QE World Cruise, Any Advice ???

[oldsilverfox]

We are booked on board the QE's world cruise.

 

We have completed many cruises but never a world cruise. Are there any suggestions about potential pitfalls that are peculiar to a world cruise, as my DP and I do not like nasty suprises and try to pre-plan things where possible.

 

One thing, your on-board account, Is it per leg, or do you get an eye-watering bill on the last night before we disembark (Any comments or possibly jump ship)

 

All thoughts will be gratefully received.

[guernseyguy]

Haven't done one myself - but on the crossing portion of a QV one saw some ingenious solutions to storing stuff during the Cabin Cavalcade - in particular one of those shoe storers you hang over the back of a door. Other observations I've read were to mix things up at dinner by changing location on each leg.

[oldsilverfox]

Many thanks for your input Guernseyguy, but you really shouldn't have mentioned faults with the interiors on the QV however trivial.

 

You'll only wind up you-know-who.

[Runners]

We are booked on board the QE's world cruise.

 

We have completed many cruises but never a world cruise. Are there any suggestions about potential pitfalls that are peculiar to a world cruise, as my DP and I do not like nasty suprises and try to pre-plan things where possible.

 

One thing, your on-board account, Is it per leg, or do you get an eye-watering bill on the last night before we disembark (Any comments or possibly jump ship)

 

All thoughts will be gratefully received.

Your on-board account is charged to your charge card after each leg.

[Oahucruiser]

We are on the QE's world cruise too. Be aware that, if you are from the U.S. you will need to get a visa for multiple stops in India. The ship takes care of the rest of the visas while you are on board. Having taken the QV's world cruise which was perfection, it will be a positive and memorable voyage. Great enrichment lectures, ports, entertainment, food and service. Warm weather all the way to the Mediterranean.

[oldsilverfox]

Hi Oahucruiser,

Where are you joining the QE at Southampton, or passing through as part of the NY to NY cruise ??

Either way I was wondering if we might swap our local knowledge of Hawaii and Southampton, what to see, what to do whilst ashore.

Given the mammoth port list on the cruise, I am anxious to avoid using Cunard's shore excursions unless necessary.

Either way, if you are interested please come back to me and perhaps we could exchange e-mails or VOIP numbers.

Regards.

Oldsilverfox.

[Oahucruiser]

Hi David,

 

We have been to Southampton many times before boarding the QE2 and the QM2 and we really like your town. I would be happy to give you any info about Hawaii before you get here and you could e-mail me at pandj1503@yahoo.com. As a resident, I'm really not very familiar with local tours but can try to advise you on the main things to see.

 

I was going to board in Los Angeles but, after thinking about it, I realized that the first port after LA is in Hawaii so I got permission from Cunard to board in Honolulu. It will still be counted as world cruise because I have to pay the fare from LA but I will be saving money on airfare, a hotel and transfers.

 

Mostly we take the ship's shore excursions because we like the safety factor; the ship will wait for one of its excursions to return but not for private ones. I saw people left behind during the QE2's last world cruise and what they had to do to rejoin the ship (when we were unable to dock in the next port) was awful. We are cowards and prefer not to take a chance.

 

I noticed that you are on the roll call for the QE's world cruise. It's not very active but maybe it will get busier as time goes by.

 

Aloha from Hawaii, Patti

[cruisemusic]

I presume you are talking 2011. We are doing 2012 and are keen to find others who wish to share trips at various ports.Perhaps I should start a QE 2012 thread? We have 18 months to plan this trip but the time passes by very quickly!

[Oahucruiser]

Yes, this thread is about 2011. I'd love to be going again in 2012 but the itinerary is almost the same.

[Cherrier]

Hi Oahucruiser,

 

I suppose we could do it every year, but one day after the 2011 one we are going to do the other one on the Queen Mary, this way we could go to Brazil and South Africa and from what I read it looks like the Queen Mary is something special to travel on.

 

 

Cherrier

[dancer11]

We will be on the QM2 world cruise, so I've been thinking of planning, etc also. I bought closet hangers for several items to hang from a center piece in descending layers, as I remember the closet space limitations from our last cruise on the ship. A plug-in that turns one outlet into 3, as we always have too many chargers, etc. Loading tons of books on my Kindle, though library on QM2 is fantastic. I also will upload my travel books sections to my laptop and not have a ton of travel guides.

We are boarding in Fla, not NY, and plan to make a big shopping trip to drugstore there tfor 3 months supply of brands we prefer, rather than having that weight in our luggage checked for flight to Fla. I've changed all our bank statements to online vs. paper copies and pay all our bills on monthly drafts, that takes care of the home front.

Challenge is what we pack for so many different climates, but most are warm areas.

Taking a laptop, extra memory cards for camera expecting to take more pics than ever.

Do you have enough pages in your passport for all the visas?

[Oahucruiser]

Dancer 11, it sounds like you are very organized. I too have bought wire hangars for the QE and just had extra pages put in my passport. Because of weight restrictions on flights, I am going to be much more selective and take less clothing than I have done before. Repeating is the name of the game and I'm only taking a few things for the cooler weather and just wearing them several times each. We'll be on the QM2 for the 7 days back to NY from Southampton. I love that ship!!

[judy0524]

Good travel tips Oahucruiser and Dancer. Thanks. My husband and I too are going to be on the 2011 world cruise...both ships. We are boarding QE in Sydney as we did the beginning of the world cruise several years ago on the QE2 and disembarked in Sydney. We are going to Dubai and staying there for 2 days until April 3rd when QM2 shows up[ and going the rest of the way to NY on her instead of changing ships in Southhampton. Hope to see you both somewhere along the way. I can hardley wait.

[Whale's Tail]

We just booked the QE for the world cruise 2012. Sailed on Cunard years ago (Royal Viking Sun) and more recently have been on Crystal Symphony and Serenity. The longest cruise to date was around South America and Antarctica 2009-2010 on Crystal.

(62 days). We love Crystal but wanted to try a new ship (and Crystal's world cruise is rather lacking!). Time does pass quickly but 18 months seems too long. I know I'll need lots of advice and will have tons of questions as time goes by. Happy Sailing.

[milo12]

Dear Whale's Tail,

How have you been? Were you able to get your "instrument" home in one piece after the Grand America's cruise?

Sincerely, MILO12