safarigal

Queen Mary 2 has become our ferry of choice! Cheaper than BA, and much more fun 🙂

We had no trouble transferring from Queen Victoria to Queen Mary 2 in 2023. It was arranged by the pursers office. We left our bags outside our door on the last night as usual, and they were in our new stateroom soon after we got on board QM2. There was a coach that transferred us between the ships. We were the last people to leave Queen Victoria and when we boarded QM2 we were able to go straight to our stateroom, but that may have just been luck.

I think we will have to!

I'm excited about the information, and that there will be a dedicated viewing area in the heart of the action on the waterfront, but it will be standing only. For those of us shorter people we may not actually get to see much, but at least we will be able to hear!

I imagine there will be. Our around Africa cruise on the Sojourn has been re routed, and I just got word that the Island Princess has been rerouted, so Cunard can't be too far behind unfortunately.

Looking at the timing of the eclipse in August 2026, it seems like it will be quite late in the day - unlike yesterday's one which was great because the sun was overhead and everyone on the Emerald Princess got a great view. In August the sun will be closer to the horizon, so may not be as easy to see from all around the ship. Never the less we have booked the Queen Victoria cruise. There is a lot to be said for a Med cruise in August eclipse or no eclipse! Like HaveDog WillTravel we had a spectacular view. Our photos are on yesterday's entry for my blog at www.whereissafarigal.com which will give you an idea of the treat in store for you if you see the eclipse from a ship!

My blog from the Queen Victoria 2017 world cruise is at www.whereissafarigal.com. The trip is "Across the World in 80 Days".World cruises are the best. We are currently on a 50 day cruise which is fine, but give me over 90 days any day!

Ha Ha! I was wondering what/who on earth this Fortuna Luck woman was, so I googled it, and up came this thread!

Fortuna Luck on Sapphire at the moment is engaging and funny, she has boundless energy. I was also not sure what exactly her role is, but she certainly makes Bingo more fun 🙂

I had a great time singing in the choir a few years ago. I agree, it really is one of the things that makes Cunard special! Although I'm not sure that it was the best song to sing, but we were about to hit the COVID crisis.

Thanks!

......and that is something I am sooooo looking forward too, but I will miss Roscoe!

I so wish I was on board with you and Deirdre and Kim. I am lookinf forward to following along 🙂

Thanks!

Thanks!

I don't have all the ports, but these are the new segments for the Serenity world cruise: March 27 Fremantle Perth ----------- Aprl 06 Singapore April 6 Singapore -------------------- April 20 Mahe April 20 Mahe ------------------------ May 05 Cape Town May 05 Cape Town ------------------- May 16 Tema (Accra) May 16 Tema ------------------------- May 27 Las Palmas, Canary Islands May 27 Las Palmas ------------------- Jun 8 Miami, Florida

Thanks for posting this. I always appreciate your port information - very useful 🙂

Queen Mary 2 has just rerouted her world voyage to go back to Southampton via South Africa rather than through the canal. I wish Crystal would make their announcement soon!

Thank you all for your helpful advice. When we received the bill for our drinks in the bar we noticed that there was a space for gratuities. On other lines the gratuities have been automatically included, but even os, on some there is still the space to add a tip. We do want to show our appreciation, but weren't sure whether this was expected or not 🙂

Do you need to add a tip to the bar and specialty restaurant bills? If so, what would be the usual amount?

Yes, we had this problem trying to book our shore excursions. I ended up calling the UK to give them my credit card number.

I had heard from a crew member on board that QM2 was going to give the Red Sea a miss, but they hadn't let them know what the alternative plans would be. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but time will tell.

Thank you so much - that totally answers my question. Yay!

Do they supply bathrobes (dressing gowns) in the superior suites on Balmoral?

We are in PG for the QA maiden, and our booking shows us as being 48th on the waitlist for the PG dining room which I am hoping is yet another computer glitch.