Victoria2

As a complete culinary slob, I love pick and mixing foods on the same plate. Sushi, smoked salmon, wasabi, pickled ginger and piies of stir fried noodles? Yum Yum. Can't see that happening up on the Gods 😄 and as a Lido lover, I haven't used existing utensils in the Buffet.for well over a decade. I always take a fresh set of napkin wrapped cutlery and use them as my utensils. Lido revenge tummy? What Lido revenge tummy. 🙂

We sanitise our hands to distraction... and yep, it works. I don't. I'm the one folk might sneer at as I bypass sanitisers but with eczema as bad as mine there is NO way I'm using the stuff. We wash our hands many, many times a day, and that works too. That keeps my hands clean and a small refillable tube of hand balm keeps cracked skin from excessive dryness at bay.

That was us. I asked about a certain cabin on a cruise whilst onboard and was told it had quite a list of 'wait'ers' so not worth joining the wait list. I looked a few times a day as full payment neared and there it was. Wait listers or not, I rang our agent and booked it there and then, so no, I don't believe in the wait lists!

OK, your circumstances are what they are but all our flights, and they have all involved major airports to be fair, have been put to Cunard as fait accompli and I must admit, I assumed they took over the booking and charged accordingly rather than looked to see if airport/carrier were within their remit.

It won't help much I know but I regard the Singapore-Columbo-CT and/or S'ton one of the jewels in Cunard's itinerary. We have been fortunate enough to sail it a few times and on every occasion, it's been a stand out memory. 🙂

You can still have your flights bundled up with the cruise booking into a 'package'. We decide what our flights will be, eg, dates/routing/carrier/class of travel and anything else I've missed out and via our agent, it all comes under our Cunard booking. Obviously, we have to go with whatever Cunard charge us for this set up. We then pay the flight/s element asap and we get to choose our seats. Works for us.

I don't for one moment envy Cunard. Legal requirements or gestures of goodwill, whatever, there are going to be some very upset passengers.

Whilst this is not a Covid scenario and it's not the fault of Cunard or passengers this situation has occurred it highlights the pluses of having a flight bundled up into the cruise ticket. I will keep my fingers crossed those who made their own flight arrangements manage to be reimbursed by one way or another and that rearranging flights is fairly painless. Anyone involved, please keep us informed.

There is a possibility and you are right to inform. However, just because it has happened, doesn’t mean it’s the norm. it will be most interesting to see what unfolds.

For all, and for the expense of rebooking a probably more expensive flight? Whatever the outcome, the pitfall of booking your own flights will involve extra expense and the hassle of making your own arrangements.

Actually, I am correct. It IS a pitfall of booking your own flights. Will Cunard will step in if insurers won't? I'm sure they can, but will they, for everyone? No idea.

Depending on the time line of course, but I was answered 'yes' to that question as you could have sold the shares in between cruises [as if 😃].

I'm sorry you and others will be inconvenienced, I really am but Cunard are not to blame. They will have been studying this for weeks and will have come up with what they see as the best of a bad job solution and none of us here will be privy to their thought processes. You are but one tiny cog in the machinations of a very upsetting turn of events and as I said, book flights through Cunard and you will be covered in situations such as this, however inconvenient the whole thing will be.

Cunard can't be held to account for having to change the itinerary for this cruise. If your flights were booked with Cunard, they will get you home/change the flights, at their expense. If flights were booked independently, then having to arrange other flights at your own expense is a pitfall of doing so.

In my experience, and this is only on Victoria, the 'fresh' milk is more often than not, of the UHT variety which makes the 'horrid' milk sticks far more palatable. As I always carry small scissors in my luggage, the stick splatter effect doesn't apply. 🙂

Request a large dining table and you'll be able to dine with others. Bridge It's usually a hosted duplicate session in the card room [Atlantic room deck11 in my experience on QM2] at 2pm on sea days, of which you'll obviously have a 'few'. It's an interesting session as there will be a mix of ACOL and Standard American. Luckily, if partnering one who doesn't play ACOL, we rub along OK. Edit Sorry, I was assuming you'd know, which as a newbie, you won't so Bridge will be posted in the daily itinerary so you'll know when and where. Enjoy. 🙂

Graham Render, are your airfares bundled up with your Cunard booking because if they are [I know about it as that's what we do] and the itinerary is considerably changed/cancelled, you should be able to get the flights changed by Cunard at their expense or the whole 'package' reimbursed.

Of course you're suitable. If I read you correctly, you booked as a solo but might now have to persuade your son to join you. It would be great if you could both join in the Gala evenings in the restaurant, but if a suit [and a dark one would be fine] is going to be a stretch, you can eat in the buffet or have room service. Yes Gala attire is 'required' around the ship but the reality is, apart from some bars where you might be a fish out of water, your son would not be on his own without Gala attire in the theatre and wandering around.

I thought Lofoten, but the hills aren't hilly enough.

Nothing worse than trousers at half mast and 6fft 5'' is pretty 'unaverage' for suit rental. Here's an idea. Buy the correct length of tux 'ish black trousers in the US and pop into M&S for a black jacket. OK, the blacks might not be precisely the same blacks, but you'll have the equivalent of a dark suit. Add a tie and a shirt, and you'll pass muster. Well you would for me, if only for trying to 'blend in'. If the trousers, or any other garment for that matter, needs a press, send out!

The sachets in the buffet, with a little extra milk are very tasty to have on occasions.

Difficult to be accurate as ships can suffer air-con inadequacy in some areas [thinking definitely QV/QE here as I haven't been in a hot climate on QM2] if the sun is blazing in and the temps. out side very hot. The QM2 Britannia restaurant can get hot too in certain parts and that's not even in a hot climate. Conversely, there are areas of the ship which can seem cool so a light layer is a good idea to have with you. I take a pashmina and soon suss out where it's needed and where it's not.

I can believe it. There are many folk who will not venture into the IT world other than a mobile phone and even then, it might not be Smart. I'm not smart, IT wise and I realise my limitations [of which there are many!!!] but I'm realistic to know if Cunard goes Smart [please NO] I will adapt. I volunteer with a couple of charities, one of which is primarily for 'the elderly', an age which has no fixed ranges. There are perfectly sensible folk out there who want nothing to do with IT other than a mobile phone and anything else scares the bejesus out of them. They might already be Cunard loyalists but being expected to 'use technology' would be the end of their Cunard association. Maybe that's why Cunard is seen by some as dragging its feet. It knows its core passenger profile at the moment.

Never ordered it but if I can have caviar every night if I want [I don't] and pre ordered item which appears on a pop up menu, I don't see why a Rum Baba is beyond the realms of possibility. 🙂

Giles2000, do you mean 'chic'? There is sophisticated, and then there is eccentric. Having experienced many weeks of QV world cruises, eccentric can have a field day on some evenings and are positively encouraged on some occasions, but I would hate Cunard newbies to think eccentricity is what Gala and other evenings on board are all about.