Topper123

Somebody on these boards once said something like “Embark as passengers and disembark as cargo.” It’s so true on so many levels. I want to add my heartfelt thanks for your travel log. We’re on the 22/12/19 - 3/1/20 version of this same cruise and you’ve helped to make the wait a little bit more bearable as we close in on our departure date.
Merry Christmas and travel blessings at you and yours as you mosey home!

Thank you for the excellent travelogue, rakkor! We are booked on the QE2 for the Christmas cruise leaving NYC on the 22nd. Reading your posts has definitely amped up my level of excitement! We board Amtrak in Sacramento, California in just three short weeks for a rail journey to NYC, where we will take in a couple of Broadway shows before embarking on the ship. We’ve ridden the California Zephyr many times, but this will be just our second cruise.
Oh boy - cruising through Glenwood Canyon in the Rocky Mountains and under the Verizano Bridge in New York Harbor - all in the same week! I am so ready! Your recent posts are making the wait bearable and I’ll be following them with interest.

While on a TA on QM2 a year ago last July, I noticed a large smear of brownish colored smoke, miles behind us. If I hadn’t known that we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, I would have thought that I was looking at a forest fire. There was a ship’s officer handy, giving directions to the early morning deck crew, whom I queried about the phenomenon. He said “That’s us!” Apparently the ship’s exhaust, which is practically invisible as it exits the stack, and which is directed straight up by the stack geometry, settles to the surface of the sea several miles behind her. The phenomenon I had observed evidently only occurs on clear, calm days and is most readily observed in the early morning. It may not be apparent by looking at the stack, but that boat is generating a LOT of smoke!

That being said, my main squeeze and I will be celebrating Christmas on QM2 in the Caribbean this year. This will be only our second cruise and I intend to put on my blinders with my tux and enjoy myself without fretting about climate change. There will be plenty of opportunity to fret about that ( and much else!) when we return home.

We recently booked a cruise for October/November 2020. Cunard we’re offering some good perc’s for booking that far out, but I wasn’t able to book the airfare portion of the trip. Their agent told me to call back in December.

Last year we booked our plane tickets through Cunard and I was blown away by the savings. Our tickets from Portland, Oregon to JFK weren’t any cheaper than we could have paid elsewhere, but the ticket home from Heathrow was at least 80% cheaper than anything else I saw on-line. We flew Delta One for about $1,900 each. The same ticket on-line never went lower than $10,000 each. Our next cruise is going to be “on the cheap” and I shall relish the $25,000 we will save by forgoing a larger cabin and “any-time” dining. Still, I expect I shall experience a pang if longing for that big “lay flat” recliner up in the front of the plane when I’m stuffed into the back of economy class for seventeen hours.

Topper113

Hi Stella, 

A cautionary tale:  My wife and I enjoyed our first cruise ever on the advent of her retirement last July.  We took QM2 from NYC to Southampton where we  boarded QE for a sail around the British Isles. We packed three large cases, one for each of us, one to share all of our formal wear, and a carry-on which held our travel papers, tickets, medications and other “odds and ends”.  

On our arrival in Southampton Cunard handled the transfer of our bags between the ships while we went merrily on tour of Winchester Cathedral. We didn’t bother packing all the “essential” stuff in a carry-on because we had no intentions of dragging a suitcase around on our tour. What could go wrong? Cunard would have our bags in their custody the whole time. I put the bags in their truck myself.

That afternoon, when we got to our cabin on QE,  all but one of our cases were waiting for us. The concierge advised us not to worry about the errant case: it would surly turn up, which it did, in the belly of the QM2, headed back to NYC! Happily for my bride it was my case, not her’s and not the formal wear, that had gone missing.  Happily for both of us it wasn’t the carry-on with all of our papers and tickets. Still, there I was in just the cloths I was wearing and not even a toothbrush to get through the next three weeks. I managed by getting off at the next port and purchasing a small assortment of garments and toiletries. I was able to get a couple of prescriptions filled in the ships dispensary (so that’s why they advise you to carry copies of your prescriptions with you!) and we went on to have a wonderful cruise! Cunard were very gracious and managed to re-unite us with our lost bag in London, just before our flight home.

We enjoyed “cruising” immensely and have just booked a trip on QE from Tokyo to Sydney. This time we intend to spread our load out amongst all of our suitcases, not sorted into exclusive bags, as before. I may be a ‘newby’ but I can be taught! 

I think that you’ll have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

Topper123

Thank you all. Your explations have been a great help and I appreciate that you took the time to respond. One more question on the topic of customs if I may. We will transfer from QM2 to QE in Southampton for a cruise around Britain and Ireland. Do you know if it’s necessary to clear customs at each port of call? Just curious.

Last week there was a report in the news about a woman who, while flying to the U.S. from France, accepted an apple from the airline and was subsequently fined $500 when the Apple was discovered in her purse by U.S. Customs.

The story got me thinking about prescription medications: Will it be necessary to declare them when when I pass through customs in the U.K. or the U.S? Do they need to be in thier original packaging or can they be divided up in a daily pill container? Is it necessary to pack the prescription scrip from my physician? What about insulin needles?

I did a bit of noodling around on the internet, including official web sites for both the U.S. and the U.K., and I’m more confused now than before I started. Then I thought “Maybe I’m making this too complicated. I’ve never traveled outside the U.S., but Cunard has been moving people back and forth across the Atlantic for 175 years and I suspect that there may be a few folks on Cruise Critic who have been pax with them for most of that time!” Surely someone out there will be willing to share their experience in the matter. I’m not complaining, but my upcoming ‘crossing’ is expensive enough without tacking on another $500 or £500 tuition to learn the hard way! Any insight will be most welcome and I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Hi, we booked the air travel for our upcoming TA and British Isles Cruise through Cunard. The price for the domestic flight to NYC to join QM2 was competitive, but nothing to write home about. The ticket for the international flight home from London was eye popping. About 80% cheaper than I could find for a seat on the same flight from a number of other sale outlets, including the airline.:D

Thank you Wiltonian and Bell Boy! You’ve managed to clear much up in my mind - no mean task. I still have a wonderment though. I’m thinking of hiring a car and driver to run us out to Winchester for a few hours. (Thanks for the steer, Wiltonian!) Does anyone have a sense of when I might reasonably expect to clear customs and when I should plan to get back for check-in to the QE? If it makes any difference in disembarking, we’ll be traveling in a Q6 on the Mary.

Regards

Hello all,

My main squeez and I are both first time ‘cruisers’ and novice travelers. We’ve booked passage to the U.K. on QM2 next July. Upon our arrival in Southampton, if all goes according to plan, we shall transfer to the QE for a circumnavigation of the Island. While in Southampton we’ld like to take in some sights, besides the harbor facilities, and therein lies our conundrum.

According to the pleasant folks I’ve dealt with at Cunard, the company does not offer shore excursions to either disembarking or embarking passengers. We’re doing both. I’ve noodled around in this board and noted that other folks have had conflicting experiences with this type of transfer, which I suppose could be do to Cunard changing it’s protocol over time.

Everyone reports that they receive special luggage tags and leave the baggage out for collection the night before embarkation. Some folks report that Cunard took it from there and the next time they saw their luggage was outside their cabin on the new ship. In the mean time, they’re free to go their merry way until embarkation later in the day. Others had to collect their bags on the pier and take them through customs before turning them back into the custody of Cunard. The company then provided transportation to tote them and thier luggage to the new ship. Finally, while some report that they had to cool thier heels for the day, others claim that Cunard offered a tour to keep them amused.

Clear as mud?

I’ve noted that it’s possible to hire a car and driver for excursions to places like Stonehenge, Salisbury, Winchester, Windsor, Portsmouth, New Forest, etc. Some of these trips require four to five hours to complete. Is it prudent to leave the cruise terminal for that long? If so, what would be a reasonable time to arrange for pick-up and what time would it behouve us to return for check-in to the QE?

I’ve also noted that there are other things to see and do right in Southampton, if in fact a five hour excursion is too risky an undertaking. While I’m sure that Southampton is a wonderful town, I wouldn’t be thrilled by the prospect of spending our honeymoon there instead of with th QE!

So there it is. What think you. I thank you all in advance for your consideration and taking the time to offer counsel.

Regards,

To MarkBearSF & Nonio,

Thank you so much for your kind words of advice. I must confess that I didn't give much thought to cruising before booking this trip. We had planned to fly over to England and hook up with a coach tour - neither prospect holding much appeal for me. I had heard a bit about QM2's trans Atlantic service and called Cunard for more information. A half hour later I was bemused and baffled to realize that I had actually booked passage. It wasn't until later that I learned about formal attire, white glove service, etc. I'm delighted with the whole idea. At my present station and state of decrepitude the prospect of formal evenings, chamber music and polite society has much more appeal than discotheques and water slides. I think this will be great fun - sort of like the old senior prom without the attendant teenaged angst. It was while I was studying up on what I had so rashly purchased that I stumbled across the QE cruise. It wasn't hard to convince my bride that it might be pleasant to simply unpack once and move the hotel every night, as opposed to lugging our bags onto a bus every morning.

I've not had a chance to think about shore excursions yet. Until you brought it up I wasn't aware that we even had the option to utilize other tours than those proffered by Cunard. Neither was I aware that I could obtain trip insurance from a third party. I've already purchased Cunard Care and at least for this trip I expect that I'll stick with them.

My wife and I have always enjoyed traveling by train when we have the time (I'll give a shout out here for Amtrack's California Zephyr!) We love meeting new people and seeing new vistas. I've got a really good feeling about this trip. Between now and then I've just got to solve the mystery of a formal dinner place setting and study up on behaving myself in polite company. My wife won't have any problems that way- these things seem to come natural to her!

Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience.

Topper123

My bride and I have booked passage on QM2, New York to Southampton, 7/6/18 - 7/13/18, then transfer to QE for a circumnavigation of the British Isles, 7/13/18 - 7/27/18. This will be a combination "farewell tour" on the advent of her retirement, a very long overdo honeymoon and a celebration of our 38th wedding anniversary. We've never "cruised" before and this will be our first trip outside the continental U.S. In fact, this is the first time that I've ever posted a comment on a computer bulletin board. Until a couple of days ago I had never even logged into a social media site. I stumbled across you folks by accident while looking for cruise reviews. I know that most people would generally read the reviews before they booked passage and that I've got the cart before the horse, but there it is. In any event, noodling around on your site has only searved to confirm our decision to go by sea and generated a sense of excitement for the whole undertaking! It's been a delightful experience reading many of your conversations and I feel as if the passion and enthusiasm that so many of you so obviously have for "cruising" is beginning to rub off. The person who said that the fun starts as soon as you book has captured my feelings exactly. I haven't mastered the mechanics of navigating around this website, so I may never be able to find this string again, but know all that I've truly enjoyed eavesdropping on your conversation! You've been inspiring.

Topper123