57eric

Assuming you end up with time to kill, I'd be very surprised if there aren't seats somewhere near the baggage carousels.  Failing this, there should be some seats near the ticket counters.

Check the traffic conditions.  If it's a weekday, you may wish to keep moving.

You're encountering some of the reasons many passengers prefer to arrive the day prior.

I think you have nailed it.  Have a great time.  (You will.)

Check the daily program when you embark to see when the maitre d' will be available to address situations like this.  It was 1:30 to 3:00 on our last voyage.

I tried researching the square footage of a Q5 on QE and am getting answers all over the place, most of which do not break out the balcony size.  I realize that they may vary in size, but I can't make sense of the information I've found.  Can anyone shed some light?

Thanks.

Are boarding times a real thing in Southampton?  I've never paid any attention at Red Hook.

I have received Cunard's apology.

On 4/8/2024 at 7:47 PM, 57eric said:

I had transferred some deposits and started to lose track of what was what.  I had a record of one more deposit that I knew I had paid for.  All of them showed up as valid bookings in My Cunard.

 

I appealed to my CVP for help.  She replied that two of my booking numbers were not (or no longer) valid.  After doing some digging I agreed with her accounting.  Additional digging turned up one more valid one, which brought me to the total I was looking for.

 

Observations:

•    It's curious my CVP didn't point out the booking number that was missing from my original list.
•    As mentioned, I had previously validated the two "bad" numbers in My Cunard.  I checked again and they STILL show as current, paid voyages.
•    Of course, as has been observed many times before, other cruise lines allow you to log in and see all your bookings concurrently.  If Cunard had this     basic functionality, none of this research would have been necessary.

 

Sigh.

 

It ain't over yet.  I just got a final payment notice for a voyage I canceled in March, having moved the deposit to a new booking.  As noted in my original post, in April I did a reconciliation with my CVP to ensure we agreed on what my current bookings were.  And yet, here's Cunard trying to collect on a phantom reservation.  I always knew their IT systems were second rate, but I may be ready to offer a downgrade to that opinion.

If it's a progressive dance like Foxtrot, the safer place would be toward the center of the dance floor, leaving the outside lane for the "experts".

My hopes were raised...for a moment.

On 3/27/2024 at 1:39 PM, KKB said:

Most ships do not have public trash cans except in restrooms & cabins...I find it an oddity but I suppose it forces them to clean things up that are left. The ship we had been cruising on the past few years has plenty.

 

I suspect an illusionist is not a regular crew member; often then come in for one show (or 2 in a night), get off at the next port & head to another ship.  I would have though so too, but he was referred to on more than one occasion as "resident".

 

I suspect the enrichment speaker got ill.

 

Did you go to Sabatinis? I often find they have openings if we ask personally.  We did go, but you missed the point.  I am baffled that they apparently were never booked, in total contrast to the Crown Grill.

 

Paper napkins are FAR more wasteful than cloth--they add to the landfill! Saves them a lot of money as well. You aren't really "wasting" a cutlery set--it simply needs to be washed again.  My guess is that the energy to transport a paper napkin to a landfill pales in comparison to what's required to launder a cloth napkin and wash a set of cutlery, but this isn't my expertise.

 

I have never seen a start time on when people should put their luggage out...I have often done it before dinner the last day as I know we won't be back in the room before it has to be out, which might seem early to some.

 

 

 

 

I figured it was obvious, so I avoided directly admitting I couldn't figure it out.  🙂

1 hour ago, Se1lad said:

My last experience of boarding at Southampton was in January on QV - they opened the doors to the terminal at 11.30am and let anyone with priority boarding (QG/PQ/Diamond/Platinum/BC) check in.  Everyone else had to wait outside the terminal.  
 

Once through check in we were organised into zones based on  cabin grade / status.  At 12.20 they called QG  and we were through security and onboard by 12.30.  Some friends I was travelling with were in Britannia - they were let into the terminal about 12.45, and were called forward for boarding at 1.15, onboard by 1.30.

I searched the forum for another instance of "BC" and couldn't find one, other than category BC. I'm sure that's not what was meant here.

Total agreement with posts 13 and 17.  Don't try this.

23 hours ago, Tattycoram said:

If you're a lowly Britannia person, what's available to you?

Sir Samuel's has some surprisingly good, albeit limited lunch choices.  My daily program archive confirms they are open at embarkation.  However, it is never listed as a dining option and I can't say whether they were serving food the first day or not.

Princess emailed me about an upcoming cruise, encouraging me to explore dining reservations.  There are no available time slots.  This is not surprising as the cruise isn't until 2026.  Thanks for the spam, I guess.

15 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 They were in a YC Cabin. 

 

Thanks.

I'm late to the game on the whole Ben and David thing.  The last time I was on MSC the Yacht Club was a private area, open only to passenger who had booked Yacht Club cabins.  Nowhere in all the coverage and discussion of the "incident" did I see an explanation of what basis the gentlemen in question had for being in the Yacht Club.  Did they have a YC cabin, or is the YC no longer a private area?  I assume they didn't just sneak in.  Otherwise, MSC would have had no basis for the apology they issued.

I used to be able to get a list of qualifying sale voyages in tabluar format.  Does anyone have this for The Americas Sale?

I had transferred some deposits and started to lose track of what was what.  I had a record of one more deposit that I knew I had paid for.  All of them showed up as valid bookings in My Cunard.

I appealed to my CVP for help.  She replied that two of my booking numbers were not (or no longer) valid.  After doing some digging I agreed with her accounting.  Additional digging turned up one more valid one, which brought me to the total I was looking for.

Observations:

•    It's curious my CVP didn't point out the booking number that was missing from my original list.
•    As mentioned, I had previously validated the two "bad" numbers in My Cunard.  I checked again and they STILL show as current, paid voyages.
•    Of course, as has been observed many times before, other cruise lines allow you to log in and see all your bookings concurrently.  If Cunard had this     basic functionality, none of this research would have been necessary.

Sigh.

Great, thank you.

Thanks for the responses.  I'm not hearing that anyone has booked on Day 0 through a TA.

Thanks for the responses.  My cruises in the last few years on other lines have always had paper napkins (in addition to cloth) in the buffet and plentiful trash containers.  On Ruby I never saw paper napkins in the IC; maybe cocktail napkins by the coffee.

I know I should know this, but I'm having a brain freeze.  CWC members can book new voyages a day ahead of the public.  You can do this through a Cunard CVP or by phoning the call center.  Can you do it on line?   Can you do it though a TA? 

Thanks.

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

There have never been future menus on the app.  
If you want paper napkins bring your own they belong at McDonalds not a cruise ship. If you use a paper making it cannot be washed and reused. Talk about  real waste

Specialty restaurants are never booked fully on line. We always eat several meals in them and never make arrangements until on board

As far as putting bags out the tell you in writing when they need to be put out. There is no real starting time 

 

One paper napkin vs. having to wash a cloth napkin and a set of cutlery?  We have different concepts of waste.

I should clarify "fully booked on line".  I realize that fully booked on the app doesn't mean fully booked in reality.  What I meant was showing fully booked on the app.

Agreed, it wasn't a big deal.  In theory, we might have adjusted some plans based on a future menu, but that's probably overthinking.  The point was it was implied it would work, I was told it should work, and it didn't work.