amias

Not sure when the cruise ships will be in Liverpool but for those planning on taking trains from James Street (nearest station to the cruise terminal) and onto the Wirral and Chester, please be aware that there is maintenance work being performed on the lines and train schedules will be interrupted until the end of June. Merseyrail have been using buses to transfer passsengers between affected stations. Things should be back to normal by July.

There is a new Museum of British Music in the Cunard Building. Not cheap (16 pounds per person) but interesting if you are a fan of British music. Next door, you can walk into the Port of Liverpool Building (once the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board) just to see the beautiful lobby and stained glass windows. A little further along is the Museum of Liverpool Life (free). The Panoramic 34 Bar and Restaurant (easy walk from cruise terminal, opposite direction to all the above) has the most spectacular views over the city, and far beyond. They do full table service, bar lunches and a nice afternoon tea. Even WITHOUT a cruise ship in port you would probably NOT get in without reservations so I would not advise just showing up - however, reservations can be made online. As previously mentioned, the two cathedrals are well worth a visit but it is a LONG trek uphill so I would advise getting a taxi to one or the other then walking along Hope Street to the second one.

 

The Albert Dock is anchored by the Beatles Museum, the Maritime Museum and the Tate Gallery but most of the nice shops are gone. Several places there to eat.

 

If you are interested in a very traditional pub (no frills) try the Caernarvon Castle in Tarleton Street (just off the main shopping area in Church Street, immediately before you get to Marks and Spencer store). Very small but does good beer and you can get a sandwich for lunch. One poster asked about Boots the Chemist - there is one near the corner of Church Street and Whitechapel that is a little closer to the cruise terminal than the larger branch in Clayton Square.

 

For a haven of quiet and world class art there is the Walker Art Gallery (walking distance). The Bluecoat Chambers (again, off Church Street) and surrounding small art shops and galleries are good for one of a kind, locally produced pieces.

 

I'm from Liverpool, and was there just last week visiting family and doing some tourist things, so I know that all these places are open and available for visitors.

We used Smiths for Airports. They were on time, reasonably priced (in comparison to rail fares plus taxi's to rail station) and professional.

NOT urban legend. Disembarked Silhouette 8 Jan. 2017 guests were 'requested' to vacate cabins by 7am. LONG CC thread attests to this.

We have always used scopalamine patches (advised and prescribed by doctor) which are NOT for everybody, depending on medical conditions, but have worked well for us. We don't actually know if either one of us gets seasick but would rather not pay $$$$ for a cruise just to find out that we are affected by the sea state. We have cruised calm Caribbean seas, choppy waters around Alaska, frisky transatlantic in May and most recently, an approach to Fort Lauderdale that had the clothes hangers skidding from one side of the closet to the other. Again, others use different successful remedies but 'the patch' is our choice regardless of cabin location.

Our contractile arrangements made NO mention when we booked - or indeed up until we received our disembarkation information - that the time to leave the cabin was at 7am on the morning of departure. This came as a complete and unpleasant surprise.

That was very nice of you. As you say it was very quick and only took a couple of minutes. We were not fortunate enough to run into you (but hopefully on another cruise!) and only had the advice of the staff on which to rely, so relunctantly coughed up the required $25 for - again - a process that was quick and only took a couple of minutes. So why does Celebrity need you to purchase an hour of internet time at $25 when 5-10 minutes would be more than enough?

No idea about other Celebrity ships but recently on Silhouette we printed Southwest boarding passes 24 hours prior to homeward flight. We did not purchase an internet plan on board and our phones were not getting reception most of the time we were at sea so could not check in on phone. We had to pay for one hour of internet service - $25 if I recall - to go online for five minutes to check in. As first time cruisers with Celebrity we were not entitled to any free minutes but were surprised to find that there was not a 'by the minute' fee to go online for the express purpose of checking in and printing boarding passes as we have found on other lines.

Just off the Silhouette on Sunday and although we enjoyed our first Celebrity cruise (usually sail with HAL) we felt that the rush of being out of the cabin at 7am was definitely a negative, especially since our estimated time to disembark was 9.50am (and breakfast in the Oceanview ended at 8am). Other passengers we spoke to were no happier about the timing, many of whom had been woken by the very lively seas we encountered after 3am and who, in many cases, were looking at a long day of homeward travel. Obviously, cruise lines have no control over the weather but an extra hour or two of rest would have made for more contented passengers. As others have noted, HAL manages to allow people to stay comfortably in their cabins until actual disembarkation time - a big plus. Count us in with the people who would be happy to board later rather than be turfed out of the cabin at such an early hour.

We recently had the same problem. Called Celebrity and it appears there has been a change to their system. You have to answer the two questions below the xpress print icon and then it should go through. Otherwise call and they will walk you through it.

Jim Fischer and Greg Gallello.

Best thing would be to e mail them and ask. I have found that they respond quickly, even bearing in mind they are five hours ahead of US time. I believe, however, that they will add the 'congestion charge' (required in central London) to the fare. We priced them for taking us from Southampton to a hotel in London, and a hotel at Heathrow. The price to the Heathrow hotel was about 20 pounds less.

Smiths for Airports - no question. We used them in May and they were on time, efficient, professional and worked out cheaper than taking trains and taxi's. Highly recommended.

"It's an interconnecting cabin but we've not heard any noise from next door".

Glad you had a quiet time despite your connecting door, Hattie. We also had an interconnecting cabin, a fact we had not realized in the excitement of booking over a year ago. When we did realize, we called Cunard customer service to see if another cabin was available, and why we were not told when we booked that our cabin had a connecting door. We were told that Cunard does NOT have to give you that information, that a lot of the cabins are connected and that they are so well insulated that noise from the other cabin cannot be heard. By day 2 on the ship we were at the Purser's desk to let them know that we could hear every word spoken by our cabin neighbours who were in no way intentionally loud, but we heard drawers and doors closing, their TV, phone and conversation in a normal time of voice. It would make sense to assume that they could also hear us. No other cabins were available but a door cover, specifically made for the purpose of covering and insulating connecting doors, would be installed. It was, within an hour, but actually did little to solve the problem. Since the ship had the covers at the ready it would appear that they are aware that the connecting door insulation is not as sturdy as customer service led us to believe. Happily, our neighbours also turned out to be our table mates and we got along just fine, but I would caution prospective passengers regarding booking a cabin with a connecting door. We will be more careful about not booking one in the future.

[quote name='Host Hattie']Last day, any last questions ? The cruisecritic team have found a few potholes (details to follow) & I have a list of RADA events.
It has been an amazing trip and today we have a beautiful sunny day in Guernsey.[/QUOTE]

I can attest to the fact that there are 'potholes' on the ship although to be fair, they are more like soft, shallow dips. However, they can be a hazard, especially to high heels. I did not make note of specific locations but there is at least one in the hallway into the Queens Room (approaching from the right side), one in the deck 6 hallway (odd numbers) and a particularly impressive one in the photo gallery just in front of the desk.

[quote name='Host Hattie']There were 3 chairs taped off, I've not counted before so I don't know whether that is better or worse than before. It didn't seem very many considering the level of complaints so maybe they have repaired some.[/QUOTE]

We attended the planetarium show on this voyage and changed seats (in the red section) several times to find ones which reclined to give a good view of the screen. We gave up since the show was about to start and viewed the program with tilted back heads. However, later in the week we went to a very crowded Stephen Payne lecture in the same venue. I sat in one of the red (planetarium) seats, leaned slightly backwards and immediately found myself in the lap of a very understanding lady sitting behind me. This particular seat was so loose it would ONLY recline and not lock into place. Looking around, it was clear that others were having the same problem. Planetarium seats definitely in need of maintenance.

Would you please give us the name? I don't think it is against CC rules. We just are not allowed to give out names of TA's.

 

Also, if using a car service, is it safe to schedule transport for the day of sailing or is that too dangerous should something go wrong with the transportation? We just book on QM2 for May, 2016, from Southampton.

 

It's Smiths for Airports. They appear to be very accommodating as regards pickup times. While I would advise researching and planning accordingly for travel to the port, I would not be as concerned about transport following arrival in the UK as I would be about the flights arriving on time. We have booked to arrive Saturday for a Sunday sailing (we always fly in for a cruise at least a day ahead) and I am still apprehensive about delays! Car from Heathrow should take two hours or less, depending on traffic. Gatwick is probably similar, but the car company will be able to give you that information.

4. What flight time is safe to depart LHR on disembarkation day if we are planning on just taking the scheduled bus service from Portsmouth I'm guessing 15:00 would be ok. I know we can go earlier if we leave ship ASAP and catch first available "coach". Would anyone advise a car service option instead? They seem very expensive and if not necessary would rather just spend that money on something else.

 

We looked at different methods of transportation H'Row to Southampton and return, and found that a car service would be less expensive, easier and faster, than a bus, train or coach, so agree that the car may be the best way to go. We will find out one week from today if it works! I suspect we may be using the same company as Electra2008 - they gave us a quote very quickly by e mail. Booking was easy.

That should read MONDAY 25th - not SUNDAY 25th. Sorry.

Before making further plans for family I called Cunard myself and it seems that, unfortunately, you were given incorrect information. The following, as printed in the local media, was confirmed by the person I spoke to:

 

'On the day (Sunday 25th) the Queen Mary 2 will leave her berth and sail down the Mersey to Seaforth where she will meet her sister Queens, which will sail past her.

The three ships will make their way back up the river in convoy, with Queen Elizabeth at the front and QM2 at the rear, giving a good view to people waiting at Crosby.

They will sail up the Mersey at low tide, with a tug ahead and behind the convoy – firing water in the air in impressive V shapes – as far as Cammell Laird and the ECHO arena, and then back down again, with the QM2 then sailing off to continue her 10-day British Isles cruise.'

 

In addition, there are no tours scheduled for Monday 25th, and their are to be fireworks on the QM2 on the 24th, and on the QV and QE on the 25th, indicating that the ship will not be in port in the evening hours. The representative I spoke with checked with her supervisor and assures me that this is the latest information they have. She did confirm that 3am is the expected (not confirmed) arrival time.

 

I had hoped that the times you were given were correct as it would have been great for our family, too. However, it's just more time to enjoy the ship!

You'll see lots of changes to the city - all good. Congratulations on your new title!

I believe we are already on there. Which part of Liverpool are you from, Hattie?

We are also looking forward meeting up with relatives in Liverpool and making the most of our time there. I did want to mention (and you may already know all this!) that as well as being a big weekend for Cunard, it is also a Bank Holiday weekend. Liverpool is expected to be packed with people and public transportation will be crowded, although I believe there will be extra trains and buses instead of the usual Sunday/holiday schedule. My sister started looking for restaurant bookings for lunch for all of us a couple of months ago and found that many of the restaurants in town, even those further from the Pier Head, have been booked for up to a year! She finally did manage to find somewhere that could accommodate us. My relatives and friends are scattered around the outskirts of the city and on the Wirral, so gathering at a central spot works best for us. Your family may well be way head of mine as regards planning but I wanted to share what we have found out about transportation and restaurants,.

 

Have a wonderful visit to Liverpool, and a spectacular cruise. Maybe we'll bump into you on board.

Well worth stopping in at the Piano Bar - we really enjoyed Greg's music, and his trivia games, on the Noordam last December.

Have you ever written a book? If so, I want to read it. Glad you and your bags are home safely but I'll miss reading the trip review.