outlawuk

12.44 update: Captain Queen Victoria says Neptune is Refusing to leave port saying too windy and Neptune captain cannot be persuaded, even though we are stuck outside waiting for his berth. - I note that QM2 arrives tomorrow so that may be interesting!

Is it really the wind? Ok I'm on Queen Victoria and we cannot enter port until you leave! We had letters this morning about immigration Departure checks tomorrow our 2nd day and it all sounds like a deliberate spoiler by the authorities. This will be the worst port experience of our World Cruise so far. It's now 10.47 waiting out at sea, captain gave ETA arrive alongside noon to 1300. What a shame.

I meant to suggest also dropping off your main luggage then going to Ikea, or in fact John Lewis (they are close to each other) then checking-in with just your hand luggage. 

What about Ikea. Have some meatballs and buy a fake plant for your cabin!

I think I am being trolled. To be clear: Any cruise can be cancelled for another cruise within 12 months, but a cancelled World Cruise is EXCLUDED from this scheme. A cancelled World Cruise must be replaced with a cruise of equal value which sails withing 6 (SIX) months. World Cruises only sail in January.

Sadly not because it was the issue in getting insurance that led to the cancellation before final payment due. What really hurt was that previously one could re-book the following year but the new policy is that a trip of equal value must be booked within 6 months. There are no World Cruises in Summer and I would hardly book Queens Grill for a 3 week holiday at World Cruise cost. Some of the 'magic' has gone. Had Cunard allowed a cancellation without losing deposit I think many in that situation would remain loyal, but I do think this was a short-sighted policy change, in the face of their advertising that fares are so flexible. I know someone else who lost £5,000 for cancelling the same cruise, but they were in a decent balcony and we were just to be inside in IF grade! All that said, we enjoyed the short Hamburb trip on QV recently and did book the World again for 2024, but perhaps more fool us. Maybe cruising is an addiction!! I won't fault the crew though, they were great.

Just to add, Pol Acker was boxed and in the corridor the night before we disembarked along with the red leafed plants for the World cruisers joining.

Oh dear. I was on QV to Hamburg on 7th January and there was a bottle of the Ciaosecco in the fridge with two glasses, but there was no card inviting us to drink it! I asked at pursers desk and was told that World Club benefits did not apply on trips less than six nights, so on the basis that the room attendant didn't understand my language when I spoke I left it in the fridge, for fear of a $60 or similar charge on the bill! 

Actually, the card in the envelope on the door didn't work. They had our wrong World Club status. It was a double bed and not the singles we had requested and the dining card showed strangers names, so we had to go to the restaurant to sort it out ourselves. Luggage arrived at 7.30pm only just in time for dinner. Things improved after that but the first day was not a good experience.

Sadly I had to cancel the QV World Cruise for this year and cancelled just before the final large payment was due and lost the entire deposit. I gather I might not be alone in this loss and upset but I suppose there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. My worry was that if I allowed things to drift beyond tthe payment date that Cunard might Demand the total payment from me then sue, so I cancelled when I could. Great great shame this was especially as I was on the short Hamburg trip with friends immediately before and had to get off when I should have been staying on. Oh and as to Pol Acker, (wrong place to comment I know), I saw the boxes in the corridors waiting to be put into the cabins. It was Pol Acker.

Lissie, Thanks for the advice. Sadly I’m not made of money and will be inside! In fact we booked a deluxe inside midship for the 2022 cruise, but that was cancelled due to COVID and in the mass stampede to book the 2023 trip all that was available was an IF grade inside above the bow, but for same price. If we try to put up washing lines in that small space we will probably strangle ourselves. A shame really but it is what it is. The deluxe insides are really nice cabins.

Mmmm… I was being discreet! It’s actually the World Cruise so no flying involved and no baggage restrictions.

I bought a large World map today for my Queen Victoria cruise starting in January 2023. Does anyone categorically know if magnets will fix to the cabin walls. I’d like to be able to put the map and photos I get printed onto the cabin walls during the trip. I have seen a box of about 30 tiny but powerful magnets and they seem ideal for the purpose ??  Thanks

Sadly in my case they didn’t! and only option today when booking the replacement was the furthest forward standard inside deck 8 on the QV for world 2023, so we are booked but not as we had hoped. Everything decent is Long Gone. Such a shame.

My thanks for the advice. Warning: First World problem! So with my QV world 22 cancelled we are now booked for 2023 but whereas we had a deluxe inside midships we are now in standard inside deck 8 as far toward as can be. It will be tiny. The Cunard rep called and it was rather a case of take it or leave it. I suppose we should be grateful as we now have a cabin, but it’s not quite how I’d originally hoped. 2022 was booked onboard with the perfect cabin. Anyhow it will be fun on board all the same. Something at last to look forward to.

My thanks to HostHattie, Bluemarble and Patria21. I will Try ?? to get Cunard on the phone to see what can be done. Perhaps as for some others, it had been the prospect of the 2022 World Cruise that sort of got me through the COVID period and kept my spirits up.

I was booked on the now cancelled World Cruise (full) on Queen Victoria and frankly, shame on Cunard for not creating a pathway for those on the cancelled World Cruise to rebook for 2023. I see that ALL cabins in ALL grade on both ships are sold out and 'closed'. So that is that! I'm very unhappy about this. I would never have been in a position to book two World Cruises for consecutive years just to guarantee one of them so that's the dream cancelled. Really Cunard - surely you could have kept some cabins unavailable for just a short time after the cancellation announcement to allow us to jump ship?

We are booked on QV World Cruise 2022, booked with deposit paid before COVID caused any restrictions. How do I escape from this disaster! How do I get my deposit back. So Cunard have emailed updated terms and conditions (UK) for this cruise and basically they now require Proof on checking-in (or refused carriage at our expense) of:

Full insurance including all pre-conditions, plus covid cover to include repatriation, cancellation and curtailment, to be min of 2 million pounds.

Basically, in the absence of them as a company offering such insurance at a FAIR price then this holiday is to be cancelled. How would any world cruise passenger afford this? But is such insurance even available?? Surely the insurers and underwriters would run a mile from any policy such as this?

This is really a disaster and I'm now only concerned how I get the deposit back. If we cancel now they will likely refuse a refund but if we leave it to wait and see if They cancel the cruise they will accuse us of having delayed cancellation, so I think we are screwed either way. End of cruising I fear for us. This is very very sad.

Another thought, I hope of interest to someone. On ships I've been on, if a balcony door is left open the air whistles from the corridor and into the cabin and out the balcony door, so in theory I think any infected air along the corridoor would go through that cabin. I would only open and close the door very quickly if going in or outside to minise risk of air contamination. Maybe I am stating the obvious.

My concern is for the inside cabin passengers. Can't Australia offer Christmas Island for passengers to get off at their huge quarantine camp. It's hard to imagine how I would cope stuck in an inside cabin but I think people might find adventurous ways to prevent depression. For example calling randon cabins on the free internal phones for supportive chats or even posting here to say I'd like a call in cabin XX please (on the internal phone system not the wider world!) . Little things might help mental resilience in a situation like this. Or call your neighbours. I'm supposed to join (or maybe not?!) QM2 in a week and I'm inside!

On QM2 deck 12, aft, above the Grills deck and below the crew deck and turbines there is a narrow deck from port to stbd which is a great place to watch departures from port in the evening, or to watch the ocean go by safely late at night. I saw a post-refit video that suggested the area is now closed to all but pet owners. Really? is this 24/7, or just during kennels opening hours? Just for transatlantic crossings? I ask as I am booked Soton to Sydney January 10th 2018 :D and notice rather a lot of deck space seems to be lost since the refit. I'm glad the sports centre nets have a home, albeit at the expense of yet more deck space.

Thanks, Dominic

David, you are probably right. I never traveled on QE2, though always wanted to. I remember it as a child before the suites were 'plonked' on top of what I think was an open-air protected sports deck? It looked better then and I actually like ships to be like ships, so would enjoy being in a cabin with portholes. Balconies aren't that important to me. I seem to recall the original few luxury cabins had big (sideways-)oval windows and I'm sure they were perfectly decent. I feel ships these days are very inward-looking, almost as if engineering the sea out of the equation, whereas I like ships to be outward-looking and all about the sea. If the Titanic II ever gets built I would love to travel on that, if I could afford First Class that is! But then in my day I recall on Canberra you could book one of the 4 berths in an inside cabin and take pot luck as to the guys allocated to share with you and as a youngster that was the only way I'd have been able to afford it. Dominic

Hello Tafkap, I had no idea what the relevant address was so I used my cabin number (already assigned) for QM2 and also quoted the Inmarsat satellite phone number for the ship. It seemed the best I could do at the time and thankfully the visas came back in 48hrs. Like you? When I printed the form something I had entered had vanished, but having 'submitted' it there was nothing I could do to rectify it. So many traps for the unwary!

Hello Kate,

BTW, sorry I was letting off steam.

India: was £72 each for a double-entry visa.

You start the application on the Indian Government website, then when ready to submit it they refer you to their agency, but not an expensive private agency. I then completed info on their website, printed off the form (which was also submitted to them electronically). Then I posted it to them. They then referred it all to the Indian High Commission (what a faff) who sent it back to them, who sent it back to me. But all inside 3 days.

China: should have been £84, but they increased the fee from 11th Jan 2016 to £175. They sent my visas back to me before the increase, yet charged £120 each. See my problem! £120 isn't published anywhere and they obviously made it up.

I wanted to do this myself because the India visa via an agency can cost about £200 and I thought...'mmm...surely it can't be that hard'.

Well it was fiddly but you can do it. But I had a headache.

Regards, Dominic

We fly to Sydney to join QM2 to Southampton, so needed visas for India and China. I was hoping to keep things cheaper so chose to arrange them myself but really it has been a nightmare. You can do it yourself, but I wouldn't really wish this on anyone! Wading through (seemingly) contradictory instructions... Anyhow my experience was that if you follow the instructions to the letter and the photo is perfect (whatever that is) then India was a breeze. I expected them to cogitate on my application for days on end, but in reality they returned my passport by courier within 48 hours. I still feel a little resentful though. It's like some countries have an attitude of: how much grief can we get away with causing people, presumably for some obscure political reason.

One important thing: I did NOT need to attend in person. I was going in circles over whether I post the application or whether I need an appointment, but my understanding is they cancelled the new rule about personal attendance quite suddenly. I did need to make the appointment on line (yet more smoke and mirrors) as part of the process, but I posted the application to them by special delivery on a Monday and on Wed morning the passport came back all done. I then tried to cancel the appointment but their system just said no changes allowed. Anyhow, I got the visa.

China however left me fuming. Fortunately I applied just before the Jan 2016 fee increase, albeit I didn't know about it til after the event (~150% increase), but although the fees are specific and published they overcharged us about 50%. I was mad over this! But what can I do? Foreign jurisdiction/law they can take me for a ride if they like and that's what they did. If I complain and ask for refund will they just cancel my visa?! So I have to take it on the chin. Be very careful with China. For my part, if I buy anything electronic on hol I will not shop in China but choose Singapore instead - Their loss.

Finally, remember that you have to apply for visas within certain time-frames, you can't just apply when you like, ie early as possible. Oh, that would be far too easy. Aagh.

Dominic (and Mike)

"Maybe in the future when all our portable devices are directly satellite linked..."

Speak for yourself! All my portable devices ARE satellite-linked ;-)

Good point though.