Maple_Girl

This is all great information. We are leaving for NYC on Monday, spending the night in town, then boarding on Tuesday. :)

Question #12:

Where is the best place to get my dollars converted into pounds? My bank does not do it. We will be in NYC for a day before we embark. We'll be spending a few day in London so I'd like to have some pounds on hand for small purchases and tips.

Thanks everyone!!!

Hello,

The Husband and I will be boarding the QM2 on Monday for the first time. I'm super excited! I have a few last minute questions....

1. Are there telescopes on deck at night? I thought I read about that somewhere.

2. Has anyone ever seen the aurora on a winter crossing?

3. Who are the narrators for the planetarium shows? I thought I heard that James May was one. Does anyone know if this is true?

4. How formal are the semi-formal nights? I have some lovely gowns for the formal evenings but I'm worried that my normal work dresses will not be nice enough for the 4 semi-formal nights. Is there a page with pictures of what people wear to dinner?

5. I read about using a porter to help expedite disembarkation in NY. Is this a good tip for Southampton as well?

6. Does anyone know what films they are currently showing?

7. Does the cabin come with shampoo/condition? Is there laundry soap in the launderettes? I'd rather not bring my own if possible.

8. How does everyone pack their suits, tuxedos and gowns in their suitcases without them becoming super wrinkled?

9. How does one dance with one of the dance hosts?

10. Is Captain Oprey still the captain of the QM2?

11. Are there any other super cool things we should be on the lookout for?

Any news on this?

Prayers.

I tend to like a little magic in my reading. I very much enjoyed Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (both the novel and the miniseries) and the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch. I believe the first one is The Rivers of London or Midnight Riot. I also enjoyed London (or Londonium) by Edward Rutherfurd but found it to be a little dry and very long.

Hellllooo!

 

I recently took my first ever Cunard cruise and the dress code was a massive shock (I'm used to freestyle dining)

 

To be honest I found the dress code to be a bit of a pain... I had no idea that they'd be ship wide dress codes or that the informal nights would still be more formal than I'd ever dress in my normal life!

 

Anyway I wrote a post about what to wear and included photos of what I wore. If you check it out here then I won't have to annoy everybody by typing it out again haha :) http://cruisingisntjustforoldpeople.co.uk/2016/11/08/cunard-dress-code-what-to-wear/

 

 

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Hi Emma,

I just read your Cunard blogs. As a fellow younger cruiser (although not quite a young as you) I appreciated your perspective. Thanks for writing!

Thanks for the replies everyone! Our anniversary is 1/7/17. I cannot believe how fast 10 years has gone!

Love the idea of listening to some jazz and getting a drink in the chart room. Not sure about the Veranda. I'll check with Jason and see what he thinks. I'm not a fan of frogs legs, duck, foie gras or caviar. Dinner at Coriander might be an option if the dates line up. I love Indian food. Champagne breakfast in our cabin sounds like a wonderful idea! I think I'll set that up. Love the idea of bringing our own champagne for the mimosas. I might get us a couple of spa passes for the day. Keep the ideas coming! Thanks again!!

(oh, and thanks to the poster who linked the 100 things to do PDF. I forwarded that to Jason and he was quite impressed... I think he's already planning his strategy for how to dominate at the table tennis tournament!)

Any ideas on things we can do while on the QM2 to celebrate our 10th anniversary? Things I'm thinking about:

spa treatment, breakfast in bed, or dinner at the Verandah. Our anniversary falls on an informal night. This is our first crossing and our first adventure on Cunard.

Thanks!!

Am I allowed to bring my hair straightener on board the QM2? What about a travel sized clothes steamer?

I will be on that crossing and I am not overly excited about the speakers. I don't read the NYT so I am not familiar with any of the speakers. I was hoping for someone I knew or people to speak about exploration, entertainment, pop culture, or food. Instead I am seeing speakers that specialize in politics, healthcare, and personal finance. Worthwhile topics, but not my cup of tea.

Thanks everyone!! Something Rotten and School of Rock are definitely on my list. The Magic Flute would be lovely! Funny that someone should mention The Mousetrap. I was just talking about that play today.

Random question: Does anyone know how I could see if anyone in London is performing one of the plays based on Terry Pratchett's books?

Thanks OP for the offer of assistance!! DH and I will be in NYC for 1 night on 1/2 and I'd like to see a show. It doesn't have to be on B'way... off or off/off would be cool. We like musicals. DH prefers things with happy endings. We've seen a some of the big hits on Broadway over the years -

Phantom, Cats, Titanic, Grease, Miss Saigon, Ragtime, Cabaret, Rent, Jesus Christ Super Star, Chicago

I tried to get us tickets to Hamilton but they are dark that night. Boo! I'd love to see Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Noise's Off (not a musical of course, but delightful!), Peter and the Star Catchers, Finding Neverland, The Wedding Singer.

Is there an easy way to see what's playing on a particular night on Broadway, Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway? The production of Sweeney Todd in a pie shop sounds amazing! How does one find out about these things? An opera or ballet would be nice too but I didn't see anything at the Met and I don't know where else to look.

Finally, any ideas on how to research and get tickets to a show in London?

I'm 34, size 14. I found their "so slimming" jeans to be the best fit for me. Started wearing them at age 32.

Good Morning!

We leave for our first crossing 2 months from today and I am very excited! Can anyone tell me if the Golden Lion Pub is open for lunch on embarkment day? What beverages (aside from water) are 'complimentary' with lunch in the pub? (juice/soda?)

Thanks!!

Given that a bottle of Oyster Bay retails for $16 AUD I can't imagine why anyone would want to bring it on board and pay corkage. It's more than the bottle is worth!

This is what I am thinking. We are not wine drinkers but I think I'd enjoy a glass of red with dinner. I don't have a favorite or really know much about wine other than I tend to like pinot noir. The wine I generally buy is about $10 a bottle. Would it be better to buy a bottle at dinner and have them recork it for me? Ideally, I'd have 1 glass a night.

We will probably bring 1 bottle of white with us. I'm not particularly found of white but my mother saved a bottle from our rehearsal dinner and we'll be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary on board. Seems like a good time to drink it. Hope it hasn't turned!

Thanks for posting the pics. Definitely like the new deck chairs better than the old!

We were in a deck 5 BV in July and it had been refurbished, and looked lovely.

Hey SafariGal! We're on deck 5, cat BV this coming January. Do you have any pics of your cabin? I've never been on the QM2 and am really excited.

Is the Pavilion Pool available for use during winter crossings?

You can leave the tuxedo out and have him wear the dark suit for formal and informal nights that way you save more space/weight. Dark suit will cover for every night worn with bow ties, 4 in hand ties or no tie.

This is interesting. Does one not need a tuxedo for formal nights? I know basically nothing about the different types of men's formal attire. It would be nice to just bring a black suit that can be worn with a bow tie (and vest?) on formal nights and with or without a tie on informal nights.

You are taking a January TA not a Caribbean cruise so the Hawaiian and camp shirts are not what one might see on such a voyage. He will certainly stand out. The same for shorts outside of the gym as the Atlantic is COLD as will be the outside decks.

 

I recommend a couple of cotton sweaters to wear over a nice long sleeved sports shirt with collar for day time and long trousers (chinos are not my thing) a tie and blazer for informal evenings.

Oh, don't I know! DH has his own fashion habits. He wears short sleeved camp/Hawsiian shirts year round here in Massachusetts. :rolleyes: I could try getting him a sweater but he might not wear it. He is almost always over heated. He will occasionally wear one of his LL Bean rugby shirts if it is very cold.

Are people only upgraded when they book a guaranteed cabin? We booked a specific cabin number so I assume we are not eligible for an upgrade.

This is crazy-sauce! The category BV cabin that we have booked dropped from $849 to $679. Do you think we should cancel and rebook at this new rate or go up in category to BB for $839? Saving the $340 would be pretty sweet but I also like the idea of getting a better cabin.

I think I must be driving my travel agent insane. Every time the price drops I email her and ask to her cancel and rebook at the new price. Is this something she should be doing on her own? (When I use a Disney World travel agent they are always scanning the promotions and adding them as they come. I'm not sure if this is normal for the cruise industry as well.)

This is actually something I've been wondering. DH and I are taking our first TA this January. We've never sailed with Cunard before. What should I pack for DH? I don't want to pack too much but I want to make sure he has everything he needs. My understanding is there will be 3 formal nights (tuxedo) and 4 informal nights (suit or pants with jacket). Does he need to wear a tie in the main dining room on informal nights or is a collared shirt and jacket appropriate?

This is what I was thinking of packing for him...

Dinnerwear:

Tuxedo (jacket/pants), shirt and bowtie (probably 2 or 3 bowties of different colors to match my gowns)

Black/charcoal suit

2 ties

2 collared shirts

black socks and shoes

Day Wear:

polo/camp/Hawaiian shirts (what he normally wears at home)

khaki pants

golf shorts

Maybe an extra jacket

Thanks everyone! We ended up making the switch earlier this week. I'm pretty excited. I think the sheltered will be a better for us than the obstructed.