tacticalbanjo

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Plans change, so you leave a note, or trust their ability to find you.

 

Part of the reluctance is that it does impinge. Counterintuitively, it seems to hold stuff up. Anyone who embarked at Southampton, while Covid was still taken seriously, will remember how much longer the queue took when you were behind someone who had all their docs. on their phone, but could never quite find them, compared to being behind someone brandishing an easily accessible sheaf of paper docs.

 

Strange how this market research never lights on me, who has never done any of the things you mention, despite being youngish for Cunard. Why on earth do people want to look at family photos, when they’ll be back in a fortnight?

Or if you could message another passenger then you could do that and avoid walking round half the ship trying to locate your other half who is probably trying to find you and effectively hiding. I suppose at least you get your steps in your way. 

The problems caused by having digital documents were because, as you point out, there were not stored in a way that was easily accessible. I also saw people struggling to find papers in their unorganised heap. Being able to upload a photo and my card details during an online check in process is in essence organising your documents and has sped up check in times in my experience.

We must be talking to some people like you or we wouldn't get respondents saying that they never use those things. But the point is that fewer and fewer people are saying that. And more and more saying that they use these things daily or weekly. How long does Cunard wait before bringing in a real app? Do they wait until their regular passengers start saying that an enforced digital detox is off putting or do they anticipate that change so they can attract new guests before the current regulars churn either to other lines or to the great beyond?

And you must know that a lot of people want to keep updated with what their children or grandchildren are up to especially if they are used to hearing from them often. Crikey, I want to be updated on what the dog's doing when I'm away!

12 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Very true we were once in a bar on Princess that was holding a private party for Elite members of the Captains Circle Club. The waiter came over to a couple at the next table and told them what was happening and asked them politely to leave. He came to us and said no problem Mr ******* I know you are Elite members. We had never seen the waiter before so he got all my details from the Medallion in my pocket. Big Brother is certainly watching especially on a Princess cruise and it is not to my liking.

If you have privacy concerns then I suggest you don't cruise at all. Pretty much every inch of every ship is covered with CCTV and with facial recognition plus data from bars etc it would be very easy to track you around the ship. You even give them a nice image for facial recognition when you check in. It is already in use on a number of lines for embarkation/disembarkation and contact tracing and Cunard even makes mention of holding biometric data on you in their Privacy Policy. They say it is for security and safety purposes but, hey, everyone is safer when you know exactly where they are on your ship at any given moment so don't think that this doesn't give them leave to use facial recognition to track you.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Why not just tell each other when you part? Or leave a note in the cabin? And the Vistas, at any rate, are so small, it is pretty easy to find someone.

Plans change. Sometimes you get to a bar at just the wrong time and find you can't find a seat. Sometimes the talk isn't to your liking and you leave to do something else. You might wake up from your nap early and want to meet your partner rather than wait for them to return to the room as previously arranged.

It really does make me laugh how much people object to other people having more choices. On Princess you don't have to have the medallion. Cruise cards are still available for people unwilling or unable to have a medallion. You don't have to do anything on your phone if you don't want to.

Part of my job is researching usage trends for phones and tablets and every year we ask real people in a bunch of different countries about how often they message, use social media, video call and a bunch of other stuff. More and more retirees in Cunard's key markets are coming back saying that they use their phones for messaging every day. They video call at least weekly. They're sharing photos on social media regularly. They're on messaging apps so they can see family photos and videos. Where would be the harm in Cunard accepting that their core market's habits are changing and allowing people who want more technology to use it if it doesn't impinge on people who don't want to use that technology?

But given that even Cunard's tv system is laughable I doubt anyone here should be worried about having to use an app any time soon.

I’ve remembered something else I liked about the Princess app. I could buy photos in the app and download them directly to my phone. On Cunard the only option was a USB stick which none of my devices take because they’re all USB C. So I couldn’t even check the stick before I got off to make sure it worked correctly. 
 

I’m definitely not saying that the Princess app is bug free or that it should be mandatory but it would be nice to have some smarter options available for those who want them. I know the remote door opening is much mocked on here but I often wear clothes without pockets and I’m not joined to my husband at the hip so being able to wear a medallion on my wrist made my life so much easier. I could deposit him at a bar and head off for activities that suited me without having to carry my card and worry about losing it. 

39 minutes ago, david63 said:

That is probably quite deliberate to create brand identity. If all Carnival brands had the Princess Medallion then it would cease to be unique - although I believe that the original intention was to roll it our across other brands, so much so that I was told some of the newer Carnival brands ship have the cabling installed.

Even if they didn't roll out the medallion to all brands, having just one app with features enabled and disabled depending on brand probably would have been cheaper than rolling out a bunch of different apps and having to test and support each of them separately. But not if you already have as many different back end systems as brands!

I doubt that the current stage of technology was ever envisioned when some of these ships were fitted out and now it's going to be expensive to harmonise even if it would save costs in maintenance and improvements simply because you don't have to pay for the same thing a bunch of times. 

From the outside it seems like the big thing is that it costs money. The other major thing is that Carnival Corp appeared to have allowed each brand to do its own thing IT wise rather than just having one system that works across all brands. So deploying one app across all brands isn't possible unless they spend even more money on harmonising both shore side and ship side IT operations. I doubt the bean counters think that is worth it even if it might reduce ongoing costs.

I'd like to see something like Princess's solution across all brands. I was impressed by it when I tried Princess last year although it does have it's bugs too. But having an app shouldn't mean a reduction in staffing or forcing everyone to go down the app route if they don't want to. But I'd love to be able to order a drink from any sun lounger and have it find me without having to wait someone to come and take my order. 

And if they could allow you to use your phone or smartwatch as a cruise card, that would be ideal! 

You jammy swine! Have a great time and keep her safe for the maiden. 

Just now, exlondoner said:

I think they will be up and about by the end of April.

It sounds like the Princess of Wales will be out of action until at least Easter which is end of March this year. So still a possibility for end of April but she might not immediately pick up a full schedule of engagements. They haven't yet said how long it will be before the King resumes public engagements.

Hopefully both the King and the Princess of Wales recover well from their respective surgeries.

Maybe there should be a rude people club so we can contain all people who can't behave themselves properly and commit such horrors as shouting at other passengers, touching the bread in the buffet and, crime of all crimes, wearing jeans in the evening. 

3 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

It was announced at the time of the marriage of Charles and Camilla that upon his ascending the throne she would be known as Princess Consort. That's just a fact. The Queen then announced in her speech during her jubilee year that it was her 'sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.' (direct quote from her speech)

 

I would assume the unusual circumstances of Camilla's history (having been divorced for a start) as the wife of the king would have been the reason for their nominating the lesser title of Princess Consort for her. You may recall that the Queen didn't even attend their wedding ceremony and refused to be seen with her for a very long time preceding that.

 

'The wife of a King is a Queen Consort' you said but I would respond that the wife of the king is not usually a divorced woman (if we wish to talk about 'hundreds of years of tradition' and an understanding 'of how ttles and styles work'). Charles would most probably not even be king if there had been a precedent for that (although Wallis Simpson would not have borne an heir to the throne so it's still likely that he might have been).

 

And yet despite all of the blather, nothing concrete was ever done to fix a title that wasn't Queen. A change to royal titles and styles would have required agreement from all Commonwealth countries as required by the Statute of Westminster. What was said as a sop to Diana fans was just smoke and mirrors to keep them quiet until the inevitable happened.

The Government blocked a marriage to Wallis Simpson because they knew she would automatically be Queen and she was, for a number of reasons none of which apply to Camilla, deemed unsuitable. Even the divorce issue was sorted by 2002. And when the Government goes against the Crown, unfortunately our unwritten constitution says that the Crown must give way.

25 minutes ago, rog747 said:

IMO could be Camilla, HM The Queen, or maybe HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne.

Is the Royal Diary viewable >? 

If we knew the date QA was being names we could probably do some exciting detective work!

18 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Actually, she was touted to be known as 'Princess Consort'. It was quite late in the life of QE (2022 I believe) that it was announced it was the Queen's dearest wish or words to that effect that Camilla be known as Queen Consort. The title of 'Queen' and its acceptance by the public has been a surprise to many. 

But all the time the legal position has been that she would be queen in the same way that Mr Bloggs's wife can call herself Mrs Bloggs immediately upon her marriage. The wife of a King is a Queen Consort (as opposed to a Queen Regnant) but always referred to simply as the Queen or Queen Firstname. See Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother for recent Queen Consorts.

None of this was a surprise to anyone who understands the hundreds of years of tradition surrounding how titles and styles in the UK work. Not to mention that it would be a brave man to slight his wife in such a way!

27 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I think it would be very appropriate to have the Princess Royal name the new ship, Queen Anne.

 

If Cunard foresaw Camilla being queen they had access to a crystal ball that few people had. I think even the Queen (ER) didn't expect Camilla to be called 'queen' one day and certainly not in 2007.

 

She was married to the future king in 2007, no crystal ball required. The late Queen knew as well as anyone else that legally the wife of the King is the Queen. It's automatic and there was never anything anyone could do about it no matter what was said at the time.

I think she'll be named by the Queen and I suspect that Cunard only asked Camilla to name QV because they realised that she would be the Queen at some point in the future.

I do like Princess Anne though and it would be equally as special if she named QA.

The deck 8 obstructed view balconies often offer great value. I've not noticed that the room size was any different to the sheltered balcony I've had. I've not experienced any work being done to the lifeboats but if I did I wouldn't complain as it goes with the territory. Booked one again for June.

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

 

In the US, we have what Cunard calls "Our Lowest Fare". Elsewhere it's known as the "Value Fare". That fare has a number of restrictions including a non-refundable deposit (unlike most other US fares). It's similar to a UK Saver Fare in that it does not allow selection of a specific cabin (i.e. it's a guarantee-only booking). I can't find anything in the terms for that fare that mentions dining arrangements though. I never book that fare. I'd be interested to learn if those who do book that fare in the US are able to select early or late sitting or are being assigned open dining.

The UK terms for Saver Fares still mention being able to select a preferred dining time that will be confirmed on board. There’s no mention that you will just be assigned open dining which seems to be what is happening. I guess being able to select early, late or open and being confirmed as open complies with this but it really isn’t what you’d expect. 

1 hour ago, rsquare said:

Please reassure us that this was not something forced on you by Cunard.

When I was on QV in November it seemed to be policy that all guests on Saver fares (I'm not sure there is an equivalent in the US but in the UK there is the Cunard Fare and a Saver Fare with fewer perks and no room selection) were assigned to open dining. It might be a fleetwide thing.

The other posters are right. Whether you use the third bed or not, you need a three berth cabin and it doesn’t look like there are any three berth Britannia Club cabins on QM2. I have a nearly 2 year old and we take our own travel cot so the bed is not necessary for us but this is something no cruise line will budge on. 

I'd rather they included gratuities or offered a combined drinks, wifi and grats package like Princess do but that wasn't an option. 

I did wonder what they would replace the current World Club wifi credit with if they started to include wifi in the fares.

On 1/3/2024 at 4:35 PM, NE John said:

The variation of “App” technology within Carnival brands is unexplainable. Princess and HAL have good feedback (generally) with their onboard technology and even Carnival has an app. Not sure of P&O though but we are the indeed the red-headed stepchildren in terms of technology under the Carnival corporate umbrella. I would like Cunard to offer tech to at least message fellow pax via an app. Especially with the Starlink upgrade, we should see improvements in technology. 

P&O has MyHoliday which is exactly the same as MyVoyage just in a slightly different wrapper. It's utterly useless for queueing because it can't send push notifications since its website not a true app and relies on you constantly checking the app. However, when I did use it on P&O Britannia in the summer it did mean that I didn't have to hang around waiting for a table and could go get a drink somewhere with no pager required. I also had to acknowledge that my table was available and that I was heading there meaning P&O could offer the table to someone else if I didn't turn up in a timely fashion.

I was also on Princess this year and their app works much better for pretty much everything except navigating daily programmes. I would far rather have a normal list like we have on Cunard than a TV guide thing which requires scrolling up and down and side to side. With a list I can just look down it until I see something that appeals.

I do worry that Cunard risks getting left behind. Do the folks in charge not realise that today's young people are tomorrow's older people? 

1 hour ago, MississippiMom said:

I am not at all familiar with Cunard, but their Alaska itineraries are very appealing for 2025.

 

In your opinion, would it be a “kid friendly” line in Alaska?

 

 

I think it really depends on the age of the kids in question. We will have a 3.5 year old and if she’s the only kid on board then it’s ok because grandparents are coming too. If you have older kids then they might want to see other kids and I have no idea how likely that is. Usually the number of kids drops when you get over 7 nights but this is Alaska and it is summer when kids are largely out of school so it’s anyone’s guess as to how many kids will be on board. 

The other thing is that there are no slides, rock climbing walls or anything like that. There’s a kids club and some regular pools. The atmosphere at night is formal. Children don’t have to comply with the dress code but they largely do so your kids would be out of place if they are wearing normal clothes in the evening and not something you’d wear to a decent restaurant. 
 

In the main dining room there is a children’s menu but it’s fairly limited but that would be ok if your kid is happy to eat from the main menu - or chicken nuggets every night!
 

I’ve done 5 cruises with the little one in question, 3 of which have been on Cunard and know she will be ok. We might reconsider as she gets older and needs the company of other kids more. 

16 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

Of course as a Carnival shareholder, and assuming there are others on this board,  I do often advise folk to book direct.

On a purely self interest pecuniary basis that is. 😉😈 

Yes, yes, could everyone please book directly so the shares I bought 2 days before Diamond Princess hit the news recover a bit.

I had a look at that list CruiseCritic have. They mention one brand which is synonymous with poor service and has facebook groups dedicated to how terrible they are. 

I've found some of the Cunard facebook groups are quite helpful in finding a decent travel agent.

I now tend to use a TA for much the same reasons @space oddity mentioned. I'm travelling with a child and we've started doing multi-generational cruises. It's ok booking online if it's just the one room I want but we've booked several trips where we want two or three cabins next to each other, with one or two needing to be three berth depending on which family members join us. We use the website for planning and trying to work out which cabins are available although the website does suck because it only shows a selection of rooms at a time. Our travel agent is great at getting us what we want with a small discount over booking with Cunard direct at the cost of earlier final repayment dates.

6 hours ago, Austcruiser84 said:

Presumably with smaller cabins Cunard would be hoping passengers spend more time out and about in the ship spending money. 
Cunard is smart to start targeting those in their 40s. Old enough to like formality and young enough to be around in another decade 🙂

And they have parents they can bring along for the ride! 

I know people love to be sniffy about the silent discos but when I was on QV in November the Yacht Club was packed for it and when they ran one in the Queens Room it was so popular they ran out of headphones. 
 

Yes, I wish they’d bring back the party bands and karaoke is not my cup of tea but I had a great time on QV this year and I have 5 bookings over the next two years so clearly Cunard haven’t frightened me off yet. 

I was pretty set on a 2025 Alaska but not sure which line to do it on. But none of the other Glacier Bay going lines are doing many, if any, trips longer than 7 nights and if I'm flying all that way I want to see as much as possible. The options that are available don't have itineraries that appeal and heck, I just love Cunard. But I'm a little disappointed to miss out on Vancouver.

I probably won't book until next year though because Cunard are wanting a rather large amount for flights and want to charge the same for adults and children. So I might hold off until my TA can look at flight costs and get them to sort me a package. Is it worth speaking with voyage sales next time I'm on board?