Joe33472

11 hours ago, Galveston Cruiser said:

We are sailing the Adventure of the Seas to Barcelona from Ft. Lauderdale late October 2024 then 3 days later bring Celebrity Epic back to Ft Lauderdale.

Sounds like a great trip.  At least you’ll have a few days off the ship before the TA back to the US.  These are in and out of Lisbon, right?    

I’ve noticed that there are sometimes cruises that travel opposite the normal repositioning seasons.   Have you seen these types of sailings on a regular basis?    

23 hours ago, Welk said:

We made a compromise. We’re going to fly to Italy and take the a cruise to Florida. It’ll hit some great stops. This will be our first international flight so here are our options for direct flight

 

JFK Delta

Newark on United

costs are the same but which airport would you choose? We’ll be flying to New York from S.C. To get the direct flight

Awesome!  Great that you were able to compromise and come up with a solution.  Just out of curiosity, which ship did you decide to take?   

7 hours ago, kluv2cruz said:

Is seatguru still functioning?

Yes

5 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

The dog was outside our cabin last evening and is bigger than I thought.  The owners had to back it down the corridor so we could get out then asked which way we were going as you could hardly pass it in the narrow QM-2 corridors.  The dog has long shaggy hair so dog hairs in the room must be a problem.  I assume the owners booked a QG cabin because the dog would be difficult to house in something smaller.  The owners certainly didn’t book the cabin to take part in QG dining.  I am told they have only used their table once.  They get off in New York tomorrow.

When the dog altered how we accessed the halls and how we moved about ship is probably when I would lose it and not be very happy.  Not that I would have been happy with the dog residing next door, but I wonder where they were taking the dog.  Seriously?  Taking the dog for a walk?  

Upthread someone mentioned about who brought the food on for the dog.  Just had a thought that the dog is probably eating room service from QG and eating off QG plates.  Now that's a disgusting thought. 

12 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I remember getting Orange flavored Kit Kat's in London a decade ago... I'm still hoping to find them again.

In some Asian food stores they have really interesting flavors of Kit Kats.   Matcha is one of my favorites, but I've also seen strawberry, cranberry, and a host of other interesting things.   The sweetness is also notched down a little to appeal to the target demographic.   I'd still go for the Cadbury from Ireland 🤣.  I have a business trip to Dublin in October, so I'm sure my family will have requests.  I just usually look for unusual stuff and a bunch of milk bars.   

Just now, RD64 said:

Totally agree -  North American chocolate is horrific compared to say UK chocolate. You cannot compare Cadbury’s chocolate in Canada to any Cadbury’s from the UK. Not only the quality, but there are so many different varieties that are not sold here.

Cadbury chocolates from Ireland are our absolute favorite.   So much better than the US Cadbury which is produced by Hersey and even better than Cadbury produced in the UK.   And so many varieties and really smooth and yummy.    If that’s the chocolate being handed out, okay, can I get in line?     

31 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I quite like my husband. He is allergic to some cats and some types of dogs.

 

 I wouldn’t be very happy staying in a room which has had cats or dogs as residents.

Problem is they probably wouldn't tell the next guest in that room that a large beast of a dog was the former occupant..... Hopefully they can remove the dog smell and any allergens.   Just had an awful thought..... where does a dog that size go to the bathroom.   I can't even....

59 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

But I think the airlines have started to clue in, and are taking measure to ensure people don't abuse the system anymore.

It really took the FAA to rule on this for airlines to make the change and the airlines jumped on the new rules right away.  The FAA said that emotional support animals are not service animals and that dogs are the only allowed service animals on planes.   As a frequent flyer, it was like night and day after the ruling.  People could bring their emotional support animals on board, but just had to pay the pet fee.  Much less pets (emotional support animals) flying after that. 

I'm surprised that Cunard allowed this huge dog is on the QM2.  That's terrible.   Hopefully the owner and animal are not out and about.   The FAA rules clearly don't apply to cruise ships, but I wonder if because Cunard is owned by Carnival if the ADA applies.   I love dogs, but anything that large as a service animal, really?  🙄

7 minutes ago, quacker5 said:

Tell us what you mean about not being a “cruise ship.” I’m curious.  

Technically QM2 is an ocean liner:

https://cruise.blog/2022/06/what-its-worlds-last-ocean-liner-cunards-queen-mary-2#:~:text=Queen Mary 2 is technically,between New York and England.

15 hours ago, Welk said:

Joe this may work with the 10 day layover. Shorter layover is best because my husband isn’t keen on the whole idea of being away for so long. 

Lot's of options for short stays in Europe.   QM2 would probably be part of that plan, at least one way, or perhaps round trip.   Happy planning. 

40 minutes ago, cello56 said:

I think that maybe the point that several people are trying to make is that if you are willing to spend 'X' amount of money on your cabin attendant - tip + cost of treat = X, than maybe you would be better to give 'X' to the crew member and let them decide how to spend it. If you are saying if you don't want my special treat that I chose then you don't get the extra money, then that just shows that you only want to give extra on your terms. Gifts should be chosen to make the recipient happy not the giver. I want a paycheck for the work I do - not an extra treat that someone else decides I should have. 

I can't help but thinking this when I read posts about giving random candy to crew and that would definitely be out of the question for us.  We're definitely the tipping type, but probably will just stick to cash.  But, I love the stories on here when crew mention something in passing that they miss (e.g. the root beer story) or something that they actually need that is expensive on the ship (e.g. the seasickness pills).  That's really sweet behavior.  Not sure if we'll get to know the crew that well to do something like this or insert ourselves into their private lives.  

I think I read somewhere that crew often like SIM cards with data, but I don't know if that's true.  But at least a SIM card is more fungible than say a Milky Way.   But I probably wouldn't buy a SIM card either.  

10 minutes ago, Jt4428 said:

Sorry but I don't believe that's true either.

No problem.  Like I said, I'm not an insurance professional or attorney.  Just going by what I was told. 

9 hours ago, Jt4428 said:

Sorry you're wrong about this. Pre-existing conditions relate to who's cruising not the person at home who dies.

Just read your post again.  Yes, I agree that pre-existing conditions probably doesn't matter with death.   I was thinking in my head trip interruption or cancellation due to sickness.  Death is probably a totally different thing.  I was responding to a blanket statement that pre-existing conditions don't matter to non-traveling family members.  I do think that they still matter for illnesses or conditions, but probably just not death.

9 hours ago, Jt4428 said:

Sorry you're wrong about this. Pre-existing conditions relate to who's cruising not the person at home who dies.

I'm just going by what I've been told by my insurance agent and what I read online.   I've found this on Generali's website.  They claim they are one of the few carriers that don't look at pre-existing conditions of non-traveling family members.  

I keep thinking of a scenario where someone buys a cruise a  year in advance, buys no insurance, and then two weeks before the cruise a family member goes into the hospital.  The day after the hospitalization, the cruiser buys a travel insurance policy.  The family member stays in the hospital, cruiser goes on the cruise, and then during the cruise something happens to the family member and the cruiser wants to interrupt the trip.  Is the insurance company going to pay out? 

Generali seems to be saying that they'd be one of the few that would cover this type of situation.    I'm not an insurance expert nor an attorney, and it could be Generali just "marketing" their policy as being better than others.  I looked at my travel insurance contract and can't make any sense of the pre-existing condition wording coverage.   

20 minutes ago, tscoffey said:

But how can you attest to the preexisting conditions of a third party? 

I didn't attest to my Dad's pre-existing conditions when I bought the policy, because the policy that I bought covers his and my pre-existing conditions.   He has some serious chronic health issues, but nothing putting in him in the hospital today.    Because I purchased the policy within 14 days of my first payment, the insurance company can't use pre-existing conditions as an "excuse" not to cover trip cancellation or interruption costs if my dad goes in the hospital or passes away.   

The "attestation" you ask about comes from the sick or recently passed away person's physician on the claim form.  See attached example from AIG.   AIG wants to know a lot of medical details pertaining to the illness or death.  I'd imagine with a death, a death certificate with cause of death would also be required.  

tg-sp-medical-certificate-and-other-providers-8-24-16.pdf

3 hours ago, tscoffey said:

I don’t see how this could be possible. Insurance policies are contracts, with the traveling parties being on one side of it. Other people who are not traveling, whether they are family or friends, are not part of the contract. So their conditons, preexisting or not, are irrelevant.

Yes, insurance policies are contract with individuals, but when the individual makes a claim under a policy for something that "happens" to a covered person under the policy (e.g. a family member), then I think that pre-existing conditions do come into play. 

https://www.squaremouth.com/travel-advice/can-i-cancel-a-trip-due-to-a-family-members-pre-existing-medical-condition?aid=100&src=gad&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqs6lBhCxARIsAG8YcDhd9EovLIOTlHv-PHrVTngZBlbYG_xV48S-daoLOQwDV6vaZaAeubAaAlaOEALw_wcB

Without getting into details, it was really important when I recently purchased an insurance policy that pre-existing coverage was included not only for myself, but for immediate family members, many of whom have pre-existing conditions.   If we had to interrupt or cancel our trip due to a family member going into the hospital or passing away, if the condition was pre-existing and there was no coverage, then I'm sure the claim would be denied.   By making sure that the policy included coverage for pre-existing conditions, I am told by my agent that prior medical condition(s) don't even come into consideration when making a claim.  

1 hour ago, bafinegan said:

we are also looking at doing this type of trip.  How are you getting from Barcelona to Southampton?

There is a fast train from Barcelona to Paris (TGV Inoui) that takes about 6.5 hours  Service is twice a day, except for in summer when I think that there are three trains per day.  The Eurostar from Paris to London is about 2.5 hours.  The connection would be at Gare du Nord in Paris, so you wouldn't have to change train stations in Paris.     

You could always fly from Barcelona to London, but why not make your way northwest and visit Paris a couple of days and then London a couple of days and ultimately in Southampton....    

59 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

I use $12 as the average drink price.  $71.99 will put the breakeven at averaging 6 drinks a day.  This of course would be less if you normally pay for bottled water and specialty coffee.  

This is how I did my calculation for "break even" on the DBP.  I figured that at a minimum we would need the refreshment package, so I only considered the difference between the DBP and Refreshment.  If I did my math correctly, we both only have to drink 2 mixed drinks a day to "break even".  I can drink 2 or 3 glasses of wine at dinner, so I got my half covered 😂!  I think my girlfriend will "make up" her difference with canned soda, although with the aspartame news this morning not sure if 8 or 9 canned diet soda is a good idea. 

20 minutes ago, chazzinator8 said:

On Ovation in May, they were adding the espresso machine to the Sorrento's pizza right next door (through the open doorway in your 1st pic). It's in the area to the left of the pizza ovens. It wasn't ready yet during my cruise but that might the case for Odyssey as well.

In this area?  That would be great.   We love lattes and specialty coffee.  Looking at a Cafe 270 menu, we might even indulge in some of those coffee drinks with spirits.  Those sound very yummy 😋

Just now, Wineaux007 said:

They have the machines at the Park Cafe back aft next to 270.

Thanks!  Are there also still the machines in the WJ bar area?   

From what I read, the Café Promenade on the Odyssey has specialty coffee drinks like lattes, cappuccino, espresso, etc., but when I look at videos and pictures of that space I don't see any espresso machines nor do I see menus, prices, etc.   I wondering if they make the drinks in some back space or if specialty coffee isn't prepared here.  The space looks a lot bigger on other ships, so maybe with Starbucks they stopped specialty coffee here?  

Cafe Promenade 

Cafe 270

Here I clearly see an espresso machine. 

And I see at the Windjammer Bar what appears to be an espresso machine behind the bartender.  

Found the email in my trash.   My faith is restored in Cunard.   Very professional email.    

On 6/22/2023 at 3:59 AM, NE John said:

The local Port Authority (and even harbor pilots) control the ins and outs of docking and cruise lines have little control of that. 
However, Cunard can do a better job of explaining why there was a change. It seems that so many complaints on these boards about Cunard center on their poor communications with pax. 

It's been a crazy last two weeks for me, but I don't remember getting anything from Cunard about the change in the length of our cruise or earlier arrival date in NY.  We're booked on the westbound TA scheduled to leave Southampton on 6/23/24.   I've searched my emails and nothing....  I just happened to be up early this morning with insomnia reading posts and stumbled across this thread.   I checked my balance due and the fare has been prorated for the shorter duration of the cruise.   So, as far as communications from Cunard, I'm going to keep searching, but seriously doubt that there was any notification... 

On 6/21/2023 at 11:12 AM, foodsvcmgr said:

Clearly maximizing one’s time and enjoyment aboard QM2 are paramount, but this is a rare opportunity to revert to the design speed of the ship, this is certainly not all bad news IMO.

Yes, not bad news for us.   We're on one of the shortened voyages, so one less sea day doesn't really change anything for us.   We'll just change our strategy knowing we'll have less time onboard.  Bright note is that we saved a lot of money.  Didn't even have to call up or rebook.  

On 7/1/2023 at 10:47 PM, Welk said:

We are ready for a transatlantic trip. My preference would be leave the states go to Europe stay a few days or longer and then cruise back to the states. I’ve been reading forums and looking at cruises from different lines and my eyes are crossing. I am hoping maybe a few of you have something like this booked and can help narrow my search. We usually cruise NCL or Royal Caribbean but will entertain almost anything. This may be the only time I can get my husband to do such a long trip so I want to see as much as I can. Any guidance would be so appreciated. 

I looked into R/T cruises to Europe and there are not a lot of option as most ships reposition to the Mediterranean in spring (mostly traveling late March and all of April) and return to the US in the fall (Mostly October and early November).   I couldn't figure out any other solution for R/T that didn't involve the QM2.   

So, in April 2024 we're taking RC Odyssey from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome and then the QM2 back to NY in late June.  That puts us on the ground in Europe about 7 weeks.   There was an earlier QM2 transatlantic to NY in June, that would have shortened the time on the ground to about 5 weeks.   But we figured what's another two weeks.   There was also a May 16 Southampton to NY that would have put us on the ground about 10 days, which wasn't enough time for all we want to do, but that might work for you as you mention staying in Europe a few days.   Maybe this would get your husband on board if it wasn't too much time in Europe?   

Originally, we really weren't too excited about the QM2, but the more we read and research, we are getting very excited.   Definitely a different experience than RC, which should be pretty fun.  I did a little research on the ocean shipper thing, but that was way too "rustic" and I don't think I could ever convince my SO that that was a viable mode of transportation.   

43 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Well, it used to be... nowadays, it seems that the "little black dress" for men and women is a jogging suit or sweats. Amazing the sheer terror that "jacket and tie" induces nowadays. I actually think more among men in their 40s-50s than even younger guys. If I hear "who wants to wear a tie on vacation" one more time, I am going to be sick. 

 

I'd personally opt for a navy blue suit over black.. in a pinch, you could wear the jacket or trousers with something else. Frankly, a smart dark suit looks better on many men. 

 

But for gentlemen, dressing for Cunard is dead easy. Just is. 

Being someone in the age range you mention, I see both sides of the issue.  At work, I would say my attire is business casual 98% of the time and 2% business formal.   When on vacation, I tend not to want to be even business casual.   But it's not that difficult to put on a jacket and tie, so I see your point too. 

9 minutes ago, shippmates said:

Hope you can figure out how to take your formal wear as you would miss out on many things on the ship due to the dress code.  Enjoy your voyage.

FOMO is making me ship our formal clothes to Southampton so that we don't miss anything.  I also want to feel dressed appropriately as I'm very susceptible to peer pressure and like "fitting in".