Chunky2219

DW and I are currently aboard QE in a QG. When digging out the luggage I found an old stack of menus for a 23 day voyage we did five years ago, our last time aboard this ship so I have something to compare new against old. In the intervening years we’ve cruised once or twice annually on either QV or one of the Celebrity vessels.

I’ll report back at the end how things have changed. In the meantime, here are some initial impressions:

Suite Drinks – Boo, hurrah, boo, hurrah.

No Pol Acker when we arrived. We always take this delightful gem home, just in case we get any teenage visitors who ask for Lambrusco or similar fizzy stuff. Or in case we have any drains that need a flush. But on the plus side, the Delamotte champagne in the ice bucket is now Veuve Clicquot. Another boo for the water, where the glass bottles of Cunard brand have been replaced by plastic bottles of generic stuff. In the end, water is water so it’s hardly the end of the world. And a final hurrah – the Pol Acker arrived mid afternoon on our first day.

Menus

It’s early days yet and the menus are indeed definitely different to how they were a year ago. At some point during the cruise I was going to ask if we could get a bouillabaisse made but hey presto, there it was as a starter on the first night. Never seen that before.

The al-la-carte is very much slimmed down and all the old staples such as chateaubriand, beef Wellington, rack of lamb and Dover sole have gone. My heart sank. That is, until we were told that the a-la-carte is changed twice a week so we’ll see four menus and maybe some familiar dishes. If not, we’ll just ask.

Sadly, there are now no a-la-carte dessert options at all, which is a definite step backwards. Sabayon, strawberries Frasier, all the rest, gone. I might ask for some butterscotch flavour Angel Delight one evening for nostalgia’s sake.

Hors d’ouvres

I confess, we’ve been spoilt rotten by Celebrity. There’s something different every time and plenty of it. Olives, cheese, fancy breads, oils, tapenade, sushi, sun dried tomatoes, roast artichokes, handmade crisps, dips, you name it. It makes the Cunard plate of five miserable offerings under a plastic hood look wholly inadequate.

However, things are looking up. First night we got two portions of four different tasty morsels, all very nicely presented and one with a bit of caviar on it. No longer any need to argue about who has to eat the bit of rye bread with cheese spread atop and who gets the prawn. I wonder what delights await for future evenings.

Embarkation

Hmmm.... definitely not as good as it used to be. Last time we had a high-end QG suite it was like stepping on the Hogwarts Express. When we turned up at the Grills desk the lady went away and came back with two red cards to wave on our passage to cabin. We were then escorted through a separate security channel (at the Mayflower terminal) and once aboard were immediately picked up by our butler who escorted us to the suite. What’s not to like?

This time, we arrived at the Ocean Terminal about 11:20 and the Grills desk wasn’t open yet. No problem, we got the sea passes from a normal desk, cleared security and went aboard. At the door was a lady who said, “The staterooms aren’t available until 12:00 pm, so we’re directing people to the Lido. “ No Grills waiting?”, I asked. Nope, go to the Lido. So we went up to the Grills lounge anyway, which was already half full, to enjoy a coffee while we waited. No announcements were made, so at about 12:15 we took our chances and wandered down to our suite. We didn’t see our butler until after lunch, but found out he was new on board and had been in training, so no problem with that to my mind. He’s a smashing chap and very helpful, which is much more important than him being waiting at the door.

As a comparison, here’s how it’s done on Celebrity, for all suites, not just the top end. On arrival, you collect sea passes, clear security and are then picked up and escorted on board to Michael’s Lounge by someone who insists on taking the hand luggage. You might grab a glass of fizz on the way but regardless, when you get there you are offered more drink or a coffee. There are nibbles waiting for those who can’t wait until lunchtime. The concierge is already buzzing around the lounge, introducing her/himself and picking up any outstanding issues that the shore concierge didn’t bottom when they contacted you pre-voyage. “You want to meet with someone from the tours desk to query excursions? Certainly, we’ll arrange it for here in the Lounge, after dinner, what time would you like? “ Once your suite is ready your butler arrives to collect you and take you there.

Cunard, please take note; the White Star service ain’t as slick as the competition has become.

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I booked an RS on Solstice - the upper of the two decks, next to a PH. Having read the cabin guide with warnings of noise from the open deck above I switched to another RS a deck down. IIRC we went from 1614 to 1112 but I may just be making numbers up. Absolutely great suite, perfectly quiet.

We later spoke to someone on Slihouette who had been higher up and they did get a bit of noise from sun loungers being dragged about early morning but they didn't reckon it was a great hassle. Given the option though, I'd drop down a deck.

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No drawers but there's room to slide in all but the largest sizes of case.

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If a pint (or a cocktail or bottle of wine or whatever I fancy) costs me 10% more then so be it.

It was already costing you 15% more than the sticker price because of the "gratuity". It hasn't seemed to put many people off, ships still book up and the bars are busy, at least until after 9pm when many a regular Cunarder is tucked up in bed.

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That may be it then - two successes with Cunard direct, three failures on a TA booking.

Just out of interest I did the numbers and we'll still be better off with the lower price I got for the booking with a TA and paying credit card rates for on-board spend. Unless we really hit the wine list hard, in which case it will be borderline.

I can't even contemplate the impact of which way the US election will fall. A week is a long time in politics as a great Yorkshireman once said.

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Tell me, please do. Are you direct Cunard bookings or via a TA?

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Hmmm. :confused: Fortune definitely isn't smiling on me today.

We sail on Monday, so I've just called Cunard to see if I can book some OBC. The good news was yes, today is the last possible day for us. The bad new was that it is booked in dollars at whatever my bank rate is. Can't I book it in £ sterling? No, it's in dollars.

Congrats to Selkie and NC388 for however they managed it, but I drew the same blank as my TA did last week when I asked. I wonder if there's a difference between direct and travel agent bookings. If so, this would be the first ever time that I've not come off better off by using a TA.

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Confirmed - Cunard will still sell me OBC but only charged as US dollars to my credit card at the prevailing rate on the day.

So now I have a dilemma, do I buy OBC beforehand or just roll it all up as on-board charges to be paid on day of disembarkation? The US election is during our cruise, so the result will supposedly have the dollar plummeting through the floor or rallying to new highs. The polls are too close to call and I could be a big winner or loser. Decisions, decisions. :confused:

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I can't speak with certainty about New York, but at other ports, even when being priority disembarkation Grills passengers we've sometimes, albeit rarely, not been off until after 9am due to on-shore or other issues preventing either the gang plank or the luggage hall being opened promptly. My once only experience of New York immigration (at Manhattan, not Red Hook) would barely have had us on a flight that day, let alone by lunchtime; but if you are a US citizen things may be a little smoother. That's unless they are on threat level "disastrous - oh - my - gawd - the - crazies - are- back - for another - go - red - red - really - really - red" level once again in which case your guess is as good as mine.

Self disembarkation is the only reasonably sure way to get off at your desired time.

As for making a special request, well we're all important in our own way with places to go, people to see and I wouldn't make a bet on being successful. Not unless you were responding to a sudden emergency that occurred after your voyage had started.

I'm not sure if Platinum members get priority disembarkation (I suspect so), but if not you'll be in order the same as everyone else. That of course, wouldn't prevent you from hanging around by the exit, getting your elbows out and trying to buck the system as so many already do. Sometimes it works, sometimes I've seen people politely turned away.

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I would request use of a wheelchair which can be found on special needs wants etc ..............

There's no way to get continuous use of an on board wheelchair. I guess you could always have an accident after embarkation, pay a small fortune to see the doctor and get his instruction for one of the very limited number to be issued. Cheaper to buy or hire one.

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Actually cruise lines do have the same model.

 

When the model is correct, everyone is happy.

 

When the model is not correct, offers will be made to some with confirmed cabins to switch to another cruise or stay on the same cruise with a significant monetary inducement.

Any evidence of this? Anyone here ever been left at the quay side waving at an over-booked ship as it sailed away?

We've many of us sat at a crowded flight gate, heard the announcement and watched (or even participated in) the game of chicken for who can get the best deal to give up their seat. Or more rarely, who can make the most noise when told their seat doesn't exist. I've never heard of anything similar on any cruise line. The closest thing is the "you pay us for a better cabin" upgrade offer that sometimes works very well for everyone concerned.

But if anyone has suffered from the airline version of this model I stand corrected.

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I may have missed the boat (no pun intended) but I've asked our cruise-only TA today to check the rate for buying OBC for our QE voyage next week.

High street travel agents are around £1=$1.1914 so I'll report what the Cunard rate comes back at.

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I may have missed the boat (no pun intended) but I've asked our cruise-only TA today to check the rate for buying OBC for our QE voyage next week.

High street travel agents are around £1=$1.1914 so I'll report what the Cunard rate comes back at.

Rest assured, they don't adopt the same over-booking business model as the airlines. You'll get a berth.

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It never ceases to amaze me at how vitriolic people can be towards other posters, in this case towards the OP...................

My thought precisely.

Your kids are your most valuable asset, should be your raison d'etre and they are not to be left in unsatisfatory conditions. We too prefer not to have too many kids around and deliberately avoid school holiday windows when we cruise but that doesn't mean that kids aboard shouldn't be absolutely safe.

Having a single person in the room, regardless of how many kids they are caring for is asking for trouble. What if one of the kids, or even the responsible adult was suddenly taken ill? Not so long ago there was an issue with a child supervisor on Cunard ships - it ended up with him getting a four year jail sentence. Those spraying the vitriol at the OP should bear that in mind - a single person in the room is unacceptable in any circumstances.

As for kids with Lego in the Martini bar, well it's hardly the busiest place on the ship during daylight hours is it?

Fact is, on any of these cruise line forums there are some people who just won't hear a bad word about their favourite company. It's a shame that someone's concern about their kids has to engender such responses.

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If you're old enough, Saga have a card with no transaction charges and the exchange rate always seems very good when my ship-board account shows up.

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I'd gripe about paying corkage on something inexpensive. Or to be more precise, I'd berate myself for taking something where the corkage comprised half the cost of the total experience.

Having said that, even if I'd got the means to be drinking the real high end stuff, it would vex me no end to be paying a massively marked up price off the wine list and then a further 15% of service charge on top. I'm sorry, but there's not a sommelier on board any ship that's worth 15% of a $600 bottle. I'd be taking a few bottles of the fancy stuff with years of dust and spider webs on them and happily coughing up £20 (plus a tip) for someone to take the top off and decant it.

Rest assured, if anyone needs your suite, they'll re-assign you again.

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.......Perhaps the moderators can change the title to "Is Celebrity Fair to UK Residents?....A Lesson in UK Consumer Law."

No need to a thread on that topic. The answer is no.

Perhaps we need a thread about the definition of "fair".

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I forgot to include that we have a good friend who is a retired US Federal agent (DEA) who advised us STRONGLY about Cartagena. That definitely influenced our decisions about this port. We will not go off on our own there as we do in many other ports. Whatever you decide, be safe and have fun!

My nephew lived there for almost three years recently as part of a big engineering project he was working on. His wife visited multiple times and was sometimes left to her own devices to wander around while he was out at work. He reckons the "main" parts of town are no more risky than anywhere else in the Americas and our initial fears were quickly assuaged. He has plenty of stories of life living there, the greatest threat to his life was excessive consumption of very high quality meat (so cheap to buy that he was making chilli con carne with fillet steak) and his 3-day-a-week cleaner who always insisted on putting part-prepared food in the fridge back in his freezer.

Poverty was very noticeable. He always gave the local kids a few coins when parking his car anywhere unusual and always ordered two pizzas for delivery, one of which was for the homeless guy who hung around outside the apartment block (who also brought him cold beer when on the beach). This was by way of charity and being friendly, not the feeling of any need to pay protection money.

The project itself was well outside town and they were very cautious about travel, always taking company provided transport. But no issues, no problems and no knowledge of any problems for anyone he knew in all the time he was there.

By the way, if anyone ever fancies the comparison, may I also recommend the original Cartegena, in Spain as a cruise destination. The recently un-earthed roman theatre is especially worth a visit but the ship's panoramic tour was a rip-off.

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If you are not in RS or PS and don't get any freebies as part of your package, always, always go and negotiate. You've nothing to lose and as often as not they'll do you a deal.

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There used to be paid for on demand movies, but IIRC these had gone by the time we sailed on Sillhouette in May,.

There's no DVD player in the suite but you can ask the butler, or even better the concierge in advance when she makes contact before the voyage to get one set up. We mentioned it again while in the holding pen at Michael's Club on embarkation day and someone was fitting a DVD player as we got to the suite. If you leave it to the day of sailing you might get something old and flakey taken out of the crew quarters as we have had once in the past. Felt a bit bad about that, we were doing a crew member out of entertainment but they insisted they didn't want it back.

The other option is just to take a laptop that will play DVDs plus an HDMI cable. The techies will hook it up to one of the two TVs for you. Nothing is too much trouble in a RS.

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Loyalty is only for marriages. :)

Where's the "like" button when you need one?

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Thanks Maggie,

I will research "Oceania" if we ever decide to Cruise again.

Your pronoun at the end of your sentence needs to be "her".......

Ah, now I understand. Pedantry to the end. I think we worked together once in Sweden.

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One Lisbon tip I forgot - depending on how man ships are in port you may dock within wheeling distance of the town centre or else a couple of miles further down river. But either way, if they are doing it I'd recommend the panoramic tour plus old-fashioned tram. If your wife can climb a couple of steps to get aboard her wheelchair will go by the driver and the old trams take you through very narrow and steep streets that a normal tour bus can't access. It was well worth the money.

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