Mickb

This cruise sold out within 24 hours. We hesitated —- and missed it😢

Brilliant - sure there may be some red faces reading this. Keep it up!

We’ve crossed twice on the QM2 both times in Grills. The ship is amazing and rides the seas very well - most of the time there was very little movement - ordinary waves do not seem to affect her much. However if there is an Atlantic swell - then like all ships, she will pitch and the movement is definitely noticeable. A trip to the Medical centre for a scopolamine injection followed by a morning or afternoons’ nap will cure the problem - it certainly did for us. you may find service a bit more formal than on Celebrity but remember the QM2 is one of the world’s great travel experiences - way more than a cruise. have a great time!

We have not sailed HAL for some years but it used to be our line of choice until we tried Cunard. Have only ever sailed in PG - six voyages now and whilst HAL appears to be heading for the more casual approach to cruising, Cunard are more traditional and still encourage dressing up for dinner. It suits us but may not appeal to you. Service is the grills is very personal and off menu ordering is possible. The staff are excellent and get to know your preferences very quickly. You can take as long as you want over your meal. I personally think it is wonderful. I m sure that you will enjoy it.

We have done this route 3 times and always had good weather after the first couple of days.

We have health issues and have found Staysure very helpful

You are as adept at writing about game drives as you are writing about cruising! Thank you for the time and effort that you put in to describing everything in such entertaining detail for your readers!

We took the train to Florida and it left mid/late afternoon. It took ages to disembark so for peace of mind - the later the better

Correction to above ‘dirty rooms ‘ not city rooms — and we had a suite!

We have stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky with which we were REALLY disappointed - city rooms poor service etc and the Danieli which is divine. Much more expensive but imo with every penny!

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/jan-swartz-holland-america-groups-restructuring

How are you finding the larger sized ship against the Amsterdam?

We sailed on QM2 in PG in the last year. IMO it was better than ever. We were encouraged to order off menu and the food was amazing. The price point was similar to a Neptune Suite on HAL. Although we have enjoyed cruises in the past with HAL, the current direction and offering does not suit. Club orange doesn’t cut it for us and compared to Grills offering on Cunard, it is way behind. I must stress that this only my opinion and I’m sure others won’t agree.

We first sailed with HAL in 2000 on the Maasdam. We loved it and went on to sail on Veendam, Maasdam (again) Prinsendam and Eurodam. We have not sailed on the new Pinnacle class. I think the biggest change that we have noticed over the years has been the downgrading of the menus. Lobster, Duck etc were regularly offered but on our last cruise we were offered Jerk Chicken or Rustic Lasagna. I realise that eating habits have changed over the last 20 years but there daily spend per head has obviously been substantially reduced. We now cruise with Cunard who ( until now) do not seem to have gone down the same route.

There have been several cruise ships turned away from docking in NZ and Australian ports because of sea snails and other algae that have grown on the hull. ( There is a very informative post on the Viking Ocean thread). If the ship’s hull is judged dirty then divers have to clean the hull which seems to involve anchoring 20 odd miles offshore for 24/36 hours whilst the work is carried out. As the WC is due to visit both NZ and Australia, I wonder when the hull of the Zuiderdam was last cleaned and whether this is likely to prove to be a problem? I do hope not!

Having experienced HAL cuisine and Cunard - imo Cunard is considerably better. 10 years ago HAL cuisine was very good but continual cuts have reduced the standard very significantly. This does not seem to have happened on Cunard which has if anything, improved recently.

It is a cultural thing. In the UK and Europe a 10% tip is regarded as good. On one of my last trips to the US - ( recently) I was presented with a bill that gave me 3 options to tip between 17.5% - 25% . The bill was already steep as the restaurant was ‘ in vogue’ and was quite frankly a triumph of style over substance. The service we received was perfunctory and when I asked for an explanation of one of the dishes, eyes were rolled and I was treated as someone who was ‘not all there’! Certainly in any other country such service would not have warranted a tip at all. I chose 17.5% and was asked by the server to justify my choice! I told him exactly why and suggested that we call the manager to discuss the matter further! He flounced off! I agree with the poster who pointed out that most of the high end lines have now incorporated gratuities into the price ( albeit higher) - this deals with the problem very neatly. But as I said in the beginning - it is a cultural issue.

I did of course mean ‘unusual’ - apologies!

We have invited Britannia guests to join us in the PG on QV before ( always with prior discussion with the Maitre d’) - so maybe not quite as usual as you suggest?

There was no difficulty in our friends dining as guests with friends in QG. Obviously, the host had sorted it out with the Maitre d’. It was a clever move as our friends were impressed enough to have booked in 2023 in QG!

On a recent w bound transatlantic on QM2, people we know who were in Britannia were invited to dine with friends in QG. They said that there was no difficulty about it.

We are huge fans of the PG and sailed several times on QM2 and QV. The PG staterooms are better on the QM2 - they are a better shape and are more spacious with a better balcony, however the Restaurant aboard QV is far better situated high in the ship with wonderful sea views. The PG staterooms on QV are however not so good - long and narrow with smaller balconies. Service in both is very personal and the food was outstanding with table side cooking and off menu ordering. The QV has extensive sun decks for the use of Grills passengers where they serve delicacies to you on your lounger all day - chilled fruit skewers, sandwiches, afternoon tea etc. Britannia on Cunard is a very enjoyable experience - PG and QG is an outstanding experience which we love. Enjoy your forthcoming trip!