david,Mississauga

20 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Sorry, but why not ring them up or get a TA to do so?

Indeed, I deal with an excellent TA  but I do my own research. Of all the times we have sailed on Cunard ships we have never had any problems - not counting issues created by the California office which have been solved on board by the lovely staff. 

The Website has come back to life for Canada.  Some of the Canadian$ fares have increased, but not all.

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

QE 2025 Alaska itineraries are available for booking today on the Cunard website as advertised. They appear to match what I posted above.

 

It's a bit odd on the Cunard US website at the moment where they seem to only be offering "Our Lowest Fare" (similar to the "Early Saver" fare in the UK) where it is a guarantee-only booking. In the UK it looks like you have your choice of the "Early Saver" fare for a guarantee-only booking or the "Cunard" fare where you can select a cabin. Those of you in Australia/New Zealand also appear to have your choice of the "Early Saver" or "Cunard" fares.

 

Edit to add: No joy for those of you in Canada it would appear. Not only aren't the QE 2025 Alaska itineraries listed at all (despite a link on the home page announcing them), all the other itineraries are still not showing any availability from what I'm seeing on the Cunard Canada site.

Perhaps Cunard doesn't want to be bothered with Canadian bookings given they are switching from Vancouver-based to Seattle-based cruises to Alaska. But that doesn't explain why no fares and therefore no availability is showing for any voyages. 

Sadly no-one at Cunard cares. A request submitted to Cunard's Facebook page gets the usual response that as we are in Canada we have to deal with the California office as the UK site can't help us. I e-mailed the Valencia office and the response was almost insulting. I could have gotten as much help from the neighbour's cat. (Apologies to "Basil Fawlty" for stealing a line.)

A check of "my Cunard" shows our two bookings on the QM2 for next year still exist, so we haven't been banned from Cunard.  We have no desire to take a round-trip cruise from Seattle, although if we did embark there we could disembark in Victoria. On our two cruises on the QE in 2019 and 2022 several passengers did that, but for this year that was banned because it violated a law (similar to the US law) that apparently no-one was aware of before.  

What we could do is postpone our two QM2 trips from next year to 2015 or later and book the QE to Alaska next year while it is still possible to do so from Vancouver.

18 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

When you mention New York I'm assuming the above experience was on QM2. There is one thing that irritates me with Cunard Line , there is often no consistency in the onboard service delivery across their fleet. 

I often wonder if some of these inconsistencies are a result of an individual Snr Manager on the day.

 

As I have mentioned in a previous post I witnessed the hanging trolley ( Q.Vic) in action in December 2022

I'd also like to mention in 2020  ( Queen Victoria South American cruise 78 days) after the first leg of the itinerary I transferred to another stateroom for the remainder of the cruise . The hanging trolley was certainly in evidence, transferring  my six Evening Jackets, Five suits plus dozens of shirts - Britannia category - solo guest 😉    

 

  

Yes, it was on the QM2 in Britannia class cabins. It was a Québec-NY-Southampton voyage which we are doing in reverse next year.  We are on Deck 13 in Britannia Club. Our "new" cabin is just five doors down the same corridor. If the occupants leave fairly early we can carry our own clothes on hangers if the ship's management won't permit the staff to do it.  But from some of the postings  there is hope.

On 12/11/2023 at 8:36 AM, Bell Boy said:

Well that's shocking considering you were 'in the Grills'.  The example I quoted above was deck Six   Britannia category. ( the date was December 23rd morning of disembarkation at Southampton)   

 

Edited to add;  Just to clarify, QG,PG, Britannia balcony, inside or ocean view should make no difference to the 'hanging rail trolley procedure/s', for years this has been standard.  Lost count of how many times I've transferred (B2B)  in the past.

If one experiences any hassle with their transfer you should contact the Housekeeping manager immediately. 

It was, I believe,  in 2018 when we had to transfer accommodation in New York. Our steward contacted the Housekeeping Manager who said no to the hanging trolley and apparently said that is no longer done. The steward said it was a recent change in policy and he was surprised the manager wouldn't allow an exception.

I'm pleased to read that the convenience has being restored - at least on some voyages. We have to change cabins next September on a Southampton-NY-Québec voyage.

An e-mail to Cunard about the situation resulted in the usual non-answer which I have come to expect from the California office.  The anonymous person who replied had looked at a random voyage and said it showed pricing and availability.  Perhaps that person didn't read my comment that this was an issue with the Canadian $ version, although surely it was  known that Valencia is not in Canada.  

Oh well, these glitches eventually get corrected.

On our Alaska cruise this summer on the QE we declined the World Club lunch.  Later in the cruise we received a glossy written invitation to have dinner in the Veranda. There was no explanation as to why we were getting this and it wasn't necessarily form the Club.  If we had not been in QG this time we would have accepted.  But having experienced the Veranda a few times before we decided not to sacrifice a QG dinner for it.

I believe the Black Friday sale is over.  Other Canadians are having the same issue. Perhaps Cunard is revising the fares which are in Canadian $. I hope they are not going up too much. Maybe they will come down, says the optimist in me. They vary according to category of accommodation.  From my experience in making comparisons there is no consistency. The surcharge for Can. $ can be  between 10% and 40%.

I can't comment on what a "closed loop" is but my recollection from our experience is everyone had to leave the ship in Brooklyn. Only when the "zero on board" announcement was made the authorities won't even consider letting anyone back on board.  We had to go through security again, then were led to a waiting area and were allowed to re-board before any of the joining passengers were called to board.

It isn't just QG passengers who are moved by the crew. A few years ago we were in Britannia and the steward moved everything for us. Unfortunately we had to pack everything. Some people are lucky and clothes on hangers are taken by the crew as is.  Our steward was told no by the head housekeeper.  Considering your new stateroom is down the hall from the first you may be able to carry your clothes on hangers if the crew are not allowed to do this. We are doing a similar change of cabins next year and hope to avoid packing all our clothes into suitcases.

The St. Lawrence Seaway starts in Montreal and runs west. You will be on the St. Lawrence River. 

We have embarked in Québec three times on Cunard's Queen Mary 2.  On all three voyages we went up the Saguenay and once we visited Gaspé.   I would love to do this again.

https://greatlakes-seaway.com/en/the-seaway/our-locks-and-channels/

Just now, david,Mississauga said:

Is it just me or have others noticed in the past few days there is nothing available for dozens of voyages - every voyage I look at?  Either all categories are marked sold out or there is nothing showing under the heading of "accommodations."  I know at least some of these cruises are not sold out because just a few days ago some of them had ample accommodation available.  

 

I always book through my travel agent and I don't need anything urgently, but I do a lot research and am just curious.  I have tried three browsers and have cleared all cookies on one of them.

Is it just me or have others noticed in the past few days there is nothing available for every voyage I look at?  Either all categories are marked sold out or there is nothing showing under the heading of "accommodations."  I know at least some of these cruises are not sold out because just a few days ago some of them had ample accommodation available.  

I always book through my travel agent and I don't need anything urgently, but I do a lot research and am just curious.  I have tried three browsers and have cleared all cookies on one of them.

1 hour ago, dawnvip said:

 If you fly business class out of Dublin, the fees are 1/10th the cost Heathrow's

According to the UK government's site the Air Passenger Duty applies to flights from all UK airports with a few exceptions, such as Northern Ireland and the north of Scotland. It varies by distance and class of travel.  For example. the total taxes collected by Air Transat from London, Manchester & Glasgow to Toronto are almost $400 in economy and almost $600 in Club class.

With Dublin not being in the UK, that might be a good airport to fly out of to save a lot of tax. I know someone who took the Eurostar train to Paris to fly to Toronto from there. He saved hundreds of dollars.

We always stay at the PP even if we are taking a plane or train trip rather than a cruise.  We usually get a king-bed room but once all we could get was two "doubles." Although I didn't measure them, they appeared to be queen-sized.

We book long in advance and check the rates now and then. Without exception they have come down closer to our stay. The hotel will be full during cruise season so it is possible the rates won't be reduced but we have been lucky.  A couple of months prior to our November train trip we received an e-mail from PP telling us about a special deal. We re-booked and saved over $100.  Except when the Pacific Club was closed for a while (obviously during and shortly after the worst of the pandemic) we stay in that section. We find it worth the extra $100 or so.  

On 12/5/2023 at 10:10 PM, rsquare said:

The story that I heard is that QM2 sticks out too far into the Hudson, and that the US Coast Guard essentially prohibited it from using the west side piers, and indeed that's why the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal was built. 

...

 

 

There was much discussion about this at the time the QM2 entered service.  From information I have seen, the QM2 is only 112 feet longer than the original Queen Mary. 

I forget the years, but twice we have boarded the QM2 in Manhattan after Red Hook was in service. The first time, a ship with higher passenger capacity was assigned to Red Hook and the other time the main gangway had been damaged by an RCCL ship. 

1 hour ago, tag1000 said:

There does not seem to be a lot of transatlantic crossings in 2026 (from my very quick analysis)

I haven't counted them, but I hope there are more than usual. I have found it difficult to book a round-trip that suits us. I don't mean Back to Back voyages. Sadly, I see no crossings that include Halifax.

5 hours ago, JT1101 said:

Probably Stateroom for there Non-Grills and Suites for Grills?

Last year when we were on Deck 13 I noticed a sign in the corridor leading to the five inside staterooms stating "suites 13015 - 13023". 

Regarding the new Deck 8 staterooms 8116 to 8130 (port side only as I read it)  number 8130 is a Queens Grill suite.  

Modern technology is a wonderful thing until it fails. I well remember how easy it was to board a ship in the 1970s through 90s when we simply presented our ticket package to the desk and the ticket was removed and we boarded. I fully understand the need for credit card swiping and security checks and know we won't go back to that era.  This century we have had some lengthy delays in New York when the check-in computers failed so we had to stand about a half hour each time - or find a seat and lose our spot in the queue.

I well remember when cabin keys were just that - keys. We never had to go to the purser's office to say our key no longer works.  I do, however,  appreciate the convenience of the cruise cards which do work most of the time. 

20 minutes ago, HSBC said:

David,

Is 58,000 points from Ontario to England? Business class? One-way?

Thanks!

Yes, Toronto to London, one-way in Business Class (with lie-flat beds or pods as Air Canada calls them.) We got two on the same flight. Sometimes they offer one seat on each of three flights.  Sometimes the cheap Business Class involves a change in Montreal.  There are three or four flights per evening from Toronto and the departure we were able to get was 23:45, which would not be my favourite. But it has an advantage of getting into Heathrow at about noon rather than in the morning rush hour.

On 11/12/2023 at 8:32 AM, Keata said:

WOW those days of decent points and fees are long gone with Aeroplan!

Although it is very difficult to get a good Business Class point fare, there are a few. We are used to getting Toronto-Vancouver for about 24,000 points and managed to get that each way for this past summer.  It does mean departing Toronto at 06:40 though. We needed a one-way to Vancouver in November and couldn't get it at a reasonable fare so we booked premium economy and upgraded for $ a few days in advance.

For next year we need to get to England to board the Queen Mary 2. Most flights are over 200,000 points but there are two or three every day for 58,000 points. By checking Aeroplan after midnight we managed to get two cheap ones.

As for fees, they are actually less than  before AC bought Aeroplan back.  Toronto-Vancouver dropped from about $82 to $42. One reason is they are no longer charging that fuel surcharge. The biggest reduction in fees was on our Toronto-London trip which is only about $60.  London-Toronto is still high because of the UK departure duty which is over $300 in Business Class.

Although I do not have one of those devices it is my understanding that most people do take their photos with one. I wouldn't waste my time uploading the photos again. We uploaded  what appeared to be good photos taken with a camera for two voyages and both times the check-in person said he would have to take them again. The same happened with our friends. So the last time we boarded (in Vancouver) we skipped that step with on-line check-in. It took about 20 seconds for the photo to be taken on the pier.

I know many will be happy that the QE will be based in Seattle instead of Vancouver, but not me. I was hoping to take our fourth QE Alaska cruise in 2025, but now it is doubtful. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

I recall reading a few years ago that  the current Q3s and Q4s on the QV were originally Q5 and Q6. The reason for switching the classification was complaints about the noise and movement experienced in those suites at the stern.  I'm not sure what the classifications were on the newer QE as our previous cruises were in Britannia or PG.

A Google search led me to this:

4 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

Is this correct, that the Q4 suites on QE are the same size as the Q6? The information I have says Q4 is 45 square meters (484 square feet) and the Q6 is 49 square meters (504 square feet). That’s not a lot of difference and probably not discernible onboard, being a size difference of roughly an additional love seat, but the sizes are not quite the same. 
 

QM2 is a significant difference: Q6 is 36 square meters (388 square feet) and Q4 is 55 square meters (588 square feet), or a difference roughly equal to the size of an ocean view cabin on QM2.

I should have said "roughly" the same because we haven't been in a Q6 to take our own measurements.  There have been postings on this forum and Youtube from people who have been in both. Some say the Q4s on the Vistas are actually smaller than the Q5 and Q6.

While we are always pleased to receive an upgrade we were at first disappointed because we were looking forward to having a Q6 stateroom at the stern. But the proximity of our Q4 to the B lifts pleased my wife very much. We also liked the partial divider between the bedroom and lounge halves and also the divided  bathroom.  

For our QE Alaska cruise this summer we received an upgrade from a Q6 to a Q4. Unlike on the QM2, the Q4s "Penthouse" are no bigger than the Q5 and Q6, but we were assigned one midships which was handy for Mrs. David.  The couple at the table next to us had been upgraded to a Q3.

While I never say "never" there is almost nothing about the QA that appeals to me. The walk-in shower in PG (it's about time that older people or anyone with mobility issues can have a shower in that category) is the only aspect.  I agree with WantedOnVoyage that you don't have to experience something to know it isn't to your taste. 

Of course, to do a fair and detailed critique requires first-hand experience, but I know I would not enjoy a cruise on Carnival Cruises and  some other lines without experiencing it. As much as I enjoy live theatre, I would not attend one of these new rock musicals because I know I would hate every minute of it.  

So it's not as simple as people condemning something they haven't seen or experienced.  People know what they like and don't like and spend their money accordingly. As for the attitude many had about the QE2 when it was new, much of the ship's interior changed - mostly for the better - every time we were on board between 1973 and 2008. By the time of our last crossing we liked the QE2 more than ever.

There have been comments on this forum to the effect of: "I have never been on the QM2 and will never travel on it because I don't like it."  That seems to have been acceptable, so the same tolerance should be granted to others.