catzgirl Posted February 15, 2016 #1 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Hi, We are considering a Christmas cruise this year, but are reading very mixed reviews about these... anyone on here been on board Christmas day? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwatr Posted February 15, 2016 #2 Share Posted February 15, 2016 (edited) Several. What have you been reading in the reviews? A significant number of passengers book the Christmas itinerary repeatedly. That suggests that it's not all that bad. Edited February 15, 2016 by Underwatr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby1119 Posted February 15, 2016 #3 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Queen Mary 2 Christmas Cruise two years ago, Princess Grill. My best cruise on the ship to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigittetom Posted February 16, 2016 #4 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I can't think of a nicer way to spend the holidays. In my opinion, Cunard goes all out to make it perfect for those on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salacia Posted February 16, 2016 #5 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Hi, We are considering a Christmas cruise this year, but are reading very mixed reviews about these... anyone on here been on board Christmas day? Thanks in advance Hi catzgirl. Yes, my husband and I have been on board QM2 on Christmas Day. It is the only time we have been away from home/family/neighbors during the Christmas season. While I understand that it is a very popular cruise, with many repeat customers, I guess the only way to know for sure if it is for you is to try it. We don't plan on repeating the experience: truth be told, like many of the crew, we were homesick - as unusual as that might sound. Several things we witnessed were very sad, so it's not all tinsel and joy on board. Just a dissenting opinion - please don't shoot the messenger. -Salacia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnip eater Posted February 16, 2016 #6 Share Posted February 16, 2016 (edited) We sailed on the QE for Christmas and New Year. Several of the officers had their families on board. It has a very British atmosphere. Carols on Christmas Eve, Church services on Christmas Day. Father Christmas gave out gifts for the children. Goose for lunch and Turkey in the evening. Pantomime on Boxing Day (Dec 26th). The atmosphere on board was very good. Edited February 16, 2016 by turnip eater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate services Posted February 17, 2016 #7 Share Posted February 17, 2016 We spent Christmas & new year on QM2 a couple of years ago and loved every minute. It was the best cruise we have been on. It is true to say that you do miss family at Christmas time but it was still fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Host Hattie Posted February 17, 2016 #8 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Which ship are you considering? The demographic on QM2 may be different to the other two ships. We did Christmas and New Year on QM2 and had a wonderful time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulista1950 Posted February 17, 2016 #9 Share Posted February 17, 2016 "Several things we witnessed were very sad," :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salacia Posted February 17, 2016 #10 Share Posted February 17, 2016 "Several things we witnessed were very sad," :confused: paulista, sorry, I'm afraid I will have to leave it at that. I don't want to cause any potential problems for staff or violate fellow passengers privacy so I can't go into detail, and if try to blur details, it just sounds like fiction. I hope you understand. Thanks. -S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulista1950 Posted February 17, 2016 #11 Share Posted February 17, 2016 paulista, sorry, I'm afraid I will have to leave it at that. I don't want to cause any potential problems for staff or violate fellow passengers privacy so I can't go into detail, and if try to blur details, it just sounds like fiction. I hope you understand. Thanks. -S. Not a problem, and tks for the attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie8 Posted February 20, 2016 #12 Share Posted February 20, 2016 We have booked on Queen Victoria for our third consecutive christmas rise on her:) 'nuff said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted February 21, 2016 #13 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Which ship are you considering? The demographic on QM2 may be different to the other two ships. We did Christmas and New Year on QM2 and had a wonderful time. How might the demographic be different on QM2? More American because it leaves from New York? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakesregion Posted February 21, 2016 #14 Share Posted February 21, 2016 How might the demographic be different on QM2? More American because it leaves from New York? I would think not. I am booked on the back to back TA just before the Christmas cruise on the QM2 and while the east bound leg is still wide open cabin space wise, the west bound leg, those coming from England and the continent for the Christmas cruise have bought out most of the grills and the better placed cabins in all other classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salacia Posted February 21, 2016 #15 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I would think not. I am booked on the back to back TA just before the Christmas cruise on the QM2 and while the east bound leg is still wide open cabin space wise, the west bound leg, those coming from England and the continent for the Christmas cruise have bought out most of the grills and the better placed cabins in all other classes. Lakesregion, you must be very well placed indeed to know the details of other passenger's bookings, especially "most of the grills and the better placed cabins in all other classes". Thanks for sharing :) -Salacia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakesregion Posted February 21, 2016 #16 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Lakesregion, you must be very well placed indeed to know the details of other passenger's bookings, especially "most of the grills and the better placed cabins in all other classes". Thanks for sharing :) -Salacia Better than you might imagine. But that aside, all one has to do is take the two 7 day TA's and look at the bookings on line and one can easily see that the NYC to Soton is light while the return leg is heavily booked as that is the beginning of the Christmas cruise for the Brits and those from the continent. Not rocket science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salacia Posted February 21, 2016 #17 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Better than you might imagine. But that aside, all one has to do is take the two 7 day TA's and look at the bookings on line and one can easily see that the NYC to Soton is light while the return leg is heavily booked as that is the beginning of the Christmas cruise for the Brits and those from the continent. Not rocket science. Right, it's not rocket science. You wrote: "I would think not. I am booked on the back to back TA just before the Christmas cruise on the QM2 and while the east bound leg is still wide open cabin space wise, the west bound leg, those coming from England and the continent for the Christmas cruise have bought out most of the grills and the better placed cabins in all other classes". I don't know how you would know who booked the "better placed cabins", but I accept the statement which supports other posts indicating that this a cruise best suited to UK passengers - as it should be because as you write, they are paying the higher fares for a the better placed cabins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Host Hattie Posted February 21, 2016 #18 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) How might the demographic be different on QM2? More American because it leaves from New York? Yes, our Christmas trip was a mix of Americans and Europeans who had either flown or sailed over. I can't imagine too many Americans would fly over at that time of year to sail from Southampton on QE or QV. Edited February 21, 2016 by Host Hattie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 3rdGenCunarder Posted February 22, 2016 #19 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Better than you might imagine. But that aside, all one has to do is take the two 7 day TA's and look at the bookings on line and one can easily see that the NYC to Soton is light while the return leg is heavily booked as that is the beginning of the Christmas cruise for the Brits and those from the continent. Not rocket science. I did a lot of poking around the website, and the wb TA combined with the 12-day Caribbean is heavily sold. But here's a strange thing. For the NY-NY 12-day, all grills are sold out. But for the wbTA + NY-NY, they show some availability in PG. And the Soton-Soton 26-day cruise shows only the Club balconies sold out. How is this possible? If the grills are sold out for the middle part of the 26-day cruise, how can there be availability in the full 26-day cruise? Do they hold back some cabins in each category for the longer voyages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakesregion Posted February 22, 2016 #20 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I did a lot of poking around the website, and the wb TA combined with the 12-day Caribbean is heavily sold. But here's a strange thing. For the NY-NY 12-day, all grills are sold out. But for the wbTA + NY-NY, they show some availability in PG. And the Soton-Soton 26-day cruise shows only the Club balconies sold out. How is this possible? If the grills are sold out for the middle part of the 26-day cruise, how can there be availability in the full 26-day cruise? Do they hold back some cabins in each category for the longer voyages? Only Cunard marketing has the true answer to their Rubrics Cube puzzle of what is sold out and what is available on a daily basis. Or maybe it is their computer program that really holds the answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CateW Posted February 22, 2016 #21 Share Posted February 22, 2016 We have done it twice; both time it was a great cruise. But, truth be told I felt guilty leaving out adult kids behind. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwatr Posted February 22, 2016 #22 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I'm pretty sure they hold back inventory for specific port-pair itineraries, and the allocation among the sub-itineraries is shifted over time according to yield management algorithms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andiamo Posted February 22, 2016 #23 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I'm pretty sure they hold back inventory for specific port-pair itineraries, and the allocation among the sub-itineraries is shifted over time according to yield management algorithms. Makes sense to me P. Hope DW is doing well. BTW, e/m exchange in Dec. Regards, Jeanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwatr Posted February 23, 2016 #24 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Thank you, Jeanne. She's mending quite well but still has some negative associations with cruising given how she ended the last one (I think this may pass with time). There are still several months until final payment for Christmas so I'm remaining low key aside from occasionally reminding her that we do have a booking again for this year. She needs a bit of surgery unrelated to last Christmas's issues so we've canceled a Paris week in June and a Transatlantic crossing that would have gotten us there. We've had little trouble finding other interesting things to do with the money so it's not as disappointing as it might seem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andiamo Posted February 23, 2016 #25 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Thank you, Jeanne. She's mending quite well but still has some negative associations with cruising given how she ended the last one (I think this may pass with time). There are still several months until final payment for Christmas so I'm remaining low key aside from occasionally reminding her that we do have a booking again for this year. She needs a bit of surgery unrelated to last Christmas's issues so we've canceled a Paris week in June and a Transatlantic crossing that would have gotten us there. We've had little trouble finding other interesting things to do with the money so it's not as disappointing as it might seem. Fingers crossed I see you ten months from today. Good luck with the surgery. There will always be Paris. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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