Piggeldy

We did (through Celebrity) in 2013.

We were a really small group, I'd say maybe 8 or 10 people. Very nice crew, friendly and efficient. My DH stayed on the boat for the beach stop and though his English is... limited they made very friendly small talk with him. I enjoyed the snorkle stop (I think it was where the Sea Trek is) but we are not experienced snorklers, I am sure there are better snorkeling options in the Caribbean. The beach stop was nice, they fed the fish from the boat. Food was bread (for both us and the fish) and cheese and I think some type of nacho and dip. Drinks were nice (rum punch - enjoyed the one on our St. Thomas excursion a bit more but nice enough). We went to Maho on the way back to the ship to watch planes. They fished from the back of the Catamaran and we caught a barracuda which I thought was neat.

We are considering doing it again just for the nice atmosphere this fall.

We have a cruise booked for November. Ports include Puerto Rico, St Maarten, Haiti... we are trying to get pregnant. However, we have been TTC for three years now and I consider it quite unlikely that I will suddenly end up pregnant :rolleyes: If I am pregnant by then, we will cancel the cruise. I have bought travel insurance that includes pregnancy as a reason for cancellation.

The way Zika is spreading through the Americas (and Africa, and Asia)... I really doubt we will be "safe" anywhere. No, I won't take the risk if I am pregnant by then but I am not willing to stop traveling to warm weather destinations just because I might eventually manage to get pregnant.

In fall, we will fly in for a TA on the day of departure. It's a group/package deal... flights, transfer and cruise. We arrive at the airport at 9.45 am, the bus needs 1.20 hrs to port, departure is at 4 pm. If it wasn't a group booking and if I wasn't 99.9% certain that they will wait for the group if there is a delay I would never have booked this.

To minimise delays we are flying direct from an airport 200 miles away. We could fly from our usual local airport but they didn't offer direct flights. Plane leaves at 9 am, we could make it by train but we will spent the night at the airport.

Yes, I am a worrywart. Last cruise was one overnight stay at the departure airport (7 am flight), one overnight stay at the departure port. But I always figure that missing the cruise will cost me more than one night for a hotel somewhere on the way.

We nearly missed our last mini cruise because the train was delayed by 2 1/2 hours... the whole train ride usually only takes 3 1/2, it's a direct train connection and we have done the same trip sixteen times over the last ten years. It always worked out beautifully. Thankfully they let us check in and board 10 minutes before departure (they usually close 45 minutes earlier). Sometimes you need to love the EU / Schengen area. However, had we missed the ship, we would have been out 64 Euros for the mini cruise and 58 Euros for the train. Not hundreds of Euros for a real vacation.

Can anyone share information with me about independent excursions from Crete to Santorini? We are going on a cruise in May that stops in Rhodes and we would love to see Santorini.

From Crete or from Rhodes?

Crete to Santorini:

"From Heraklion to Santorin

By Catamaran(passengers only, no cars) Hellenic Seaways-Flying Cat 4, in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Daily (except some Wednesdays). This is the fastest way. The catamaran leaves at 09:45 and returns at 19:25 (Summer only)"

http://www.cretetravel.com/travel_tips/ferries-2012-crete-to-from-santorini-thira/

Rhodes seems to be an 8 hr ferry ride (Blue Star Ferry), one way.

I really doubt that you can do a day trip from either port and still be back early enough to catch the ship, unless you over night in port. Crete might be doable if you find a better connection but I really doubt it's worth the stress.

Hamburg airport is in Fuhlsbüttel, which is approximately 8 miles from Hamburg Cruise Center. The is a S-Bahn (tram) but I would suggest getting an accessible taxi or airport transfer:

http://www.hamburger-grossraumtaxi.de/taxi-hamburg/rollstuhltaxi-hamburg.html (taxi)

Should cost around 50 Euros.

Try to use http://barrierefreieshamburg.de/ with google translate.

There is plenty of information on accessibility in Hamburg.

However, a couple of the sailings I've looked at have the balcony guarantee priced HIGHER than the regular balcony choices.

I have seen that as well (for different cruises, not only AOS, not even only RC), sometimes the price for the guarantee was higher than the highest price for any available balcony... The only ideas I could come up with was a recent price drop for the regular balcony cabins but not the guarantee or "it's a trap" (luring people into booking a guarantee hoping to be assigned a suite upgrade).

While we have always tried the MDR and usually ordered room service for breakfast a couple of times, we do prefer the buffet.

I am not a morning person, I am bad at making decisions before my morning coffee, I might not want a full servings of something but rather a tablespoon of egg, one rasher of bacon, two mushrooms or half a serving of musli. I like to chose my own fruit instead of ordering a fruit plate and making special requests. All in all I simply do much better in the mornings if I don't need to talk to people, do not need to wait (longer than it takes to stand in line) and can see food instead of reading about it. I also eat less in the buffet as I tend to over order when ordering breakfast from a menu (with an unknown serving size).

Would you all recommend the same type of outfits for a fall TA?

Yes.

I have only been on two TAs (westbound in November, eastbound in June) so no "expert" either but you really can't go wrong with layering. Not layering as you would for a hiking trip in northern Norway in January but layering like taking a city trip to central Europe in fall or spring. Anita Latte's suggestions are what I would also suggest.

Our November TA (Southampton to Miami on Eclipse) had mediocre weather the first few days. Long pants, long sleeved top / sweater and warm jacket for open decks weather (I'd guess 40s and rain). As someone mentioned earlier, they did supply blankets instead of towels at the pool. After passing the Azores weather got much nicer and we had temperatures in the 70s for maybe the last half of the trip. There was a lot of sunbathing going on in the end (we did have a few stops in the Caribbean though).

Our June TA (NYC to Hamburg) also had... blah weather. Maybe (low) 50s? With rain and wind. The main problem on deck really was the wind. I ended up buying a hoodie jacket on board - partly as a souvenir, partly as an additional layer. I did not bring my fleece which was in the end a mistake but I didn't think I would need it. It was pretty much impossible to take a stroll on deck after dinner without returning to the cabin and getting a coat or (best) changing into pants.

The temperature inside will be similar to what you are used to. You want to be able to add a layer when going on deck and you want to be able to get rid of that additional layer when you come back inside.

If you have a wind- and waterproof jacket, even if it's lightweight, that you can layer with a top / tshirt, blouse / light sweater, hoodie / cardigan you will be fine. If you bring some kind of scarf (pashmina) and maybe a thin(ish) pair of gloves you should be all set.

If you like wearing skirts, you might want to add leggins or tights, as previously suggested. With long pants or jeans you might already be okay, unless you freeze easily (I bike to work with just jeans, no additional layer in 10/15F weather...). Same for undershirt / sweater and windbreaker. Again, unless you already wear that if it's in the 70s :D

What you want to bring is closed shoes. Nothing worse than having wet feet. My mom would be fine in pumps and a pantyhose, as long as they have closed toes, while that wouldn't cut it for me (I need at least sneakers and socks) and DH would still be fine in sandals.

You can well ignore the advice to dress in neutrals, same as crystalspin. It's not as if anybody in Europe cares (or as if you should care if they care) and there really is no need to buy new clothes in colors you will never wear again. Wear what you like and feel comfortable in. It's also not true that all 742 million Europeans from Portugal to Hungary and Finland to Greece always dress in neutrals. Tourists always stand out.

Temperatures and weather will highly depend on "luck" and the route you take. The Med can have warm weather in both spring and fall (Crete just recently had temperatures in the high 70s or so I was told). Iceland in April... tends to be far from that ;) If your TA has ports on its way you want to research typical weather conditions for those ports and pack accordingly - for northern itineraries you add a fleece and hat, for southern itineraries you add shorts and sandals.

I would highly recommend Ikea for packing cubes (http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/60235114/#/10235116) a four piece set for $10. If that works for you then maybe purchasing a slim cube (amazon brand store cheaper) or packing folder

I never thought I needed packing cubes... but yes! I love my Ikea packing cubes and they are so inexpensive. I bought two sets in different colors (pink and blue), one for DH and one for me - which also helps with cross packing. I love to use the smallest one for the little bits and pieces I always have (chargers etc.). We usually travel with hiking backpacks to have our hands free (DH has CP and can't carry suitcases up or down stairs or steps, especially not if they are heavy) and packing cubes are perfect for packing into a backpack.

We will eventually buy an additional set for this years cruise to use with out carry on / overnight bag.

Can anyone advise what to use for suits? Are the garment folders large enough for a sports coat?

We had the suit in our carry on last time but I would rather not do that again, especially due to an 8 kg weight limit for the carry on.

We buy Postafen every time we are in (or on our way to) Norway as we can't get meclizine here. Our second choice is Stugeron (which a friend brings from the UK as, you guessed it, we also can't get Cinnarizine here), which is also a derivative of piperazine. I take it for car sickness rather than sea sickness though.

Definitely talk to your pediatrician what they suggest.

We just booked a group rate through a TA... including flights and transfers we pay 150 Euros less for a D3 than booking just the D3 through RC. We usually book with a different travel agent who offers onboard credit but the OBC (even though they currently have a double OBC offer) wouldn't cover the price of the flights.

We are on a transatlantic quite similar to our transatlantic in 2013. In 2013 we paid 320 Euros for our open-jaw flight (Air Berlin)... this fall, the exact same flight would cost us nearly 5 times that much (1,400+ Euros). That's nearly 70% of the total we are paying now.

We have so far been on three cruises (with the fourth one booked) and have booked guarantee cabins three times. We never received a major upgrade but were always happy with what we got.

For our second cruise (Celebrity) we booked a midship balcony on deck 6, then paid for an upgrade to a Concierge guarantee (20 Euros per person) and received a C2 on the hump with an oversized balcony. Loved it.

For our third cruise (Cunard) we booked an inside guarantee (all that was available) and received an IE (second lowest category) which we were completely happy with.

For our upcoming cruise (Royal) we booked a D3 guarantee and have already received an unexpected upgrade to a D2... our travel agent made a mistake and offered a D3 but booked a D2, they have credited us for the price difference. We hope to be as happy with what we receive as we have previously been.

However, I really don't care if I am under the gym or the galley (we were right under the Princess/Queens Grill galley on QM2 and didn't hear a thing, on Eclipse we were close to the forward elevators - again, no problem at all) and have no preferences concerning location (forward, midships, aft).

I am sure you can end up in less than stellar locations though. Our table mates on QM2 changed cabins twice during an 11 night cruise because they were unhappy (first one must have had some kind of high whistling noise that wouldn't let them sleep, second one was creaking and was dirty when they were moved, they weren't happy with the third cabin either but stayed... no idea if it was them or bad luck).

799 Euros (approx. $850) for an 11-nights eastbound TA (NYC to Hamburg) on Queen Mary 2, including flights and overnight hotel at Newark airport. The one-way flight alone would have cost 600+ Euros at the time of booking.

Does anyone happen to know how much non-alcoholic cocktails normally cost?

So even though the table what the beverage packages include does not list frozen drinks or mocktails or non-alcoholic cocktails for the Royal Replenish they are still included in the package?

In that case I will actually need to consider it. With a premium coffee, a mocktail or two, a bottle of water and fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast we'd break even I guess. I don't need to come out ahead every day but like Dan-P I like to have (most of) my drinks budgeted for, I don't want to feel as if I have to get more drinks for the package to be worth it. We got a Premium Non-Alcoholic Package on Celebrity and I was pleased with what we got out of it (I had my money worth in Raspberry Fizzes.... until they ran out of raspberries in the middle of the Atlantic) while soda packages don't really do it for me. We were planning to just pay as we go as I definitely don't drink enough alcohol for any of the alcoholic packes to be worth it.

Well, there are backpacks and then there are backpacks.

Could I make do with a day hiking backpack? Probably not. But there are backpacks out there that are made with the 'guaranteed carry-on sizes' of different airlines on mind which even fit a suit (if you don't mind folding the coat). I have traveled to Iceland for a week with just a Cabin Max Metz. So it can be done.

We really want to see the Statue of Liberty and go under the bridge that everyone talks about. Will we be able to do this, change for dinner and make our 6pm sitting in the Britannia restaurant?

Yes, but depending on when you leave exactly it will be tight.

We didn't depart until shortly after 5.20 pm and it took approximately 40 minutes until we went under the bridge (according to the time stamp in my pictures). You might want to consider wearing whatever you are planning to wear to dinner to departure and then just go straight down to the dining room. If you want to shower and change you will most likely not have enough time to make it to early seating.

To be fair, it is officially called a Soft Drinks package and it is quite clear that it includes soda from the gun only and certain fruit juices.

Yes, but if they offered the same soft drinks from the gun OR at least had a way for people to know which bar served what from the gun that would make things a bit simpler. We just found it strange that obviously what they were able to serve as part of the package (ie. what they could provide from the gun) differed from bar to bar. Maybe it's me, but if I buy a soda sticker in bar A and they tell me that x, y & z is available as part of the package it just doesn't come to my mind that this might actually not be true for the whole ship. It probably makes sense but just not that instant.

(Also, we would happily have paid for the tonic water in Todd English as that was what we had wanted to drink and thus ordered... we just didn't appreciate her tone of voice, but as Todd English was one of the two instances of less than excellent service we received on board, we didn't mind that much. It just stuck out.)

Wish it was that easy down here in Australia. :(

Clothing choices for plus sizes are very poor, particularly formalwear.

Same for Germany.

I order most of my dresses from the UK because in the city I live in I can get a trash bag with holes to stick my arms through. (Or I need to be amazingly lucky - my newest find is Zizzi, love it!)

I am aware how easy it is to buy plus size clothing in some parts of the world and that it really shouldn't be difficult to buy something to suit your body type but I promise you, it can be. I am a UK 18/20 (US 14/16) with boobs, I cannot even buy bras in my bra size over here (not for lack of trying, the simply don't offer them and can't even place an order for them - Bravissimo/Pepperberry is my best friend). In German fashion (anything bigger than a UK 12 is plus size) that usually translates into "Please be so kind as to wear this completely shapeless bag that has extra room where you don't need it but is amazingly tight where the extra room is needed, with huge floral/animal/whatever print, in a weird color and the strangest material available." Or, yes, buy at Ulla Popken, which is similarly shapeless and expensive; by just having a quick look at their website I would consider maybe one or two of their evening dresses Cunard formal (the rest would probably wiggle through as a little black dress or A for effort). I agree that there are people out there who don't want to try but I promise that there are many who have simply given up and make do with what they have.

If it wasn't for online shopping / mail order, the only formal dress I would have would be my wedding gown. But I have the advantage of speaking English (which many Germans, especially in the Cunard target group, don't and there were many on board that hardly spoke any English at all), having a Credit Card (which many Germans 60+ don't, though I assume most that cruise would have) and not being scared of online shopping abroad (and paying shipping, import duties or taxes respectively). Many people in my mom's generation don't even do ebay, because they don't trust it. If the next plus size store is a two hour train ride away (as in my case, I live in a "thin" city - no joke, unfortunately) you can be out of luck. Especially if you want to spend money on something you actually want to wear and not just buy to fit a dress code.

However, of course just because I didn't see more than a hand full of people who were not dressed appropriately during the cruise that of course doesn't mean they were not there. It just means I didn't see them. Everybody I saw (except for the women who returned back to their cabins on the last formal night) did at least try, even if they didn't manage to pull it off. Now, some men shouldn't be wearing shorts ever and sandals should never be worn with white sports socks but that's a totally different story :D

Preparing for an August cruise, our first with Cunard. Is a soda package available? At what cost? Coke or Pepsi?

$ 6.50 + 15% service charge / day (June 15)

Pepsi products

They should call it "fountain package" or "soda gun package." As soon as the soft drink comes from a bottle (Todd English had small glass Coke bottles! If you pay extra that is.) or a can you need to pay for it. If it comes from a soda gun it's free of charge. How I learned that? Tonic water is foc pretty much anywhere (pool bar, Britannia restaurant, Chart room, Commodore) BUT in the Casino bar (where they would happily have provided ginger ale foc, which the pool bar wanted to charge for, but not tonic water). He even showed me his screen, there was no option to chose tonic water foc.

We also got told off by a waitress in Todd English for ordering tonic water which, or so she said, was not part of the soda package and she'd have to charge us for... but didn't (neither did she ask for a card or if we had a stiker / soda package when we ordered).

I have to admit that we found the whole soda package somewhat confusing.

There is not accessibility in Europe.

Seeing that Europe spans an area of 3,930,000 sq mi and 50+ countries... this is of course not true. What is true, however, is that many areas in Europe are not as accessible to people with disabilities as it would be desirable. What you will be able to access will highly depend on your ability, your creativity and your will to see a certain sight.

Especially when sightseeing you will run into sights that are not accessible (due to steps or stairs) as we tend not to install elevators in medieval or early modern buildings. You will also run into cobblestone streets in old parts of cities. Not all taxies will be able to accommodate a wheelchair. Not every bus / train / tram will be accessible in a wheelchair. I would suggest checking out travel sites aimed at tourists with disabilites such as these:

http://www.slowtrav.com/Italy/accessible/rome/index.htm

http://www.sagetraveling.com/florence-accessible-travel

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/accessible-museums-pisa-livorno-grosseto/

If you just google "accessible [city]" you will find travel reports by others who have been there, done that. Enjoy your trip!

Yes, Cunard would be the most straight forward but that wouldn't take them to Florida if that's the main reason for them to go.

You could look into the Cunard TAs and arrange an additional land vacation in Florida. There is a WB TA from Southampton to New York from 23 Jun - 1 Jul 2016 with an EB TA from New York to Southampton from 6 Jul - 13 Jul 2016 which would give them a week in Florida.

Or you could look into the 28 Sep -13 Oct 2016 M/S Norwegian Star TA (Copenhagen to Tampa) or the 01 Oct - 17 Oct 2016 M/S Royal Princess TA (Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale) which might work with the 26 Oct - 3 Nov 2016 Cunard TA. Or you could combine the 17 Nov - 03 Dec 2016 M/S Norwegian Spirit TA (Barcelona to Port Canaveral) with the 8 Dec - 15 Dec 2016 Cunard TA.

Celebrity Eclipse leaves from Southampton (to Miami) 29 Oct - 13 Nov but the first Cunard TA seems to be the 8 Dec one. If they would like to spend four weeks in Florida that might be nice as well.

There is a 35 day cruise from/to Southampton on Oceana which stops in Florida (8 Feb - 14 March) if they aren't set on a land vacation in Florida. Also check P&O, they might offer something similar.

When people book a cruise they know the conditions attached to the price they pay. If they don't like the conditions then book another fare.

Which does not mean that they cannot ask nicely if it is possible to be moved to another dining time. And which does not mean that the Maitre D' should be telling them that their request can't be accommodated due to the low price they paid.

Had he said "Due to the conditions attached to the fare you booked / your late booking date I cannot promise that we will be able to honor your request" I don't think this discussion would be on here. You do not tell customers, in front of other customers, that they were cheap and didn't pay full price hence... not your problem. That's highly unprofessional in any area of customer service.

People book when they book. Some wait for a low price, some look for a vacation and by chance find a low price. Different fares come with different restrictions so I think it's fine if the Maitre D' knows when a guest booked his voyage it's just not on him to tell other guests in public why he can't provide a different dinner seating. Collect requests, make a list, use the necessary criteria to determine who gets to switch (booking date, price, shoe size, eye color) and then let the guests you were able to move know.

Going from where?

To Florida you are really looking at the repositioning cruises which will happen mostly in fall (from ports such as Southampton or Rome or Barcelona, depending on ship)... but you won't get them home until the following spring on a repositioning cruise ;)

You could check if you can find a repositioning cruise that is to their liking and can be linked with a Transatlantic on Cunard from New York City (car/train/flight from Florida to New York) but that will mostly only get them back to Southampton so there might be looking at another flight home.

Or they could take a TA on Cunard to New York and travel down to Florida (again car/train/flight) and then return on a spring repositioning cruise (or they could travel back up to New York and return on Cunard).

It can be done but it would really depend on your location and your father's medical condition and their budget and how flexible they are.

I will just butt in with a few comments. I hope you don't mind (and if you do, I am sorry).

Thursday June 4th

Last October I had noted that the blue cushions with the Cunard logo on the headrest really looked nice. The worn ones were replaced with a beige strip design. It looks hideous to see the mismatch. They would have been better off replacing them all with one or the other.

Seconded.

Also, they should just have replaced all worn cushions. I saw at least one where the little head pillow was ripped off that shouldn't have been put out. Also, quite a few of the beige cushions were quite stained.

This was the first formal night and there were plenty of men in black tie but my estimate is that half of the women dressed “smartly” (whatever the hell that means) but most defiantly not formal. Cunard made a big mistake in “loosening up” and thus compromising its identity.

We were on late seating in Britannia (deck 3) and while I did see women who did not dress formal per se I didn't really see anyone who didn't dress appropriately. Most women I saw wore dresses, the rest did dress smartly (elegant pants and sparkly blouse). I saw maybe two or three women whom I would not have considered at least somewhat formal (and those would have found it difficult to find formal dress due to body type, especially if they were German which I know one was).

On the second formal night when we waited for the dinning room doors to open a group of (of course German *sigh* I promise Cunard did inform us about dress code) three women went back to their cabins, complaining to each other that the way they were dressed (not-blue jeans, t-shirt / sweater) they wouldn't be allowed in anyways. I didn't get it. If you know you won't be let in, why come down 10 minutes early, to stand there and argue with each other? Dress appropriately or order room service.

I got a chance to speak with a member of the Purser’s staff while at the Captain’s cocktail party. She’s in charge of the shops so I asked about the cheap table tat and how it makes an elegant ship look like a flea market. She argued that most of the passengers are Britannia and the lower price points give them something affordable to buy. So there you have it – it makes money and many passengers have little or no money to spend.

You are right, she is wrong.

Yes, it probably does make money for Cunard but it does look like a flea market and really isn't suitable. For Cunard standards we probably didn't spend a lot of money on board (don't gamble, not heavy drinkers) but it still wasn't something we had expected.

I pass the Royal Court Theater and hear a presentation in German winding up – apparently there has been a separate program ongoing for the German speaking passengers – 568 of them.

The seperate program was a joke.

It consisted of five items (two 45-minute introductions to the two German guest lecturers, two readings, one presentation of "50 years of Golden Camera") over nine days plus a few German hand outs and I think one or two ship tours (deck 2 and 3) that were conducted in German (plus of course the German translation of the midday announcement).

With the level of English some of the German guest had (little to none) that was really not a lot. Especially as they heavily marketed it as a "50 years of Golden Camera" cruise on the German market and a readers' tour of a large magazine for the Southampton to Hamburg part.

Had we not been able to appreciate the regular program we would have been bored out of our minds. I schlepped poor DH with his mediocre English to RADA, he suffered through it, twice. Good husband.

The program for Monday has appeared and a "Chocolate and Ice Buffet" is listed [...] "a photo opportunity not to be missed". (I hope there is none of the shameful behavior that was reported on the QE a couple of years ago – line cutting, waste, and overall boorish behavior.)

It was a photo opportunity for sure - unfortunately it really should have been a photo opportunity only, or so I think. I just got a few little treats, everything looked lovely but except for the chocolate covered strawberries nothing we tried really tasted good. I found the cakes rather dry and the chocolate mousse lacking in flavour.

All the line cutting I saw was due to people a) stopping to take pictures for an 'excessive' amount of time or b) being asked to please just walk past the people who were serving themselves from the first part of the buffet as they had set the same up twice.

All four are first timers on Cunard and they express disappointment in the experience versus advertised expectations. I don’t think they will sail Cunard again but will just mark this off as saying they once did transatlantic and that it was “all right” but not “great”. They’re far more affluent than myself and have stayed at five star resorts, so they have high standards for comparison.

 

Our experience (though Britannia) was similar, I have to admit. Maybe we are not Cunard's target group (mid 30s, not UK/US) and we really did enjoy the voyage... but I doubt we'll be back. The value-for-money ratio was amazing but only because it was dirt cheap (two-day "super sale" in Germany for less than half-price).

 

It was nice. And all I can really compare it to is our Celebrity Eclipse TA in 2013 but we enjoyed that one much more.

 

We thought food was better on Celebrity (choice and quality, I never had anything that wasn't fully cooked on Celebrity), we liked the ship better (layout and decoration - though layout of course will boil down to ocean liner vs. cruise ship), we really missed the interactive tv (to check on onboard spending, order room service or watch movies on demand instead of 67 minutes of spa 'commercial' with classical background music), and the bathroom set-up was much more to our liking on Eclipse (including storage space).

 

Service and entertainment were of similar quality (we experienced horrific service in the pub but really hope it was an exception) but Celebrity manged not to constantly overlap activities (we got out of Romeo & Juliet in RCT maybe two minutes before Wedding Crashers started in Illuminations, which of course overlapped with Afternoon tea... the Welcome show overlapped with Late Dining and with many people arriving quite late I assume also with Early Dining...).

 

Best food & service we had was in Kings Court Alternative Dining (we did American Bistro and Coriander and loved both). Best starter and main course on the whole voyage (American Bistro) and amazing (!) service.

 

I can't really compare cabins as we had a Concierge Cabin on Celebrity and an Inside on Cunard but from what I have seen the Inside cabins on Eclipse were quite a bit larger (the sitting area on QM2 was a joke, an uncomfortable chair and a tiny table that barely fit a room service tray). I will just not start on carpets (and what is it with the stains? there was a huge stain on day 1, which was cleaned on day 2 and was back by day 3) or decor.

 

With the wind and the lowish temperatures we would have appreciated had blankets been provided on the outside decks (as Celebrity did).

 

One more remark ;) I really think the outside deck(s) need a "slippery even if not wet" warning. No matter which shoes I was wearing, I slipped at least once a day.

 

We really liked it - we just didn't love it.

For a similar price we will do it again but we'd never consider paying full price. Celebrity's "modern luxury" appealed to us much more than Cunard's "luxury" (which I found similar to the luxury of a Turkish 5* hotel).

 

A fifth table mate will remain on the ship until she returns to New York. This person is not thrilled about the coming 2-day “booze cruises” to and from Hamburg but mobility issues leave them with few travel choices.

 

We had dinner in Todd English early after leaving Southampton (6.30 pm) and I really wish we'd picked a different night. I realize the weather was great and people enjoyed sitting out on deck but jumping into the pool, obviously trying to splash as much as possible? Not abiding even to informal dress code (saw plenty of blue jeans). The view was not great. It fit the scene that one of the waiters was missing a button on his vest, one guest wore blue jeans and one of the other guests was so rude to the staff that I was close to applogizing to them in the name of all fellow Germans on board. Best desser on the voyage (Chocolate Fallen Cake).

 

The last two days were also considered a seperate cruise with no foreign port so UK tax was charged on goods... yeah... I would have loved to be told before the stores closed the night before Southampton (never got next days daily before dinner). I paid 20% tax on an item that I could have bought tax free a day earlier. Not a happy camper.

 

We found the last two days far too crowded but even though both nights were informal we saw quite a few tuxedos, dark suits (with tie) and long evening dresses (some were dressed up so much that I really felt under dressed in a LBD).

[...] if I am in France I get the French site.Do Cunard really want business ???

And from Germany you get the German site. The only part of Cunard's UK (?) website that I have found accessible is ask.cunard.com - as soon as you click on anything that links away from ask.cunard you end up back on the German page. Anonymox (as Firefox add-on) works wonders though :D