longton

Can you try and get the refund from your travel insurance? Although perhaps too late to do that.

31 minutes ago, cmm398 said:

As per the Venice port authority she is due to leave tomorrow, at midday on Wednesday 24 May

https://venezia.ilogis.it/riepiloghi/pages/riepilogoNavi/layout_riepilogoNavi.zul;jsessionid=FCB3E3FF00197775D05D6AA3DD1B74CB

Wednesday 24 April.

A few years ago we sailed on QM2 from Southampton to Cape Town. We were three adults in the same QG cabin. Each evening the steward made up the sofa bed and everything worked well.

The only problem we had was the bathroom. The shower was over the bath tub and my elderly mother clambering into and out of the tub to have a shower was a daily worry.

So three adults sharing one cabin is possible.

I was near the port in Cape Town an hour ago. Viking is still there. Queen Vic and Queen Mary both now likely to be there on Friday, weather permitting.

Forecast is for calmer weather on Friday.

I think it's an oversight.

This year's Cape Town to Southampton sailing is 16 nights and omits Dakar.

The planned sailing in April 2026 is 18 nights so I think the extra port makes the voyage longer.

Dakar will be an interesting port for us although we would have preferred St Helena.

.

The world cruise 2026 shows Queen Anne sailing through the Bay of Islands and calling at Auckland and Tauranga.

How do container ships and oil tankers manage to sail to New Zealand?

It seems NZ just don't want cruise ships. And although we are disappointed our NZ cruise was cancelled, we're happy not going to countries where we may not be welcome. 

We had notification from Cunard yesterday that our 2 week cruise Sydney to New Zealand has been cancelled. Departure date was 17 November 2024. They are offering a full refund and $250 per person of onboard credit for future cruises. 

This was part of a back to back cruise so we are cancelling the other cruise and hoping for a refund of our deposit.

We booked back to back cruises in November and Decmber 2024. Freemantle to Sydney for 12 nights then Sydney to New Zealand and back to Sydney for 25 nights.

Thanks for the useful and informative replies.

We are looking to book for November and December 2024. Bookings open next week.

The first one is 12 nights Freemantle to Sydney, then 24 nights Queensland and New Zealand.

I'm tempted to book them together and forego some shareholder benefits if it means we stay in the same suite.

Does booking back to back cruises mean we have the same suite for both trips?

Thanks again.

We are looking to book back to back cruises in late 2024.

Are there any additional discounts for booking back to back cruises?

If we book the cruises as two separate bookings, I assume we would get additional shareholder benefits, if still offered.

If we book the cruises as two separate bookings, would we be required to change suites at the start of the second cruise?

Thanks.

We were on the QM2 a few years ago sailing from Southampton to Cape Town. It wasn't a silent auction and on this voyage the chart went for about $700.

For the chart on our first Med cruise this summer I think I bid $300 or $350.

On our second cruise I bid $200.

As mentioned, I was the winning bidder at both auctions.

We did two cruises with Cunard in the Mediterranean this summer. On both cruises there was a silent auction of the charts, advertised in the daily programme.

We put our bid into a box near the Purser's office and later that day they called to tell us our bid had been successful. So we ended up with two charts.

We didn't buy souvenirs from any of the places we visited and the chart is a nice momemto of our trips.

A couple of weeks ago we were on Queen Victoria sailing between Sardinia and Malaga, Spain. The captain announced that the Mistral was increasing in strength and advised everyone to use the handrails when moving around the ship.

It was choppy and I was seasick. The medical centre sent up a box of Avomine and they worked. The cost was around $13.

I wasn't looking forward to crossing the Bay of Biscay but that turned out to be incredibly calm. 

2 hours ago, Kynance said:

@Host Hattie - very much enjoying your notes from QV. Thank you for taking the time to post them. I know you are not a fan of buffets but if you happen to walk through, could you please advise whether the Lido is back to self-service? I’m seriously looking at booking one of QV’s short voyages in November which still have availability  but will have to convince a slightly grumpy Mr Kynance. He really prefers the Lido for breakfast & lunch but won’t be keen if he can’t serve himself. (He is fussy about his bacon!). On the other hand, having seen sticky toffee pudding on the Golden Lion menu, that may pacify him!! 🤣

We were on the Queen Victoria last week.

All the Lido buffets are now self service.

On 9/24/2022 at 11:31 AM, Host Hattie said:

Second sitting dinner is at 8.15, there was a queue stretching back to the Chart Room but once the doors were open it moved quickly.

We were shown to a table for 2 near the back of the restaurant, my chair was pulled out and napkins placed on our laps.

Mr HH isn't very happy as we normally have a table for 6 but it seemed a good idea when I requested it ! We're right next to another table for 2, when we sat down we exchanged pleasantries with the lady at the table who was anxiously looking for her husband. She soon disappeared leaving us alone.

The sommelier was doing his best to cope with the first night chaos and our wine arrived at the same time as our main course. At least we still have plenty left over for tonight.

We finished in plenty of time to get a box in the theatre for the comedian at 10pm who had plenty of new material about our first port of call being Southampton !

We went to listen to the duo in the Golden Lion and made the most of the mobile connection to the Isle of Wight to let everyone know that we had sailed.

 

I ordered breakfast via the hanger and we were rocked gently to sleep, very grateful to be sailing at last.

 

 

 

There are 2 entrance points into the Britannia. You can avoid the queue by waiting outside the elevators on Deck 2. 

We are presently on board and disembarking tomorrow. We have had an excellent cruise.

Bon voyage to you and Mr HH.

Yes the reasons given was due to the shutdown for the Queen's funeral. It was due to have been a short call.

Malaga will be a full day call.

We took the train yesterday from Venice to Trieste. We stopped at Monfalcone station and from the train we could see a large cruise ship under construction at the Fincantieri shipyards. It could well have been Queen Anne.

Presently we are sailing down the Adriatic. It was overcast and rainy today but warm.

The Captain announced this morning that our call into Gibraltar on Monday has been cancelled. It has been replaced with Malaga.

I am boarding Queen Victoria on Wednesday in Trieste for a 9 night cruise to Southampton.

Next Monday, the day of the funeral, we will be in Gibraltar. I am hoping the service will be shown on large outdoor screens.

17 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

We had the wine tasting on QE in April, and it was offered, strangely, on the last afternoon, on QM2 last month.

A great way for Cunard to save money.

Offering it on the last afternoon means they can use all the dregs from opened bottles left in the bars!

We booked a UK early saver fare for our recent cruise and requested first sitting. 

Once in our suite we had a card which gave us our table number and we were in second sitting.

I went to the Britannia restaurant and spoke to the Maitre D and he changed us to first sitting.

On 8/8/2022 at 4:45 PM, LB_NJ said:

 

Off the top of my head I am not sure what the penalty schedule is however, wouldn't it have saved money to cancel and rebook.

We could have saved money by cancelling and rebooking soon after we had made the final payment. We would have received 50% back. But I thought the cruise may have been cancelled due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and applications from Sweden and Finland to join NATO. If it had been cancelled then we would have received all our money back.

We were on a Baltic cruise in June / July.  A few days after making the final payment the price of our grade of cabin fell by 60% (yes, sixty).

We are doing a cruise in the Med from Barcelona later this month and our grade of cabin is still on sale and has dropped by 25%.

We have just booked a Britannia grade suite with full balcony on a 9 night cruise leaving Trieste in Italy on 14 September. Cruise ends in Southampton. The price was  £670 per person or around £75 or $90 a day which I don't think can fall any lower.