Colin_Cameron

Anyone have any experience of using the White Star luggage service in Australia? (Does it even exist there?)

Looking to send the "cruise clothes" from QE in Melbourne to QM2 in Perth about four weeks later.

Both ships are in Sydney in between these dates and it would be so much easier if they could just transfer the baggage from one ship to the other, but I'm sure they're going to say no.

Regards, Colin.

Yes Cunard does cluster nationalities together, an awful practice in my opinion.

I've never been aware of this, as a practice.

Sure, we've had tables where everyone has been some form of British, but the number of mixed-nationality tables we've been at far, far outweighs the number of British-only tables.

As others have suggested, I think language is the determining factor rather than nationality.

We have been seated with individuals/couples from the far east but have also noticed, on occasion, large groups from the same region seated together. I'm sure this happens with any large group who book together, but may be more noticable when one believes (rightly or wrongly) that members of a group are easily identifiable.

And passenger mix, from/to ports, etc. will all make a difference. If you have two predominant nationalities on board then more people will be seated with their own countrymen. Whereas if there are, as we have had, 60+ different nationalities with no one predominant nation, things are going to feel a lot more mixed. It's not often that the passengers beat the crew in nationality mix but it does happen.

Regards, Colin.

I've spoken to lots of 'celebrities' and guest speakers over the years. A couple of times with questions related to their talks but most often just because we found ourselves in the same place at the same time, whether that be in the restaurant, on a tour, or standing at the rail watching the sailaway.

I've only had one negative experience. I found myself standing at a bar next to a comedian/tv presenter, both of us waiting to be served. I nodded and said "Hi", he looked at me like he'd just scraped me off the sole of his shoe and turned his back.:mad:

So, I don't think there is a recent change.

This set me thinking, so I dug through some of our old menus.

The most recent 'dated' menus I have are from 2013. Much further back than I would have thought.

The last ones with a separate fish course were from 1995, also a surprise (is this a sign of advancing years? And where's the emoji of a stooped old man with a long white beard and a walking stick when you need one?). Nine courses plus coffee. No wonder things had to change, it was tabloid sized 11"x17".

I remember sitting down at the table on one of our earlier cruises and counting fourteen pieces of cutlery in front of each of us.

Here's another thought. When did the Dining Room become a Restaurant?

Regards, Colin.

Is it just me or does anyone else read those menus as encouraging you to order EITHER a starter OR soup OR a salad?

It's not that long since those were listed as separate courses, as was the fish.

Regards, Colin.

And only two days short of 20 years since our first crossing on QE2.

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?

First Cunard sailings:

1992 Cunard Princess

1995 Sagafjord

1996 Cunard Crown Dynasty

1997 Vistafjord

1998 QE2

1999 Cunard Royal Viking Sun

1999 Sea Goddess II

2001 Caronia (doesn't really count)

2004 QM2

2007 Queen Victoria

2012 Queen Elizabeth

Regards, Colin

I was floored so many do take QM2 as transportation solely to avoid flying.

I've been surprised too. On every one of our half-dozen crossings there has been someone at out table using the ship for transportation. I don't imagine this is typical but still, more than I would have thought.

Regards, Colin.

Of course, if you do win the lottery, you can always combine either the Queen Victoria suite with the Queen Elizabeth suite, or the Queen Anne with the Queen Mary, then you would have a balcony. :D

Or really splash out and connect all four of them so you don't have to worry which side the sun is on.:cool:

When the ship was being designed Cunard were asking lots of people for their opinions. I heard that this space was originally going to be another public lounge but one couple, who always booked the Q1 suites on QE2 for every world cruise, expresed their displeasure at having to take a rearward facing cabin on the new ship that the plans were changed to make this space into suites. However when it was announced that QM2 was to be non-smoking inside they never sailed on her. I have no idea how true this story is but I have met the couple in question.

Regards, Colin.

Our best would have to be 2001.

We were booked on an 18 night Caronia cruise ending in NY then flying home. We had called Cunard to arrange the flights when they said, "BTW, the day you're due to fly home QE2 sails from NY for Southampton. Would you not rather sail home?" Well of course we would, six hours in a tin tube or six days on QE2, but how much extra would that cost?

After they deducted the airfares we didn't need from both cruises, and applied some sort of back-to-back cruise discount to both cruises, the price came out at £100 less than we had already paid!

So Cunard paid us £100 to sail on QE2 (cash, not OBC!)

Our 2010 cruise on QV at £37pppn comes a close second.

Regards, Colin.

The ship will be big enough to have more than one MDR and there will be a designated one for freedom and another for fixed dining and you choose which when you book.

So the lowest grade of restaurant would have two sittings, and then the next one, of a similar size, would have a single sitting? You could even name them after former Cunard ships. How about, oh!, I don't know, Mauritania and Caronia, say.

I'm sure I've come across a set-up like that somewhere before.:D

Regards, Colin.

We've just been through the same scenario.

In our case for some grades the segments were cheaper than the whole (negligibly). Other grades were 'sold out' for the whole voyage but available for each of the segments. We've also changed cabin mid-voyage before and it's not a problem but this time we managed to get the same cabin for each sector (unless the upgrade fairy smiles on only one sector, or upgrades on each to different cabins:D).

The only point that isn't clear is "do you have three FCDs", one for each segment? Or are able to make them before booking. If so then I think it's clear that's the way to go.

Enjoy your extended trip. Colin.

I called Southampton on Thursday and had a very frustrating time talking to someone who appeared to be deliberately misunderstanding what I wanted to know and giving vague and contradictory non-answers. I ended up with the feeling that a village somewhere was missing its idiot.

My wife called on Friday and got a different person and a straightforward answer. "We don't know. Yes, the World Cruise is still divided into sectors but we are no longer told where they start and end. I've worked here for XX years and we've always known what the sectors were, but no more. You will find out onboard."

So it looks like booking them separately is the way to go.

Thanks for your replies, Colin.

Does anyone know how (or where) the sectors are defined?

Specifically looking at QM2 Perth to Southampton in 2020. It can also be bought as Perth to Cape Town and Cape Town to Southampton (which for the cabin grade we're looking at, but not all, is marginally cheaper). Does the fact that they can be booked separately make them different sectors?

If they are separate sectors then booking as a single cruise or two separate cruises would make no difference as far as WC benefits go but if they are a single sector then booking the two separately would double your WC benefits.

Does anyone know if Shareholder Benefit is also applied per sector?

I'm planning on calling Cunard in the morning but thought I'd try here first.:D

Colin.

Upgrades done at the pier are another matter but I can't imagine they are very common, either.

Not common, but it's happened to us a couple of times.

On one occasion we turned up at our new cabin at the same time as the people it had previously been assigned to. They hadn't been told that they were being upgraded.

To add to the confusion their luggage somehow went to their new cabin, our's went to our old cabin. So we had four people, with no luggage, trying to sort out who was sleeping with whom:eek:

Hi Folks,

We'll be joining you. We did almost the same cruise last year, when it sailed from Newcastle.

A couple of different ports this time. Malmo and Visby, instead of Lysekil, Helsingborg and Karlskrona.

Didn't do the Ice Bar or the Abba Museum, but definitely thinking about them this time. We did the evening tour which included the radio/tv tower. A great view from the top as the whole city was bathed in evening sunshine. It turned out the following day was a public holiday and the streets were very quiet so the driver took us further and showed us more of the city than planned to fill in the time.

Because of the public holiday entrance to the royal palace was free which didn't please those who had paid for the FO tour.

We also did the boat trip (with Fred) which wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would be around the city centre but although we saw a bit of that it mainly went out of town to see the surrounding areas. Still an enjoyable trip.

We paid for the transfer into Gothenburg but the day before we arrived they made this free and we were automatically refunded. We walked around the town centre and did the Paddan Tour (boat trip) around the canal on our own. Good weather and an excellent guide made this a great time.

The weather forecast is looking good (22C in Stockholm today!)

See you all next week.

Colin.

It's not the same without your company, of course. But we're making the best of it:D

Colin.

For info:

Both hot and cold canapés being served in the Commodore Club on QE on the current cruise.

Regards, Colin.

Back in the 1950's my Mother sailed on Cunard and I have her Passenger List. Times have changed from when all passengers were named in a booklet for everyone else to peruse.

I have a couple of those from the 90's and one from 2004. So they didn't disappear as long ago as most people think.

They were really handy if you have a memory like mine for names.

Regards, Colin.

Cunard used to send out Berlitz guides for the particular cruise...

I'd forgotten about them. We still have lots of them filed away somewhere.

...a Rosenthal dish with a map of the itinerary...

When Vistafjord was being converted to Caronia we were told to help ourselves to the big leather information folders from the cabin. They were even giving away brand new ones still in their wrapping if you wanted one. Leather wine list folders, silver NAC cruet sets, if it said Vistafjord or NAC you could have it. Logo items in the shop were mostly $1. I think all our relatives got a Vistafjord watch that year:D.

It was a similar story when Caronia was going to Saga. Anything that said, or had the Cunard logo was going in the skip when we reached Southampton. Having done six cruises in the same cabin over the years, I came home with the cabin number from the corridor wall. It's now mounted on our bedroom door.

And, yes, there are boxes in the attic filled with menus, daily programmes, port info sheets, receipts............

Regards, Colin.

I would check with your wine steward early on in the cruise but I see no reason why you couldn't just hand over however many vouchers you have left on the last night telling him you want the bottles unopened.

I have bought the wine package in the past and it was a good deal, but decided against it this year. I checked the individual bottle prices against the package price and even when you added the 15% service charge to the individual bottles the package worked out only marginally better. Where you would make a saving would be if you were cruising in Spanish waters when they would then add Spanish VAT to the individual bottle price but not if you were on the package. Even then it's easy enough to order the night before.

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise.

Regards, Colin.

Could you let us know which ships you sailed aboard?

I know there are others here who have been sailing much longer than I have so there must be some with broader Cunard experience?

Cunard Princess (now Golden Iris)

Sagafjord

Vistafjord/Caronia

Cunard Crown Dynasty (now Fred Olsen's Braemar)

QE2

Sea Goddess II (now Seadream II)

Cunard Royal Viking Sun (now HAL's Prinsendam)

Queen Mary 2

Queen Victoria

Queen Elizabeth

Stays at Hotel Queen Mary don't really count (or that would make make 11:D)

Regards, Colin.

To add to the figures above:

The Cunard group entered WWII with a fleet of 78 ships.

The other number I have come across is that they came out of WWI having lost 45 ships, 56% of their tonnage. Suggesting the fleet at the start of WWI may have been larger.

So who has sailed on the most Cunard ships?

I'll start the bidding at ten, but I'm sure that will be beaten.

Colin.

How many ships were in similtaneous service within the Cunard fleet when it was at its largest?

Still working on this but you only need to go back to the mid-nineties to find twelve ships.

In 1976 finds they had 74 (although only three were passenger ships) with a further 4 under construction.

If I find a higher figure I'll let you know.

Colin.

Too many passengers for my liking.

 

DJ

It's not so much the absolute number of passengers that concerns me (although I don't disagree with you) but the number of passengers compared to the size of the ship.

If the numbers we've seen so far stay unchanged then it will have 50% more passengers than QE or QV on a ship only 25% larger. Or, 15% more passengers than QM2 on a ship 25% smaller!:eek:

Never had that on the QM2 no matter how rough.

You've been lucky then.

(Big box) TVs thrown to the floor in cabins. Some of the bars looking like a war zone with hundreds of broken bottles. Smashed windows on decks seven, twelve and thirteen. Balcony dividers that disappeared overnight. One of those really solid exterior wooden doors on the prom deck smashed to matchwood!

But in essence, I agree. She handles the seas much better than her sisters.

Regards, Colin.