Oldcruiser99

I was just on the QV last week and tried the fencing. There were 14 in the group and it was offered every day at sea. We had only 1 person with any experience in our group. The others were complete novices. By the time we went through how to get the equipment on use the foils safely, there was only about 5 minutes remaining for a few very bad attempts at fencing. Only you can judge whether it would be worth your time but I would have my doubts.

Based on what you have said, I would not recommend RCI. Princess or Holland America would both be good choices. I would lean towards Holland America. The Pinnacle Grill extra-fee restaurant is one of my favorite at sea and I'm sure would do a wonderful job with a holiday dinner. I would say it's a bit closer to Cunard as well in being a more traditional cruise experience.

I would not recommend the Amsterdam, however, as you can see from reviews on this site it is not one of Holland America's best ships. If you are looking at the Westerdam Dec. 24 I would give that a try. It's a Vista class ship the same size and similar layout to the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

Just home from my first time on a Cunard cruise, on the Queen Elizabeth. I am a veteran cruiser and thought I would throw out some observations. I read hundreds of posts on this message board and did plenty of research but still had a few surprises.

Check-in in Venice and disembarkation in Athens were the best I have ever seen. The ease of embarkation may have been because sail away was 10 pm and there was no rush of people.

The Verandah and the Carinthia Cafe both seemed very underused. I expected prior to leaving that I would spend time in the Wintergarden but it too seemed a little empty most days. It was a a hot two weeks. But the Wntergarden is a nice quiet place and was more popular when Saturday football or Formula1 racing was on the Tv.

Britannia dining room was excellent. I would have enjoyed having a slightly larger menu selection, however. Perhaps one or two more items. Service in the Britannia was also the best I have ever seen. We had Reggie, a veteran of 18 years on various Cunard ships, and Raymund. I can not say enough good things about how they looked after my wife and I.

As for first-timers worried about various levels of accommodation and restaurants, you won't even notice they are there.

The Queens room was wonderful - nothing like it at sea - but a few nights on our 14 days it got quieter earlier in the evening than I anticipated.

Americans may find the menus and buffets a little too British and perhaps a little more "upscale" than what they see on other cruise lines. But I loved it. My wife is British (I am Canadian) so I was already familiar with everything available.

The theatre was also lovely. The private boxes are a nice touch and always available if you show up a few minutes early. The theatre is also large enough that you don't need to show up 20 minutes early as I have on some ships.

The entertainment in the theatre was mostly great. But the shows by the Cunard singers and dancers were a little underwhelming. Best dancing group I have seen but there seemed to be little theme or logic to some of the shows. The audience reaction seemed similar to mine.

The Golden Lion was also a nice surprise. Many nights it was packed with people playing trivia games or a listening to a piano player. A real traditional pub feel.

It is also nice to have a traditional promenade deck for an after-dinner walk.

I have only ever cruised with "anytime dining" and wasn't sure what I would think of a set time every night. I found it wasn't restrictive at all and it avoided 20 or 30 minute waits I have experienced on other cruises. Wait times between appetizer/main/desert was quite short. You still had the option and time to linger a bit if you preferred.

As others have said, the ship is beautiful and more traditional than others. It is very easy to relax. If you want surfing, bumper cars or water parks, then Cunard is not your cruise line. If you want old time cruising with great service on a "classier" ship then Cunard is worth a look. The dancing and theme nights in the ballroom or unlike anything else at sea.

As for the dress code, plenty has been said elsewhere on this forum but I quite enjoyed it and was actually able to pack without bringing any more clothes for dinner than I have on other cruises

I was just on the Queen Victoria last week. For formal nights I had a three piece black suit (with vest) which I wore with a bow tie. It was a lightweight material that wasn't too warm for a summer Greek night. That seemed to fit in just fine. My estimate would be about one third of the men wore traditional tuxedos. There were others who wore dark suits and about one third wearing suits that were blue or grey, which to me was not up to the Cunard dress card but no seemed to care.

I had three business suits for the other "non-formal" nights which I wore sometimes with a tie and sometimes without. It actually seemed to be less to pack than other cruise lines where I tend to bring something different for each night in the dining room. I don't know why people object or feel it's too much to pack. As others have said, if the dress code is a concern there are plenty of other choices out there.

Hi all:

I am a licensed travel agent in Canada. It is not my main income. More of a hobby. I book a bit for friends in an office which specializes in cruises.

Previous posters have raised some good points. A good agent should be able to do everything for you if they are motivated. The problem is that there is little or no money to be made helping clients with air fare or hotels. That's why some less dedicated agents will want to just book your cruise and then forget you.

It shouldn't be that way. If you aren't getting full service, then find someone else. When you do find a good agent, stick with them. There are still benefits. In my case our office can often offer lower prices than the cruise lines by buying cabins in bulk or offering a $50 room credit which comes out the office profit, not the travel agent's.

An agent should care about you. They should check in with you when you are ready to depart and then again when you return. They should care about saving you money.

I am a Cunard World Club Platinum member. Does anyone know if you can bring a non-Platinum guest to the complimentary wine tasting and senior officers party. Do the invitations include a guest. Thanks.

There have been changes to the 14-day itinerary of the QV leaving Venice Aug. 20. We now have Sarande and Kotor. The two stops in Turkey have been dropped.

We're five weeks away from a trip on the QV and our cabin number just disappeared from voyage personalizer. Does this mean we are likely getting a cabin change or upgrade?

I agree with Hattie. Enjoy a few hours in Venice. There is a spot you can store your luggage in Piazzale Roma for a few hours. There's no rush to board. You can check in a little later than your stated boarding time. Hop on one of the vaporetto from Piazzale Roma and enjoy a boat ride along the Grand Canal.

It looks as though your ship docks at 7 am. If you don't mind walking off the ship with your own luggage, you should be able to disembark any time after about 8 am. We are doing the same thing in Athens. We arranged a car through Holiday Taxis recommended by Cunard and the car will be waiting for us as soon as we walk off the ship. Holiday Taxis is relatively affordable for a private transfer.

We are sailing on the Queen Victoria from Venice Aug. 20. We will be at the port about 9 am but just got our boarding time today, which is 2:30 pm. Does anyone know if we can safely leave the bags with someone for a few hours? Will they let us check them in sooner? Thanks

It seems to be official. I had the following itinerary arrive in my email last night. Queen Victoria will be stopping in Volos and Marmaris the last week of August. No shore excursions available yet, although you can see some likely possibilities by searching through the various ports on the Cunard website

Aug 27 Athens

Aug 28 At Sea

Aug 29 Volos

Aug 30 At Sea

Aug 31 Marmaris

Sep 01 RhodesSep 02 Mykonos

Sep 03 Athens

I have not been in that cabin but the deck plan indicates a pull-down bed.

Here is more from the CruiseCritic website

Most cruise lines still calling in at Istanbul have cancelled port stops at the city following Tuesday's airport bombing which killed 41 people, while a few others are still monitoring the situation. Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, Windstar and Holland America Line were all due to call in at Istanbul in the coming days and weeks. Of those, Celebrity, Cunard, Windstar and Seabourn have all canceled.

Neither the U.K.'s Foreign & Commonwealth Office nor the U.S.'s State Department have altered their travel advice to Turkey, which is usually the trigger for travel companies to cancel or alter travel plans. The U.S. currently has a warning for the southeast part of Turkey bordering Syria and Iraq.

The bombing is the sixth -- and deadliest -- terrorist attack in Turkey this year. The second Istanbul bombing in March led to a number of lines altering their itineraries, including Viking.

Crystal, Disney and MSC Cruises had already announced that they will not stop in Turkey in 2016; Celebrity Cruises had already canceled overnights in Istanbul. What complicates the issue is that many cruise lines on Eastern Mediterranean itineraries embark or disembark in Istanbul, meaning that passenger flights may have to be changed on short notice.

Here's where the lines stand:

Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity Cruises has canceled all calls in Istanbul. A spokesperson said: "Celebrity Cruises is aware of the situation in Istanbul, Turkey, and our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the attack. After discussion with our Global Security team in Miami, we have decided to cancel all of Celebrity Cruises' upcoming calls to Istanbul, Turkey, and replace them with Athens (Piraeus), Greece.This decision was made in the interests of our guests' safety and we apologize for the impact on their cruise. Our guests' holiday time is precious and we did not take this decision lightly. The safety of our guests and crew is always our foremost concern. We are currently finalizing the details of these itinerary changes and will communicate with our guests or their travel agents as soon as we have additional details.

Cunard. Cunard has canceled all calls in Istanbul. Queen Victoria was due in on July 18 to spend a night in Istanbul, but will no longer. A spokeswoman said: "Following the tragic events in Istanbul this week Cunard is cancelling all 2016 calls to Istanbul. We are currently preparing new itineraries and will communicate these to guests in the next 24 to 48 hours."

Holland America Line. Eurodam is due in on July 22 to spend the night; that call is still on the books, according to the line. In a statement, the line said: "Holland America Line is closely monitoring the situation in Turkey. The company analyzes information regarding safety and security from many sources, which includes liaising with government intelligence agencies and on-the-ground port security assessments. We are assessing our upcoming scheduled visits to Istanbul. The next scheduled call is July 23, 2016, with ms Eurodam. Should any decisions be made regarding itinerary changes, it will be closer to the scheduled call date and communicated with booked guests and their travel agents. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority."

Princess Cruises. Royal Princess is due into Istanbul next Thursday, July 7, and is still going ahead with the call.

A spokesperson said: "We are closely monitoring the situation in Istanbul. We will advise guests and our travel consultant partners should the need arise to make changes to any of our published itineraries."

It doesn't appear to be a major shift in dress code policy. It applies on evenings with people boarding the ship - AND with later sailaways. On Aug. 20 there is a 10 pm sail from Venice and Aug. 27 there is another late-night sail from Piraeus (Athens).

Here is a reply from Cunard previously posted here.

The Informal (Jacket Optional) dress code amendment applies to Queen Victoria's summer fly Mediterranean season on embarkation days only, in Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Venice. Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will continue to have the standard Formal and Informal (Jacket Required) dress codes.The ship's newspaper will confirm the dress code of the day.

Guests who have Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Venice as a port during their voyage and are already settled in on board are encouraged to wear a jacket."