Teddy123

Have just found the following on Cunard website which defines the IVA tax legislation when travelling within the EU

https://ask.cunard.com/help/on-shore/iva_tax

According to the list of 'Applicable Cruises' Spanish IVA (Bar only) will be charged on our voyage V617D during the times when we are entering, alongside and exiting Spanish ports.

Thanks for the responses to my post ;)

 

I don't want to start a debate or seem too political, but have we just identifed an advantage of Brexit to counter-act (some of) the disadvantage of the falling £?!

Of course, at the end of the day one has very little leverage in circumstances like this. However, if I had been without light in my cabin and bathroom for many hours, I would not accept a "superfluous" bottle of wine as adequate response. I would write/e-mail to the line's Head Office directly when I got home, also pointing out my disappointment with the proposed compensation.

 

All I can add is that when I complained about a shambolic flight back from the Med as part of a Cunard cruise, we got $75pp extra on board credit for an up-coming cruise. When I complained about issues on a Viking river cruise I got a very significant discount for another cruise, plus some cash. On the other hand, when I complained about serious issues on a Scenic river cruise, I got nowhere! (These were among a lot more cruises about which I didn't complain - I'm not a serial complainer!)

I find the implied criticism of my wife in earlier posts and the personal nature of other comments here unacceptable. I shall continue to wear both black and coloured ties and not only shall I be well within the Cunard code, I shall be entirely comfortable that I am formally dressed. Given the direction this thread has taken, I won't be participating any further.

I guess we may have tradition and fashion on one hand, and some degree of individualism on the other, all within the same code. As it happens I DO have a Union Jack bowtie and if I choose to wear it with a dinner suit, dress shirt and cumberbund, much as some may not like it, I am fully complying with the code. (Actually, I rarely do wear it!). It may not be traditional, but neither do I adhere to the tradition of spending my evenings ballroom dancing.

I HAVE driven hire cars all over the States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc - and most recently in Iceland earlier this year - but my wife is now getting less adventurous than she was and is not happy with the thought! so I think renting a car is probably out (as well as the question of finding parking in Montreal). So thanks for the idea, but I think we'll be sticking to Quebec.

But the dress code is NOT black tie! It is "A tuxedo, dinner jacket or dark suit with appropriate neck wear for men." Clearly the word "appropriate" lends itself to personal interpretation. I note no mention of waistcoats, even though some obviously think these should be worn - again simply their personal preference. My preference is for a cumberbund (which in my case is not "invariably being hitched up or pulled down or twisted round").

Thanks for all the comments, but having looked at all the aspects again, especially the limited number of trains and my not being too keen on 6 hours on a bus, I've decided that I'll stay in Quebec all the time (and had already been thinking of going to the falls). That way will be more leisurely and I can work round any bad weather more easily.

Thanks for all the input (although actually I AM vegetarian!)

To save anybody correcting me, I've just got back to this and realised Orleans Express is a bus not a train! (I was misled by Google maps and only a quick look at their site).

Thanks. I'd found the website of Orleans Express who seem to operate the trains (with others on the same route?) but wasn't sure about things like whether it's possible/desirable to reserve seats. And I haven't yet researched where the station is in Montreal and how to get from/to it. The ship does offer an excursion, but it's a lot more expensive and I think I prefer 3 hours on the train rather than the bus - unless somebody tells me the train journey is terrible!

We are in Quebec for 3 days and are thinking of getting the train to Montreal on the middle day. Any tips about this (eg the journey itself and what to do in Montreal) would be welcome. Thanks.

I'm not sure but I'd put money on it being for a given 24 hours, eg Monday - and then you need to pay the same again for Tuesday. It will mean I don't buy any time at all, because this is disproportionately expensive for what I want. I just hope enough people WILL pay it to keep my Carnival share price/dividend bouyant!

What people seem to be confusing is what the dress code implies and what will be seen on board, which is a downgraded version of the code. The implication is that fitting in with the latter is OK. Of course, it is not and the aim should be to comply with the code. If you join a club it's usually a good idea to try to stick to its rules, and nobody is forcing anybody to join this one.

As an afterthought to the above, I might point out that I do actually enjoy wearing a variety of quite colourful bow ties on formal nights - some of the more sober ones with matching cumberbunds. Now wearing a cumberbund really does sort the men from the boys as far as formal attire is concerned!

Despite my views expressed elsewhere in this thread, I can see that for just one formal night, some compromise might be in order! I would say IF the jacket and trousers look enough like a suit AND are worn with a long-sleeve shirt (not short-sleeve as suggested elsewhere), then a bow tie with them would be acceptable. If by "a normal black tie" you mean a tie that goes down to the waist, then I'm afraid wearing one would look as if your partner were going to a funeral! so an "ordinary" coloured tie (with a suitably restrained colour/pattern) would be best.

Now at the time i thought that was impossible,but i had been on this cruise and when you check in before going on the ship they take pictures and this is the only way possible that there could be a picture of my card

. This sounds remarkably like an accusation that somehow P&O staff have acted fraudulently. I would be very careful about making a statement like this unless there is a cast-iron case that nobody else in the world could have got the card information (ie the only time the card was used was with P&O). And if there is such a cast-iron case, the first thing to do is contact the police.

I still don't know if the original post was a joke or not, but unfortunately there are some passengers who instead of realising that following the SPIRIT of the dress code is an indication of respect for their fellow passengers, feel that they are entitled to try to bend the rules as much as they can. And "black golf slacks - the ultra lite type that can drip dry - with a cheap polyester black sports jacket" is doing that. When I see such examples, I at least console myself with a feeling of superiority that I know how to dress properly for the occasion. When I did an Alaska cruise I didn't want to cart a dinner suit all round N America for 2 weeks after the cruise ended, so I hired one on board (on Princess), as I believe is possible on Cunard. This is the "responsible" solution -or eating in Kings Court.

P&O try to achieve a solution that will work best for most, but some will always be selfish and ignore their allotted time in the hope of jumping the queue. Some people think rules are to be followed for the greater good; some think they are there to be ignored if that means personal gain.

You settle your bill by using the OBC you've bought at a much better rate than you could buy $ for - that's the beauty of this! It clearly says so on the website and many of us have been able to do so far. It's worth another try surely :confused:

 

There are clearly contradictory statements from Cunard about what can be done to buy OBC, but I agree in principle another try could be worth it. However, I already have promotional and shareholder OBC (and have bought a wine package at the 1.53 rate and bought excursions upfront because I want to be sure of getting them), so my main need for onboard spend is for $ cash when I get to the US. It's not clear to me that purchased (or other) OBC can be used to "buy" $ cash, so rather than end up with OBC I don't really need, I'll give it a miss. I'll still get cash onboard because it will be cheaper than getting from an exchange before I go, even at the CC rate of 1.30. But as I say, I agree that in the light of inconsistency from Cunard, it's worth a go in principle.

As I read it, this part of the VP is about settling your account onboard once you've run up a bill. I think it means you can use cash to settle, so you could hand over some £ notes and these would be converted at the ship's rate BUT I think we only have evidence about what the "land" rate used by Cunard is and it's possible the ship's rate is different. Still, worth exploring when onboard perhaps. Anything not settled in cash goes onto the card in $ and gets converted at the card company's rate. Of course, sooner or later Cunard will catch up with the currency markets and this loophole will close!

Not sure how it can be used (I imagine it could be used for cash), but I was told by Cunard that OBC could only be bought in $ - although I see some have managed to buy it in £ at the good rate mentioned. (I only managed to buy a wine package at this rate).

And I assume an extra benefit is that any $ I have left over can be used to pay off some of my onboard account (without any exchange rate being involved), rather than changing it back to £ - at an unfavourable rate - in the UK. This is definitely one advantage of going to the US on a ship with USD as the onboard currency!

Just spoken to Cunard about something else and asked about getting cash. Was told there is no Cunard service charge of any kind. So before I arrive in New York I can get $X cash from the Purser's desk, $X will be added to my onboard account and at the end of the voyage, the $X will be part of the total amount charged to my CC and converted to £ at the CC's (good) rate - meaning I have had the $X more cheaply than any other way (other than from an ATM in NY, but I want some cash in hand to set out with).

Just worked for me too - bought $515 wine package for £334 (exchange rate 1.53) compared with the £393 my CC would have charged me (at 1.31) - so saving of £60. Thanks to all for the tip. Without me asking, the agent said the only purchase currently charged in $ not £ is OBC.

Just checked on Google and Tabagie Giguere does seem a good bet - so thanks for the info. Lots of pages from the RTC still time out rather than displaying though (for me, anyway).