babs135

Surely part of the charm of the QM2 is getting 'lost' ?🤣🤣. We are sailing on her next week and it will be the first time in over 6 years (we've sailed on the other 2 ships) and looking forward to navigating around the most magnificent ship.

This is a photo taken using a Samsung camera Although not the best I took, I chose this to show the colour at the bottom of the 'streak'. Whilst the green was clearly visible to (my) the naked eye, the colour was not.

10. Time to get the suitcases out?

I agree with the friend. Just keep snapping away. It was amazing what showed up on the camera that I just hadn't physically seen.

Whilst we haven't ruled out going to Rome it also seems a bit of a shame not to explore the port itself. Is there plenty to see? I've started to do some research but it's always nice to hear from people who've been there. Thanks.

You've been given information re the ports so I won't repeat. We did the cruise in October last year. As has been said there will be an expert on board and he will also hold a short seminar on how to take the best photos. Interestingly enough, he rated phone cameras rather highly and comparing hubby's photos from a point and shoot camera to my phone camera, he was right! Re being informed of possible sightings: The captain told us to leave the TV on the bridge cam channel which has no sound and if he feels conditions are right he said that he would broadcast into the cabin. The call did come. - 2.30am!!!! We'd left clothes ready and once dressed we opened the door only to be nearly trampled by the rush of people. The aft deck lights will be switched off so be aware of the potential of walking into a table. But it was (and will be) worth it as we were treated to a display of colours. What was interesting was that on checking my photos there were colours clearly visible which the naked eyes had not seen. A fabulous cruise and one crossed off the bucket list.

14

I'm thinking about booking this crossing for next year. Would love to hear from someone who's done this and what happened.

21

Know what you want from a cruise, do research and then do dummy bookings. Don't forget to clear any cookies off your computer before you start. Yes, P&O is cheap and there is nothing wrong with them, but if you want something a little more upmarket then I'm afraid that you will have to pay for it. Often the cruise lines you have mentioned will offer either free extras or special deals (Princess has a couple of packages which for a little extra per person per day includes drinks, wifi and gratuities). Factor this into your search. P&O may well include gratuities in their pricing (wish all ships did), but they've cut their extras down to the bone. For example, especially as you are sailing with children, no free ice-cream, fruit juices only free and available at breakfast. 3 months later on the Queen Victoria these were available virtually 24/7 (only closed for cleaning!) Only you know what you can afford and what is important to you as a family. Whichever line you choose to sail with I'm sure you'll have a great time.

23 days. Still resisting the urge to get the cases out. We usually wait until the week before sailing.

I would love to try a suite such as mentioned by George C but find the prices prohibitive. We like to cruise 2 or 3 times a year, usually in an inside cabin, so if we were to take the plunge of paying the extra we'd probably have to just do the one cruise. Tell me how I could convince DH to try something different!!!!! His argument would be that whatever cabin you are in, you are all going to the same places.

27 days.

33

Sorry to hear about those people who have Covid. As an illness it is a strange beast. DH, our adult DD and myself were on the Victoria last December and towards the very end of the cruise it became apparent that there was Covid on board; in fact the people in the cabin next to us were in isolation and we saw the nurse one morning taking swabs. The 3 of us shared a cabin, were together virtually 24/7 and then had a 5 hours drive back to Manchester. 24 hours after returning home DD tested positive, we immediately did our own tests and were negative and continued to remain so for 3 consecutive days. We then stopped for 24 hours before testing again for 2 days and were still negative. DD tested positive for 3 days. Still trying to work that out.

I'm pretty sure that we booked a Cunard Fare but where can I check to confirm? I can't see anything on the booking form.

Am I allowed to do this? We are booked on the Victoria's Xmas cruise and there is a chance that we may have to change dates. I don't want to cancel but merely change to another cruise in 2024. We don't have to pay the balance until the end of September by which time we should know what is happening, but I'd like to know whether a transfer is allowed and then I can at least make a start at looking what cruises are out there!

This is interesting, Cruising to Nome: The first U.S. deep water port for the Arctic to host cruise ships, military (msn.com)

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We visited our local branch of this firm for a quote for a transatlantic crossing on the QM2 plus 4 nights in New York. We gave her the date. Ten minutes of furious typing (clock above the agent's head) I asked if there was a problem. No, she said. A couple of minutes later she announced that she couldn't find a ship called the Queen Mary 2 but there was one called Majesty !!!!!! Needless to mention we walked out. We went home and booked online.

The frustrating part of this story (and others of interest) is that you never find out how the matter was resolved, etc. In this particular case I'm wondering if he didn't have the correct insurance and didn't want to admit it to a wider audience. We've read stories before of people cruising to America and the Caribbean but whose insurance only covers them for Europe.

I suspect that there is a problem with his insurance.

This is an 'odd one'. Cruise ship passenger airlifted to hospital says: 'I wasn't even ill' (msn.com)

I seem to recall that there was a bear named after Cunard's female captain Inger Thorhauge. I am assuming that Cunard has chosen to 'retire' the bears after a while in order to keep them exclusive, otherwise they are missing a trick by not making them available all the time. We will be on the QM2 in July and the Victoria in December so hopefully if there is a new bear available we will be able to purchase one.

Unless things have changed, you will find that the Captain will open one of the crews' decks (5?) to accommodate all the people so finding a spot shouldn't be too hard. I also seem to recollect that the crew were handing out ice-cold flannels which were very gratefully received!!