Embarking QM2 in HKG

[Timtammi]

Can anyone advise for sure where you check in for the QM2 when embarking in HKG? My TA had advised the main terminal in TST and that we would then be bussed to the container terminal where QM2 will be docked. We got our tkts yesterday for our QM2 WC segment and they indicate embarkation at "Hong Kong International Terminal - Container Terminal". Obviously I will need to clarify but would be interested in hearing from anyone who has done it before. I was on the QM2 WC in 2007 and we went through HKG but I wasn't getting on there so its a bit different!

 

Also, I have seen via these boards (and my voyage personaliser) that QM2 is now scheduled to depart HKG at 4.00pm not 6.00pm but the tickets still say departing 6pm so have not been updated at all and in fact I have had no advice of this at all from my TA or Cunard! I hope nobody misses the ship because of this!

 

Cheers

[copacruiser]

Hi Timtammi,

We are on the same sector, I too wondered when we rec'd our tickets about the info.so sent an email to cunard aust. querying all your points and this was the reply.

 

Check in commences at 12 noon at Ocean Terminal, Kowloon, Hong Kong... The ship will dock at the container terminal and passengers are transferred from the terminal to the ship and vice versa...

 

So yes check in is earlier ,though they did not confirm earlier departure! See you in Hong Kong!:)

[katzoe]

I asked my TA to speak to Cunard in Sydney when I read on these boards about the early departure from H.K. Cunard said that I would receive the updated information with my cruise docs which I have not yet received. From your message Timtammi it sounds like Cunard have not provided the required information which I find disappointing.

[Timtammi]

Yeah I think Cunard shoreside are pretty disorganised at times and if anything Cunard's Australian office seem even worse, they certainly seem out of the loop at times.

 

looks like the info my TA gave me originally was correct but the tickets say nothing helpful at all! No address for checkin other that what I gave above and everything still says scheduled to leave at 6.00pm although when I login to my voyage personaliser it says 4.00pm.

 

I'm expecting embarkation to be a nightmare. They have a lot of people to transfer quite a long way (the container terminal is quite some distance) and with wanting to get away earlier, and not communicating the new departure time well it all adds up to a lot of confusion. I plan to get there EARLY and hopefully avoid the rush or at least be towards the front of it!

 

See you in Honkers!

 

Cheers

[boeckli]

looks like the info my TA gave me originally was correct but the tickets say nothing helpful at all! No address for checkin other that what I gave above and everything still says scheduled to leave at 6.00pm although when I login to my voyage personaliser it says 4.00pm.

 

 

Hi Timtammi - How do you get to your voyage personaliser (VP) ?

As was discussed on another thread here, a couple of us Aussies have been unable to access VP (does not even exist on the Aussie website to which we are automatically re-routed).

[first time cruising]

I also contacted Cunard Australia by email and they stated I could not get access to voyage personaliser. Actually I did get access and they had some details i.e. the shore excusions that we have booked but not much else. No mention of embarkation times. Have not received our tickets etc but will speak to our travel agent when we receive them to see if they can shed further light on time of departure from Hong Kong. Guess everything will turn out ok and will forget about the stress once sipping a cocktail or champagne on the first night!

[katzoe]

I am still chasing our travel documents but no results yet. Timtammi mentioned that she received her tickets last Friday. I don't understand why all Australian passengers departing Hong Kong on 13th February don't receive their tickets at the same time. Does anyone know why? We were required to pay the balance back in early November.

[rbdb]

We too have not received our tickets - actually we didn't receive the shore excusion booking information either. Will be much happier when I have tickets in hand!:eek:

[katzoe]

Cunard told my TA that "clients in Australia get docs 2 weeks prior as that’s when Cunard send them from the UK." Did you use an overseas agent Timtammi or is this incorrect information?

[Timtammi]

I used a TA in QLD. Have you all returned the Guest Registration information re passports etc -the same info you fill in on the voyage personaliser but its a physical sheet which we faxed to our TA. The reason I asked is that the TA said Cunard would not isse tkts until that was received. I did both, filled it in online on VP and sent back physical form.

 

To be honest I was a bit surprised to get them so quickly. TA emailed last Thurs that she had them, and they arrived via Express Post on Friday.

 

You CAN access the voyage personaliser but you have to trick the browser by going straight to it, you can't navigate to it or you get bumped back to the AUS site.

 

https://register.cunard.com/voyagepersonalizer/

 

Go there and pop in your name and Cunard booking number and you will see things like your restaurant times, room number, itinerary and you can fill in guest registration info (and change it).

 

That's where I found out we had been upgraded, TA didn't know till I told her!

 

Cheers

[boeckli]

Thanks for that info, Timtammi :)

[first time cruising]

We received our tickets yesterday. Thanks for information on voyage personaliser. Managed to get into it and it states that the ship sails at 4pm and boarding starts at 12.00pm. Our travel agent in Adelaide checked for me yesterday and said as far as he was concerned the ships still sails at 6pm. Mystery!! Will make sure we are at the terminal by noon, no way I would want to miss this trip.

[katzoe]

Thanks for the information Timtammi. I checked our voyage personaliser and all was in order. Have been advised by TA that our tickets arrived in Sydney today & we will have them tomorrow. We will also make sure we are at the terminal by midday.

[Timtammi]

Glad to be of help and also glad to hear you are all starting to get your tickets.

 

I look forward to meeting all of you onboard at the CC M & G if you come along. We too will be getting to the terminal early so if you see a couple with a little girl with shirley temple curls, thats us! Make sure you say hi! :)

 

Cheers

 

Timmi, Callum and Imogen

[katzoe]

We received our Cunard documents today & an Emergency Notification is included advising departure from Hong Kong is 4.00pm, Shanghai 2.30am to 11.00pm & Guam 6.00am to 6.00pm.

On the actual ticket it states the Embarkation Port is "Hong Kong International Terminal - Container Terminal" & check in Time 12.00 noon. It does not mention Ocean Terminal or transferring passengers. We do not have a transfer voucher so presume our hotel will be able to organize a taxi.

 

Lorraine

[katzoe]

We received our Cunard documents today & an Emergency Notification is included advising departure from Hong Kong is 4.00pm, Shanghai 2.30am to 11.00pm & Guam 6.00am to 6.00pm.

On the actual ticket it states the Embarkation Port is "Hong Kong International Terminal - Container Terminal" & check in Time 12.00 noon. It does not mention Ocean Terminal or transferring passengers. We do not have a transfer voucher so presume our hotel will be able to organize a taxi.

 

Lorraine

[Timtammi]

Interesting re the emergency notification included, we did not get that with ours. Our tickets state the exact same thing as your Katzoe but my TA was adamant we check in at Ocean Terminal and get transferred by Cunard to the container terminal. It makes sense, that is what they do in Sydney and without an address for the container terminal noone would find it! It's hardly centrally located.

 

Cheers

[katzoe]

I have cruised in & out of Ocean Terminal on a few occassions and I cannot think where the meeting place could be with coaches to transfer both passengers & luggage to another location Timtammi. It is strange that we have not been fully briefed. Perhaps we can contact Cunard in Hong Kong. Does anyone know if there is a specific hotel recommended by Cunard with a representative on call as with Seabourn & Silversea?

[Timtammi]

Good question Katzoe, I wish I knew the answer. I assumed you actually arrived and checked in at Ocean Terminal (as if the ship was there although it wont be) and then after that they will transfer you but I'm only guessing really!

 

I hope it all makes sense on the day!

 

Cheers

[Heng]

28 Jan 2010

We are booked on the Queen Mary 2 cruise out of Hong Kong on 13 February and despite efforts by our travel agent we have been unable to obtain any detailed information from the Cunard office here in Australia related to the embarkation process in Hong Kong When initially contacted a man at Cunard simply said we should go to the container terminal on the departure day.

Cunard Line in Australia does not seem to have any appreciation of the fact that there is more than one container terminal in Hong Kong where the Queen Mary 2 could berth. I understand there are at least nine container terminals managed by five individual companies with a total of 24 berths in the Kwai Tsing port area of Hong Kong alone. This does not include other container terminals in the city.

I did some research last week which indicated the Queen Mary 2 is likely to be berthed at one of the wharfs operated Modern Terminals Ltd in Kwai Tsing Port.

When I contacted management of the Ocean Terminal they were almost certain that the embarkation process for the Queen Mary 2 would not take place at the Ocean Terminal because they were very busy on 13 February. They were of view that the embarkation process would take place at a container terminal but they did not know where.

If passengers have to go to the container terminal without any assistance from Cunard you should be aware that 13 February is the eve of Chinese new year which may mean it will be difficult moving around Hong Kong by taxi. It is possible the early departure from Hong Kong at 4 pm by Queen Mary 2 is related to the start of Chinese new year.

This is our first cruise on Cunard and we have been very disappointed by the lack of information supplied by Cunard here in Australia in relation to the embarkation procedures in Hong Kong. I understand this voyage started some time ago from the UK. I can appreciate that Cunard would not know where the ship may be berthed until shortly before it arrives in Hong Kong but I don’t understand why the embarkation process could not have been decided on ages ago, eg: the process could have been arranged at the Ocean Terminal no matter where the ship was likely to be berthed.

We are leaving for Hong Kong on 9 February and it is of some concern we could leave Australia with no indication where we are to go in Hong Kong for the embarkation process. Cunard in Australia has not given our travel agent any indication of when and if we will be provided with this information before we leave. To be frank this is a totally unsatisfactory situation.

[boeckli]

Your frustration is understandable.

How about trying to get info from Cunard Head Office? (you should not have to go to these length but if it brings peace of mind ...)

Passengers embarking the Dawn Princess on our Cherry Blossom cruise in Shanghai last March had a very similar problem with Princess' Australian office.

[rbdb]

It gets worse....just spoke with Cunard Australia - embarkation will now be via the Marriott Airport Hotel - at the International Airport and passengers will be taken by bus to QM2. Not happy:confused: Apparently advice will be sent to passengers...as to when.........

[cruisemaniac2010]

the ship is docking at the Modern Terminal in Hong Kong and there is no public access to it, so check in is at the Hong Kong Sky Mariott at the Hong Kong international airport (address - 1 Sky City Road East Lantou)

check in is from 9am - 12pm only and passengers will be transferred from the mariott to the ship.

 

all passengers should get a letter from Cunard that was sent to the TA, but this has only happened in the past few hours :)

[Timtammi]

the ship is docking at the Modern Terminal in Hong Kong and there is no public access to it, so check in is at the Hong Kong Sky Mariott at the Hong Kong international airport (address - 1 Sky City Road East Lantou)

check in is from 9am - 12pm only and passengers will be transferred from the mariott to the ship.

 

all passengers should get a letter from Cunard that was sent to the TA, but this has only happened in the past few hours

 

While I don't doubt this is accurate its absolutely CRAZY! The Marriott at the airport????? Might be good for people arriving that day but the airport is a long way from both where the ship will be and from either Kowloon or Hong Kong island where most people would be staying if they have arrived in Hong Kong earlier. Its simply madness! and to leave it so late to tell us...

 

And now check-in is only from 9.00am to 12.00? When my documents say don't arrive until 12.30.

 

I wonder how many people will either miss the ship, arrive too late, go to the wrong place etc etc etc. I think there is WAAAAAY to much leeway for things to go wrong here!

 

cheers

[katzoe]

I have also had the same information. Check in between 9am -12.00 noon at Sky Marriott, HK Airport on Lantau Island and then transferred to ship. Passengers to receive notification from Cunard once all is confirmed.

 

I cannot understand why we were not advised of these procedures when we received our final docs?