Shuffleboard Dude

According to the Daily Fail and the Express it's going to be everything from snow and ice to biting cold.

I did say it would be worse case scenario.

Evidently they were able to sell another round of their garbage to the general public. There's a reason the shipping forecast isn't published six months in advance.

In Southampton I would expect the problems to be with the lorries carrying the supplies on the motorways but never with the ship itself. In the North Sea and particularly in Hamburg navigational problems can occur. In March 2018 the AIDAperla couldn't reach Hamburg for a turnaround.

Ignoring the poverty and cockfighting on street corners,Vietnam is a beautiful country.One of my favourites.There is an ongoing debate about QM2 food.If it is a worldie segment like mine was on the QE this year the food may be better.Peeps paying for a worldie may expect and get more.

Well that and the fact that Vietnam and the Vietnamese are the main reason that rhinos are poached by the thousands in southern Africa.

About dress codes: luckily we don't live in the seventies anymore (when the general dress code was "caveman attire") but have returned to more sophisticated standards. What is considered formal isn't the style of 1918 but rather something that resembles something from the fifties.

On QM2 I do find food adequate and good, but its certainly no three star cuisine, but then you don't pay a three star price when traveling in tourist class cabins. But then, QM2 is a wonderfully designed ship and I can only recommend to sail on her.

There seems to be a price cut two months before the cruise - something like a "Cunard late fare", but I'm no price/booking guru,

I rather concentrate on shuffleboard, afternoon tea and occaisonal spa visits.

When traveling down the Canale Grande to San Marco, it's faster to alight at Rialto and walk to the piazza, as the canal is one long bend. Also, this is the website of the local public transport company: http://www.actv.it

Four shuffleboard courts on a teak deck, so real tournaments can be played.

I have a question to repeat cruisers about the Cunard coffee in the restaurants which so many people complain about- is the problem that people find that it is too weak, too strong, or something else?

Thanks!

(And yes, we are coffee people- I'm a hard core plain black coffee snob)

The problem is, that there are vast differences in coffee tastes and habits throughout. The average American joe is a lot weaker than what most of Europe (except Germany) drinks. In Asia, coffee is 99% milk & sugar and has very little in common with western coffee. On the other hand there is NO, absolutely NO real espresso available outside Italy. Don't even think that anything you get in your average coffee shop is at par with the stuff you get in Italy.

I once had a cup of Kopi Luwak, allegedly it's the best coffee in the world and praised for its mild taste. I found it awfully weak, quite tasteless, and will never ever drink it again.

Whatever you do, there is always someone who thinks that the coffee is too weak, strong, dark, light or even sour. On a ship I reluctantly accept the fact that the coffee served doesn't match my taste and keep drinking it as it is.

We will encounter the same situation in Cape Town this coming January. I called and spoke to a Cunard rep and they told me that it is run just like they just arrived at port that morning. She said I could expect to disembark with my luggage after 7am.

That's correct, just hop off the ship, get to the port building, get out on the other side and get a cab to wherever you want to go. 7am is quite early, I assume that you should be through customs around 9 or 10am.

I have no idea how this whole thing will end, but I'm pretty confident that cruising after Brexit means cursing after Brexit.

I do possess infallibility in all questions that concern the most blessed sacrament of afternoon tea. Therefore I rule once and for all time that the Devonians are heretics whose false and evil teachings shall not be followed. It is JAM before CREAM.The sacred name of the baked goods of the lord is pronounced SKON.

Selkie74 is probably right. If jam or cream first had been the question of the last referendum, there would have been a fourth English Civil War. Oh, and cut the scones with the knife, its more preactical and elegant (and no heresy in my view).

So pleased that we’ll be able to call in for a nightcap and then just have to walk three cabins back “home”, always good when in heels, next time we’re on.

I like to be on deck 6 (or 5) aft, so I get a long pleasant walk home from the CC, including a round of shuffleboard or two. But then, I'm happy someone books these cabins on deck 9 and my humble inside dwelling remains uncontested.

On a final note, this is Captain Philpott's final voyage before retirement.

- Mark

What? He took over barely only 18 months ago.

Does he really go into retirement or is he leaving his post for another job, as did Capt. Oprey before him?

what time does the commodore club close please

Good question, the latest time I've been there was about 0100, having ordered a drink shortly after midnight.

I wouldn't know about an official closing time, but it must be around 0100 or 0200, officially it's open "till late".

Cunard needs to a invest a little here in more satellite dishes- reliable Internet is as important as say tea or scones these days.

Madam, Sir, you do wildly underestimate the importance of a proper afternoon tea. I will happily sail on a ship without internet, but I will not tolerate the absence of tea and scones!

Also, cucumber sandwiches, but then, there's an entire play by Oscar Wilde on that subject.

"May contain lead shot"

The most interesting note on a menu, ever.

Just a light hearted post : Having cruised quite a few times now we have seen a few celebrities & guest speakers on the ships & I am curious to know what you think about approaching them when you see them around the ship? Also if you have done this what were your experiences? We have bumped into a few whilst out & about on the decks & a few were lovely but lots of them look very unapproachable!

Thanks for your consideration - you are probably one of the people who do not need this advice.

Guest speakers are usually normal people with regular lives and regular staterooms, they just happen to have to do some work in order to get a free cruise.

Basic rules are:

1. DO ACT NORMAL, do not disturb them while they're busy (eating, talking to other people etc.)

2. Ask experts simple questions about their field.

3. Do not explain their field to them.

4. Do not turn up with ''alternative facts'' and obscure theories about anything loosely related to their field.

5. A guest speaker's live goes on after the talk (most often with lunch or tea): limit your conversation to a few minutes, don't block them for hours.

I'm no guest speaker, but I have spent quite some time in academia where the same rules apply at public speeches.

This is very helpful, thanks a lot!

No, you don't book either the afternoon tea in the Queens Room or The Lion's Share in the Golden Lion Pub. There is no afternoon tea in the Queens Room on embarkation day. The Queens Room afternoon tea is held from 3:30-4:40pm. On the other hand, the QM2 daily programmes I have indicate The Lion's Share is available from 12:00-2:30pm in the Golden Lion Pub (during the same hours as the Pub Lunch itself). So assuming the Golden Lion is open for Pub Lunch on embarkation day, then you might also be able to order The Lion's Share on embarkation day. This is not from any actual experience ordering The Lion's Share though, so I can't say for sure.

If it's a full turnaround in New York or Southampton they don't do afternoon tea, as far as I know. In other ports with only a partial change of passengers (and only minor unloading and loading of supplies) like for instance Hamburg, a regular afternoon tea is offered.

I wouldn’t want to have drinks that had been in the bottom of the wardrobe along with passenger’s shoes! I refused to do that for that very reason.

Why? The liquid is in a sealed, pressurized bottle.

If you worry about this, you will need to worry your drink every single time you have a pint from tap somewhere. Also: If those drinks went through a harbour for loading, then other passengers' shoes are the least you will need to worry about.

Interesting that they are asking about winter cruises to the Mediterranean from January to March. That would seem to imply Cunard is thinking about moving further away from traditional world voyages during the winter months. As we know, QE is no longer doing world voyages.

There is a fourth ship coming up...

I wonder why they plan for 14 day itineraries, IMHO it would make more sense to offer seven day (fly) cruises.

When starting from Marseille they could even partner with Eurostar and offer a direct boat train from London again!

The answer's here, rplace the question in the video with yours second one:

Cunard may have good and bad moments, but they certainly know what they're doing.

Its fascinating how they can publish an article about a successful acquisition in a business magazine without mentioning economies of scale. I wonder how much Cunard paid to the contributor for such a pointless text.

Also, I do remember the fares for the lowest grade of accommodation on QM2 being lower than the ones on QE2 at the same time.

Here it is!

 

They charge way too much for it, but I think it's worth it :)

 

QM2 Milky Way Martini

1 1/2 cups ice cubes

2 fluid ounces vanilla-flavoredvodka

2 fluid ounces white creme de cacao

2 fluid ounces Irish cream liqueur

1 tablespoon chocolate syrup

Goodness gracious! This reads like a pretty close description of the exact opposite of my favourite drink.

Mostly because you can hide a lot of low quality spirits in this drink.

Oh, and about Stout Independence, the prices would have gone up very recently then. I had one earlier this year at exactly $10.50 plus tip.

Bringing your own baked beans is an interesting concept.

It's recommended no to spill them. :D

I have never found breakfast beans that weren't vile. The worst breakfast beans on the globe are the arabic ful medames beans, a dish that if served anywhere onboard would probably make me jump overboard.

For coffee, it's not the worst I ever had on a ship (that prize goes to the Saxon Steam Navigation Company in Dresden, Germany.), but it's pretty bad. I wonder wether it is better on Italian ships like the ones of Costa Crociere or MSC. At least with Cunard, it's free after meals.

German lines like for instance TUI Cruises (German version) tend to have their own speciality bakeries on board. This is mainly because if they would serve only the British kind of brown bread, we would hear about a passenger mutiny every other week. In general I think the bread you get onboard a Cunard ship isn't too bad, the dinner rolls are usually very good.

About being a vegetarian: Did you ever think about sweet options like french toast, pancakes, etc? They are availbable for room service breakfast, but you will have to order off menu.

Is it just me or does anyone else read those menus as encouraging you to order EITHER a starter OR soup OR a salad?

 

It's not that long since those were listed as separate courses, as was the fish.

 

Regards, Colin.

Looks a lot like it. Particularly if you are the only one to order a starter and a salad on an entire shared table.

There goes my usual four course dinner...

So then explain how P&O (essentially the same company operating under the same conditions) cost significantly less for drinks.

Your apparent justifications are totally nullified.

(Also Cunard use dollars as it conveniently benefits Cunard)

The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation company states the following prices

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/drink_cost

£4-10 for a pint of John Smith, which is $5,30 at today's value

£4-75 for a pint of Peroni, which is $6,16!

Unless you can produce a different price list, I consider my argument verified!