ExArkie

The southern part of the Atlantic in the northern hemisphere tends to be relatively mild and calm, disregarding the occasional tropical storm or hurricane. The northern route, which as mentioned above required special design for the Queen Mary 2 hull and superstructure, is unpredictable. Generally, more tame conditions in summer, more turbulent in winter. Both generalizations have proven incorrect on some of our crossings.

That definitely makes it easier. One note I found out for our upcoming (couple of weeks) Lisbon-Boston transatlantic is that the port of Lisbon requires passport information be provided to Azamara prior to arrival at the port. Easy enough to enter it on the Web site…just as easy to skip it, which is not advised.

I did grad school at UT Austin. I was hoping they’d allow me to count English as my foreign language requirement.

This was what we did in December 2022, also changing cabins while in Southampton on the turnaround. Only difference was that we were able to get our second leg key cards at about 9 AM, when the departing crowds had left. Ours was booked as two separate reservations for the two legs. We were required to go to the gangway to scan off our old cards, signifying the end of our reservation and closing out the record, then scan the new cards to show we had boarded in Southampton. Did not have to walk off the ship.

Cunard introduced the “White Star Service” on QE2 in 1995. James Cameron’s movie was 1997. Quite possible they knew the movie would be coming out and tried to get in front of the publicity, but sounds more like they capitalized on timing. By the way, White Star Line was renown for their level of service and attention to detail. It wasn’t really until after the popularity of the movie that the foremost connection was to the one liner lost in an accident.

I agree with you that it is more beneficial - at least to me - to hear why one didn’t like a dish than just a statement one did not. I had dinner with a friend many years ago who told me that she really disliked a certain dish at the restaurant we went to. When I asked why, she said it had garlic in it and she didn’t like garlic. I had it; the garlic was barely noticeable. I have not been in Luminae under the current offerings, but will probably try the duck if it is still there when we join Eclipse in about a year. I did try the chicken tangine under the old menu and did not like the coriander imbalance in seasoning. Pretty much all you could taste. Also, not sure exactly how it was cooked, but tangine I have had in northern Africa was crusty on the bottom, moist on top, and infused with smoke from the cooking process. The Luminae dish tasted like baked chicken with Moroccan spices added.

They also have a stronger tendency to hold onto it, fearing the pending (or past) end of their days with an earned income. Younger people tend to be freer spending. So, does catering to a group with 65% of total savings, but unwilling to spend more than a few dollars, prove more profitable than going after the group with 35% of total savings, but willing to spend most of it? I haven’t got a clue. Too many variables and assumptions for my economic model.

I have stayed in some very nice Sheratons.

Absolutely, I did read the rules. Signed up for the card, got a bonus for signing up, spent enough on it to generate OBC enough to cover gratuities, then stuck it in a dresser drawer. Once the points are transferred and the cruise completed, I will cancel it. What's your point?

We have usually stayed in Southampton (or nearby) the night before boarding. Checking out of the hotel at noon (or close to it) and going directly to the ship, we have once had to wait before entering the terminal due to some issue with staffing the security screening - at least that’s what we were told. Otherwise, we have gone directly to the Grills check-in area and from there usually through security to the ship. Once, there was a bit of a delay, maybe 15 to 20 minutes, between check-in and security. In answer to your direct question, Grills boarding is usually around 12:30 to 13:00 in our experience. Of course, any number of things could happen to delay it. Highly unlikely it would be any sooner.

I worked in Washington, DC, for a while, with an office in a building on the National Mall. If you went out to lunch in the area, you would think the country had a requirement that everyone wear an ID lanyard around their necks.

We were there at the beginning of October last year. Santorini and Mykonos were both overcrowded.

I don't call a mechanic when I need to put air in my car tires, nor a plumber when I need to change a washer in the sink faucet (or several other jobs, but my father was a plumber at one time, so I may have gathered additional information). Similarly, I see no need to involve a travel agent when I want to book a transatlantic on QM2, unless I can get extra "stuff" from the agent (e.g., OBC, reduced price, etc.). It isn't that complicated. I also have over three million lifetime miles on airlines, so booking plane tickets is something I can almost do in my sleep.

Correct on both, of course. For my price comparisons, I always include gratuities in the comparison - they are a part of the cruise fare, as far as I am concerned, so I factor that into the comparisons. As for excursions, we usually don't do them. I think we have actually done two in the past fifteen years, so that cost doesn't even register in my comparisons. I also include the cost of additional airfare when the lines against whom I am comparing include it in their price (e.g., Regent). Although it may not be a direct cost comparison, I have to look at the departure port, too. If I'm comparing, for example, Lisbon and Barcelona as departure ports, I can usually find cheaper airfare to Lisbon, so that is a consideration. Also, if drinks are included on one and a drink package is not included on the other, that cost also has to be added. I guess my point it that everyone needs to figure out how to compare costs in a way that makes sense to the way they travel. I have a multi-recursive spreadsheet wherein everything for which we will be paying money is included in the analysis.

Thank you for making that point. We almost always board ships for ocean crossings rather than port-to-port, with next year including a Spring transpacific and a Fall transatlantic. For the Spring, Silversea entry-level cabin was slightly less than a Celebrity Retreat cabin for roughly the same itinerary, but Holland America’s suite price was significantly lower than both on an itinerary that includes a day in Glacier Bay coming from Yokohama to Vancouver. For the Fall, we ended up with a Celebrity Eclipse S1 for about $302 pp per day. Well below the other offerings from lines we would consider. We always look at everyone’s pricing and have rarely found the best deal on Silversea, but it does happen sometimes.

Ours was an e-mail from Azamara on September 3 for a transatlantic leaving October 3. Bar coded passes were the last two pages. We booked through a travel agent.

Not been my experience. The Cunard “beautiful ship,” as cited by the previous post, with the exception of a couple of limited areas, is open to everyone. The Queens Grill passengers get better service in their cabin and their restaurant, but outside of those areas, there is no distinction. Note this may be different on their new ship, Queen Anne. I have been on the other three, but not that one.

Heck, I live in Michigan. Anywhere south of the Ohio River is “near equatorial” to me…

One last comment from me on the “luxury” terminology. I grew up in the Arkansas hills in the mid to late 1960s. There were people within a few miles of us who would consider an indoor toilet to be a luxury. One’s expectations are formed by one’s experiences.

Nice summary. I have long been confused over the distinctions made for “premium” versus “luxury” lines, as there seem to be several opinions (including a few Cruise Critic threads). Marketing literature from various lines may refer to the experience as “luxury” without explanation. Unfortunately, passengers form opinions from the label without delving deeper into the actual descriptions of the experience, which can lead to disappointment that the line doesn’t meet expectations, even though said expectations were ill informed to start. I am looking forward to our first Azamara trip in a month or so, given what I have heard about quality of food and service. Some trepidation on the size of the cabin showers, but we’ll see. I am basing my expectations on these discussion boards and professional reviews, without trying to fit Azamara into a pre-defined and artificial category. Be nice if everyone could.

We generally only book ocean crossings rather than port-to-port cruises. (Many reasons, all irrelevant to this discussion.) The advantage of Celebrity M and S class ships (no interest in the E class, too much “high energy” for my blood) is that their larger-than-Azamara ships tend to be more stable in rough seas. Not a major issue for southern (northern hemisphere south, that is) route transatlantic or most transpacific, but the North Atlantic could be exciting. We have done the southern transatlantic route twice on smaller ships (Seabourn and Oceania) and have our first Azamara crossing from Lisbon to Boston next month. Should be interesting starting in the near equatorial waters and proceeding north as we cross.

The person doing the speaking (or writing) would be the one to imply, while the person doing the listening (or reading) would be the one to infer. So, you would infer from what they implied.

Agreed. We found the best meal to be the cook-to-order grill in their buffet. Apart from the Asian restaurant Red Ginger, the specialties weren’t all that special.

Would it not be more likely that HAL just switched to a lower cost ice cream? There are several on the market that would cost less, or are perhaps in more plentiful supply. Cost cutting sounds more reasonable to me than an ingredient licensing arrangement.

I did have Clear for a short time, when the total cost for me and my wife was covered by a credit card perk. We both had TSA Pre-Check before signing up for Clear (and still have Pre-) as a benefit of Global Entry. Unless the program has changed in the past couple of years, Clear doesn’t include Pre-Check, but is sold as a substitute for it. The functionality of Clear is that one can skip the line where the TSA agent checks your identification. If you have Pre-Check, you go to the front of that line for security. If not, you go to the front of the “ordinary humans” line for security. One of the ancillary functions of Clear during the days following the COVID shutdown was that it would consolidate your vaccination records and communicate those to various agencies. That was beneficial in dealing with the Hawaii entry requirements in the early months of post-shutdown travel. It was of no benefit whatever to some other locations. As I mentioned, the Clear program may have changed, as I have not kept up with Clear since dropping it. Edited to add: Just checked the Clear Web site. Looks like they will bundle it with Pre-Check as an option, but do not automatically include it. We found Clear to be beneficial once, when we could avoid slightly longer Pre-Check lines at LAX. Otherwise, it offered little to no advantage, as the identification lines for Pre-Check have not proved to be inconvenient at the variety of airports we traverse. To me, as a Global Entry/Pre-Check member, the benefits of Clear do not justify its cost, particularly since the credit card no longer pays the full amount.