tacticalbanjo

I would suggest a dry run of whichever medication you choose. I used to use Stugeron 15 but over time it has been making me more and more drowsy. The last time I took it I ended up sleeping most of the day - I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

I've tried other medications since then that while make me sleepy, don't seem to knock me out in quite the same way that the Stugeron now do. Side effects do change person to person so its worth finding something that works for you. 

My first trip was also 'once in a lifetime' and our first cruise - a Westbound TA followed by a 5 night NY-NY calling at Boston and Halifax for our honeymoon. A little less than 4 years later we're about to do our 8th cruise (all with Cunard) and 3rd TA. So much for once in a lifetime!

6 minutes ago, tv24 said:

Unfortunately I think this is a poor use of good Creme de Cassis.  I recommend donating the Pol to fellow passengers, or just leaving it to be recycled to the next gang on board.

Luckily I'm still young enough to be able to tolerate poor quality drinks 😂 Likely in a few years when I'm in the habit of only drinking high quality stuff (and have the budget to suit!), I'll be in the give it away camp.

Creme de Cassis also makes the Pol drinkable. In the past I have decanted some into a 100ml hand luggage size bottle (didn't want to risk it leaking in checked luggage) and it was the perfect amount. I suspect you can buy some on board but that's a pain when you just want to get into you stateroom and unpacked.

I really hate the fact that the way its been coded stops you from opening links in new tabs. When I search for a trip I will be looking at multiple voyages to compare pricing, itinerary, dates. Now I have to do multiple searches to compare trips (and as others have mentioned, its then really hard to compare pricing between categories - it's easier to go for the cheapest category rather than faff about with the system) and its a really frustrating experience. Why make it harder for people to spend money? Companies should be going for the Amazon approach: making it as frictionless as possible to spend money.

I was on QM2 at the end of August. The menu looks pretty similar to the one I ordered from. The pork tacos are excellent!

Are these menus likely to be on QM2 now? Fingers crossed...

We had these menus (or at least very similar ones) on the QM2 at the end of August. Our table really liked them. We did ask the waiter whether the change in menus meant that the hidden always available options (chicken, beef, salmon) were still available but he didn't know and we forgot to ask again before the end of the trip.

Last time I was on board in May I'm sure there was a cheese plate on the room service menu which was chargeable so hopefully that and the usual caviar etc will be chargeable.

Ours also arrived yesterday and felt very light on content compared to previous editions.

As previous posters have mentioned changing at Clapham Junction is a lot more hassle than changing at Havant. Havant would be a same platform change. Clapham Junction is a huge and buys station which from experience is a pain to navigate with luggage.

I think the point is that Cunard are making out like bandits on the drinks prices! But that tells us nothing about what the margins are on each trip. If margins on the room rate are low then the bar bill is the main source of profit. And Cunard have to make a profit to satisfy shareholders. They aren't a charity.

That being said I do find the prices a little on the high side. I don't drink much at home but do like a cocktail or two before dinner, wine over dinner and possible a cocktail or two after dinner. It adds up quickly and we do get a bit of bill shock at the end even though we are pretty good at estimating our costs. The Australians on our last cruise removed tips to offset the bar bill which is an option I won't take but I can see why other people might. If its gets too much for me to afford I'll start looking at other lines or just reduce the amount of trips I take.

DH and I are in our early 30s and have never had any problem finding young at heart people to spend time with, no matter what the average age of passengers. Some bars are quieter than others so you might need to move around to find the best place to be. And of course if you are on a port intensive trip people are going to want to head to be earlier to best enjoy the port the next day.

I've always found the staff to be unobtrusive but friendly if you want to chat. But if you don't indicate that you want to chat you'll be left alone. Talking to a bartender on QE last month, they are told that the ships are formal and not to do some of the things that are encouraged on other lines. Obviously that's not going to suit everyone but I does suit me which is why I've really enjoyed the six cruises we've done with Cunard.

I've not done a B2B but I did to a TA followed by the Boston minicruise a few years ago. We stayed on the same table but received new table mates. I was told that most of the ship had got off on arrival at NY.

I'm not sure if younger people do want to dress more casually. I'm 30 and took my first Cunard cruise 3 years ago. I actually really relish the chance to dress up and to see my husband dressed up in a way that we simply wouldn't do at home. I must admit that he was a bit nervous about dressing up for the first trip but we're soon to be going on our sixth cruise with Cunard and we were both dismayed by the thought of a more relaxed dress code. We're one of the ones muttering in the Commodore about lingerers in casual dress at ten past six! We've met lots of young people totally conforming to the dress code and enjoying it.

Having said that, we do tend to dress casually during the day and wouldn't think twice about having breakfast in shorts on a port day. No one wants to have racked up two outfits by 9am!

On a trip to Amsterdam on QV last year we had a sea day moved to the beginning of the trip then went to Rotterdam instead of Amsterdam which pushed our call to Zeebrugge back a day to avoid bad weather. Depends on the captain and the availability in other ports as to what is done. If a berth in Rotterdam/Zeebrugge wasn't available on the right days we might have ended up just going to Cherbourg and back with a few days bobbing around the English Channel!

I'm torn. I've wanted to see St Petersburg for a long time and currently have a trip booked this year. It will be my last cruise for at least a few years so I wanted to tick off a bucket list cruise.

When this was booked the UK and Russia were working to improve relations and while I disagree with many policies, this doesn't seem to stop people from visiting other places which discriminate against people based on sex, sexual orientation, religious beliefs etc. How many people have stopped trips to Barbados? Antigua? Jamaica? What about the UAE? Of course some will have but the vast majority of people won't. And I'll be disappointed if I don't get to see St Petersburg.

I had a look round some of the medical centre during a behind the scenes tour. It was just like any other doctors surgery I've ever seen. But when you remember that the doctors on board serve as GPs to the staff on board - and I imagine that's more of a job than treating passengers - it makes sense for the medical facilities to be at that level.

When I stayed in the GHH two years ago it was very tired. Friends have been to an event there and it was so bad the company putting on the event will never go there again. They said the worst parts were the rooms, they just hadn't been maintained properly and the hotel had some sort of heating failure so my friends weren't even able to take a shower before their event. GHH staff didn't seem to care that such a basic thing wasn't working - and of course you worry about eating any food in a hotel when the hot water has been switched off!

Don't come visit Manhattan then. $8 for 16oz is not unusual. And you still need to tip on top of that.

I've visited two years ago. The fx rates were a little better then. I haven't booked any more US trips since Brexit because it's become so much more expensive. I booked my last trip over a year ago well before the pound tanked and Cunard decided to put up drinks prices - I could afford the trip I wanted when I booked, now I might have to pay a bit more attention to what kind of bills we rack up on board.

I'm not going to be removing my autotips but I can see why others would. I'll have to rein in the drinks instead which - if other British passengers do similar - will also have an effect on staff albeit the bar staff rather than the hotel and restaurant staff.

At current exchange rates its something like £4.85 + 15% for a pint of draught beer on Cunard so £5.57. Even in London that would be extortionate. £4.85 is bad but more than £5 a pint is a mental barrier not many British people want to cross.

I did a two night trip from Hamburg to Southampton last year and although there were no formal nights, we did meet a couple who had dressed up in formal clothes just because they wanted to. They were very excited at being on the QM2 and at being able to get dressed up. Take the formal stuff anyway and wear it if you want to. I was actually quite jealous and wish I'd brought some of my long dresses.

I took my first Cunard cruise at 27 on the QM2 with my 30yo husband two years ago. We were put on a table with people of a similar age for the crossing but the age profile on the next segment was much higher and so were our table mates. We had a ball of a time and almost immediate started shopping around for another Cunard cruise when we got home! Since that cruise I think we've never been for more than six weeks without having an active Voyage Personaliser log in :')

On our second cruise (QV) we found that we were the youngest by around 20 years on our table. However, our table mates have always been fantastic no matter how close or far in age - in fact we tend to find that the older tablemates are the most interesting.

We're not much for dancing but found no problem getting my boogie on after one too many cocktails after dinner. Honestly, many of the older crowd are far more wild than younger people!

The only problem with Cunard is that it is addictive. I must check the Cunard site for bargains at least once a week and we've got two cruises booked. I might as well just let Cunard take a cut of my pay packet!

I wouldn't rely on departing LHR at noon. I live near the airport and usually get home around 11am-12pm when we get a car from Southampton having done regular disembarkation.

Self-disembarkation and light traffic might get you to the airport for around 9am but any traffic, trouble disembarking, late customs clearance all eat into your three hour before recommended arrival time for long haul flights. Traffic can easily take the Southampton to LHR journey to over 2 hours so for me there would not be enough wiggle room.

Your suggestion of staying overnight and visiting Windsor Castle sounds like a good idea to me. Who likes being flustered and hurried on a trip anyway?

I went to Dalsnibba in May. It's way more than 2.5 miles away from Geiranger. According to the official website Dalsnibba is 21km away from Geiranger which is just over 13 miles. I seem to remember it being pretty high - it would not be a fun walk even if there was a more direct route which I suspect there is not.

Did no luggage mean you were confined to buffet dinners all week?