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Reuben's 3rd

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About Me

  • Location
    Ottawa Ontario
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    cunard
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    transatlantic

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  1. Thank you for raising this question, Millybess. I have been pondering this as well. In September, we will be on the Neptune, starting in Bergen and ending in Montreal. If the Neptune was going to have a number of immediately subsequent stops in Canada, I too was pondering using Canadian $, which of course I always have and can easily top up in Quebec City, the second last stop. If the ship was going within the next two ports to the U.S., then I was going to have to acquire sufficient American $. I was going to base my decision on the currency where the ship would be for the next while. A crew member using American $ at the Shoppers beside the Halifax port would be unlikely to get the best rate of exchange!
  2. Canadian here. We get lumped in with the Americans. I have followed many of these thread topics, found it thouroughly confusing, and made my own decision. 1) leave the standard daily charge in place. 2) additionally, tip our room steward per day (assuming the so far excellent service) 3) get a cache of small U.S. bills from our bank before we leave. Good for all additional tips that we want to make. Life is good!
  3. I have followed this issue with interest and dismay. I am a 10 time Cundarder, 9 on the QM2, 7 of those transatlantic, all from 2013 to 2019. In my experience, the crew on the ship were always excellent (well, possibly with the occasional exception of the Purser's staff), but Cunard's administration is consistently appalling. I had booked again once Cunard required Covid vaccinations for all passengers, but cancelled when they either wouldn't or couldn't tell me that they had the same requirement for their staff. That was my choice. I had been considering returning to my favourite, the QM2 Transatlantic, but this debacle gives me pause. To paraphrase one correspondent, we should all hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. It seems that Cunard failed to follow this. Telling people that the sailing is cancelled on the day of sailing without a word of assistance for those already far from home was callous, cavalier and cruel. They must have know that this cancellation was a possibility. They may or may not have had a legal requirement to help, but their cold lack of empathy for their would-be passengers tells me that I do not want to risk being at the mercy of Cunard Corporate.
  4. Last month, Viking Venus, DV cabin, we were easily able to get all of the pop (fizzy drinks, soda, mineral, depending on where you live) removed and replaced with soda water. I think that I kept one tonic.
  5. We just finished a Viking Venus, which departed Jan 12. On Jan 13, 5:45 pm, the program shows a "Solo Travellers Get Together". I would expect that this happens on other ships and trips. We also met a number of singles, including at a shared table. That was an excellent evening! Karen
  6. We were just on deck 4, Viking Venus, Jan 12 to 19, 2023. The washers and dryers were separate machines, dryer on top, washer on bottom. They worked very well! Karen
  7. Dear Farmecologist, I may have alarmed you with my description of our recent experience on the Bay of Biscay. I should also point out more of my conversation with Viking's speaker. He has been on many Viking voyages, including several transatlantics, and he told me that he had never experienced anything as extreme as we were then experiencing. He said that if we were okay with that degree of roll, we would be absolutely fine with a transatlantic; his experience with them was much more calm. As an indication of the unusual severity, Viking sent us (a general email to passengers) a note of regret over the conditions we experienced. I understand that the Bay of Biscay is notorious, especially in January. Karen
  8. I so agree, Heidi13! My one quibble is that I wish that Viking would stop telling me that I MUST have a valid US passport! They do later mention those of us who are not American, but the bold declarative statement makes it sound as if only Americans are welcome. Karen
  9. We have done 7 transatlantics on the QM2 since 2013, and enjoyed them, particularly the lectures, the promenade and the music. We encountered varied weather, from smooth as glass to converging storms, Force 10, and the tail end of a hurricane, but then the QM2 was built for the North Atlantic, and we were fine. We cancelled our last one, for April of 2021, when Cunard would not answer whether or not their crews were vaccinated against Covid. Viking seems to offer everything that we enjoyed, and had a much more reassuring regimen concerning Covid, but we wondered how Viking would handle rough seas. Last week, we completed the Viking Venus, Barcelona to Tilsbury, to test out the Bay of Biscay. The Bay lived up to its January reputation. After leaving Vigo (on, I believe, the 17th) we were experiencing 20 ft swells (and heavy rain). My source was one of the speakers. Certainly, there were a lots of things falling over and crashing. I believe that we changed course further away from the continental shelf, and as a consequence missed a port call in Portsmouth. Disappointing but understandable. I am happy to say that we personally had no ill effects, and booked a crossing while on board, San Juan to Barcelona, for March of 2024. We enjoyed QM2, but Cunard's admin was generally sub par. I do believe that we are set to become loyal to Viking! Karen
  10. Like Navy Cruiser, mvj for our trip (Jan 12 2023, from Barcelona) said and currently says that dinner reservations were not yet open. I used the chat function, explaining that we were under 60 days away, and the person on the chat function was able to book us exactly what we wanted, one Chef's Table and one Manfredi's, both for 7:00 pm. I checked and both bookings show up under the Calendar function. Karen
  11. Thank you! It is good to hear from someone with greater experience. It has certainly been my experience that Air Canada is usually in distant gates. Karen
  12. Thank you, KBs mum. Not understanding the geography, I thought that Heathrow would be a quicker trip. And to be fair, our last boarding at Terminal 2 in Nov 2019 was a zoo! We will bring books. Karen
  13. Does anyone know what usually happens for disembarkation at Tilbury? Our first Viking cruise (Iberian Explorer, Viking Venus) ends at Tilbury on Jan 19, 2023. We intend to take the Viking shuttle to Heathrow, but our flight is not until about 3:00 pm. Sounds like we would get the shuttle by 9:30 at the latest, a lot of time (I hope!) to twiddle our thumbs in Terminal 2. Karen
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