Wonky

Just logged in for my 19th Sep cruise and showing $70.

6 hours ago, Sabrina66 said:

I am in a quandary.  I booked onboard 3 weeks ago and was pleased to pay a very low deposit & got very generous OBC.  The price of my cruise has, however, decreased by £900 with this promotion.

I believe that (under Cunard UK T&Cs) I can only transfer the deposit to a cruise of equal or higher value.  As I still want to do the cruise I originally booked  I assume my options are either transferring my deposit to a higher grade on the same cruise (in which case I would not actually save any money) or cancelling the booking, forfeiting the deposit and rebooking the cruise from scratch.  With the 2nd option I would save the £900 (less £350 forfeited deposit) but would have to pay a new higher deposit and take considerably less OBC, so the saving is not quite so significant.

I think on balance I will leave things as they are.  I would however, for future reference, be interested to know from experienced UK Cunarders whether they tend to book onboard for the generous benefits or hold off in the expectation of greater savings from promotions such as this.

I actually thought that too but apparently you have to move it to a different cruise. I had to do a three way switch but it was worth it.

2 minutes ago, babs135 said:

I hate to sound cynical, but are these genuine savings or just a mere massaging of figures?

Definitely real savings. I’m looking to move my deposits on a couple of cruises next year to take advantage.

So can you not book through a UK site or do you need an address here?

Not sure I’ve seen this on Cunard before? Anyone else?

Don’t bin it, improve it! Make it actually aspirational and include things that people would actually like to obtain. I don’t think perks put off new customers, look at the airline industry. And they make money out of it.

If you are “a bit of a worrier” I would suggest standby travel is probably not for you!

In addition to this both room occupants have to have the package!

We’ve noticed this recently that some of the fares my MIL was prepared to pay were the same as Cunard. Certain cruises were the same as grills!!

4 hours ago, Poole Boy said:

New Gym equipment, certainly better that last year on both QE and QV.

Do you to know what? Is there a Peleton?

I was in the retreat in the winter (although out of school holidays) and it was pretty empty most days. If you’re not worried about being in the sun then I think you’ll be fine. There are a lot more beds in the shade. Drinks wise it’s pretty disappointing, just water, juices and tea/coffee. Food is all cold, light breakfast, lunch boxes and afternoon tea. Staff are great and you can order (and pay for) drinks from the bars via them.

I’ve commented on this before and I’m still surprised that Carnival don’t improve the loyalty program. If they wanted to they could make it really good AND profitable. I dare say 99% of passengers are not going to “chase” status in order to get a couple of glasses of bubbly and a pin, however I’m sure they would if they could get on board discounts, upgrades, parking, bus travel and ultimately free nights. Branded credit cards could be explored and move to an airline type of scheme which actually benefits both sides. 

1 hour ago, NE John said:

I saw from a popular YouTube channel that pax on the MSC Yacht Club get escorted by a butler to pass the lines getting into a theater or leaving for a shore tender - right in front of the throngs of people standing on those lines. And Yacht Club pax sit in a separate seating area in the theater, on a tour bus, etc. Highly segregated. 
I can imagine a few boo’s, hisses, and other interesting comments from those pax stuck in line. 
As some who has sailed both as a Britannia and PG pax, I’m glad Cunard does not separate Grills totally from the rest of the the ship. I was just happy to have a bigger bathroom in PG! That and the restaurant. 

All true, we did the yacht club a few years ago, we did away with the butler taking us to dinner (!) after the first day. Believe it or not when the Yacht club first started if you went in a lift and used your card to take the lift to the yacht club it would delete all other selections from passengers already in the lift!! Not popular🤣 

On 2/14/2023 at 11:53 AM, annieuk said:

I'm going on Aurora shortly - have been on her several times and with P&O many times - this time I'll be in my own cabin, a mini suite, and my daughter near me in a de-luxe balcony cabin.  I'll be in a wheelchair on boarding and I'm hoping that she'll be allowed to board with me.  I'll have an earlier boarding time than she will.  Our bookings are linked.  I asked P&O about this and also about the priority lunch - I expected a negative answer to the priority lunch and this was what I received.  I was also told in an email from P&O that my daughter would not be allowed to board at the same time as me, even though I'll be in a wheelchair.  I can walk but not far and certainly not the distance from the terminal to my cabin.  P&O said that someone from Assistance will be quite happy to push my wheelchair on board.  I expect that in the event my daughter will be allowed to board with me.  As has been said what P&O shoreside say is very often different from what happens on the ship.  I doubt very much that my daughter will be allowed at the priority lunch, I'm Baltic level but this is her first cruise.  Strictly speaking she shouldn't be allowed to go to the lunch but as she'll be pushing my wheelchair she may be allowed.  If I'm told no then that's fine, it's by the rules.  If in the future I consider cruising on my own I will have to have a motorised scooter or wheelchair.  

 

It seems from what I've read in this thread sometimes relations are allowed to join the passenger who's in a suite and sometimes not, the crew perhaps judge each case on what they see as its merits.  When I cruised with my husband we cruised either in a suite or a mini suite. When in a mini suite we were always allowed early boarding and to attend the priority lunch.  As we gradually got to Caribbean level and then to Baltic we would have been allowed those perks anyway.  It was only on one occasion several years ago now that when we boarded and were in a mini suite, a crew member told us that we weren't entitled to go to the lunch as we weren't in a full suite.  We didn't argue.  Later that cruise, it was in the days when the Officers sat at tables in the MDR on formal evenings,  we happened to have the Hotel Manager on our table, they were called the Purser in those days, so I asked him about passengers in a mini suite having early boarding and attending the Priority Lunch and he said yes of course when I told him about our experience.  

 

So very often it all depends on the individual members of staff.  

Just resurrecting this thread to see how you got on? Also would like to know the differences between suite and mini suite on Arcadia/Aurora. Specifically are you eligible for epicurean breakfast in a mini suite?

For me it would be based on your outlook on food and outside space. I would upgrade to PG for the use of the terraces but only if it was going to be a good weather cruise. I actually prefer the environment in Club over PG which might be controversial but I found there to be a lot more space.

I think the Vinylettes must have had their “patter” training from a certain captain from “God’s own country”!

11 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

That would be an interesting idea, if I were a bit younger, and my husband a lot younger. Also, it would have been vastly easier for us when Eurostar left from Waterloo, but, as it is, would almost certainly entail an extra night in London, or, possibly, Paris. Then I loathe Barcelona, where I would have to stay another night, so I don’t think so. All that packing and unpacking. But I would love to cruise to Istanbul up the Bosporus.

Ah yes the happy days of Waterloo departures. That was so easy from the South/Southwest. Sadly missed.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I didn’t intend to book QA, but I want to book a cruise next year. I don’t fly, QE is away from Europe, QV is doing flycruises, and QM is on her TAs. So what am I left with?

How about train to Barcelona, QV back via Istanbul? The only annoyance is the change of station in Paris.

59 minutes ago, Cloudyrain said:

I like the Ventura: it might be missing some things that other ships do better, but generally I think it’s a nice ship, not a mega sized one, and despite being a bit old in places (and the awful buffet that’s so badly laid out, I suspect a toddler designed it) it’s still a really good option.

 

Plus I always favour destinations and price over ship.

I think that is being offensive to toddlers!

Thank you for this, my MIL would have been very interested if she was not on the following cruise. 49 nights was a few too many for her I think! Is there any way to search for non single supp fares?

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

And have you managed to keep the same cabin?

Fortunately yes, although the on board spend was $740 for each week so would have moved if necessary. Will need to keep track of the spend as will have to use it up each week but I won’t be busy those weeks so should be fine!

Just booked a 3 week med cruise on QV and booked as 3 separate weeks in order to get much more OBS, I guess another advantage will be 3 lots of wifi too!

Maximise enjoyment or expect litigation🤣

18 minutes ago, D&N said:

The rules are quite simple. If you are moving around the floor you travel anti-clockwise. If you don't there is a risk you will collide with others. Be considerate to others and don't barge into them, stop if you think you will hit someone. These rules are there to try to prevent injury to yourself and others.

If you can't follow them then I'm very sorry to tell you; YES you shouldn't be on a dance floor.

 

You may also risk someone taking legal action against you if you caused them to injure themselves.

Wow, I honestly did not know there were “rules”. Perhaps these “rules” should be displayed at entry to the venue🤔

3 hours ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

 

Yes, people frequently learn complex sets of figures so that they look experienced as dancers, but quite often the figures don't flow well or are executed inelegantly.  Like you we do simple basic figure groups as well as possible, which often feels nicer and looks nicer. Learning to move around the floor maintaining smooth flow in tune with the music, and not interrupting anybody else takes skill, but is such a valuable skill to learn. If everyone does that then the dance floor is a happy and enjoyable place to dance.

So are you saying we shouldn’t get on the dance floor unless we can follow the rules?