arxcards

Pretty much. Thanks. I have met Chris Frame on a couple of cruises, where he often lectures on the history of Cunard or cruising in general. I have long been a fan of his work.

Yes, the liner days were all about speed. QM2 was built with speed in mind, but also partly compromised by the need to be a good cruise ship too. She likely has the fastest top speed of any current passenger ship, but doesn't use it - not because of comfort, but fuel economy. 10 years or so back when the price of fuel shot up, they added a day to each of their Transatlantic voyages, so they were no longer trying to get from Southampton to New York as quick as possible, which is against the ethos of a line voyage. Even at speed though, QM2 is quite comfortable. Yes, a cruise ship is generally built for comfort, and will usually slow down when conditions aren't favourable. On one of our Noumea to Sydney crossings, Radiance was going 5 knots faster than we have travelled on QM2. The current must have been good that day, as we were going faster than the ship specs say for her top speed. It was a little less comfortable, but a fun afternoon to soak it up on the promenade deck.

It is just in the terminology. Cruise ships are for holidays, cruise liners are for transport. Way back when, ships were used for emigration and transport, with the Transatlantic route being the most frequented. The decline of passenger liners was due to the advent of reliable international passenger flights. In that sense, QM2 isn't really a liner either. Sure, some passengers use a Transatlantic as a line voyage instead of flying, but most just board again and do the return trip, aka a B2B cruise.

Reserving these quarantine cabins is part of the protocols, regardless of the number of infections expected. Nobody knows how many will be filled until the cruise is underway. From what I recall, this cruise was pretty much sold out prior to those protocols being imposed. There may have been a few that chose to be bumped because they didn't want to be jabbed to cruise, but it is otherwise hard to move people to another cabin of their choice when the ship is effectively full. Still wrong to downgrade you, but I am pretty sure it is covered in the updated passenger contract. Yes, I would be peeved too. I have checked our 2 x Coral bookings, and still have the same cabins on D and A decks. When we get the time, we would love to do one of these cruises. In the current climate, I would prefer 4 weeks in tender 14 vs it being split into 4 x 7 night cruises in a mini-suite.

Definitely not an upgrade, but a downgrade from BE to BF. You should have been offered an option of taking a different cabin, moving to another cruise, or getting a refund. Tough times for them, but they shouldn't be downgrading your booking without your consent.

Given that the 28 nighter usually sells out so quickly, it is also possible that some have been given offers they couldn't refuse and changed to another cruise, or even bumped from the cruise to make way for quarantine cabins.

Have you technically been upgraded? They always do "upgrades" to an identical cabin on a higher deck, and because it is considered a better booking category they do it. The only way to avoid that is by electing "no upgrades" when you book. Same as with other lines, a "complimentary upgrade" isn't communicated and it just shows up that way in the personaliser. That said, it looks like you have been shifted from a BE cabin to a BE cabin, which isn't an upgrade, so should be communicated. Still, I can't see there will be any real difference in motion from an aft cabin on deck 8 and an aft cabin on deck 12.

We have cruised on Jewel & sister Pearl. Hard to compare directly, but I think the general vibe is closer to Royal than the others. We cruised in mini-suites on both, and found them to be nice, but very compact for that grade of cabin. If you like fixed dining, NCL doesn't really cater for it. The various restaurants are good, and it works well to mix and match where you dine each night. If there is a restaurant you prefer, it is easy enough to lock in same table - same time for the following night. Public areas are a bit more contemporary than Princess. The ship has a relaxed feel, and we used to love an afternoon drink each day at the aft bar. I can't recall much about the entertainment, good or bad. Sounds like an awesome cruise.

After previously languishing at anchor off Cyprus for several months, Encounter's call there this time was just a brief service call. All aboard towards the Suez Canal. Brisbane, your only scheduled full-time ship is on the way

It appears Coral Princess will be spending a lot of time in Australia & New Zealand, so it is only fair that she gets her own thread as she prepares for her transit to Brisbane. It is the first time Coral Princess has been sighted in front of a camera for a while. She is currently berthed at terminal 19 in Fort Lauderdale. She will remain here till tomorrow morning (our time), then back to sea for a bit before returning to the same berth for another short stay. It is expected she will start he journey to Oz next week, likely Wednesday (guesstimate), via the Panama Canal. After a service stop in Papaeete, it is onward to Brisbane for the morning of 7th June. She will spend much of her time at the new international terminal until her 1st passengers depart on 16th June, except for a couple of days at sea between 11th & 13th June.