DCThunder

Just now, Pushpit said:

Generally trying to board early or disembark at the first opportunity rarely shows Cunard at its best, if you can go an hour later it's a lot calmer.

 

I have definitely found that boarding later in the process is better than earlier, so I totally agree here.  Thanks for the other tips.

27 minutes ago, NE John said:

I feel that I am making a faux pas every time I step on the Queen’s Room dance floor!
Seriously, the onboard atmosphere is more calm and relaxed than one may imagine. Many pax are well-seasoned travelers and are interesting and open to conversing. I also concur with the suggestion to smile at the staff. 

Your concern may be centered on how to dress after six and what others may think of you. All I can say is to try your best attire-wise after six and you’ll be fine. QE is an elegant ship so enjoy and participate in the occasion and don’t worry about what others think (you may even see a few fellow pax around and wonder what’s the deal with them!)
A few tips: arrive early for Afternoon Tea and the pub lunch, room service is included in your fare, and I hope you have booked some excursions because many have sold out. Juneau and Ketchikan are going to be busy crowded port days. 
I’ll be on that same voyage and hope to see you onboard. 

Thanks, NEJohn.  I've got my excursions all booked (both through the ship and otherwise) so I'm good there.  And I bought a secondhand tuxedo, so I think I'll be covered as well on that front. Hope to meet you as well. 

I'm a rookie Cunard cruiser, heading to Alaska on QE on June 21.  What are some on-board etiquette mistakes I should avoid so I don't look the fool in the august surroundings of a Cunard ship?😀

I've cruised a lot on Princess and HAL, so not a total noob, but want to be sure I'm not "that guy" on Cunard!

Would another option be for you to find people to sail in the duplicate cabin and reimburse you directly for the fare?  You'd need to get Princess or the TA to change the names of the passengers in those cabins, but that might not be too big a hurdle, although it's very possible it would be.

28 minutes ago, NE John said:

Is Cunard still refunding your fare and giving you some FCC? Or are they just saying, in the words of Monty Python, “Never mind”…

I always thought that was Emily Litella...

Aren't you Elite and so get access to new cruises 24 hours before the hoi polloi?  Surely this cruise isn't so special that it will sell out with only Elites, will it?

The biggest drawback to the Island is the fitness center is in a windowless area at the stern of the ship on a lower deck.  It is kind of depressing if you're used to the upper deck fitness centers with wide windows to look out while on the treadmill or elliptical.

It was clearly added to the ship long after she was built and fitness centers became increasingly important to some cruisers.

I did a TA on Island and the 7 sea days were just as nice as the port days.  You do feel closer to the ocean on a smaller ship when you're out in the middle of the Atlantic.

I did two 30 day cruises on Island in 2024 and had no issues with the ship.  So long as your expectations aren't for glitz and glamour of the newest ships, Island is very nice.  She has her quirks that take a bit of getting used to, but the Explorers Lounge is great with a couple of good bartenders, and by and large the ship isn't crowded.

Bayou Cafe instead of Crown Grill, but still a good steak, and there's a Sabbatini's.  Anyway I liked Island. 

19 minutes ago, memoak said:

I 

Heck I was having shipboard romances in my 40”s

Did your wife mind?  Or was this the old upside-down pineapple?  🍍

Just now, EDDY0827 said:

OP says they are 14 and 17.

At 14 and 17, the kids might actually like to be away from the parental units.  The 17-year-old might be out looking for one of those shipboard romances...😍

2 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

I was thinking the same!  Zaandam was our first HAL cruise 22 years ago.

I did 28 days on Zaandam going up the Amazon River in February/March.  It was an incredible cruise.  If Princess or HAL would build some new small (1500 passenger) ships, offer unique itineraries and not charge the moon for the trip. they could lock up a new market. 

8 hours ago, annmarz said:

A pool  with a retractable cover. An aft pool. 

 

A forward observation lounge or deck.  A full promenade deck. A larger library - in a quiet place.

 

 

You just described HAL's Zaandam, and it's 25 years old...

40 minutes ago, Ellipooh said:

 

Fantastic clip, god those guys were marvelous - every one of them

David Mamet is a genius playwright and almost every heavyweight actor of the early 1980s was in the movie.

BTW, you should read Mamet's recent Hollywood memoir:  "Everywhere an Oink Oink".  

11 hours ago, SCX22 said:

If you ever go to Future Cruise, you should always preface you conversation with "I'm not interested in the Princess Promotions Packages."  These packages are now a hard sell by the ONE staff because if they don't make their quotas, they don't get paid.  The old blood didn't realize this when they accepted this position and many are trying to leave.  The newbies are ruthless. 

 

Wish the US's consumer laws were as strong as Australia's and New Zealand's because Princess Promotions are banned from selling these packages to residents of these countries and these packages aren't even offered on cruises in these regions.

 

O.N.E. staff are looking for their next victim.  Future Cruise still has a short list of some pretty good deals if you can make them work into you schedule.  Other than that, the only thing worth your time is purchasing FCDs and even that can be done through the App, bypassing Future Cruise all together.

Maybe they need a young Alec Baldwin to invigorate them:  Bing Videos (Very NSFW)

I was on Island last year doing a TA arriving in FLL on Dec. 21st.  The ship had minimal decorations during the lead-up to Christmas (a couple of Christmas trees here and there and some garlands in the Piazza), but we were told that it would be all dolled up for the Christmas cruise departing the day we disembarked.

14 minutes ago, memoak said:

It is the app not the medallion. We just go to a bar so much easier and faster

The gods help those who help themselves...

12 hours ago, Gretchendz said:

There are two sizes of the plastic luggage tag holders...Cunard uses the skinnier ones, but you could certainly manage with the wider ones.

 

Besides using the plastic covers makes you look like a veteran knowledgeable cruiser 🙂

Good to know that my Princess/HAL luggage tag holders will work for Cunard!

Where on the My Cunard portion of the website is the location of the luggage tags?  I was looking for it just now and it is eluding me.

Never mind, I found it.  

1 hour ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Expect fog at sometime over the course of the cruise as well.  If it's bad enough, it could eliminate a port stop if the ship can't safely dock.

The ocean in the Gulf of Maine never really warms up even in the height of the summer, so warm air off the land going over cold water will rapidly create sea fog.  And it will definitely be cooler on the ocean than on the land.  As said upthread, you could have days in the 70s (F) and nights down into the mid-upper 40s.

4 minutes ago, swabs said:

Anyone know when the activities schedule is likely to appear on the Medallion app?

 

Now only 22 days till we sail.

 

Im sure on my last years Princess cruise the events/activities appeared much sooner.

 

All info gratefully received 😎

 

 

 

What activities are you looking for?  What night various game shows will take place?  Or what time the Mah Jong group will meet?

Fly Lufthansa or Air France and hear all airplane announcements in both German and English, or French and English.  I haven't flown on Emirates or Etihad so don't know if announcements are in Arabic and English.

5 minutes ago, phabric said:

Yes, if you have his Captain Circle number you can purchase a FCD for him on your credit card on file.  I have done this a few times.  I visit the Future Cruise desk to do this, to tell them I am taking FCD for others not on the ship.

 

Before you sail, sign him up for Refer A Friend and he will get his Captain Circle Number and you each will receive $25 OBC.

Good tip on Refer a Friend.  Thanks.

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

if you know of someone cruising, they will need your Captain Circle number and email address.  

I seem to recall that you get a Captain's Circle Number as soon as you register and create an account at Princess.com.  My brother is interested in trying a cruise in the fall of 2025.  If I have him create an account and get a CCN, I can buy some FCDs for him when I sail on Princess later this year, right?

The interesting thing is that many of the senior deck officers on Princess are Italian and when they make the noon position reports (on sea days), they speak English with a strong Italian accent.