TheOldBear

Mrs Bear and I have done Cunard's D Day beach tours - and would highly recommend it. I would not be at all surprised to find the Princess version to be identical to the Cunard tour [the Cunard tour includes a lunch stop] and likely very similar to Overlord's bus based tour [731B??] except Overlord apparently has a lunch time stop, but does not include lunch.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 has 'sheltered balcony' rooms [our preferred stateroom category] on decks 4,5 & 6. There are discussions about them in the Cunard forum, and you will find several 'room tour' videos over on youTube.

Sometimes [like our M236 westbound crossing this November] the QM2 took a southerly course, including following a rhumb line for 2 days, to avoid storm systems that would have been on the great circle routing. The 7 day crossing is a bit of a loaf, but I think I saw 24 knots on more than one occasion.

Your ship likely has an excursion to Bayeux - and a thing to see there is the Bayeux Tapestry History, but not D Day history.

The supplied form did not identify provider license numbers, just names and strings of "MBChB" and "MRCGP" near the provider names [MD and RN] There is a CPT column but the values were just two dashes. ["Doctor New Consultation, Office Hours"; "Medication Dispensing"] The ICD code J00 [common cold] was provided [and not on the form the PCR covid test was negative] I spent 15 years writing medical office software - I don't know what else would be provided on a walk out statement. The med center wanted a medical history [updating their records] but no history info goes onto the statement.

This past November, I needed to visit the QM2 med center for an exam, and received some prescription meds - and a one page receipt for the service and meds. When we returned home, I submitted the claim and provided an image of the receipt as that was the only available paperwork. Claim processing was neither slow or speedy, and the only emails reported claim progress. The last email unsurprisingly said that the claim was approved, and the next business day was paid to the designated account. A oddity was the paragraph in the last email reading: While additional documentation would normally be requested to fully support your claim, on this occasion we have agreed to process your claim based on the information received. What 'additional documentation' would normally be expected by a claims adjuster, or would be available from a ship's medical center?

We also did the Sunday Roast lunch at the Duke of Wellington this past November (Remembrance Sunday), meeting one of Mrs Bear's UK friends who lives on a narrowboat [she drove to Southampton - canal/narrowboat navigation is a non starter]. It's a bit early to make reservations 😉 , but we likely will be back on 13 October 2024 .

Mrs Bear and I sailed voyage M234A, which included the changeover to normal fixed table assignments on deck 2. The show time for the second seating was adjusted slightly later after fixed seating was re-introduced, but we did not encounter any noticeable issues. For our eastbound crossing segment, open seating was in force, but we were able to obtain a fixed table assignment [#355 right by the podium] as folks in our linked booking had dietary restrictions. We also had 'Victor' a waiter who served us on several previous cruises at our table for the entire 26 night round trip. As a result, we never needed to queue for a table assignment, so things were normal for us. I did see a YT video of a couple on the Christmas Market cruise who reported open seating problems - perhaps they are CC members, and will relate their story.

The key item here is 'fully paid for'. The cruise line has the money. Check the cruise contract's "terms and conditions" to see if there are any age restrictions on occupancy - your son may need to meet a minimum age restriction for cabin occupancy. If your son has travel insurance, and does not want to take the cruise, check the insurance terms and conditions to see if a roommate canceling is a covered condition.

As a minor suggestion, how about adding the English Channel ports to the list of ports at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/ ? I am not suggesting moving legacy threads as that would require effort - and possibly would break things.

I think that CC geography oddity should be addressed - the English Channel ports should not be included in the Mediterranean section - the whole Iberian peninsula is in between the Med and the ports in Brittany & Normandy.

Back in October both the complementary wine ["Duc" something] and the champagne purchased as part of a 'celebrations' package were sitting warm on the table. The flutes were in the refrigerator, but were not that cold - must have just been tossed in. The bubbly in my carryon was still fairly cold, so we had that first.

On QM2 this fall, there were no 'minibar' items in the room. Instead several options were added to the Room Service menu [for purchase, not included in fare] including a snack assortment [chips and candy] and a drink assortment [mixers, spirits]. We did not bother, so I cannot confirm what was in the packages - but it did save us the effort of requesting the the minibar be emptied.

One of the included photos - showing the blade to hub attachment answered a question I had up thread - this blade does not appear to be one of the missing "Commodore's Cufflinks". The base of the blade does not match my memories of the base of the 'Mermaid' pod blades.

I downloaded a copy of the 'terms and conditions' for the current offer(s) - October 2024 is a good ways away, and many things may be forgotten or changed by then.

Perhaps folks sailing QG should bring a known good lobster bisque recipe with them - and then request it for the next night's dinner and see what you get 😉

On our last trip [M234A - 26 nights] we dined in late seating Britannia for all but two nights [evening shore excursions in Tromso]. Split lunch about 50/50 between Kings Court and Britannia - we like the 'bay window' sections where you are sitting out on the promenade. Breakfasts were split about 60/40 between Kings Court and Room Service - we did not try Britannia for breakfast. Britannia dinners were mostly nice - there was one night where Mrs Bear had some of the 'always available' chicken entree, and more than a few nights we went for the 'always available' tomato soup instead of the available starters. The only culinary misfire was a soup presented [twice] as lobster bisque, that was almost entirely unlike any seafood bisque we have previously encountered. Between Bergen and Tromso we encountered one of Cunard 'developmental' executive chefs, and related our first 'bisque' experience - he said that that did not sound at all like his recipe. Hopefully any bisque served on current sailings will be edible.

Cunard's current US promotion "Explore with More" includes one night's specialty dining - I think that offer ends 2 January.

Its an _minor_ point, but my view of a round trip is the assumption that you are only embarking and disembarking once - not a succession of sailings and land excursions that end up back home. That series may work out better for some folks, and fit their budgets [money and time] well but I would not call it a round trip.

We have done three round trip transatlantic sailings so far (2017, 2019 & this past autumn ) and have a reservations in place for another in 2024. All of these have been on Cunard's QM2. We were initially looking at a fly east and sail west trip, but after looking at the logistics and prices decided that round trip sailings were a better fit (no flying, no need for hotel stays, unpack _once_) You can elect sailings of different total lengths from the basic 14 day NYC round trip - with just a Southampton turn around day - to much longer sailings incorporating Southampton round trips. As an example, our recent 26 night trip included a 12 night Southampton to Norway round trip.

I wonder if the pods are the same 'Rolls Royce Mermaid' units used on the QM2 - that may explain why some of the spare blades in the 'Commodore's Cufflinks' were not in place this autumn.

In 2019 I needed onboard treatment for a sinus infection - and my travel insurance provided secondary coverage. I needed to go through the motions of submitting the claim to my carrier [Cigna] knowing it advance it would not be paid. The travel insurance paid promptly once the rejection was in hand. This year, another cruise, another sinus infection - this time with primary coverage. Its been a few back and forths with the carrier but payment was approved after about 6 weeks since the initial claim.

From what I saw on a recent QM2 crossing, what you are planning fits into 'smart attire'. We had the luggage space, so I also brought a vest and a jacket [and one of the few QM2 ties seen in the wild] so some of my 'smart attire' nights were a bit more dressed up. Mrs Bear thought the combination of dress shirt, vest, black jeans and black boots looked very nice on non-formal nights.

The Deck 3 (L) cabins are off a corridor port side between the 'C' and 'D' stairways - the 'pre-remastering' space for the photo gallery. I've never looked at the bed size - but it is a single cabin [someone with experience will likely join this thread and comment] No coffee card is currently available - I would prefer the card to any of the available drink packages. All of them seem to be a poor value for our needs.

Some will likely start showing up 6 to 8 months before embarkation date - others will be added later. The latest I have noticed excursions being added was about a month before embarkation. Remember, things are subject to change once the cruise is underway. On my last sailing, there were cancelations with refunds due to elimination of a lunch stop on a tour from Tromso and also from diversion from the last two planned Norway ports [Alesund & Stavenger] to Zeebrugge due to bad weather in Norway.