Deimos

Thanks for that, it's strange, one of the reasons I didn't check that cruise is because the Single oceanview is sold out, but it isn't on the V013A cruise.

The single oceanview from Hamburg is around £1339, whereas the cheapest from Southampton is the £1661 obstructed view room

Shame.

Apologies in advance if this is a stupid question!

I notice there's a transatlantic cruise going from Hamburg to Fort Lauderdale in January and the first stop in the voyage is Southampton.

Do I have to start the cruise in Hamburg, or can I join at Southampton?

I assume I have to start from beginning, but was hoping I could join in Southampton, as I am am a bit nervous about flying to Germany (I don't speak German) and finding the right port etc.

Sadly the only real transatlantic cruise option is the QM2, which isn't bad, but I wish there was a no frills, cheaper option.

I'm surprised there isn't a company that does bare bones transatlantic crossings, like freighter companies, but purely for passengers and not cargo.

Still doesn't make a lot of sense to me that cargo ship crossings are at, or above the price of a luxury cruise crossing.

Thanks for the videos and photos.

I weighed up the pros and cons of travelling by freighter, in the end, it seems like the ocean liner QM2 always comes on top, in so many ways.

A 7 day journey by Cunards QM2 comes to around £1398 for the inside cabin

A journey via cargo ship comes to around £1440 for a single occupancy cabin.

When you factor in all the things the QM2 has to offer VS what isn't available at all on the cargo ship(s), it seems somewhat pointless going by cargo ship.

20 minutes ago, orchestrapal said:

 We also don’t do formal and don’t think it would have made us any happier on Cunard. We were in a suite and had dinner served there most nights.  We found the food to be mediocre and the atmosphere to be sudo-posh. We only chose our cruise because it avoided flying but Never again! 

That's probably what I would do, which brings me to another question, do you have to tip when someone brings food to your cabin? That part seems a bit vague.

I heard that you are strongly encouraged to leave a tip in your room after you leave, is that for housekeeping?

Thanks all for the feedback, given me a lot to think about.

Hi all,

So I've been pondering the idea of cruising to the USA instead of flying for quite a few years now and whilst there are other options, such as cargo ship voyages (which now accept the Visa waiver thing), they are more expensive and offer a lot less than a transatlantic cruise to New York.

I didn't really want the expense of cruising to America, staying there for a month, then flying back, as a single trip flight is 3-4 times the price of a return one

But, since Norwegian air has started doing direct flights to/from Tampa to Gatwick, it's opened new options for me

So I'm pondering cruising to New york, staying there for a few days to see the sights, flying down to Tampa/Sarasota and staying for a month, then flying direct home via Norwegian air.

But...

I'm not really sure if I'm compatible for QM2 cruising, meaning, I'm not posh, nor rich, I don't do dressups/suits just to eat at a table and I feel like I would be very out of place on such a ship

That's not to say I don't dress in a smart/decent fashion (Shirt+Trousers or Jeans during the day for example)

But my main concern is of course evening time when the ship goes into formal/non formal mode, would i be allowed to access regular areas of the ship, for food, like the buffet area?

Essentially I just want to use the QM2 as a transatlantic ferry service.

Thanks all

Yea I noticed the price differences back in March when I was in the USA (Florida), it of course loaded the .com site

I used teamviewer to load the same cruises on my PC here in the UK and was surprised at the price difference.

Thanks all

Has anyone from the UK ordered from the .com site and had any issues? I'm assuming the checkout process will require a US address though heh

From Cunard.co.uk

Westbound Transatlantic Crossing M831B

1 Adult, Inside room (IF), 2nd sitting, 2 table, arrange own flights. (Price is £2378 or $3197)

From Cunard.com

Westbound Transatlantic Crossing M831B (Same crossing)

1 Adult, Inside room (1F),2nd sitting, 2 table, no flight option. (Price is $2288 or £1701)

The only thing I can think of, is there's no mention of the "Cunard fare", but even when that's selected, I don't see any option to choose the benefits during the selection process (parking or spending money) unless it comes after checkout.

Sure, give me a second to collate the info!

The prices on the UK site usually include flights, have you taken that into account ?

I did yep, the price was without flights.

Hi all,

So I've been pondering using Cunard as my first cruise line to travel to the USA (I hate flying)

I've regularly checked the different cruises on offer and I found one which arrives in New York shortly before thanksgiving, which would be perfect.

I must admit to being totally shocked at the difference in price, depending on what site you visit.

Using the same details (Cabin, offers/options and dining preference etc), this is what I found:

Booking via Cunard.com, the price would be - $2165, or £1610 and some change.

Booking via Cunard.co.uk, however, would be - $3026 or £2251 and some change.

A price difference of £641 or $861!

I Can't say I understand why, unless there's additional costs I'm not aware of on the cunard.com site?

Can people in the UK book via the .com site without issue?

Yea I used a VPN to get the prices from the .com site.

Thanks Host Hattie :)

How would someone who's never cruised before, find a cruise focused travel bureau?

As I understand it they can't be named on here, correct? Trying google search but the results aren't too good so far.

Yea, price from .com doesn't include air fare

Please note: Voyage fares do not include airfare, transfers, travel insurance, shore excursions, sightseeing or meals ashore; government fees and taxes; hotel and dining charge, beverages (not part of the regular meal); gratuities to airport personnel, escorts and drivers, laundry, dry cleaning or valet service, or any other item of personal nature.

But I'd planned to stay in the US for 2-3 weeks anyways and make my own way back.

I don't think the flight was included, both prices were just the basic inside cabin without any frills. (On the uk site, it was the early saver rate)

Removing the flight from the UK site doesn't affect the price.

Both were one way only.

Much appreciated, thanks!

Something to ponder anyways. :)

Fare before taxes, fees and port expenses:$1,398.00

CunardCare Guest Protection:$0.00

Taxes, fees and port expenses:$105.76

Your Fare:$1,503.76

Total in GBP is - £1160 vs £1748 from cunard.co.uk

Hmm I'll have to check again, but, the price was significantly different when I checked yesterday

I think the price for the December voyage, inside cabin, single person, was around $1400 (with tax/fees), whereas the price on Cunard.co.uk for the same voyage, was nearly £1748 ($2262 USD)

I'll double check in a second.

Hi all,

So I've been wanting to book my first cruise for sometime and am looking at December of this year for dates.

I'm British, so living in the UK and I noticed yesterday the prices on the .com site are quite a bit lower (nearly half infact) of those on the UK site.

I couldn't see any obvious rule which states you can't book via the .com site instead of the uk one, but I did notice it requires a US based address, so I'm wondering if anyone else has done this to get a cheaper fare?

Thanks for the tip regarding Norwegian air, yea I'm going to look into calling Cunard air, but the Norwegian air has some good prices.

$1055 per person Business class. It was cheaper to fly Amsterdam to JFK using Cunard air purchased Business class JFK to Orlando for $270 per person. I'm a travel agent so I'm able to see the air options. I'm on the July 28 NYC to Southampton. If there's any other questions don't hesitate to ask. There's a lot of information on CruiseCritic the best location for cruisers.

Interesting.

I was planning on taking the December voyage from Southampton to New york, which arrives on December 22nd, then flying down to Sarasota, spending Christmas with the family, attending my brothers wedding on the 6th, then flying back around the 21st of January

All the prices I've seen are a lot higher if flying from Tampa to London, the Business class prices, one way, are extreme, around the £5,000 mark!

Only real option seems to be booking a return flight otherwise it's just way out of my budget.

Premium economy is around the £2300 mark.

A return Premium economy is about half the price (£1000)

Nice thanks!

If you don't mind me asking, how much is it costing you for the flight back? (And what class of seat?)