TheOldBear

If you are not looking for pre-cruise entertainment - just arriving the day before, and getting a meal and some sleep before taking an Uber to the ship the next day - you may want to consider the 'TWA Hotel' at JFK. That way you only need to wrestle your bags into a car or van once, for the trip the pier. See the hotel's 'accessibility' page at https://www.twahotel.com/accessibility

Our upcoming transatlantic round trip has two seven day crossings. That matches our previous crossings.

I only have experience with the ships tour - in 2019 the tour included Juno & Sword beach, the Commonwealth and German cemeteries - and a lunch stop in Crecey [three courses, with paired wines] Is NCL offering a tour? Or is their tour only to Omaha and Utah beaches?

On our westbound crossing this fall [QM2 M236] the Captain routed the ship between two major low pressure areas. For a couple of days, winds were at force 10 with outer deck access restricted. The deck 12 Pavilion pool was drained - and the deck 7 spa 'thermal suite' pool sloshed fairly vigorously [I think the deck 8 & 6 pools were closed/netted but not drained] Dining in Britannia was normal - in fact I don't think there was impact on interior spaces other than the deck 12 pool closure.

I got a mailing for a 2 for 1 offer on a five night 'taster' cruise - August 2009 QM2 from Brooklyn to St John New Brunswick. We were interested in how we would deal with being together on a ship. Since then, we noticed some welcome improvements to onboard air quality, and that we had the same waiter in 2009, 2010, 2017 and again in 2022 [he dropped by our table to say hello in 2019]

The pub food is included with your fare [drinks are extra, like any other dining venue]

And I think only lunchtime on QM2

We only needed to order an 'always available' menu option once for the main dish [Salmon ] on our recent 26 night round trip. We did order the 'always available' tomato soup option multiple times in place of offered appetizers. If something described as 'lobster bisque' appears on the menu, only order it for forensic analysis - don't plan on consuming it. That is the only menu disappointment I recall, but it was offered *twice* despite vocal feedback to an executive chef.

Not a new ship - but a unique ship, the Queen Mary 2 🙂

Too late to edit my earlier post - but on QM2 the 'Terrace pool' is on deck 8 - unfortunately the changing room is right by the outdoor smoking area. The deck 6 'Splash pool' does not seem to have a changing area [it is next to the kid & teen zone - there may be facilities not shown on the deck plans. There does not seem to be any changing facilities for the QM2 'Grills deck hot tub.

I must have been imagining the changing rooms / showers by the Pavilion pool [QM2 deck 12] and port side on deck 12 by the 'Terrace pool'. [I don't know what is available on the QV & QE]

This past November QM2 did a one and a half overnight in Tromso. I did the ships northern lights bus tour on the second night [the ship sailed just after the tour returned]. There was about 50% cloud cover with intermittent showers [more likely to be snow flurries in march?]. There was a problem with ambient light due to a nearly full moon. You never really got dark adapted. A local guide directed the bus to what should be a favorable location - and we pulled over and bailed out when the aurora was visible through the bus windshield. The cloud cover was mostly in our favor, blocking some of the moonlight. After about 45 minutes at the first location, we went to another likely spot. By then there was less cloud cover/more moonlight so it was difficult to see aurora with the naked eye. I would point my camera in a likely direction and take a fairly long exposure. Most of the time on review there would be some aurora colors - other times it would just be a high cloud illuminated by moonlight.

I have only been an in transit passenger for Southampton, but it does appear that the disembarkation / turn around day is very different than a US port [Brooklyn] where the ship must be 'zeroed out' before new passengers board. There still was the vast quantity of luggage staged in lobbies beginning the night before, in the morning many rooms with the doors propped open for cleaning - but life was normal for in transit passengers. We had our normal room service breakfast, then I took the shuttle into town for some minor shopping and a visit to the 'sea city' museum. Mrs Bear elected to stay onboard (it was a rainy day) to read a library book, have lunch and I think use the deck 12 hot tubs [one of the Southampton days the Pavilion pool area was closed while they were working on the roof]. I didn't check, but I don't think that the Britannia had the extra early breakfast hours used for Brooklyn turn around days. I needed to exit the Mayflower terminal via the luggage hall, and that was still about a third full - but there were no lines by the customs desks - the pre-arrival paperwork clearance makes the disembarkation flow quite a bit smoother.

Sometimes schedules are adjusted - this past fall QM2 waited several hours for a delayed English National Symphony Orchestra to arrive. [another caution about possible problems flying in to meet a ship on departure day] In transit passengers were required to be on board at the originally scheduled time.

We drove and parked for our first couple of BCT sailings [5 nights in 2008, 7 nights in 2010]. I cannot think of single reason to try parking there again even for another short sailing.

For something truly silly, how about "Death on the Tyne" ? [IMDB link https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8746310/ ] It's set on an overnight ferry, not a cruise ship, but it does include dress codes, the Captain's table -- and a few murders.

Advantage Britannia class 😉 We usually had a usable signal in room 5194 [just off the 'D' staircase].

We were in 5132 - across from an atrium view room, and took a look in during a 'turn around' day. The window only provided a view of the atrium view windows across the lobby.

One of my regrets on my last cruise was not returning to the ship covered with muddy puppy footprints after a visit with huskies at the Tromso Wilderness Center. There were 8 seven month old puppies, and several dozen adult dogs - all eager to meet visitors.

What paperwork did you receive from the ship's medical center? The 'walk out statement' may contain sufficient detail for the claim - diagnosis codes, procedure codes, medication dispensed, supplies, provider names - and there should be case reference information. Have you checked the fine print on your travel insurance? [e.g. is coverage 'primary' or 'secondary'] Have you contacted your broker? The travel insurance carrier?

On Cunard, in transit guests still have the option of a room service breakfast. There are no special briefings for in transit passengers - there may be shore excursions. Often there are very few in transit passengers - on my recent three segment sailing, I was told that only 179 passengers were booked for the entire 26 night cruise.

How about Stanley Tucci's movie The Imposters? [IMDB link https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120823/ ]

I don't think anyone will be studying your shoes for formal night compliance [I wear my dance shoes]

On our 26 night sailing, I brought my tux (dinner suit) with two shirts, and two ties. Each shirt made a trip to the ship's laundry for wash and press. [formal wear made a trip to the cleaners when we got home, so we are ready for our next formal occasion] For 'smart' nights, I had a blazer and a vest (waistcoat not undershirt) and several dress shirts. I also had one of the few QM2 neckties visible out in the wild. Blue jeans were formally forbidden at dinner (at least under the pre-covid dress code), so I brought black Wrangler jeans to alternate with wool dress slacks. I used the self service laundry about every 10 days or so (dress shirts, t shirts, socks, underwear....) - was surprised to see new machines installed for our westbound crossing.

I don't know how much of a benefit the 'free shuttle bus' actually is. In the ports where I have used the Cunard shuttle (Southampton, Hamburg, Trondheim) no one has looked for cruise cards.