Victoria2

Better still if it was life inside the Grills! 🙂 Might have to decamp one night if not possible. Does look fantastic. Right up my street!

and thank you for your daily reports. It's been a pleasure, and really insightful, to read even if the pleasure might not have been yours when writing at times. Loved that seafood platter! Definitely on my radar for next year.

Never fear. When you board your cruise, after a day or two so you are familiar with the wait staff, ask the Head Waiter/Maître' d if there's a possibility you can have a seafood platter like/ similar to the Verandah platter. You might not get exactly the same but I'm pretty sure the galley will come up with a decent plate for you. If I could have cavier every night if I'd wanted, I'm pretty sure some seafood will be available. Ask. In fact, ask and ask! Just ask.

Talking of ravishing, the lady on the table behind ours had the most wonderful figure and her clothes were simply beautiful. Every single night. She never wore long but her dresses were outstanding and I happen to know one of them as I'd tried the same on a few months ago and looked like a sack of potatoes. Expensive ones so probably Jersey Royals at the time but still sack like. On her, it looked the expensive garment it was. She was the epitome of why Gala dressing doesn't necessarily mean long dresses are a must.

Also useful to note for any newbies reading, it isn't compulsory to wear a different outfit for every Gala night. I have to own I got a bit 'dressed out' in August and actually dared to re-wear a long dress on the last Gala session, which I wore for the first simply because it's my favourite and I know it really suits me. Luckily, being a tops and trousers dresser for the other evenings, I can re-wear black trousers with the different tops/jackets/over shirts. Really, at the end of the day, unless a particular out fit is amazingly stand out'ish no one is going to notice, so you're pleasing yourself. I'd also say 'your' partner but I don't think mine would notice unless it was spectacularly awful and I don't posses anything in that category. 🙂

That is most definitely, a seafood platter! So what did Mr HH have? 😀

Just bear in mind, the outlay might be different for US bookings. Hopefully, the facility will return for UK bookings in the future. Until then, I will have to make do with just the offered $400 onboard booking benefit which will be most useful as sadly, with the $/£ exchange rate at the moment, every little, really does help. Also bear in mind, folk love QE too so if an itinerary pops up which floats your boat, go with that, on either.

Major tom I don’t believe I’m mistaken when taking these bookings at face value. I do believe you are so disillusioned with the company, you are willing to think the worst of them. I do hope you find out the reason behind the present FCD embargo for UK bookings. I have a good idea why so it will be interesting to see if you find out something similar.

I give up! It's not a risk! What part of T&Cs when booking must be honoured is hard to understand? You really do have it in for Cunard if you won't accept that.

If you read my post I did say 'Booking a '24 cruise to transfer to '25 would work under present UK T&Cs' and 'How long this 'offer' will last is anyone's guess'. UK T&Cs, not US T&Cs. Those UK T&Cs might change for future bookings but the UK T&Cs I described will have to be honoured and to be quite frank, the low deposit of £175 per booking for the $400 benefit is worth the punt so hardly 'one hell of a risk'. 🙂

You must know more than I of Cunard's future booking conditions. Have the T&Cs I described changed or do you know for definite, when they will?

Next time I'm on QV, I'll take a photo. It's a bit out of my comfort zone as I'm not a food photo fan but I'll make an exception. All I can say - OK, shout it - is I lost 2lbs on the trip and I'm sure a good part of it was down to no puds apart from one evening when we ordered Crepes, and my salad concoctions. 🙂

The year runs from the date of the booked cruise, not the actual booking date but for you and others, it all depends if same offer is still on the table, and if the same T&Cs apply to you as a US passenger. You won't know until you ask so mull it over and ask at the Future Voyage Sales office.

Just be aware, in my case, if the booked cruises were to be transferred under the 'one change' condition and within the imposed time constraint, the new booking had to be of equal * or higher than the original booking. Booking a '24 cruise to transfer to '25 would work under present UK T&Cs as long as the new booking was within one year of the transferred bookng. How long this 'offer' will last is anyone's guess. Good luck.

Booking conditions seem to differ, US v UK but in August, I booked two trips with a ridiculously low deposit and thus gaining the $400 onboard booking benefit [ pointedly called benefit ] in the full knowledge I could transfer them both once, without charge if I really needed to as long as the time element was observed. I immediately had the bookings transferred to my wonderful agent. T&Cs might be different for a US onboard booking.

Are you in for a treat! I have a seafood platter occasionally, for lunch, in the restaurant. Lobster tail salad, the salad fixings of my own dictate, boringly, many times a week, interspersed with sushi or ceviche.. yum yum. However, the chocolate thingy does nothing for me at all so I would have to have more lobster, to compensate!!

It certainly is but wars have been started over less!!!😂 When patiently waiting in line to be escorted to your assigned table on embarkation day, one can't help but overhear when a fellow passenger doesn't want the table assigned to them. Two tops by the window are the most sought after but there aren't enough of those to go round and even then, there are those which are better positioned. Table politics, definitely a C21st problem! 🙂

Departing Southampton, pre Covid, the Spanish tax was only applicable in Spanish waters but we did port in non Spanish ports. Is it just different when on a round trip from a Spanish port? Does a non Spanish port have to be included to avoid a cruise wide imposition of the tax?

As I said, I have no knowledge of QM2 but on the Vistas, there's no particular 'worst' table, but there are definitely desirable ones, especially the two top category.

Excellent, but buchannan and I have been talking QG restaurant where I know cabin grade has some influence with table position on QV and QE, not sure about QM2..

If you mean the pre-Covid Diamond 'free' 8hrs, or the payg post-Covid then yes, definitely. A Diamond perk has 'bitten the dust'. If you mean actual Wi-Fi accessibility, it was a bit hit and miss [mostly reasonably OK overall apart from one day when no one could access it, to be fair] but didn't matter if it was on deck 7 stairwell B stairs or in the cabin so I missed being Miss Wi-Fi Congeniality! Unlike exlondoner's experience, the balcony was a dead spot all the time but bear in mind, this was on QV.

Or even sitting on the lift lobby stairs and making new friends whilst doing so. What's that phrase? Necessity is the mother of invention!

What the heck, just ask for a large platter and have them both together. Then one could chill off a bit so Hattie will feel 'at home'! 😀

Heavens. I hope Hattie keeps her nose clean...in more ways than one! 😀

Lift proximity is an interesting subject. Our preferred cabins open out onto the lift lobby on 'the Vistas' and we are never bothered by passing 'trade' or lift noises. Whilst we will never holiday on QM2 so I have no idea of her QG set up, I sincerely hope you have a marvellous time and you come back and give us your verdict.