tiggis

For travel to the terminal we asked our hotel to call a taxi when we were ready, and it arrived very quickly.  Late morning is generally a quiet time for taxis.  Leaving the terminal, there was quite a long queue for taxis, and some drivers didn't want a trip to the airport, but the line moved quickly and there was a marshal.  I don't think we waited more than about ten minutes or so.

We travelled in QG to and from Barcelona last autumn. I can’t remember the exact time we were given for check-in, but it was around 12.30. We were on board soon after. Similar to Southampton, therefore. Disembarkation times depended on whether you were on a Cunard flight - if so, you remained in board until an appropriate time.  (When we boarded at lunchtime some departing passengers were still leaving, which created some congestion on gangways.) if making your own arrangements -as we were- disembarkation from QG was around 8.30. We found the Barcelona terminal to be pleasant and efficient.  We took a taxi there from a city hotel and a taxi to the airport on departure - again, no problems. 

But the stock market doesn’t appear to be impressed by the spate of recent news. The share price has dropped around 20% over the past couple of weeks.

Cunard seem to invite bids irrespective of whether there are any vacancies at the time of making the offer. Presumably they want to be prepared in the event of cancellations. This happened to us on a recent Christmas cruise where we heard only around a week before sailing that our bids - well above the minimum - had not been successful.

On QV now, in the Canaries. Actually there are only a few Christmas jumpers or decorated stateroom doors. And only a handful of children, all well-behaved. Turkey was just one of a number of main courses on the day. I had halibut with lobster and king prawn. Also on the day there was a carol service with lessons read by a range of crew, and a visit from Santa in the Queen’s Room. We have found it very enjoyable so far, and now have lovely weather. The only downside for me is the somewhat tacky Christmas Muzak piped around the ship (reminds me of Tesco). But the live music is diverse and, as usual, excellent. And New Year still to come. Can’t argue about the high prices, but that’s the norm virtually everywhere at Christmas. 

Actually we did get a bill for our two free bottles, which I was asked to sign. The bill totalled $0.00!

We were also in QG but only for the first week of the OP's cruise.  I agree with all the comments the OP made.  Just a couple of additional points. Our 'free'' bottle (in a Q4) was actually Australian sparkling wine - not champagne. I don't know why.  (Another bottle of even less impressive sparkling wine appeared later in the week.).

I thought the bars - at least the ones we visited  and at the times we visited - were rather quiet.  I wondered if the imposition of Spanish IVA (10%) throughout the cruise (and not just in Spanish waters) might have had an effect.

In the Grill, our sommelier, as well as serving my bottom of the range rose, had the much greater challenge of attending to a party of two French couples, who were clearly wine connoisseurs.  Each night they had what seemed to be an expensive bottle of claret, which the sommelier had decanted in advance. He seemed to enjoy this interaction, and the French seemed very satisfied.

To answer the OP’s question, tips in any major currency are fine. The crew have currency exchange facilities. I used pounds on a recent cruise (though not for room service, which we did not have).

34 minutes ago, durante said:

On the current Med voyages, afternoon tea is served on embarkation day

I’m sure it wasn’t offered in Barcelona on 9 October. Indeed, our muster station was the Queen’s Room, and along with others who embarked that day we were required to attend there at 4 pm. But scones etc were available in the Lido, as they are every day. 

Cunard also dropped off at the Science Park last Sunday. The daily programme said that the dropping-off point was determined by local authorities. Maybe the size of the ship, and therefore the number of buses, has some relevance.

Also on this cruise. Here are just a few comments from a QG passenger (having bid successfully for an upgrade). Generally everything is fine but we are low maintenance. 
Boarding was very efficient and we boarded exactly at the time we were given. Surprisingly there was no health questionnaire and more generally there isn’t any pressure to use sanitizers on entering restaurants.

Stateroom champagne is actually an Australian wine! In-room canapés seem somewhat improved from when I last experienced them.

Spanish VAT is levied throughout the voyage, so all drinks have 25% added (including the service charge). The Commodore Club was very quiet last night, which might be a consequence. 

Dress code observance is a bit patchy, especially in public rooms on formal nights where the code is supposed to apply. And at least one man on the first formal night was not wearing a tie in QG.

In the launderettes there is now a notice (apparently very recent) entitled launderette etiquette!

We have been given 12.45 but are in QG. I suspect the boarding times are more relaxed than usual because the ship doesn’t sail until late evening. But of course that is no consolation to the OP.

The one consolation is that new passports are currently being processed in around one week, assuming you apply online. Make sure you get photos that are verified and come with a code (which you enter during the application process and avoids the need to scan a photo).

In Club and the Grills there are several larger tables for parties (eg family groups) and for those that want to share. So if everyone wanted a table for 2, there wouldn’t be enough of them. Cunard are therefore being cautious in not giving guarantees ahead of boarding. In practice, there is usually no problem as there is sufficient demand for the larger tables. Sharing can actually work well, if that’s what you prefer, even with people able to arrive at different times. 

Booked only a couple of weeks ago on a QE Med cruise in October in PG, and earlier this week we received the invitation to bid for an upgrade. Every QG category was available. We went for Q4, at a little above the minimum bid price, and barely 24 hours later heard that we were successful. Very happy with this. I assume that this cruise is not heavily booked.

Can you choose your reserved table or do you have to accept the one that is allocated to you?

Having done this recently at Dover, I can report that it went very smoothly. Saga use CPS, who take the car from you at the terminal and it was only a few minutes walk to collect it on return. One advantage of self- driving is that you can arrive when you want (we were on board by 12.30) and are among the first to disembark.

But if you are making your own way to Dover (as we are tomorrow) boarding officially starts at 1pm. 

So it seems to me that all these discounts, from 35% downwards, are from a notional price that very few people pay. No doubt a few sales are at full price (perhaps when a vacancy appears on a sold-out cruise) but judging by the regular ads in the press and in Saga emails, discounts seem to be the norm whenever you book.  Having said that, a 35% discount is obviously better than say 20%, but it is surely not quite as beneficial as the headline number makes it appear.

There were four formal evenings on the 21-day Christmas/New Year cruise. 

Captain Tanner was asked about this at a Q and A on Discovery last week.   I don’t remember everything he said in reply but two points were that some remedial work was scheduled for dry dock (this week) but that the  problem would never be entirely eliminated and was an issue for other cruise ships as well. 

Although I didn’t go myself, the daily programme during the Christmas cruise on Discovery asked those interested to book in person during the half hour before each class. There seem to have been two classes for both watercolours and crafts on sea days (morning and afternoon ) but I think you could only go to one of each every day. 

Currently on Discovery and it looks like it’s still only house wines that are available by the glass. 

Thank you. I’ll try to make contact later today. I do find it curious that the pre-embarkation letter does not even mention luggage tags.