QM2 May 15th sailing

[ak1004]

6 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

That works very well for my spouse who has the same breakfast every day: for me, wanting a different breakfast every day, it would be impossible to manage without employing psychics. However, having mentioned at the first meal that I drank a lot of water, I don't think I ever needed to ask for my glass to be refilled. It was done before I realised the need.

When you are used that your waiter serves your spouse first, then goes around the table and serves your food, it's very noticeable when they serve the meals across the table. Of course you wouldn't notice if you don't know that it could be different.. 

 

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

 

The only wire hangars I have encountered are when clothes come back from the laundry. Those in my cabin were universally wooden.

 

Well, I guess you were more lucky than me.. Too bad I didn't take a picture of our wire hangers..

[rakkor]

I've never had a waiter serve me across the table, and if they were unable to serve me from the right for some reason they always apologised for coming in on the wrong side (or left for a left handed waiter). I too have only had wooden coat hangers in the stateroom, Pre-covid all toiletries were provided it's only since covid that they have  been restricted which I assumed was on hygiene grounds.

Edited May 28, 2022 by rakkor

[exlondoner]

14 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

When you are used that your waiter serves your spouse first, then goes around the table and serves your food, it's very noticeable when they serve the meals across the table. Of course you wouldn't notice if you don't know that it could be different.. 

 

 

 

This comment seems to have little relevance to the one of mine you quoted. Again, deficient as my upbringing may have been, as regards what is luxury is, I did in fact notice that the waiters invariably served females first, which I imagine could even be construed as sexist, and both of us always from the side. No leaning over. 

[P2l]

21 minutes ago, rakkor said:

Pre-covid all toiletries were provided it's only since covid that they have  been restricted which I assumed was on hygiene grounds.

I believe it has more to do with reducing plastic waste.

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, P2l said:

I believe it has more to do with reducing plastic waste.

 

And also costs. 😀 Though providing soap and shampoo bars first off might cut out more plastic.

[ak1004]

27 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

This comment seems to have little relevance to the one of mine you quoted. Again, deficient as my upbringing may have been, as regards what is luxury is, I did in fact notice that the waiters invariably served females first, which I imagine could even be construed as sexist, and both of us always from the side. No leaning over. 

 

I wasn't referring to serving ladies first - this is how it should be. I was referring to serving food across the table.

 

To be fair, our waitress at dinner always did it the proper way. In fact, she was excellent. But our waiters at lunch consistently served food across the table. 

 

Maybe waiters at dinner and lunch get a different training..

[ak1004]

10 minutes ago, P2l said:

I believe it has more to do with reducing plastic waste.

 

This is why I got my water in plastic cups on few occasions..

[Victoria2]

17 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

This comment seems to have little relevance to the one of mine you quoted. Again, deficient as my upbringing may have been, as regards what is luxury is, I did in fact notice that the waiters invariably served females first, which I imagine could even be construed as sexist, and both of us always from the side. No leaning over. 

OMG. Chivalry at the dining table. Call the equality Police!

 

Obviously, as we find Cunard absolutely super, my upbringing might also be called luxury deficient  when in truth, I couldn't give a whatsit's doodah whether Cunard is luxury or not. It suits and that trumps any perceived classification. 

I love reading the comments how deficient Cunard is becoming. It's almost a game of 'how can we diss the product today'.

Soap. I always bring my own stuff with me so can dispense with any dispensers. Will dispensers  be wall mounted? Will they be economy purchases from Costco? Will they be here to stay? No idea. I'll tell you next year.🙂

Servers; never have any servers leant across any part of the table at which I'm dining, unless of course it's to place the large bowl of fries which seem to become a table staple at any table we dine at after a couple of days [we're bad influences 😄]  in the middle of the table, but then can fries [skinny please] be considered an item to be served on a luxury ship? Worse still, can Hot Dog, onions and fries be a luxury item if served instead of the Gala menu? Don't know but they sure smelt good! 

 

I do hope those who manage to talk up the declining standards of Cunard, find another cruise line to holiday with. If they talk the talk yet still rebook with Cunard...why if fings ain't what they used to be?

 

Bottom line. Cunard suits an awful lot of people who, like us couldn't care less what * rating Cunard has as we just love the product. 🙂

[exlondoner]

But this has been going on for years. I remember reading a fascinating blog of someone's world cruise, perhaps six or seven years ago. One of the things the writer said was that one of the few annoying aspects of their experience was the negative attitude of a proportion of those on the full world cruise, who did nothing but moan about Cunard's declining standards, before going off to the Sales Office to book another world cruise.

[3rdGenCunarder]

15 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

But this has been going on for years. I remember reading a fascinating blog of someone's world cruise, perhaps six or seven years ago. One of the things the writer said was that one of the few annoying aspects of their experience was the negative attitude of a proportion of those on the full world cruise, who did nothing but moan about Cunard's declining standards, before going off to the Sales Office to book another world cruise.

 

Some people aren't happy unless they have something to complain about.

[Victoria2]

8 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Some people aren't happy unless they have something to complain about.

Ain't that the truth!

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

OMG. Chivalry at the dining table. Call the equality Police!

 

Obviously, as we find Cunard absolutely super, my upbringing might also be called luxury deficient  when in truth, I couldn't give a whatsit's doodah whether Cunard is luxury or not. It suits and that trumps any perceived classification. 

I love reading the comments how deficient Cunard is becoming. It's almost a game of 'how can we diss the product today'.

Soap. I always bring my own stuff with me so can dispense with any dispensers. Will dispensers  be wall mounted? Will they be economy purchases from Costco? Will they be here to stay? No idea. I'll tell you next year.🙂

Servers; never have any servers leant across any part of the table at which I'm dining, unless of course it's to place the large bowl of fries which seem to become a table staple at any table we dine at after a couple of days [we're bad influences 😄]  in the middle of the table, but then can fries [skinny please] be considered an item to be served on a luxury ship? Worse still, can Hot Dog, onions and fries be a luxury item if served instead of the Gala menu? Don't know but they sure smelt good! 

 

I do hope those who manage to talk up the declining standards of Cunard, find another cruise line to holiday with. If they talk the talk yet still rebook with Cunard...why if fings ain't what they used to be?

 

Bottom line. Cunard suits an awful lot of people who, like us couldn't care less what * rating Cunard has as we just love the product. 🙂

It's great that Cunard works for you! No need to try anything else.

 

Apparently it was just us who got bad waiters, wire hangers and all orher inferior stuff. It was our fault that we didn't know that you can actually ask for soap bars, robes, customizable meals, flexible dining, better and free internet, no lines etc

 

Silly us..

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

It's great that Cunard works for you! No need to try anything else.

 

Apparently it was just us who got bad waiters, wire hangers and all orher inferior stuff. It was our fault that we didn't know that you can actually ask for soap bars, robes, customizable meals, flexible dining, better and free internet, no lines etc

 

Silly us..

 

Were you not given a booklet with all this stuff in? Anyway, there is never any harm asking, and you give the impression you would not be embarrassed to do so.

[Victoria2]

21 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

It's great that Cunard works for you! No need to try anything else.

 

Apparently it was just us who got bad waiters, wire hangers and all orher inferior stuff. It was our fault that we didn't know that you can actually ask for soap bars, robes, customizable meals, flexible dining, better and free internet, no lines etc

 

Silly us..

Silly you? We were all newbies at some stage.

 

I read a lot about what was on offer and if I wasn't sure, I asked. 

[ak1004]

49 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

Were you not given a booklet with all this stuff in? Anyway, there is never any harm asking, and you give the impression you would not be embarrassed to do so.

 

Sure.

 

I could ask to embark the ship in 20 minutes instead of 2 hours.

 

I could ask for faster and free internet.

 

I could ask to come to dinner anytime I wanted and not to be tied to a 15 minutes window.

 

I could ask to have the same food and service as suite passengers.

 

I could ask not being chased by photographers every evening.

 

I could ask not being dime and nickel for every small bottle of water, cappuccino, espresso etc.

 

I could ask to dine free in all specialty restaurants.

 

I could ask not circle around the buffet searching for a table.

 

I could ask for a lot more things.. would it help?

[ak1004]

42 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Silly you? We were all newbies at some stage.

 

I read a lot about what was on offer and if I wasn't sure, I asked. 

 

I was a bit sarcastic, my apologies..

 

This was our 17th cruise, we sailed on 10 different lines, so probably slightly beyond newbies at this point. 

 

Every line has its pros and cons, and every line has its loyal cheerleaders. We all have different preferences, and It's wonderful to have choices. Cunard is probably one of the best lines for TA, we would not do it on a line like Oceania. But it's important to see both the pros and the cons of each line so you can choose wisely.

 

Of course those who prefer to stick to one line only, it's perfectly fine, it's their choice. I was trying to share our experience and observations. They are ours and ours only, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I learned a lot of very useful information from CC, just trying to give something back.

[Megabear2]

On 5/26/2022 at 8:42 PM, Victoria2 said:

Que?

Just sit find a stairwell and sit on the stairs.

 

You meet so many lovely passengers; arrange to have drinks and with the added advantage of a half decent internet connection.

Some of us work while travelling.  Would be lovely to do this but can't see a teams meeting on the staircase being a great advertisement.

[ak1004]

One more interesting observation that was unique to TA crossing.

 

In the first 2-3 days, the ship movement was really strong. QM2 might be the only ocean liner, but this was one the worst we experienced in our cruising history. The next 2 days it improved a bit. Then 2 days before the end, the captain made an announcement that he is going to reduce speed significantly, otherwise we will arrive early. It was almost like he put the ship on autopilot at high speed, went to sleep, then woke up after 5 day - "ooops, we are too close, have to reduce the speed". After that the movement was almost not noticeable.

 

This was very strangle, not sure if it's like this on every TA crossing, but it greatly impacted our experience and the first 2-3 days (and we are not sea sick usually).

[Megabear2]

16 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

One more interesting observation that was unique to TA crossing.

 

In the first 2-3 days, the ship movement was really strong. QM2 might be the only ocean liner, but this was one the worst we experienced in our cruising history. The next 2 days it improved a bit. Then 2 days before the end, the captain made an announcement that he is going to reduce speed significantly, otherwise we will arrive early. It was almost like he put the ship on autopilot at high speed, went to sleep, then woke up after 5 day - "ooops, we are too close, have to reduce the speed". After that the movement was almost not noticeable.

 

This was very strangle, not sure if it's like this on every TA crossing, but it greatly impacted our experience and the first 2-3 days (and we are not sea sick usually).

ak1004 I was ready to give you the benefit of the doubt about your experience  - each to his own and all that!  However you just blew it for me - there's no ship anywhere that carries passengers in comfort in rough or any seas than the QM2.  Sorry but you are almost insulting the great ship here and I am compelled to say you speak rubbish with a forked tongue!!

Edited May 28, 2022 by Megabear2

[D&N]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Some people aren't happy unless they have something to complain about.

It might just be Norse folk.

[Victoria2]

41 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I was a bit sarcastic, my apologies..

 

This was our 17th cruise, we sailed on 10 different lines, so probably slightly beyond newbies at this point. 

 

Every line has its pros and cons, and every line has its loyal cheerleaders. We all have different preferences, and It's wonderful to have choices. Cunard is probably one of the best lines for TA, we would not do it on a line like Oceania. But it's important to see both the pros and the cons of each line so you can choose wisely.

 

Of course those who prefer to stick to one line only, it's perfectly fine, it's their choice. I was trying to share our experience and observations. They are ours and ours only, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I learned a lot of very useful information from CC, just trying to give something back.

I got the sarcasm but no apology required. 🙂

 

We had many cruises under our belts before Cunard but on each new line, we were initially, newbies to that line.

 

These times are unprecedented. I consider ourselves lucky our cruise company of choice is still sailing [think Crystal} and freely acknowledge there might be some cons which wouldn't have been envisaged two years ago. Sure, great to give something back but I would do so with an understanding of an experience which is operating at less than 100%. Personally, having had so many cruises cancelled, I'd take less than 100% efficiency as opposed to no cruise, any day but then as you will have gathered, I'm a Cunard cheerleading loyalist and proud of it!🙂

[Victoria2]

41 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Some of us work while travelling.  Would be lovely to do this but can't see a teams meeting on the staircase being a great advertisement.

Seriously here. being au fait with Cunard's internet connections, I wouldn't put much faith in the connection to be good enough to conduct uninterrupted team meetings of any length.

[Megabear2]

9 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Seriously here. being au fait with Cunard's internet connections, I wouldn't put much faith in the connection to be good enough to conduct uninterrupted team meetings of any length.

Indeed you are correct although on my last QM2 past covid cruise I had a queue of friendly travellers outside my single ov cabin 2002 to use the internet which worked like a brave soldier at all times! Joking apart Cunard should do something, even P&O has a better offering!

Edited May 28, 2022 by Megabear2

[sogne]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

One more interesting observation that was unique to TA crossing.

 

In the first 2-3 days, the ship movement was really strong. QM2 might be the only ocean liner, but this was one the worst we experienced in our cruising history. The next 2 days it improved a bit. Then 2 days before the end, the captain made an announcement that he is going to reduce speed significantly, otherwise we will arrive early. It was almost like he put the ship on autopilot at high speed, went to sleep, then woke up after 5 day - "ooops, we are too close, have to reduce the speed". After that the movement was almost not noticeable.

 

This was very strangle, not sure if it's like this on every TA crossing, but it greatly impacted our experience and the first 2-3 days (and we are not sea sick usually).

What were the weather conditions? The ship may have been out running a weather system I have done TA on QM2 in December storm 10 for 3 days ship was perfectly stable . Having spent much of my professional life at sea she is the best sea keeping vessel I have experienced. Incidentally I am sure the captain was not asleep for 5 days.

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

I got the sarcasm but no apology required. 🙂

 

We had many cruises under our belts before Cunard but on each new line, we were initially, newbies to that line.

 

These times are unprecedented. I consider ourselves lucky our cruise company of choice is still sailing [think Crystal} and freely acknowledge there might be some cons which wouldn't have been envisaged two years ago. Sure, great to give something back but I would do so with an understanding of an experience which is operating at less than 100%. Personally, having had so many cruises cancelled, I'd take less than 100% efficiency as opposed to no cruise, any day but then as you will have gathered, I'm a Cunard cheerleading loyalist and proud of it!🙂

 

I agree with you 100%. After being locked down for 2 years, I would sail even on Royal Caribbean or Carnival.

 

That dais, our cruise in December 2021 on Oceania was hardly impacted by Covid. In fact, I don't think that the Cunard deficiencies I described have anything to do with Covid.