Victoria2

and any company which will ship to the UK can be considered as UK.

Let's not get precious. I wear ''stuff''. Some of my Gala wear might even be considered designer by some, but it's still ''stuff''. 🙂

Still too expensive these days. Now the Canadian site, especially when they have their sales pitch...👍

I ''did'' a personal shopper at Bloomingdales but that was in the bad old days when shopping in NY was ''cheap'' for us from the other side of the pond. If ''you do hit Macy's, be sure to go to their visitor's center and get the discount card [you need your passport].

Sensible lady. 👍 Buy when you see and don't wait for when you need! 🙂

I have some wonderful local shops for gala stuff but ''Smart Casual'' clothes are often sourced from Decabana.com. They're a Canadian company but ship to the UK. It helps to know your size though as returns are a bit of a faff. 🙂

How lovely.Thank you for the link.

My husband hasn't a clue what I pack in my suitcase or what I'll be wearing until we're ready to go out of the cabin together. 🙂 I have a good idea what's in his suitcase as he's usually asked my opinion which jackets go with which trousers and what shirts should he take for when he goes tie less, before packing. I think we look quite acceptable, day or evening but to us we're on holiday and dressing each day, whether for dinner or during the day isn't a precise art. Dress how ''you'' want as long as it's within the advisory codes.

True, but the connecting stateroom symbol is in the symbol key blurb so you can't miss it. Luckily, it's been sorted so no problem.

Your agent would/should have been aware of communicating cabins as they are easy to see on the QA deck plans. Sadly, the only time you would be able to see how an agent performs under the pressure of problematic circumstances is when they occur. That's when a wonderful agent shows his or her stripes.

The only food I have ever seen there was brought through from the Lido but then I don't go in there much during the day so food might be served there. If it is, it will be included in the fare unless specifically mentioned in the daily activities guide.

Mid ships deck seven is our usual spot. Just be aware some deck eight cabins are under the Lido and some ''catering noises'' might filter down in one or two cabins so pick your cabin appropriately..

It certainly is possible but it's interesting Bellboy had information and started the thread on the 24th and the link in post #93 refers to passengers being told on embarkation which was the 23rd. A minor detail I admit but accuracy is all when mentioning glitches.

Accuracy. Always useful when posting anything. Maybe those onboard can qualify the fact they already knew before leaving the Southampton berth they were heading for Cadiz for some TLC for Queen Victoria.

I'm not sure how loyalty miles work in the US but in the UK, if you have any/enough airline loyalty mileage, using them for a one way ticket is the best utilisation of those miles.

Major Tom. I am really happy for you to have such a good discount and superb service from one of Cunard's leading cruise TAs and award winning on a regular basis. Some people like to broadcast their savings eg discounts. Others, like myself prefer to keep a lid on transactions, safe in the knowledge our TAs are indeed, invaluable. 🙂

I heartily agree with all you say. Superb service from your cruise TA is beyond any offer of a discount and as I have said before, ''you'' really find out how good your agent is when you need them to sort ''things'' out for you. 👍

I agree. Let's hear it for ''Dynamic pricing''! 😀 The price of one of our cabins rose dramatically and yet still sold out. Mind you, cabins selling out now and actually completing the purchase come time to pay the rest of the invoice might be a different matter.

Excellent way of booking if the cabin ''you'' want is available at the time. We used to do exactly as you described before our choice of cabins became more limited. Now we book on release. Or we used to buy future credits to be utilised if the itineraries hadn't been released. Maybe one day those will be re introduced.

I'm positive Cunard agents have been equally challenged over the last few years and my hope for a sort of normality extends to all agents, independent or at Cunard. I'm glad you got the bedding issue sorted. Our agent sorted that out for us years ago.

I think mine will also have suffered from the same cruise induced Trichotillomania! 😀 It's been a heck of a few years for our agents and here's hoping for a return to some sort of new normality for them all. We are certainly doing our best to help ours return to ''normal''. 👍

Excellent. Then we are both happy bunnies.

I do agree about a cruise specialist rather than general travel agents but I will add not all agents add a discount to any Cunard pricing so are therefore not necessarily cheaper but find a good one and the personal service given will be beyond discounts. However, if discounts are important to anyone, there's plenty of research to be done via Google etc.

Unfortunately, I can't give any names out here but I have been lucky enough to find a wonderful agent. He has been the go between Cunard and ourselves for many years. He does not discount but the service he gives us is beyond a discount and everyone I have recommended him to, books with him. There will be others like him ''out there'' and it's often a question of word of mouth which unfortunately, as I said, can't be done on here. Good luck. 🙂