BlueRiband

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years!  I filmed her arrival from the Battery at first light.  If memory serves QM2 was switched to Manhattan because a Princess ship carrying about 4,000 passengers was due in and thus berthed in Brooklyn.  

QM2's derriere extends past the Manhattan piers and into the shipping channel - that and Carnival's agreement to use Brooklyn.  She berthed in Manhattan before the Brooklyn terminal was built.   Maybe the channel is not currently dredged deep enough for her draft?

18 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

...We come on board our favorite ship, the QM2, and enjoy the way we remember it and come back to see it the same way. They put so much effort to keep it looking great and why alter that look. 

Ditto.  Door decorating is a practice that I abhor.  At best it's folk art.  At worst it's as tacky as subway graffiti. 

On 9/2/2024 at 11:40 PM, SelectSys said:

They may never expire, but every day they drop a little more in value.  What could be better than giving a 30 year interest free loan to a major corporation like American Express? 

 

Amex, and other similar vendors, should send a big thank you to everyone holding on to these old traveler's checks. 

I remember Amex's old commercials with Karl Malden.  In one he actually told customers to hold on to unused checks for emergency money! 

While there will be some way to redeem them into the near future, the days were one could walk into a bank with traveler's checks and walk out with cash are coming to an end. 

FWIW, I was once told at a Senior Officers party that 8-day crossings adversely affected maintenance.  There are some things that just cannot be done when the ship is at sea.

9 hours ago, ldubs said:

X2, thanks for sharing. It is a good prompt to check the old sock drawer!  

 

I am actually surprised many places other than Amex would still accept them.  I suppose as long as American Express is in business they will have to redeem them.   

The same would apply to gift cheques.  Years ago my employer gave these as incentive awards.  (I used them to buy my 26" case!) 

Amex ones never expire and their site outlines the redemption process. That may be the only way to cash them if one's bank will not accept them for deposits or does not cash them.  There were also Visa and Thomas Cook checks out there.  I don't know what happened with the later after Cook went bankrupt.

Personally, I have not used traveller's checks since 1994.  The only place that readily cashed them in Paris was the Amex outpost.  And that has long ceased to be an option after Amex closed all of their brick and mortar storefronts.  Cunard stopped cashing them years ago and I doubt if there are any cruse lines that still do. 

If you are holding on to unused traveler's checks the window to redeem them is rapidly closing.  According to a column on another travel site (hence why I cannot link it) some banks and financial institutions have stopped accepting them for deposits - such as Schwab.  American Express stopped issuing new ones and it's estimated that $1 billion dollars are lying in sock drawers and safe deposit boxes. 

It was not too long ago that some posters here were still buying them and cashing them on the ship.  Buying traveler's checks at one time was a cherished ritual of vacation planning.  But holding on to them for emergency money will be useless if you have no way to turn them into cash. 

Your story is a good example on the value of buying travel insurance especially when expensive itineraries are involved. 

I used to always buy Cunard Care, but it is no longer available to those living in New York (or some provinces of Canada).  In its place is the Cunard "At Ease Waiver Program" which provides absolutely no coverage with 72 hours of sailing.  After reading that fine print I bought insurance through a third party. 

No cruise line, Carnival or anyone else, allows walk-up booking at the terminal.

Agents there only check in booked passengers.  They cannot sell accomodations.  You would have to telephone the cruise line and ask. 

Cruise lines sailing from the US have to send US Homeland Security a passenger manifest 72hrs before sailing and a final manifest 1hr before sailing.

You indicate that you are in Indiana.  Are you flying to Vancouver or Victoria to board the ship?  She cannot fly into Canada without a passport.  This stings a lot of first time cruisers because they forget that traveling from the continental US to Alaska - via Canada -  is International travel.

You don't want to make any assumptions.  Without proper documentation she would be denied boarding.  Then you're stuck with leaving her at the airport or pier or losing your entire cruise fare.  Travel insurance does not cover failure to have proper travel documentation because that is considered within the passenger's control. 

Getting a scooter through the door is only 5% of the problem.  Finding a place to park it once inside is the other 95% of the problem.  Some years ago we had a post from a passanger who was in your situation: No HC cabins were available so she booked a standard one and showed up with an undeclared scooter.  After assuring the check-in agents that her scooter folded, and she would manage just fine, she was permitted to board. 

You can probably guess how this went.  She wrote a dissertation here about her difficulties in stowing it. And complained about the delays in getting a shower seat that she never told Cunard would be needed until after she had boarded the ship.  So after letting her board the ship with an undeclared scooter Cunard gets a negative review about how callus, inattentive, and mean they were toward a passenger with reduced motility. 

If you are in the US the current scooter policy can be found here:Wheelchairs and motility scooters

And now that the incident has been well publicized, we'll next read of somebody suing Cunard for the emotional trauma supposedly caused by the incident.

20 hours ago, London-Calling said:

Palmer now says it was Covid that delayed the project, rather than 'second thoughts'.

Given that the Titanic II project had prolong periods of dormancy I won't believe that it is going to happen until a shipyard contract is signed.   No yard is going to do that unless they are confident that they will get paid when the ship is completed.  If 2024 passes and there is still no contract, I think this latest revival can be written off as something Palmer decided to do because he got bored with politics.

FWIW, when I was on board QM2 in late November the Voyage Sales desk was available by appointment only. 

On 3/24/2024 at 10:02 PM, ldubs said:

 

I could see how they might be an issue for others in a scooter, wheelchair, etc. What do you do, move them?  Call security?  

 

- I give the Purser's desk a call and let them handle it.  Within an hour it's gone. 

 

As for door decorations, just walk by looking straight ahead and try hard not to let them ruin your day.  🙂 

 

- Ruin my day?  No.  But if it proliferated on the ship that I sail I wouldn't be sailing that ship much longer. 

On 3/20/2024 at 9:40 AM, chengkp75 said:

I believe the thread title was "tongue in cheek", as this thing could no more compete with QM2 than a ferry boat.  There isn't enough demand for "crossings" to support more than the QM2 and the industry knows it.

Two years ago the Belfast Telegraph said that Palmer was having second thoughts on the long term viability of the ship once the initial curiosity had worn off.   It might eventually go the the Chinese market.  One, Chinese passengers love to gamble. (And when people gamble the house always wins.)  Two, there is a huge fascination with Titanic in China such that a theme park was building a floating but docked replica of the ship.  It was estimated to be about 25% complete before that project ran out of money.

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I'm beginning to wonder if you are one of the hall monitors?  😃

When it comes to finding a scooter parked in a hall, yes.

However to get back on topic, door decorations seem to be more prevalent on some lines rather than others.  I've never liked the practice.  At best it's folk art. At worst it's about as appealing is spray paint graffiti.

The Finland-based naval architecture firm Deltamarin was working on Titanic II previously.  In the first effort, it got as far as model basin testing but then the project went dormant 2015-18.  In 2018 Palmer revived the project and it got as far as a "conceptual design for shipyard pricing."  Then the project again fell silent until this latest revival.   I'm skeptical that this time will be different. 

If my recollection of the ship dimensions is accurate, the top of the funnels of Titanic II would just about reach deck 13 on QM2. 

Scooters in hallways block the passage of other passengers who also need mobility devices.  The bariatric models are like mini-golf carts.  If I see a scooter in the hall I give the Purser's desk a ring. 

Carnival's Cunard Line has done this for some years now: require that scooter-using passengers book an HC cabin.  There was a lot of board bickering on the topic:
"This was never a problem on QE2!"

"Mine can fold!"

"I cannot get to the bathroom if the scooter is in the cabin!"

- and, my personal favorite -

"What about the housekeeping carts?  They are in the hall!" 

My booking confirmations for non-premium cabins all had the disclaimer, "Mobility scooters not permitted."

The Alaska Marine Highway system operates US-flagged ships.  Its only port in the "lower 48" is in Bellingham, Washington.  Some ships have basic overnight cabins and some are "day boats".  They provide a vital transportation link among smaller Alaska communities.  If you are more adventurous you might want to check it out.  But be aware this is intended as A-B transportation and it does not offer cruise ship style dining or entertainment. 

If there is a steep incline when getting on or off the ship, you might want to consider "walking" your wife's empty scooter up or down the ramp. (Of couse this presumes that you yourself still have the agility to do this.)   From what I've observed in these situations,  mobility impared passengers will be placed in a wheel chair and assisted by a crew member.   Once she is ashore she can then get on the scooter.  You both will have a lot more independence ashore if she can use a scooter rather than have to be pushed in a wheelchair. 

If this is your first time renting a scooter please check if you will be restricted to booking only certain cabins.  Getting a scooter through a cabin door is only 1% of the problem.  Where you will park it once inside is the other 99% if the problem.  Many cruise lines have become very strict because too many passengers will try to leave them in a hallway.  This is a serious safety problem and blocks the path of other mobility impared passengers. 

If this is a business group did they use a corporate or group TA to book? Might that same TA also be able to assist you?

I use my US dollars but any widely circulated currency - used at the ship's embarkation ports - could be easily converted.  Crew members probably do their own currency exchanges among one another.

This has been true at least since the re-start.  Cunard does offer what they call the "At Ease" cancellation fee waiver program.  But there is an important caveat: the protection ends 72 hours before sailing. 

I thought the benefits didn't justify the premium being charged and obtained insurance elsewhere for my last sailing.

See this thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2945605-merged-qm2-2024-brooklyn-revised-schedule/

Cunard may be updating the schedule make these changes.

Used what is now called "Express Disembarkation" today.  It was a much less painful procedure than dealing with the baggage hall.  (The only time I took the advice to hire a porter it went terribly wrong.)

However today neither the escaltor nor the elevator was working at the Brooklyn terminal!   Everyone had to decend the stairs but Cunard sent crew members over to carry our bags down the staircase for us.  I don't know what they did about the mobility impaired passengers.