Chunky2219

I've worked and travelled in Sweden much more than I care to remember. I even used to speak the lingo once, but all these years later it's pretty much gone.

All I can say is that if you are a half decent chef, please stop sailing, stay in Sweden and put your heart and soul into improving the local cusine. Any nation that can serve up a stir-fry with Bernaise sauce on top needs all the help it can get. Potatoes, tomatoes, elk meat, sil, lax, they're all great but for heaven's sake, get a bit more international.

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Depends what Canaries ports of course, but I've done about 4 of them plus Madeira, all with P&O. Done Lisbon twice and I'll be doing them all again with Cunard in 3 weeks time. All in a wheelchair, never a problem with tidal ranges.

Having said that, you might not get very far on wheels once off the boat. Madeira is famously hilly, I'd advise a tour. Lisbon is also very steep and to add insult to injury many of the drop kerbs are a joke - it can be hard work even getting around the recently paved areas. In fact, Last November I had to get out of the chair and lift it over a fence because there was no drop kerb I could access beside the port. Worst of all, I once got all the way across a pedestrian crossing in Grand Canaria only to find the kerb at the other side was 8" high - I turned around and went back to the ship.

Nevertheless, All of these places are worth making the effort to get around. Do make sure to contact the special needs people at P&O before you go and again when on ship. My experience is that they are better than with some other lines and I'm sure they'll sort you out.

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QV stern cabins are pretty much super quiet. You get overlooked from above when on the balcony, but that's not the end of the world. Only problem is some slight juddering and vibration when manoeuvring in port that makes the glasses on the shelf tinkle, but that's it. I'd pick deck 8 over 5 if given the chance, but only because I don't like looking over the edge to see a long drop to the water.

QE used to be different, a constant low level vibration that you could feel even in bed at night but I believe they fixed it at a dry dock a few years ago. Also, we once had a distant banging noise as if a lifeboat was thumping the side of the ship, I can't imagine it was anything other than a one off problem that no-one has heard since. I hope so, we'll be in a stern cabin in another 3 weeks!

I think that on both ships the larger Q6's are what used to be Q7s, which in turn were originally Q4 until people complained and they shuffled everything around. They are the ones on deck 5 and I can vouch for them having more room than a mid-ships Q4. The corner suites have the bigger balconies. Maybe the ones above are also a good size but you'd have to check the deck plan.

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The other obvious point is time of year. We are on the forthcoming Q620 this year, so I'm guessing Q720 is going to be at about the same date next year. Mindful of the risks of snow and bad weather in early-mid November we wouldn't contemplate traveling down on the day and we always go the day before and stay overnight. Also, as it happens, from Sheffield!

I wouldn't even be confident to go by train on the day at that time of year to be certain of getting there on time, un-hassled. In fact I've just checked up the train options for our sailing day. Two or three changes of train, 4-4.5 hours plus a taxi at each end and prices that make an overnight after a 3.5 hour drive a no-brainer.

There's plenty of affordable accommodation around Southampton within 30- 45 minutes of the dock gates, all using major roads that would be gritted and swept of snow, or else you can join the herd and stay in the town. In summertime we stay a bit further afield and have had some wonderful meals in delightful little places (and some fancy ones) prior to a cruise. Some offer car parking included and a shuttle service to and from the port. The only reason I use the official car valet service is to be sure of a quick getaway on disembarkation.

I hesitate to suggest aiming to get there a fair bit earlier on the day if going by train and just taking your chances on boarding. Plenty of people seem to do just that, judging by the number of people thronging the terminal at noon; there's certainly not that number of Grills & Diamond pax. Embarkation day is the law of the jungle and the worst case is that you'll find a comfy seat in the Ocean Terminal for an hour or so even if they do send you to the naughty corner.

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No. All the Carnival lines (Carnival, Cunard, P&O, HAL, etc.) have always in my experience operated the same policy in the UK - 10-15% non-refundable deposit and if the price drops then tough luck. So if we're only half fussy about a sailing, I've always held off and sometimes got a great deal. As others have said, sometimes they fill up, so it's a cruise missed. C'est la vie.

Celebrity, and I also believe their parent RCCC always used to honour a price drop and I've had some magnificent savings on this. For one cruise I got two drops but the second one cost me a £30 admin fee. £k+ each time on suite bookings.

Since last year, when they started rolling out fancy deals and chucking in booze deals the only way to get a lower price when they fall is to cancel and re-book the same cabin. I did this for our May sailing this year and it cost 2 x £150 lost deposit. But I still ended up over £1100 better off when the the deal was done.

It's not a system that engenders any sort of loyalty. Especially when customers across the pond can pre-book and hold half a dozen voyages to then withdraw and get their deposit back - hence being a significant component of the late arising good deals when they free their cabins up. It's nothing to do with local laws, it's all about commercial decisions so I won't be booking an more cruises with them two years out. There are plenty of other ways to spend my holiday £££s if good deals don't open up.

I know I'm swearing in church here, but although Luminae is a welcome step up from the MDR, it's not really up to the standards of a suite restaurant when you are paying close to three times the price. It's more than adequate, but that's it. At least it will be open for lunch every day on a TA, whereas it's not normally available on port days. Another failing against proper suite standards.

My advice - do whatever you think is the best use of your money. You could of course always try and negotiate the price of your suite down,. using the 1A as your leverage. I wish we had that sort of option in the UK, where booking conditions are less flexible.

Good luck whatever you choose. A TA is a wonderfully relaxing way to travel.

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No longer honoured, you have to cancel and lose your deposit. The previous system (until about 2014 IIRC) was a great differentiator for X and made them a very attractive line.

Hence the reason why I no longer advance book with Celebrity, they are no different to the Carnival brands now in the UK.

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We arrived on QE (in 2012 I think) at Pier 84 at Manhattan and we docked overnight.

What a terrific entrance to the city sailing up the Hudson, I almost felt sorry for the poor folks on QM2 who have to dock at Red Hook and haul their way to the heart of the city. Sailing out the next evening was equally impressive.

Standing on the top deck at night you get a great view of Manhattan's skyline, during the day it's an easy walk through Hell's Kitchen to the heart of the action. Look to the right and there's the USS Intrepid, complete with planes, helicopters, a submarine, a Concorde and now even a space shuttle.

My only word of caution was the immigration, which was a disaster. Everyone, even those who were not planning to go ashore had to get off, line up and get their fingerprints done, which presumably had some important purpose not necessary anywhere else in the free world. We were to step off at times scheduled by deck (not grade or loyalty, which was good to my mind). But it rapidly went pear shaped and there were repeated announcements not to even try to get off at your allotted time. By the time we reached the gangplank the queues were fifty to a hundred yards long and people had been standing there for approaching an hour. People booked on tours that morning were no luckier and even when we cleared the desks there were tour buses stacked up waiting for outstanding pax stuck in the line.

Maybe some of it was the usual suspects who can't stick to the rules for the benefit of everyone, but a large element was the unnecessary level of scrutiny and the slowness it casued. By contrast, when we moved up the coast to our first Canadian stop I was the only person that immigration was remotely interested in; and that was only to point out that my shoelace was undone and I was about to face plant. Other than that, cheery smiles and we were ashore within minutes.

My advice - book your tours on day two as we did and inadvertently got very lucky. Use the first day for more flexible activities.

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chunky 2219

 

Are you a prior smoker?

Never had one in my mouth.

My dad's greatest gift to me was to wake up every morning and spend ten minutes sitting on the bed coughing up his guts in the bedroom next to mine. It didn't work so well for him, but I'm already 10 years older than he was at his first heart attack so I learned an important lesson from that sound.

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Q4s are okay. Overall some of the Q6s are a bit more roomy and they are better located if you prefer the view from the stern but with Q4 you get a separate wardrobe room and a wet bar. Also, as you'll have noticed in Q3/Q2 there's less up and down movement if seas are heavy than you feel at the back. Some Q6 balconies are a bit larger on QV because of the sloping stern but Q4 is still plenty good enough.

The Q4 table still isn't really big enough to dine at properly without being hunched over, as you'd be able to do in a Q2/Q1 but other than that it's all positive. You don't really get a lot less than a Q3, it's just further to walk to the lift.

If yours is a guarantee assignment then hold your breath and things might still change. We've gone from Q6 to Q4 to Q3 before now.

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..........With vaping estimated at 95% safer than smoking for smokers who draw the chemical into their lungs I think we should encourage all smokers to switch over. The social policy aspect of where they can vape is up to the individual property owners like X and HAL, but I'd like to see people live longer and not get diseases such as COPD and cancer.

I think we should encourage all smokers to just give up.

Whilst I'm happy to see people live longer and not get COPD, they are making individual choices based on incomplete information. I'm more keen that me and my nearest & dearest live longer and don't get any illnesses that result from the actions and vices of others. Smoking and vaping in public places is every bit as reprehensible as driving a car while drunk or on a mobile phone. The only difference is that in the car you get to meet your victim immediately.

I can find my own ways to get to a premature end. They'll likely involve good food or fine wine but no-one else will be affected. Unless I fall on someone when I keel over.

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I lurk a bit on the Celebrity part of the forum and a significant proportion of those folks are obsessed with loyalty levels, particularly their "free" canapes and glass of fizz in their own roped off corner of the world before dinner. Can you believe that people actually book cruises for the purpose of climbing the gilded ladder toward a free bag of washing or 30 minutes of internet time?

The forum almost exploded when Celebrity, realising that they had too many Elite members to service, changed all the tiers and introduced the practically unachievable Super Deluxe Grand Poobah Obsidian Black Level. If you reach SDGPOB then you score a free 7 day inside cabin voyage after about 3000 days at sea with them. And the Captain personaly comes to your door in the middle of the night to shine any shoes left outside, using the elbow of his dress shirt and his own spit. There was much wailing, gnashing of teeth and protestations that now the rope ladder had been pulled up beyond reach devotees were going to vote with their feet.

Please, please Cunarders, let's not have any of this ridiculous faux loyalty gullability here. More decorum please. Just enjoy what you've paid for and bask in the glory of sailing one of the best ships in the world.

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I............. There is a kind of heightened sensitivity about smoking and it's harmful health benefits, and we see vapor and think smoke, and our minds go into overdrive and we can smell the acrid tobacco smoke in our minds...........

I have no problem with something in my mind, I usually smell the stink before I spot the smoker.

Then again, I had two parents who died from the direct effects of smoking and an older sister who, never having smoked in her life, most likely died from the effects of second-hand smoke. I didn't escape from that domestic atmosphere until I was 21 so I feel quite justified in not wishing to inhale even one more unwanted lung full of the foul stuff.

I have no objection to the smell or lack of it from vaping. I do object to the unknown effects of getting it second hand. It's not so long ago that second hand smoke was deemed entirely safe and look how that turned out. The only evidence today in favour of vaping is that on balance it's better than smoke is for the person using it. Whoopee doo!

I'll pass, if that's okay.

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QG "priority" disembarkation has always been an utter shambles until recently. You were asked to meet in the Grills lounge way up top, which isn't large enough for all the PG and QG pax at the same time, who ended up hanging about all over the place and exchanging "it's my seat and you're not getting it" glances. Then when the starting gun went off, everyone and their hand luggage fought for one of the two lifts serving the lounge (QV/QE). These on almost every occasion for the next 20 minutes ...... came up full of pax from other decks making the round trip to get to the bottom. Usually chaos ensued.

We quickly realised that the best idea was to mooch around by the chamapgne bar or by reception, depending on which door is in use and then flash a priority tag on the hand baggage at the staff members guarding the exit as soon as the gangway is opened. No feeling of being anything special, but the fastest and easiest way to the luggage hall.

I suggest Platinum and Diamond pax try something similar. There's no beating the law of the jungle at disembarkation!

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When they ban ALL indoor smoking and all balcony smoking, then I might re-consider sailing with them. Until then, nope.

DW and I will be on the same track as you. HAL have attractive itineraries and prices aren't bad, but they've always been a no-no because of the smoking. Friends who cruised with them reckoned that the most memorable thing about the voyage was the displeasure with smoke.

The Celebrity policy is fine, all you get is the occasional stink on the clothes of someone beside you in the elevator but beyond that, it's a deal breaker.

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...................... Most people , whether they're wheelchair bound or not, book an accessible cabin because they require one or more of the features contained in an accessible cabin. If another cabin would have met their needs the individual probably would have considered that option when booking. .................

I think we're all at risk of a violent agreement on this thread

Wheelchair use doesn't automatically translate to needing an adapted cabin - I'm a case in point and (for the time being) take a normal but larger cabin with room for the chair. On the flip side, there are innumrable less obvious maladies that mean an individual absolutely must have one or more of the attributes of a special cabin. We can all concur on that, surely?

I do have a bit of a bee in my bonnet though about the (hopefully) very rare individuals who work the system to get more floor space to the detriment of people who have a definate need and end up unable to get on a particular sailing.

One example from my own experience - I wheeled past a HC cabin to see exiting it two very generously sized gals who each had a mobility scooter. Later that sea day there was an "around the world" buffet cooking session in one of the main public areas which as might be expected, was very well attended. My missus had to go and get me a plate of goodies, which is pretty much the norm. As for the two big gals, well the scooters were parked up and they had no problem barging and elbowing their way around to pile it high on the plates. Repeatedly. Am I being judgemental? I suspect so. Maybe if the lines were to provide somewhere to store scooters and other larger mobility equipment the pair of them would have been able to manage in a standard cabin.

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Luggage tag colour coding and stripes only help with quicker delivery to the room and with the staff knowing which end of the ship to point the metal cages of baggage toward.

Priority boarding all depends on the locals who man the desks and the people in the aisles sorting the sheeple by category. We've always found it smooth as silk at Ocean Terminal Southampton which handles most Cunard ships (if there's only one vessel in port) but have had a disaster at the QM2 terminal which eneded up with us going around and out then back through security again.

Elsewhere around the world it's very variable and although I'm now talking about other lines here, we've had everything from the magic carpet experience to massive frustration trying to get aboard.

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There's been multiple threads here following entertainer Perry Grant around the fleet and on to other ships with hordes of devotees in tow. People book specific crusies just to see him again.

I'm half tempted to start a "Where is Anca" thread along the same lines. :confused:

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p.s .With I quick web search I discovered Perry did a concert last night at Lytham St Annes in the UK. It will have been packed out with Ceelbryteers.

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I'm guessing that if you don't stroll around with a 6 pack of Red Stripe or a cheap 2 litre bottle of supermarket cider in each hand no-one will bother you.

Ignore the naysayers who accuse you of being a tightwad. Some people just don't realise that you can't get Chateau Latour 2009 or Krug Clos de Mesnil 2000 by the glass on board and you prefer to crack a bottle of your own for the sailaway.

Don't take a bottle of that Prossecco in the gold bottle with the stick on fake diamonds though. It's just wrong.

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If she's half as good as Anca is/was you won't need to ask her for anything. She'll be all over you, nothing too much trouble and happy to set up whatever you want. Let us know how you go on.

If anyone knows if Anca is just on leave or is moving on, please tell. I'd be interested to know if she's going up in the on-board world.

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I have to say, in this age of austerity and economic woes a phrase like "modern luxury" is so passé and I'm glad to see the end of it. I don't want my friends to think I'm enjoying luxury, they should believe that I'm a redistributing a slice of my (meager) wealth and the kids' inheritance across the high seas to peoples who have to suffer the curse of living somewhere sunny with great views. How about something like,

or,

I can't believe that marketing agencies charge millions for this sort of stuff. I'm giving it away for free. :rolleyes:

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If you've got to pay money for it, then Luminae most certainly isn't better than a speciality restuarant. Very limited menu, very repetitive food, very run-of-the mill service.

On a wider note, what's the point of having a suites restaurant if you can buy your way in from a rowers' cabin? I don't want to sound elitist here, but if you are pushing the wonders of "suite class" there's no point in pax paying through the nose for it if they can get it for a few bucks a pop on demand. If this is real, it sounds like they have a bit of an identity crisis going on.

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Best thing - I once boarded with a bottle of caffeine-free diet coke in my bag to finish off. I left the empty bottle in the suite. By the time we'd returned after lunch the butler had found every can and bottle of caffiene-free on the ship and had cleared out the normal stuff from the fridge and re-loaded with my tipple. He kept the rest on one side for refills. That sort of attention makes you appreciate just how good they are at the job.

Next best thing - boarding a ship we'd been on three years earlier, but this time with a suite on a different deck at the other end of the ship. Three days into the voyage our "old" butler spotted us by the lift, she ran over, gave us two big hugs and addressed us by name. I'm hard pushed to remember my own name, let alone that of someone I met at work for a brief period sevearal years ago. I now make a note of who we had as wait staff and butlers and pull it out before we sail. You can't imagine how pleased the staff are to be remembered by name once in a while.

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Oh Cripes! I've just realised we board QE the day before the election. I'm not sure if I'm overjoyed to be away from the non-stop TV coverage or worried about the possibilty of disembarking into an alternative reality once the dust settles.

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This American certainly won't flame you, despite your obvious dig at Americans incorporated in your response regarding a terrorist bombing. Nevertheless, I believe your comments directed toward Americans are inappropriate. Your comments are well noted, as are nonexistent expressions of solidarity and concern for those injured. .

No flame, but definitely some smoke there, methinks. I can't bring myself to comment on Lou's comments, they made my eyeballs fizz.

To put it all in context, there's no surprise that we in Europe typically have a very different view about terrorism than our friends across the water. Maybe that's because we've been exposed to it for so much longer and we've had so much more of it than the US has seen.

The following image is from data produced by the truly excellent University of Maryland Globall Terrorism Database and was part of a very good article in the UK Economist which I would recommend to anyone. Apologies for the size of the image, I couldn't shrink it. The bottom line is that Europe is safer than it has been for many years and the US view is completely out of kilter with reality.

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21706250-people-are-surprisingly-good-coping-repeated-terrorist-attacks-america-and

http://www.start.umd.edu/about/about-start