bluemarble

Here's QV at Cabo San Lucas. She was off camera most of the day with several other ships taking the spotlight. But now she in the shot as departure time is here. This is a capture from the "Villa del Palmar Beach Resort & Spa Webcam" found on the Cabo Villas website "cabovillas.com".

I'd also suggest splurging a little for one of the glass-fronted balconies on deck 11 for that Norwegian Fjords cruise. Per the Cunard UK website, that will exceed your budget a bit at £2,898 (double occupancy) for a Saver fare guarantee forward to £3,198 midships but I think it would be worth it on that itinerary if you could manage it. Now that's from someone who has happily done a Norwegian Fjords cruise in a sheltered balcony and has another one booked. Those are going for £2,498 for a Saver fare guarantee forward to £2,698 midships on the Cunard UK website. You can't go wrong with a sheltered balcony for a bit more stability on a lower deck and more shelter from wind and inclement weather. But a glass-fronted balcony does have the significant advantage of a better view while seated during such a scenic itinerary.

This is a potentially thorny topic. I'll start. The first issue you will run into is being able to access the Cunard US website from the UK. Your accesses to "cunard.com" from the UK will automatically redirect you to the Cunard UK website at "cunard.com/en-gb". In order to get to the Cunard US website at "cunard.com/en-us" from the UK, you will need to resort to a trick such as using a VPN to make it look like you are in the US. Beyond that, I'm not sure about the technicalities/permissibility of working around that automatic redirection and using the Cunard US website to book a cruise while you reside in the UK. I've read posts here where folks residing in the UK have booked through US travel agents but not so much booking using the Cunard US website themselves. In terms of differences between booking in the US versus the UK, here are some I am aware of. I'm sure others will be glad to add to this list. 1) Deposits on many US bookings are refundable up to final payment date. That includes most US promotions with the notable exception of what they call "Our Lowest Fare" and some of their other short-term promotions. Deposits for UK bookings are non-refundable. The deposit amounts also differ between the two countries. The typical deposit amount is 15% for UK bookings. It's typically 25% for US bookings although that amount is reduced in the US on some promotions, especially those with non-refundable deposits. 2) For US bookings, final payment date is 120 days before departure for voyages of 30 nights or less and 150 days before departure on longer voyages. Final payment is 90 days before departure for UK bookings. As you might expect, there are different cancellation penalty schedules in line with these differences in the final payment dates. 3) There are insurance requirements for UK bookings (£2 million medical cover). Insurance is not required for US bookings. 4) There are different fare options between the UK and US with different perks for each. In general, in the UK there will be lower-cost "Saver" fares with fewer perks and higher-cost "Cunard" fares with more perks. In the US, there often will be "Our Lowest Fare" with fewer perks, higher-cost "Cunard" fares with more perks and other varying seasonal promotions. The actual perks offered for each fare will vary between countries. 5) If you book a grills suite in the US, there is a long-standing "Grills Suite Offer" which includes both pre-payment of the daily hotel and dining service charge and a complimentary drinks package. 6) Potentially the biggest difference is simply a result of UK bookings being in UK pounds and US bookings being in US dollars. There isn't always a direct relationship between the two fare structures. I just randomly picked a QM2 crossing next July to compare pricing between the Cunard UK and Cunard US websites. The Cunard US website quoted me $4,392.22 for a sheltered balcony (double occupancy) at "Our Lowest Fare". The Cunard UK website quoted me £2,698 for that same cabin at the "Early Saver" fare. That's quite a difference at the current exchange rates. Please note that difference won't always be in the favor of one currency over the other. 7) There are different Cunard World Club accounts for US bookings and UK bookings. In order to keep all your Cunard World Club activity under one account, you will need to make all your bookings either with Cunard US or Cunard UK (or else ask to have your separate accounts merged at a later date). Bottom line is that there are many different booking terms and conditions, fare structures and promotions between the US and UK to take into full account. As a resident of the UK, the path of least resistance probably will be to book via Cunard UK, but certainly feel free to investigate the possibility of booking via the US.

Here's another distant webcam view. QM2 is in Dubai for the next couple days. This is a capture from Webcamtaxi's "Fairmont The Palm Cam" found at "webcamtaxi.com/en/united-arab-emirates/dubai/fairmont-thepalm-cam.html".

QV is in Huatulco, Mexico today and is visible on one of the webcams from webcamsdemexico.com. I have been unable to get a response from them regarding permission to post a capture from their webcam here, so I will post this link to their Bahía Santa Cruz live stream on YouTube instead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbiSliJPBIA

Interesting that you can't get to Cunard UK from the US using a VPN. Here's a screen shot captured just a few minutes ago showing my access to the Cunard UK website from here in Iowa using a VPN.

You have the opposite problem of those of us in the US who can't get to the Cunard US website while on board Cunard ships. The only way I know to get to the UK Cunard website while on board a ship that insists it's not in the UK is to use a VPN that makes it look like you are located in the UK. If you don't have VPN software installed on the device you are using, I imagine it could be a real challenge to download and install one using the ship's wifi at this point.

First off a bit of terminology which might help clarify things a bit. The gratuities are no longer called that. They are now also a service charge; the "Hotel and Dining Service Charge". That daily service charge added to your on board account is said to go to "waiters and stateroom stewards" and "the many more people supporting behind the scenes." The service charge automatically applied to drinks is said to be "shared amongst the beverage staff." So no, according to Cunard's statements, you are not tipping twice for the same service. The beverage staff who benefit from the service charge on drinks apparently do not benefit from the daily hotel and dining service charge.

Instead of stretching QM2's Jan 3-11, 2025 crossing to 8 nights as they have done, this would be a great opportunity to showcase QM2's speed and have her return to doing a 6-night crossing Jan 3-9, 2025. That way we could see three queens (QA, QV and QM2) in Southampton on January 9th. That's just wishful thinking of course but we can dream can't we?

QE calls at Safaga on November 5 this year. It's part of her repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Australia prior to starting her 2023/24 Australia/New Zealand season. It can be booked as a 20-night Barcelona-Singapore cruise (Oct 30-Nov 19, 2023), a 28-night Barcelona-Fremantle cruise (Oct 30-Nov 27, 2023) or a 34-night Barcelona-Melbourne cruise (Oct 30-Dec 3, 2023). Or you can start from Barcelona on Oct 23, adding a 7-night Barcelona-Barcelona segment to the same booking.

Excellent. Thanks for the follow-up. There does appear to be an ongoing issue with Cunard waitlists. We've had reports from other members on waitlists for cabins who happened to notice cabin availability appearing on the website without word from Cunard about their waitlist status. Well done for following through on your own.

To wrap things up for Panama Canal webcams today, here is QV as seen on the Miraflores Locks webcam found on the Panama Canal Authority's website at "multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/miraflores.html".

Just to confirm, Cunard is considered a North America brand for the purposes of determining the amount of OBC that is awarded for the shareholder benefit. Your shareholder benefit would be awarded as $50, $100 or $250 depending on the length of the voyage. The shareholder benefit is combinable with other OBC you may have been awarded.

Here's a view of QV approaching the Pedro Miguel locks as seen on the Cerro Luisa webcam found on the Panama Canal Authority's website at "multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/cerro-luisa.html".

QV is transiting the Panama Canal today. Here is a capture from the Gatun Locks webcam found on the Panama Canal Authority's website at "multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/gatun.html".

Do you have QV's 4 January 2025 5-night itinerary from Hamburg to Southampton doing an overnight in Amsterdam (as in these late 2024 itineraries)? The QV itinerary I found for 4 January 2025 lists 6 Jan 2025 as "Amsterdam" and then lists 7 Jan 2025 as "Amsterdam (tours from Rotterdam)". That's why I listed 7 Jan 2025 as "Rotterdam" for QV on the 2025 thread but I have my doubts about that.

Thank you for your contributions of the QM2 Early 2025 itineraries. If you are seeing anything different than what I have posted here for QA and QV, let's compare notes. And by all means, if you have additional itineraries for QV and QE to complete 2024 for those ships, those are welcome here as well even though this is technically a "2025" thread.

Queen Victoria 2025 South America Circumnavigation 04-Jan-25 Hamburg 06-Jan-25 Amsterdam 07-Jan-25 Rotterdam 08-Jan-25 Zeebrugge 09-Jan-25 Southampton 13-Jan-25 Praia da Vitoria 20-Jan-25 Port Canaveral 21-Jan-25 Fort Lauderdale 23-Jan-25 Grand Turk 26-Jan-25 Bridgetown 30-Jan-25 Fortaleza 02-Feb-25 Salvador 04-Feb-25 Buzios 05-Feb-25 Rio de Janeiro 06-Feb-25 Rio de Janeiro 09-Feb-25 Montevideo 10-Feb-25 Buenos Aires 11-Feb-25 Buenos Aires 14-Feb-25 Puerto Madryn 17-Feb-25 Ushuaia 18-Feb-25 Cape Horn (Cruise-by) 19-Feb-25 Punta Arenas 20-Feb-25 Amalia Glacier (Cruise-by) 21-Feb-25 PIO X Glacier (Cruise-by) 23-Feb-25 Puerto Montt 25-Feb-25 San Antonio 26-Feb-25 Coquimbo 28-Feb-25 Arica 02-Mar-25 Callao 03-Mar-25 Callao 06-Mar-25 Manta 08-Mar-25 Panama Canal Transit 10-Mar-25 Oranjestad 13-Mar-25 Nassau 14-Mar-25 Fort Lauderdale 15-Mar-25 Port Canaveral 18-Mar-25 Bermuda 24-Mar-25 Ponta Delgada 28-Mar-25 Southampton 30-Mar-25 Hamburg

Here are details of Cunard itineraries for Queen Anne, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 for early 2025. It may be a while until Cunard formally announces these itineraries but based on past experience these are likely to be close. I'll include one ship per post to improve readability. @SummmerInKefalonia has found more details for QM2 than I have. For QM2 2025, I'm am copying what @SummmerInKefalonia contributed earlier on another thread. I haven't been able to find anything for QE yet for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025 nor have I been able to find the details for QV for the remainder of 2024. @SummmerInKefalonia may be able to help with some of those details as well. Queen Anne 2025 World Voyage 09-Jan-25 Southampton 17-Jan-25 New York 18-Jan-25 New York 23-Jan-25 Oranjestad 25-Jan-25 Panama Canal Transit 28-Jan-25 Puerto Quetzal 31-Jan-25 Cabo San Lucas 03-Feb-25 San Francisco 04-Feb-25 San Francisco 09-Feb-25 Honolulu 10-Feb-25 Honolulu 17-Feb-25 Apia 19-Feb-25 Nuku'alofa 22-Feb-25 Auckland 23-Feb-25 Auckland 24-Feb-25 Bay of Islands 27-Feb-25 Sydney 28-Feb-25 Sydney 02-Mar-25 Brisbane 04-Mar-25 Airlie Beach 06-Mar-25 Yorkeys Knob 10-Mar-25 Darwin 13-Mar-25 Bitung 16-Mar-25 Manila 18-Mar-25 Hong Kong 19-Mar-25 Hong Kong 22-Mar-25 Phu My 24-Mar-25 Singapore 25-Mar-25 Singapore 26-Mar-25 Port Kelang 27-Mar-25 Penang 31-Mar-25 Colombo 05-Apr-25 Abu Dhabi 06-Apr-25 Dubai 07-Apr-25 Dubai 09-Apr-25 Muscat 15-Apr-25 Safaga 16-Apr-25 Safaga 18-Apr-25 Suez Canal Transit 21-Apr-25 Valletta 24-Apr-25 Cadiz, Spain 27-Apr-25 Southampton We know Queen Anne will be in Hamburg on 07-Jan-25. It seems likely there will also be a segment to Hamburg on 29-Apr-25 to offer a complete world voyage starting and ending in Hamburg.

I haven't found that yet. I think we will need to rely on @SummmerInKefalonia to provide those details as well as details for QE 2024 Alaska and beyond. He/she's found a more complete source for the future Cunard itineraries than I have.

I'll create a new 2025 thread including more detail about the QA and QV 2025 world cruise itineraries and copy what @SummmerInKefalonia has provided for the QM2 2025 itineraries.

Since we've listed a summary of the QA 2025 world cruise, I'll do the same for the QV 2025 world cruise (South America Circumnavigation). Here's what I'm seeing. QV 2025 South America Circumnavigation January 9-March 28, 2025: Southampton, Praia da Vitoria, Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Grand Turk, Bridgetown, Fortaleza, Salvador, Buzios, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia, Cape Horn, Punta Arenas, Amalia Glacier, PIO X Glacier, Puerto Montt, San Antonio, Coquimbo, Arica, Callao, Manta, Panama Canal, Oranjestad, Nassau, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, Bermuda, Ponta Delgada, Southampton I'm also seeing segments from/to Hamburg before and after that itinerary. January 4-9, 2025: Hamburg, Amsterdam/Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Southampton March 28-30, 2025: Southampton, Hamburg

Just as an aside, it doesn't look like Cunard is planning a "3 Queens" meeting in Southampton in January 2025 as they had been planning for QA, QV and QM2 in January 2024 before Queen Anne's deployment was delayed. I'm seeing the two ships that are doing 2025 world voyages (QA and QV) together in Southampton for the start of their world voyages on January 9th, but as we know QM2 will be in Southampton on January 11th. Does that agree with what you are seeing @SummmerInKefalonia?

Unusual but not unprecedented overall. During several of her first few years (2004, 2005 and 2008) QM2 spent most of the first quarter of the year in the Caribbean rather than doing world voyages. All the other years (except 2020 and 2021 of course) she has done voyages that could be considered at least partial world voyages. It looks like the plan for 2025 is to have QA and QV doing world voyages while QM2 and QE will be doing regional voyages.

I've managed to find some of the 2025 itineraries including the 2025 Queen Anne world cruise which you have detailed for us. I'm also seeing the 2025 Queen Victoria world cruise. It looks like QV will be doing a circumnavigation of South America once again in 2025. I haven't been able to find everything Queen Mary 2 will be doing in early 2025 yet. Apparently she won't be doing a full world world cruise. All I've found so far for QM2 (after January 11) are a Caribbean cruise from Southampton (via New York) departing early March, a Mediterranean cruise from Southampton departing mid-April and a westbound crossing departing late April. Can you give us an idea of what QM2 will be doing in January and February 2025?