Jimmys Chippy

I think tours were the exception and were allowed to leave before everyone had cleared. They've done that before to allow early tours to get going. However, my understanding was that tours were a special exemption, and everyone else would have to wait until all passengers had been cleared. But now I gather that they didn't hold back any passengers, and people just walked off with their little blue cards as soon as they got through Immigration?

 

Was there ever an officer collecting landing cards? We went out for a brief walk, and there was nobody to collect our landing cards. At the time, I thought that was because everyone had been through immigration by then. Except for ship's security scanning our cards, it didn't feel as if anyone was paying attention to passengers going through the terminal.

Our landing cards weren't collected which meant that we could have gone ashore without having cleared immigration at all. In spite of all the bluster that seems to come from the U.S. with regards to immigration it never fails to be a complete shambles.

If you want to keep costs down take the train from the airport to Newark Penn Station then take the PATH to World Trade Centre. The taxi fare from there to Brooklyn won't be as much and you're eliminating a lot of traffic hot spots too. Getting our luggage on and off the train wasn't a problem either.

If you ever fly into Boston Logan you'll find their efficiency is just as appalling there too.

Good job they brought those ESTAs out to make our passage into the US smoother. And to think, at first some saw them as a way just to collect $14 off every visitor.

cool we have booked train into Victoria hopefully it also has room for bags

You should be alright, the early trains into London (especially during the working week) are crowded but if you're on an 11.15am one you'll be fine.

If you take the train to Waterloo the taxi rank is right outside the station, it's an organised affair so you don't have to go and hail a cab yourself. The Black Cab drivers help with your luggage and will have you to the Victoria area in no time at all.

We used the Waterloo train (in the opposite direction) earlier this month and the train was modern, punctual with place for luggage storage.

Thanks for that.

I see there is a train right to Victoria for $28 first class

It leaves at 11:15 is that enough time to get off the ship and in taxi to train station?

The station is no more than a 5-10 minute taxi ride, so yes. There are regular trains to Waterloo from Southampton which run direct too.

Another thought has occurred to me. Can anybody not see the irony here? Even the slightest hint that Cunard are tampering with the dress code brings forth howls of outrage and indignation. People protest with cries of, ‘Cunard’s formality is why I cruise with them’. And, ‘It is what makes Cunard special.’ People are even advised to seek out another less formal vessel if they don't agree.

And yet, and yet, it would appear that all this goes by the board during the dancing in the Queens Room, probably the most formal space on the vessel after the restaurants. Sweat soaked jackets are cast off like clouts when May is out.

Sweat Soaked Jackets Indeed. Persiflsge! Balderdash! it is an air conditioned room on a modern ocean liner, not the African Queen. Ok,so it can get a little warm sometimes but for goodness sake it’s not the (insert jungle of choice) Jungle. Water is to hand as are other cooling beverages.

I notice that the Gentlemen hosts keep their jackets on and they dance virtually every dance all night and I have yet to see any of them collapsing with heat stroke crying 'Water! Water!' as the strains of the last waltz die away.

 

Although, in the interest of fairness, there is a point to the contrary which has just popped into my head. If one of those ladies who are absolutely bound to catch heel or toe in their long dress, (according to someone), then the presence of exposed braces could provide a means of succour by their graspability. And being elasticated would gently lower the lady to the ground safely. But she must remember to leave go at this point to avoid the bungy jump effect. Gives a whole new colour to the expression 'Man the Braces' does it not.

MM

I like this post solely for the use of the word persiflage.

I also think that courtesy goes two ways too. Anyone who's ever worked in the service industry knows that while we all try to keep our customers happy there are always some who give scant regard to those who are trying to work, wether it be those who linger in the restaurant when everyone is trying to clear up so that they can "get home for the night" to those who don't vacate their cabin right until the deadline because they want somewhere to leave their coat.

I'd rather have my cabin available as soon as I board, so if that means that the people behind the scenes have to go in to overdrive to achieve this at the expense of a little of the courtesy we've grown accustomed to then so be it.

I'm usually too busy sulking to care.

Enjoy your return trip as well. What a shame about boarding at Liverpool, it won't help those who are pushing for a return to regular trips from Liverpool.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

There was a large amount of conflicting stories about those who wanted to depart from Liverpool and were told by Cunard that it was a sell out and wasn't possible, when in fact up until the day before you could book and board there, albeit it for an extra £700-800 per person. The numbers that Cunard quoted to passengers that Liverpool could handle ranged from 100-400. The amount of interest this cruise generated in Liverpool would have filled the ship from the North West alone, instead there seemed to be a few empty tables in the Brittania dining room which indicated the ship was not full. It seems that someone tried to keep the prices deliberately high by drip feeding cabin releases and it looks like they slipped up somewhat.

One more problem that those who wanted to board in Liverpool might have suffered is that we never knew when we left Southampton just when we'd be arriving there.

We got back Saturday morning after a few days in New York. Absolutely fantastic trip and one we'll remember for the rest of our lives. Not actually knowing what the service in Liverpool would entail when we arrived at the cathedral added to the sheer jaw droppingness of the entire event, even my stiff upper lip started to quiver!

As some have mentioned immigration at Boston we queued for about half an hour and were actually greeted by a cheerful US Immigration Officer, which I'd heard rumours that they existed but never actually seen one before. The ridiculousness of the exercise was that we were given landing cards to prove we'd cleared immigration but there was no one to collect them when we got off the ship, therefore, if we'd wanted to, could have entered the U.S. without a stamp on the passport.

I'm going to do a proper review as our four year old son loved it and we feel that there isn't a lot of information about Cunard for children, he was made very welcome by all the crew and almost everyone he met. We have cruised with seven different cruise lines before and never felt an attachment to a particular line, that changed last week. Wonderful stuff!

We are visiting Bergen, Flam,Stavanger, Geiranger and Alesund.

 

Thank you

We normally do our own arrangements rather than booking with the cruise line and all the places you're visiting can be explored very easly independently.

Bergen - There is a complimentary shuttle bus at the port which drops you right in the centre of town. It's a very picturesque place with a lovely old town and something worth doing is taking the funicular that goes up the hill overlooking the town.

Flam - The only attraction here is the railway which you are encouraged to book as they tell you the places are extremely limited and you could miss out. Utter nonsense as the train runs all day, is extremely accommodating and half of the train is available for those who aren't cruise passengers. If you get off the ship when you dock, take a short walk to the ticket office and pick the time you want to ride. One tip is to ride all the way to the summit and immediately return, if you get of close to the top to look at the hotel you may have to wait a while to ride back down as the hotel isn't worth looking at.

Stavanger - You dock in the city centre so no shuttle required. Again, a nice town with plenty of shop and restaurants.

Geiranger - Not a lot here "to do" but there is a hop on/off service bus that is reasonably priced and runs up the hills to some spectacular view points. no shuttle required as you dock close to town

Alesund - Is quite dissappointing and you may consider a trip here. There is a good view from the top of a fairly large hill which is a bit strenuos to tackle but worth it. A few shops in town are OK but we headed back to the ship fairly early.

One more tip, get up early for the sail into Flam, it's amazing.

Hi all,

 

Next year will be our first cruise and we have chosen Cunard and the QE.

 

Could anyone help me out with a few first timer questions.

 

I understand that we will be charged $ per days for tips. Would it be possible to tip the crew direct rather than pay on our credit card. If this is possible I assume the crew should be tipped in dollars?

 

Can anyone recommend a drinks package? We are not big drinkers but prefer a glass of wine with dinner and perhaps a cocktail afterwards.

 

We are causing to the Norwegian Fjords. Has anyone take this cruise and can you recommend any excursions?

 

Thank you so much

What ports are you visiting?

Anyone else having trouble today?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I've had a problem since yesterday on an iPad but no problems on a PC. On further research it is a problem suffered by many on all of Carnival Group's web sites. The problem is while there seems to be a remedy for sorting out the glitch on a PC, I can't seem to find anyway to sort it out on an iPad.

If you're planning on flying into the UK you can always try flying via Ireland. Flights into and out of Ireland aren't suject to the same hefty taxes and surcharges that we enjoy in the UK. The best way to do it is book your transatlantic flight into Dublin and then book a separate flight from Dublin into London (which are plentiful). There's a lot of money to be saved doing it this way.

The more expensive the cruise the more the people on board earned what they have

Hahahahahahaha!

*pauses for breath*

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Hi all

 

Lumber that will be the timber after you debarked it.:)

 

 

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

I thought it was removing a dog's vocal chords.

You could just do away with nautical terms like I do and simply "get on" or "get off" the boat. My room on the next cruise is in the Aloha floor and is located towards the front.

See, clear as a bell.

;)

I don't usually participate in these highly opinionated threads. But this one took the cake.

 

I feel bad for you that you think that your grandchildren have been raised such that they would be happier with the nanny at home, than with their family, on a vacation.

 

Would it not make more sense to expose your grandchildren to travel with their extended family along, and take this opportunity to teach them respect and courtesy and politeness and how to properly travel and behave in new situations, all while celebrating their grandpa's 60th? If you don't teach them, who will?

 

In our experience, poor behaviour is not restricted to "younger demographics". We have witnessed, on Princess, many examples of all ages behaving poorly: Yes there are some teens racing about, but there are also teens behaving well. The adults can be rude too. From the man in his 70s that barked at the pizza staff every day "Whadya got? Gimme the special"; to the seniors in the buffet who bark drink orders, impatiently wave empty mugs at the staff; to the large families in the dining room occupying two tables for 10 yelling back and forth to converse, and staying late at first seating not respecting the fact that the dining room staff have to prepare for 2nd sitting; to the groups of adults who play cards all day in the Horizon court, taking up tables and tables so other guests cannot sit and eat lunch; to the adults who reserve loungers right by the pool then disappear somewhere else for hours on end preventing others from using the seating; to the seniors who push onto the elevators without allowing those wishing to get off to do so first (even when we clearly state that we are trying to do so)... All on Princess.

 

We respectfully disagree with you and have found that a Princess cruise ship IS the ideal place for OUR kids. DD is 14 and has been on 11 cruises, and DD is 12 and has been on 10 cruises. Most of them were 8-10 day itineraries. Our kids do not want to cruise RCI or Carnival again, or try Disney. Our kids LOVE Princess. They do not find it an inconvenience to behave appropriately, at home or while travelling. They look forward to travelling and do so with great enthusiasm and awesome behavior.

 

However, given your stated preference for adult company (no matter their manners), perhaps you might want to consider Azamara or Regent or Oceania - one of the more adult oriented cruise lines.

 

 

Rant over.:eek:

I fully concur.

I know we will not ba assigned a cabin for at least a month but I was wondering if maybe I could get a ballpark location from the information on my receipt. Any ideas?

Cabin Type: Oceanview Stateroom

 

Category: OF

 

Cabin No: GUAR

You'll be located no lower than deck five and no higher than deck fifteen.

Flights into Vancouver, compared to Seattle, cost significantly more, so much so that other than my first visit to Vancouver to visit family I've flown into Seattle and got the Greyhound into Canada.

In the USA tipping has become an additional tax.

But on a cruise ship it's a "tax" that people know they will be expected to pay when they book their holiday. British people can use the ethical, cultural or "I like to tip personally" rubbish all they like, the fact is they'd rather keep the £7 per day in their pockets than put it in someone else's.

And that's not all British people by the way, but a bloody big chunk of them.

I take exception to the statement that Aussies don't tip. Aussies do tip but normally it is for service above what should normally be expected from an employee. I (and I am sure there are many others around the world) object to having to tip someone just because they are doing their job (as you have to in USA). The impressions that Aussies don't tip comes from a situation in Australia where we are paid fair wages/salaries therefore we don't have to rely on tips to supplement my wages. My understanding is that if US employers paid appropriate/fair wages then the tipping issue would not be such an impost on people from the rest of the world.

 

There, that will get people (particularly in the US) stirred up.

There is a lot of truth in what you say.

However.

When on a cruise ship you are not in the UK/Australia so you abide by the customs of life on board that vessel, and the custom on a cruise ship is to tip certain sections of the crew.

Pay the $12 per day and move on.

Both my husband and myself have medals and would never wear them in civilian dress, smacks (in my opinion) of 'Look at me'. We actually play the 'lets see who has their medals on' game on formal nights. Medals are for uniforms or Remembrance Day events, not formal night.

A mate of mine who was once in the RAF recently emigrated to Canada. He commented on Facebook the other day that the Rememberance Service in Calgary was well attended and respectfully done. Cue loads of people thanking him for his service which he gratefully accepted. He always turns out in full uniform for Rememberance Day. And weddings. And funerals. His job in the RAF? Ground vehicle maintenance, and his contribution to our freedom (which is not under threat) was oil changes to Land Rovers in Lincolnshire, North Wales, Alberta and a couple of months in Germany.

My personal thoughts it should only be done on a significant historical date of remembrance. At other times it is blatant self promotion.

Totally agree.