fantasy51

The Dance Hosts are instructed to look for women who are sitting alone and to approach them and ask if they want to dance. Sometimes it helps to sit in the front row so they see you. It depends on the calibre of the hosts whether or not they look further than front row centre. If you have not been approached in the first session, then arrive to the next one early and look for them as they enter the ballroom. Introduce yourself.

The dance hosts do not need to be tipped. I have never heard of anyone tipping them. However, you may want to offer them a drink at some point as a thank you. You are under no obligation to do so and they will not expect it.

I will add that there are some hosts who are perfectly fair and dance equally with every lady, but there are other hosts who have favorites and ignore the larger ladies, which is sad. Being a good dancer does not guarantee you lots of dances either. Make sure that the three of you enjoy yourselves together, no matter how the dance hosts behave.

fantasy51,

 

I'm getting to this thread a bit late, but if you haven't found it yet, I believe the name of the French cryptographer you are looking for is Vigenere.

 

Regards,

John

Thank you so much, Bluemarble. After googling 'cryptographers' so many times, I'm not sure how I came to write it as 'cartographers'. (embarrassed grin)

With your help, I have once again decrypted Cruachan's message.

helpq ueenv ictor iahas beenh ijack edbyd ressc odede niers andia mbein gheld priso nerin mycab inand amonl yperm itted onebr eakfa stper dayag entde adcat hasgo neove rtoth edark sidea ndiha venob ackup

There was a Maitre d' in Britannia on QV who remembered me from cruise to cruise and managed to find me a table of interesting people each time after I'd booked late and hadn't been assigned a table. I had planned to give him something extra on the last night but then ended up ill and in bed by 6pm. On my next cruise I found he had been transferred to the Lido so I thanked him retrospectively. It was only $20 but he could not have been more delighted and greeted me with a smile for the rest of my cruise. I think he appreciated most the fact that I had remembered from one cruise to the next what he had done for me.

Snowy01, I remember one year when I had bought European travel insurance and then found a good last-minute Transatlantic, so had to get Worldwide cover. I was able to have it added on for a small price. If you are regularly not taking advantage of the worldwide part, you could have a conversation next time you renew, to see if it's possible to add it on as and when needed.

I go through John Lewis. My annual multi-trip insurance, taken out in April 2016, cost me £174 to cover worldwide. (That's what it says. I thought I arranged for Australia but not USA but I must be mistaken.) It is underwritten by Ageas Insurance and allows 45 days maximum on any one trip, but as many trips as I like. It includes personal possessions.

I have two pre-existing conditions but they are not the sort that would cause hospitalisation (e.g. asthma, ME/CFS) so the company and I decided that they are simply not covered by the policy.

When I arranged this last year, I knew I would be in Australia for March and early April this year (my mother's 90th birthday) and wondered if it would be cheaper to just take out cover for Europe and get an additional policy for this Australian portion. They checked prices and the cover for 4-5 weeks in Australia came out more expensive than the annual multi-trip. Very strange!

Sekhmet, this is driving me mad. I remember this thread. I remember decoding Cruachan's secret message, and I know I made reference to it in my reply. Now I can't decode it. I have found a good google site but I can't work out the name of the French cartographer.

My cabin has always been ready on Cunard, even when I was on board as early as 12.30.

On my first QV cruise I didn't find the full-length mirror for days. I had assigned one wardrobe to myself and one to the friend with whom I was travelling. It was only when I mentioned the lack of a mirror that she showed me inside her wardrobe. :D

Diane

Will these do for formal nights? How does it differ from the informal, which is still a couple steps up from casual, I'm guessing?

I find the boundary between the nights is very blurred. When I first started sailing on Cunard ships there was an inbetween category of semi-formal, and I then treated the informal as trousers with silk tops (not sparkles). Now that has been removed, informal now contains my semi-formal wear. As part of the dress code I can wear a cocktail dress in either category. I tend to keep those for informal. This means I now wear a lot of sequins on informal nights!

Aim to look stunning and don't worry if you then discover yourself to be a bit overdressed. On Cunard it's better to be overdressed than underdressed.

Diane

Only once did I bother trying to notify my bank that I would be away. The process took some time and then I was informed that I might still be contacted by phone to check that I was indeed in the county. The person on the line as good as admitted that it made no difference if I contacted them or not.

For those in the UK, I got a Post Office credit card because there is no fee on overseas transactions. However, I have never checked to see if their exchange rate is as good as that of the banks.

Like some others on this thread, I am a firm believer in using the automatic gratuity system. I recognise that a lot of behind-the-scenes people contribute to the enjoyment of my holiday and I want them to be rewarded.

Hopefully when we give extra to our room steward, he passes some on to the rest of his team, knowing that he would not have received the tip without their backup.

Normally the dance teachers are quite good. I don't know the two you mentioned but Dan and Olena studied dance at university, so they know the technique but don't emphasise it too much for beginners.

I always drink tap water. Make sure your steward fills up your ice bucket twice a day and as long as you add ice and the water is cold, it tastes okay.

If you sleep late in the morning and are troubled by noise, don't get a cabin on Deck 4 forward on QV (and I presume QE). As the ship arrives in port, and then leaves in the afternoon, you get up to an hour of a high-pitched sound from the thrusters.

Entirely agree. Also how often do we see passengers embracing wait staff on first night dinner because they have served them on previous cruises. It's not appropriate by the passenger or professional by the waiters.

 

David

This doesn't worry me as long as it's mutual, from a relationship built up over time. One dance couple always hugs me. We are friends on facebook. There was a photographer who would rush to hug me each time I came aboard. (That was after we had been on an excursion together, both of us always last to leave any venue because we wanted good photographs, pointing out great angles to each other.) A few wait staff remember me and make comments about the fact that at least there will be one person in the ballroom, etc.

An example of not mutual was the waiter who tended to pat or caress the ladies' shoulders as he served them. No relationship had been built up at that time. It was the same with the staff member who came into my room.

I feel that most staff on Cunard are genuinely happy and genuinely like the passengers. On my recent Celebrity cruises I missed this and felt that it was all just a veneer.

Hopefully shipbuilders in future will address this issue and will provide both inside and outside areas for smokers that don't affect others, and are in a location accessible to people from either end of the ship.

I like the location of Churchill's because even though the corridor outside is really smelly, I can reach the Commodore Club by going along the corridor on the other side. That's the type of location we need.

Thank you to all of you for your answers and support. It's good to hear the feelings some of you have about it and also to hear the common regulations around such behaviour.

As I was reading about your first encounter with this person, I was thinking maybe he was checking out if that was really your cabin. The second encounter, I agree was a tad on the creepy side. I wonder if we feel this way because we usually travel solo? If he had opened the door just to check if it worked and then left, it would be one thing but staying and talking would have made me uncomfortable.

Hi Scrapnana. Thanks for your thoughts. I thought the same the first time, and gave him the benefit of the doubt. I thought that by going straight to the cupboard for my fan I clearly demonstrated it was my room. However, he still stayed there until I left.

I added in the fact that when I saw him he was leaning against a wall chatting to a female steward and wondered if she had any choice in that, seeing he was her supervisor. From his body position it was definitely not work-related chat.

The second encounter in my room was definitely for no reason. I had given him no indication that I wanted to socialise with him. I had only politely answered his questions.

I meant to post this query after my last cruise but I can't see any record of it in a search, so the stress of Christmas and ill-health must have made me forget.

I had two encounters with a member of the Housekeeping staff that left me feeling uneasy.

On the first one I returned to my room only to realise I had left my key behind in the Queen's Room. I asked the room steward from the next section if she could let me in. Her supervisor from Housekeeping was leaning against the wall chatting to her so he said he'd let me in. He opened my door and then leant against it chatting and commenting 'You look hot' (yes, I'd been dancing and had returned for my fan). He seemed all set to stay there until I advanced on the door and he let me out.

On my last day I had trouble with my key (for about the third time that trip) and was issued with another one that still would not work so they dispatched the same gentleman to sort the problem. He spent 10-15 minutes fixing the card reader on the door. When he knocked on my door to say all was fixed, he then let himself into my room and shut the door behind him. He proceeded to chat to me. I had already told him I was planning to go to afternoon tea, and by then it was almost 4.00 so I simply said 'Time for afternoon tea' and walked towards him and he retreated.

After discussing it with someone else, I spoke to a Reception supervisor about it (saying I was not making a complaint, just saying I had not felt happy). Her attitude was that she knows the staff member and there would have been nothing to worry about. It is simply a cultural difference. We English need more personal space, etc. She is Brazilian and does not feel that need. I think he was of Indian extraction and she obviously felt he was just being friendly.

I thought that just as there are rules preventing us from socialising with staff in their areas, so there are rules preventing them from socialising with us in our rooms. Am I wrong?

My aim is to go on so many cruises and get so much OBC (not to mention dividends) that it covers the initial cost of the shares and it doesn't matter if the share price drops to nothing. ;) At the moment I am almost halfway to that goal and the share price is on track to doubling my initial investment. That's after four and a half years.

Does this all sound like a justification for more cruises? :D

Hi Diane.....l had to register for international share trading as the CCL shares are on the New York Stock Exchange.....tell them to get in touch with ANZ Etrade. They will help them get the shares for a very small price.....around $30.

 

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

Thank you so much for this information.

Diane

Last year we had a surprisingly difficult time for my DH on QV. We were QG. He had developed a double whammy, no wheat and no dairy. Now, these are sensitivities and not life threatening. But, he pays the price for eating them. It takes about a week for him to begin to feel better after consuming one of these items.

 

We explained to the wait staff and maître d' the issues. They seemed a little puzzled by it. They wanted him to make selections at lunch for modification. He found it really tiresome. It became much easier to select around the issue or push that item to the side. He thought that he would be able to say, leave this or that off the plate, or ask to include something on another meal. Now, I'm talking about side items or sauces. That shouldn't be all that difficult. Apparently, it was. This was in QG, where you expect some flexibility.

 

When I took the ship's tour, the bakery was making gluten free rolls. We wondered why they hadn't been offered to us.

My brother-in-law also pays a steep price if he eats wheat and dairy. They travel on HAL and various river cruises and I think he has only had a problem once. (The chef argued with the Maitre D' about whether or not he could eat a dish and the Maitre D' won the argument - but Owen lost a couple of days because of it!)

I wonder if your wait staff did not understand that wheat sensitivity means gluten free? They may have been trained in one set of words (i.e. gluten free) but not fully understood that wheat sensitivity comes into the same family. That's the only reason I can think of for them not offering you gluten-free rolls.

At least you will know to ask for them on your next cruise.

Message for the OP

First, congratulations on persevering and getting the OBC. I'm glad it all worked out.

Second, a couple of years ago a relative in Australia looked to purchase Carnival shares because they travel a lot on HAL, but were not able to get them in Australia. Can I just ask if you purchased yours in Australia or elsewhere, if this is not too personal? I would like to pass on the information.

Diane

As is the case in UK. Cunard has a department that deals with shareholder credit. That's the department the OP needs to contact.

DAVID.

David, all of my dealings have been with Carnival in the UK, not Cunard. If you look at the information given about all the cruise brands (sheet entitled 'Shareholder Benefit'), for Cunard it says to contact the Senior Shareholder Executive, Carnival UK, Carnival House, Southampton. My emails get sent to Carnival, not Cunard, and are always dealt with.

That's useful to know. According to the FAQ's on Ask Cunard "Applications should be made no later than two weeks prior to departure." It would seem that is not a mandatory requirement as I understood it to be?

That is the requirement but they are incredibly helpful when they know that I have made a late booking. I phone my bank/stockbroker and give my booking number. They email the relevant department to confirm that I have 100 shares. (I don't hold the shares myself; it is done through the bank.) In addition I email the department myself to let them know that notification will be coming. I always apologise for my late booking. I let them know that I am aware that my request is a late one and I hope they will be able to help me. In other words, I don't approach them with a sense of entitlement.