Chunky2219

Impossible numbers, the fastest satellite provider only has a max down of 25 Mb.

Well the guy works for BT, which I assume means he knows what he was doing. So he must be a lair then. Unless .......... the ship simply combines multiple streams? Or maybe the number that you Googled is the fastest speed available to domestic customers and if you have a big ship with a dish the size of a billionaire's dining table you can do a bit better.

I'm betting on both being the case.

It is rocket science. All the satellites, every one of them, are in geosynchronous orbit round the equator. So speeds from the satellites will be slower the farther north from the equator and will be better in the Caribbean than in Europe.

We really ought to tell the poor folks in Australia and New Zealand that the satallite TV and comms they are getting is all in their imagination. I guess the people at the Antarctic research stations still have to rely on bouncing short wave radio off the troposphere when the atmosphere is clement for a few hours a week as well.

The realitity of course is just as I alluded to. It matters little where you are on the earth providing there is a line of sight to a satellite and more importantly that they point the satellite in the right direction and deploy enough transmitted power and bandwidth. All three of the major satellite telecoms providers offer voice and fast data packages to New Zealand, which is rather further from the equator than is the Med. They all offer comms to ships at sea almost anywhere between the two poles.

Do you imagine that the ship is out of data contact for management purposes every time they visit Iceland? No, of course not and they're not relying on carrier pigeons either. So any variation in provision for passengers between near-equatorial and further north/south is an entirely commercial decision taken by the line(s). None of the advertising has the caveat "Might be rubbish in most places the ship goes".

We can however agree that the on-baord implementation is not good enough, which is they point I was actually trying to make.

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We need to separate the issues of internet speed and on-board connectivity.

A download speed of 2.5-3.5 Mb/s might be just great for the majority of users who just want to swap a few e-mails, open a bit of web news and so on. People shouldn't really expect to be watching streaming movies when there might be 1000 other pax competing for bandwidth and a satellite is 26,000 miles above. Heck, 2.5Mb/sec is better than I sometimes get at home!

Looking a little deeper, I really can't get my head around the idea that things would be better in the Carribean than in Europe or anywhere else though. it's not like they don't know where the ships are going to be two years in advance and it's not like there's a shortage of satellites, the sky is full of them. So if some areas are worse than others, that's just a commercial decision made by the cruise line - i.e. not to pay what it costs to provide full coverage for their itineraries.

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The other side of the coin though is what actually happens on board between your device and the satallite dish. That's why some pax think it's dreadful, others wonderful. If your cabin is close to a WiFi hotspot and not many nearby cabins are competing then it's all hunky dorey. If you are hanging there half a deck from a Wireless Access Point (WAP) with only one bar of signal strength or worse, a flickering, flakey connection you will quite rightly think it's unacceptable.

For the life of me, I don't understand why I couldn't even get a connection in the buffet at breakfast time, unless either the hardware is inadequate or else it is deliberately downgraded to stop people table hogging at busy times.

Add to this that the service implementation at login level is downright second-rate and it makes Xcellerate a much over-hyped and under-delivering failure.

I'd like to draw a comparison, based on one Celebrity and one Cunard voyage this year. Cunard was no faster than Celebrity. But there were WAPs visible every 20 metres or so on the corridors and we even had a WAP in our cabin. The result was that I could log on anywhere aboard with confidence, deal with the (compartively) slow but entirely adequate speed via satellite and also be confident that even if my device went flat and my connection failed (as happened on Silhouette), I would be logged out by default and my minutes wouldn't continue to count down.

It's not rocket science Celebrity, you need to get your act together!!

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I have one aftethought as well. It's a long time since I earned part of my living as an IT manager of a big, big system and things have moved on a lot since then. I'm now just a slightly talented, vaguely savvy amateur. But I've never come across one of the IT people on board a ship who could make a living doing anything other than flippping burgers on dry land. They have the IT personality (or distinct lack thereof), but don't seem to have any technical depth.

I don't mean to tar them all with the same brush, but you're not likely to get the cream of the crop at sea, digging fruitlessly into your two week problem and telling the head honchos on land that things are poor. Even if one of them is any good, their prime focus is going to be on making sure that the professional level connections aboard for captain and management to actually opeate the ship and communicate with H/O are top rate. I'll wager their system is completely separate and absolutely the bees knees.

Just a thought.

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Just spoke to a friend who recently sailed Silverseas in Europe. He ran two speed checks. At sea he got 33Mb down and 12Mb up. When moored in port he got 40Mb down and 14Mb up. In comparison, my measly land line broadband is 2.9Mb down and 0.3Mb up, but it's still faster than I got on Silhouette.

When Xcellerate is comparable to what he was getting on Silverseas I reckon they'll have something to shout about.

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There should be something like 'How xenophobic Brits welcome foreigners'. :D

Maybe you should write that one. Seems like you'd have something to say that the Paxtons and Brysons of this world haven't noticed.

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There was no DVD player in our Connie RS.

However, ask for one and they'll probably be able to install one. In the past there was a suites phone line in Miami you could ring, but nowadays the shore side concierege will contact you pre-cruise. Just ask. If it's not there when you arrive, remind the concierge in Michael's Club. In May on Sihouette a techie was installing the DVD player as we arrived at the suite.

Plan in advance because supplies are limited. Sometimes we've got a new looking player but also they've had to scrape something up from the crew quarters that looked older than me. I felt a bit guilty and wanted to send it back, but the butler said no. It earned a bigger tip thougn! Don't expect to play BlueRay, only DVD.

p,s, If planning to use the iPod dock, beware which type it is. They used to be the old 24 pin version but by now may be the smaller lightning port, which works with the newest iPhones but nothing else. I got caught out with that on Cunard last month.

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How great is it that the medical centre is set up to deal with issues so serious that someone needs a blood transfusion? There's always the niggling worry that if your're at sea they can deal with minor issues but if anything big crops up you are going to be in trouble.

Although I hope that whoever it was came out of it okay, it's very reassuring that they were in a position to address the problem.

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On Silhouette in May, the internet was so rubbish I started a threaad like this one. Not just the speed, but the connectivity and the log-in system was dire. Even when moored in port when everyone else was ashore it was rubbish. WiFi signal was so weedy the only place I could be certain of even logging on to burn up my precious minutes was by finding a comfy chair in Cafe El Bachio. If I lost connection the clock kept counting down and I had to go to the IT centre to get my minutes re-instated, this is just poor system design and nothing to do with being at sea.

Half the replies agreed with me, the other half told me that even on the same cruise things were wonderful. I guess it all depends on how intensively you want access but it's not like I was trying to Skype, just to download e-mails and access the odd web page. Having a cabin near a sweet spot is also a key to satissfaction.

There's a similar thread running over on the Cunard forum right now. Internet there is just great, or at least it was for me last month on QE - easy to connect, reasonable speeds and rock steady even when we were bouncing around on the Bay of Biscay. But even though I think it was fine, there are posters who reckon it's not up to snuff.

I suppose the bottom line is that Cuanrd don't make any claims for it being anything special whereas Celebrity are crowing about how great Xcellerate is. They need to live up to the hype.

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I have been pleasantly surprised by the speed and new interface for onboard internet this trip. Finally!

QE as well! It was extremely reliable on our recent voyage and the log-in and management was flawless. There were wireless access point visible all along the corridors and also one in our cabin. I never found a spot where the WiFi signal was weak and never had a drop out even when the ship was bouncing around a bit.

It was a world of difference from out Celebrity voyage in May, where, despite supposedly having a much vaunted, all new, super fast internet, it was absolutely rubbish. The interface was poorly set up as well and it was a frustration every single day, even when moored up in port. It's not like we were sailing around Antarctica either, we were at reasonable latitudes in Europe.

In comparison, Cunard could rightly be crowing about how good the internet is.

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Hello Cunarders,

We are making our first Cunard voyage over Christmas, I like a drink or two and with the falling GBP against the dollar (I know it has recovered a little) we need to get full value from any drinks deals.:D

I intend to ring the 0843 number this week and see about booking a wine package, probably 9 bottles of the Captains collection, it gives a price on Cunards web site, but reading posts on here, hopefully we may get a better deal.

 

Secondly it is now nearly a month since the last post, are there any updates on the pre-paid gift credit, after reading many posts on here I am still confused how the system actually works.:confused:

 

FWIW I feel that if we commit to give Cunard say an unrefunable $800 two weeks before we board the ship, then we should get a better rate than paying in $ on a day by day basis. TIA and Seasons Greetings All.:)

They put an awful lot of effort into selling drink packages on board, outside lifts and in other public places. So you don't necessarily need to phone a premium rate 0843 number and hang on for eternity to get the best deals.

I applaud your thinking that paying up front should get a better deal. But this is a commercial organisation we're talking about here and their job is to maximise revenue and profit. Sadly, I don't hold out great hopes for your chances. But enjoy the cruise anyway and I hope it's the first of many on one of the Queens.

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Would it be wrong to open a bottle in the holding area?������

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They have a new smoking policy going into effect for most ships early next month: http://f.e.hollandamerica.com/i/41/1010169812/Smoking_Policy.pdf

 

No verandah (balcony) smoking will be allowed. That was a major reason we haven't considered HAL, always afraid we would have a smoker or two upwind from us! I'm not sure what they mean by smoking being limited to the "designated areas for active slot players" in the casino. I'm assuming smoking will be allowed only at the slots, and only if you are playing.

 

They are at least making a distinction between smoking and vaping, at least a little bit (they allow vaping in the cabins). They should allow it on balconies as well to encourage smokers to switch over to vaping, but I suppose it makes enforcement that much harder.

This is a major step forward. Like you, we've always avoided HAL even though they have som good itineraries, entirely because of the smoking policy. Friends who risked it swore they'd never sail HAL again. All they have to do now is ban vaping in staterooms and I'll be sending for a brochure.

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It seems to be a very disappointing change in pricing policy and marketing approach. It used to be that in the UK, you could book early with the confidence that any price drop would be passed on for the price of a phone call. Now, early bookers are suckered in at tip top prices then the offers come. Your only option is to cancel, lose your deposit and re-book.

Meanwhile, across the pond people can book multiple cruises and cancel without penalty as payment time looms. I've just spotted a Solstice voyage in Australia early next year that was fully booked in the grade I wanted as soon as the brochure came out, my TA told me it wasn't even worth trying to get wait listed but lo and behold, a cabin became available yesterday.

I've never been able to get very excited about all the customer loyalty and Captain's Club tosh, but this is really taking the Michael. It's completely changed my approach to booking with X. Market forces and price elasticity are all well and good but two can play that game.

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Just a small point of order here........... Michael's Club barter tenders aren't the sort of sort of jobs-worths who will hold you rigidly to whatever package you're on. Be pleasant, speak nicely, say thank you and they are most accommodating. But two things spring to mind.

Firstly, publicising the fact that one of them might occasionally reach to the very top shelf or under the counter for a glass of better than average fizz isn't fair, you could get someone sacked.

Secondly, Blue Label is a common or garden blended whisky allegedly developed as a marketing exercise in the 90s to rip off rich Japanese who, more than likely, will overwhelm it with water anyway. In the same way as Chivas Regal, it's image far outweighs the taste of the stuff. I'd like to recommend working your way through whatever single malts they have on board, you might find something that you really, really like.

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Good afternoon all:

 

We are sailing on the Reflection out of MIA on 2/25/17 and have purchased the Prem drink package for both of us. I always love a good challenge when something is "unlimited" for a fixed fee. We used to hit the Molecular bar to hit our daily drinking quota but understand that it is no more.

Any tips from recent Celebrity cruisers on a new strategy?

You probably ought to hit it early and hard, there's no knowing when they might run out of booze. Also, they only have a very limited amount of chiller space in the medical centre and if too many people on your voyage drink themselves to death before you manage it, there's the risk you'll end up standing upright in one of the galley fridges, gaffer-taped to a stiff board until you get to the next port.

Seriously, just drink what you want, when you want without trying to squeeze the last cent out of the package. You might even want to try a bottle of an especially nice red one evening with dinner, which of course would involve going off the reservation. Just a thought.

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Celebrity's decision could be as a result of the UK decision to leave the EU. Many foreign companies are considering moving so they can maintain un -hindered access to EU block. Not inconceivable that they and other cruise lines will move more of their operations to EU destinations.

Is that you, Mr Junker?

You're probably right, it's nothing to do with economics, or demand, or market forces or just providing a change from the what's previously been on offer. UK pax would be happy to fly instead of nipping to Southampton and US pax see the Brexit isssue putting them off getting ripped off in London so Dublin is more attractive.

Maybe the Donald effect will have all cruise lines pulling out of Miami and relocating to Quebec as well. Probably not though.

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Chunky,

Your post starts off with reflections of PG but finishes QG. Which was it?

Oops. QG.

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Here are my PG impressions after a recent 12 nights on QE I can't go back to the halcyon days of QE2 but I'm looking back on about 7 years of QV and QE:

• Menus have changed but they were a bit tired and "same old, same old" anyway so were due for a refresh. Overall food choices are as good, or maybe slightly better than before.
  
• There are some welcome new items on the evening menus that I've not seen before.
  
• We did get one menu which was repeated, on a Monday, which caused a bit of puzzlement but next day everything was new again.
  
• Food presentation is very good, although some of the descriptions on the menu take a bit of a stretch to line up with what is on the plate when it arrives. It's not full blown Heston Blumenthal though and enjoyable nevertheless.
  
• Lunchtime menus varied between very good items and stuff that was okay, but nothing remarkable. Wraps and sandwiches were nothing to write home about, for example. At embarkation day lunch I'm sure the ham was that pressed, sliced stuff from a packet.
  
• The old a-la-carte menu is gone. Instead, there's a short list of order in advance favourites as well as a rejuvenated a-la-carte menu which changed once during the voyage. The total result is a better choice than before.
  
• The a-la-carte dessert menu is gone. The daily dessert options were okay but choice sometimes wasn't great. Without the a-la-carte it needs at least a couple more choices every evening. More than once, cheese was the best option.
  
• The quality of ingredients is really, really now very good, especially the meat and fish. The only place I've had a beef Wellington that good is when cooked by Mrs C when we'd paid a king's ransom for the fillet.
  
• The cheese trolley is still there but the choice isn't up to QG standards. Cheddar, Wendsleydale, Brie, run-of-the-mill Stilton and a some flavoured options IIRC. The most adventurous thing was Gruyere. Before now I'm sure there has been Comte, Pont l'Eveque, maybe Roquefort. Or maybe I'm dreaming. A nice Gorgonzola was only there for one evening but when we asked for it later in the voyage some was fetched.
  
• That reminds me, the service is still good and nothing was too much trouble for the wait staff. Silver service is long dead and gone, so anyone who likes to have their vegetables plated separately by a white-gloved server needs a time machine.
  
• Ordering off menu is still no problem, we did it a couple of times including a terrific baked Alaska.
  
• It certainly isn't "pushed" in the way that it used to be and table side cooking didn't look as frequent except for standards like Chateaubriand, which hardly qualifies.
  
• Some of this may be down to the atmosphere the maitre d'hotel sets - I fondly remember AN, who seemed to be on a mission to get everyone addicted to QG and both Sandro and Ico have previously been enthusiastic with us. Beniamino was new on the ship at the same time as us, so might have been feeling his way and by now could be in full flow. Or else, a new policy is in place?
  
• What I'll call "fussy eaters", which I'm sure includes people with certain food in tolerances or worse, were well catered for. More than one person received menus a day in advance and was able to discuss them with the head waiter and tweak to meet their needs. I know how important this can be, we have a family member who would likely be killed by exposure to an egg.
  
• Ordering a-la-carte on special evenings such as the cocktail party night is now not a problem. You could always do it, but now the menu is there on the day rather than you having to know the game.
  
• Caviar is still available, not just on request but was also a menu item one evening. It still comes in those hinged silver globes and still doesn't have enough blinis.
  
• Initial positive impressions about hors d'oeuvres faded. Six items instead of the previous five, better presented, but very little variation over the 12 days and we soon got fed up. Celebrity still wins this one hands down.
  
• Breakfast was good quality and eggs Benedict always came with soft yolks, which is a good measure of how good things are. I can't believe how often you get an egg so firm it would bounce on some other lines.
  
• In the past we've seen wait staff sometimes stretched and things could slow down. It might have been specific to our voyage, but they always seemed to be on top of things and overlapped well as a team. Only one evening, the final formal when the room was almost full quite early, was there a slight wobble and I wouldn't place bets on whether this was just the kitchen struggling to keep up.
  

In summary, QG is still as good a dining experience as you are likely to find at sea. But you need to chirp up to get the best of it.

I brought back a handful of menus and have some old ones too. So if anyone is really that interested, shout up and I'll scan them and post them on a web-accessible site.

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Just off QE after the Canaries Cruise.

I have no QE comparison with QM2, which we've always viewed as just too big for us. I can't get too excited about all that "ocean going liner" stuff, but my personal experience when the vessels have been on similar routes is that the QE/QV captains will route around the worst of the weather whereas QM2 pax can get the best of the fairground adventure as they plough straight through it. Being in a mere Vista class ship isn't without it's advantages.

Our impression of QE was that little had changed post-refit, other than the TVs in the staterooms and a significant improvement to the shops, if that sort of thing appeals.

I can thoroughly recommend the Canaries/Madiera/Lisbon itinerary which is a good mix of intensive port days and sea days where you can just kick back.

Things did briefly get a little lively across the Bay of Biscay on the way down and very, very lively on the way back at force 7/8 but the captain increased speed and diverted course to get us in front of the worst of it. We were in sight of UK land a day before we were due back in Southampton and the news was that the extra fuel cost £85k. You're going to have the same risk with any itinerary which involves a visit to the Med so the only way to avoid it from the UK is to do Norway or Iceland...... where things can be lively too. If challenging seas is a problem, just book a cabin mid-ships, QE rides fairly well and it's just the pointy and the flat ends that pitch and yaw a little.

No drinks packages, other than in suites where inexpensive booze looks like it's going to be included. You do have the option to buy a wine package at a modest discount but there's nothing for beer, spirits, etc.

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Two weeks ago we were there at the Ocean Terminal at just after 11:20, Grills check in desk was not yet open so we went via a normal desk. On board by 11:45, we were told staterooms were not available until 12:30, so go to Lido.

Asked for Grills holding pen and told there wasn't one, go to Lido. So we went to the Grills lounge anyway which was already half full of people. No announcements, so eventually we tried our luck at went to the suite. First time we've ever had any sort of hiccup. QG opened at 1pm as normal and everything was spot on from then onward.

From plenty of previous experience at every Southampton terminal I'd say that if you're there by 12:00pm things should go swimmingly.

QE2 terminal can be a bun fight, I'd arrive early or late, not in between. City Terminal is good (don't think Cunard use it) and Mayflower Terminal can be a sea of elbows and early arrivals who can't wait to eat, so again, early or late is good, in between can drive you nuts.

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Cunard is very snobby, with an older clientele and I am sixty! Jacket and tie are de rigeur for dinner ................

Don't mistake a bit more formality at dinner for snobbishness, some people like to get scrubbed up now and again for a meal. If you don't fancy that there's always the speciality nights in the Lido. But a tie isn't de-rigeur, only on formal nights. No different to how Celebrity was until a couple of years ago. They also still do the parade through the MDR on the penultimate night and it's well received, hardly a sign of being snobby.

I also ought to have mentioned for the OP - Celebrity doesn't open Luminae for lunch on port days which is a major fail for an upmarket line. Your only option is to traipse up to the buffet, get your own food on a tray and hope you can find somewhere to plonk down and eat it.

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Disembarking QE tomorrow morning so just burning up the last of the free internet minutes........

DW and I seem to alternate between Cunard and Celebrity, in Q6 to Q1 or CS/RS suites. We were on Silhouette in May, QV last November. Have done Solstice class and Millenium Class, Europe and Australasia.

Currently we are in a Q1, which is the equivalent of a PS. A Q2 is about an RS, Q3,Q4 are all about the same size and about equal to a CS. Q5 and Q6 are similar, but ranked lower becaue of location and the absence of a walk in wardrobe and wet bar. I’m guessing tht a Sky Suite is equivalent to PG, although have no direct experience.

Both lines have modern, airy ships where although there’s a lot of pax you don’t feel link you are on a cattle boat as with some of the “cram ‘em in and charge ‘em cheap” operators.

If coming from Cunard, you will notice that the entertainment on X is better and significantly more polished, although I have to say that on this cruise the on-board company plus some of the guests have been really good.

You get reserved seats in the theatre and often an escort to your place, which can be a bit embarrassing if you’re the shy type. There’s priority tendering as well. Celebrity types seem to make a lot more of the loyalty levels and their free glass of fizz before dinner whereas Cunard regulars just seem to get on with being on the nicest ships at sea regardless of how many times they’ve done it before. Forget all the nonsense about the Cunard "class system" - people who talk about it have seen too many black & white movies.

The Celebrity concierge is in a completely different league to what you are used to on Cunard, nothing is too much trouble and the embarkation process is rather slicker too, unless you are used to Q1 or Q2. Butlers are almost pathologically keen to please as well and almost seem insulted if you don’t pull on them.

On the downside, dining is nowhere near as good. Luminae aficionados will tell you that it’s great and indeed it’s a big step forward from the MDR (which we used to find pretty average) but it’s a pale comparison with the Grills. No cooking beside the table, no extensive a-la-carte, no enthusiastic ordering off menu.

However, there’s a reasonable range of speciality dining which you get unlimited for free if in RS or PS. Ocean Liners / Murano is probably comparable to The Veranda in quality and service. There is also an Asian restaurant Silk Harvest / Qsine which is good plus a steaks & Italian place (Tuscan Grill) but it seemed to have gone off a bit when we were on Silhouette this year and we only made one visit. As for buffet food, The Celebrity offering is wider and marginally better quality but it’s trays and plastic glasses instead of glass ware and cutlery in napkins. Celebrity is also a bit more of a bun fight at busy times.

Celebrity internet is supposed to be wonderful now but I thought it was very lack lustre and it drives me nuts. The on board implementation and management is poor. In contrast, QE has been fast and rock solid for 12 days, even when bouncing about on the Bay of Biscay last night in force 7/8 and the log-on, well, just works. Both offer you free time if regular travellers, only Celebrity gives you free time with some suites.

Pricing wise, like-for-like I find not much difference in the UK if going via a TA. Celebrity gives you free booze, Cunard tends to offer better OBC deals.

I’d encourage anyone who regularly travels one line or the other to try a swap. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

I can’t think of anything else for the time being but if there’s anything specific, please shout up.

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We are on deck 8 too (mid-fwd) and found it bumpy, but friends at the back had a much rockier ride of it than we did.

Yep, we're at the blunt end too. DW was woken at 1am by one of those horrible bangs when the ship drops down into the hole where a big wave used to be. Alton towers doesn't have anything to compare.

Still well worth it though, it's been a terrific itinerary and we've been blessed with super weather in port, which as weather goes, is really all that matters.

Have a safe journey home tommorrow morning.

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Boy, was it lively last night on the Bay of Biscay! I don't know where your stateroom is, but ours was swinging around like a fairground ride. In bed by 9:30pm and glad to be there.

The captain said at his talk this morning that waves had been 6 metres. I'm very grateful they changed course early morning to get us close to land a bit quicker and it's settled nicely. He said QM2 is having a hard time on the edge of the same system.

I stronlgly support your comments about closing the doors for lectures, there were so many very rude people coming in 20 minutes before Angela Rippon, I felt very sorry for the speaker on stage.

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Used to be the old 30 pin which was great, fitted my iPod.

Aboard QE now and they are lightning connector. The butler went off to see if he could find an adaptor but no joy. However, there's an old-school 3.5mm jack lead hanging out of the back, so you can play via the earphone socket but not charge.

For info also, the DVD player has now gone but I got one installed. However, the TVs are now Samsung Smart models so you can mirror a laptop (or possibly an iPad??) screen direct to the TV.

Let me know if there's anything else you need while I'm here.

p.s. It's a Bose Sound Dock Series III. Lightning only.

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Update - QE has a separate a-la-carte list of some "order in advance" favourites that you need to get in at lunchtime as always. It appeared at lunch yesterday, on day 2.

Sole, Wellington, chateaubriand, duck a l'orange, lamb, lobster. But the desserts have definately gone.

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