tacticalbanjo

$60. The pours were 75ml per course which works out at half a bottle of wine.

I'm sure you'll have a great time. If it's the same menu and I suspect it will be, the langoustine ragu in champagne butter sauce is absolutely heavenly.

I do indeed. Also some photos of the food.

I meant the pop up on QM2.

I had a great time when I went in early June. Expensive but it was worth it for me.

I have in the past taken Cunard's flight from London to meet QM2 in New York, arrived at JFK and gone straight to Red Hook. The fares were so low including the flight that they were taken as little bonus trip so a night in a hotel would have added substantially to the cost. I knew there was a risk that we wouldn't make the ship but also knew that it would have been Cunard's problem to get me home from whatever adventure we ended up going/not going on. There is absolutely no way that I would risk such a thing on a more important trip (like a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska!) or when travelling with a child.

I booked in January for a June 2025 Alaska trip and was told by my agent that it would be possible to add flights at a later date. We didn't book with Cunard at the time because they were quoting the same price for my toddler as the adults. We're hoping the prices might shift when they know which flights will actually be booked. If not, I'm happy booking a flight for a few days ahead.

Be prepared for them not to be flexible about changing rooms. I asked if it was possible for me to send my only just 2 year old into the night nursery with the under 2s instead of letting her stay up watching movies and they said no. Maybe there is some sort insurance or resourcing issue? But the staff all have experience with kids of various ages and will be able to tailor the experience to your daughter.

I was also on this trip and had crisps in the Golden Lion on at least 3 nights that I can remember. I wonder why they didn't have them in the Commodore Club?

I'm getting on for the last two weeks, embarking in Istanbul and sailing back to Southampton. I'll be taking a private car service home. Looking in My Cunard, they are pointing people towards Intercruises's Cruise Connect service. Intercruises is Cunard UK's coach service partner. You need to book directly with Intercruises for this service. They have a drop off point at Heathrow T5 arrivals and Victoria Coach Station. I don't have any problem pricing up a drop off only booking. As Pushpit says, there will likely be the opportunity to book a coach via the Tour Office. I'm not 100% because I've not taken the coach before but I strongly suspect that regardless of how you chose to make your way to London, you will have to collect your own bags in the arrivals hall and take them to your mode of transport. I can't imagine that baggage is allowed to go through the customs hall without its owner.

It's also stocked in Tesco and Sainsburys. It's the one of the few supermarket coffees that has a roasted on date but it's hard to find freshly roasted beans due to how the supply chain works. Probably better than Illy as a mainstream coffee roaster but not exactly top drawer speciality coffee. However, I suspect that for Cunard, consistency is a bigger priority than fresh beans and a variety of flavours.

Here are a few more activities; I’ve not done a TA with my 2 year old but we have done 5 trips on Cunard and the days tend to be pretty similar across the board. The staff are pretty good at tailoring activities to the ages of the children in the kids club. On my recent QA trip there were two older children in the kids club with my 2 year old but they adjusted things to suit everyone - the big kids had more difficult puzzles than the little one, my child had more help with art work etc. They even did a dragon painting together which I was amazed at. What kind of 7 year old wants a 2 year old to mess up their artwork! But these kids were lovely and the staff knew what they were about. Outside of the kids club which is realistically only an hour or so in the morning once you exclude lunch and getting ready for dinner you can head for a swim, sit and do a quiet activity while the grown ups get a coffee or take a stroll around the promenade deck. Afternoon tea is great for everyone. But there aren’t really that many child friendly things so if they are happy in kids club that it’s probably the best place to be. I couldn’t keep my daughter out of the kids club and I did feel a bit guilty about not spending time with her on holiday but she had a blast, I got to relax and she enjoyed all the one on one time at meal times. She had so much fun that when we got in the car at the weekend she announced that we were ‘going cruise ship’! Sadly we were only off to the garden centre and have to wait until October for our next cruise.

Debit card preauthorisations regularly come up on other cruise forums too so you might struggle to find an alternative line. It also comes up about petrol stations and online shopping deliveries, essentially, any service where the goods/services are delivered before the invoice is sent and the final bill will not be known until after the goods/services is delivered. And yes, you get better protection in the UK when you use a credit card too. I use a commission free credit card for all foreign currency spending. Cunard aren't likely to rip me off but if I use if in the wrong place abroad then at least fraudsters can't clear out my current account and make my mortgage or bill payments bounce.

I’m currently on QM2 and have been experiencing the same issue with slow dinners. We’re on early dining but have been given a table on deck 3 with the open diners. Everything seems to be going swimmingly then grinds to a halt as the section fills up. I don’t know whether it’s the waiter or that the food isn’t being sent up until there is a few tables worth but dinner is taking upwards of two hours each night and not once have we made it to teas/coffees before we’ve had to ditch because we’re sailing with a two year old who has a limited amount of patience for waiting. We keep being left with finished plates in front of us for extended periods of time. Most annoying for me is that twice there hasn’t been a high chair waiting for us even though we’re on fixed dining so the waiters knew to expect us. I should have had a word with the Maitre’d but each night I think things have improved and when we finally finish the meal all I want to do it just get going so we can get the little one settled into kids club. We have no hope of seeing a show because we mostly haven’t been getting out in time and kids club kicks out at 10.45 which makes a 10.15 show impossible. It’s definitely not the Cunard that I know and love and I hope it improves soon. Even Britannia on the Maiden was better than this! 😂 Everything else has been great though. Our steward is excellent. We’ve enjoyed the quizzes in the pub each night. As ever the kids club staff have my daughter enjoying herself so much that she never wants to leave.

Mutiny?

It's probably not interesting to anyone but me but Invergordon is home to the current World's Strongest Man and his brother who was 2021 Europe's Strongest Man. Unsurprisingly they bill themselves as the World's Strongest Brothers. I was disappointed not to be able to make a trip to their gym when I called there in 2021 especially as I could see it from the ship but we couldn't get off without a prebooked trip and strangely, there was no ship's tour to Culloden which is what I wanted to do.

Right, a kinder review submitted full of all the positive things I came away thinking. Because honestly, all those little annoyances did melt away over the week. The first evening after getting stabbed in the foot by a metal shard in our stateroom and not getting our luggage until the last moment before dinner I was feeling a bit prickly. But the pub lunches, the gelato, the dips in the pool, a few workouts in the gym, cocktails in the evening and being able to have some time to relax as a couple without a 2 year old going 'Mummy, mummy, mummy' worked some magic and the negatives were soon a distant dream. I'd say that anyone nervous about trying QA and seeing lots being talked about the negatives should give it a go. Sure, you probably won't have the benefit of packing off a toddler to the kid's club to enjoy some alone time but you'll still be able to enjoy the magnificent pastries in the Carinthia Lounge, the beautifully big windows everywhere letting in so much light, the well thought out outdoor areas with plenty of shade and most importantly, that Cunard vibe. I'm sure my manager will think that this has been a productive use of my time this morning 😁

I was on the maiden and I'd say that I knew as soon as I walked on the ship that I was on a Cunarder. And at the end of the week I didn't want to get off. I really wanted to head to Voyage Sales and book myself onto the Canaries trip but alas, work was expecting me back. Sure, there were a few things I'd change (like filling the Pavilion Pool all the way because no way was the deep end 5'11" and I was bashing my feet trying to swim in the shallow end) and there were some service hiccups but the staff seemed to be doing their best and as they begin to gel as a crew and work out the ship themselves, the service will only get better. I'm very much looking forward to my trip on her next November. Perhaps I should go and put in a review to tip the balance a bit!

Yes, you can see where each lift currently is but it’s not always that helpful because you can’t tell if it’s stopping at every floor and will be overtaken by a lift on the opposite bank.

I don't think it is the safety edges. The problem is that the doors start closing way too early like before you've even started getting in early. There are couches in the lift areas now which block the direct route which adds to the problem. I'm in my 30s with no mobility issues and found myself racing to get in a lift many times last week on the Maiden. And when you get there and the doors are starting to close most people will instinctively stick an arm in to hold it because the alternative is to wait another three years for the next lift. Whoever worked out the length of time to hold the doors open must have assumed a clear lift area and non-mobility challenged guests.

The Wellness Cafe is open to everyone and is included. I enjoyed the bowl (which actually came on a plate!) that I had.

Judging by the number of crew and contractors traipsing past my stateroom stinking of smoke, that outdoor area is accessible by deck 4. They weren’t always great at shutting the door behind them and consequently the corridor often smelt strongly of smoke. Even woke up to it in our stateroom last night at about 4am. Yes, I did complain.

They manage on other lines, presumably via security screening, which is why rum runners are a thing. Some other lines won’t even let you bring soft drinks on board. It’s all about the bottom line.

Both of those threads quote the UK FAQs which up until now have explicitly allowed beers, wines and spirits, no unofficial policy needed. I’m aware that the US policy (and maybe in other countries) was always one bottle of wine. The current FAQs have been changed to match the new P&O policy which affects voyages from May 7th onwards.

Cunard’s bring on board alcohol policy has always been generous and for a long time the FAQs in the UK explicitly said that you could bring on beer, wines and spirits to celebrate special occasions with no mention of any limit. However, following P&Os recent change in policy to restrict to one bottle of wine or champagne with a max size of 750ml, Cunard’s UK FAQs now read: You may bring one bottle per person of wine or champagne on board (subject to the age limit law of the port of departure) to celebrate special occasions (no larger than 750ml). However, if you wish to consume it in any of the dining rooms, alternative restaurants or bars then each bottle will be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00 (fee subject to change). There is no corkage fee if it is consumed in your suite or stateroom. Wine and champagne gifts purchased via the Cunard Gift Collection are exempt from the corkage fee - please show your gift card to your waiter. Do we think that the policy on the ground will shift in line with the new FAQ? Or will things carry on as merrily as before with clanking luggage all round?