bananavan

On 5/2/2024 at 11:20 AM, WantedOnVoyage said:

Curious how much better Princess Grill at least appears... in size, space (including between tables) and general sense of occasion that Queen's Grill.. Even the chairs are far more suitable (with arms.. hurray!) than those c. 1958 Italian bedroom chairs in the QG.  

Thank you for saying what I have been thinking. 
I am not at all impressed with the poor excuse for chairs>
We are supposed to be spending 81 days in there for the Grand Voyage and I am not impressed with what I am seeing. 
Cunard seems to have forgotten that those who cruise on long voyages in Queens Grill have many options available to us. 
The Britannia Club dining room chairs looked much better than those is the QG. 

1 hour ago, safarigal said:

We had no trouble transferring from Queen Victoria to Queen Mary 2 in 2023. It was arranged by the pursers office. We left our bags outside our door on the last night as usual, and they were in our new stateroom soon after we got on board QM2. There was a coach that transferred us between the ships. We were the last people to leave Queen Victoria and when we boarded QM2 we were able to go straight to our stateroom, but that may have just been luck.

Thank you so much for this information Lesley.  
I mentioned to Alan that we are going to be sending our formal wear ahead to San Francisco using a luggage forwarding service and we will do the same for the return if we disembark in NYC. Doing so from Southampton would be insanely expensive. 
We are in QG on the Queen Anne but going back to the US in First Class would cost us more than a sheltered balcony on QM2. AND we would be able to adjust better to the time changes.

17 minutes ago, david63 said:

To the best of my knowledge you have to take from one ship/terminal to the other ship/terminal. Also bear in mind that you will be disembarking a lot earlier than you will be able to check in on the other ship.

 

And for your next question - no there is no luggage storage facilities at Southampton.

Thanks for answering the next question. I am aware that there is no luggage storage at the port, but I will not be needing that anyway. 
 

We are sailing on the Queen Anne Maiden World Voyage. 
We return to Southampton on April 27. 2025
We are considering booking QM2 to return to NYC on the same day. 
Does anyone have any experience with the transferring of luggage between two ships? 

On 4/19/2024 at 1:02 PM, NE John said:

DW first came over to the US in a transatlantico, and I’m sure, nowhere near any Grills-type area…actually she took a couple transatlantici as a youth. She said she remembers her mother being seasick most of the time!

I came over first in 1957, arriving in Quebec on April 27, 1957. We were on the Arosa Kulm, a converted troop ship, built in 1919. 
We were in Tourist class, with two double bunks, a crib, a sink and small toilet. There was no separation between the toilet and bed area. The trip was very rocky. Our ship was berthed beside the Queen Mary but it was dwarfed be her. It was less than 8,000 tonnes. IT was 436 ft long.

Jeff Bezos' yacht Koro is 416 ft long.  Think about that statistic. There were 900 passengers on our ship. 
It was one of only 8 ships that survived WW2 and was placed into Passenger service until 1960. 
In 1960 we took the "Immigrant Regret Hiraeth" sailing back to Wales on a ship called the Italia by Home Lines. It was much bigger, as it had 21,600 GRT. and was 608 feet long. I have the original brochure for that one. We had no toilet in the room but the community toilets and bathing areas were down the corridor. We were in Tourist class and were on the lowest deck.
We flew back to North America three months later and my father did not live long enough to go back to Wales. 
We will be in Q4 on a portion of Queen Anne's maiden World voyage. We are going from San Francisco to Southampton.
The amazing opportunities that I have been afforded are not lost on me. I have been blessed beyond belief. 
This will most likely be our last long voyage and we were conflicted when the itinerary was changed, but realize that the Middle East will be off limits for some time. 
We thought of taking a different cruise line and therefore a different route, but remembered that Cunard suits us best. 
. 

16 hours ago, safarigal said:

I so wish I was on board with you and Deirdre and Kim. I am lookinf forward to following along 🙂

And ME!!! 
We all love Roscoe ❤️
Missing you all. 

On 8/29/2023 at 4:46 PM, Buffalobills said:

I booked one of my cruises through Carnival and the other with Costco. You can still get cover more insurance even though you didn’t book with Costco. It’s a couple of dollars more but still worth it. 
I can find the phone number and post it if you would like. 

BB, I booked my cruise through Cunard and transferred it to Costco within the 21 day period to get the pre-existing condition waiver. 
GO BILLS!!!!!! (Today is January 15. 2024. ) 🙂

20 hours ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Pleased you were pleased....

 

The beer prices are cheaper than most "happy hours" in the U.S.   Nothing beats a San Miguel in the Commodore Club sailing out of Stockholm through the archipelago.  And unlike the Grills Lounge, the crisps are not stale shards. 

 

Me... I just like to see another Expos fan .. like QE2, they date from 1969!

 

 

Well, well, well, another Expos fan. Went to the second home game in 1969. Little did I know that my husband was there too but we did not meet until the end of June 1969. 🙂

On 8/10/2023 at 12:29 AM, LibertyBella said:

 

 

P.S. There are always lots of window seats available for breakfast and lunch on port days when everybody is out on excursions!  At night, in the dark, there is nothing to be seen anyway.

That is not how it works in Grills. You have a table for the duration of your voyage. 
It is up to the Maitre D to determine who gets the window table, based on when the cruise was booked and loyalty to Cunard. 

Dear Ross, 

My husband and I are much older than most people on these boards. 
We will be in Auckland for two days while on the Queen Anne Maiden World cruise. 
We have already been to Waiheke Island, although he is hell bent on returning and I can not find fault with that. 
Other than perhaps smuggling you onboard, if you are in the area, what would you suggest we do in Auckland? 😇
Evana

Roscoe, very interesting about the lack of entertaining lecturers. I will be interested to see if this is remedied by July when I take the Iceland cruise. 
AND What were those interlopers even thinking? 
Forcing you to get up earlier and earlier to get the seat that you so carefully preserve! 
A curse on their staterooms. 🙂
Enjoy.....
 

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

 

 

Good luck. Chat, when it works, and you connect with a decent agent, is so much better than trying to communicate with their agents using the phone.

 

 Doug

They have seemingly outsourced their live phone agents. 
Today I spoke with two agents regarding a drop in price of my booking and an increase in OBC. 
The first one told me I had a good price and what was my problem? Then the line disconnected. 
The second one went to speak to a Supervisor and never came back. 
I will try the live chat next. 
Thanks 

7 minutes ago, Suzanne123 said:

I could be wrong, but I don’t think that Chase pays for actual medical expenses unless they are emergencies.  They cover things like hotels, flights and cruise costs as part of trip delay and cancellation coverage. You missed their 20 day deadline to file a claim anyway.

( page 34)

 

 

 

Thanks for that information. 
I am trying to be patient and not put too many irons in the fire at this point. 
We have multiple claims because we also dealt with Covid and isolation for three weeks. 
I have not made the Health claim with Aon yet. 
I have filed for missed hotels and prepaid trips through the trip interruption and am waiting for that as well.  I did not file those with Chase and it would have been useless because we were unable to return home within the claim filing deadline. 
 

We had a Transatlantic cruise this past April. We purchased the cruise line insurance .
I had two visits to the clinic onboard the ship and was sent to a hospital for treatment on one day. 
I paid for everything when I was billed. The total came to almost $1000. 
I returned home and submitted my bills to my United Health care Plan F claims department. 
That was on May 29. I have receipts for their arrival at the Insurance offices. 
I have been waiting since then for word as to how much will be reimbursed. 
Plan F supposedly pays 80% of foreign claims. 
I am waiting for this before I can file a claim with AON which insures Celebrity.
I have been told that the claims are paid in the order that they are received and that they are getting to those for the month of May soon. They hope that they will resolve. this by the end of the month. 
Does this sound normal? 
As I paid for the hospital bill with my Chase Sapphire card am I better off trying to get reimbursement there? 
Thanks in advance. 
 

We booked the Emerald September 29/23 on June 17. 
Nobody at Princess mentioned anything. 
That is super strange. 
We want an M1 and are waitlisted for one .
 

I just wanted to let you all know that Celebrity has done the right thing. 
We are getting a pro rated refund of the days which were missed on the Transatlantic due to testing positive for Covid. 
My husband was unable to enjoy any of the second week of the trip so that is fair. 
Thanks again for supporting me and hopefully learning from my experience. 
I am the kid your mother suggested you stay away from. Wierd things always happen around me. 🙃

14 hours ago, Mark_T said:

It is always good to remember that first and last in the class still get called 'Dr' 🙂

 

Also good to hear you are fighting this one to the end, but it would have been better if you didn't have to fight of course...

 

Hope you get a good resolution soon now.

Mark. just wanted to let you know. I have been able to negotiate a fair settlement. 
I would have preferred the cruise we paid for, but that theoretical ship has sailed. 
Thanks for your support over the past few weeks.

On 4/28/2022 at 12:15 AM, hooskydo said:

We were on the Apex.

I am supposedly going to hear back this evening. 
I have a voice message from the Retreat person. 
Apparently she had to leave early yesterday due to something. 
She would be back at her desk at 12:30 today, Central time. 
I called at 3 EST. 
I was told she would call back at around 5-5:30. Dang I wish I had asked if that were Central or Eastern Standard. 
I will keep you posted. 
I am like gum on the bottom of a shoe (really I am more like dog excrement) but I am trying to be nicer these days.) I am hard to shake off.

Well, they finally shook me off the line after an hour and three quarters.
That was because I finally relented due to the impending arrival of  my mini me 2 year old granddaughter  We had not seen each other for two months and both of us were aching to spread chaos around the world like stardust. 
I was told that my booking was a "Group booking". 
They had no idea that a Transatlantic takes two weeks.
They assumed that because our cruise originated in Port Everglades and my husband was Covid positive on Day 8 that he obviously was not on the ship at the time of diagnosis. 
If my husband was Positive for Covid, why would I be asking for pro rated as well? 
I told them that I was not permitted to eat in any dining room, sit down anywhere and take my mask off, and could only eat my meals and have a drink  on my lap in my Suite. That seemed unbelievable to them. 
Trust me, we are on the same page. It was damn unbelievable. 
Nobody seems able to understand why this happened, or that it did indeed happen.
(But we were told that if we disembarked, we were on our own. If we stayed on we were in Quarantine until we completed  Italy's sadistic treatment of American hostages who stupidly cruised into an Italian port) 

Then I was told that it had to be taken care of by the Retreat team because we were Retreat guests. 

Then I was told that this had to be investigated further . I was passed on to a Retreat specialist. 
She then asked how I could have been in isolation if I was able to get off the ship for that exciting visit to the hospital in Palma De Mallorca. 
And then she asked if she could call me back once they had investigated further. 

Later, while my cell phone was charging and I was having a cuddle with my granddaughter some person named Erin called. 
I have the message saved. 

She apologized because her shift had ended at 5 (Am? PM? No clue) and that she had returned to the office (REALLY, come on, you have live roosters in your office?) to follow up on my questions. 
She would call me back when she was back to work. 
Sure. 
But there is no way I will be waiting for that call. 
I am up. I have been since 5 am. My circadian rhythm is off. 
I will keep you posted. 
They simply want to have us go away.
Well, we tried that and look at what happened. 
We got stuck in Quarantine for a head cold, and a positive test for who knows what. 
 

7 hours ago, TeeRick said:

HaHa.  Black market Advil and Tylenol.😃

When we were on the Edge for the Transatlantic I had a small pharmacy that I had packed, all except my much needed Omeprazole and Otc Levsin.
That oversight cost me  just over $1,000. I had two visits to the Medical center followed by an idiotic and totally unnecessary hospital trip. 
I had asked the concierge in the Retreat whether there might be basic medicines available and I was told that if I went to the Medical center and stated that I had a stomach problem I would be quarantined for 24 hours in case it was Noro. 
I was confined for 21 days due to my husband's and my subsequent Covid diagnosis.
The idea that GERD might result in Quarantine is absolutely idiotic and another example of how the Medical personnel onboard are not to be taken seriously. 
If you cannot tell the difference between GERD and Noro, your Medical degree was given to you erroneously.  
 

Just to help others out. 
The Rep will ask you if you have a pen and paper to write down this address:
celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com. 
What the rep means is, get an email ready with the Positive covid results already attached to an email and send it to this address when he or she tells you to. 
I am refusing to hang up. (Sorry to anyone else in th Queue. 
 

4 hours ago, RWilbourn said:

I was on the May 6-15, 2022 Celebrity Equinox cruise.  This was my fourth cruise since March 2020 but the only time I have ever contracted Covid.  I felt like I had a bad case of the flu with a lot of coughing. 

 

I think Celebrity’s Covid strategy is to identify infected passengers and isolate them.  Other than receiving a bottle of generic Nyquil Cold liquid, I noticed no treatment effort. 

 

I don’t know how I got Covid but my cabin attendant was replaced (with no explanation) on the same day I noticed Covid symptoms.  Also, when I ate in the main dining room that night, the waiter who had previously served me was not working despite his name still being on the table card.  So two Celebrity people I had come in regular contact with both disappeared at the same time.  Also, I was in the medical facility and it appeared to me to be full of Covid cases.  Despite being assigned an appointment time and escorted to the facility, it was so crowded I was placed in an examination room with another Covid patient.  I was then moved to what appeared to be the operating room.  Yet, I didn’t hear any more Covid updates from Captain Matt. 

 

Getting complete and accurate information was difficult.  The room service number I was given connected me to standard room service.  No one with Celebrity told me I could order off the main dining room menu which is much better than the standard room service menu.  I discovered that option from a cruise social media website.  In addition to the Covid passenger disembarkation information, I was given all the regular disembarkation information – most of which did not seem to apply to Covid passengers.  I was told I would be moved to a new cabin.  Thankfully, no one ever moved me.  I was not believed when I truthfully said I was the only occupant in my cabin.  Celebrity’s records showed two other people assigned to my cabin with me.  I discovered this error early in the cruise and asked Guest Relations (GR) to fix it.  I was assured by GR that it would.  Apparently, it never did.  I still wonder who Joni and Kolleen are.  

 

On departure day, as directed I waited in my cabin for someone to come get me.  After two hours I called GR and was promised someone would be there within 15 minutes.  No one came.  I tried GR again and after a long wait on hold, someone picked up, and then the line immediately went dead.  After three hours of waiting, I just left my cabin dragging my two large suitcases – one with clothes and the other with my scuba diving gear.  Thank goodness that I did.  While I was flagged by the computer and not allowed to disembark through the regular exit, I was told to go to deck 2. 

 

To disembark from the ship a person coming from Celebrity imposed quarantine must prove he a) has his own car, b) a rental car reserved to drive himself home, or c) a local hotel room reserved in which to quarantine.  I had made a rental car reservation.  To leave the ship, I presented my reservation confirmation showing on my phone.

 

Except where the Covid passenger has his own car, he must allow Celebrity to transport him to a car rental place or his quarantine hotel.  I was transported in a very nice vehicle to Budget rental car at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport.  Note, the driver of the Celebrity provided car did nothing to confirm I entered Budget.  I could have easily gone into the airport terminal and tried to board my flight.  Instead, I rented the car and canceled my flight. 

 

I believe many people would rather not report they are ill than go through what I went through.  Covid for most otherwise healthy people is somewhere between a non-event and the flu.  Those who don’t need to move away from uninfected companions will be tempted to keep their Covid symptoms secret.  As noted, I didn't receive treatment and I was treated like a nuisance by the medical staff.  Additionally, the information I received was incomplete or contradictory.  In fact, the only time I had a real conversation with a doctor was when she called me to investigate my claim that I had no companions in my cabin.  Also, I got boring food (until I learned from the internet that I could order off the main dining room menu), had to quarantine, and since I couldn’t honestly fly home, I had to drive 900 miles.  Additionally, most Covid passengers are moved to another cabin and some report they receive an inferior cabin. 

 

The government recently sent me several Covid tests and I wish I had brought them.  If I had, I would have used them first.  Note, Celebrity’s initial Covid test of me was NEGATIVE.  But they always test you a second time.  Moreover, once they know you have symptoms, they can keep testing you as much as they want to.  By contrast, once you get a positive result, they stop testing you.  My request for a third test was refused.  One positive test result by Celebrity's medical personnel and your pleasure cruise is over.

 

Even if I had tested positive using a self-test, knowing what I know now I would have just self-quarantined until the cruise ended or five days elapsed.  Is there a difference between self-quarantining and Celebrity quarantining?  Yes.  A lot!  The Celebrity documents I received say:

 

“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines provide for a minimum of five days of isolation.  On days five and six, we will administer an antigen test.  If either of these test results are positive, you must isolate for 10 days onboard.”

 

According to a doctor I know who manages Covid treatment for a large hospital, a positive antigen test does not mean a person is still infectious.  Unless they have fever, he says that after five days they are no longer infectious.  However, in most instances, they will continue to test positive for Covid. 

 

If my doctor friend is correct, that means most Celebrity Covid passengers will end up being unnecessarily quarantined on board for ten days.  Note that Celebrity indirectly confirms what my doctor friend told me.  In the documents Celebrity gave me Celebrity states, “If your sailing ends more than five days after your initial positive test, you do not need to continue isolating after you disembark, and you may continue your travel home.”  (emphasis in original)  In other words, if you got a positive Covid test on day 5 you must quarantine onboard through day 10.  But as soon as you walk off the ship, even if before day 10 you suddenly no longer need to quarantine.  In that instance, Celebrity thinks it’s perfectly okay for you to hop on a crowded airplane and fly anywhere in the world. 

 

Also, not reporting mild symptoms and self-quarantining may be easier for Celebrity since Celebrity avoids having to be the CDC's enforcer and doesn’t have to report there was another Covid case.  My experience makes me wonder whether the cruise lines really want you to report mild to moderate Covid symptoms. 

 

Another thing I might have done differently is to consider keeping my flight.  I was by myself.  That made the 900-mile drive home especially difficult – a drive that necessarily resulted in me coming into contact with many people including drive-through servers at fast-food restaurants, people in and around public restrooms, and the front desk staff at the hotel where I overnighted.  Additionally, someone had to clean my hotel room and my rental car.  Even assuming I was still contagious, would it have been safer overall for me to fly two hours home with a mask on - thus getting away from everyone quickly - instead of driving 900 miles over two days across three states?  I wonder.

 

One potential advantage of reporting Covid symptoms is Celebrity says it will reimburse some of my travel expenses.  Specifically, the paperwork I was provided states that for those who drive home in a rental car, “The costs associated with the car rental can be reimbursed, up to $150 per day.”  Of course, it cost me well over $300 to rent a car, stay one night in a Hampton Inn, and pay for modest meals during my drive home.  Also, despite a week ago submitting my reimbursement request along with copies of my receipts and separately calling and being promised a return call (the rep I spoke to said his supervisor would call me but that never happened), Celebrity has not acknowledged my submission. 

 

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They gave you NyQuil? 
I was told to take Tylenol every 8 hours. 
Oh, and did I have a fever? How would I know? I did not have a thermometer and placing meh hand on my forehead was rather useless because my hand was hot too. 
So on Day 2 (OF TWELVE) I was sent a thermometer. 
Dont tell them, but I packed that sucker in my carryon. 
I am on hold for the "Covid number", which happens to be the same number I would call to book a cruise. They said my wait time would be TWO and A HALF Minutes. Initially I thought that they were going to say 2.5 hours.

I am speaking to a ..................sorry, there are no words. Total nimrod. 

For those who tested positive onboard, send your positive result to celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com 

There was never any coordination between the ship and shore for us. 
And I would have to say that the Plan of Operation is to have us disappear. 
I will not disappear. 
 

Hilariously when we were about to board our flight home at FCO I was approached by a Delta employee. She told me I had to be wearing an N-95 mask. 
I said, I dont have one. 
She said: You go to store and buy. 
So off I ran, in a state of panic (if you have followed my adventures you would know why) desperate to find and purchase an N-95. 
I hit the first "store" and asked. 
I was told; Sold Out, go to pharmacy. 
I ran back to the boarding area and asked (loudly) if anyone had an N-95 to sell. 
At that point the manager or boss or whatever he was said: NO, no need to wear n-95. 
I was so relieved and totally expecting that I was not going to be able to board. 
And here I read that the mask mandate was not even in effect. 
 

19 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

I was not being sarcastic.  As a vegan, I guess I would starve in isolation even if I came from a suite.   I would be calling a lawyer!

They claim that if you have special dietary needs that have been mentioned in the pre cruise questionnaire  they will make sure that your needs will be met in Isolation. 
Our problem was that we did not mention the we were trying to help my husband heal by modifying his diet accordingly. We could control that while we were among the general population because we can identify Broccoli etc, but when you are at the mercy of a room service menu your chances are fairly grim. 
And I apologize for my assumption that you were being sarcastic. I am beyond tired and frustrated. 
 

On 5/10/2022 at 2:03 PM, Lastdance said:

Evana, just to clarify, in no way was I being irreverent to you when I mentioned to someone what plans my husband and I were making for our b2b in October.  Our concierge doctor is a wealth of information regarding Covid, so having his knowledge beforehand and meds is very important to us, not to mention if we need his connections.  I have been following your thread and others to glean must needed information for our trip because I think it is very important to know and understand what could happen.  You are sharing valuable information, things that I would have never thought of by myself.  I am so thankful for this, and only wish you well, as previously stated.  Learning from you and your ongoing experiences has been eye-opening to say the least.  Thank you so much for sharing.  I wish you only the best, hoping that things steadily improve for you both, along with others who are also in this awful situation.  The decision to cruise during these times should never be taken lightly; planning for a cruise has become so much more difficult...thank you!

By the way, I tried to contact my Concierge dr on Thursday. 
I was despondent about testing positive with no end in sight. 
Did he have any suggestions that might help me test negative? A nasal lavage? Perhaps some OTC meds that I might have packed. 

Well, my Dr was out of town for the past two weeks.
He was out of the country and did not have access to normal communications. 
His office manager suggested that I get Vicks nasal spray. 
I informed her that not only did I not have access to Vicks, I did not have access to the outside of my cabin. 
Did the Dr have someone who was covering for him? 
Well, yes, but that person would have no knowledge of my medical history. 
WHAT? Where the hell is this cover? 
That is ANOTHER call that will be on the agenda for tomorrow. 
I had fired out previous Dr last Fall because I was fed up with not being listened to. 
I had great hopes for this one but that does not seem to be likely.