Hawaii136

Casual dress or skirt is fine daytime wear. Yes your husband could wear short pants.he would be in the minority. Jeans or khaki long pants fine at lunch time.  However, we find the rooms a bit chilly and any time of year the North Atlantic crossing can be quite cold. So don’t think my DH has ever worn shorts.  You may find a cardigan or sweater useful during meal times.

Us used to be 90 days, but a few years ago they changed to 120 days. So just like every country has different prices, every country has different penalties and payment dates

There was an article in the paper a few days ago that uS passports are  taking a long time. Expect 12-13 weeks for expedited, 16 weeks for normal processing time

I have used the en-suite fridge for insulin vials. Also, just ask room steward for sharps container and they will provide one.

I have taken about 8 TAs and hve never seen any doors decorated.. I would say it is NOT a done thing.  May be different during a Xmas voyage ( never been on one). 

Oops, my mistake. We were actually in a Q5

My DH and I have taken many TA crossings from Ny, and then traveled around Europe for an extra 2-3 weeks.

cocktail dress is fine. Some women even wear sparkly top with nice pants on formal night.  
we have traveled both Princess grill and ( once) QG . Although most men wear tux, a dark suit and tie is also acceptable.

No walk in shower ( shower is over tub) in All PG.  we were in a Q4 and it was also just a shower over tub. Not sure if any of the fancier QG may have separate tub and shower.  Britannia class has walk in shower only.

besides the butler, the QG rooms ar larger. Bigger walk in closet and larger bathroom and separate makeup/ desk area. The rooms are wider so you do get a wider balcony.

strategies we have used:

1. Ship home tux and shoes to a neighbor. They held them until we returned from our voyage. We did this from a high end Hamburg hotel. They packed up, and charged us a very minimal cost. Can’t remember if they used DHL or some other.

2. For NY- UK, we stay in London a couple of nights, leave one suitcase at the hotel.  They hold it for us while we travel around Europe. Then stay in London at same hotel at end of trip, pick up extra suitcase then fly back to California form LHR.

also have become adept at choosing clothes than can be worn in multiple ways to minimize our luggage. When traveling by train you want to have as little as possible.

 I think the one time we took the ship all the way to Hamburg as you are doing, there were no extra formal nights between SOU and Hamburg, just the 3 formal nights NY to SOU.

have a great trip!

We always use United miles to fly back to SFO, and select business class nonstop. We usually sail eastbound, fly back.  We usually just pay one way fare sfo to NYC at the start, since there is no penalty to the first class one way fare on that route.  As you just need to return to NY, you will def8nitely have more options than a west coast person.

Just cancelled my May 13 cruise ( USA). Will get 60% back on my CC, the rest I can apply to any future cruise departing before end of 2021.  I have 90 days to decide on which voyage to book. Must be a new booking. 

We are booked on QM2 May 13 eastbound.  It is basically a better way to get to Europe than flying from California. Our main onward destinations were paris and northern Italy.

given our ages and pre- existing health issues, we are planning to cancel. If we cancel before March 13 we lose 40%. I have been holding off hoping they ease up the cancellation policy.  We are platinum.  We also have a deposit currently on another TA in September, but we can still cancel that without penalty.

If you ask to be seated at a larger table, that larger table is your table for all meals, the whole cruise segment.

personally, we prefer table for 2, but others prefer a larger table.  Note that the tables for 2 are fairly close, so you can converse with the people at the next table if you wish.

We usually do eastbound TA followed by 2-3 weeks traveling around European capitals, before flying home.

DH usually takes

1 tux in midnight blue

2 sportcoats - depending on expected temps when we arrive in Europe, one may be heavier, and one lighter.

despite coming from the land of hoodies ( Silicon Valley), DH usually wears a sportcoat everyday while traveling in European capitals.

we do travel lightly.  Usually one small 33-39 liter carryon bag each, and one shared 60 liter bag.  Usually leave the 39 liter bag in London where we cram the formal wear and other dressy items. Then continue traveling around Europe with the small 33 liter carryon and the larger 60 liter bag, we share both suitcases. I use packing cubes to help keep out items organized.

Usually we do PG, but just once we did QG,

When one of our badges was demagnetized, our butler took care of it.

when in PG, we took it to the concierge.

The butler brought us the lunch/ dinner menus every day mid morning.

on the last sea day, DH was not feeling well, so butler served us meals in the room. You can order of the daily QG menu, not just the regular room service menu.

we have used the concierge to get print out of our spending so far( to see how much OBC we still had). We have also used the concierge when in PG when we needed an earlier disembarkation time, or to get the tickets for self disembark.

the grills lounge is great for afternoon tea, or just to hang out and read.

I think you can disembark at any time, but you must vacate your room by 8:30.

one advantage of disembarking before the rest of passengers is shorter immigration lines.

You can ask for a table for 6 or 8 if you wish to be on a larger table. 

Well, we just had to cancel this voyage due to DH’s medical issues. So they may be one more cabin...

Well I am glad some of you are excited.  I just hope they do not disrupt our daily walks around the deck.  Film crews can act very bossy and entitled - we have paid for a relaxing crossing. I doubt they will care about minimizing their impact.

Our last voyage( May 2019) , I think they were slow putting out the baggage.

so although QG was supposed to start at 8am, it didn’t start until at least 8:15am

i assume all later disembarks we’re late 

next were people on Cunard transfers, then

PG passengers were scheduled to start disembark at 8:50am

then deck 13 at 9:10am... decks top to bottom. Decks 2-3-4 had 10 am time.

it takes about 15 mins to walk off ship, and then find your suitcases..

In my observation, the closer to 12-1 you arrive, the non priority queues will be longest because so many people arrive early.  My brother has priority, but regularly waits til 2:30 or 3pm to arrive, and usually experience very little line.

DH and I usually arrive 12-12: 30 because we are in Grills. Sometimes checking at Brooklyn has been fast and smooth. Other times, not so much.  Last time checkin went smoothly, but then they had some problem with the gangway, so stopped boarding until it could be adjusted and then cleared by safety officer.  This is not normal, but we ended up waiting at least 30 additional minutes...

if you arrive before noon, there will likely still be many disembarking passengers trying to get taxis/ transport, sometimes this leads to a car backup just before terminal.

FYI right after you go through security, there are toilets.

hope for the best, be prepared for the worst!

We take QM2 eastbound transatlantic as a way to beat jet lag traveling from California to Europe. DH has Taken a suit once, but the rest of the time his tuxedo and dress shoes. Since we then travel around Europe for 2-3 weeks, we either:

1. Mail the tux and accessories home

2. Leave a carryon size suitcase behind at our hotel in London.  ( stay at same hotel after arrival at Southampton and before flying home out of LHR)

We live in SF Bay Area, but occasionally like to spend night in the city.

hotel Nikko is near union square, very modern.

sometimes we stay at Hotel Vitale near ferry building and Boulevard resto.

Although priority boarding often begins at noon, for the May 5 crossing, we have been given a 12:30 checkin time( grills/ platinum)

Sunny daygirl

you will find lots of threads on Cunard dress code on the Cunard section of CC.

however, just a few quick answers.

all Britannia rooms whether inside, balcony, etc eat in the same dining room.

Princess grill, queens grill and Britannia club rooms each have a separate dining room.

formal nights- although many women wear formal or cocktail dresses, quite a few wear pants with a sparkly top. Dressy skirt and top would also be Ok.

men can wear suit and tie, although most men wear tuxes.

other nights: dress code has eased up for men. Jacket required, tie is optional. Some men wear khaki pants. Last crossing, about 50% of men wore ties on non- formal nights.

women: dresses, nice pants/ top combo, or skirt/ dressy top.

i personally find the public rooms a bit cool, so I always bring a sweater or jacket.

note that if anyone doesn’t want to dress for dinner, they can eat in the buffet or order room service.

Hope that helps! 

I have stayed at the Vier Jahrseiten and it was wonderful. Can’t remember what category room we booked, but we were lucky to be upgraded to the prince Heinrich suite. Beautiful location on the lake. Definitely worth it to book a room with lake view. The concierge was also helpful. We had them ship DHs tux back to the US so we didn’t have to haul it around for the rest of our travels.

if the weather is nice, I also recommend a walk through the planten and Blumen gardens. We were there in May, and the rhodendenrons were beautiful!

warning! The weather can be anything. The day we arrived it was close to 80F, 2 days later it was cold and wet- I had multiple layers on, and was still freezing!

hamburg is beautiful! Have a great trip!

For 150 pounds we have booked smiths airport car service. Door to door service from exiting ship direct to our London hotel.