teabear

On 8/11/2023 at 5:45 PM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Welcome to cruising and to Cunard! A TA on QM2 is a wonderful experience (and purists here will tell you it's a "crossing," not a cruise). There will be plenty to do, both during the day and in the evening. Cunard attracts many solos, so you won't feel like you're the only one traveling alone. 

 

Large tables are usually 6 or 8. I think 10 is too large, and conversations get fragmented. My travel agent usually requests 6, but I've been put at an 8 anyway, so ask for either 6 or 8 and Cunard will take it as an indication that you want to sit with others. On two of my last four voyages on Cunard, I've been at tables where we were all single and probably within a 10-year age range. On the other two, the table was a mix of couples and solos. 

 

It's true that late seating allows you to eat more at tea, but I prefer early. I don't sleep well if I eat late, so that's best for me. And despite having early dining, I can still do justice to a cucumber sandwich and a scone. 

I usually travel solo and usually PG, the MD always asks (sometimes even phones before the first night dinner service) if I wish to join a mixed table - if in a Britannia balcony, I ask for a table for 6 - then once onboard toddle down to find the restaurant manager, make sure he/she knows I am solo and would appreciate joining a mixed table - have met some really interesting people this way and some are now long term "cruise" friends

On 8/30/2023 at 12:00 PM, windsurferfirst said:

We have jumped ship from Princess to Cunard. Reading your review is making me wonder if we have done the right thing. We sail on QE on 18th September and I am now very nervous.

Let yourselves love it, its so easy to whinge (my second favourite UK expression) about anything and everything, if you like to dress for dinner, do so, lots of people dont, thats fine too - its one of the few times I wear a dress so its part of the fun of going Cunard - practicing walking in heels so I am ready for my Sept 18th departure - the riding boots are staying home

PS: just got my Venetian mask delivered - will have to practice walking in that too - so cool

On 6/1/2023 at 3:33 PM, neeuqdrazil said:

I've done 3 solo TAs, all in 'regular' cabins (1 obstructed balcony, 1 sheltered balcony, 1 oceanview), and all three have been delightful. 

 

I've never managed to book a solo cabin - your best bet seems to be to book as soon as the dates are released (which generally means booking between 12-18 months in advance). I do occasionally see them available on random crossings when I'm daydream-booking (but usually the Deck 2 'standard' KB layout instead of the Deck 3 long KC layout), so if you're flexible with your dates, you may be able to book one for a crossing sooner than otherwise. 

 

However, do check the prices for the solo cabins vs. the price with supplement for non-solo cabins. I have not infrequently seen 'regular' oceanview cabins for less $ than the solo cabins. 

Thats been my experience as well on my now 18 Cunard cruises - never actually booked a solo as most of the time booking a regular cabin at the single price is either cheaper or the difference so slight it makes having the full size cabin worth it

Thank you - thats very helpful - we are on P&O arranged flights so should be good to go off and wander about 

We are coming off Azura with a flight later in the evening.  Not interested in sitting on a bus so wanted to know if there is somewhere to leave our luggage so we can go explore Valetta?  How have other people sorted this?  Thank you

On 9/6/2021 at 8:50 AM, emmas gran said:

teabear obviously made a slight mistake with back and front!!

The only time I am sure which end is which is on a horse - several clues there help me.  Have pity for my poor driving instructor, went a bit pale when he saw I had written left and right on the back of my hands - so to clarify - Tuscan is at the rounded end not the pointy one

On 8/29/2021 at 12:01 PM, travelsoftwo said:

Hi all - I have a question for folk who have been on this cruise already. My mother in law has just returned from her cruise and complained that, as a single female traveller, she found it very hard to get served at the bars. She thought that male guests were served in precedence to her and I was curious if anyone else had this experience. It doesn't seem to fit with expectations of Celebrity (or any cruise line really). My sister was hoping to book onto the same cruise in a few week's time but she's concerned about the service, as she would also be a single female traveller. I'd appreciate any feedback about service on the ship, particularly for women travelling on their own. It just doesn't seem right to me but I obviously wasn't there! Thanks all.

Just returned from last weeks Silhouette - have now been cruising solo for a few years since my husband passed and at first I was very anxious but have never had a bad experience and last week was no exception - in fact, I would say the opposite  happened - crew including bar staff were right there offering service as soon as I turned up anywhere - they couldnt have been more welcoming and do enough to make sure I was enjoying my experience.   I was seated at excellent tables in each of the restaurants = right in the window overlooking the bow in Tuscan Grille - amazing to have a lovely meal watching us leaving  Southampton and a lovely sunset - tell them both to pack pretty things and a warm jacket just in case and go for it - worth every cent

49 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

Just read on social media that the Captain's Club host is in isolation, wonder how many crew are affected?

Where did you see this?  Not finding it on the usual Fesses de bouc pages

15 hours ago, dippyblond said:

I boarded last Monday (9th) and it could not have been better organised.

From the moment we arrived (self drive) to testing and parking all extremely quick and efficient.

We were on board just a few minutes after 2pm.

 

And to add - this was my first cruise - other than poor wifi (not that much of an issue me me) and lack of music from the in room entertainment - could not fault a thing - loved it!

However, not sure what it would be like with double the amount of people on board??

From this report,  I guess things went downhill = took over 2.5 hours to get on board - sat in Park and Ride way past embarkation time and then waiting in line for test, waited again for results (never did get the promised email) and then over to the port,  leave the car to drop the luggage, back in the car and around and about to the lineup to leave the car, CPS fiddling about with their devices which were all apparently running out of battery?? and then finally, through the terminal, on the shuttle and onto a lovely ship, great outdoor spaces, horrendous constant, unrelenting and sometimes overly loud music - everywhere - met dozens of people trying to find somewhere other than their cabin to get away from it!!! 

Wristband which you need to get into your cabin didnt work, kept having to go find someone to let me in, eventually after 3 trips to Sailor Services, was issued a normal keycard.  Wifi horrendous especially since you need to use the app for everything including ordering breakfast, by day 2 saw lots of paper menus appearing.   The ship is interesting and colourful and I would say the best use of outdoor space from all the 12 others I have been on, and given she is built for short fun cruises from Miami, should be great at that , sailing in European waters not so much.   

25 minutes ago, Exvirginstaff said:

In total from arriving at the port until we got on the ship we waited 6 hours!! Complained onboard and was told they aim for 'rockstar service in everything we do because that's the Virgin way' (the crew member's excited words), well yesterday was NOT 'rockstar service' and was definitely not the 'Virgin way', other UK Virgin companies (Virgin Atlantic) have spent years perfecting the Virgin Way in everything they do and Virgin Voyages come along and don't even deliver the Virgin Way on the first day of there maiden Voyage.

I have a friend on board and she called me yesterday to tell me about the complete mess they had made off the testing/embarkation setup - I am on Monday's cruise and although I dont normally have mobility issues,  my rebuilt pelvis (horse went east, I went west) will never allow me to stand in lines for hours.  Called Virgin Customer Care = spoke to a lovely man in the US who couldnt apologise enough and assured me that they were flat out fixing things as we speak so that this doesnt occur again - he did mention that they were concerned that lots of people would try turning up way too early than the 1 hour prior to their boarding slot and if that happens, they will be asked to leave and return at the correct time.   Not sure the roads around the testing site can cope with large numbers parking and waiting??  I offered to go get at test prior to arriving at the port,  at my own cost, he stated that there was no protocol for this at this time - read into this as you will.   

Hope the rest goes well for you and you end up having a rockstar experience

19 hours ago, Alan2504 said:

UK Travellers check the batch no. of the vaccine AZ

 

"Malta has banned entry to UK travellers who took three particular batches of the Covid-19 vaccine. 

 

In a travel advisory by the UK's foreign office, travellers were warned that those who were administered the Astrazeneca vaccine with batch numbers: 4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003 will be denied entry. 

 

All three batches are of the vaccine manufactured in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and known as Covishield."

 

source: Malta Times

 

Just had a call from Viking Guest services - yes, its Saturday but they are calling all UK guests to double check the batch numbers if they were given AZ.  So very very impressed with the dedication to making sure their guests were compliant in all their paperwork and all the changes that have been happening - fingers and toes crossed that I have all the bits in place and good to go - never can I remember being so nervous about travelling in my entire life 

3 hours ago, les37b said:

What a mess! everything is so confusing, fluid and changing by the minute.

 

So... Today, I hear that the UK is about to remove quarantine restrictions for arrivals for people who've visited amber. 

 

So with the great deal I'd been offered for the 24 July, I was about to pull the trigger this morning.

 

But I think its all gone belly up and will now have to let it pass. Even if that change is made, when I arrive to board Scarlet Lady, I will be asked if I have visited an amber country in the past 10 days. I will have by 1 day! 

 

So the call from Viking I was awaiting, I had to break this news.

 

Then within 5 minutes of getting off the phone, a friend text me that Croatia is about to become a green list country.

 

if that happens, I hope I can still get this booking done.

 

Talk about a roller coaster of uncertainties!

Have you looked at getting on the July 14th sailing - its not on the website however if you call the wonderful people at the Guest Services bookings sections, miracles is what they do as normal.  That gets you back on July 24th - if the 10 days silliness is still in play, you will be clear by the 4th and able to do your Scarlet Lady adventure - thats my scenario as well - getting really excited to be going inspite of the massive number of calls, emails, forms to fill in, tests to arrange, etc etc etc - I organize entire international annual meetings of stockholders with less fuss.

On 6/23/2021 at 3:45 PM, Cybercsp said:

Can someone tell me what the wine pairing charge is if you do not have the Silver Spirits package?

 

On my recent VVenus cruise it was $25 - not much of a drinker however it was well worth the extra - the sommelier discussed each selection and the reason for its choice with that course and I must say some I would never have thought off - a sherry with the starter - it worked really well and added to the entire experience - after all the courses and no, I didnt finish any of the glasses - even so I was relieved not to be wearing my serious high heels or maybe it was a bumpy sea!!

On 5/13/2021 at 1:12 PM, London-Calling said:

 

Former Cruise &Maritime Voyages (CMV) bosses have reunited to launch Ambassador Cruise Line, a UK-based operator aimed at the over 50s market which plans to start sailing with one ship in April 2022. Ambassador’s management team includes chief executive Christian Verhounig, chief commercial officer Christopher Coates, chief information officer Gary Hides and chief financial officer Simon Weeks, who have all previously worked together at CMV before the line went into administration.

 

Ambassador will operate cruises on, formerly known as Pacific Dawn, P&O's Australia ship, which was set to become CMV’s flagship under the name Amy Johnson. The 1,400-passenger ship’ maiden voyage will be a “short-break cruise” out of Tilbury to Hamburg, Germany, starting on April 6 next year.

 

The ship’s debut full-year programme, running from April 2022 until May 2023, will include 33 sailings, calling at 88 ports across the Baltics, Greenland, the Arctic and Iceland.

 

(Images P&O Australia/CMV, Text: TrvaleWeekly)

Is there a way to change the name of this or start an Ambassador one?

16 hours ago, Britboys said:

Ambassador opened bookings today. Very reasonable prices. I booked a short Christmas Markets cruise for next year.

Me too and the gala dinner/show the night before - did this several times on Magellan and enjoyed it and having the ship pretty much to myself the next day prior to everyone boarding for the cruise

20 hours ago, Spike11 said:

Thanks - and when was it due to take place please?

July 1st at 17:00 - 18:00

3 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

Yes it is - can I ask when was the test booked for please and did they give you much notice?

I booked it online on Sunday - and it was cancelled Wednesday which is when I went ballistic on Celebrity

On 6/23/2021 at 4:22 PM, Spike11 said:

We have now booked a test at the airport for 15th July. I would be grateful for any feedback on how it goes on the 1st. After all the problems with Eurofins we have decided to book our own test and I have to say that the booking process was 100% better than the celebrity/ Eurofins system which by comparison appears to be quite amateurish and cobbled together at the last minute.

Is that at Southampton Airport - I had a test booked there and it was cancelled due to no staff available????

On 6/23/2021 at 12:20 PM, royallondon said:

With the 48 hour “cruise with confidence” guarantee, would it have been possible to obtain a 100% cruise credit and then apply it to the August cruise?  
 

Regards

The final human being who sounded English and actually rebooked me made a big thing of how they were not charging me any change or rebooking fees so yes, I think I could have had a cruise credit but how much I wouldnt wish to guess

17 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

Eurofins are still directing calls to ROL reader offers - bizzare. So Celebrity says the PCR booking problems are nothing to do with them( even though they set the system up for us to use) and to contact Eurofins. When you contact Eurofins, they say it is nothing to do with them and give a number that they say is celebrity but which is in fact ROL Reader Offers who not surprisingly can’t help either. I feel I only have two options - unless I want to spend the rest of my life in this parallel PCR test universe that Celebrity have created. Either I cancel ( though I suspect they won’t let you have your money back) or make my own arrangements for PCR testing and hope we get the results in time. However, the big question still remains unanswered  i.e. why are vaccinated adults being made to get a PRC test  when non vaccinated under 18s only have to have an antigen test at the port ( which would be much more convenient).

All this complete and utter nonsense with testing requirements and useless testing providers (I had managed after pretty much 8 hours of trying over 3 days to get an appointment with Eurofins that I could actually get too, given up on them and arranged a booking at Southampton airport which meant me having to travel down 2 days earlier than usual and having that cancelled) has made me get in touch with Celebrity and demand they allow me to change my July 3rd booking to August -  I insisted on speaking to a manager - got their name etc and pointed out - maybe a bit stridently - that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (as amended) takes precedence over their T's and C's and requires anyone trading in England to set such terms within the fairness (s62) and transparency (s68) (bleated on about other legal stuff such as the "last shot doctrine" - wont bore you further) and that Celebrity had singularly failed in this regard .  Got transferred to a more senior guy in the States - he was less than happy but after me rabbiting on about reputational harm and encouraging aggrieved passengers to take action - agreed to switch me over without any penalties etc - transferred me back to the UK (I think) and all done and dusted.   Not sure if this will help anyone else stuck in the testing maelstrom, its possible they just did this to get rid of me!

12 minutes ago, silkworms said:

Just had email from P and O to say that October 9th 2021 on
Arcadia is cancelled.

Me too, my Oct Azura to Barbados gone - my FCC pile now just plain silly

1 hour ago, tim2go said:

Just something I saw someone say in an earlier post.

I assume a visiting vessel has to declare when they intend to depart. If they don't know this then I guess they just give a time and date in order to hold their place. Many vessels in the port have 31/12/21 at 2359 down on the list which obviously doesn't seem realistic.

I've been keeping an eye on Azura and this is the first time I've seen her departure date brought forward to a more realistic sounding time.

What I'd like to see now is her destination set to Ferol, where her original dry dock was scheduled and then onto Malta in time for my cruise in September.

I'm determined to stay optimistic!

 

I'd like to point out though that this is all guesswork, supposition and wishful thinking on my part and not based on any actual knowledge.

Not sure why they would be doing anything with her - just had an email from P&O cancelling my Oct Transatlantic on her - ah ha - thats why she is being moved - with this latest FCC to add to the pile I already have, I own the ship!! so they are getting her ready to bring round my house

3 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

We love the Chef’s Table!  My BF is a picky eater and on our first cruise I was hesitant to even book a table.  Well, he loved it, ate everything that was served, and we had a great time!  It’s such a fun and unique experience.  We’ve tried 7 menus over 3 cruises and enjoyed them all.  At Manfredi’s we’ve learned to order half portions of the entrees or it’s just too much food.  
 

I was surprised to find that my allergy information was loaded into my profile after the first cruise.  At the Restaurant, the waiter checked his device and said, “I see you’re allergic to strawberries, we’ll make sure you don’t get any!”  I was impressed.  You can also pre-order your meals if you have specific medical requirements.  I think Viking does an exceptional job in this area.  
 

Looking forward to our next cruise!

I think you have set out the idea of the Chefs Table here - its not just a meal but an experience and each time one visits, its a new experience - so looking forward to doing it again.

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

DW has a number of allergies and never had a problem getting alternatives. The waiters and galley crew were brilliant.

Just returned from my first Viking cruise on Venus around the UK - absolutely great and they were so on top of my food allergies - every day the Restaurant menu was delivered with details of the days offerings so I could make sure I was not served anything of concern and both Chef's Table and Manfredi's also checked in prior to my reservation.  Both were really good - the British menu in the Chefs Table was excellent - point to note - pretty normal eater but I only had half the first two courses as I was filling up and didnt want to miss the remaining two - plus the wine selections were different and really worked  - hope you try this its worth it.

3 minutes ago, Spike11 said:

I think they’ve stopped doing these - possibly because of the delay to opening up international travel. If you try and book a slot there aren’t any available as far as I can see.

Thats strange - just booked myself in for July 1st at 17:00-18:00???????