Altrincham Charter

First time to Italy for me today. I did the Rome and Sistine Chapel excursion. Walked loads today and suitably worn out. We had a brilliant guide. Rome was incredible and so glad that I didn't do the hop-on hop-off type of day because I wouldn't have known where to start. Looking forward to 2 sea days. 

Enroute to Barcelona on Tuesday. 

First time I've been able to log-on to the forum as I've not been on the Internet often this last week. 

I am in board and having a fab time. All ports are new destinations for me, except Cadiz. I was blown away by Barcelona yesterday. I did an open-top hop-on bus, and was on it for several hours. I will definitely be back to visit Barcelona. 

I have ventured to G32 most nights as there's always seats available and there's been a band on too. 

I had a fabulous view last night port-side from my cabin of the sunset a couple of hours after leaving Barcelona. The Captain's forecast last night of the mistral wind was spot-on as there was some movement in the early hours.  

Just had a fab morning in Marseille on the little train. 

Best wishes to you all, 

Linda. 

On the horizon heading due east to Liverpool (seen here passing the most northerly village in Wales).

Ryde webcam captured Queen Mary 2 earlier, en route to Liverpool.

I’m happy with the cabin that I’ve booked and I won’t be bidding. 
 

There’s also another reason why I won’t be bidding:
 

If you are sailing solo, you will be charged 200% of your offer amount. 

11 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

The email has just arrived so there's the answer ! The only thing is there aren't many club cabins so I'm not that optimistic. 

Details are here -

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/stateroom-upgrade#faqs

 

My email has arrived too (just opened it this morning). I am tempted to submit an offer for Britannia Club, as I would quite like a high cabin (deck 12/13). 
 

At the same time, I am also happy with the location of the sheltered cabin that I’ve booked.

I’ve never done this before and it feels quite exciting to bid for a cabin 😀

On 3/16/2023 at 5:37 PM, Host Hattie said:

Did you decide what to move to @Altrincham Charter ? Please join our roll call, we have a starboard non-sheltered balcony !

Thank you @Host Hattie. I am now in a sheltered balcony (Port).

What swayed me was the very specific tips from @Summergee and @exlondoner about having sunshine in the morning on the way south (to help get used to the heat, plus the bonus of a few days of experiencing sunrises), and then having sunshine late in the day on the way back to help with the knowledge that the ship is heading home.

9 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I agree, for a slightly different reason. Having sunny evenings going back helps mitigate the inevitable depression caused by the thought of the end of the cruise. Incidentally, although my experience of the sheltered balconies was not at the best time as we were quarantined in one, I was very impressed be the cabin and the balcony. If you are fairly tall, you can see the sea, just, while sitting down.

The perfect tip. Two good points from yourself and @Summergee.

Thank you.

Many thanks for the replies.

45 minutes ago, Summergee said:

I like port because I get the morning sun on the way down, while I am getting used to the heat, and the afternoon sun on the way back.

This is a great tip, and a scenario that I hadn’t considered. Cheers.

I am booked on the Queen Mary 2 on the 14-night sailing to the Mediterranean on 9th June. I am about to amend my booking from an Inside Cabin to a sheltered balcony.

I want to ask fellow forum members if anyone has a preference of either Port or Starboard on a sailing from Southampton to/from the Med. 

I’m after some tips about sheltered cabin position, mostly to find out if there are any reasons for or against one side of the ship or the other when heading across the Bay of Biscay and round into the Mediterranean. Any guidance or advice (or interesting insights about things to look out for or consider) are very much appreciated.

Many thanks and very best wishes.

I did the train journey in February of this year from Waterloo to Southampton Central. As a regular rail commuter in the north of England, this was the first time I had travelled by rail with 2 suitcases and a bag. I was on the 1505 South Western Railways from Waterloo on a Monday and had to travel with both cases on the empty seats across the aisle (the train manager OK’d this when I checked). No luggage space on this particular train, and also none in the other carriages that I walked through. The train was very quiet with very few people travelling that time of day. It was quite apparent that UK trains and stations are not equipped for people travelling with luggage. The rolling stock on regional trains these days is very much geared up towards commuting, which means very little luggage space. I also struggled to find any luggage trollies at Waterloo or Southampton Central. Even the platform staff at both stations didn’t know where any trollies were. Next time I go to and from Southampton to join a ship I will travel by road as it is just too stressful managing luggage by train.

On 2/27/2022 at 2:41 PM, bluemarble said:

This thread has been dormant for quite a while. To remedy that situation, here's an interesting screen capture showing QM2 in Philipsburg, St Maarten today. The other ship in the image is MSC Seaview. This image was captured from PTZtv's "Port St Maarten Webcam" found at "www.portstmaartenwebcam.com".

 

This is a fabulous capture. Here is my photo taken on the dockside that day: