ExArkie

The stairwell isn’t posted as Grills only, (I think…could be wrong) just the deck when one gets to the top of it. Technically, if one were to be literal, one would have to descend the stair back to deck 8 and find another way around. Realistically, Cunard expects people to pass through the Grills Terrace going from deck 8 to deck 12 via those aft exterior stairways. It’s the lingering about deck 11 in the process of ascending that is the issue. I rather like the stairwell…when my knees feel cooperative.

For me, classical music. While Lincoln Center has some amazing resident performers, that is not the only place where good classical musicians are employed.

That was my first thought on seeing this thread, “It’d be more noteworthy if they were NOT having IT issues.“

Actually, they are all almost exactly the same area in terms of square feet. The layout on QM2 definitely makes it feel significantly more spacious.

Apparently, this happened to us. After seeing this thread, I checked my total and found we received 4x Latitudes points for our 7-day sailing last month. We'd booked a non-Haven suite, so I expected one additional per night, but received 28 points for 7 nights.

There is also a hybrid red wine grape named Marechal Foch, developed in Alsace in the early 20th Century. It first showed up on this side of the Atlantic around 1946 and is fairly widely planted in parts of Canada, since it tends to be cold-hardy.

Regarding fixed dining times: As has been mentioned in this thread, Cunard has added an “any time” dining option since you were there in 2013. Having done several Cunard transatlantic crossings and just finished a week on NCL Jade in Greece, the main difference I saw was that there were ample bars and lounges on Cunard where one could have a quiet conversation, while I did not find any on Jade. The lack of such on this NCL trip was possibly more due to the particular sailing than a general atmosphere on NCL, since I do not recall quite as raucous a crowd on our two previous NCL cruises.

Sometimes happens around beginning of October. I did some work out there for several years, while living on the East Coast. Evidently, in a lot of years around the autumnal equinox the prevailing wind patterns shift to blow in from the Central Valley out to sea. It can lead to rather warm temperatures. One year, I brought a jacket with me to San Francisco in June and needed it. When I returned in early October, high temperatures were pushing 100 F.

Is there a AAA office in town? They also do passport photos

Also, I think South Dakota has EDL…based on information I saw from a Canadian law firm.

The "transfer-to-TA" form we filled out said 60 days.

A couple of weeks ago on Jade, a thermal suite pass for seven days in a Greek Islands itinerary was US$199 per person. We had over twice that in OBC that we probably wouldn’t have used otherwise, so we took it. Also, it appeared to be the same price prior to the cruise as it was for us booking on board upon embarkation.

Does HAL offer free upgrades to the next type? We booked a Noordam Signature Suite on deck 6, so there are no cabins in that type that would be an upgrade. Only way to upgrade would be to move us into a Neptune Suite. I just assumed they wouldn’t do that. We did indicate in the reservation that we’d take an upgrade, if offered.

I have encountered cities in the US where taxis are required to take credit cards, but suddenly find that their credit card processing machine is either broken or can’t find a wireless signal once we reach the destination.

Also worth noting - apparently, no taxis in Athens take credit cards. If you plan to take a cab somewhere, it’ll have to be paid in euros.

A lot of misunderstanding about Cunard dress codes on this thread. I would suggest you go to https://www.cunard.com/en-us/the-cunard-experience/what-to-pack Simple version: twice per 7 nights, there will be gala evenings where jacket and tie is required to be in the dining room, theater, and most other venues. Several areas of the ship do not require formal wear on those nights - buffet, pub, and casual dining/entertainment venue Carinthia Lounge. Other nights gentlemen are expected to wear a collared shirt and slacks - no shorts, no jeans - but a jacket is not required.

Add a dash of bitters and call it a pseudo-Chmpagne Cocktail

I wasn’t able to do checkin until early afternoon EDT, about 13 or 14 hours after it opened. Earliest time offered was 12 - 12:30, which was fine with me.

Perhaps 16 days includes embarkation day when the spa probably won’t be available and disembarkation day when it definitely won’t? That would leave 14 days of access.

Ours, based on the same general idea several years ago, was the last leg of the QE World Cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton, returning on QM2 several weeks later (with the intervening time in Ireland, if that matters).

Differentiating between high tea and afternoon tea: https://teatimemagazine.com/high-tea-vs-afternoon-tea/

My first impression is that this is the Yokohama Bay Bridge, having crossed under it exactly once in my life.

We had a B2B last December (5-day Christmas Market, followed by 7-day TA) with the changeover in Southampton. This is the same process we followed, where we did not leave the ship. We moved from PG on the short leg to QG on the TA, thanks to an excessively generous upgrade from Cunard to the Balmoral Suite (Q1). The person scanning the cards for leaving the ship and returning…all at the same time..was a bit confused, but she finally got it. We sat in the Carinthia Lounge for an hour or so while the changeover was happening, having checked with the steward as to what the expected timing would be (the butler on the TA said the previous occupants had self-disembarked, which shaved several minutes off the process), then proceeded to the new cabin before boarding started for those embarking on the TA. The cabin was ready and our luggage was waiting in the closet.

I will disagree with this part. My experience has been that there are only a handful of TAs that offer better service than the call center.

Pretty much everything I encounter is a lot more complex than anticipated. Thanks for the details.