maggielou362

Knew you'd have a long black dress! See, simple elegance.

One can dream. Fancy having your lady's maid divest your multiple steamer trunks of all the finery in your penthouse suite(s)! @exlondoner, I'll wager that your "boring" necessary clothes are the epitome of simple elegance, and that you look nonchalantly sophisticated while sipping your first rose at lunch on embarkation day. I admire your less is more approach but alas, I am an overgrown senior fairy princess who loves to dress up (NOT "fancy" dress, classy dress). I need the trunks!

My cupboards/wardrobes alter the size of my clothes too! From what I am told, clothing is prone to shrinking on Cunard voyages of more than one week's duration. I will soon find out.

You are right, Austcruiser. It's WAY too small/short for all a lady's ensembles, and of course one requires the suite of matching "Toilette" trunk, hat boxes and shoe cases. I think @Victoria2 is onto something, perhaps I CAN wear my evening outfits twice.

All women know that evening dresses are single-use only items. You need two of these, @david63, one each. You will also need a valet (the human type) and a lady's maid.

We won't be priority passengers, and are quite happy to wait our turn, long as we and our luggage are on board before the gangplank is pulled up! Just wondering though, if we are allocated a later check in time, e.g. 14:30 or later, is there anywhere to have late lunch on board or should we bring our sandwiches and flask of tea to have while we are waiting on the pier?

They'd probably keep one afloat and highly visible for a long time.

Well, I forgot about that option, Roscoe. NOW you're talking

Hmm, I think the Crocs are greater crime.

Apologies for the repetition, but as I have mentioned in another topic, I will be wearing my evening dresses for promenade laps, to breakfast, poolside and to the gym as well as to dinner. Other sage posters recommended avoiding plunging into the actual pool, changing into running shoes as required and bringing paper clips/clothes pegs to hoick up the evening dress while doing my laps of the ship. Otherwise it's full-on formal with jewellery and makeup, that way I can't go wrong. 😁I might even keep the dancing shoes on for promenading, they are surprisingly comfortable for such elegant shoes.

Thank you, Pushpit, sounds very sensible.

On the topic of the gym, do you need to bring your own gym towel? I mean a smallish towel to wipe off the "glow" and wipe down equipment, not a swimming towel. Or perhaps Cunard provide swimming towels for this purpose?

Sorry, @Jack E Dawson, my gift of foresight affords me only one hot tip: book as many Cunard sailings as you can! That's my sage advice, but you already knew that one, as did everyone else here. 2024 is going well thus far, I have TWO Cunard voyages booked for this year. No floating theme parks or RSL clubs for me, it will be proper ocean travel as @NE John describes.

Well, it's 15 minutes short of 2024 here in Sydney and I have been enjoying some Australian wine and reading lots of posts, old and new, on the Cunard discussion board in preparation for my upcoming QM2 voyage in six weeks. You are all so clever, witty, sharp and hilarious, I have had to stop "liking" and "laughing" in response, as there are too many of you with fabulous dry senses of humour and erudite comments. Thanks for all the information and amusement, and thanks to Host Hattie also. I don't participate in social media but I am so enjoying reading all of your wonderful contributions, I have become somewhat of a keyboard/discussion board junkie. Long may you all sail on Cunard, and all the best for 2024. Thank you all.

We (husband and I) have just booked a thirteen-night cruise on Queen Elizabeth from Sydney (home) around both islands of N.Z. and back to Sydney over Christmas 2024 and NY 2025. Reasons being: 1. I want to AVOID Christmas/NY family pressures for once (second marriage, lots of emotional baggage cluttering up everyone's tranquility, I don't really enjoy Christmas as much any more) 2. QE/Cunard will be withdrawing from regular Pacific seasons after 2025 😢 3. Christmas is SUMMER where I live 🌞, so we will be able to enjoy long light evenings as per usual at that time of year. 4. It's a home port to home port voyage so no planes, airports, transfers etc Any Christmas/NY festivities, food and decorations on the ship will be a bonus on what I hope will be a lovely holiday regardless.

Great tip, @Winchester Ranger. Makes sense to me.

Because I know I will put in more calories than I burn! I understand the maths, but life is more complex than balancing an equation 😁Thanks for your tips.

@D&N, that's fantastic, well done both of you. It can be so difficult for some of us to maintain a healthy weight. So, looks like movement is the key. No lifts (elevators), keep walking, dancing, swimming, gym, all of which I am happy to do. I really DON'T want to deprive myself as I have looked forward to this special voyage for so long. My plan will be to move, move, move. Thank you for your advice.

Thanks, @Victoria2, I think you understand my dilemma, given the great advice you have provided. My body is very efficient at storing excess energy 😉 I also looked at the photos of multiple course meals and thought "how deliciously decadent". Much as I would love to indulge in five course dinners every night, I would be in the wheelbarrow behind you, or maybe even needing the stevedores to deploy one of their cranes. Anyway, I will take all these tips on board (including the idea of NOT giving up alcohol🥂on a holiday) It's a very special and much anticipated holiday. Everything in moderation, INCLUDING moderation!

Love that, good tip but I love my desserts. Like @Winifred 22 mentioned previously with her two serves of lemon souffle, I can imagine I will be unable to resist. All the other tips are also great, I will try them all, and also stumble my way around the dance floor as much as possible. Well done for spending five weeks on board QE and being able to disembark without having to wear stretch "leisurewear". I especially like the reminder that it's a holiday.

Thank you so much for this running commentary, @Pushpit. I am excited to be boarding QM2 in Fremantle in 57 days (who's counting!) We had three lovely nights on QE pre-pandemic and I was hooked. It's been really interesting and helpful to read the daily programme and menus, and actually see your dining choices. I do have one concern regarding our upcoming voyage: how on earth do I NOT gain 20kg on our ten-night cruise? The food looks fabulous. Real hints appreciated, this is not a rhetorical question! Thank you once again, also to all the other contributors.

I can only speak from my very limited experience, but when booking directly with Cunard online from Australia I recall that the booking form specifically asks if mobility assistance is required, and if "yes" is selected, various "pop-up" reminders, advice and conditions appear, to which the passenger needs to acknowledge acceptance of those conditions. Also, the booking confirmations I have received for two voyages clearly state that mobility scooters are not permitted in the allocated cabin as below: Received 4th October 2022: Stateroom / Cat : 5023 / BZ Beds: King Bed Cabin Document Notes: No Mobility Scooters shower Only Metal Front Balcony Sheltered Balcony and received 8th November 2023: Stateroom / Cat : 6095 / BA Beds: King Bed Cabin Document Notes: No Mobility Scooters shower Only Balcony (my red emphasis added) I am not "making excuses for cruise lines" nor am I "not...really concerned about human rights issues". I hope you can find a way to enjoy your next cruise, @Sarah W.

Wear whatever you like, I like to dress up but to each their own. However, filthy feet up on furniture? Disgusting, whatever clothes you're wearing.

I hope you all have a lovely time, wills47. I really like Victoria2's idea of paying the minimum you can for an additional inside cabin for you to sleep in, while booking all three of you in QG so you can all enjoy the whole experience together. Probably worth the extra expense to ensure everyone has space and privacy when required. My dream is to sail from Southampton to NY on QM2. Bon voyage.

I am by no means experienced, but these beautiful ships ARE pieces of metal rivetted/welded /glued (well, maybe NOT glued) together and they are bobbing along on the open ocean. Surely one would expect some noise?