Fairgarth
-
Posts
395 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Fairgarth
-
-
15 hours ago, Lakesregion said:
Sadly when the bean counters take over any business they tend to ruin it. They killed department stores, have brought air travel to the point where it is difficult to tell the passenger space from the luggage space and they have been working on the cruise lines taking away a little here and a little there. They will continue to do it as long as they can fill the ships under their purview. When that stops it is usually too late for a turn around and the line ceases to exist. Sad but the history of the bean counters do not lie.
Oh my! I have to come to the defence of the bean counters. I'm a CPA. I have talked to bean counters in the airline industry but can't speak for cruise lines or department stores. It ain't the bean counters, it's Marketing. See, if one airline squeezes in an extra couple of rows and charges ten dollars less, you all go for it. Does that include you, Lakesregion? In order to compete, all other airlines have to match on fare and reduce unit costs by doing the same. So it's one thing after another, none of it driven by bean counters. We simply report and analyse what happened and Marketing has to define the product and set the prices. If you want better service and more space you could go Business Class but do you? No, you don't. Air passengers are extremely price sensitive and always have been. Airlines which have tried to offer a superior product at a higher price have not survived, so I'm told. I'm like other cruise passengers. I want the cruise experience I enjoyed on my first cruise 17 years ago but I hate paying more than I paid 17 years ago. Ain't gonna happen.
-
1
-
-
There are no flights from Manchester to Quebec City or Montreal. Air Canada and Air Transat fly non-stop from Manchester to Toronto. Flights are non-daily so watch your dates. Connecting flights from Toronto to Quebec would be either Air Canada or WestJet. Just watch out though. If you book two separate flights on different airlines on two separate tickets you can come unstuck. If the arriving flight is late and you miss your connection, tough! Your treat. If you are booked all the way through on the same airline then they have to look after you when things go wrong. Personally, I wouldn't go through the U.S. You have to contend with U.S. immigration and then do it all over again arriving in Canada.
-
55 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:
The consumer is free to buy or not at the price offered. Same thing for airlines.
Indeed it is. And if you want to buy a BMW or Audi you'll get four different prices for Germany, U.K., Canada and U.S.A.
-
Do these ships have auxiliary diesels for use while tied up? i.e. the main propulsion engines are shut down while in port. Would these be subject to the same low-sulfur requirement? Could they run on LNG?
-
On 11/12/2018 at 9:58 AM, ddgarner1 said:
I'm incredibly jealous of your opportunity.
Quite right, you should be! I was on stage in the choir and it was a "once in a lifetime" experience. Anthony Inglis is exceptional and has infinite patience with us rank amateurs. I think he gets a charge out of so many people wanting to make good music and he can lead us there. It was also interesting to sit at the back of the stage and face the conductor during the orchestra performance. Normally, you see only the guy's back. He conducts with his face as well as his arms. It also became obvious that Capt. Wells has no future as a symphonic conductor and should stick to steering the ship but full marks for trying! History does not record if Anthony Inglis was given a chance to steer the ship.
-
That would make me happy too! Well done, Chart Room bar staff. On our crossing, as we entered the Britannia for dinner on a non-formal evening, there was a lady talking to the Maitre'd. He was full of apologies that the five jackets they keep handy had already been loaned out.
-
Well, let me turn this around if I may and you can work backwards. If a Royal Caribbeaner was looking forward to their first trip on QM2, what would they expect? The ship is elegant and celebrates Cunard's long history and tradition and Britishness. (Although they seem to overlook the fact that Samuel Cunard was Canadian. But I digress...) The central atrium is only two decks high, unlike the gorgeous 7-deck atrium on some RCI ships. Your stateroom will have a frig, kettle, fluffy bathrobes, flip-flop slippers and lots of hangers. The shower is bigger than a phone booth. Formal means formal. The menu for dinner in Britannia every night will offer you a choice of eight starters, eight mains and eight desserts plus cheese and biscuits. You will have a sommelier and the wine list is by far the longest you will have seen at sea. As is the beer selection. Food will be better, hot and presented on Wedgewood china. The waiter will put down your plate with the Cunard crest at 12 o'clock every time. There will be several guest lecturers, all of whom are very interesting. There is live music all over the ship. Afternoon tea with white glove service is available every day should you feel starved. The dance floor is the biggest at sea and well used. And just for reference, we have cruised on the following lines, at least twice on each: Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, Azamara, Seabourn and Royal Caribbean (where we are Diamond). We have enjoyed all the cruises we have taken. It is all to do with expectations. If I'm on Royal Caribbean, I don't expect Seabourn. Royal Caribbean does Royal Caribbean very nicely.
-
Just came off the QM2. My U.S. Visa card, issued by a U.S. bank, was billed in USD by Cunard for on-board charges as I expected. The bank has added a "Cross Border Fee/Foreign Exchange Fee" of 1.5%. Across which border exactly? And what foreign exchange exactly? I have a sneaking feeling that if the charge originated in Southampton in USD rather than continental USA, banks take it upon themselves to screw their customers. Before I tackle the bank, I find it hard to believe that all of Cunard's U.S.guests are being clobbered like this. Are they?
-
For a group that size, renting a van makes sense. I don't think you will have any trouble driving on the other side of the road. The other traffic keeps you right. However, there are other things to be aware of. Maps are pretty useless and road signs are almost non-existent. You'll get lost. How lost can you be? The whole island is only 10mi x 10mi. If you have been before you may know your way around and you will know the locals are very helpful. There are no sidewalks so you need to watch out for stray dogs, chickens, donkeys, kids, bikes, goats, cows and vicious potholes. I hit one at night that resulted in immediate deflation and a big V-dent in the rim.
-
Hi
I've booked Celebrity's shore excursion to Stingray City as I suspected they might book up all the available slots. But I would also like to see some of the island. (It's a morning excursion; back by midday I think). Are taxis available at Stingray City that we could take rather than go all the way back to port? Or if we do go back to the port, would we have time in the afternoon to take a taxi to Shirley Heights and back? We depart at 5pm.
Thank you!
I rather doubt that taxis are available at Stingray City - it's a bit out of the way and everybody has their own transport, one way or another. I'm sure they could call a cab for you, to be waiting when you get back from the stingray adventure. Don't underestimate how long Stingray City takes, speaking from memory it was two hours from the moment you arrived there. You would have to add in transport from the port which will be 30 - 40 minutes each way. Taxi from the port to Shirley Heights would also be around 30 - 40 minutes each way.
-
We have been given 3:30pm for boarding in Hamburg. We have cruised six different lines (usually on around noon, in time for a spot of lunch) but this is the first time on Cunard. I suspect that there will be lots of round-trip passengers from Southampton so the Hamburg boarding will be well short of a full shipload.
-
Are people from Yorkshire mute????
Highly unlikely, but could be a few of them with amazingly long memories and a chip on their shoulder choose not to speak to somebody from Lancashire. Just sayin'....
-
Again, why is that surprising? This is the 21st century, after all.
I guess it's my Canadian mindset after flying on Air Canada so many times. There's a federal "Air Canada Act" which compels Air Canada to make announcements in English and French. Even at Heathrow. I doubt very much if there is a "Brussels Airlines Act".
-
Thank you so much for this wonderful review with all the lovely photographs. We are experienced travellers and experienced cruisers but have never been to Japan. We found this review particularly interesting since we are now booked on Millennium for next November. Thank you for this invaluable information.
-
OTOH I arrived at Florence airport for a flight to Brussels in June. I was around 4 hours early. (My son was on a different flight and we had shared a cab.) Lufthansa check-in area was for all LH affiliated flights including Brussels Air. I was chased away and told to come back. So I killed time with a coffee or two then came back. There was a long line up for the dedicated Brussels flight check-in with only two agents working. All other check-in desks were empty, no passengers and four idle agents doing absolutely nothing. Really? Other than that, flight was fine. Interesting comment: we were flying from Italy to Belgium which has two official languages. All announcements were in English.
-
The ship docks downtown St. John's. Yes, you can get off and walk around but there's not much point. Antigua for tourists tends to be everything other than St. John's itself. See earlier posts on this thread for things to do.
-
Welcome, Herr Thorsten. Your English, Sir, is excellent! A couple of comments if I may. We have had inside, ocean view and balconies. If you wish to enjoy all that the ship has to offer, you will spend time in your cabin only to sleep and get dressed. Save your euros on a cheaper cabin and spend them on something else. You might want to be careful about the birthday thing. Chain restaurants will bring out a birthday cake for customers and the servers gather round and sing "Happy Birthday". Some people like the attention but it can be rather embarrassing. O.K. so Cunard is not Red Lobster, but you might want to take care.
-
Cartoon from "The Telegraph". This is getting serious!
-
Many thanks for that, Tonopah. We have been on six different cruise lines but never Cunard - we are booked for a crossing later this year. The more we know, the better we will enjoy the experience, so thank you!
-
I have seen 8:00pm for the departure on October 16th.
-
Indeed I do. Have never been on Cunard but am now booked for later this year. Enquiring minds want to know - is chatting up considered bad form on Cunard? My buddy was kinda hoping to chat up some wealthy widows.You do know what that expression means in the UK ? :D:)
-
How kind of you, Sir. We appreciate you joining this board and issuing such a warm invitation. I will be boarding in Hamburg on 16th October. I can tell already - this will be a wonderful, memorable voyage!
-
We were so angered, that we took bag of coins and exchanged the £10.00 for £50.00. The whole bag of coins later given to Cancer Research who say they could accept them, and change into a legal donation.
Well done, PORT ROYAL, we're all proud of you. I would like to think that many of us would have done the same. Can't imagine why anyone would tip in Russia with British coins. Ignorant peasants! Although we are not American, we have found that USD is acceptable almost everywhere if you don't have local currency. Except Cuba.
-
Now this sounds like fun! We were on Azamara some years ago when they first tried out a passenger choir called "High C's". (Yes, O.K. I'll wait.....) I enjoyed that. Don't know if they still do it. The NSO choir sounds like a great way to spend time on a crossing and meet lots of people. I sing in a choir on a regular basis so if they are not too demanding, include me in. And yes, I do read music.
Deep Bay Beach?
in Antigua
Posted
Easy. Before you get to Royalton, there is a fork in the road. The left goes to the hotel, right goes direct to the beach. Well, a parking lot at least, where there is a small footbridge which takes you over to the beach. It's a terrible road and some taxi drivers refuse to take you there. Try Google maps and you'll see it quite clearly.