ilv4cruising

So the designer is Diane Kroe ( https://dianekroe.com/) and one of the dresses I always take with me is the Maxi Bubble Dress (which I can wear shorter if needed). It was originally designed for warmer weather cruises and in patterns it will look quite casual. However, I always have the black one with me which can be styled to look formal. The material is very flowy (which I love) and the material has a nice sheen to it in black that makes it look elegant. With a lovely shawl and great shoes & jewellery I can make it look quite dressy. She also has some other long dress options (again can be worn multiple ways and packed really tiny 🙂 that can be quite dressy (check out her Lame Goddess Dress). Again can be packed in a small cube for your carry-on. I've been buying her pieces for decades and they last forever. The material she uses is great. If you are on her website go under "shop" and click on "dresses" under "By Category". If it wasn't for needing other things I could probably get away with a Carry-on but on colder trips that isn't an option.

Hi all, I'm overly paranoid about airlines losing luggage but, knock wood, thankfully it hasn't happened for years. For some "essentials" it might be easy to replace but others (e.g. formal wear) not so much, plus I'm not sure if the airline would consider it essential either. Therefore here are my tips:. 1 - Male "outfit" - Husband has a very expensive Italian dark suit. With a nice dress shirt and bow tie it can pass for formal wear. He wears the jacket on the plane and packs the pants in his carry-on (has a separate section for pants and dress shirts to hang/fold). Therefore, in a pinch, he feels he will still fit in on formal nights if the rest of the luggage doesn't make it. 2 - Woman's outfit - I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the designer name or not but there is a great Toronto, On, Canada designer that doesn't believe in anything else but a carry-on for traveling 🙂. Therefore all of her outfits can be packed easily into a carry-on without wrinkling and can be worn multiple ways. One of her long dresses is called a maxi bubble dress (which I know doesn't sound formal) but I have worn the black dress and the red dress (I have both and travel with both 🙂 ) on many formal occasions and always get compliments. The dress can be worn multiple ways (at least 7) so on different nights people I've met are always amazed that it is the same dress. For packing the material is amazing and I can pack it into a small packing cube with no issues and it goes into my carry-on. Therefore we have at least some "dressy" options in case the worse happens. I'm not sure if I can post the link or the designer's name or not. Let me know if I can and I'm happy to share.

I'm glad everything got resolved for this passenger but I admit I'm truly puzzled on how this happens only a few days before the scheduled departure. My mother was a travel agent and I grew up with the industry (even though I'm not a TA). I know overbooking on Air travel is common (usually because so many do cancel or are "no shows") but I've never heard of this for a Cruise, yet others are saying it is common. I might be able to understand overbooking before final payment but after final payment I would have thought a cabin would be confirmed. According to my cancellation schedule I lose 75% of my money if I cancel 1 month before departure and 100% of my money if I cancel 2 weeks before departure. Is it common practice for people to cancel a cruise so close to traveling (other than health reasons) to warrant overbooking? Just curious to know. Thanks,

Hi all, I've been debating about asking this question in case it results in a lot of negative responses but here it goes :). I love to "ballroom" dance (but I'm no expert). My husband likes to have a few slow dances with me but he isn't a "ballroom dancer" as he has some physical limitations, due to 2 not very successful spinal fusions he lives with chronic back pain and nerve impairment in one leg. We have never been on the QM2 but on other ships we usually find a small corner on the dance floor to enjoy our dances together. From what I've been reading in my research about the QM2 (or maybe just Cunard in general) the dancers on the floor are quite serious about their ballroom dancing. This is making my husband really concerned about whether or not he will be able to dance with me as he "might get in the way", hear negative comments, or even worse, get bumped by some dancers (which could cause him pain). FYI - he is not the type to ignore the comments/looks sadly, if he feels in the way he will just sit. So here are my questions: 1 - If we do something similar (e.g. find a small corner on the dance floor) for the few dances we will do (usually he can only do a couple of dances at a time and usually to a foxtrot tempo)) will the other dancers frown/comment on this? He is already self-conscious on he limited dancing ability and if he feels like he is in the way, that will be it for us dancing for the duration. 2 - My understanding there will be dance hosts for the "single" people. Would they still consider dancing with me so I can do more dancing than my husband is capable of? We are looking at our first QM2 crossing but want to do a more lengthy itinerary but we are concerned about the # of sea days and if we will be able to enjoy the ballroom or not. Thanks in advance.

Wow. That is great (and funny 🙂 )

Very nice

Thanks. Since we have never been to Brooklyn we were wondering how safe it is. Also, we plan on getting in 2 days before the crossing so we will have 1 free day. Any suggestions on what to do (subway isn't an option for my husband though). Thanks,

Thank you for your responses. You just confirmed my thinking as well. I'll continue to book direct 🙂 .

We have been to Manhattan before so not that critical to us. Brooklyn might be an interesting option to explore. Other than the Nu Hotel do you have other recommendations for me to check out? Thanks,

Hi All, We will be going on our first QM2 voyage RT from New York City. I started doing research on hotels in NYC. I decided to ask our rep with Cunard what they had to offer in the way of hotel stays. We are looking to stay 2 nights pre and post voyage. I was quite shocked at the prices for a 2 night stay so I decided to look at the cost booking directly with the hotel. In one example if I book directly with the hotel (and apply the senior discount 🙂 ) I can save $842 usd for 2 nights. Other than the price for Cunard including transfers is there any other benefit that I haven't been told (our rep says no). I just want to confirm I'm not missing something and booking with the hotel is the way to go :). Thanks in advance

I was about to post the same question. The difference between P2P and D2D for the cruise we are looking at (also our first Silversea cruise) is only $1,050. I haven't phoned to find out the cost for Business Class yet (which based on the distance we would be flying, would be a must). One additional question I have is can you fly in a few days before to spend extra time before boarding?

Thanks. We are excited to try it.

I did manage to get Club Orange :). That info is very helpful. Normally we are happy with the MDR but our one time on the Koningsdam we weren't impressed, although that might have changed since this was a number of years ago and pre-pandemic. I think this is a great solution for our trip, especially since we have a lot of sea days.

That sounds great. We are on the Koningsdam in April next year. I just added CO to our reservation. We are excited to try it.

Hi, Yes I should have mentioned our cruise is on the Koningsdam. For me "prime" time would probably be 7:00pm. We have done open seating only twice on all of our cruises (only because our friends that were with us insisted 🙂 ) and based on that experience that seems when everyone would go to dinner. The one and only time we were on the Koningsdam wasn't the best experience even for fixed dining, seemed noisy and chaotic (although this was in the 1st year of when the ship was launched). Based on your comments I think I'll see what the cost would be for our trip and see if it is available. Thanks for the feedback.

Hi all, I'm finding all of the CO posts very helpful. However, I have a question. We have never added this to our cruise but our thinking about it for our cruise next year. However, we would only be adding it for the dining room benefits. For many reasons we prefer fixed seating. My question about Club Orange is it open seating with a different table, servers etc. each night or can you request the same table? Also, if open seating if you go at "prime" times is there a wait? Thanks in advance.

Wow. That is close. Thank you so much for those details. Very helpful. All the best for your future travels 🙂

Hi folks, I actually have a followup question about staying at the Springhill Suites Downtown. I see a lot of comments about being able to walk to the pier for our cruise. Unfortunately my husband has chronic back pain and some nerve impairment in his leg. How far a walk is it and is it difficult terrain? If his back isn't up to it on the day (some days are better than others 🙂 ) will a taxi be possible or will they not bother because of how close it is? Thanks in advance

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. I've booked the SpringHill Suites Bayfront (at least for now) as it offered the best rate. I'll keep an eye on the rate for the Marriott Coronado and the Embassy Suites in case the prices improve (fairly high for both right now). Thanks again for your help.

That looks amazing but it is a bit pricey since we are staying for 3 nights. Will keep am eye on it in case the price drops. Thanks for mentioning it.

Wonderful. Thanks

Ah yes. I should have been more specific. It is the SpringHill Suites Downtown/Bayfront that I was looking at. Does your earlier comment still apply (hope so 🙂 )

I was getting concerned about Springhill Suites as there have been some reviews saying it was dated and one reported bugs in the bed. Reviews were from April this year so was worried. I'm glad to hear some positive reviews. Also, I'm curious on why the Residence Inn is more expensive (since my understanding it is part of the same building). What makes it worth the extra money? Is it that much nicer? Thanks,

Hi there, We will be in San Diego next April, pre cruise and I'm starting to look at hotels 🙂 . We will be staying for 3 nights and I'm currently looking at SpringHill Suites and Wyndham Bayside. Prices are about the same but the SpringHill includes breakfast. We are looking for a hotel that is close to a few restaurants, very clean and comfortable beds and room with a coffee maker. We will probably take taxis/uber/lyft for getting to attractions so that isn't a concern. I wouldn't mind getting feedback on which hotel might be better. I've seen some suggestions on this forum already but I wouldn't mind some recent reviews. Also, if you have a different suggestion that would also be appreciated. Thanks,

Thanks. This helped 🙂