Froxfield

I found all the new production shows on Eclipse in February to pretty dire. For me the worst was Amade. Or "murdering Mozart" as it might well have been christened. Against the woefully wilful arrangements of Mozart, Topper seemed almost a relief, although I can understand those here who thought it the worst!

It is a shame as the cast put heart and soul into their performances and some real talent was clearly available! Although to be honest, I thought the much vaunted orchestra (band) was less than exciting.

You only need US$. The only exception is Martinique and Guadeloupe where euros are preferred but you’ll have no problem using US$.

Indeed, a couple of years back, we found that in St Martin the market at Marigot actively preferred USD by offering an effective exchange rate of 1 USD to 1 Euro.

I just wondered what you think of this price, picked up by coach in my Lancashire town, transported to a Manchester airport hotel, evening buffet, bed and breakfast, taken to the airport for morning flight to New York on Concorde, due to arriving in New York early, the full party taken around the high lights of the city, we stayed at the Helmsley for four nights room only, then to the port and boarded QE2 for a five nights sail home and taken to home to Lancashire by coach. This was our first cruise, since then we have done another 50 with Cunard. This was Aug '96 the cost approx £1950. each. The T/A chartered Concorde and purchased approx 50 cabins from Cunard. Would have loved the chance to do it again.

I wonder what the cost would be now?;)

Using RPI, that would be about £3500 per person. I am guessing that this was a bit of a bargain back then. However, An October 2017 T/A can be had for around £1500 per person including flights in a guaranteed balcony cabin. Lowest fare for BZ £1729. You can get Queen's Grill Eastbound in November for £2299. Of course, that won't be Concorde!! I guess a New York hotel room could run $1000 plus for four nights.

Like many here, I wasn't the impressed by the first "artist's impression" of the new ship. However, I think we will all have to face the economics of the ocean voyage industry at some time. Surely cruise prices are still at historically low levels in real terms? (I can't prove that statistically but it is the way it feels. There is no way we could have afforded transatlantic fares back in the good old days and QE2 was always an impossible dream right up there with Concorde). So I am grateful I can now afford to go and maybe the design of ships is the compromise to pay?

Some other comments here surprise me a bit. I am sorry but I don't find the appearance of QM2 to be particularly "sleek". She is one great big chunk of metal! The hull, for example rises very high and creates a slab of "black": for very good reasons! But she is very elegant inside (after the latest refit). And I have been on Celebrity's Solstice class and didn't miss the promenade deck one little bit. Which just goes to show how different various people's likes and requirements are, I suppose.

Now, at the risk of getting well and truly flamed, I will say that (for my money) the prettiest cruise ships afloat are the Disney Magic and Wonder. They were designed as tributes to liners of the past and feature proper promenade decks with wooden loungers! If you can ignore the Mickey Ears on the funnel, they look almost more Cunard than Cunard!? Disney has continued that practice even with its larger (and to my eyes less elegant) ships, which also feature a promenade deck with suspended lifeboats etc. But I am also sure that there are cost implications: Disney cruise prices anyone? There are no doubt other reasons why Cunard stalwarts would dislike Disney. I am afraid we enjoy both: in different ways.

Queen Alexandra was my first thought for a name.

We like 14 day cruises, especially if we incur the cost of a transatlantic flight! We did the Eclipse 14 day earlier this year and loved it. However, we did notice that the speciality restaurants were almost empty many nights and I wonder if the on board spending of individuals does not increase in proportion for longer cruises, thus negatively impacting on the all important bottom line? I'm guessing that profit is what it's all about. The Celebrity model does seem to be to keep prices down and depend upon the up-sell on board.

Personally, I would avoid Paris Charles de Gaulle if at all possible: my least favourite international airport. If you have to connect through CDG make sure you have plenty of time. Changing terminals, even from one part of terminal 2 to another can be very slow. Look carefully at the airport maps and understand exactly where you have to go and how. They can be found on http://www.parisaeroport.fr/docs/default-source/passager-fichiers/acces/ligne-grise-circuit-correspondance-cdg.jpg?sfvrsn=0. The shuttle buses around terminal 2 run in only one direction. Although it's never actually happened to me, I have witnessed many people missing connections because of the bus system used around terminal 2. I have had some close calls!

Don't panic, but be well prepared.

Why do they always choose Guernsey? Is jersey not suitable?

In a nutshell, just so. Jersey harbour isn't big enough. The Condor Ferries get in and out but even that is a close fit. St. Aubin's Bay, wherein sits St Helier harbour, is also quite shallow until quite a long way out and there are lots of rocks. The Channel Islands only separated from France about 10,000 years ago (I think that's right) and the whole area is comparatively shallow with vicious currents: very fast and high tides (that is large difference between high and low water). I was always surprised at just how rough the water could be between Guernsey and Jersey on even a reasonable weather day. Navigation around the islands is never easy.

To be fair to Carnival (Why? I hear you all cry!), without them there would probably be no Cunard. Cunard's financial position at acquisition was, I think, precarious to say the least? And, I think I'm right, there would certainly have been no QM2 which was Micky Arison's pet project? I am sure Solent Richard will correct me if I'm wrong.

We are back on Queen Elizabeth in October, so I am hoping that these horror stories are a little oversold. I am confident it will all be OK!

As someone who very briefly and many years ago worked in market research for a large company, I was actually sent on a questionnaire design course. I can only say that the Celebrity questionnaire (whether in its previous paper form or the new email version) cannot deliver true discrimination between good and bad in any area, there is simply not enough detail. It cannot be taken remotely seriously, save as a way of reporting that everything is going well, since most people will not want to disadvantage the good people in a category by using an overall grade to point out deficiencies!! However, in Celebrity's defence, the same appears top be true for all the other cruise lines I have experienced. Although I always respond to the questionnaire, I don't kid myself that it will make any difference. And the bottom line is pretty much always that the cruise lines I travel deliver good value for money and enjoyable experience, whatever gripes may occur from time to time.

Another vote here for the Antiche Figure! They arranged a water taxi for us from the airport to the landing dock by the hotel. All we had to do was go to the relevant desk in the arrivals hall to pick up the booking. Also they arranged our water taxi to the cruise port: highly recommended if not the cheapest. I can't speak for Celebrity but Disney put us and our bags on a coach transfer to the check in hall from where the water taxi docked.

My daughter has also stayed at their sister hotel Canal Grande and was equally impressed.

I have to agree with Aussieflyer! On a cruise, it seems one can eat all day, every day in multiple places. Smaller portions just seem sensible to keep down the weight gain :-) And, to be fair, we have never found the portions too small on Cunard (or any other cruise line for that matter). But then everyone's appetite is different.

Accepted wisdom on cathedrals used to be that "Winchester is all glorious within and Salisbury all glorious without". Which just about sums it up. As it happens, Salisbury is very much my favourite of the two. It is one of the few cathedrals completed in one style of architecture from around 1220, with the tower and spire added between 1300 and 1320. However, the inside is very plain. Eighteenth and nineteenth century restoration made considerable changes and what you see today is what was left when these changes were stripped away in the twentieth century: for example, Gilbert Scott's quire screen was removed so that there is now no screen at all.

The town you see today is a "new town" created by the bishops of Salisbury in the thirteenth century. It still retains its mediaeval rectangular street pattern although much of the building has changed. Nearby is the hill-fort town of Old Sarum, where the original cathedral was built around 1000AD. There isn't much left to see there unless you like old hill-forts!

Salisbury cathedral close is a gem. It is a lovely open space allowing one to step back and view the cathedral as a whole. The mediaeval gates and walls of the close remain to this day. Edward Heath, a former Prime Minister, chose to live in a fine house in the close and another, Mompesson House, is worth a visit. But then, I am very fond of Salisbury: one of my two favourite English cathedrals. The other is Durham, which is too far for a day trip!!

Are you saying the photos to attract tourists would lie?? :D

 

Seriously, thanks for the update. I have plenty of time to research this and check out what kind of excursion X will offer since they want us off the ship for 3 hours.

 

Jo42....we're on the same cruise in Aug., 2017....that's the back of our b2b. Can't wait to see your review.

If it were left to me, I would opt for the New Forest from Southampton. If you want some specific sights, there is the Motor Museum at Beaulieu (pronounced Bewley!). But my own favourite is the small "village" of Buckler's Hard nearby to Beaulieu. This is where a considerable number of Britain's eighteenth century warships were built: timber was cut from the forest and the single main street lead down to the former dockyard. There is a good museum to explain the site. In any event, the Forest is a pleasant place to spend a few hours!

If cathedrals are your thing then the one at Winchester has the longest nave in the UK. And, of course, Winchester used to be the capital of England for the Saxons!

But three hours isn't very long for either of these trips and the traffic into the cruise ports down the western "motorway" link and Millbrook Way can be severe. Leave plenty of time if you have to get to a ship!

On 29 June, Hydrokitty wrote, "I lived in London but we never got to Southampton and it looks like a quaint little place."

There is much to admire about Southampton, but I don't think I have ever heard it described as a quaint little place. Although there are some vestiges of mediaeval town walls, the town suffered dreadfully in the Second World War and most of the centre is drab post-war reconstruction.

Well, just in case DCL read these forums, I will add my voice to the chorus of those who are "priced out" by DCL for 2017. As the prices continue to rise, it looks like our Westbound TA later this year will be our last voyage with DCL. Which is sad because the Disney Magic remains our favourite ship.

Last time in St Kitts, we went to a cookery demonstration at Fairview Great House and Botanic Garden since we had done the sugar train on a previous occasion. The sugar train is a good trip. At the Great House, as well as the demonstration and tasting, there was a low key tour of the Botanic Gardens and some history of the Great House. We found the trip both interesting and enjoyable.

There is something good about a really high quota of dinner jackets (tuxedos!) on a proper formal night, and I for one am sorry that Celebrity have just decided to move to "Chic". Apart from anything else, I find the black tie approach makes it so easy to choose what to wear! And, as for luggage restrictions, my dinner suit is probably my lightest weight suit. Although I am not sure that suits are the real weight problem when it comes to airline baggage. It always seems to me that shoes are the real culprit.

But.....(isn't there always a "but"), I do wonder if Cunard will find it possible to hold out for formal nights in the longer term. It is very clear where the industry is headed and in the end the next generation of customers will have to be attracted or the Cunard brand (because that is what it is to the owners: just a brand like any other) will go out of business. Eventually we will have to choose: Cunard without formal nights or no Cunard. I rather think that this choice will have to made sooner rather than later. And I will opt to keep Cunard!

One further thought! I sometimes think that geography can be a factor. On a crossing, formal attire seems VERY appropriate to the occasion. But sometimes I think that dark suits, etc. do look a bit odd in the Caribbean. And judging from our experience where we have sailed the same lines in different hemispheres, European sailings have always seemed more "formal" in the evenings than, for example, the Caribbean and US originating trips.

Looking forward to enjoying formal nights on our next crossing on the refurbished QM2 in 2016, I also hope they might have repaired the seats in Illuminations.

Yes, but on this trip I really think there were almost no children: we were given figures at one point but I didn't note them down. We travel in the aft section on Deck 5 and thus walk past OC etc several times most days. Cast members were sitting with nothing to do and there was no-one in. I can see you were on the same TA: did you not notice an absence of small persons?

We are already booked on the 2016 westbound TA and this will be our third TA on the Magic. We are both in our 60s and travel without the children. On the last TA, there were so few kids that they were opening up the Kids' Club to the adults (to play in!). It was certainly interesting to view the facilities Disney make available to the children.

Last time, we returned to the UK on QM2 from New York and would probably say that we much preferred the Disney experience. In terms of entertainment, Disney shows and cooking demonstrations were far better than the mediocre entertainment and guest speakers offered by Cunard. Nevertheless, we shall make the same return crossing on QM2 in 2016, albeit with a couple of weeks in WDW in Florida with the family in between.

Thank you Lynne , we're glad that you are enjoying it . No , the omelet was not cooked all the way through . We didn't know that when I ordered it , thinking that it was a savory foam or mousse . I didn't realize that the omelet was half baked until I saw the video , and I wanted other people to be aware of that fact .

But that's how an omelette should be cooked. It looked quite excellent. And how I would expect in France! Cooked through ends up like shoe leather?

La Mere Poulard has been famous for years, I can remember back in the 1980s.......

After reading about the killing of the whales on the internet in the last several days...I would never, never go back to the Faroe Islands again...in fact..if I had known about this practice...I would have never booked this cruise. How cruel/how useless...because they don't even eat what they kill!! Sorry...but I have just found out about this...and feel like I have given money to a culture/country that I could never support...I'm wrong because I should have known!! LuAnn

We also took a cruise (Celebrity Infinity) before we found out about the whales. In fact, I only discovered this when Disney Cruise Line pulled out of their planned Faroe stop citing precisely their distaste for this event. Perhaps if other cruise lines followed that example it might have an impact? Although I doubt it.

Richard

There is definitely something odd about the Celebrity IT system: but then we know that don't we?! I have just settled a final cruise payment where we have the 123Go package which, of course, included gratuities. After settling the invoice with X on the phone I received an email thanking me for my deposit (!) and indicating that there was an outstanding amount for final payment of £183.68 (the amount of the gratuities). A second email followed almost immediately with an invoice attached showing that all amounts had been settled and a balance to pay of zero!!

Final payment due date is a little way off, so I am waiting to see if I get a reminder email. I haven't contacted X and don't really know whether I should or not.

It seems that the IT system isn't quite up to the task of keeping track of all the different offers of pre-paid this and that. Just one of the amusing quirks of Modern Luxury! It also has to be said that I often have to trek down to Guest Services on the ships to get some charge or other taken off the account. All part of the fun. I guess if we wanted an upgrade to the "state of the Ark" systems the cost of the cruises would rise to pay for it?

The failings in QM2 upkeep are well documented here and we certainly noticed the obvious shortcomings when we did a crossing back in September 2014. But do not despair, there is plenty to like and admire still on the ship! Indeed, I rather think that if Cunard did not make such a thing of being "better" than the rest, one might hardly notice. It is the gap between publicity and reality that is disappointing: like the broken seats we found in Illuminations. None of this has stopped us booking another crossing next year: but we are hoping that QM2 looks a little smarter after the planned refurb.

All the above shows is how different people's views can be! We had one a capella group back in 2012 (Up til two) that we enjoyed immensely and deliberately sought out: their performances appeared to be packed out. But for me it depends on the quality of the individual/groups rather than the particular genre. We have had string quartets, for example, whose tuning/intonation was so poor that we would actively avoid. We have had on board bands that were good and others that were poor and solo guitars that were excellent and others merely irritating. In the past our experience of Celebrity has been that their selection of live acts around the ship was better than the average. We will be returning to Celebrity in 2015 and hope that things haven't changed too much.

Take care here. If you sign up for one of the ship's (or other commercial tour operators for that matter) tours you will likely not get taken to the Mariinskiy and the Kirov. There are at least two troupes performing pretty much for tourists at the Hermitage Theatre and the Alexandriinskiy Theatre. Younger dancers too I suspect. Mostly you get Swan Lake, although the rep may vary a little.

I have lived in Moscow and been to the Bolshoi and the Kremlin Ballet etc. Judged by those standards, the performances on these tourist trips are "routine". Not having seen touring Russian companies I cannot make a direct comparison for you! But I have been given to understand that some are not quite as good as they are "at home".

Having said all that, I did one of these tourist Swan Lakes a couple of years back and had a reasonably enjoyable evening. The theatre itself was quite interesting and quaint and certainly more intimate than the Mariinskiy (which is pretty grand): I can't speak to the ballet at the Kirov as I have only been to opera there. One good feature is that you most certainly won't have to suffer Valery Gergiev conducting one of these tourist shows.

There is plenty of information on these tourist ballets on the internet. Try a bit of Google and you will also likely find some YouTube clips.

On balance, I wouldn't pass up visiting the Catherine Palace and Peterhof (or the Hermitage Museum) for one of these performances but do do your own research before trusting my opinion!!