cpc3639

He certainly does. Very dapper. 

8 hours ago, LadyL1 said:

Yesterday evening the sea became relatively clam, the pools were opened and I managed a pre-dinner swim. It so relaxing to have the pool to oneself, and swimming is just what my physio ordered!
The black and white evening was enjoyable and we met with some lovely couples, again all going through to Oz. For the fashionistas, we did not see any dress horrors during the evening. The food in the MDR was again excellent: my husband had beef Wellington, and myself, the lobster which was succulent. We have not yet been to the theatre after dinner, but I think that will be for tonight as there is a young saxophonist performing.
There are still people who wished to be on early sitting who are now resigned that this will not be happening. So, for those who post with good intention, on how to get ones dining preference by going to see the Md, it is not always the case. 
Yesterday, my husband went to inquire as to why the internet is so diabolical, and was told “it is the same for everyone”!! CUNARD, this is not a good customer response.
We are now docked in front of of the Costa Faviolsa, and behind that is a beautiful Windstar ship. Lisbon is warm if somewhat overcast. A wonderful city to walk, but regrettably we did not manage to get around too much, the cobbles rather a nightmare to walk on at present. The shuttle in to town was useful this trip, ($3 pp each way for any type of saver fare as per the daily info).

Observation
I now realise how observant all the staff are in noting people with mobility issues, and so willing to help. In the MDR for breakfast and lunch, we have always been given a table near the entrance( as is our evening allocation) This was particularly appreciated when the seas were very rough and walking difficult even for the able bodied. I just wish some of these assisted pax were more generous with their thanks, as most are!

 

Elephant1151

We were also aboard QV on the TA you mentioned in your post above. Apart from loosing furniture, glass panels also went missing from deck 9. Probably one of the fiercest crossings we have been on. 
 

I think you will be in for a treat. The young saxophonist that you refer to is Julian Smith I believe. He is a local man to us and we have had the pleasure of seeing him on several Cunard cruises. 

23 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

You're welcome. Maybe I can put together another version of this post in a stand-alone thread with more detail that would be more useful to pin.

I would certainly appreciate that to refer to. 

3 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Here's a primer on how to see cabin availability using the Cunard website. Other cruise booking websites show cabin availability, but we can't discuss those sites on this forum. So, I'll attempt to describe the process using the Cunard website.

 

1) Find the voyage you are interested in using the "Find a voyage" search function. For example, you could start by searching for voyages departing Aug 2020 and then refine the search by ship to just Queen Mary 2. However you do the search, you should see your voyage in the search results.

 

2) Click "See voyage details". That should lead you to a page with an "Accommodation" section for the various grades of cabins. I usually book sheltered balconies, so I'll use that type of cabin as an example. To look for sheltered balconies, start by expanding the "Britannia Balcony" category in the "Accommodation" section and then select "Balcony (sheltered)".

 

3) Now you actually need to start a dummy booking by clicking "Book now". Then select the number of passengers and click "Continue".

 

4) Now you should see a "Your voyage summary" screen. Near the lower left you should see that a cabin has been selected for you automatically. That's shown beneath the heading "Recommended for you". Note there is also a "Change your room" link.

 

5) Click "Change your room" to get to a "Room Selector" screen. Here is where you can choose various decks and sections of the ship to see cabin availability in that specific area of the ship. Let's suppose you want to see what sheltered balcony cabins are available in the "Mid-Forward" section of "Deck 5". By making those selections, you should see a page like this.

 

 

Here you can see the diagram is showing a total of 5 sheltered balcony cabins available in the mid-forward section of deck 5. Repeat the process of editing the "Ship section" or "Deck" to see availability in other sections of the ship and other decks. Note that you can also edit the "Room type" if you want to check availability for types of cabins other than "Balcony (sheltered)".

 

There is a maximum of 10 cabins that will be shown on any one of these room selector diagrams for a specific type of cabin, section of ship, and deck. If the diagram shows 10 available cabins, there may in fact be more than just those 10 cabins available. You can check to see if other cabins are available by typing specific cabin numbers into the "Search for a specific room by number" box.

Thank you. I think this would be a really useful pin to refer to. 

I think if I was a newbie considering Cunard, all this talk of off menu orders would make me suspect that a class system not only exists but is pushed and tested to its limits when the menu is already so lovely. I do feel for the staff in Grills dining room. Why on earth would they even offer a very considered menu if they wanted passengers to order off menu?  I doubt you would see this is any high end restaurant ashore. 

Why is a dedicated lounge required- just curious?

We also enjoy bringing our favourite drinks on board to enjoy whilst dressing for dinner. We even top up mixers if necessary at port calls and Cunard never have a problem with this.  

However in my experience, because of the layout of the menu the vast majority of passengers order 3 courses. And new passengers to Cunard I feel would assume the offer is 3 courses. In saying all of that, I do feel 3 courses is ample. 

I prefer the two small queens by far - easier to navigate, lovely midship ballrooms that can be appreciated at different levels and the ability to dine outside on a lovely deck behind the lido. Oh yes an uninterrupted views out to sea from the lido. 

Recently returned from our voyage to Iceland on QV.  Unfortunately I was unable to locate the logbook despite several attempts. I tried the library, the book shop and pursers desk. Most of the crew looked bemused. Librarian said he remembers seeing it in the past. 

We are lucky enough to be boarding QV on Sunday in Southampton on a trip to Iceland. I will definitely be looking for the log book in the library to sign. What a lovely tradition. 

I think it would be awesome to watch the final with England in it on the QM2.

It's Coming Home!!!!!

Me too - or QE or QV!

We have paid the balance on our cruise on QE today. Never cruised before. Beige or not it can't arrive soon enough.[emoji4]

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Forums mobile app

You will love it. It is a fabulous ship.

Hi Jenny, I think this was your first Cunard cruise? Could it be you have been reading the Cunard board and have taken as gospel how rigidly formal Cunard is in their approach to the dress code rather than advice from those [me for example] who try to give a realistic view rather than the aspirational one some members want to encourage?

 

 

Cunard does have a more formal approach to the dress code in the evening than most of the other lines and that suits us down to the ground but dark business suits are perfectly acceptable wear on an actual formal night and no, not by a long shot are all the ladies dressed in wonderful gowns and fabulous cocktail dresses.

Just well dressed.

Totally agree ....

I'm not sure I blame you - doesn't sound like a very satisfactory result at all.

Last year when I booked a transatlantic voyage, Cunard booked my flights but did not tell me I would have to book in online and my husband and I were unable to sit together on our flight to New York. Not a very nice start to the holiday and no empathy from Cunard at all!

We travelled Birmingham to Newark direct last year prior to our transatlantic crossing. All was fine including transfers to Manhattan and transfers 5 days later to ship.

Thanks for these really good tips regarding warm clothing.

My wife is one of those people who is freezing when everyone else has stripped off and complains of it being too hot when everyone else is wrapped up. She says it's because she's a redhead which I think is total rubbish. But nonetheless if she isn't wrapped up to the max at some point it'll be miserable for everyone! So thanks for the tips! I think I was naively assuming that an August crossing would be summery and hot outside! Having lived in the South Atlantic I think I just assumed it would be like that!!!

We did an August crossing last year and it was lovely weather 4 out of the 5 days crossing. Hope it is for you too.

Thanks John Watson for your input. May I just confirm the following:

 

 

 

If correct for informal, does the shirt need to be a business shirt or can a very good quality casual shirt with collar be OK?

 

Your input would be really appreciated.

He will be absolutely fine with this. I was on a transatlantic last year and was very surprised at how casual 'informal night' was to some pax and they did not get refused entry to both restaurant or theatre. Dont worry - just enjoy yourself.

She shan't be leaving her room without proper attire. :p

I'm absolutely sure she will. I have never seen anyone refused entry despite some very inappropriately dressed passengers. I would love to see dress code enforced but quite frankly in reality it is not happening.

Enjoy your holiday - a blazer will be totally accepted.

I can assure you that no one will be policing what your 82 year old mother will be wearing, despite what some on here may say.

I absolutely agree!!

then he shan't be attending the theatre on any formal evenings on any Cunard ships. Quite a simple concept.

Don't worry I have seen people in far less casual and never seen anyone challenged.

I would go to the ship when it suits you. I have arrived, early and late, and never had a problem with either. Benefits to both I would say. Have a lovely holiday.

Just come off QV and passengers constantly ignored dress code and I never saw anyone turned away from dining room or theatre - even on formal evenings!

Bon Voyage, BlueRiband. Come July 24 I'll be using your observations to guide my re-acquaintance with Queen Mary 2.

Us too. Cannot wait now. Its will be our first TA, our first time in New York and first time on QM2! Very excited.

I have recently returned from a lovely voyage aboard QV. My only negative observation I am sad to note was the quality of dance hosts. I do not dance very often and I certainly am no expert, but even I could recognise that the dance hosts new little more than myself. If I was disappointed by this, I would dread to think what a dancer with more experience would feel? I do hope that this was a one off experience and not one I will also have on board QM2 next month.