices - perhaps for next cruise

USAA travel insurance link https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/travel-insurance 

The quote link [once logged on to USAA] takes you to a USAA page at 'travelinsured' 

Add

• Stool softener
• Imodium
• Eye Drops
• Antihistamine [Benadryl]

2 hours ago, Doug R. said:

This is absolutely untrue. Miniature medals are prescribed with the Air Force (and I believe Army) mess dress, which is the equivalent of the civilian tux.

The US Navy version was called 'Dinner Dress Blues' - only full Commanders and above were expected to own a set [from 'Max Overcharge' in Newport RI 😉 ] 

1 hour ago, ew101 said:

I got the email and was underwhelmed.  Given the current position of Carnival Corporation in the environment doghouse, I was hoping for something stronger.   I was asking myself what could possibly slow the relentless growth in cruising- having it become non PC from a pollution standpoint.   

 

Looking out the window at the bunkering barge - that is the hardest question.   If Samuel Cunard was around today he would be finding a new and bold way to cross the oceans.  

 

Carnival Corporation could invest in some propulsion trials.  Maybe they could convert/modify an old ship to try these out - there are some candidates:

Flettner / Magnus sails 

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/09/spinning-metal-sails-could-slash-fuel-consumption-emissions-cargo-ships

LNG fuel + Solar Panels + sails 

https://www.motorship.com/news101/industry-news/oshima-shipbuilding-and-dnv-gl-sign-strategic-cooperation

Hydrogen Fuel Cells - see Viking 

Biofuels - the math here is sometimes dodgy - except maybe algae 

Etc.

 

With today's technology, Sam Cunard would commission a Brayton Cycle, 'pebble bed' nuke powered ship.

This technology is more mature than steam power was when he commissioned the original Britannia 

31 minutes ago, zqvol said:

There is an outlet in the bathrooms designed for razors. It should provide enough wattage for a night light.

On many [if not all] ships, that outlet is only on when the light is on.

11 minutes ago, Jayers said:

Could someone please measure the size of cunard’s luggage tags? I’m looking to buy a luggage tag holder for my suitcase but they come in different sizes. Thank you in advance. 

The print yourself tags are a quarter of a sheet of paper [8 by 2 3/4 inches] after the folding.

2 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

Thanks for your reply. I posted on the port page already and it was suggested I post here. : )

 

We would have been happy to do a small group tour... the tours on our roll call were full and we felt it was too late to start a new one. We're already booked with Princess for the Canadian sites. I agree that it's too bad they don't include more locations. Maybe someone who has taken this excursion will also reply.

I would expect that the Princess and Cunard tours are very similar. We did the American sector tour in 2017, and will be doing the Juno, Sword sector tour this September.

Its a full day - the likely stops will be at the beaches [in order of distance from the ship] Sword, Juno and the British Cemetery before lunch [Hopefully Princess will use the same lunch stop Cunard uses] and after lunch Gold beach and the 'Museum of the Landing.

Your tour likely includes admission to the museum. See https://www.arromanches-museum.com/accueil/index.php?lang=uk for museum details. The beach features several surviving caissons from the 'Mulberry' artificial harbors. 

27 minutes ago, Miraed48 said:

Looking for 4 people to share van with Overlordtour on September 24 ,2019 

from Le Havre port to Normandy/ Omaha beach

MSC Preziosa ship arriving at 8:00am

Have you tried the 'roll call' thread for your cruise?