david,Mississauga

5 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I think you were on the same Alaska cruise I was in 2022. We tendered in Juneau because all of the docks were taken. Rather than compete with the early rush, I went to the Queens Room for my tender ticket after an hour or two. I sat there for at least an hour. It wasn't worth it, especially since my whale watch excursion was cancelled. 

 

There are too many passengers arriving at some of the ports, and I expect to see more restrictions about number of ships and number of people. Lines like HAL and Princess have been going to Alaska for something like 40 years. If "longevity" counts for anything, Cunard could be at the back of the queue to get berth assignments, unless being part of Carnivore has some weight.

 

Yes, that sounds like the same cruise. Although my wife passed the test for mobility and was granted permission to use the tender, she decided on the day to stay aboard. We had nothing special planned. I went ashore with friends. we had no queuing either going ashore or returning because it was a quiet time.

Somewhere I have a brochure from many years ago when Cunard offered Alaska cruises on one of their lesser-known ships such as the Cunard Countess or Princess. I'm sure there are people on this forum who would know the details.

20 hours ago, newbie202020 said:

Any ideas on when the 2025 summer trips from Vancouver will released? Thanks

All that Cunard says about 2025 is: "Queen Elizabeth's remarkable Alaska itineraries will be announced in the coming months, so please check back soon."  Others may speculate as to when that will be, but that isn't helpful. The Alaska seasons have always been announced later than other voyages.  A Cunard World Club rep told us at a reception that the itineraries for Alaska are more likely to be amended than other voyages, so to avoid upsetting too many people they are set later.  On our cruise this June the port of Juneau was dropped not too far in advance of the cruise, upsetting many people, so that doesn't always work.   

We have taken the QE Alaska cruise on each of the three years they have been operated. There is a lot of competition on that route and fares drop, often long in advance. We noticed that for each of our cruises. We book fairly early, but never at the earliest opportunity and have always been happy with the fares and availability of accommodation. 

On our cruises on the QE this year and last I noticed that Singapore Slings did not appear on any of the bar menus we looked at. But staff could make them on request.   The price was reasonable - well within the limits of our drinks package.

We have enjoyed the Dover Sole (when in the Grills) and the rack of lamb (in all restaurants).

Most of the time a simple gin and tonic is fine with us, but we do like some of the Commodore Club drinks. All Consuming Passion is our favourite. We had plenty of OBC on our last two QE cruises so we enjoyed  the Chieftain of the Clan and  the Commodore's Cure. 

3 hours ago, Cruisecard99 said:

I’ve have only been cruising for the last year and have done 5 cruises split between p & o and Cunard but have never done a port with a tender. I’m booked on an Alaska cruise with Cunard next year and was wondering how long it takes to tender from the ship in Sitka including any waiting time. Also do early morning excursions get priority to tender ashore. Thanks

I will just add that we have taken three cruises on the QE to Alaska and at each one Sitka was not a tender port, even though on two of the cruises they said it would be. There is now space for two large ships at the pier, so generally only small ships tender. The port is about five miles from the city. Free shuttles are provided for those who have not booked tours. The tenders serve the very heart of the city, which is an advantage. The CLAA will have detailed berth information closer to the date.

https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SIT-Sitka-2024.pdf

I hope it hasn't changed. As I said we purchased them on the QE in June of this year. We also made a booking. Everything was handled efficiently.

8 minutes ago, Marion B said:

Roy,

   Sorry to hear about the missing cane.  Hope an upcoming port shortly will provide a replacement.

   Really appreciate the photos and programs.  Like Winifred 22, both bring back happy memories.

   Hope your upcoming days onboard and off will be great ones.

Marion

My wife forgot her cane once on a Québec-NY-Southampton voyage. There was a dealer in wood products on the pier in Halifax. We bought a charming wooden walking stick which worked well. On another voyage I had a temporary injury so I bought one at the same shop. If a metal cane is preferred there might be some at the Atlantic Superstore which is very close to Pier 22 where the QM2 is docking.  If not, there will be other sources in Halifax.

4 hours ago, tv24 said:

However note that one option is no longer possible.  We used to make an open booking while on board, that is make a deposit to be used the next time we book Cunard.  Cunard used to offer a modest amount of OBC for these open bookings.  That program has been cancelled.

Future Cruise Deposits are still available to those in the US and Canada.  We bought two on the QE just three months ago. I hope they have not been discontinued since then. The cost for us was $390 pp in Canadian funds, so obviously it would be less in US funds.  They offer the same on-board credit as booking a cruise on-board and they are valid for four years and are fully refundable.

10 hours ago, mattR said:

Thanks this was very helpful.  Looks like it might be hard to find a late breakfast onboard?  Since you filled out the form for Canadian customs in Victoria does that mean you didn't have to do customs in Vancouver during disembarkation? I would love to try Cunard for the classy feal and good food but not sure as the entertainment really doesn't seem to match my taste either not into sitting listening to live music or dancing.  

We have taken the QE Alaska cruise three times and the arrival in Vancouver was as easy as it can be. We never spoke with a border official and simply walked off the ship.  There were no formalities in Victoria either. 

On 9/25/2023 at 10:11 AM, exlondoner said:

West for those wonderful 25 hour days. And get a cabin on the port side so you get the sun.

As I am neither a mad dog nor an Englishman  we have chosen a starboard balcony cabin on our w/b crossing next year to avoid the sun.  (Sorry, having just listened to a birthday gift recording of Noel Coward singing his own songs I couldn't resist.)

4 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Unless QE has changed recently, the exception is that QE has a REAL Library.  I board QM2 tomorrow and will offer some additional perspective on the diffference between Britannia and Grills experiences.

 

Roy

I was on a HAL Vista ship a few years ago. The QE is vastly superior in almost every way: not only the library as Roy said, but a real atrium, a real theatre, a Commodore Club with various types of live entertainment, especially the string orchestra, piano or harp and the ability to get a decent cup of tea almost everywhere on board.  On the HAL Vista the Commodore Club equivalent (Crowsnest) never had any background music other than recorded rock/pop or whatever it may have been. There's plenty more I could mention, but that is enough.

To be fair the HAL ship had a real teak promenade deck, the lack of which is the only thing I don't like about the QE.

Canadians book under the terms of the US site. So deposits are refundable until final payment date of four months before the voyage.  

For our voyage a year ago the vaccination and testing rules by both the Canadian government and Cunard  were still in effect. Cunard had quietly dropped their offer to re-book or give a credit for passengers who test positively. I saw nothing to be offered to those who were not vaccinated. 

I don't want to guess what Cunard's policy would be if vaccination requirements are reinstated after the final payment is made. I would hope Cunard would be fair.

47 minutes ago, jimdee3636 said:

@Victoria2

Does the "fluid pricing" also work the other way? In other words, if the initial demand for a just-announced cruise is weaker than Cunard had anticipated, is it likely that the price will drop?

Indeed it does.  Over the years I have had our booking "re-priced" when the fare drops.  The last time I did that we had to cancel and re-book, so it was a bit of work for our agent.  From my observations most - but certainly not all -  fare drops occur after the final payment date.  There is a seven-night voyage coming up soon where the fare for a sheltered balcony dropped from about $2600 to $935 (Canadian funds).  We aren't taking that, but I couldn't help but notice it when looking at other trips.

One consideration is the ease of disembarking.  I have not once disembarked in New York without at least one major inconvenience.  Some people are lucky and get through with ease, but not us.  I have disembarked in Southampton about four or five times more than New York and not once have we had an issue there.  Unless there has been a change since the pandemic, UK immigration inspection is held on the ship during the crossing so you simply get off in Southampton. 

If in transit through New York it is less of a palaver.  We are doing that again in  a year: Southampton-NY-Québec. The only concern is the mob-scene at border control, but the last time we did this itinerary (in reverse)  the screening person sent us to a sort of express desk and we didn't have to queue for an hour.  Of course we had to go through security. After a wait of less than two hours we were allowed to re-board.  This is as good an experience as we have ever had at a New York pier.

On 9/20/2023 at 2:09 PM, WantedOnVoyage said:

...  And a big yes to Halifax added, too.... a short call adds little time or distance.  

...

 

For the few years that Halifax was included on two crossings, it was an eight-night trip to or from New York with the Southampton-Halifax portion taking six nights.

My late travel agent said he would discourage clients from booking the QM2 for an embarkation in Halifax for an e/b crossing. If there was an urgent situation - or horrendous weather - the call could be cancelled and the passengers would be out of luck. The w/b crossing is less risky. If the call had to be cancelled passengers would be taken on to New York.

In addition to the one crossing when we disembarked in Halifax, we have taken three Québec-NY voyages that called there. Also, I have seen the QM2 in Halifax several times. I have not known there to be a cancellation.

2 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Yes, QG is a mediocre restaurant tarted up with a lot of tableside shenanigans that went out thirty years ago. 
Again, that doesn’t make it bad. I like to be fussed over by maitre d’s as much as anyone. Maybe more. 
Let’s just recognize it for what it is. 

One of the aspects of the Grills I enjoy is the "tableside shenanigans." I do not like trends in dining which are become far too frequent on land: e.g. obnoxious loud music, over-spiced food (I like pepper but prefer to have some control over how much), piling food up so I have no idea what is beneath the top layer, stainless steel cutlery instead of silver, silly plates on which the cutlery slides on to the floor.

I also miss "silver service" which also went out 30 years ago, although it occasionally appears in the Grills . Even on our first Cunard voyage on the QE2 50 years ago we had traditional silver service in Tourist Class.  I like being offered a selection of vegetables and  potatoes so I can decide which ones I want and how much of each. The trend today is for chef to make that decision for me. How dare a chef put Brussels sprouts on my plate without warning me!

Sadly we can't travel in the Grills all the time, but I savour every moment when we do. When we are in Britannia or Britannia Club we enjoy that too. I have never eaten in a Michelin-starred restaurant and probably never will, so obviously I know nothing about food. But I enjoy my Cunard cruises and crossings.

Just now, david,Mississauga said:

We took the cruise in PG last year and this year in QG.  I know the question pertains specifically to PG but there was little diference in the daily menus between the two. After a quick look at my (not quite complete) selection of dinner menus from each trip I can say there were only a few local specialities. One was Alaska King Salmon. Others were Alaskan Rockfish and another Alaskan seafood dish.  

 

Otherwise the menus, including the à la carte menus, were basic Grills.

Sorry, unintended duplicate.

On 9/21/2023 at 6:16 PM, Underwatr said:

I've never seen FCDs available to US passengers on Cunard. Future bookings for a specific itinerary, yes (and I believe those were transferable to a different itinerary). I have bought FCDs on Princess and Holland America. If Cunard makes/made them available to US passengers it is/was a well-kept secret.

I'd be happy to see whether Americans are still privileged when I'm on QM2 in Novermber if you'd like.

Because our bookings are handled by the U.S. office, Canadians get the same benefit as Americans. I remember when Cunard used to advertise the availability of FCDs in the daily programme. Now, you have to know they are available. So lately, as Underwatr said, they are a well-kept secret.

5 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Maybe they will do something different with QE.

Perhaps the reason this ship’s itineraries were not announced is that they are working on new routes.

Unlikely, but maybe……

I hope the QE will remain on the Alaska route. With the itineraries being set for the other three ships, if it isn't the QE then there won't be an Alaska season for Cunard. The QE is not far from Vancouver on the furthest published cruises for 2025.  

That looks like the RMS St. Helena beside the QE2.  I regret not taking a line voyage on that ship when it was possible to do Southampton - Cape Town or vv.

I would like to have seen more Atlantic crossings on the QM2.  It is difficult getting a suitable round trip from NY, and I don't mean returning the same day or a month later.  If Cunard won't increase the crossings I wish they would re-instate the occasional calls at Halifax. We managed to do that only once and disembarking in Halifax was the easiest arrival we have ever had on a crossing. There was no queue for immigration (actually we didn't even speak with an officer, the purser's staff did that) and the railway station and former railway hotel are just across from the pier. There was no need to fly anywhere.

One thing I like is the QE will remain on the Alaska cruises - not the Queen Anne as Cunard had said would be taking over those. We have taken the Alaska cruise on each of the three years since the QE has been doing those. We will skip next year but will probably do it in 2025. I know the itineraries have not been announced yet (they are always later for Alaska) but it is obvious the QE will be doing them.

On 9/19/2023 at 6:30 AM, addo said:

We have changed cabins a couple of times in the last year.  In Grills our butler moved our clothes from closet to closet.  In Brittania they brought a rail and transferred from wardrobe to wardrobe.  We will have the same situation in January but are only moving 2 cabins.

I hope this means that Cunard has re-introduced this convenient transfer of the wardrobe contents. As I mentioned earlier, a few years ago our steward  told us they no longer do that. He even asked the head housekeeper but the rules could not be bent.

When we had to change cabins in New York a few years ago we were disappointed to find that the clothes on hangers were no longer transferred and we had to pack everything. The crew handled the change including our flowers and even a partial bottle of water. We remembered to empty the safe and take the contents off with us for the New York business.

We have this pleasure again in a year. We had no choice but to book the Southampton-NY-Québec voyage as two trips. Our cabins are just four doors apart. We are hoping that the cabin we are going to for the second segment will be vacated before we have to get off so we might be able to carry our clothes that short distance down the corridor.  Being aft on Deck 13 it is likely we will have the same steward so that might make the transfer easier.

13 hours ago, newbie202020 said:

Thanks very much David. This is very helpful. Does this mean that the ocean might be rough on the way to Victoria? Thanks

It could be, of course, but on the three cruises of 10 days each we had only one day when it was a little bumpy. That was going north on the stretch of open sea from the north end of Vancouver Island until protected by the Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). We were in Britannia on the first of those cruises, so with the restaurant being right at the stern there was noticeable motion during our meals that day.  Very few passengers were sea-sick, though, judging by  what few empty seats there were at tables.

On the three cruises when we came south on the outside of Vancouver Island it was calm. Each time it was in the month of June.  I hope you enjoy it. We have a seasick remedy with us just in case.