Queen Elizabeth - Haifa

[Bickley]

Oh dear you do seem to have had a very different experience to the other two contributors.After reading your comments I'm now not sure about booking the next QE2 cruise to the Holyland in November 2013.You sound as if you were on a different cruise was it really average in every respect or did you have very very high expections as you were sailing with Cunard?

 

Does anyone else have any feedback?

 

We are still waiting for our GP to complete our medical questionaires, for which we have to pay £25 each,so we still don't know for sure if our insurance company will repay our fares. We are though expecting to get a full refund less a £50 excess. Does anyone in the UK have experience of making similiar insurance claims?

[glojo]

I fear there is an old saying about pleasing some of the people some of the time, but never being able to please all of the people all of the time.

 

I wonder how many people that signed the petition were FULLY aware of ALL the facts regarding the issue they were discussing and I am guessing the captain would be far, far too busy to attempt to even begin to explain a tenth of the issues regarding all his duties regarding the care and safety of the ship and its human 'cargo' :)

 

If the insurance underwriters declared certain areas as 'no go' areas for cruise ships, then all the whining, all the complaining and all the petitions in the World would not have ANY influence whatsoever.

 

It is nice to read the posts of those that showed a degree of understanding regarding this no win situation but trying to undermine a captain's authority is to me an unacceptable step way too far. I guess those that signed that partition can in future vote with their feet and take their custom elsewhere.

 

When this ship altered her itinerary, did any other cruise ships go to those locations?

[Crusin Kelly]

Bickley, yes we had very high expectations of Cunard. What attracted us was the formal nature of the liners, Jacket required each evening for dinner (tux, suit, etc) and the Queens Room with orchestra (band) for dancing. We had also seen indications that the staff was more attentive, etc. We did not feel they were any different than other lines. Maybe we were swayed by the disappointment of the missed stops causing an overall disappointed feel to the whole experience. The crew worked very hard to make the trip successful, I will give them that. Was the overall experience up to the Cunard standard, I really don't have an answer.

 

Glojo, from the little bits of information that we got from the Captain, I do think that there were at least 2 other ships that were affected. he mentioned at one point that they were working with other ships and ports to coordinate port calls. We did pass a Royal Caribbean (I think) ship when we arrived Malta as they were leaving. They had worked out a horn salute - pretty cool.

 

And yes I also felt that the petition was over the top - we the passengers did not have anywhere near enough facts to me able to make any recommedations (or demands) to the Captain as to his decisions. Many of the decisions were made by the home office anyway. I guess what really bothered me more than anything was the lack of information or the "just-in-time" nature of the decisions and planning. I agree, before you start on me, that things were changing rapidly and fexibility was key, but some people stress over change. I am a planner, personality type, I like to know what and where and when... that's just me. The TV channel that shows the position of the ship was not functioning for 4 days or so in the middle of all this change, so we didn't even really know where we were.

 

In the end, we made 3 addtional port calls - each were, in their own right, interesting. Would we have gone there purposely ? probably not... did we enjoy the days in each location, yes. were they equal to the Holy Land and the pyramids of Egypt... certainly not.

[glojo]

Bickley, yes we had very high expectations of Cunard. What attracted us was the formal nature of the liners, Jacket required each evening for dinner (tux, suit, etc) and the Queens Room with orchestra (band) for dancing. We had also seen indications that the staff was more attentive, etc. We did not feel they were any different than other lines. Maybe we were swayed by the disappointment of the missed stops causing an overall disappointed feel to the whole experience. The crew worked very hard to make the trip successful, I will give them that. Was the overall experience up to the Cunard standard, I really don't have an answer.

 

Glojo, from the little bits of information that we got from the Captain, I do think that there were at least 2 other ships that were affected. he mentioned at one point that they were working with other ships and ports to coordinate port calls. We did pass a Royal Caribbean (I think) ship when we arrived Malta as they were leaving. They had worked out a horn salute - pretty cool.

 

And yes I also felt that the petition was over the top - we the passengers did not have anywhere near enough facts to me able to make any recommedations (or demands) to the Captain as to his decisions. Many of the decisions were made by the home office anyway. I guess what really bothered me more than anything was the lack of information or the "just-in-time" nature of the decisions and planning. I agree, before you start on me, that things were changing rapidly and fexibility was key, but some people stress over change. I am a planner, personality type, I like to know what and where and when... that's just me. The TV channel that shows the position of the ship was not functioning for 4 days or so in the middle of all this change, so we didn't even really know where we were.

 

In the end, we made 3 addtional port calls - each were, in their own right, interesting. Would we have gone there purposely ? probably not... did we enjoy the days in each location, yes. were they equal to the Holy Land and the pyramids of Egypt... certainly not.

Hi Crusin Kelly,

Contrary to what you might think, I find your posts to be extremely constructive, very fair and unbiased.

 

If I had paid for a cruise to the Holy Lands then it would have been upsetting not to visit the locations I was so looking forward to seeing.

 

I get the impression that you understandly accepted the decisions and the reasons behind this not taking place and just like your very good self, I crave for information\explanations.

 

Hopefully we are however wise enough to know that the captain would not be getting anything like detailed information regarding the unrest and as soon as a decision was made not to go to port 'x' or 'z' :rolleyes:;) (play on words) then I am guessing the main concern for the captain was to ensure their ship managed to get to a decent port of call that could accept your ship. The instant the plans were altered this person would have been bombarded with all types of requests from his heads of departments regarding their concerns. The ship's owners would expect imediate communication between themselves and the commanding officer and I just find it sad that armchair critics were trying to distract this person when they were surely being bombarded from all directions with folks wanting his full attention.

 

To those armchair critics that thought they knew better I post this link and suggest in future they think twice before signing anything composed by some malcontent :eek:;) Click

[Bickley]

Cruisin Kelly,I'm a planner to so would have been upset/annoyed at lack of information from the Captain although I expect that under the circumstances some of the decisions regarding the change of itinerary had to be very last minute.

However it was disappointing to hear that the food and service were not up to scratch.Did everyone observe the dress code? Were the majority of the passengers from the UK and USA?

Which other cruise lines should we consider for an 'experience' similiar to that which Cunard advertises?

[Crusin Kelly]

Cruisin Kelly,I'm a planner to so would have been upset/annoyed at lack of information from the Captain although I expect that under the circumstances some of the decisions regarding the change of itinerary had to be very last minute.

However it was disappointing to hear that the food and service were not up to scratch.Did everyone observe the dress code? Were the majority of the passengers from the UK and USA?

Which other cruise lines should we consider for an 'experience' similiar to that which Cunard advertises?

 

 

I will restate... the food and service is certainly good... just not great - nothing wrong... just hard to verbalize.

 

Dress code was strictly observed. 4 formal nights (2 back to back due to the scheduling changes - on port days) were 90% tuxedos. there were many full length gowns - a real treat to see. the 4th formal night was just slightly less formal... the 3rd formal night was the masked Venician Ball - ~2 dozen feathered masks.

 

We have only 4 other cruises under our belts at this point. 1st was Carnival "fun" ship to Mexico to learn the cruising "thing" before our 2nd cruise on HAL to Alaska... 3rd cruise was on a new Solstice class ship on Celebrity, then the 3rd was southern Carib on HAL. Each of these had a purpose... Alaska, Panama Canal and Holy Land/Egypt - and each are different experiences that definitely affect the satisfaction.

 

To try to separate the satisfaction from the ships... Celebrity takes the nod for food, ship and people. HAL comes in a close 2nd. For younger people Carnival is fine. Our next cruise (Feb 13) is on Carnival with my DD and her boyfriend - an introduction to cruising for them to Jamaca and Cayman - my expectations are set for that trip differently than the others - we will just have fun with them.

 

The mix of nationalities on the Cunard cruise was presented by the captain and was an interesting mix... UK was a majority(45%), followed by the US(30%) and there was a large contingentcy from Japan - with 10 or so other contries represented.

 

Long answer to easy questions... sorry. And I hope that your medical issues that caused you to have to cancel are working themselves out.

[morrfran]

I was also on this cruise. The circumstances were difficult for management-the captain is ultimately responsible for the ship itself but Cunard makes ultimate decisions of this magnitude. I felt the communication was as good as could be expected under the circumstances. My opinion is that if any of the pax were capable of running the ship they wouldn't be pax but would be on the bridge.

 

I was happy with the Brittania dinner options - it makes sense to ask if there are unlisted options-which I did and was told what they were. Our wait staff were very good-some better than others.

 

I shall be back-on QV-this coming April. Cunard offers the kind of experience I like-more so than others I've tried.

 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[svenno]

Just joined the forum. Out of interest, I was scanning for comments on my last trip - to the Holy Land with Cunard in November. I too have total sympathy for the local populations but I agree we should have been offered refunds or compensation under the terms and conditions. The point here is that Cunard knew the visits were off before people joined the cruise in Athens and their terms clearly tell us that this is distinctly different to finding there are problems once the ship has embarked, such as the missed visit to Naples and, debatably, Alexandria. It all seems a bit one-sided when you consider how quick they are to apply the conditions if you have a problem prior to sailing.

Do you know if anyone got anywhere with Cunard?

[glojo]

Just joined the forum. Out of interest, I was scanning for comments on my last trip - to the Holy Land with Cunard in November. I too have total sympathy for the local populations but I agree we should have been offered refunds or compensation under the terms and conditions. The point here is that Cunard knew the visits were off before people joined the cruise in Athens and their terms clearly tell us that this is distinctly different to finding there are problems once the ship has embarked, such as the missed visit to Naples and, debatably, Alexandria. It all seems a bit one-sided when you consider how quick they are to apply the conditions if you have a problem prior to sailing.

Do you know if anyone got anywhere with Cunard?

 

Can you please explain what you mean by this and where are these 'terms and conditions' you are talking about?

[svenno]

Can you please explain what you mean by this and where are these 'terms and conditions' you are talking about?

 

Hi. This is based on the wording in the booking conditions at the back of the brochure under 'alteration and cancellation by Cunard prior to departure' and the refund or compensation procedures which can apply for what they term as a 'significant alteration to the package'. Do I read this wrongly - what do you think?

[glojo]

Hi. This is based on the wording in the booking conditions at the back of the brochure under 'alteration and cancellation by Cunard prior to departure' and the refund or compensation procedures which can apply for what they term as a 'significant alteration to the package'. Do I read this wrongly - what do you think?

 

With the very greatest of respect I think the reference fails at the very first hurdle and whoever quotes this is simply reading one line and not bothering with anything else.

 

After departure Cunard does not guarantee that the ship will call at every port on the itinerary............

 

It does go on to further give multiple reasons but the bottom line will always be that the captain will always be looking after the best interests of the passengers, crew and the ship.

 

We as passengers will NEVER have the full picture and if a port of call is cancelled, then that cancellation is done for a reason and we as passengers just have to accept those that have all the facts are in a far better position to make these decisions than we passengers.

[svenno]

With the very greatest of respect I think the reference fails at the very first hurdle and whoever quotes this is simply reading one line and not bothering with anything else.

 

After departure Cunard does not guarantee that the ship will call at every port on the itinerary............

 

It does go on to further give multiple reasons but the bottom line will always be that the captain will always be looking after the best interests of the passengers, crew and the ship.

 

We as passengers will NEVER have the full picture and if a port of call is cancelled, then that cancellation is done for a reason and we as passengers just have to accept those that have all the facts are in a far better position to make these decisions than we passengers.

 

Hello there,

I have read and re-read the conditions and not just the bits that suit my query. I understand all of what you say and you are correct regarding the procedure regarding itinerary changes after embarkation - but the key point is that the situation in Israel and the need for a significant alteration to the itinerary was known before embarkation and this should make all the difference. By the way, I'm not planning on entering into a tennis match here but you sound very much on the side of Cunard with just a hint of anti towards my query - I don't suppose you have the pleasure of working for Cunard?

[glojo]

I don't suppose you have the pleasure of working for Cunard?

Is this where I say I am the owner of Cunard? ;)

 

Please go ahead and sue, we all have opinions and it would be a boring place if everyone agreed with each other.

 

You definitely would not be entering into any type of tennis match as the contest would be way to one sided ;):)

 

You have asked for opinions, you have mine but might I ask if you have sought professional legal advice?