qm2 nov 2015 new cruise

[Salacia]

More Amber Cove info:

 

http://www.carnival.com/Funville/forums/p/227381/1185220.aspx

 

 

 

Please correct me if I am mistaken - from what I've read, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic has been under development by Carnival for years, but has yet to open as a functioning port. While no ships have docked there to date, the planned opening is December 2015. Apparently, the port is to be open to all ships, but Carnival ships have priority.

 

According to the published itinerary for this newly added cruise, QM2 is scheduled to dock at Amber Cove on Sunday, 22 Nov 2015. -S.

[foodsvcmgr]

It will be interesting to see if in fact QM2 is the first ship to call at Amber Cove.

Might prove to be a rather celebratory affair if it is.

I see Holland America begins calls in Jan. 2016.

 

Not a bad itinerary overall, two days from DR back to NYC should allow for some respectable speeds.

 

Will keep an eye on pricing and promotions as I have been hoping for a non-holiday Caribbean sailing since the last one in 2010.

 

Salacia I expect you may jump on this too - where is KeithM? I know he and his partner have also missed this itinerary.

[Salacia]

It will be interesting to see if in fact QM2 is the first ship to call at Amber Cove.

Might prove to be a rather celebratory affair if it is.

I see Holland America begins calls in Jan. 2016.

 

Not a bad itinerary overall, two days from DR back to NYC should allow for some respectable speeds.

 

Will keep an eye on pricing and promotions as I have been hoping for a non-holiday Caribbean sailing since the last one in 2010.

 

Salacia I expect you may jump on this too - where is KeithM? I know he and his partner have also missed this itinerary.

 

Hi foodsvcmgr. Yes, I agree - it's not a bad itinerary overall. But I do have a few concerns: primarily, postponing dry dock. Too often it seems that does work out well. For example, two CCL ships (ms Veendam and ms Sea Princess) have current problems which might have been detected during routine dry dock inspections. Penny wise and Pound foolish?

 

Yes, we've missed this itinerary. Many warm memories of QM2 cruises to the Caribbean in November in past years.Good times enjoyed with happy shipmates, which made the subsequent cold winter months so much easier to bear.

:)

Cheers,

Salacia

Edited October 2, 2014 by Salacia

[WillH]

Hi foodsvcmgr. Yes, I agree - it's not a bad itinerary overall. But I do have a few concerns: primarily, postponing dry dock. Too often it seems that does work out well. For example, two CCL ships (ms Veendam and ms Sea Princess) have current problems which might have been detected during routine dry dock inspections. Penny wise and Pound foolish?

 

Yes, we've missed this itinerary. Many warm memories of QM2 cruises to the Caribbean in November in past years.Good times enjoyed with happy shipmates, which made the subsequent cold winter months so much easier to bear.

:)

Cheers,

Salacia

 

Hi Salacia. We likewise have fond memories of these Winter cruises. Our first ever Cunard cruise was the 2007 trip to the Caribbean and then went back for repeat Caribbean trips in 2009 with the Transatlantic first. All great holidays that we often talk about.

 

I queried Cunard re the dry dock and was told that this is currently scheduled for Nov 2016. Beginning to wish that we had delayed booking our World Cruise on QM2 until

2017.

 

Thanks,

Will

[Salacia]

I don't know if this would be a concern to many, but I just noticed Cunard lists Amber Cove port has having a Malaria risk. It's one of two ports stops on QM2 2016 world voyages that have that risk, according to info here: https://ask.cunard.com/help/mini/cunard/before-you-sail/malaria

 

Additional health information for travelers going to the Dominican Republic can be found here http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/dominican-republic.html

Hopefully for all concerned, the cholera epidemic will continue to be brought under control, and the risk of contracting illness will remain low.

[Underwatr]

I always thought that cruise ship passengers weren't at particular risk because they're in a given port for a short period of time and usually during the day, but there you go.

 

From the CDC page:

Malaria risk is significantly higher for travelers who go on some of the excursions to the countryside offered by many resorts.

 

Also note that Chikungunya is pretty much everywhere now (including here in PA) and I understand that those mosquitoes frequent cities and bite during the day.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Underwatr

[Salacia]

Partial quote

....

Also note that Chikungunya is pretty much everywhere now (including here in PA) and I understand that those mosquitoes frequent cities and bite during the day.

 

Underwatr, good point. Was it last year that you mentioned that there was no caution in the Daily Programme regarding taking precautions to prevent mosquito bites in Port Saint Martin/Sint Marteen when Chikungunya was first recognized as a health concern? Clearly, cruise lines (not just Cunard) have a history of falling to alerting passengers to certain issues regarding health and safety at certain ports - and that's just plain stupid. Lack of information regarding precautions has a knock on effect that, in the long term, can only have a deleterious effect.

 

Regarding Port Amber Cove: Several reputable sites advise not to drink the water due to the risk of contracting Cholera - use only bottled water. And that's only one health concern that exists for Amber Cove, as has been mentioned previously.

 

Why Carnival Corp picked that location to build whatever it is they are building there, is open to conjecture. That Carnival Corp has scheduled QM2 to visit there (in 2015 in the newly added cruise, and as a port stop in the 2016 World Cruise) is not surprising, nor is it surprising that other CCL ships in the fleet are scheduled to visit the port that at latest estimates cost 85 million dollars to build (20 million dollars over the original estimate) and is a year behind scheduled opening.

 

So yes, this newly scheduled Caribbean cruise is attractive. But is it wise that dry dock has apparently postponed? Baring any other ship being scheduled to dock in Port Amber Cove, it appears QM2 is the designated guinea pig. No doubt that can appealing, it's just not appealing to me.

 

But who knows? The itinerary can change, and so can the dry dock date...as my favourite waiter in the MDR told me..."Madame, this is the Queen Mary 2 - anything is possible!" :) Cheers, -S.

[Underwatr]

Yeah, at the time it was only detected on the northern (Saint-Martin) side of the island so even the CDC didn't have a Sint Maarten warning.

[mainewoods]

I've booked this voyage yesterday. I was so excited to hear that they had this Caribbean trip scheduled for something other than the holiday timeframe. Although there'd still be the risk of snow (in my home area), we typically don't see the larger storms that dump 18" of snow in November. But that's a chance I'll take I suppose.

 

I guess I'll have to speak to my Dr about the risk of malaria, and what medications we should start prior to the trip.

 

I'm not concerned, however, about the fact that Cunard will postpone drydock. I'm confident that the Queen will still be lovely in all her glory.

 

But... now I have to wait over 13 months to board her once again. :(

[bobby1119]

I, too, was pleasantly surprised to see the addition of this new Caribbean cruise from New York. Cunard's withdrawal from the Caribbean market, with the exception of the annual holiday cruise, was one of their more disappointing decisions. So I welcome this new cruise.

 

Amber Cove to me seems to be fashioned after the Princess Cays, Half Moon Cay, Labadee model of a self-contained "one stop shopping" cruiseport with a beach, shopping, etc. Nice for a hassle-free "beach day" on a Caribbean cruise; not so sure if it's world cruise material.

 

I agree with Salacia regarding the refit. The ship needs attention, the sooner the better. The sink holes have returned, and the soft furnishings in some of the cabins, including the grill cabins, are getting a bit worn. And when are they ever going to replace, as promised, those hideous, shabby sofas in the Britannia cabins?

 

And then there's the matter of Kings Court.

Edited October 4, 2014 by bobby1119

[fiona page]

I was ver interested in this cruise. Having read comments im not so sure. Amber cove may not be best option and clearly qm2 needs a re fit.

Dont want to spoil the memory we have of her from jan 2008 same cruise. Someone mentioed thanksgiving in new york which could be good or bad...any thoughts? The current price for a decent balc is nearly £3000 pp bit steep?

Interested on others thoughts

[ccide]

Someone asked about NYC at Thanksgiving - speaking for myself it is a great place to be at that time of year. Night before Thanksgiving is Mardi Gras'ish around the Museum of Natural History (west side of Central Park) as huge balloons are blown up for the Macy's Day parade, restaurants and bars are open - it's a big street party. Then there's Thanksgiving Day itself - the Macy's parade, city is dressed up, best of American food and American football. Day after Thanksgiving - greatest shopping on the planet.

 

I too was dissapointed that Cunard had reduced its QM2 Carib' sailings.

We were aboard for one in 2010 just before Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time.

 

I have booked for this November sailing - and am excited to see Amber Cove and pleased to return to some of my favorite islands.

 

Is there a roll call yet for this voyage? -