siforest65

The only time I got the train home from Southampton after a cruise I said I’d never do it again.

The platform at Southampton station was full of cruise passengers with luggage and there wasn’t much storage available onboard. 
 

Fortunately for us we’d only done a 2 nighter on the QM2 from Hamburg so didn’t have a lot of luggage but it was bad enough.

15 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

It does indeed - but somewhere it says "collared shirt" - or at least it did and they've changed it back.

 

Before my crossing in October I saw "collared shirt..."

 

There were conversations about the relaxation here on the boards!

 

Interesting - I suspect they may have been trialling it and have reverted to original requirements/suggestions

You are not imagining it. I remember it around the middle of last year. In fact on our crossing and then summer cruise last year noticed onboard that collared non-dress shirts being worn on non formal nights.

I tend to wear chinos on a non formal night with a collared shirt and jacket. Very occasionally wear a tie if the mood takes me . I do like slipping on a jacket as I feel a bit more dressed up but plenty prefer not to.

this is on both transatlantic on QM2 and cruises out of Southampton on QV.

Having experienced a rough Bay of Biscay crossing to the Canaries in November 2019 on the Queen Victoria, I would certainly not have a cabin at the front. We were midships and it was bad enough but folks in forward cabins had a horrendous time.

We were on the April 24th cruise being discussed and to be honest we enjoyed having the group onboard. They added some good atmosphere and were very polite and friendly when we spoke to them.

In fact the vibe was better than the return leg when they weren’t onboard.

I wouldn’t be put off booking again if they were onboard.

23 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

If considering Afternoon Tea, then book The Ritz.  Just a better experience (not packed with noisy Tourists looking for a done that tick).  Plus one can walk there and back, 

When booking (early) ask for a table on the Balcony 

I will second that. We had a glass of Madiera on the balcony there on our Canary Island cruise and it was great sat up there relaxing and watching the world go by.

Although I’ve never travelled Southampton to Heathrow direct, I do have plenty of experience of travelling to Southampton by public transport and work at Heathrow.

Personally I would avoid the train. We did it once after disembarking QM2 and the baggage storage was an absolute nightmare as we left Southampton. Loads of cruise passengers with baggage and limited storage. Couple this with the fact that there is no direct train link into LHR so you need to change onto the tube at some stage. Again that can be challenging with luggage.

I would go for National Express if I needed to do it.

I seem to recall from a post you did last year that we were on a segment of your cruise (Hamburg to Southampton in late June). We had a sheltered balcony on that cruise and loved it the send off from Hamburg was brilliant.
 

We did the Fjords in 2018 on Queen Victoria and think a balcony is a must. I think you’ve made a good cabin choice.

We are on a Baltic cruise next June that stops at Hamburg and I can’t wait to see the City again.

Finally I think you are too polite apologising for your standard of English. It is far better than my German.

I wonder if Cunard will shift half the passengers from QV onto QE now that are both sat in Southampton and run both in tandem at 50% capacity. Helps that the cabin layouts are nearly identical to avoid upsetting anybody.

3 hours ago, longton said:

We have a cruise booked to Norway on Queen Victoria leaving Southamption on 7th August. 

 

We have to pay the balance of around £5,000 on Monday.

 

The cruise will almost certainly be cancelled. We are tempted to pay the balance and hope the cruise is cancelled and then get 125% FCC.

 

The cruise is still being advertised, and at 25% less than what we will pay.

 

 

A dilemma indeed. Imagine also having that plus waiting for a refund for an earlier cruise that’s already been cancelled. It’s happening and I bet with the amount of regular repeat cruisers who sail on Cunard is going to be very common in the next few months.

37 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

I agree that not being able to transfer obc seems deeply silly. But, in the general scheme of things, there seems no point being too upset about it. I think getting enraged only makes one feel worse in the long run...

No point getting upset. I would probably book a short cruise to get onboard and then book using fcc. In fact we are due on QM2 in November to Bruges so could do that anyway.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

 

And in the medium term, the purported measure, which applies to an entire business sector, not just Carnival, which appears to be hated by so many here, will make recovery quicker and easier.

I agree and working in the travel industry myself fully sympathise and would happily accept a fcc. What I don’t like though are the terms that Cunard are imposing that means I will be significantly worse off (lose $600 OBC from booking onboard straight away).

11 hours ago, Mabbiesmum said:

I booked our cruise, roundtrip transatlantic departing 18th April, about 18 months ago to secure the cruise and cabin I wanted at the price I was happy to pay.

 

Current cancellation terms mean that I could only move to 2021 at a much higher cost.

 

If Cunard would offer the same cruise and cabin for 2022, two years hence,at the same price by which time I'm sure we all hope this nightmare will be over - I would be much more willing to let them keep my cash.

 

As things stand I am just waiting for the, inevitable, cancellation and subsequent refund.

I fully agree with you. I wish they’d be a bit flexible and allow either transfer to an already booked cruise or to carry onboard booking benefits across to a new booking. As it stands an fcc puts us at a big financial loss with drop of on board credit.

I’m airline staff and think when this is all over, my revised t and c’s of employment will make keeping a house over my head a bigger priority than cruising.

Really enjoying your blog and the humour it brings. We were (but it’s not been cancelled yet) due in the QV in April and your writings are cheering me up.

I really wish they would relax the rules on fcc and let us transfer to an existing booking. I would then move our yet to be cancelled April 16th cruise credit to our Baltic cruise next June and at least Cunard retain my cash.

At this rate they will have more fcc than capacity of cruises available in the timeframe they are stipulating.

Thanks for all the useful info people are posting here. I’m certain my April 16th Atlantic Coast adventure will be cancelled and they are doing them in stages to reduce workload on the poor telephone operators. I will go for refund as the 125% fcc isn’t much use with the new booking criteria. Plus I work for an airline and enforced unpaid leave is on the table so the cash will be handy.

19 minutes ago, Roger Ackroyd said:

Yes, just got he email which offers me (aged 72) 125% to transfer our QV April 16 cruise to another cruise bookable by December 31st 2021 for any cruise up to end of March 2022. My wife is 61 (bless her) would, in theory, not be included but she has diabetes type 2 so will be eligible as well. However I do wonder how Cunard will handle a 71/69 year old partnership. 

We will take the 125% offer for use in autumn next year but we have a September cruise and a February one already booked so more developments to come.

We’ve had the email. Both under 70, I do have high blood pressure but my wife has no underlying conditions. Not sure where we stand.
 

Will still sit tight and wait for the inevitable cancellation. I have other battles to fight keeping my job in the airline industry so may not be able to afford any cruises in future.

Our QV trip to Spain on April 16th looks very fragile. I know it’s after the date given in this ban but it doesn’t look optimistic.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.majorcadailybulletin.com/news/international/2020/03/12/63989/spanish-government-bans-cruise-ships.html

2 minutes ago, Roger Ackroyd said:

Oh, so any FCC can't be used against a cruise that's already booked - but not yet paid for (only deposit?). That seems a bit mean.

I shall follow that up. Thanks for the tip.

yes, they’ve put it in the frequently asked questions 

5 hours ago, Roger Ackroyd said:

"Additional" On Board Spending? That word "additional" doesn't appear on our email.  We already have $300 pp ($600 stateroom) OBS. Will we expect $1200? It's not clear.

 

Our cruise, is ex Southampton April 16th.  I am assuming that there will be a good number of potential customers who will take the money and FCC and run which leaves the next question: will Cunard run a cruise with potentially just 50% or fewer on board passengers?

 

And next question: what of excursions in Spain and Portugal (Granada and Seville)? Will those still run and if not because of Spanish crackdown on movement just what is the point of sailing down to Spain only to have to stay on board at the ports? You may as well just stay in Southampton and look at the docks from your balconies.

 

I can see Cunard cancelling all cruises On Queen Victoria between now and September.

 

I'll wait until 3 days beforehand and make a decision then.

we are also on that voyage and have just spoken to Cunard. We currently have $1100 and they confirmed this will rise to $1700. The cancellation terms aren’t too favourable as we have 2 more cruises booked with them and can’t use fcc against either balance.

like you we will sit tight and I suspect if the cruise runs we will be on it. Still a lot can happen.

The only snobbishness I’ve encountered was last year. I won’t say where or when ( in case they are on here) but someone announced on shore that they were very posh and in Princess Grills to another couple who weren’t on the ship. They then proceeded to moan about the $6 shuttle fare and drink prices onboard. We were involved in the conversation and I did say that we didn’t have to pay the $6 shuttle but didn’t use the words “saver fare”

1 hour ago, Underwatr said:

A Hamburg departure on QM2 is unique.

I’ve only done 1 trip on QM2 and that was out of Hamburg last June. The send off and amount of people who turned up to see her off was brilliant.

Brilliant, thank

27 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

We've never been charged for disembarkation day when we've purchased drinks packages. We purchase the basic soda package for $10 per day and are charged $70 on 7-night transatlantic crossings on QM2 when we purchase the package on embarkation day. You should be charged for 12 days if you purchase the package on embarkation day. You also have the option to purchase the package on the second day of the voyage in which case you should be charged for 11 days.

 

Edit to add a quote from the Terms and Conditions document for the Beers, Wines & Spirits option:

 

"The Beers, Wines & Spirits Option applies to every day a guest is sailing other than day of disembarkation ..."

Brilliant, thankyou

1 minute ago, Bigmike911 said:

Some bars and restaurants are open on embarkation day, but not for disembarking passengers. And your bills will be processed the night before, so I am not sure it is possible to charge/adjust the bar tab on disembarkation day. So my guess is that it will be for 12 days. 

That’s what I think and hope but someone posted on a Facebook group that they class disembarkation as a full day with drinks package pricing.

Looking at taking the drinks package for our cruise in April. It’s 12 nights, so 13 days with embarkation and disembarkation days included. Will the drinks package be charged at x12 or x13 ?