If a Cunard Cruise Loops back to a port it visited earlier can you cut out the loop?

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

Hello New York or Bust, Just to answer the first part of your post/question "who would do an itinerary that would only allow a half a day visit to NY" .

You'll be surprise, 'Round trips/Back to Backs' are extremely popular with many Cunard seasoned guests. Almost 25% of the guests on a regular Transatlantic voyage will opt for a round trip, the QM2 being the destination !

I'm one who will opt for this , several times a year.;)

PS: Why is there not an itinerary that will give you 6/7 day sailing with 6 days stay in NY before sailing back ?

Because more often than not, it takes 14 days for the ship to return back to NY to pick you up . QM2 is a 'Transatlantic' Liner.

Bell Boy said it better than I could!

(For me Queen Mary 2 is a destination in itself. The moment I step on board I have "arrived")

To sail Transatlantic both ways and have a reasonable length of stay in New York you need to look at one of the sailings being non-Cunard. This will involve looking at a decent cruise search website and a bit of fiddling about. The options generally are looking at a ship which is repositioning at the end of it's season in a particular region or a leg of a world cruise getting you to of from the US. Generally this will give you a voyage at a poorer time of year on less than ideal cruise lines. Royal Caribbean and Princess spring to mind for one sector, Royal Caribbean Transatlantics are usually inexpensive but not all come to the UK more to Europe.

I have looked at the websites and think the cheapest would be Norwegian Bliss 21 April to 3 May London to New York 12 days £811 and QM2 17 May to 24 May New York to Southampton leaving New York £958 stay of a fortnight roughly. Norwegian Cruise Line and Cunard are complete opposites in terms of a cruise and I would not go for this choice but from your previous cruise history you might find the line fairly tolerable.

July 2019 gives a couple of Cunard Eastbound departures from New York, QM2 and Queen Elizabeth on a world cruise sector. Sea Princess would get you to NY from Dover but prices are always high this far ahead of time.

Regards John

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.

Sorry should be £1309 for the return.

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

.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

To quickly address this - NO. Recall that you are tagged in and out when you board and debark. They will know that you have not returned. They may wait for a bit. I'm pretty sure they would be justified in cancelling the remainder of your ticket if you fail to notify them. Potentially, they could offboard your belongings if you are not aboard.

You should be able to arrange it with the ship. But don't just assume you can skip off and not be caught.

However, I'd be surprised if it's actually cheaper to do the full trip than the two crossing segments. By the way, you can stow your cruise luggage inexpensively between the segments - they have the info. I'd recommend a good travel agent.

....and this September we will be doing a round-trip crossing (our second in as many years). In our case, I expect that we'll not even leave the ship in Southampton unless we need to pick something up from the West Quay Mall.

To quickly address this - NO. Recall that you are tagged in and out when you board and debark. They will know that you have not returned. They may wait for a bit. I'm pretty sure they would be justified in cancelling the remainder of your ticket if you fail to notify them. Potentially, they could offboard your belongings if you are not aboard.

 

You should be able to arrange it with the ship. But don't just assume you can skip off and not be caught.

...

You could also arrange it with Cunard in advance. If you have a travel agent, that person will do it for you. It wasn't the same circumstances but in 2014 my wife and I wanted to leave the QM2 prior to the last port of call. Cunard at first was difficult and said it couldn't be done even though no laws or rules would be violated. Our very experienced travel agent dealt with it by "going up the ladder" as he put it. A more senior person said: "I don't see why not." We were issued with a written confirmation headed: "Deviation of Itinerary."

When we explained this to some other passengers they made the same arrangement on board with the purser's staff.

There is each year one itinerary that would allow one to sail WB, spend a few days in New York, and sail back EB. The ship makes an "Independence Day Celebration" voyage round trip from New York up to Canada and back. They fill the ship with Americans while people like you are taking in New York. You could book the crossings before and after that sailing.

This year its possible to sail both ways and spend 5 days in New York. M823 WB June 24-July 1. M825 EB July 6-13th.

In 2019 you would have 7 days in New York: M918D sails WB June 23-30th. M920 is the EB return July 7-14.

Why don't they do is more often? Well, it would get boring to keep repeating that NY-Halifax-Boston-NY loop. The US has a protectionist law known as the Passenger Vessel Shipping Act. Foreign flagged ships cannot legally transport passengers between one US port and another without stopping at a "distant foreign port" in between. From New York, Canada is the closest "foreign port" that qualifies. Cunard has far too much competition in New York from lower priced lines to sail to Bermuda or the Caribbean for a short get-away cruise.

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.

Thanks to all of you who took time to reply what a lovely community you all are on here!

Armed with the nugget of information I.E. the phrase "Official Deviation of Itinerary" thanks to david,Mississauga the first to suggest it I asked the wifey to call and ask nicely again and this time we got it approved. We have put the deposit down and we are off to New York getting off the boat on 1st of July!

We are totally over the moon as we will get to spend 6 days there! We cannot wait! Already looking into doing a coach trip to Washington DC

Here's my detailed responses to some of you!

John Watson

Interesting Point about using two cruise lines, one to go and one to come back. The only thing is me and the Mrs aren't enjoying our retirement years just yet and have to work for a living and the maximum length of time i can get off work would be 24 days straight so two cruise lines would have to be going in and out of new york around 6-9 days apart maximum when taxing into account the crossing times there and back I presume that's a rarirty?

As regards to "Bell Boy" & "Peppern I really don't understand why anyone would bounce around what could be a realy rough crossing just for a few hours in New York. I know the Queen Mary is great looked at various videos about it definetly want to expereince it at least once but can you really be entertaied for 6 or 7 days straight on it? The thing is I don't want to use it like some Heritage railway the destination is more important to me than the journey! Plus at least on a railway you see something interesting through the window!

So Queen Mary 2 will keep us entertained then for practically a week then eh?

Best Regards

New York Or Bust

Before you book anything, you may want to re-check your math.

I could not believe this would be true so I looked up the prices, comparing the same cabin class.

(Cunard US website, prices in US Dollars, today 12 Jan 2018)

M823B cabin class IE $4119 Southampton to Southampton 24 Jun 2018 to 13 Jul 2018

or

M823cabin class IE $1229 Southampton to New York 24 Jun 2018 to 1 Jul 2018

+

M825 cabin class IE $1349 New York to Southampton 6 Jul 2018 to 13 Jul 2018

Total for two $2578 ($1541 less than the round trip)

Before you book anything, you may want to re-check your math.

I could not believe this would be true so I looked up the prices, comparing the same cabin class.

(Cunard US website, prices in US Dollars, today 12 Jan 2018)

 

M823B cabin class IE $4119 Southampton to Southampton 24 Jun 2018 to 13 Jul 2018

or

 

M823 cabin class IE $1229 Southampton to New York 24 Jun 2018 to 1 Jul 2018

+

M825 cabin class IE $1349 New York to Southampton 6 Jul 2018 to 13 Jul 2018

Total for two $2578 ($1541 less than the round trip)

Yes, those are the US fares (before taxes and fees). However the UK fares are dramatically different.

M823 cabin class IE = £1,227 per person without flights

M825 cabin class IE = £1,339 per person without flights

-or-

M823B cabin class IF = £1,889 per person -or- cabin class IE = £1,919 per person

The OP can save £30 per person by booking an IF cabin instead of an IE cabin on the entire 19 day round trip voyage. Only IE cabins and above are available for booking on each of the two separate 7 day crossings. But even in an IE cabin, the pricing on the 19 day voyage is still substantially less in the UK than the sum of the two separate 7 day crossings.

Using IE cabin pricing throughout, the UK fare comes out to be £647 less per person by booking the full 19 day voyage.

Using IE cabin pricing on the 7 day crossings but IF cabin pricing on the full 19 day voyage, the UK fare comes out to be £677 less per person by booking the full 19 day voyage.

I trust this helps explain the OP's rationale for wanting to book the 19 day voyage in the UK and take advantage of that "Official Deviation of Itinerary" to visit New York.

Regards, John

... As regards to "Bell Boy" & "Peppern I really don't understand why anyone would bounce around what could be a realy rough crossing just for a few hours in New York. I know the Queen Mary is great looked at various videos about it definetly want to expereince it at least once but can you really be entertaied for 6 or 7 days straight on it? The thing is I don't want to use it like some Heritage railway the destination is more important to me than the journey! Plus at least on a railway you see something interesting through the window!

 

So Queen Mary 2 will keep us entertained then for practically a week then eh? ...

Count us in as others who thoroughly enjoy a 14 day round trip crossing on Queen Mary 2. Yes, there is more than enough to do to keep one entertained on a 7 day crossing. Our usual problem is not having enough time to fit everything in that we want to do.

But of course it all depends on what is important to you. We have also done port-intensive itineraries. In fact our last cruise was a 13 day Baltic voyage on Royal Caribbean with 12 port days and only one sea day. Our goal on that voyage was to see as much as possible of the Baltic region and therefore the itinerary was the most important factor for us in that case.

Our previous voyage was a round trip crossing on QM2 (New York-Southampton-New York). In that case, the most important factor was the ship. For us the ship was indeed the destination for that voyage. We did take a shore excursion to Winchester when we reached Southampton, but that was essentially just a short break before resuming the voyage. We did not take that voyage with the expectation of seeing a lot in England. The port stop in Southampton was basically just a brief diversion and not the reason for taking the voyage.

Regards, John

Glad you got it worked out. A few notes:

New York by itself has more than enough to occupy six days (especially when one considers 1-2 of those days will likely be occupied by travel or boarding). However, if you DO choose to visit Washington DC, I would consider the Acela "high speed" rail connection (as close to high speed rail as the US gets at present) as opposed to a bus.

My favorite advice to NY visitors is the AIA Architecture Cruise. This is a cruise around the island of Manhattan in a classic mahogany and brass schooner. The guide is a highly-trained architect (ours was a member and past president of the city historic commission) and the tour covers the buildings seen from the water and the development of NY through the years. It's reasonably priced (and often discounted on goldstar.com) and includes a mid-eastern snack spread and a glass of wine, beer or soft drink. The group is kept small to about 20-25 people. https://www.sail-nyc.com/browse-by-theme/architecture/

If you're planning on seeing a Broadway show (and you SHOULD) - here's my briefest advice for your planning. (We travel to NY to see shows at least once a year)

* Do NOT buy tickets from broadway.dot.com (I don't want to create a link)

They use HIGHLY misleading language and paid google placement to appear to be the official source for tickets to the unwary, but they add HUGE, unreasonable brokerage fees that can increase the price of a ticket by > 40%.

* playbill.com is a good source. There are others, but this is among the most helpful for someone looking for shows and tickets

Current Broadway shows (includes links to Playbill Club for discounts and to the official sellers) http://www.playbill.com/productions?q=&venue-type=broadway&state=all&genre=all

Upcoming Broadway shows http://www.playbill.com/article/schedule-of-upcoming-and-announced-broadway-shows-com-113677

Playbill Club (for discounts - there are others, but most duplicate what you'll find here)

http://www.playbill.com/discount

Current Lottery, Rush, and Standing Room policies http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-rush-lottery-and-standing-room-only-policies-com-116003

Enjoy your trip!

Yes, those are the US fares (before taxes and fees). However the UK fares are dramatically different....

Thanks for going through the math because I too didn't understand why the OP would pay for 19 nights when he was only going to be on board for 14. It's one of those booking quirks where a longer voyage can cost much less than piecing segments together. (Last December my B2B sailing would have cost over $1000 more to seperately book the EB and WB.)

Glad you got it sorted out, have a great trip.

... As regards to "Bell Boy" & "Peppern .... I know the Queen Mary is great looked at various videos about it definetly want to expereince it at least once but can you really be entertaied for 6 or 7 days straight on it? ... New York Or Bust

Or as I, and many others have found, you'll discover that there aren't enough hours in a day... to do all there is to do each day.

From breakfast... to very late evening cocktails, or dancing the night away, you'll wonder where the time went...

You can be as busy, or not, as you wish.

I've done many crossings on QM2, and they were all over far too soon.

Bon Voyage!

John Watson's suggestion of two different cruise ships has been our tactic a few times. One way on the QM2 and the other on a repositioning cruise ship. This has had influence on the time of year we have crossed (repositioning is a spring and fall event), but worked out very well. Also, there are times the ship (QM2) takes a short-cruise before beginning another crossing. In 2016, we traveled east and spent 4 days in London before returning to the US. Look for a similar offering on the US side, so you have more than a day in NYC. You really won't know all the enjoyments of the ship itself (alluded to by Pepper) until you try it. It is a very, very pleasant experience! (And, like you, I prefer not to fly. DH and I have found that "getting there" is more than half-the-fun on a ship)…

Happy Travels to you!

No longer possible, but in 1999, we met the QE2 in NY and dropped off a big bag with all our formal and cruise wear. The ship returned to Southampton and then a week's cruise to Norway. Meanwhile, we flew to Europe and had a two week vacation without being burdened by that big suitcase. When we arrived in Southampton to do a crossing home, our suitcase, having had a holiday of its own, was waiting for us in our cabin.

No longer possible, alas.