Planning to cruise

That was the cruise with Cunard guests. Like all the other cruises i have done outside Grills there was nothing on the QA maiden. It was so cold in the Pavillion with the roof closed for evening events that people were wrapping in and under pool towels.

I agree, never had or seen a blanket on many many Cunard cruises on all the ships.

The following is an extract from a report about mid Europe flooding on the BBC news website today. "Hungary is bracing itself for floods in the coming days. Warnings are in force along 500km (310 miles) of the Danube. The river is rising by about a metre every 24 hours, with Budapest's mayor offering residents a million sandbags to protect against floodwaters. Some tram lines will not operate, while roads along the river will be closed in the Hungarian capital from Monday evening. Trains between Budapest and Vienna have also been cancelled."

We have once docked at the Chain Bridge with Viking. The time we planned to go to the Parliament independently we docked further up river close to the market. From there we took a public bus. You never can tell.

My crystal ball is lost. There is no such thing as UK weather. Though we are geographically a small country there are so many areas, regions, each with its own micro climate and other characteristics. As a rule of thumb the south is likely to be warmer than the north. The west is likely to be wetter than the east. It is not unusual to "have 4 seasons in one day". Weather can change quite quickly hour by hour. I live in a hilly area. It can be fine here and rainy and foggy over the hill and vice versa. Its a joke that if I go anywhere to stay I have to take stuff for wet, cold, warm, whatever. Most Brits rarely leave home without an umbrella.

I am so sorry RK-NC to read this. In the circumstances I can understand your reaction. I too am wary of dogs. No passenger should be disadvantaged like this because of the behaviour of another passenger whatever that is. You have paid for the cruise. There seem to be several factors at issue. 1. The dog is on board in the first place. 2. It is taken into the theatre, a public place where it may be difficult for others to avoid it. 3. In this instance there was disturbance to and reduction of enjoyment by others because of the jingling. (Was the noise part of the comfort zone or an affectation?) Although you have seen a manager I would take this even further up the food chain to senior management such as the Hotel Manager. A letter to the Captain marked Personal will ensure the issue is appropriately delegated with an acknowledment reply from his secretary. I do hope this gets resolved for you.

Note that you do have to make a booking for any included excursion, just not pay anything.

Equally, UK nationals should be aware that from November there are additional controls and requirments to enter Europe. This would affect flights to join cruises, or any other reason to visit.

Im not sure it is a case of chasing or upselling sales (although I can recall one sommelier who was very good at trying that) but needing to produce results. No doubt the fact that bar staff work hard rather than hang around can be noticed. Efficiency and sales volumes are the key to promotion. Not sure if there is an opposite result of not making the grade. The young man I refer to was pleased to be upgraded from wait staff to bar server (all some years ago) and the next step he hoped for would be effectively bar manager on a shift. Of course drinks staff are there to serve non alcohol as well as the more expensive alcohol.

The Boardwalk cafe has been in use in warmer southern hemisphere climes.

That is why it is called the Kings Court perhaps. Better than an Artisans Foodhall anyway

I am not a teetotaller and often like a glass of wine with dinner and / or more or less only on Cunard a pre dinner drink. I am just not over fussed about alcohol. It is a drink, there are others I might prefer. Call me old fashioned but tea or elderflower are often the go to choices anywhere. There is an emphasis on alcoholic drinks on all ships. I once got to know a Cunard barman well, not because we were good customers - we werent - but because being far from home he seemed to want someone to chat to and we always did so every time we met. He worked round the clock and when I asked him if he got fed up serving all these drinks even early in the day he said that in the end it just passed them by, the emphasis was in his words for them to sell, sell, sell.

Losing local housing stock to holiday use is a problem in popular, usually coastal and or rural parts, of the UK. Second home purchases have reduced supply of homes for locals and pushed the prices out of their reach. In places, such houses have recently attracted much higher taxes than non holidaybstock, to the protest of those owners. These areas attract large numbers of visitors and get very overcrowded in high season with traffic and people congestion without necessarily creating economic benefits.

Speaking for myself, I would sincerely hope not.

When we have been to what Cunard bills as Cairns the ship has docked at Yorkeys Knob some miles north.

I am sure that you will find more than enough to do. Enjoy!

I think there is more problem at Mayflower.

Club on QM2 is a separate room, 2 in fact since extra cabins were added. They are as you say at the back of the MDR which means going through the dining room unless you access via the D staircase near the QR. Walking straight into the dining room to walk through can attract some pained looks when it is thought you are queue jumping. We tend to say Club to the MD as we pass. Noisy? Not really although we once had a table next to the wall with the kitchen on the other side. Some noise penetrated but it was probabaly still quieter than being next to a service station in a dining room. It depends where the cabin is on the top decks. We felt movement in a very forward Club room on deck 12 during a rough TA crossing in January. That was unpleasant at first until we found our sea legs. More midships rooms are better. We quickly learned to think vertically not horizontally in Club on QM2. The A stairs / lifts give speedy direct access to the Commodore Club, launderette, library, Kings Court via the salon, and the rear of the theatre. The trek along the length is only necessary for the dining room.

I have found the most interesting speakers to be on TA crossings and on a world cruise where they change on segments. The best whilst also being great speakers often have academic credentials rather than being say TV people. I have heard and chatted with Maureen Ryan and Stephen Payne on such cruises. Although I do think its rude to do so I did in fact walk out of one talk some years ago along with a number of other women. It was between Australian ports, the speaker was Australian, as were great numbers of passengers. Although he was unknown to others he was apparently some sort of personality in Australia and the Australians were excited to think he was to talk and flocked to the theatre. He was so rude, sexist and misogynist, a few got up and others followed. Each to their own.

At the end of a cruise last year my husband ended up helping an elderly couple with their cases in the shed at Southampton. He is not the fittest passenger but this pair with whom we had spoken in a bar on baord were clearly having trouble with their small cases and wobbling on their sticks. Porters?

Triva every evening at 8 pm in the Explorers Lounge on port days on our VO cruises this year. On the one sea day it was around 12 noon in the theatre.

The timings above are the reason why we have now decided to try to arrive on board earlier even if it means overnighting in a hotel. Travelling on the day of departure has resulted in more than one arrival on company transfers during the talk or the start of dinner without time to freshen up. We share cdn polar s views about getting unpacked and settled.

I have no experience of P and O. I only know of MSC from my daughter and family with teenagers. She and her husband would prefer Cunard and told me that she knew I would hate MSC but that it was fine for them as the teens were having a fantastic time. I dont do party ships. I will let you make up your own mind. I do sail Cunard regularly. They are a quieter line than MSC and have regular fjord cruises. We have been to most fjord ports. You may wish to avoid a very large ship with many passengers for a fjord cruise where tenders are sometimes needed. To see the fjords you need an itinerary that does not focus on the coastal ports. You can probably do better than any of the options you have so far. I would suggest that you investigate a bit more.

Viking is an itinerary led line. Its emphasis is not on daytime or evening entertainment.

Another issue in Verandah on QM2 is its position next to a pool deck. At lunch time those in window seats have glass between them and people sitting on the other side by the pool. As there is a door from the restaurant to the outside deck it is not unknown for non diners, some in pool clothing, to enter from outside and use the restaurant as a thoroughfare despite this officialy not being allowed and imo rude. I agree that Verandah on QE and QV have a better ambience.