kmerlin14

we really enjoyed the Hubbard Glacier in 2019 and the Captain was able to get us very close and we had a great view of the calving.

On 12/30/2022 at 6:04 PM, sfred said:

Three thoughts not previously mentioned....

 

1. Lastly, one time I forgot cufflinks for formal nights.  The ship's retail shops sell them, although at rather high prices.

My husband has Cunard cufflinks too.  The first formal night we had to use paperclips because he didn't realize he'd forgotten them until just before dinner.

On 8/9/2022 at 2:50 AM, Ice Bear said:

I appreciate your guidance. I’m concerned how to negotiate with my luggage. I’ll check into the Express train. Thank you!

I find the express train very convenient but there are escalators to navigate with luggage. I can't remember if all places had an elevator that you could use instead. Other than that it is the best way to get to downtown Toronto.

the one opposite cabin 5067 had two washers and two dryers. The doors unlock from both sides, so sometimes being first in line doesn't necessarily get you a machine.

Cape Breton was very badly hit by Fiona. Many are still without power and the roads could be impassable due to washouts and fallen trees. They've called in the army to help. Halifax and Charlottetown have been badly affected as well. Most of Prince Edward Island lost power. It was bad in the Magdalen Islands too. I suspect the only port able to receive cruise ship passengers right now would be Saint John, NB, but that is off your route. I will copy and paste on your roll call because I originally joined it because we were supposed to be boarding in Quebec, but had to cancel because of my niece's wedding. So I appreciate the posts about the cruise not taken for us. I've had all the fun of planning three without actually paying for them now because of the wee hiccups in the industry.

19 hours ago, Se1lad said:

Yes - you can still bring your own alcohol on board for in cabin consumption.  You can also take your own wine for consumption in the restaurant, subject to a corkage fee.

BC has some lovely whites and we really enjoyed the one that we picked up before we boarded.

I was able to find it by searching attachments. Here is the trip report

We went on the QE to Alaska in 2019, so pre pandemic and I posted a live review but I have no idea how to find it again so I can attach the link. There was dancing and people dressed up for dinner then. We did a combination of Cunard tours an independent, and a walk around the port day. To be honest, I really enjoyed the hike with Wild Wolf tours in Ketchikan and the day we walked around the port in Sitka. If someone tells me how to find the link to my review, I will post it here. My feeling is Cunard does Alaska very well and I was glad we'd gotten a balcony because it was nice to sit out for a bit, come in and make tea, and go back out again.

On 8/11/2022 at 9:47 PM, bluemarble said:

 

Not a silly question at all. Unlike some other lines, I've never found anywhere to purchase or even view Cunard airfare online in North America. Here is a link to the Cunard CompleteAir page from their website.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/the-cunard-experience/cunard-completeair

 

This page essentially directs you to call their regular Cunard customer service number for further information. Now if we have both managed to miss some online functionality to check Cunard airfare in North America, I'll be happy to learn about.

Thanks so much. I'll ask my travel agent as we get closer to making our final decisions. Still worried about the cruise we have booked.

This may seem like a silly question, but when and how do you purchase the Cunard Airfare? I can't see how you do it through your booking and I can't see how you do it before you book when I tried to make a dummy booking to see if it was there.  I know I won't be able to book from my hometown, but I was trying to see if Halifax was an option.

I thought no one was offering the trip up to Canada this year and the rock slides are another issue.

On 8/8/2022 at 1:03 PM, LB_NJ said:

I really don't want to start a dress code war.  If I sail out of NYC I am happy to pack a tux for formal nights and a jacket for other nights. I don't mind using a little extra room in my car (we can drive to the port) for a suit bag and actually enjoy dressing up for dinner on occasion.

 

However, I have booked a 10-day Alaska cruise next year out of Vancouver on QE and really don't want to use valuable luggage space for jackets or a tux.  Nice slacks, collared shirts and tie are not a significant problem.  Am I going to be in trouble on formal nights in the MDR (we really don't like the buffet for dinner)? Do I have any options?

My husband was going to bring his kilt, then at the last minute changed his mind (after I made sure everything was clean and ready to go, of course) and brought his nice tailored suit instead, and he felt underdressed on our Alaskan cruise in 2019. We were Britannia class. We did go out and buy a tux for our next cruise and they sold us this great carryon to pack it and his shoes in, but Ahem that cruise didn't exactly happen. Neither have replacements 1 and 2, but that's another story. We loved the cruise and the main dining room.

38 minutes ago, longton said:

Please do a trip report for that one because we are booked on one of those.

 

 

Our next cruise in from Barcelona on Queen Elizabeth in late August and we are both looking forward to that.

 

 

 

 

 

If 2019 counts as recent, I never saw anyone swimming our entire trip. I did see the water sloshing back and forth though.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic with an excellent exhibit on the Titanic and the Halifax explosion is just a little way up the board walk if you can walk that far. (It is flat) There are restaurants and Beaver Tales and there may be something going on to celebrate Canada Day.  The Historic Properties are along the board walk as well. The hill to the Citadel etc is steep so don't try to do it without transport. I think there are also tour excursion booths along the boardwalk. And I just checked, because it is Canada Day, admission to the Pier 21 museum (on the flat board walk) will be free of charge and so will admission to the Citadel but that is up a steep hill. There will also be a NS Tattoo Parade at 10 am but I don't know the route. Enjoy your day.

On 5/11/2022 at 9:39 PM, Traveller20074 said:

is there a walkable area to see the area?  not really wanting an excursion, was just wondering how the town is to walk around from the cruiseship (NCL Bliss)

I'm posting a link to my entry about Sitka when we visited in 2019 back when life was normal. We docked outside of town and took the free shuttle in and explored the museum and picked up a map before we set off to walk around the town. It was actually one of my favourite ports even though we didn't do an excursion. Our dinner companions were able to get a tour to the Fortress of the Bear from the visitors centre and they really enjoyed it. Our other companions just walked around town like we did and it was fun to run into someone you knew. HOpefully I can copy and paste the link to the post and not the entire thread. Okay first attempt didn't work it was my wordle score for my daughter. I will try again. Looks like it worked this time so here you go.

4 minutes ago, netpj said:

Thank you so much for responding to our enquiry.  We are sailing on Queen Elizabeth in July (hopefully) so will check this out.

Enjoy. We are currently booked on her for a Mediterranean cruise in the fall of 2023.

On 4/21/2022 at 7:48 PM, netpj said:

kmerlin14.  We have decided to post this question on the off chance you might see it despite this thread being a few years old!.  We enjoyed reading your experience on Queen Elizabeth in Alaska.  We are due to board in Vancouver in July for the Alaska segment followed by a trip through the Panama Canal then to Costa Rica and Fort Lauderdale.  You mentioned a carry-on for formal wear.  Could you give us any details i.e. brand?  Did it work well?  Thanks in advance!.

We got it at the shop where we bought my husband's tux (Moores). The brand seems to be skyroll. You put the shoes in the compartment in the middle and the suit compartment rolls around them. I'll attach a couple of pictures with a pair of men's shoes for scale. (The second picture has the shoes in one of the shoe compartments (there are two). It worked to get the tux home from Ottawa, but we never got to take our cruise so haven't tried it there yet, but I'm sure it will. So far, I've had the fun of planning three replacement cruises without actually paying for them because we keep having to switch it.

On 3/25/2022 at 11:15 AM, M5M said:

I heard Halifax is "quite hilly" and could be hard to walk for a senior....? I know its subjective, but wondering. And, the eastern shore across from Halifax, there are some other small towns, wondering about trying to visit those areas, I believe one of the areas is called Dartmouth?

• Dartmouth is just across the harbour. There is a ferry that leaves from the Halifax waterfront and deposits you in downtown Dartmouth. The waterfront area of Halifax is fairly flat, but the hill is steep if you leave it. The waterfront has the historic properties, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (good Titanic and Halifax explosion exhibits) and the Pier 21 museum (immigration). there are also excursions that leave from the waterfront.
•  

On 3/9/2022 at 5:27 PM, SeeZee said:

 

Thank you for these suggestions.  We have been to NE and Canada before but not with 7 grandchildren ranging from age 9 to age 13.  Would love suggestions from anyone for family tours--for example, I think we need to go to Acadia National Park with the kids (not a foodie tour which we would book as adults!).  In Halifax, I think they would like Peggy's Cove with all the rocks surrounding the lighthouse.  I know nothing about St. John other than the weird tides.

If they don't seem interested in a bus tour to Peggy's cover, there are a lot of kid-friendly museums right near the Halifax waterfront. The Maritime Museum is right on the waterfront and it has a good Titanic exhibit that my kids always enjoyed. The Pier 21 museum is also on the waterfront. there is also the Discovery Centre (Science and Stem interactive exhibits) just up a bit from the waterfront and the Citadel has kid-friendly activities like using a comic book to solve clues as you tour the battlements (but the hill up from the dock is steep if they aren't walkers). My daughters also enjoyed the soldier for a day activity. You used to be able to explore HMSC Sackville as well, but I think Hurricane Dorian took that option away just before the pandemic hit. It's a very walkable port.

17 hours ago, D&N said:

I hadn't come across your trip report before. That was really interesting. Thank you.

On dancing; My school taught dancing for school dances each year, but more than 20 years later in Jan 1993 we started to take ballroom and latin classes because we wanted to join in at dinner dances, and continued until we left Scotland in May 2016. We'd regard ourselves as fairly proficient. One of the things a good dance teacher should drill into you is regarding floor craft, and if you are a capable dancer you should be watching out for less experienced folk who perhaps are less aware of those around them and may not have the experience to modify their steps to avoid others. A social dancer should not feel intimidated from getting up and doing what they can. The experienced folk should know how to get round you. Failing that, stick your elbows out as far as you can, that'll see them off!

We used to go to social dances regularly here in the before times, so I know what you mean. And one of the hosts actually told my husband that we danced just fine and encouraged him to go for it, so we relaxed and did. It was more just the group of dancers on that cruise that were taking themselves very seriously. We did go out and buy him a tuxedo for his next cruise, but it got cancelled and rebooked three times, so I'm not sure if we will actually take it or not. I also do a lot of line dancing where the experienced dancers will always help out the beginners, so it was a shock to see one person shove her friend off the floor. But I was at the back making friends with the people back there as we tried to figure out the steps and help one another out like we do here. We haven't been to a ballroom class in a while, but I've kept up the line dancing through facebook, youtube, in the parking lot, and even socially distanced indoors when it was permitted. I even went on a virtual line dance cruise which was a lot of fun so we got all dressed up for that, but he wore his kilt for that. Probably going off topic here but I love dancing so I get too tempted if someone talks about it.

On 2/28/2022 at 5:14 PM, GTJ said:

When I last toured New Brunswick, several years ago, it was from Moncton rather than from Saint John. I engaged Roads to Sea Tours for a very good and personal tour to the Hopewell Rocks and elsewhere along the coast, given by the company's owner, Anna-Marie Weir. I was traveling overland by myself, and had enough flexibility with time that Anna-Marie was able to match with another solo traveler and provide an all-day tour by automobile for the two of us. I understand--though not with certainty--that she also operates out of Saint John. I was quite satisfied, and I can give my stamp of approval to her company.

Roads to the Sea are fantastic, but I'm not sure they operate from Saint John. There are a few ship tours to Hopewell Rocks from Saint John, but you will spend a lot of time on the bus (much as I love the place). However, the Fundy Parkway is close to Saint John and during the pandemic they opened up all the way to Sussex and they are supposed to open the link to Fundy National Park this summer. It offers spectacular scenery, so it might be better option. I've included some pics of the Fundy Parkway

I did a trip report as a first timer on Cunard in the before times and you can find it here. When I booked, I thought I was foolish for springing for the balcony, but I found we really appreciated it. The balcony sheltered us from the rain so we could just step out and look at everything. They have tea and coffee making equipment in the cabin, so we loved making a cup of tea and enjoying the scenery. If it got cold, we could sit on the sofa in the cabin for a bit and just look out. They did open the bow area on deck five for scenic viewing at times and it was never crowded. Our captain was able to get us very close to the glacier at Hubbard's. (We didn't go to Glacier Bay because Cunard didn't have permits yet, but I would loved to have done it. )

For clothing, I highly recommend a pair of waterproof hiking shoes for all shore excursions and a good rain coat. (they do hand out plastic ones as you head off the ship for most shore excursions. I had a couple of those Eddie Bauer pants that dry quickly and wore them everywhere except Victoria where I wore my skort. I still wear them constantly and rechristened them my leave-the-house-pants during the pandemic because I could put everything I needed in the pockets and not have to use a purse. I also brought a packable winter coat that you can stuff into a pocket. It's relatively waterproof. I think I mostly wore that one the day we visited the Hubbard Glacier. As we left the glacier, we left our balcony and went down to the promenade deck and got some steps in as the world went by. As far as I'm concerned, the most important thing about packing for Alaska is make sure you dress for wet weather. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

I was really disappointed with the dancing on Allure. I'd planned on dancing at Dazzles every night but it was closed for a private function for most of the time. The one night it was open, they did play some cha cha's, but there was a toddler wandering around the dance floor and it was hard to figure out where they were going to go, especially since they are so short. We did do some hustle in the main promenade, but the cobble stones aren't ideal for that. 

On 2/27/2022 at 12:24 PM, bluemarble said:

I haven't been able to find master Insights Guest Lecturers schedules posted anywhere any more. In the past, the schedules for each ship were posted as pdf files on the Guest Speakers page of the Cunard website.

 

The page @ExArkie has mentioned is about the best we can do at the moment. Unfortunately, that page mostly just lists the speakers for some of the special event cruises (in particular, the Literature Festival at Sea) as well as a few of the Alaska cruises. Quite a few speakers on that list aren't linked to any specific voyage, so that's not much help.

 

 

I checked the speakers list before our Alaskan cruise and found that it didn't bear much resemblance to the speakers they had on board when we cruised.