bluemarble

Interesting discussion about whether total spend should factor into the Cunard World Club reward system. There was one question on the survey asking our opinion about that topic, so that's at least on Cunard's radar. "The more I spend/shop, the more I should be rewarded [Strongly agree] [Somewhat agree] [Neither agree or disagree] [Somewhat disagree] [Strongly disagree]"

Sounds like there might be different issues being encountered with the survey. Here is where I got stuck. I see now I was actually at 76% complete at this point. The buttons for the "Z" and "M" responses on this page were not active on my Windows desktop PC. Clicking on those buttons did nothing so I was unable to proceed to answer the question and move forward with the survey. When I switched to my phone to resume the survey there, those buttons were active so I could answer the question and move on to complete the survey.

QE's been looking good on several of the webcams on the cabovillas.com website. Here's a capture from one of their webcams.

For those who didn't receive the survey or might be interested in a recap of the Cunard World Club benefits we were asked to rate, here is a transcription from my copy of the survey. Some of these are existing benefits while others are suggestions for new benefits. Existing Benefits Priority boarding Internet credit redeemable against one of our onboard WiFi plans A complimentary meal at one of the ships alternative dining venues (those you pay for/not included in fare) Complimentary wine tasting Exclusive Cocktail Party - enjoy drinks and hors d'oeuvres in one of the ships elegant venues with likeminded travelers Drinks & canapes reception before dinner with senior officers 10% saving on luggage service (transports your luggage directly to/from home to ship) 20% off specialist Laundry fees e.g. dry cleaning and pressing Early bird savings on cost of future cruise e.g. 5% discount for the first 8-12 weeks of new cruises going on sale. Exclusive membership pin to show your loyalty tier Possible New Benefits Discount on stateroom (cabin) upgrades when booking Free credit (US$) to spend on board 10% discount on your onboard spend 10% discount on shore excursions Discounts on alternative dining venues/room service i.e. those you pay for/not included in the fare Discount on spa treatments/products A complimentary taster treatment in the spa e.g. hand massage, head massage, 15-20 minute facial Complimentary one day pass to Spa facilities (thermal suite, sauna, steam room) Loyalty members exclusive lounge area Priority table seating, pre booking window for open dining (choose where your table is / prime location tables) Your choice of welcome gift in your stateroom (cabin) e.g. fresh fruit, flowers, chocolate, canapes, cakes, etc. A bottle of your choice e.g. wine, champagne, soft drink, in your stateroom (cabin) on the day you embark Free branded gift, e.g. collectibles, art print, professional photo of location on cruise, branded merchandise Exclusive shore excursions bookable by loyalty members only Early access booking window for shore excursions/spa/dining etc. Food & beverage experiences e.g. tastings, classes, cocktail masterclasses, champagne, afternoon tea Exclusive dining invitations e.g. Meet the Chef, Top sailor dinner with captain or senior officers Elevated embarkation e.g. hot beverage/soft drink and snacks in terminal before you board Lounge access at airports for fly-cruise Free tickets to events between cruises e.g. Theatre, Chelsea Flower Show, MOMA, special performances, guided tours Discounts with cruise line partners e.g. hotels, theatre Retailer discounts on travel insurance / travel related products & services

My US survey stated the prize is a $500 Amazon voucher.

There was this one item which might be related within the question "Before today, which of the following rewards and benefits from the Cunard World Club loyalty program are you aware of and which have you used?" "Dedicated loyalty area online (exclusive to members)" I had to answer "Not aware of" since as far as I know, there is no such facility for guests in North America. I have to say I was puzzled by that one.

Same thing happened to me on my desktop PC. Couldn't get past that 73% mark in either Chrome or Edge from my PC. There weren't any active links on the page to answer the question and continue the survey. I decided to try it from my phone. I was able to pick up where I left off by bringing up the email and tapping the survey link from that email on my phone. I was able to complete the survey starting at that 73% mark using Chrome on my Android phone. Hope that helps others with the same (or similar) problem.

The new 2025 schedules are now back up on the resource I found. That resource only lists new 2025 itineraries for QA, QM2 and QV. Nothing there for QE yet. That's not unusual since in the past when the main announcements were made during September, QE Alaska itineraries were not included then. The new QE Alaska itineraries weren't announced until sometime later (anywhere from October to December). Last year when the main announcements for 2024 weren't made until late November 2022, the announcement for QE wasn't made until early March 2023, along with the early 2025 world/exotic schedules for the other ships.

We were on board QM2 over Halloween quite a few years ago (2015). We saw a few guests who went all out with Halloween costumes but not many. In our case, it wasn't a formal night. Most guests dressed according to what was called the informal dress code back then (jacket required, tie optional for gentlemen). In your case with it being a gala evening with the masquerade theme, some guests might add a few extra flourishes to their masquerade masks, but I wouldn't expect too many dressed in full Halloween costumes. Now of course that could have changed recently, so perhaps others can chime in with more recent experiences concerning attire they've seen or worn Halloween evening on board Cunard ships. As far as Halloween-related activities, my daily programme from 2015 indicates there was a "Halloween Party Night with Vibz" in the Queens Room that evening. There was a late evening "Halloween Quiz" in the Golden Lion and a "Halloween Raffle Draw" in the Casino. The bars were promoting Halloween-themed drinks (The Commodore's Eyeball in the Commodore Club and Bloody Marys in all the bars). That was about it. The ship should be decorated with Halloween displays. Here are a couple photos from our 2015 voyage on Queen Mary 2.

I'm not sure of all the ramifications if I attempted to book using a UK site. It looks like the Cunard UK website will accept a US address on the guest information page. It's unlikely to accept a US Cunard World Club number though. The FAQ on the Cunard UK site indicates "if a guest lives overseas and does not have a UK address, this must be booked through the international team." If I were allowed to make a UK booking, then I would be bound to the UK booking terms and conditions which include a non-refundable deposit and the requirement to obtain medical cover of at least £2 million. I'll stick with booking under the US terms and conditions.

It's good to see those of you in the UK are getting some Cunard promotions like this. Since I'm from the US, I don't follow UK offers all that closely, but they seem to be few and far between compared to the frequent promotions we get in the US. For instance in the US we currently have "Summer Savings Event" and "Labor Day Sale" promotions going on in addition to the ubiquitous "Sailing Soon Savings" and "Grills Suite Offer" promotions. By the way, I did a spot check of one of the 2024 voyages from the "10% off 2024 voyages" promotion and the UK fares I'm seeing are considerably better than what's offered for that voyage on any of the current US promotions. And that's not even factoring in the OBC that's being offered with the "Extra spend on board" promotion which looks like it's included with the "10% off 2024 voyages" promotion. I'm a bit envious. It's often the other way around.

The cruise schedule on the website for the Port Authority of New South Wales lists Queen Mary 2 in Sydney on March 4-5, 2026. Sometimes entries that far out don't actually end up on the ship's itinerary though. I suppose those might be reservations rather than confirmed port assignments. There aren't many websites I know of that list 2026 schedules for Cunard ships. One of them is the site for Victorian Ports Melbourne. That site shows a couple entries in 2026 for Queen Elizabeth and Queen Anne, but not for Queen Mary 2. Those entries for Sydney give the impression Cunard might be considering a 2026 world cruise for Queen Mary 2. But I'd like to find other sites that list Queen Mary 2 for 2026 to be more confident about that possibility. Maybe some of our other sleuths on this forum have found other 2026 listings for Queen Mary 2.

Here's a link to a Cunard press release about Mr. Brainwash's mural unveiled yesterday on QE while in Los Angeles. It includes a small photo showing a portion of the work. Making waves in the arts: Cunard partners with pop art phenomenon Mr. Brainwash for unique Queen Elizabeth mural

Time to update these counts to add what looks like the count is going to be for 2025. I also need to amend my previous counts since Cunard has announced on their Event Voyages page that the August 23–30, 2024 eastbound crossing will be “Queen Mary 2’s 400th Transatlantic Crossing”. My previous counts are one too high. I had figured the August 16-23, 2024 westbound crossing would be QM2’s 400th crossing. My counts are correct through what Cunard promoted as the 300th crossing. That was the June 3-10, 2018 westbound crossing. Looking for a subsequent crossing which I’ve counted but Cunard is not counting, there is one prime suspect. That’s the return to Southampton after the 2021-22 Christmas Caribbean cruise was curtailed because of a Covid outbreak. Instead of returning to New York for the scheduled eastbound crossing on January 3, 2022, QM2 spent several days in Barbados before returning to Southampton from there on January 2, 2022. I’ve been counting that return from Barbados in my 2022 crossing counts, but I now suspect Cunard is excluding that unscheduled voyage from their crossing counts. In any event, to get my counts back in sync with Cunard’s counts, I’ll reduce the total number of crossings for 2022 from 26 to 25. One footnote on the count for 2025 I’m adding here. I’m assuming the roundtrip Caribbean cruise from Southampton scheduled for January 11 to February 15, 2025 is going to count as two crossings (i.e. a westbound crossing to Grenada and an eastbound crossing from Philipsburg). I figure Cunard counted a similar Caribbean cruise from Southampton in early 2022 as two crossings. QM2 Crossings Per Year 2004 = 15 2005 = 26 2006 = 20 2007 = 23 2008 = 24 2009 = 23 2010 = 21 2011 = 21 2012 = 20 2013 = 18 2014 = 18 2015 = 22 2016 = 21 2017 = 24 2018 = 24 2019 = 24 2020 = 1 2021 = 1 2022 = 25 2023 = 16 2024 = 20 2025 = 24 Total QM2 crossings through 2025 = 431.

We might consider the somewhat shorter New York round trip October 31-November 26 (26 nights). I'd say at least the eastbound crossing October 31-November 7 is going to be a done deal for us. Our very first Cunard voyage was an eastbound crossing November 1-7, 2005 (back when QM2 crossings were 6 nights). Before dinner on the final formal evening of that crossing (November 5, 2005), I proposed to the future Mrs. Bluemarble. November 5, 2025 should also be the final gala evening of that eastbound crossing exactly 20 years later. We certainly "remember, remember the 5th of November" for that memorable evening on QM2 in 2005. We managed to be on board QM2 to celebrate the fifth and tenth anniversaries of that date in 2010 and 2015. For obvious reasons we weren't able to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of that date on board QM2 in 2020.

Based on what I've found for QM2 2025 (with agreement from @SummmerInKefalonia), it looks like your options for Southampton->New York->Southampton during May and June 2025 will be as follows. May 16-May 30, 2025 Jun 6-Jun 20, 2025

I'll help with the new 2025 itineraries for QM2. I happened to stumble upon them on a travel agent website where they were posted in the clear for a short time this afternoon. Please check my work, @SummmerInKefalonia. I have begun the listing with the last QM2 voyage already announced (the Apr 27-May 4 westbound crossing). The new 2025 itineraries pick up with an eastbound crossing departing May 5. Perhaps there is an overnight planned in New York for the evening of May 4-5. Queen Mary 2 Apr 27-May 4 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York May 5-May 12 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton May 12-May 16 (4 Nights): Southampton, Hamburg, Southampton May 16-May 23 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York May 23-May 30 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton May 30-Jun 6 (7 Nights): Southampton, Bergen, Alesund, Andalsnes, Zeebrugge, Southampton Jun 6-Jun 13 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Jun 13-Jun 20 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Jun 20-Jun 24 (4 Nights): Southampton, Rotterdam (overnight), Southampton Jun 24-Jul 1 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Jul 1-Jul 8 (7 Nights): New York, Newport, Boston (overnight), Halifax, New York Jul 8-Jul 15 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Jul 15-Jul 18 (3 Nights): Southampton, Zeebrugge, Southampton Jul 18-Jul 25 (7 Nights): Southampton, Stavanger, Alesund, Skjolden, Hardangerfjord, Southampton Jul 25-Aug 8 (14 Nights): Southampton, Stavanger, Olden, Skjolden, Isafjordur, Reykjavik, Halifax, New York Aug 8-Aug 15 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Aug 15-Aug 17 (2 Nights): Southampton, Hamburg Aug 17-Aug 25 (8 Nights): Hamburg (overnight), Andalsnes, Alesund, Olden, Bergen, Hamburg Aug 25-Aug 27 (2 Nights): Hamburg, Southampton Aug 27-Sep 3 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Sep 3-Sep 10 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Sep 10-Sep 14 (4 Nights): Southampton, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Southampton Sep 14-Sep 26 (12 Nights): Southampton, Ringaskiddy, Liverpool (overnight), Oban, Invergordon, South Queensferry, Southampton Sep 26-Oct 3 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Oct 3-Oct 17 (14 Nights): New York, Newport, Halifax, Sept-Iles, Saguenay, Quebec (overnight), Corner Brook, Sydney, New York Oct 17-Oct 24 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Oct 24-Oct 31 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Oct 31-Nov 7 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Nov 7-Nov 17 (10 Nights): Southampton, Trondheim, Tromso (overnight), Alesund, Hamburg Nov 17-Nov 19 (2 Nights): Hamburg, Southampton Nov 19-Nov 26 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Nov 26-Dec 8 (12 Nights): New York, Philipsburg, Roseau, Bridgetown, Castries, Basseterre, New York Dec 8-Dec 15 (7 Nights): New York, Southampton Dec 15-Dec 22 (7 Nights): Southampton, New York Dec 22-Jan 3 (12 Nights): New York, St Thomas, Basseterre, English Harbour, Philipsburg, Road Town, New York Jan 3-Jan 11 (8 Nights): New York, Southampton

As long as we are looking ahead to 2026, I see QA is also on the Port Authority of New South Wales schedule for Sydney on March 16-17, 2026. Two more possible dates reserved for her 2026 World Cruise. Also plenty of evidence on that site indicating the plan is for QE to once again be in Australia during late 2025/early 2026. Last date reserved for QE in Sydney on that schedule is March 9, 2026.

If you are booking directly on the Cunard website from the US, you enter your Cunard World Club number near the bottom of the Guest information page during checkout. Before the site was redesigned some years ago, you would enter your Cunard World Club number near the beginning of the booking process. Now it's toward the end of the process. It's still before you provide your payment method and submit your payment though. So if you have any future cruise credit to use or might be entitled to a past passenger discount on the fare you're booking, there is still time for that to be taken into account before you are quoted the final total amount for your booking.

Here's the view a short time ago, once again as seen on the webcam hosted by the Mersea Restaurant on Treasure Island, as the sun was coming up to show QE along with some of the famous San Francisco skyline.

I know the sites of which you speak. Yes, those sites are completely unreliable. For whatever reason they post links to future itineraries which are utter nonsense rehashing itineraries from prior years. There's one of those I'm looking at now that's listing Cunard itineraries for 2027. When @SummmerInKefalonia or I have posted previews of future itineraries prior to their official announcement by Cunard in previous years, we've done due diligence to make sure what we post is as reliable as possible. I have no reason to believe what @SummmerInKefalonia has found this year is any different.

Excellent! Go ahead and post what you've found. I appreciate the hints you provided last year about how you find them. That's actually a strategy I've been trying unsuccessfully since 2023 without success until very close to the official announcement date. How I wish we could discuss specific travel agents at a time like this. Any further hints you can provide without breaking board rules would be appreciated. The only way I've managed to find the schedules ahead of time in the past is when a site posts the schedules in the clear so to speak and I happen to stumble upon them before they figure out they are suppose to keep them hidden until the official announcement date. So far I've come up empty this year.

That, plus she was presumably a non-revenue passenger for Cunard while on Carpathia. I wonder if non-revenue voyages count toward Cunard World Club status (such as comped travel agent cruises). I don't know for sure, but I would guess not.

You aren't technically a member of the Cunard World Club until you have completed your first Cunard voyage. You may certainly ask about it once you have booked your crossing for 2025, but I suspect you might have to wait to pursue your retroactive request for credit until completion of that first voyage in 2025. It won't make any difference who the lead passenger is on the booking for that first voyage. You will each have separate Cunard World Club accounts with separate account numbers. Since only your wife actually sailed on Queen Mary in 1963, it would be best to only request a retroactive voyage credit for her. Cunard would probably only apply a voyage credit to your wife's Cunard World Club account and you would be one voyage behind her for your Cunard World Club status (she would be Gold status having credit for two voyages while you would be Silver status for one voyage).

We don't have any children to register, so I can't help with how well that functionality is working at the moment. But I can help with this part of your post just in case it helps any. It's not easy to find in My Cunard, but the "Register your child" link is found under "Before you sail", "Life on board", "Children's Clubs". It's the last item at the bottom of the "Life on board" page in My Cunard. Now I'm not really expecting that "Register your child" link within My Cunard to work any differently than the one from your email. It may not be any different at all. But at least it's something else to look into in case that does happen to work better for you.