Wordzz

1 hour ago, Patria21 said:

The winds in Cape Town continue to be a problem. Queen Victoria did not leave port until 7 am this morning, having (our captain on the QM2 said) made several failed attempts in the middle of the night. The passengers all had to board at 4 pm so I’m afraid the extra hours did them no good. 

Actually the immigration officials extended the timeframe, so we didn't have to be back on board QV until 6.00pm. We had a great day with glorious weather, making it all the sadder that we missed the first day in port.

We left at just after 7.00am this morning, so approx 12 hours late. We'll no doubt hear shortly whether that will impact the call to Walvis Bay.

On 3/29/2024 at 7:07 AM, roscoe39 said:

 

I thought last nights Gala evening looked really good, the ship positively sparkled and shone, at least last night there seemed to be a good uptake of the dress requirements.

 

I agree, lots of people makecthe effort on gala nights. It's been a different story on the 'smart attire' nights from what we've seen. Football shirt worn to dinner in Britannia, ditto jogging pants, flat caps, and last night a man in shorts and t-shirt in the Commodore Club....Such a shame on such a beautiful ship.

20 hours ago, ChrisMV said:

I think it’s Cunard not even trying to enforce the dress code.  The other evening on QM2, when it was Red & Gold gala night, one younger gentleman went to the theater in a t-shirt and gym pants, while many many older gentlemen had shorts and Hawaiian style vacation shirts on.  Apparently not a problem for Cunard at all, they just walked in and took some nice seats.  And this was at 8:00pm in the Royal Court Theatre on a gala evening!

The same thing is happening on the QV World voyage - zero enforcement. On a hopeful note, many passengers are unhappy about it, so perhaps all is not yet lost. 

They do upsell champagne at Afternoon Tea though.

7 hours ago, Pushpit said:

What I imagine has happened on board is that the Lido has reversed the tongs outwards, so that all food is given to passengers by the crew rather them rather than self service. So long as the serving staff have observed aseptic processes, all will be well.

That's exactly the approach being taken. No self-service, and servers all wearing gloves. Ditto for drinks. It causes a bit of queueing, and it's hard work for the crew, but otherwise it's fine. 

The biggest downside is that canapés in the Commodore Club are temporarily not being offered!  Hopefully they will return after San Francisco. 

13 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

More like than not though someone had symptoms and lied on the health declaration form to board the ship.

We weren't required to complete a health declaration when boarding in Southampton. 

4 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for the update, I hope it hasn't affected your cruise too much.

Thanks Hattie. We are having the time of our lives!

And it's now pretty much cleared up, though I think restrictions will remain until San Francisco. They started shortly after we left Fort Lauderdale.

16 hours ago, Matelot70 said:

After the transit Queen Victoria has anchored overnight in the Canal Pacific Anchorage. Below is the reason given on a Facebook page.

 

"The Captain announced a change to the itinerary. Additional hull cleaning is required to remove marine growth. After the ship has gone through the Panama Canal. Divers will work overnight while the ship is anchored. On Sunday the ship will dock at Fuerte Amador . Unfortunately Cabo San Lucas has been cancelled."

The reason given was that the scheduled hull cleaning in Fort Lauderdale couldn't take place because it was too windy there. It was very windy in FL!

We're on QV now. Thankfully haven't noticed any unpleasant smells. The ship also seems to be in very good nick as far as I can see, apart from rust on the lifeboat davits.

There is however significant vibration at the back of Britannia, upper level. We were seated on the starboard side, so don't know if it affects both sides. It was significant enough that we will ask to be moved if it doesn't improve.

Other than that, so far so very good!

18 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I hope they have Nordlys on my Norway cruise this fall. The menu looks good. Was it Nordlys every night on your cruise, or did they have other popups?

I think Nordlys ran every eve, though not 100% sure. It wasn't hugely busy when we went, so I imagine you wouldn't find it hard to get a table. Booked it on the My Voyage app, which worked fine for us. 

Again not 100% sure, because we only used Nordlys, but I'm pretty sure they also had the pan-Asian pop-up too. 

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

And over the years, I have enjoyed Coriander, La Piazza, and Riviera very much, though the helpings in all are far too large.

and we have dined occasionally in Bamboo so add that to the very enjoyable list.

And if you happen to be on a Norway cruise, we thought the Nordlys pop-up restaurant was exceptionally good.

38 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

It's North American market only

No, I'm UK based and also received it.

3 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

and yet in all our days on Cunard, we have never experienced 'hovering staff'

That's been our experience, too. Never seen staff 'hovering' on any of our 16 cruises/crossings, including our most recent one on QV in June. Indeed, like Victoria2 we have not infrequently had to actively seek out waiters/sommeliers in order to discreetly give them an envelope. We don't tip on every voyage, but have never noticed any adverse reaction if we don't. Nor, thankfully, have we ever received any obsequious gratitude if we do tip. 

We've mostly sailed on QM2. We were recently on QV and got 'lost' at some point every single day.. Mostly my fault, heading off with great confidence in completely the wrong direction... 

2 hours ago, Frank183 said:

Thanks a lot! Well, I consider this as a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but who knows..

Our first Cunard sailing, a QM2 crossing in 2012, was also a once in a lifetime trip, to celebrate a special event.

We've been on a Cunard ship every year since, sometimes more than once, and are going on a world cruise in January 2024. Just saying....

Thank you!

On 5/17/2023 at 1:55 PM, FangedRose said:

Got through! Booked!

 

But no email confirmation. Ah well. It was a bad line, and my email is rather complicated. Will wait a day or so and try to contact them again. Hopefully the other options will not be so busy.

Pleased you finally got through, FangedRose. 

Can I just ask what time the pick-up is in Carlisle? We're hoping to use Cruise Connect later this year - assuming I can contact them!

Thanks!

They also no longer publish the wine lists for the collections on the website, so you have to buy it without knowing what you're getting. Or you can buy it when you get on board, but it's more expensive. We've decided against it because of that - we'd rather see what we're buying. 

And of course, excursions have to be paid for as an extra, whereas sailing directly into/through a fjord is included in the fare.

French toast is certainly still available in Kings Court buffet - or was in February - so iId be surprised if you can't get it in the MDR.

Booked the Queen Victoria full round South America trip on 9 January 2025 - 78 nights, yikes! Still a long way away, but an exciting prospect for us, including some ports that we can't even spell. Got the cabin we wanted, so all good. Was tempted to wait with booking until we're on board in June, but in the end decided to go for it - bird in the hand and all that.

4 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Unfortunately I have to correct this statement. We were on board in September the QM2 and there were no drinks either alcohol or beverage allowed in the Royal Court Theater during our 14 day sailing.

 

There is no beverage sales like in the past during or before the shows in RCT. Also they removed all the tables in the RCT that were in front of the revolving chairs in btw the Couch Chairs. We heard them advise passengers they were not permitted.

 

We will be sailing in June and will see if this continues. Maybe someone on board now can clarify this presently.

That was certainly the case in September, but that had all changed by the time we were on QM2 again in January. The tables were back in the Theatre, and wait staff were taking drinks orders and delivering drinks to seats, at least on the lower level. 

I guess it's a fluid situation (no pun intended) and may vary depending on Covid restrictions.

You're right, Bell Boy, it was the World Cruise, though we were 'only' on board until Singapore. We're on QV in June, so it will indeed be interesting to see what happens then! 

Just a slight variation on Bell Boy's info. This past January/February (2023), UK newspaper (news recap) was provided automatically each evening with the daily programme. I saw US versions at the Purser's Desk.

We received both slippers and robes without having to ask.

We were in Britannia.