ak1004

I was a bit sarcastic, my apologies.. This was our 17th cruise, we sailed on 10 different lines, so probably slightly beyond newbies at this point. Every line has its pros and cons, and every line has its loyal cheerleaders. We all have different preferences, and It's wonderful to have choices. Cunard is probably one of the best lines for TA, we would not do it on a line like Oceania. But it's important to see both the pros and the cons of each line so you can choose wisely. Of course those who prefer to stick to one line only, it's perfectly fine, it's their choice. I was trying to share our experience and observations. They are ours and ours only, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I learned a lot of very useful information from CC, just trying to give something back.

Sure. I could ask to embark the ship in 20 minutes instead of 2 hours. I could ask for faster and free internet. I could ask to come to dinner anytime I wanted and not to be tied to a 15 minutes window. I could ask to have the same food and service as suite passengers. I could ask not being chased by photographers every evening. I could ask not being dime and nickel for every small bottle of water, cappuccino, espresso etc. I could ask to dine free in all specialty restaurants. I could ask not circle around the buffet searching for a table. I could ask for a lot more things.. would it help?

It's great that Cunard works for you! No need to try anything else. Apparently it was just us who got bad waiters, wire hangers and all orher inferior stuff. It was our fault that we didn't know that you can actually ask for soap bars, robes, customizable meals, flexible dining, better and free internet, no lines etc Silly us..

This is why I got my water in plastic cups on few occasions..

I wasn't referring to serving ladies first - this is how it should be. I was referring to serving food across the table. To be fair, our waitress at dinner always did it the proper way. In fact, she was excellent. But our waiters at lunch consistently served food across the table. Maybe waiters at dinner and lunch get a different training..

When you are used that your waiter serves your spouse first, then goes around the table and serves your food, it's very noticeable when they serve the meals across the table. Of course you wouldn't notice if you don't know that it could be different.. Well, I guess you were more lucky than me.. Too bad I didn't take a picture of our wire hangers..

Waiters serving your dishes across the table and waiting for your water to be re filled every single time are not my definition of wonderful service. Yes, you can ask for everything. But the definition of luxury is that you don't have to ASK for things.

Maybe once they stop call themselves a luxury line and recognize that they are a mass market line, like Celebrity and Princess, things would look different. So bring your own bars of soap, your own conditioner, your own hangers (Cunard has those cheap wire hangers), your own bath robe etc etc. I guess we have different definitions of luxury..

So this is now the definition of luxury according to Cunard.. bring your own supplies. Maybe also bring your own router for the wifi.

I check my spam every day. There was no survey.

no soap bars, only liquid soap. No conditioner.

Our waiter told us we will be getting a survey in a few days, but I guess she was misinformed. There is no point to write any letters. It is what it is, and it will not change. I knew exactly what to expect when we took this cruise, so no major disappointments. It's just when you drive a Mercedes, it's difficult to go back to Toyota..

As mentioned many times, many passengers have elderly parents and need to stay in touch. I understand that for some it might be difficult to understand but different people have different needs and priorities. Decent and usable internet is a necessity for some of us. We would never take this cruise if we knew it's that bad and till this is fixed, we will not return to Cunard. I think this just shows how much Cunard "cares" about their customers. Btw almost a week after the end of the cruise and we still didn't get our survey.

Interesting that most other ships figured it out somehow.. including the older ships. The internet on Crystal Symphony which was the same age as QM2 was excellent. It's all matter of money. Cunard cuts corners in every possible way. They brought us water in plastic cups on few occasions.

Well, our experience with Cunard just getting better and better. After worst embarkation experience, almost unusable internet, mediocre food and service, we now found an extra charge from Cunard on our credit card. The first charge was in line with the final statement, but after 2 days there was another charge of $149 USD. No notice or email has been sent. We contacted Cunard, but I'm not very optimistic that we will hear back. What a terrible customer service!

It's terrible. We are in the same boat - have elderly parents, and on TA crossing where you cannot use ports internet or call using your cell provider plan, it was very stressful for both of us. To add insult to injury, they refused to provide us a refund, and the excuse was that we used too much data.. well, of course we use data, continuously trying to connect or use skype with not much success.

Anyone has an update on this?

I think it's pretty clear - they want to encourage you to book D2D because they charge a pretty large premium compared to P2P (in our case it was $2,750 CAD while the economy flights are around $1,200 CAD, plus maybe couple hundred for transfers).

Our impression was that the bed was somewhere between queen and king (US sizes), my estimate would be around 175-180 cm.

Yes, we did. We came with the right expectations, and this was the key. There is no point to compare Cunard's food and service with lines like Oceania - they are in a different league. As long as you are aware of it, there is no reason not to enjoy the cruise, especially with the London theater at sea which was absolutely fantastic.

Just got "Your Cunard voyage" brochure by mail, 2 days after the end of the sailing. What a joke..

I just found out that Cunard was charging my credit card each time there was a new charge instead of one time at the end of the cruise like other lines do. How cheap is this???

I remember a similar email in February saying that prices will increase on February 28th. I believe they increase prices for most sailings every 3 months, usually by $100-200 depending on the category. And it applies to both P2P and D2D rates. So the title of the email is confusing but it's the same as before. Prices increase not expire.

We are on the QM2 now. Embarkation was terrible with people standing outside for almost an hour with no water and nobody cares. The whole process took almost two hours and was extremely chaotic and unefficient. One of the stations was answering a questionnaire with exactly the same questions that we filled in the mandatory health declaration at home. The cruise is Theater at sea. To say that it's outstanding would be an understatement. It's a one in a lifetime event. Shows, workshops, activities and lectures all the day. No dull moment. The balls in the Queens room are wonderful. Other aspects: food is very mediocre with limited selection. We left the MDR in the middle of the meal on few occasions and went to the buffet. Nobody seemed to care or ask us what's wrong. The buffet is not much better but at least a bit more selection. Verandah the specialty restaurant was slightly better but not worth the $45 extra fee. To add insult to injury they offered me to add two prawns to my steak for $10 extra charge. Service is good overall, nothing special. A typical nass market service, comparable to Celebrity or Princess. Examples: They don't escort guests to their tables at dinner anymore. Yesterday a waiter at lunch asked me if I want my courses all together or one by one. Your water is not refilled on a regular basis. Internet almost unusable. We did couples massage. Definitely expected more for $412. The ship is around 70% capacity. Still feels crowded sometimes especially in the buffet. long waiting times for elevators. Masks optional. About 40-50% still wear them.. Overall everything is according to our expectations. We expected great entertainment and average food and service and this is exactly how it is. Any questions you are welcome to ask.

Does anyone know when the rest of 2024 itineraries will be published?