New to Cunard, new to Alaska, a few questions:

[ginny123]

Been reading this board for months now and really appreciate all the helpful posts.  I started with a long list of questions and these are the only ones remaining.

We are on the Queen Elizabeth to Alaska soon and are wondering if there are clocks in the Balcony cabins, complimentary or pay for movies on the TV, and any availability for mattress toppers on the beds? 

I saw a video review where the self-service laundry was closed for most of someone's cruise in Alaska with the signs on the machines indicating it was an environmental thing (don't remember the exact wording)...is that normally the situation? 

Also, I have not seen a price list for food or drinks in Cafe Carinthia.  Any details on that would be appreciated.

And last but not least, a general idea, in your opinion of course, of the percentage of people who choose not to participate in Gala nights?

 

[david,Mississauga]

Even though we have cruised to Alaska on the QE in each of the three years that Cunard has been operating that route (and have a fourth coming up in July) I can't answer all your questions. I'm sure there are people who can.

 

I don't remember clocks in any of the cabins we have had, even the one Queens Grill suite. There were movies on the TV. I don't recall any payment being required.

 

The laundrettes were closed some days, but on our cruises they were open more often than closed.  

 

As for gala nights I wouldn't want to guess at a percentage, but the vast majority of passengers participated. There were only two gala nights on the 10-day cruises.  Most men wore dinner jackets but many were in suits or blazers/sport coats with a tie.  On many non-gala nights quite a few women were dressed as formally as on a gala nights.

[Pushpit]

There is a clock on the telephone display. And on various TV channels connected with the ship's own productions. The TV system doesn't have pay for view, but the Starlink wifi is strong enough for Netflix etc. Also some movies are shown on Channel 52, but it's not as good a provision as QM2 (with Illuminations) so you may want to consider how to bring some movies with you if that is important to you.

 

Café Carinthia has sort of light dining options for breakfast and lunch, so things like croissants and savoury tarts, plus some scones mid afternoon - these are all free. It's not a huge range of items, about a dozen small plates or so. Then speciality teas and coffees and the full bar provision is chargeable. 

[NE John]

12 hours ago, ginny123 said:

I have not seen a price list for food or drinks in Cafe Carinthia

Right off Cunard’s website:

https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/my-voyage/pdfs/qa/carinthia-lounge/Carinthia-Lounge-Evening-QA-May24-Digital.pdf

[Pushpit]

That looks like Queen Anne's Carinthia Lounge menu, which doesn't look the Café version on QE. This is similar, however the food menu on the back is kind of illustrative, on the day various things go on to the table top by the bar.

 

PDF for QE Cafe Carinthia

[rakkor]

The TVs on QE will accept a USB stick so we generally take along a few movies/TV series to watch between our early evening trip to the Commodore Club and dinner, although we haven't watched any on the last few cruises, they were a godsend when quarantined with Covid.

 

The local time is displayed on the cruise Navigation page. CH 40 ?

[ginny123]

Thank you, everyone.  These were exactly the answers I needed for finishing up my list of questions.  Now I can move on to packing!

[D&N]

2 hours ago, NE John said:

Right off Cunard’s website:

https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/my-voyage/pdfs/qa/carinthia-lounge/Carinthia-Lounge-Evening-QA-May24-Digital.pdf

Surprisingly recent for their website!

 

If those two rosés make it to QM2 we'd happily drink them in preference to Whispering Angel.

[NE John]

6 hours ago, Pushpit said:

That looks like Queen Anne's Carinthia Lounge menu, which doesn't look the Café version on QE. This is similar, however the food menu on the back is kind of illustrative, on the day various things go on to the table top by the bar.

 

PDF for QE Cafe Carinthia

Thank you for picking up on my lack of quality control.