VintageCCG

On a related point, what are the prices like for on board dry cleaning and laundry?

If it's reasonable enough then I can take fewer suits etc. and recycle them more often during my 2-way crossing this summer.

Of course I plan to take advantage of the self-laundry but it's convenient to get my shirts done professionally when available.

I'd also seen somebody mention an all-in deal by the bag at turnaround in Southampton, is that offered regularly?

Thanks for any insights!

PJ

If I may be so bold, perhaps one might clarify with Cunard before the embarkation date - or with the maître d'hôtel once on board - whether 9pm is the time by which to be seated, or the time at which the dining room closes.

That should clear up any misunderstandings with much more authoritative certainty than polling the fine denizens of CruiseCritic.com for their varying opinions.

I'm guessing that - based on the cost of travelling in the Grills - the onboard servers will likely be lenient in the application of such constraints. But I might still propose going to the source for the most reliable response.

https://res.cloudinary.com/complex/image/upload/c_limit,w_680/fl_lossy,pg_1,q_auto/txftfnl3oozcldbp4hig.jpg

Respect to my USCG colleagues and to the FDNY unit that responded.

It is exceedingly unlikely that Cunard would switch Flag State Registry over this moral/ethical issue.

Registering ships under a foreign flag of convenience has implications for Port State control, ship safety regulations, employment rules and wages, ratification of maritime conventions, environmental controls (SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW etc).

Bermuda ticks virtually all of the boxes from a safety perspective and prudent maritime business protocols, and additionally allows the ship's Master to perform marriages at sea under their jurisprudence (Malta is another flag state that allows this, as does Japan for Japanese nationals).

This capability is quite a lucrative feature within the commercial passenger ship market, and the potential same-sex marriage market is not insignificant ... but would it be the worth tens of millions of dollars for the Carnival Group's 10 cruise brands to up stakes and switch to an alternative regulatory regime?

So what can Cunard do? (i.e. what can pax encourage Carnival Corporation & PLC to do?)

- presumably Carnival is a significant player in Bermuda's (relatively) meagre economy, so they could bring public and private pressure on the Bermudan gov't to back off this issue. Even the effort would likely ease the pressure brought to bear on Carnival from its client base.

- Captains can presumably still perform "commitment ceremonies" which lack legal standing. This is the situation within the vast majority of flag states. Clearly though, this is far from equal treatment under the law.

- Presumably, in order for a Captain to perform a legal marriage at sea, (s)he must also posses standing as a judge, a justice of the peace, a minister, or some other form of recognized officiant such as a Notary Public. With such standing in local jurisdictions through which the ships pass (i.e. NY State, UK, Canada, etc.), legal marriages might (MIGHT) be permitted within those jurisdictions.

At the very least passengers should voice their feelings to Cunard and to parent Carnival.

Boycotting would be a personal choice, but would likely not be a practical option for most individuals who have already paid a substantial non-refundable deposit. Withdrawing future business would be more effective, but only if accompanied by an explanatory note.

And what do the competitors offer? How many of them provide legal marriages at sea for passengers?

Why not serve them some real tea?

I was raised by British parents, and I have been drinking tea with the family since I was old enough to hold a cup.

As have my kids.

Vintage CCG, understand what you're saying and while we're coming into NYC a day early for embarkation (which is a departure from my norm as I typically arrive for a cruise day of departure - risky yes but no missed boardings - yet and as our first TA crossing didn't want this one to be the first time we have been delayed) going home, there's really no stress as if we don't make the flight, we'll just rebook it to whatever flight we can get on. To be honest (and I know I'll get slammed a bit for this comment), NYC holds little attraction for us so an extra day isn't all that enticing (ok have visited the city, just not our cup of tea).

 

Do appreciate all the feedback and we'll look to get off as early as we can and make way to JFK via taxi. From there we'll see what happens and go with the flow.

That's fair and sorry if my comment came across as critical of your preferences.

As I say, it was more a reaction to the common sight at airports of people freaking out after cutting their connections too closely, and I often wonder why they hadn't been more prudent. The consequences are simply too severe to risk forfeiting an airfare as a result of a potential delayed arrival of a mere few hours.

For my part I make a distinction between my just-in-time business connections and the much wider margins I plan for any high-risk vacation connections. Before a cross-country Amtrak trip on the California Zephyr I took advantage of an extra 36 hours in Chicago to explore the city and to load up on supplies for the trip.

Similarly for this voyage, I've booked a few days in Manhattan prior to departure (at less than 1/3rd the cost of the Cunard-linked accommodations in an equal or better hotel), then a couple of nights in Brooklyn upon disembarkation to continue the vacation.

For me, NYC and London are two of my favourite urban centres, and since I've got to get myself to and from NY anyway (for me it's a 7-hour drive) I prefer to take advantage of the opportunity.

To each their own ...

The areas around the Gulf and St Lawrence River are truly beautiful (Quebec, Tadoussac, Gaspé etc), the people are friendly and welcoming (and most are fully bilingual) and the local game and seafood is amazing.

Unfortunately the shipping restrictions are still in place so I gather the cruise lines are still bypassing Gaspé, which is really a shame.

https://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/marine/navigation-marine-conditions/protecting-north-atlantic-right-whales-ship-strikes-gulf-st-lawrence.html

I visit the area (the Gaspésie) every month for work, and the Unesco World Heritage site at old Québec is one of my favourite destinations in Canada. Halifax, too, is a charming city that is always worth a visit.

With respect, I never understand why folks leave so little margin with their transfer bookings.

Notwithstanding Cunard's reliable track record, on a weeklong trans-Atlantic voyage there are innumerable events that could delay arrival and disembarkation by an hour or three, or that could delay your ground transfer.

Airport security can be unforgiving, such that one should allow an additional hour or more beyond recommended arrival times for any but the most routine flights at quiet airports, let alone at busy terminals such as JFK.

Why not simply stay one extra night in Brooklyn or in Manhattan, and entirely avoid the stress of rushing between quay and airport? Presumably passengers aboard an ocean liner are already travelling at a leisurely pace, so why ruin the mood with a panicky disembarkation?

Notwithstanding that most hotels will not check you in until the afternoon, almost invariably they will accept luggage into a secure holding area from whatever morning hour you arrive.

Everyone's circumstances are different ("your mileage may vary") but I've seen too many folks panicking at air terminals when their connections are at risk, all because they left too little margin and assumed there would be no delays.

For consideration ...

You could take the muster seriously or you could be like this ******* and ignore the muster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SF7NWKwEww

The ship is legally required by Port State Regulations (as signatories to SOLAS) to provide a full safety briefing for all passengers either immediately before or after departure. On a worldwide voyage with repeated port stops to embark new pax there are certainly diminishing benefits in attending the same briefing multiple times. But having attended a single muster on a given ship, I would question whether a given individual is sufficiently familiar with all aspects of the procedures to be above sparing another 20 minutes of their precious time.

Frankly I don't mind if a person endangers themself, but it is unacceptable for that person to place their fellow pax at risk by being unprepared in a real emergency. Having read many TSB reports of marine incidents - Costa Concordia and Queen of the North come to mind - and numerous studies of mass evacuations at sea, I would propose that a person would want to be pretty darn familiar with their muster station procedures before deeming the brief exercise to be beneath them.

Real-life emergencies are chaotic and disorienting, so personally I will be attending both musters on my back-to-back trans-Atlantic voyage. But then again, I have taken hundreds of commercial flights and I still pay attention to the pre-boarding announcement, and I always take note of which inattentive idiots will likely be hindering my safe and efficient exit should an emergency occur.

One man's opinion ...

Most of these "Behind the Scenes" tours on ships are not quite as thrilling as they sound.

 

I have done several on different ships and it really comes down to who is leading the tour. If the guide is interesting, the tour will be too.

 

Often the person leading the tour is just going through the motions and babbling on about rather dull things. Frankly, I would save the money, but, if you're a huge maritime enthusiast give it a shot, it's not often you get tour the QM2.

 

Jonathan

Thanks Jonathan, that aligns with my thinking.

PJ.

If by foredeck you mean the open deck forward of the superstructure, note that part of that deck is open 24/7, weather permitting (albeit not the "King of the World!" section of the bow).

Good to know, thanks! I had figured that area would be off-limits to pax.

PJ

We got to see backstage for free on our last voyage by joining the ship's choir. We were accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra with Anthony Inglis conductor and choir-master.

Seems like an extreme step, joining the choir just for a tour! Still, whatever works ... (lol)

PJ

On my eastbound crossing last month there was a lot of interest in the Behind the Scenes Tour. I was first in line outside the Tours desk just after 8AM (enjoying the more spacious post-remastering Grand Lobby) and quite a few people joined me in the queue over the next hour. Eventually they ran two tours to accommodate everyone on the list.

 

The Tours team write down the place in line and time your registration of interest is lodged, and I was told this was the sequence people would be selected.

 

However, the back office team managed to lose my registration of interest so when I followed up the second last sea day they were most surprised and told me the tours had been run yesterday!

 

Thankfully I had taken a photo of my form on my phone and after some calls they managed to organise three tours (kitchen, bridge and engineering) for the last day at sea, which I felt was a comparable experience.

Good to know, Coathanger. Thanks!

PJ

I did this tour in April of this year and it is indeed $120. I enjoyed it immensely and am very glad that I did it.

 

Our group missed the medical center as they had an emergency and were closed to visitors. As a medical professional I was very disappointed and asked if it would be possible to include me for that aspect only on the next tour. They took my name and soon I got a personalized invitation to be toured around the medical center. I got to spend about an hour with a nurse inspecting their entire operation, lab, x-ray, pharmacy, ICU, transport team & morgue. I was very pleased with every aspect of touring the QM2.

Thanks momzcruzing.

Yes, everyone enjoys a "bus-man's tour" of their own professional field!

Good on them for accommodating your request.

PJ

We took this tour in November on the QM2 and can confirm everything MarkBearSF and Kynance says above with the exception that our tour did not make it backstage of the theater. We did however have an extensive tour of the hospital and asked the doctor lots of questions about care, cost and the likes. Since our group was overly interested in the hospital we may have had the theater cut out due to time. Also, while traveling Burma Road we visited the crew's cafeteria, bar and peeked at one of their cabins.

 

Tickets to Back Of The House are a bit elusive. There are 16 in total with a certain number going to Grills passengers (see your concierge) and the rest are available at the Tours desk on the first full sea day of the voyage. We checked in with the Tour desk upon embarkation and there was no way to register early for us. Be there when they open at 900a the next morning. The clerk told us there was not much reason to line up before 8:30a but we arrived at 7:30a and were numbers 5, 6 & 7 in line. So it depends on how much interest your fellow passengers have.

 

Just a note, you are there to register your interest in the tour as opposed to buy tickets. How the actual process of selection works, who knows. But if you are among the chosen (we were), you will receive an invitation in your stateroom a few days later with all the details of where and when. You will be required to sign a waver.

 

And a photographer will accompany you and take several photos. One was delivered to our stateroom the final evening of the crossing. A rather unflattering one from the anchor deck. Not sure what became of the rest.

 

Very enjoyable but as MarkBearSF notes, once is enough.

 

That apron, though.

Thanks Jason & John.

Good to know about the booking arrangements!

I'm sure the theatre tour would be interesting in itself.

And yes, I won't consider it complete without a QM2 apron! lol

PJ

I've done this tour on the QE but I believe that the areas you visit are the same as on QM2. As Mark mentioned, you are taken to the area where the lines and anchors are stored: I think this may may have been referred to as the forward mooring deck. Captain Hashmi, when he was Captain Wells' deputy on QE took us around this part of the ship.

 

We also visited the theatre dressing rooms and stood on the stage, where we had a group photo taken.

 

The safety officer talked us through the fire fighting equipment and the talk from the environmental officer about how the ship deals with rubbish and recycling was really interesting too. We saw the bakery and the machine used to shape the bread rolls and I think we also took a peak into the crew bar and canteen.

 

We also visited all of the areas Mark has listed.

 

I really enjoyed the tour - it's definitely one of the highlights of all of my Cunard voyages - and I think we spent quite a lot of time on the bridge, first with the safety officer then with Captain Wells. Both were very willing to answer everyone's questions. In addition to a group photo with Chris Wells, we had individual photos taken in his chair!

 

If I remember correctly, you get one photo included in the price of the tour, the others are an extra charge.

 

We had a ship's engineer on our tour so he had a lot of questions for the Chief Engineer when we met him.

 

You are accompanied at all times by a member of the entertainment team and a security officer. You may make notes but can not take photographs.

 

At the end of the tour, we had drinks and canapés in the Commodore Club (Cunard was quite generous with both.) The cruise director (Ray ?) and the hotel manager (Jacqueline Hodgson at the time) came and spent time with us.

 

I have certainly never spoken to as many officers for as long a period as I did during those 3 hours!!

 

We didn't wait for the tour to be advertised - I think I went straight to the Purser's desk when we boarded and asked if we could put our names down. I think the tour has become so popular that the Captain will try to schedule more than one if it is operationally possible.

 

I highly recommend the tour on QE - should we take a longer QM2 voyage in the future then I would be tempted to do the tour on her as well.

Thanks Kynance, those are useful insights.

Actually getting to see the Navigation Bridge is kind of a deal-breaker for me ... I'd pay just for that!

The logistics of these massive buggers are impressive in themselves; in particular so much effort goes into managing the waste that I'm sure they'll be justifiably proud and eager to illuminate it to their clients.

Thx!

PJ

In order (We did it last May)

1. I suspect the price may have increased a bit this year. But, yes.
   
2. I don't recall going out on the foredeck, but we spent time in the room with all the lines (which was fascinating in itself) and anchors. I know someone here knows the term for this area.
   
3. Not the engine room (for the usual reasons) but a long visit to the engine control room. This is where the nautical, electrical and mechanical engineers "nerd out" with MANY questions for the engineers in charge.
   
4. Related to the above, Officers in charge of each area gave tours at their site. I wish I recalled the departments and officers, but the tour included (besides the "line room" and engine control room already mentioned) Security, Trash, Water, Ship's stores and galley (with treats and bubbly in the Britannia for a break), backstage, and the bridge - with ample time to meet and talk with the captain.
   

Besides the photo, handouts, and pastries, attendees got a letter, Cunard apron and paper toque and souvenir pin. We enjoyed it very much and can recommend it. However, once was certainly enough.

Thanks Mark, that's helpful.

1. Yes, maybe it was $150 instead of $120.

2. That area was traditionally called the fo'c'sle head i.e the space below the fo'c'sle. But then the QM2 doesn't have a raised "forecastle" as such but rather a continuous main deck. Other commenters (Kynance and Shuffleboard Dude) referred to it as the "(Fwd) Mooring Deck" and it would certainly not be inaccurate to call it the Forward Mooring Station.

3. Yes safety and security concerns would certainly preclude public tours of the Engineroom, but I'll bet it's immaculate! Be cool to learn about the azi-pods, too!

4. Officers or ship's crew would certainly be able to offer better insights than a Cunard flunkie.

All in all the tour sounds pretty good, with the added bonus of an opportunity to pay respects to the Old Man.

Thanks again!

PJ

As a marine professional I am obviously intrigued by the Behind the Scenes tour for my first voyage as a passenger. I have seen scant mention of this tour in the Discussion Boards.

Does anyone have any insights to share?

I gather the cost is $120, takes about 3 hours and includes a photo with the Captain.

Is there access to the Navigation Bridge or just the viewing area?

Does it include the foredeck?Any access to the Engineroom?

Is there an opportunity to ask questions of the Ship's Officers? (deck or ER)

Besides these tours, are there any opportunities for Q&As with the Officers?

Thanks for any comments!

PJ

Who do I send my membership fee for this club?

Nobody is forced to support what LGBT people do, it's not even necessary to like it. The only thing a well mannered Gentleman (or Woman, or Furry Creature from Alpha Centauri) should do, is keep his mouth shut and remember the manners he learned.

In my opinion, the sexual orientation of another person is absolutely none of my business.

 

But then, if Dorothy goes, does Bill W. stay?

Turns out that Human Rights don't require unanimous approval (nor any individual's permission) but they could sure benefit from regulatory protection and societal support .

I had to look up the "Bill W" reference ... wasn't aware that it referred to the founder of AA.

Makes sense, though; it's a low-key way to meet up for companionship and mutual support.

And to maintain status in the Canadian Club, please send envelopes of cash to my home address.

In return I will send poutine, Beavertails and a sensible toque.

PJ

Here’s a link to a drinks price menu in a bar on QV

 

https://carnivaluk.metafaq.com/resources/carnivaluk/life-on-board/QV_chart_room.pdf

 

Go to page 41 to see the additional mixer costs and from page 23 for the spirit prices and don’t forget to add 15% extra to the total

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for the link. I subsequently found the QM2 link as well (but don't ask me to find it again!)

Well, I guess those prices seem reasonable in the circumstances.

Sure they're overpriced, but no more than most urban bars.

With some moderation, I suppose I'll survive ...

PJ

Have you ever been to the commodore club at 3pm?

 

Its usually very quiet and the group sit in the corner - I wouldnt call it “primetime” like when at say 745 there are no seats some nights

 

They dont ake over the entire club so what does it matter?

 

Theres scarf folding meetings; solo meetings and various other groups that meet and if you want to attend you do so - you dont need to be a fully paid up lbgt person to attend the friends of dorothy much like you do need to be a scarf folding aficionado

 

If you want to spend an hour with them in the best bar at “primetime” go for it

 

Its nothing to do them wanting their on space and time its about a like minded group of people wanting to spend an hour with other people who happen to be lbgt as well

Good answer!

If a person's LGBT membership expires, do they become straight??

So long as I remain a "fully paid-up" Canadian my tolerance includes anything except ignorance.

PJ

It is not enforced at all. I took 3 bottles of wine on only this last week. Plus a bottle of gin ;)

At which port did you board? Is it the same policy everywhere?

Were your bottles in checked luggage or carry-on ... and does that make any difference?

I will be joining QM2 in Brooklyn this August. Should I just bring a soft-sided cooler with some beer and wine and soft drinks?

PJ

Hello folks ...

Instead of dancing around the issue with obtuse references, what are some actual examples of prices for wine / beer / liquor on board Cunard?

And tell me you're joking that mixed drinks are priced separately for the liquor and for the mix!

PJ

So ... is the one bottle limit per person not enforced by Cunard??

I'd been told elsewhere that it was quite strictly enforced.

PJ

There's also a Whole Foods about 300 metres from your hotel.

Some locations sell wine / liquor and some do not.

https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/thirdand3rd

PJ