laktex

I would buy the whole trip if I were you and leave most of your stuff in the cabin whilst you have a break in new York.Just explain to your state room attendant that you won't be on board for a few days. No one can stop you doing that its your room and as long as you tell the attendant and give him or her a good tip no one need know.Iwould also tell your table mates you will be missing for a few days.I cant believe you will be the only ones doing that.Good luck.:D

I think the booking conditions could come into force by adopting this approach.

I didn't find it too bright at all (a little over a year ago, post refit). Maybe the photos you've seen were taken with the lights "full up"?

 

Mind you, I've not been in QG on QE or QV.

Personally that is one of the great enticements to the QE and QV - the Grills dining rooms and the aft suites. I also prefer the Commodore Club on these ships. The new Q1's on Victoria look fabulous and the new Q4's aft I would like to try.

Sorry should be £1309 for the return.

Hi,

 

Both my wife and I who have never visited the US and hate flying (Mid to late 30s each only gone on 2 cruises before) would love to visit New York and not fly there or back. For the past 3 years off and on I've looked on Cunard's website and always seen ridiculous round trips where 6 days on boat, 1 day in New York and 6 days back! Can someone explain who would do this silly itinerary?

 

Why is there never cruise 6 days to New York stay 6 days and cruise back? So my interest was peaked when I noticed:-

 

M823B leaving Southampton for 19 nights to {New York 1st then St Johns, Boston for 2 days back New York x1 day} and back Southampton (£1,889)

 

I want to arrive in New York disembark let the ship go on its merry way to St Johns and Boston while we stay in New York for 6 days and pick the boat back up when it returns back to New York before it goes back to Southampton again.

 

I phoned Cunard up expecting that I could do this by maybe telling the porter / bursar (insert correct ship term) that we were popping off for 6 days and air B and B it in New York and pop back on when it comes back to New York but oh no can't do! Instead they want me to buy:-

 

M823 leaving Southampton for 7 nights to New York (£1,407)

 

Then this one to in effect complete the 2nd leg back:-

 

M825 leaving New York for 7 nights back to Southampton (£1,549)

 

I'm now -Minus the middle segment!! But ++ The money:-

 

So the £1,899 trip is now £1,407+ £1,549 = £2,956 an increase of £1,057

 

Then I discovered they were selling just the bit I didn’t want to do on its own to people:-

M824 leaving New York for 5 nights {New York 1st then St Johns, Boston for 2 days back New York x1 day}£1,409

 

So I pay a £1,057 more and they can sell our empty cabin and make £1,409 again! So you can understand my predicament! So just wondering if I book the round trip as they want and say to the staff @ New York you won't see us until 6 days again when you’re back in New York will the ships staff let me do that? Clearly the salesman on the Cunard line aren’t saying yes!

 

Best Regards

 

 

New York Or Bust

I think the prices you quote for the M823 & M M825 will include flights so you will be able to reduce the fares by a few hundred pounds £1247 out and £1409 back (present cheapest) - so its a bit better. You can delete the flights as you continue the booking process.

This is a question just to cigar smokers please.

 

I am limiting my formal and informal dining clothing to a black suit, One. I am looking forward to some smoking, port sipping, and conversation in that lounge, after dinner. But if I wear my suit in there it will stink for the rest of the trip unless I use the expidited dry cleaning every time I smoke. OR..... Can you show up in smart casual wear anytime. I will have lots of sets of those clothes. What have you seen on previous cruises?

 

Please no non-cigar smokers.... what happens in the cigar room stays in the cigar room!

Churchills can vary quite significantly from cruise to cruise simply because of the smoking habits (or is it a hobby) of the passengers on board. I have seen it busy and have seen it hardly used. I realise you are talking about Queen Victoria but to give an example - on the QM2, Queens grills suites 9001 and 9002 are frequently the last to sell because of the potential for cigar smoke to permeate along the corridor and into the rooms and so you may imagine that Churchills itself CAN become quite concentrated with cigar smoke.

As Hattie has implied it would be expected to adhere to evening dress code for after dinner use of Churchills - during the day there is no problem with casual wear. The staff who "service" Churchills from the Commodore Club could be quite strict on dress code - as indeed often are those using the lounge itself. Maybe add a smoking jacket to your wardrobe!

Does anyone wear a tuxedo on “informal “ nights in QG?

I have certainly seen it happen.

Tempting menus. We spent last week on the QM2 in QG. The menus there were very different - fewer choices on both the daily and a la carte menus, and heavily skewed towards beef. Sadly, the preparation was lackluster, too. We wondered if we were seeing a trend or a one-off.

Had a friend on the SOU - NYC trip last week (in QG) and he thought there was some cost cutting going on and also thought the drinks cost had escalated significantly. Cunard definitely have to be careful if these are the opinions of their regular guests.

Personally I have always been very satisfied with Cunard's attitude when seeking to do booking amendments. I recently wanted to upgrade from Princess Grill ( where I had received a decent discount ) to Queens Grill (where there was no discount) but they carried over the discount amount to the new booking - which I had not expected.

We joined the Qm2 yesterday on the 26 night round trip and thought I would post this for those interested.

 

The Captain is now Chris Wells

Hotel General Manager is Robert Howie

Entertainment Director is now Paul O'Loughlin

Senior Maitre d'hôtel is Osman.

These are things I wanted to know so hope it helps those who are interested.

That sure is a good team.

The latest CUNARDER (December 2017) on page 19 spells out Cunard's plans and the bottom right hand corner ( Grills Afternoon Teas) implies that afternoon tea is likely to be available in both Princess AND Queens Grill dining rooms!! Has anyone seen this yet?

Hi everyone,

 

Is anyone else aware of the relatively new policies Cunard are applying on Early Booking fares and Saver Fares.

As Platinum members we have cruised many times with Cunard, All ships, but did not realise they where sectioning us dependant on the fare that was paid.

Our recent cruise on the Queen Elizabeth highlighted some of whats not included in this policy, this includes allocating dining seating times by fare paid and having to pay for some of the ship to shore/town shuttle buses. Not a big expenses about $6 each way, but a charge that other standard fare cruiser does not have to pay. This was clearly highlighted in the daily program when you arrive at a destination which made us feel like 3rd class passengers because of the way it was worded.

 

6 weeks ago when we cruised the Queen Victoria, not such issues !

 

I know sometimes when you book a guaranteed cabin you may not get what you want but to highlight these additional charges in the daily programme was quite shocking, especially how it was worded. Oh by the way these charges will be mentioned somewhere in the small print when you book.

So if you lucky enough to get a good deal, double check whats included and what's excluded with your agent thus avoiding dissapointment! :confused:

 

One more thing, if you get on-board credit to your account, make sure you spend it. Cunard will not refund any outstanding onboard credit on your account, they simply keep it!

 

What' your view on additional charges !

I don't believe there is anything new here - I thought this policy had been made totally clear for the Saver fares. As you say, it is in the brochure and website: **Early Saver and other promotional fares do not include shuttle bus fees.

Surely, if you have "Cunard Fare" & "Saver Fare" side by side, one would expects some difference in the T&C's

I have seen occasions where the policy has not been implemented on the shuttle bus.

The standard of service of afternoon tea in the Grills Lounge has been gradually getting lower - honest! We've had to wait for ages to get our hot drink/s, and also we've sometimes been provided with our hot drink/s in various stages, and then the drinks have gone cold by the time a waiter bothers to actually stop and serve food. The much celebrated clotted cream is served in a tiny china pot, and is in all truth about a level dessertspoon between two people, and if you want butter or spread that's a proper performance to get.

 

On other cruise lines like Celebrity, at least you get your tea etc brought direct to your suite, so that you have all the comestibles at the right temperature at the same time. We'll give QV one chance, and if the standard is poor, we'll do our own thing. I'd love them to get it right - but I'm not holding my breath.

 

In the past on QV only the late arrivals for afternoon tea have been directed to the PG restaurant.

You can get afternoon tea delivered to your suite if you so desire, just give them a little notice and it will be there on time or arrange it with your butler.

I have berthed at Hafen City and Altona but I see my next cruise to Hamburg will berth at Steinwerder. I guess you cannot easily walk into Hamburg from this terminal and need to rely on the Shuttle bus or public transport. Would appreciate to hear from those who have experience of using Steinwerder. PS - it will be a Sunday when we arrive/depart Hamburg.

What about tables for two in the Princess Grill. Are there preferred positions?

Depends upon the ship. QE and QV are (in my opinion) the nicest with many "twos" placed around the window.

Personally, I am not keen on some of the "twos" on the QM2 which are looking directly onto the "promenade deck".

The Q6 suites are not new. The new ones are Q4s on level 8.

Rob

Were the Q6's just refurbished with carpets and furnishings as all the suites?

Does anyone have photos of the new Aft Q6 suites on the Queen Victoria.

Thanks

Yes and no. When Cunard was bought by Carnival in the late 1990s it was initially merged with Seabourn (which was already owned by Carnival) and voyages on either were credited to both lines clubs. However, the structure under Carnival was changed early in the 2000s and thereafter there was no reciprocal system. It is this that I don’t like.

But if one took the Carnival reciprocity principle to the extreme we would have Cunard, P & O, Princess, Carnival, Costa & Seabourn all sharing benefits and in my opinion that simply would not work. Already, I think. some of these "benefit levels" become overcrowded and detract from the intended value of the particular benefits. I can well see the cruise lines adopting some of the airlines concept in that you will lose status after a certain period if you do not continue to travel on a specific line - and I am inclined to accept that idea. I recently lost my British Airways benefits because I do not travel with them much these days (mainly because, in my opinion, there are better airlines going to the places I travel to) and I think that is totally fair.

Loyalty marketing is an interesting study - be interesting to see what others think.

Over a year ago I expressed my interest for a single cabin on Cunard's world cruise, departing next January. As the available cabin were already booked, my name was put on the waitlist, for which I received a reference number: XGWD3W.

Never heard again from Cunard.

I also requested a visit to the QE when it would dock for a stop over in The Netherlands, two times this year (Amsterdam & Rotterdam). I was called by a Dutch speaking lady who promised she would arrange this for me.

Never heard again from Cunard.

No World Cruise on Q802H for me it seems.

Poor service from Cunard: really disappointing.

Quite often ship tours are easier to arrange through a cruise travel agent. Worth a try.

AIS indicates she (QM2) is travelling at around 8.5 knots in the North Sea. AIDAPRIMA appears to have departed Hamburg this evening bound for Sou and is now out in the North Sea.

Just checked out the Australian site and all dates and prices are up. No booking/even checking specific categories though until Oct 31st.

 

As excited as I am to see Alaskan itineraries, my goodness those really are steep entry prices! A 10 night cruise is priced at more than $10,000 (single supplement) for a balcony and more than $30,000 for Queens Grill.

 

Yikes! That's the same cost as travelling solo in Queens Grill for a 26 night Christmas/NY voyage on QM2!

Hi Austcruiser, I feel the same and since both Oceania and Viking start Alaska in 2019 I may just “jump ship”. Absolutely glorious day here in Vancouver - my daughter had her Canadian Citizenship ceremony this morning. Trevor

I’m in Vancouver at the moment, called into two travel agents this morning and they could not tell me anything about QE Alaska. I’ll be comparing prices against Viking at around £4000 but I guess they would compare with Princess Grill on QE - is that a fair comparison?

We've stayed at the Grand Harbour Hotel many times, since back when it was associated with the Devere Group. The first few times it was very good; then we began to see a slow but steady decline in the physical condition of the hotel and also in its service. The last time we stayed there (July 2016), it was truly dismal -- so bad that I'm surprised local business and health authorities were allowing it to remain open. We resolved never to stay there again.

 

We will need stay in Southampton in a few months, and suddenly my wife is receiving Facebook postings from the Grand Harbour which imply that everything's changed, that the hotel has returned to its former glory, etc. Can anyone comment? It's not easy for me to personally apprise the situation, as I live roughly 3,000 miles away (near NYC). Thanks for any feedback!

Yes, we used to stay at the Grand Harbour too but moved to the Holiday Inn several years ago. We always have an Exec room on a high floor facing the City Terminal so that we can watch the ships, especially in the morning. We also usually take a bed, breakfast and evening meal deal which is pretty reasonably priced - not fantastic by any means but we continue to stay there so it must be ticking some boxes.

Trick or Treat marketing. :D

I guess it will keep the prices high!

Via Facebook minutes ago, Cunard just announced its 2019 sailings. I'm quite excited about QE doing at least two round Japan sailings in April 2019. I'm tempted to book.

 

Good to see some variety in what has otherwise been a very repetitive schedule the past few years and that Australasia is getting some attention! Good profits to be made out of this market to be sure.

Hi there Austcruiser 84, trust you are well - But has Cunard announced what is happening to QE after 31st May up until its sailing from San Francisco on 3rd July - its a real mystery! I would love to book an Alaskan trip from and back to Vancouver (my favourite city after Sydney!) but there is simply no news. Viking Ocean are starting Alaskan cruises in 2019 and they are becoming tempting in the absence of QE's whereabouts in June.

Best wishes

Trevor

Great review. There is always something special about travelling in Cunard's Q1 Suites. We too occasionally feel guilty about the expense but compared to turning left when you board a plane its great value!!

Hope to see the photos in due course.