DeirdreTours

Thanks to everyone for the quick and informative responses!  Looks like we will be able to take both on.

Embarking on the Queen Victoria February 7.  My husband uses bottle water to prepare a daily nasal rinse.  I drink Fairlife milk and want to take 3 cartons on with me.  I can't find anything more recent that 2018 about taking on bottle water.  Does anyone have any recent experience on taking water or milk on board for personal use?

We have booked exclusively through travel agents and always received better pricing than was available booking direct.  I am not "loyal" to a particular agency, but instead use a site that allows one to post the ship, itinerary and cabin(s) of interest and take bid from agents for the total cost.  On the 17 day cruise coming up Feb 7, we saved 18% off the direct booking rate.  Savings this large are only possible when the agency has a room block available.   But we have always saved at least 5% and usually average about 10% off (with the value of OBC included).  Nor have we ever had any problem getting the Shareholder OBC with our bookings. 

We have received a plusgrade offer for our 17 nights SFO-AUK cruise departing February 7 on Queen Victoria.   On Cunard, all cabins show as sold out and have for the last 3 months, except for  few days right after final payment when Q was showing available.

We are currently booked in a Guarantee Balcony  BD at $2970 all in, and were offered :

Q3-4- min bid $4895

Q-5,6- min bid $4745

P1-P2- min bid  $3250

Club- min bid $1160

We are not inclined to bid as I don't see $2300 in value in Club or $6500 in P1.   We can use that sum towards a lot of specialty dining and other little luxuries instead!

I am hoping to take about a container of FairLife milk for personal use  (it is the only milk I can digest as it is lower lactose/higher protein).  We have the beverage package, so it isn't a money thing-- but are you saying that because it is in plastic milk container it would be forbidden?

We bought 100 shares each in 2009 for $27 a share.  Between the dividends and the OBC we have recouped the entire share price-- which makes it easy to be sanguine about the loss of 80% of the stock value!

We are 4* HAL but have also done 4 crossings on the QM2.  I love both, but they have different strengths.  QM2 has the best dancing at sea, with a 14 piece orchestra, a real dance floor and even gentleman dancers to make sure that every lady has a dancing partner if she wants one.   The afternoon tea is also much nicer than HALs with live music (and at least one tea dance per cruise).  QM2 also has many more activities each day that one can participate in (drawing classes, multiple different trivia competitions, drama groups, reading groups, speakers, etc) and a top notch library.  OTOH,  I think the food on HAL (especially in recent years) is better and the service is a little better.

I have never been asked if I was in the grills  (we have always booked standard balcony). 

It does bother me a tad the separate dining rooms by class, but not enough to impact my trip.  The "formal" attire isn't all that formal-- any dark jacket will do for men and women can wear anything except a tshirt. 

We did a transatlantic in 2010 with only 17 children on board (2 were officers kids). There was only one staff person, but she was absolutely amazing.  The teen section was open till 11 each night.  The two younger age groups were combined- so there was a 3-9 year  group and a 12-18 year  group.  The staff person took the younger kids on adventures around the ship-- one we saw them all dressed as pirates parading through the lido demanding snack booty (led by the staff person).  The staff person had a good bit of leeway to tailor the experience to the actual kids on the ship for example rearranging the age groups to let the 12 year hang with the teens w/ parent permission and allowing an 18 year to hang with the teens (the 12 year old and 18 year old were both ours, we also had a 6 year old in the younger group).  We were absolutely wowed by the experience.

However, around 2013 the HAL experience changed radically.   Kids just stuck in HAL room watching movies. Zero flexibility.  Insisted that we "sign" out our 11 year old in person rather than have her meet us (which meant we could not go to a show or dinner without leaving in the middle).   Very few activities. More like over cautious nannies than a fun club.  Thankfully, our children have aged out of HAL.  I used to rave to people about our kids experience in HAL, but now I warn them to not expect much more that limited hour baby sitting. 

Is it now $40 for a clamshell? My last HAL cruise was November 2016 and it was $19.99.

Why are you people badgering OP? Aren't they allowed to be disappointed? I see no reason the ship skipped this feature. Maybe if there was communication to the guests explaining why it would take out some of the sting.

 

Corporate white knighting is an unfortunate byproduct of these forums.

I agree completely! I can't understand why so many people take such pleasure in belittling the OP's disappointment.

I think many NS sleep 4. Other than that small correction, I agree with you.

 

Many people book one adult and one kid into each cabin and then switch when they get on board. But in this case, only one adult would have a key card that gets them into the NS. I don't think it's possible to go to the front desk and get cards re-coded to reflect the change in sleeping arrangements.

It may have changed since our last cruise, but we have done this on at least 6 cruises. That is, booked two rooms (typically a verandah and an inside directly across) and then, once onboard, switched occupants at the front desk so that the kids are in the inside and spouse and I are in the verandah.

We sailed on the Eurodam November 22-28. This was our 4th time onboard the Eurodam (2009 Transatlantic, 2011 Carribean, 2013 Thanksgiving). We have also sailed on several other HAL ships-- The Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam have been our favorites.

However, this cruise we were quite surprised by major changes in the food choice and quality. The MDR steak, for example, used to be a thick, flavorful cut of moderate quality-- on this cruise the cut was much different; thin and tough with a grainy texture. Choices in the Lido at dinner were much fewer than in the past (we recall the full dinner menu being available in the lido, now just a couple of main courses). And, much to my disappointment, there was no bread pudding during the entire cruise! Though they did still have the tasty raisen buns.

The other thing we noticed was that the staff wasn't very happy -- for the first time I heard crew members openly complaining about management onboard the ship.

Are these food changes system wide? If so, when were they implemented?

I am a terrible dancer, Mr. Tours is a rather good one. He dances a couple with meoo and a couple with each of our daughters. I have never noticed anything approaching a "filthy look" from anyone, at anytime, on the dance floor. On the other hand, I am not at all sure I would notice the looks of strangers.

We are taking our third family crossing in August. Our two girls, now ages 12 and 16 went across with us in 2012 and 2013. They both had a great time, though neither much cared for the children's programs offered. They went to the club once or twice to meet the other passengers their age and then mostly did activities with the kids they met or, sometimes, with us.

They both also LOVED the evening balls- putting on beautiful dresses and dancing to a live orchestra was a real treat. The older one also went to the disco.

The younger joined me for tea each day and took the improve/acting lessons with me.

Although there were less kids than some other cruises we have been on, the kids we met were interesting and from all over. My oldest daughter still keeps in touch with some of the people she met on the QM2.

I did notice that the teens did join up together in groups of a half dozen or so, but I did not see any ugly behavior or hear any complaints.

On the Queen Mary 2, the balcony cabins are slightly smaller than the balcony cabins that we have had on Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam.

We are booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam for spring break with our 10 year old, 15 year old and 22 year old. They have all sailed HAL multiple times and the younger two love it (our 22 year old son tolerates it every couple of years in the name of family bonding).

When we sailed on the Eurodam for Thanksgiving 2012 there were about 150 kids on board, my kids were not thrilled with the crowding (they prefer about 20-30 kids). My guess is that the 7 day spring break cruises will have 50-75 kids per week.

I have been on 12 HAL cruises in the last 5 years and the M&G has varied greatly from cruise to cruise. On one memorable cruise in 2011, it was a reception in the piano bar with champagne, mimosas and tray passed tidbits. The captain was in attendance along with the hotel manager and several other officers. Other cruises have been cookies and coffee in a corner of the crow's nest.

What is the advantage of an alcove when virtually everyone has a balcony?

On your balcony, none of the hoi polloi would be able to admire you in your alcove......

OVgirl, thank you for your reply.

 

If we do not have a balcony we thought we might get a cabana instead.

Hi English_In_Spain! I remember you from our transatlantic on the Noordam!

I would never make the trade you are considering here-- I am not sure cabanas cost much less than balconies (at least not from OV to Balcony) and from my POV, offer far less: Very limited hours, not able to go in your bathrobe, much farther from cabin, etc.

We rented a lido cabana on the Eurodam and would not do so again. The furnishings were fine-- a daybed type lounger for two, two chairs and a table.

The worst part was that there was a speaker on ceiling that blared music for the entire day. I complained and it was turned down a bit, but I fail to see how one could enjoy the ipod music if other music is playing in the cabana. The service was ok- nothing special. I am not fond of cheap champagne, and the fruit offerings were also available in the lido. The big plus was having a guaranteed lounger in the pool area.

Verandas, OTOH, are wonderful-- we spend far more time on the veranda than we would ever spend in the cabana. So, if you have a veranda, I would not spring for the cabana.