pengu

I got a private message from Cunard on Friday in reply to my enquiry regarding Egypt telling me alternate plans were currently being made but no specific details. Can't say I'm surprised but I'm disappointed and relieved all in one.

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Me too ! I wish I was there !

Me too Kathi! Can't wait to meet you in Dubai.

Three words, pengu: 'freedom of expression'. And I always speak for myself. I thought that's what one does when posting :)

 

Anyway, it was nice to see QE this weekend. It will be even better to look at in Venice, sans gargantuan, tacky banner.

Obviously you missed my point Austcruiser84: When I said speak for yourself I meant about yourself. If you want to go down the road of denegrating a culture, especially one you apparently claim to be your own, then expect backlash. As someone else has already pointed out, the Australians that frequent Cunard aren't really the types that you described. While I can understand your disappointment/disapproval with the banner (and I have no problem at all with you commenting on that) there's no need to lay the boot into Australian culture as a whole. As far as I know, Australia didn't ask Cunard to put the banner up, it was Cunard's choice.

There are good and bad in all cultures around the world and there are certainly some aspects of Australian culture that make me cringe at times too but I would never presume to tar the entire Australian culture with the same brush.

I'm not sure why you think Australia has a 'faux' culture.

Clearly you don't hold much regard for fellow Aussies then. I think you'll find most of the Australians who enjoy Cunard found this tacky. Faux culture? Hmmm.

I too take offence to those comments. Sweeping generalisations of any culture should not be made here. Perhaps it best to speak for yourself instead of judging others Austcruiser84.

Interesting. Same thing on our RCI cruise in April 2013. Day out of Dubai and few hours after we had our pirates drill 2 skiffs were racing along side of a ship and Captain announced "Safe haven" 3 times and we were ordered away from windows. We waited in the theatre for all clear. From then on security was positioned all around the ship day and night and at night sea was flood ligted until we got to Egypt. And yes we did all the ports and all the sights during MB rule.:D

Was safe haven a code for passengers or for the pirates?

I don't know whether they were a thread for QM2, but on the way from the Gulf of Aden to Dubai a group of small, fast boats with armed arabs surrounded the ship in a distance and one boat came to pick up a small container dropped into the water. This was 40mi northeast of Muskat, 26mi off the coast on Jan 26 and was not commented by the ships crew.

 

Emergency precautions were not taken. Only few passengers noticed the situation at tea time.

wow that's bizarre!!

Money in the container you think?

The QM2 you say?

No reason. Stay calm and meet the pirates with respect as we did last year. If they let you pass you may think of egypt:D

You really had pirates last year?

One of my dinner companions asked Rachel, the World Voyage Concierge, about Egypt yesterday. She said she knew nothing about it. That may be what the company tells her to say, she may not be "in the loop", or there may be no decision yet. The six world voyagers at my table have already decided not to get off in Egypt. We have been making our wish list as to alternate ports!

 

We visited Pago Pago on the 18th, skipped the 19th (crossed the International Date Line) and today we are at sea on the way to Tonga tomorrow. I am pretty sure they will have to drag me off kicking and screaming on 9 May. I have become very comfortable in my new lifestyle!:D

Thanks for an update from the ship Kathi. If you hear anything please let us know. Are you planning on getting off in Egypt?

Cheers,

Kerry.

There is no way Cunard will risk an international incident by going to Egypt at the moment.

Time will tell. Hopefully if they change the itinerary we will get some interesting ports such as Dubrovnik, Greek Isles or Istanbul.

According to the BBC "Officials say they are taking seriously a reported ultimatum by Islamist militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis for tourists to leave the country..." Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has said Islamist militants in the Sinai peninsula are becoming a threat to foreign tourists, state TV reports.

 

Officials say they are taking seriously a reported ultimatum by Islamist militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis for tourists to leave the country..." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26248702

Thank you for sharing that article. It's making our visits to sharm el sheikh and sokhna look very unlikely. My husband is a nervous wreck. I wonder what Cunard are going to do.

Read Australian Government travel warning issued on 17th February: Do Not Travel

That's only for the north Sinai region which we are not going to.

For Egypt overall it says reconsider your need to travel.

Has anyone heard anything regarding our impending visit to Egypt? Is it likely we'll get to do excursions?

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions. Here is the update on my situation.

 

Kerry - The Hong Kong number you gave me helped. My cousin lives there and she called them for me. Turns out I need a Visa's for almost everywhere. I haven't heard back from Cunard.Uk, but now that I have all my answers it is okay.

 

I managed to find a site where I could apply for Singapore Visa online, Vietnam Visa's will be issued on the ship. The travel agent will help me with my Chinese Visa and I will apply for my Korean one myself.

 

I blasted my agent about many things. He is a novice, but not a bad person. He gave me my cruise booking number and I was finally able to get in and read all the info on my trip. Had I had this earlier I would have known the answers to most of my visa questions.

 

I am now busy looking up information and am once again looking forward to a great trip.

 

Thank you so much everyone for your support. Sorry to have clogged up this board with my problems. I know that there is slow internet on board the ship, so I promise not to talk about this anymore.

Great news!!! I'm so glad you've taken control of things!

Enjoy your trip :)

Kerry.

Thank you so much. That is exactly my situation, made harder by the fact that I live in Japan and have a permanent resident card here. For example, some of the things I am dealing with are.

Indian citizens need visas for Singapore but not if they are in transit for 96 hours or less. But those that have a Japanese card don't. Is getting off a ship and going to the airport considered a transit?

I decided to play it safe and get a visa for Singapore. It is not that difficult but expensive.

Vietnamese visa is offered online easily enough but you need to pick it up on arrival at airports. Since Americans also need Visa's, it is offered on board but the answer I need, is that I can I get one too?

I need a visa for Korea if I go, but the last few times, I cruised there. Three different ship lines, told me I needed it. I got it all three times, but at the Embassy they said, you really don't need it. The cruise ships, Insisted I that I got it, but when I got there, I did not need it.

China is strict on Visas but not that strict for Indians. I heard the rule changed so I am going to try to get it. I hope that I can manage it.

The biggest problem I had, when I wrote my first note on this topic was that the only number I had for customer service was the one in America. They refused to help me and send me on a wild goose chase.

My agent here has been trying to get answers from Cunard Japan but is still waiting after two weeks.

I don't have a booking number yet and can't log into my account.

Kerry was so nice to give me the email contact for UK. I am now waiting for an answer from them.

I am not a complainer. I love traveling, especially cruising. This is the first time that I am having problems communicating with my cruise company. That is why I thought that it might be possible for someone onboard to ask the officer in charge.

Thank you for understanding my situation. I hope to have everything figured out in a few days.

At this point though, I must say that I am disappointed with the Cunard Customer Service.

Kuruzugirl I have some information for you which might help.

I have a friend who lives in Hong Kong and he got me the Cunard number for you to phone if you need to:

+852 29528098

Hope that helps!

Kerry.

I have a jpeg of my passport on my iPhone. It means I can email it if that is ever needed.

 

 

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That's a really good idea....thanks for that!

Kuruzugirl I understand your frustration. I'd be pushing your TA to get your Cunard number. Cunard issues them almost immediately you book. I think they are letting you down badly. I've had mine for months - within a day of making the deposit. Good luck!

 

 

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I totally agree with Pushka....it's just ridiculous and they cannot withhold that information from you. That's why I said go and insist on it and don't leave until you get it. I've had mine for months. You need it to choose your shore excursions if you want to do any and also so you can organise your wardrobe for the formal nights etc. Put your foot down and be firm!!

I think you'll find that the crew and admin people of RCL, Princess, Cunard etc are well versed in Visa requirements for USA. Canadian and possibly British citizens. They draw the line at that. They refuse to advise Visa requirements for Aussies and other groups.

 

Is there a reason why they take passports? If visas are required pre boarding then they are checked then. I guess perhaps the local immigration people might check them en masse before entry to a country.

 

It's all gone quiet on the blog front. Must be lousy internet.

 

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I think it's to do with the en masse aspect. We cruised from Hawaii to Sydney in 2012 on RCL and they took everyone's passports, no matter what nationality. We all had to line up in the dining room the day before arriving in Sydney to meet with immigration and have our passports stamped and returned to us.

I always carry a photocopy of our passports with us when sightseeing but it still makes me nervous handing it over.

I haven't had my passport taken on Med cruises. Maybe next one will be different or it might be a Cunard thing. I'll find out in 4 weeks time, not that I'm counting or anything.

 

 

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I've had it on Royal Caribbean and Cunard. Probably some others too but can't remember off the top of my head. As I said, not something I'm happy about. If you get stuck somewhere and miss the ship it would leave you in a very awkward situation.

As for leaving passports on the ship, it is my understanding that the ships actually collect passports of certain nationalities and do not return them until the end of the cruise. You have no choice.

 

I hope things work out for you, Kuruzugirl. I hope you find someone who is helpful and informative.

I agree with you....you don't get a choice. Your passport is collected at time of boarding and not returned to you until the day before you disembark. It doesn't matter who you are. I remember lining up on the Queen Mary 2 last year to get our passports back. I personally don't like giving up my passport either but it's just the way it is.

Kerry,

Thank you ever so much! You don't know how much help that is. All I need to know really is if I can get a visa onboard for places like Vietnam. The sites say I should contact my ship's customer service. But the Cunard site had only a number that I called and they refused to help me because I was not American.

Your info will be of greatest help. I have just emailed both the ids. I know that I will have this all sorted out in a few days.

Thank you thank you thank you!

You are very welcome.

I had to email the british cunard office regarding transfers in Southampton because I couldn't get any sensible answer from the australian office, even when I rang them. I was so frustrated so I googled the UK address and was able to get a response. It took a little while as it was over christmas/new year. Good luck with it all and keep us posted with your progress.

Cheers,

Kerry.

Pushka,

I think I will get my booking number one month before our cruise. Don't even have a brochure yet.

Yes I did check the link, but it relates only to those of Indian Nationality that actually live in the States.

But all this is because India gives everyone a hard time. If I lived in India it would have been easy for me to get all the visa's.

Will you be on board the ship on the Japan to Singapore sector?

If anyone needs any advice on Japan, I would be more than willing to help.

I would email Cunard and ask them for your booking reference. Insist upon it. They will give it to you. I have been given it in the past. Once you have that you can log in and see for yourself what needs to be done. Here are their email addresses in the UK:

UK.Reservations@cunard.co.uk

wearecunard@cunard.co.uk

I would send the same email to both.

We received an email from Cunard a couple of months ago outlining the visa situation for us to visit the Middle East as we are doing the Dubai/Southampton sector.

I can only suggest that you be really firm with your travel agent and insist on the information you need regarding your booking. Don't be passive about it. Don't leave their office until you have been given what you need.

Hope that helps.

Kerry.

Australia.

I have not heard anybody official talking about it. I do know they are still selling excursions in Egypt.

Thanks Kathi....let me know if you hear anything. I'm really hoping to see the pyramids. It's the reason we booked that sector of the cruise.

How's deck 7 going? Unless we get upgraded we'll be just down the hall from you. Is there much movement when the seas are rough?

Cheers,

Kerry.

to the world cruisers who post on here, (eg. Scrapnana and Maggieou) has the probability of actually visiting Egypt been discussed on the ship at all? Still curious if we will actually get to see the Pyramids when we visit Sokhna. We will be joining the cruise in Dubai and can't wait to meet you all at the meet and greet.

Keep up the good work with your update posts. Maggiemou, we are also following you on your blog which is really interesting. And despite some of the feedback regarding your comments about the Arcadia, we are actually interested in your comparisons because we didn't read your blogs from last year. So don't listen to the negative people, just keep doing it just as you have been.

See you soon, although not soon enough!!

Cheers,

Kerry and Keith.

Australia.