Jack E Dawson

What about seating at the bar in Golden Lion, Commodore Club and Chart Room. Is that still prohibited? Thanks Jack

Sabrina66, There was no random or ship wide mandatory testing. I suspect that you are correct that these were close contacts of passengers who had tested positive. The announcements were usually made mid to late morning, 4 bells then the announcement. I know that this is a serious situation but i still found it amusing how when those 4 bells sounded you could hear a pin drop in whichever room you were in. Then the big group sigh of relief if your name wasn't called. By the mid point of the cruise Dee and I figured that even if we did catch covid (we had had our SECOND booster 4 weeks before boarding) we probably wouldn't test positive before reaching NYC so we started to really mingle at breakfast and lunch as well as in the evenings and of course in gossip central, the launderettes. In talking with a fair number of passengers, my best guess is there were very few cases of COVID on board, maybe between 10 - 20 tops. Again, this is just a guess. No one spoke of losing their waiter or steward and all of the performers/speakers were there throughout the voyage. I can tell you that we did not see a single crew member without a mask or wearing their mask improperly either inside our outside on the deck. There were staff with bottles of hand sanitizer everywhere and they were not timid in dispensing it. I would swear those folks were being paid on commission. Jack

When we boarded the QM2 in Southampton two weeks ago the fridge was already empty except for a bottle of Pol Acker and two Champagne glasses. There was a letter on the desk saying that you could have your fridge stocked, and specify with what items if you wanted, for a charge. Jack

No David, a negative test was not required to disembark. I was very surprised when told this on the ship. It is hard to believe that a cruise ship, with known COVID cases onboard, was allowed to pull into New York and disembark 1500 passengers without any testing requirement. I actually checked with the Purser's Desk 3 times confirming this. I was told that the only people requiring testing were those who were immediately flying out on International flights. When we went through Customs the issue wasn't even raised. Jack

navybankerteacher, I believe the Silver Spirits Drinks Package on Viking is around $20/day. I'm not sure that would qualify for being in an alcoholic stupor. Jack

Actually Harpy3, I'm happy to report that is for everyone. This has been a topic here on the Cunard Board many times. We just got off the QM2 a little over a week ago and still true. Some passengers literally bring wine on by the case. It's been that was for years. Jack

Steve, We also live in Chicago (Riverwoods actually) and just got back from a Crossing a week ago yesterday. Just to be clear about the time issue. On an eastbound Crossing the ship's clocks are moved ahead one hour at noon each day. So you loose an hour right in the middle of your day. This happens on 5 of the days. Trying to do lunch, afternoon tea in the Queen's Room and dinner just kind of becomes one big meal. On the west bound Crossings on 5 nights the ship's clocks move back from 2:00AM to 1:00AM giving you an extra hour of sleep. Because of all the entertainment that goes on in the evenings, that extra hour is always very welcomed by us. We are rarely to bed before midnight. This was our 3rd (once in a lifetime) Crossing on the QM2 and we always go over at least a week ahead of time and travel in Europe/UK. There are pro's and con's to both eastbound and westbound crossings and certainly no right or wrong, just personal taste. Jack

We decided not to walk from the Holiday Inn to the ship. It just wasn't how I wanted to start a voyage on the QM2. Our Cab ride was 5.80 pounds. I tipped the driver 3 pounds and he was very appreciative. The weather was actually perfect for walking and yes, we could have done it. We had already jumped so many hurdles getting to that point, we just wanted to get on board. Jack

Couldn't agree more exlondoner. Jack

One other tip. Before each of the gala nights we had champagne in our cabin with the friends we were traveling with. I would order a wine bucket with ice from our cabin steward and extra glasses from Room Service about an hour before our friends would arrive. The cabin steward would always come by and grab the bottle of Champagne so that he could put it in the wine bucket first and then add the ice. He would also bring a few extra pillow chocolates to nibble on. Very nice touch. When we would get back to our room at the evening, everything was all picked up. Jack

Kristal Blade, Your driver should have no problem stopping if you let him know he will be compensated. If you know what you want, may I suggest that you call ahead to the liquor and have your ordered pulled and waiting for you. Then just pop in, pay for it and you are on your way. Jack

Maybe, but it was also drained. Jack

The Pavilion Pool and hot tubs were all open. The outdoor pools were closed but the outdoor hot tubs were open. Yes, the spa is adhering to 2 hour sessions. I think it was $35 per session. About half way through the voyage Dee and I each received a $40 gift certificate for services at Mareel. Dee had her hair washed and blown out. It was $45 plus $10 tip for a net cost of $15. She had this done on the Friday Gala Night day. They did an amazing job hence the generous tip. Dee said everyone at Mareel was very nice. Jack

Yes, you can share a table with anyone in the MDR. We shared a table for 6 and a table for 4 with strangers. This was at breakfast. At dinner you are able to do this at the Anytime seating. Jack

Half the fun is the excitement building up to he trip muggo11. Have a great voyage. Jack

mbfletcher, We were also a group of 2 couples. Our friends, who have never sailed on Cunard before, had a 2:15PM boarding time, we had a 3:15PM boarding time. I was a little surprised at this since we are Gold level and had a better cabin grade. I called Cunard and the agent told me that boarding times are random for everyone except Diamond, Platinum and Grills but she said that we should show up at 2:15 with our friends. However, when we finally arrived Southampton we realized that the luggage for the 4 of us was not going to fit into one cab. When the hotel booked our cab they informed us that we had a noon pick so we went with it. At the terminal it became pretty obvious that the majority of the passengers also showed up between noon and 1:00PM. Our friends dutifully showed up at 2:15PM and boarded in half the time we did. We had breakfast with some folks one morning who showed up at 3:15PM and boarded in under 20 minutes. At no point did anyone in the checkin process care what our checkin time was. Regarding the entertainment, I can't say enough about the wonderful performances of the Cunard singers and dancers. They did 3 completely different shows and just blew us away. They have definitely taken it up a few notches. the other performers in the Royal Court Theater were Suzanne Godfrey - Flutist, Mikhail Shilyaev - Classical Pianist, Phil Melbourne - Comedian, The Revolvers - 60's Rock Music Review. In other venues around the ship were there was a jazz trio, a father daughter duo doing Beatles and Stones music, a father and son duo doing folk and Irish music and Paul Paul Garthwaite with his 22-string guitar, one of our favorites. There were also other performers mentioned above. As to drink prices, London Pride on tap was $3.80, a Cosmo was $11.00 and a Manhattan (Makers Mark) was $12.50. These prices do not include the auto gratuity. Jack

We just got off a Crossing on the QM2 this pass Sunday. When we boarded in Southampton on May 8th our bags were a clinking:)

The drinks package, at $69/person/per day is pretty stiff for us and we drink a lot. Both passengers in the cabin must sign up for it. Don't forget Cunard allows you to bring unlimited wine, spirits, soda and water onboard. Jack

Carolyn Mayer, she was excellent. (on the right)

exlondoner, There was group of 6 Anytimes who came in around 7:30-7:45 each night as we were finishing up. They sat 2 tables away from us. It was the same 6 people and they seemed to get the same window table every night. I couldn't tell if they knew each other before the voyage or not. However, as I said in my trip report, getting the same table and coming in a little early for the Anytime dining was probably only possible because of the reduced passenger load. Jack

Last week on our QM2 Crossing, we did see groups of 4-6 of Anytimers coming out of the Chart Room and eating together in the MDR. Jack

Disembarkation was very smooth. We did self-disembark. Our assigned time was at 7:30AM but we walked out of our cabin at 7:05AM. We had 2 large roller bags and were worried about getting on the elevators. As it turned out the elevators were empty. We also took the elevator down in the terminal, again, no problem. There were approximately a dozen Customs agents and only 2 other passengers clearing. We were through Customs in about 2 minutes. I first tried Uber but at 7:15AM on Sunday morning got no responses. Next I asked one of the waiting green taxies what the fare to LGA was. It was $85. Then I went over to a line of private cars and was given a rate of $80. We hopped in. We checked in at the United counter at 7:45AM and were asked if we wanted to take the 8:59AM flight, instead of our scheduled 1:00PM flight, which we did. We walked into our house in Chicago at 10:45AM. Pretty smooth. Here is a little tip. The program for disembarkation day said there would be a contential breakfast in the Kings Court at 6:00AM and a full breakfast at 6:30AM. We went down a few minutes after 6 and there was the full breakfast on both sides of the Kings Court. Dee had an omelet made to order. Jack

The Lloyds certificate was paper. They were supposed to also e-mail us a copy but none in our group of 4 received it. They referred to it as a "Fit To Fly" certificate but the title on the sheet was Healgen Test Certificate - Confirmation of COVID-19 Rapid Test Result. It was readily accepted at the Cunard check-in. Other than the equipment being spaced out, there were no restrictions in the gym. We were required to wipe down the equipment but that was normal. Jack

Thanks Lanky Lad, I have no doubt that you will have a great voyage. On our walk this morning Dee and I both noticed that there seemed to be a younger demographic on the ship, specifically more people in their 50's. Would be interested in what you observe. Jack

I may get myself in a little bit of hot water here Deck Chair but let me start with your second question. On our voyage, the 6:00PM fixed seating followed by open seating, starting at 7:45PM, seemed to work brilliantly. For First Seaters, like Dee and I, nothing had really changed. However, for the Second Seaters, they had much more flexibility. Although Second Seating was supposed to start at 7:45PM, we actually saw them being seated as early as 7:30PM. Rather than a large group arriving all at once, like the First Seaters, they streamed in over a much longer period of time. I'm sure this put much less stress on the wait staff and kitchen staff. This must have been popular because the Second Seaters out numbered the First Seaters. It also seemed that the Second Seaters were a more gregarious group. Also, I know that there was group of 6 Second Seaters who sat at the same table near us every night. A small bonus was that our table of 4 felt absolutely no pressure to leave at any time. On the 3 nights that we didn't go to the Royal Court Theater for the early show, we stayed at our table till 8:30PM. It just seemed that the current plan of Fixed Seating followed by Open Seating was very popular. Now let me add a caveat, the current arrangement was greatly aided by the fact that we were operating with a reduced passenger load. As to the Captian's welcome and WC affairs, there was no talk from the staff about their return but there was a lot of talk among the passengers about their need for their return. While the complementary glass of champagne was very nice and much appreciated, it fell way short of offsetting the missed gatherings. Jack