D&N

Had a look at the Heythrop Park website and lots of photos. Wine list is quite sparse. Menus look a bit British for our tastes. Entertainment probably wouldn't be to our taste either, I don't see much evidence of dancing being available. While I can appreciate a good band or singer I much prefer to be active during the evenings rather than sitting watching. The writer seems to be trying a bit too hard to compare the place to a cruise. I wonder if that might have anything to do with Warner's CEO having moved there from Cunard/Carnival?

@MrsPeel55 Not really a continent I've ever had an interest in. Perhaps it would have been nice to cruise round Cape Horn since I've sailed on The Firth of Clyde in a yacht that raced round it. But it comes back to the question of; is it worth the trip? For me it's not. I discovered a long time ago that the only place I really want to be is a small town pop circa 15,000 on the French Riviera. I just didn't realise until last year that I would get homesick for the place, never ever having felt that way about Scotland. It always felt depressing to go back to Scotland and the only attraction was our cats were there.

Other than The Rocky Mountaineer the rest of that would have been by air or transfers. I originally looked at train all the way to Toronto but it would have taken too long. We'd need 10 nights for QE, and at least 2 pre-cruise in Vancouver to make sure we recovered from jet lag before boarding. Then all the cross country stuff. We wouldn't leave our cats for that long even with live-in sitters and I know after last year that I get homesick for the Cote d'Azur. If The Cannery in Vancouver still existed we might have made a different decision. And we'll never get to Niagra either, but I'd rather view a tiny waterfall on a river in Provence as a couple than a huge one that I have to share with 20,000 others.

I think it was a promo video for the Gold Leaf service. We thought about doing 2 days Vancouver to Banff with an overnight in Kamloops. I vaguely recollect the price of that was more than 10 nights Britannia on Queen Elizabeth before it. I saw a steward filmed walking through the train offering wine to passengers from what looked like the sort of litre bottles that they serve from in economy on Delta. I just thought for that sort of money and having travelled such a long way I would expect something better. The whole trip was going to be complex anyway. Nice-Montreal-Vancouver-QE-Vancouver-Banff-Calgary-Toronto-Niagra-Toronto-Montreal-Nice. We always said it would be nice to go back to Alaska but I just can't be bothered with all that travel anymore, and I'd have been away from home far longer than I'd have liked. Much easier to take a flight to Heathrow with taxis at each end and have a fortnight on QM2. Besides I can see all that scenery on YouTube videos.

Sorry to intrude; If you would like to have four formal nights there is nothing to stop you. I would suggest it's best to include the two that Cunard specify, but why not just choose another two that suit you? We observed three last year because between booking and travelling one was dropped. Next time we sail we plan to observe seven of seven. There's nothing in the dress code to say you can't.

The one thing we miss here is dancing. A "Diner Dansant" at a restaurant typically involves a rough singing act and a couple of tables space in front of them or perhaps an outdoor dirt space in a car park. The odd time you encounter a real dance event it's a bit different from UK. If quickstep music is played many locals will dance a solo form of charleston. Waltz tends to be somewhere between old-time and Viennese speeds. I can't see us being tempted to fly to the UK for a 3 or 4 night break. Or to Southern Spain for 7 nights. I found the latter, no idea if that was the one @ballroom-cruisers was referencing. We originally thought last years B2B crossing was a one off and had another more complex trip involving the Rocky Mountaineer and QE Alaska planned for 2025. A glimpse of something in a YouTube video killed that trip for me. We enjoyed last year and look forward to reprising it in 2025, and then in subsequent years on basis of booking cabin we want on release date.

We don't want to go on holiday, because we are on holiday all the time. We took almost all our holidays here for about eighteen years because it was the only place we wanted to go on holiday. We have lived here for over seven years and can go to some of the most visited places in the world for day trips any time we want. Why would we want to go anywhere else? Queen Mary 2 presents us with a unique experience. I can wake at 3:30 am and feel the keel flexing as the ship ploughs through a force 9 gale. That flexing is reassuring when compared to feeling the bow crashing into every trough on a North Sea ferry crossing. But to the comparison with land. I've only searched for a few minutes, but I don't see any hotels or promoters offering us 14 consecutive nights of dancing to live music with full board in top quality restaurants and a choice of lounges where we can take elevenses, afternoon tea/coffee and drinks. And of course that's without considering all the other entertainment and activities that we probably don't have time to take an interest in. If anyone knows of such a land offering, please let us know about it. It might be useful if Cunard withdraw QM2 during our lifetime and don't replace her.

Several sites say you can use OMNY with card/phone payment on all buses including SBS. They don't give the precise detail of how to do it though. We only used it on bus M55 and Subway. Didn't use any SBS routes. If it is accepted and someone has a contactless card or Google Pay or whatever Apple call their system that might be easier if they don't already have a Metro Card.

If it was a Newfoundland, it and it's companions might not need a lifeboat.

Noted.

I respect that. If I was smitten with such a problem, I would be looking for a medical or psychiatric solution for me, or I would suffer. I would never consider living without at least one cat.

I've always been intrigued by that. These days 18 of "us" would comfortably fit within the weight limit if there was enough floor space for that many people. I imagine you would be more up close and personal with strangers than you might want to be. For a long time our average weight would not have permitted that number!

The hotel did charge a fee, which one hopes was intended to pay for enhanced cleaning. Personally my sympathies lie with cats that are allergic to humans. I don't think I've ever met anyone I actually liked who claimed to have such an allergy.

I'd prefer animals in cabins (especially cats) to folk who can't breathe in jackets! 🤣🤣 Carmel & Hazel spent a night in an Ibis Hotel at Rheims during their 1,239 mile drive to get here from Scotland. They allocated an accessible room with hard floors and we took a brush and dustpan along to clean up any cat litter that got scattered. They could perhaps supply oxygen for those that can't breathe in jackets.

@techteach In direct sun yes, but it felt surprisingly fresh yesterday. Even managed to pace Nora to a faster morning 10km than previous Sunday, which was slightly cooler. Wearing trousers rather than shorts or three quarter lengths didn't feel at all cumbersome, and it saved stickiness of sun block. We ate outdoors in a shaded street.

Went for a nice lunch yesterday to a village just inland from our town. We often get the bus there and ramble cross country by a variety of routes back to the coast. It was a small restaurant owned by a youngish chef who apparently prepares his dishes with a nod to Basque cuisine. We don't know anything about Basque cuisine but it was all beautifully presented and very tasty. I did plan to wear a tie but it didn't look right with the light grey linen trousers and it was too late to change. Well at least one of us looked good. And we got the bus back too. Those heels wouldn't have handled rambling well.

For someone that is sailing on Cunard because they have a choice of sailings on different lines from a particular port, then if they so desire they can sail with someone else. If you are sailing on Cunard because you want to sail on QM2, it doesn't really matter. There aren't two of them. Obviously it's best if everything goes entirely to plan but if not we just need to make the best of it. We're not the least bit interested in the port calls, we wouldn't get off unless immigration forced us to.

Think I Had it three times. First time I was very disappointed. It seemed dry due to a lack of Hollandaise. Next time when I questioned the lack of Hollandaise I was advised to ask for it as a jug on the side. That was fine. So if you like EB with lashings of Hollandaise ask for a jug on the side.

I would start by forgetting about Kings Court. We don't do fast food. Deck 11 has access to all lift shafts/staircases. Stick to staircases it helps get rid of those extra calories you ate, and imagine the lift broke down and you missed 15 mins of your time on QM2! Take staircase D at aft of ship to Queens Room and G32 and dance the night away. Is there any other reason for being on a ship? Commodore Club is ok, but when it's dark you don't have the view over the bow. We much prefer Chart Room, and even in daylight being on deck 3 you are much closer to those wonderful waves.

I think we're nearly there. It's six days since Ursel's arrival and three since her first distant introduction to Carmel. When Carmel jumped up to find Ursel sleeping on 'her' blanket early this evening she made a few noises to show her displeasure, but her Mum persuaded her to curl up at the other end of the blanket. Another day or two and they'll probably be snuggling up. The photo is deceiving, there is a much bigger size difference. Carmel being tightly curled up makes her look smaller and Urcel is sprawled out a bit more.

It would probably have accepted 0044. Staysure Expat has a Spanish number that needs to start 0034.

France has some wonderful cheeses including our favourite Comté. We've tried all sorts of cheeses on cheeseburgers, but nothing beats cheddar, which thankfully we can buy sliced in our local hypermarket. However their Charolais patties are much sweeter and juicier than the Aberdeen Angus ones we used to buy in Scotland. The Canard here is excellent as well. 🤣

On a P&O ship, which I believe was using the same water based process, my wife splashed some sauce on a heavy lined silk Amanda Wakeley gown. The gown was cleaned and came back in perfect condition. The same gown was cleaned at a local chemical based dry cleaner before we left Scotland. When she eventually tried it on here the structured bodice was completely out of shape and even after she had lost most of her excess weight it still wouldn't sit properly and we had to dispose of it. I mentioned on a past thread that I bought a wool/polyester ivory tux on ebay. It was new but a bit dusty from being in a stockroom for years. I took it on QM2 dirty knowing their cleaning would be much cheaper than a French dry cleaner and probably much safer for the garment. I left it with a note for the cabin stewardess on the first night and it was returned, still a bit damp in the pockets, the following evening. I didn't plan to wear it until night four so it had lots of time to air. A photo of the silk gown. Warning; this was taken during our semi-fat period.

I can't imagine many elite dance couples accepting such conditions. Although we didn't get round to attending their classes on our round trip crossing we did meet Alex & Liuba briefly, and watched some of their displays. A normally more mature dance host who has signed up specifically to dance with singles knows they may be in a position of it being difficult to refuse to dance with any passenger who requests their services. At the risk of (happily) being accused of being sexist, if we were a youngish pro dance couple, I would be concerned that my female partner had little choice but to dance with men that she didn't particularly want to be in close hold with. We used to regularly attend events in the Glasgow area in groups of up to 14, where over the evening we would dance with all our friends. Usually those of the opposite sex (although there was one time..., but that's another story). It was social dancing where you did basic stuff and chatted to your partner as you moved round the floor. But they were all friends, most of whom we keep in contact with. Nora was always the youngest of the group, and while a couple of the gents were jokingly flirtatious she knew they were harmless. It's a quite different thing to be contractually obliged to dance with someone who's ballroom hold is not quite as it should be or isn't aware that they suffer from halitosis.

@Wonky @exlondoner RENFE are starting a Barcelona-Lyon service today, and Madrid-Marseille from July 28. Along with whatever SNCF already offer, it opens up future possibilities to leave London at a more sociable time, with an overnight at some other point en-route, arriving in Barcelona on morning of embarkation. Perhaps still a bit risky? One option on a Paris-Barcelona search was an overnight in Perpignan, 1h19 from Barcelona.