Bell Boy

My Goodness ! Appreciate it's your honeymoon , but what on earth are you planning to get up to out on the balcony . You are worring far too much, very few of balconies are in full view to other guests , unless you are 'almost close up' to the glass/metal front. You mention relaxing in your bath robe - I think that's more preferable and modest than a 'Teeny Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini'. 😉

Hopefully you are not encouraging it , I believe most members on this board would agree it is unethical to be walking from one venue to another drinking alcohol that is for personal consumption in the stateroom.

The reason they ( Speakers) are not made known in advance is they are often subject to change or a no show 'almost at the last minute' . Most of these ad-hock speakers have to rely on joining the ship/s down route, they rely on air travel or other means of transport which is not always reliable. Unlike Celebrity Speakers on 'Event Cruises' who will embark at the home port, chauffeur driven to the terminal and enjoy the comfort of a Grill Suite. How do I know all this ? - Two good friends ( one a family member) who lecture on Cunard 😉

I was actually thinking of You and Victoria 2 (and even Big Mac) when I was posting the above 😅

For a Seasoned Cunard sailor like you 😉 (me and a few others on this board) appointments are easy , possibly within an hour or so. I noticed on Queen Victoria last year they have an additional Voyage Sales Manager, the total being three in the office.

The references to 'Additional Cost' in a couple of emails relate to 'Alcohol' although no food is served - if you look at some previous emails and other references ie Commodore Club & Queens Room there is also a mention of additional cost, although we understand food is not served in those venues .

The Purses desk will have had to first liaise with Voyage Sales to obtain Pricing. The receptionists behind the desk don't have that information - much quicker to visit Voyage sales who have everything at hand, not only the pricing but also advice on staterooms available.

You can't take a 'Glass of Wine ' from the wine/alcohol that you have brought onboard that is permitted for 'stateroom consumption only' - However, you can take a FULL bottle of wine ( that you have brought onboard) into the restaurant where you will be charged corkage - any unused wine can be held back for the following evening.

Voyage Sales office is your go to ! Don't be wasting any time at the Pursers desk they do not have the authority for upgrades . 'Voyage sales' will advise you if space is available - they in turn will direct you to the 'Customer Service Manager' who has the authority for upgrades during an itinerary. If the guest complement is full there is often signage at the Purses desk indicting No upgrades available. To reply to your question ; Yes I have on two occasions in the past opted for an upgrade during an itinerary, I've also opted to extend my cruise and continue on the next itinerary, Voyage sales have been my go to .

7 ! Come back and tell us if Customer services were correct .

No, the usual 'Ad-hock speakers' are not advertised in advance. Those Speakers that you are referring to are Celebrity speakers lecturing on special 'Event' Cruises/Voyages'. If you have booked one of these 'Event Cruises' you will be automatically informed as part of your booking information, otherwise you'll have to keep an eye out for upcoming Event Cruises that maybe of interest to you.

Cunard does 'exactly the same as HAL' to make their 'full world cruise guests' to feel valued, in fact even better ! There are various cocktail receptions ( full world cruise guests only) several times throughout the itinerary with Caviar & Fizz on tap! Dedicated lounge area, dedicated concierge desk , commemorative gifts throughout the cruise. A special evening & dinner at a high end hotel shoreside Bridge instructors , craft classes etc are standard on Cunard .

Look at it as a Trade Off, do Carnival cruise line have Insight Lecturers, many who are well know Celebrity speakers. I know which I activity I prefer when cruising Cunard.

Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth offer the Court Yard ( deck 11) for Alfresco Dining, weather permitting and is for Grill guests only. Queen Mary 2 does not offer that same concept for Grill guests, however, there is an option for 'all category of guests' at the 'Board Walk cafe' ( Deck 12 during lunch time only) however, having said that, I have never experienced it or seen it open on any of the 16 'Transatlantic' voyages I've taken. Being situated high up on deck 12 I expect this venue is more suitable during warm weather cruising.

Which almost confirms my posts 29 & 36. ( of my experience and observation in October 2023)

The menu to which I referred to ( in post 29) is almost identical to the 'evening offering' in the Pub, October 2023/ 20 day itinerary (The evening menus would also include a starter) Although I never dined in the Pub in the evenings, I observed that what was on offer' would occasionally rotate' each evening . I doubt very much that there are two separate menus , I expect that Fish & Chips which we now hear is on offer in the evenings is all part of that rotation.

Because that is a copy of what is on offer occasionally in the Evening.

The point I was trying to convey was that there may be an opportunity for us to have a choice from any one of those new ( QA) additional speciality restaurants for our diamond complimentary meal.

Yes, Just had the same email for an upcoming QM2 voyage. I expect the email refers to 'Across the fleet' The reference to 'Alternative' now refers to either the Veranda restaurant or the Pop up Themed evening meals in the Lido/Kings Court. A reliable source at Southampton head office ( NOT confirmed yet) gave me to understand that there is a possibility that the Diamond loyalty meal might be extended to any of the 'other' Speciality restaurants on the new Queen Anne . Watch this space .

Evening meals are served ONLY occasionally on Q.Vic& QE., I noticed it was offered on two or three evenings in October 2023(Q.Vic) and on a couple of the evenings on QE ( Alaska cruise 2018) I expect this was to accommodate those who returned back to the ship after a late evening shore side tour. Evening meals in the Pub are not set in stone you will need to manage this once onboard, your daily programme will advise you. Edited to add; There is a possibility that QA will be offering evening meals in the Golden Lion on a regular basis as we understand Cunard have partnered with Michel Roux who will be reimagining some of the classic Pub favourites.

One week later ; YIPPEE ! just had confirmation that proof of ownership has been approved - spent a sleepless week wondering if I'd managed to download the share certificate correctly, I can safely say I'm now in the 21st century 😉 however, that's where I'll leave it. You won't catch me bothering with that blessed onboard Cunard App thingy to book dining, speciality restaurants or Spa appointments etc I'll stick with interacting face to face .

Yes, OBC can be used for 'Anything you purchase onboard' with the exception of Casino or Medical. OBC can only be used once onboard, unlike some other cruise lines it cannot be used for pre purchasing before embarkation.

Thank Goodness it wasn't only me who had a hassle trying to install the App 😅 Had to go to my local Apple store - Thank goodness the young man (all of about age 17) sorted it out for me 🥵 Home now and downloading proof of ownership - I'll let you all know how successful I've been - Oh for those days when a simple email to Carnival House did the trick.

When one is on a World Cruise of approx 100 + days ( or in my my case the South America sojourn 78 days) a short break from the confines of the ship, the food and the onboard daily activities is sometimes needed, however, returning back to the ship we often call home, we realise just how blessed we are.

Basic dance lessons ( across the Cunard Fleet) take place on Sea days at approx 12.15pm shortly after the Captains noon announcement . There is NO sign up, you just turn up, ideally with a partner ( otherwise the instructors will endeavour to partner people together) Ladies ! make sure you are wearing sensible shoes that that will hold your heel in - we've all seen some sights of ladies trying to dance Cha Cha in flip flops . 🤦‍♂️ Information of the 'particular dance lesson of the day' can be found in the daily onboard program delivered to your stateroom.