QM2 TA Crossing--Literature Festival

[rj1227]

To those who have sailed on a Literature Festival TA crossing on QM2, what is the crossing experience like? Doing a quick forum search, I have seen a post that a higher percentage of Brits are sailing and that the median passenger age is lower. My guess is that the festival makes for a more active crossing with more programs during the day that one can attend (I am assuming that any passenger can attend the festival events). Any comments anyone would care to offer would be appreciated.

[Pear Carr]

We were on board last year and enjoyed it so much we have booked again for this year (first segment of round trip).  TA’s always have a great atmosphere but the literary festival brings a great energy to the experience.  There is certainly a mixed age range (still more upwards of middle age) and I believe all of the talks/festival events were open to us except for the small group workshops, which have a bookable additional charge, with specific authors/writers. 

[NancyDrew1953]

I’ve done theTA crossing several times. On any QM2 crossing, I find more activities than I can ever do in a day.  However, as much as I love the crossings, the one I did that coincided with the Literature Festival was my least favorite.  My experiences in 2022 differed from Pear Carr.
 

Although some activities are open to all passengers, my experience in 2022 was not all were. Furthermore, certain areas of the QM2 were closed to regular passengers at certain times. As a recall, one of the lounges was closed a couple of evenings for the Literary group and the Connections rooms, which I liked to use for the computers, were closed most days, for their special events.

 

Instead of the variety of Insight lectures, the various authors spoke.  These were open to all passengers; however, I did not particularly enjoy the presentations as the ones I attended were essentially authors just promoting their books. If you enjoy the authors or discussion on the writing or publishing process, this may be more interesting.  
 

In my experience, those that were booked as part of the Literary Festival had special lanyards and seemed to only want to associate with other Festival participants.  In fact, I had my only ever unfortunate shared table experience when I was seated with some from the Literary Festival.  Hopefully, your experiences will be better.

 

 

 

 

[Pushpit]

Just to explain the last paragraph a bit: on the literary festival crossings that I have done, there have also been a substantial number of publishers, agents, academics, print companies, marketing company representatives on board, as well as the authors. Perhaps 100 such guests? I guess this is how Cunard gets the show to work.

 

Those in the industry are therefore to some extent working on board, and thus take over several of the rooms in the Connexions area. Usually just 4 and 5, the big room at the back of Illuminations, but they are also given exclusive use of the computer room for at least some days, that's on the starboard side of Connexions. The computers are still available in the library. They also have their own cocktail party and similar social events, so this may close off say the Champagne Bar for a couple of hours at 17:00 hrs, then it's back at 19:00 hrs. They also use the smaller meeting rooms down on Deck 1. 

 

For the paid passengers I personally don't think it's a big imposition since most of these rooms aren't greatly used in conventional crossings. but views will vary on that. For those who are interested in the authors and writing there are quite a few things that happen. So yes there are interviews in the theatre or illuminations where Amanda Reid will ask questions of the authors and allow questions from the audience. Sometimes you get 2 authors debating a question such as "is Magic Realism a cop out?" (my wording, the actual title is more subtle!). There may be a writing class in Queens Room where an academic will pose some exercise questions for the audience for which to try their hand.

[bluemarble]

I was on the first Literature Festival at Sea during the 10-17 November 2019 eastbound crossing. Here is the programme we were provided showing the schedule of events pertaining to the festival during that crossing.

 

cc5279_literature_festival_at_sea_final.pdf

[rj1227]

Thanks to all for providing your thoughts. And I certainly welcome any other comments anyone would care to offer. Bluemarble, the programme you attached was especially helpful.

[MCC retired]

A couple of years ago we were on a TA with a Space Theme. One of our favorite sailings 

on any cruise line. Speakers on space ,moon landings and  a NASA Astronaut onboard.

 

Hey Cunard ! Let's repeat that one?

 

Edited May 18 by MCC retired

[Queenvee]

I have been on all four of the Literary Festivals at Sea and am going on the 2024 festival.  My experience has been that a majority of the passengers are British, perhaps because this is the first leg of a 4 week round trip voyage that includes 2 weeks in the Caribbean (SOU-NYC-Caribbean-NYC-SOU).  Over the 4 literary crossings, I've met many people who didn't know about the literary theme - some were very happy to attend some or all of the lectures and others didn't care one way or the other.

 

To correct a comment made above, lanyards are NOT issued to "those that were booked as part of the Literary Festival".  As on any cruise, there are some passengers who choose to wear a lanyard: people who book with any travel group, employees of the Sunday London Times (a co-sponsor of the Festival) and just random passengers.  There is no way to book "as part of the Literary Festival" - that simply doesn't exist.  (Other than booking through the Sunday London Times which It believe is only available to UK residents).  All Literary events are open to all passengers, with the exception of writing workshops typically held in the Connections room or surrounding meeting rooms which require a small fee and are usually filled up the first day (you cannot reserve them in advance).  As can happen on any voyage, sometimes lounges or rooms are reserved for a private events.  On the 2023 Literary Festival, Cunard made a specific point to make Constellations (the planetarium) available to all passengers for planetarium shows, which were listed in the daily program (in prior years, that room was used exclusively for Literary events but due to complaints Cunard changed that for 2023 and going forward).

 

Since there are no specific "Festival participants", I didn't have the unfortunate experience that a previous poster mentions about passengers only being willing to speak with other participants.  On the past 3 Festivals, I had assigned Britannia seating with people who were aboard for the full 4 weeks, not interested the Literary events and we had very interesting, lively conversations on a wide range of topics.  

 

As can be seen from the Festival program posted above, the program topics are quite varied and I wouldn't categorize them as authors promoting their books.  Topics in the past have included Role of the Sidekick in Detective Novels, Is the Setting/Location Critical?, How Authors Got Started, Historical Research.  One of the things I particularly enjoy is the chance to hear from well-regarded best selling authors AND authors I haven't read in addition to poet laureates, Man Booker Prize judges, book critics, authors who are also celebrities (e.g. Prue Leith, Alan Titchmarsh, Paterson Joseph).  I enjoy some sessions more than others, but I like having my mind opened.

 

So, rj1227, that's a long-winded response but I think these Literary Festivals are great and hope you enjoy this year's!

[NancyDrew1953]

To respond to the comment above, the specific “Festival participants” were the ones booked through the Sunday London Times (at the time I originally posted I could not recall the name of the newspaper that seemed to be the main sponsor of the event). According to discussions with those who booked through the paper, they were provided the lanyards and various other incentives the specific details I no longer recall.

 

The lack of access to the computer room reserved by the Festival was a major negative for me.  Although as correctly pointed out by another poster above, there are computers in the library, demand far outstripped supply with the computer room unavailable.  The fact that other areas were roped off for the Festival, such as one evening during prime cocktail time, two lounges were closed, was a negative to me.

 

As to the lectures, as the Queen stated, “recollections may vary”, but I did not find them up to the normal Cunard standards of topics and very promotional by the authors.

 

I am certain that if you enjoy the Literary Festival, it is a wonderful event.  However, my experience is that if you prefer the regular QM2 TA experience, I would avoid this.

 

 

[rj1227]

Queenvee, not long-winded at all and extremely helpful. NancyDrew, thanks for the different perspective. 

 

A challenge is that I have plans to be in England and France in October and early November and would have to rearrange and fill up days before the ship leaves Southampton.

 

Disclosure: I was on a westbound TA crossing last December and really did not enjoy it. But I do not blame Cunard. A few reasons I did not care for the crossing: I was in Europe for an extended period before sailing, was exhausted when I boarded the QM2, and was ready to be home. My companion for the trip had something arise so she had to cancel; I sailed solo and felt awkward as a solo male passenger. And I am not good at relaxing, have to stay busy, and found only so many activities on the daily program that interested me. I was admittedly thrilled when we arrived in New York and decided that as a solo passenger, I would never sail again on a TA crossing and most other cruises. And again, I am not critical of Cunard, which I thought delivered on what it promised. It was simply that, at least as a solo passenger, I was looking for something different from what Cunard was offering and from the experience so many of you enjoy.

 

But because for personal reasons I am very interested in the process of writing and the process of getting published (both are much more difficult than many believe), the festival crossing has some appeal. Again, I would have to make major changes to and extend the trip I have planned.  

 

A last question for anyone who knows: What are the writing workshops for which one must pay like? And what are the costs?

 

 

[Queenvee]

rj1227 - I'll find the Festival program from 2023 and will scan/post the relevant pages tomorrow.  The costs are minimal - I feel like they were $35 or so but the prices are in the program.  BTW, I'm a solo traveller and enjoy the ability to meet people easily for a chat OR get away from everyone and find a spot to read or stare at the water.  While the ships do offer "solo get-togethers", I don't find them worthwhile (although I give them a try every 7 cruises or so) - and as a solo male traveller I think you would be twittered over at those events 😉.  But crossings are not for everyone.  Sometimes I've found that on a given voyage, I just don't click with the passengers - don't know why, but I just don't, so I accept that the voyage will have more "me" time and that the next cruise will be a different experience...and it invariably is.  

 

In a sense, you can think of the Festival crossing as not having sea days since you can be busy attending Festival sessions from 9:00 am to 4:30, with a brief break for lunch.  That's what I do, to the point where I feel like I'm missing out on my normal TA activities such as trivia and staring at the water.  

[Covepointcruiser]

We also enjoyed the Literature Festival crossing in 2022.    The talks panel discussions that were held were great and it seemed they held two at the same time when they used the planetarium.   Several of my favorite authors were on board and I discovered quite a few new authors.

 

For folks who are not readers there are still other events, trivia, needlework, art, bridge, gambling and drinking to keep you occupied.

[Queenvee]

Attached is the Literary Festival at Sea program for the 2023 crossing.  It's not nearly as nice a scan as bluemarble's 2019 program (attached above) but I have an inexpensive scanner!  Hope this is helpful anyway!

 

QM2_Lit_Fest_2023.pdf

[Csardas]

I’d love to do this one but it’s in term time. I did suggest to my boss that she should send me as part of my CPD but she didn’t take me up on that…..

[norahs-lot]

A TA crossing on QM2 was on my 'bucket list' and so I booked early for a December 2022 crossing and was thrilled when I discovered it was the Literature Festival At Sea! Attended so many great insight lectures / talks, etc. Loved it! My husband and I also signed up for some of the workshops, etc. that had limited numbers and I certainly do not remember there being any charge for these.

[rj1227]

I obviously blew it in 2023 because the festival program looked very good. I surely would have enjoyed it more than the mid-December westbound crossing I was on.

 

Queenvee, I keep saying thank you and then imposing. How long before the sailing does the festival brochure listing the presentations and classes come out? One can readily access online those who will be speaking. But as of this time, Cunard does not have a festival brochure for the 2024 program.

[bluemarble]

40 minutes ago, rj1227 said:

... How long before the sailing does the festival brochure listing the presentations and classes come out? ...

 

I can comment about the 2019 Literature Festival at Sea I attended. My archives show I received an email from Cunard with a link to the festival's programme pdf file on October 29, 2019. The departure date for that voyage was November 10, 2019. So that was 12 days prior to the departure date back in 2019. I also have a hard copy of the programme which I might have received through the mail prior to the voyage but I have no recollection about the timing for that.

[Queenvee]

Agree with bluemarble that I received a link to the program schedule about a month before embarkation date.  Every passenger received a hard copy booklet of the program by the first evening on board.  Just a side note that although the initial Festivals were westbound (NYC to SOU), they changed the Festivals to eastbound.  This was discussed in a panel and the Times folks explained that the time changes (losing time going east) caused too many problems with scheduling events so they made the decision to have all Festivals be westbound.  

 

The current list of speakers for the 2024 Festival includes wording such as "currently scheduled" because apparently there are changes in speakers up to a few months before sail date. 

[rj1227]

If I had had earlier the information about this festival crossing that I have now, I would have booked this sailing months ago--and made very different plans for my October and early November trip. I have some decisions to make. I am not sure that on this forum the literary festival crossing has ever before been discussed in such depth. 

 

It is fitting that we are having this discussion on a day when Penguin Random House fired its top people at Alfred A. Knopf and Pantheon and Schocken. . 

[Queenvee]

rj1227 - I'm glad you raised the topic since I think it is a great offering by Cunard and they don't do a good job at publicizing their event voyages (and their website makes it difficult to find anything....😞).  They offer about six themed cruises including the National Symphony Orchestra, Theatre at Sea, English National Ballet, wellness and culinary - I just google Cunard theme cruises to get to the Cunard site.  

 

You may also want to visit the Roll Call for this cruise; Roll Calls on listed on the Cruise Critic main board site toward the bottom; select Cunard, then QM2 and you'll see a specific post for this cruise (I think that because it's part of a 4 week roundtrip from SOU, this one leg is included in the post for the full 4 week trip - just look for the post with the Nov 13, 2024 start date in the title).  Roll Calls are useful spots for exchanging info about ports, logistics, specific questions and meeting people; some Roll Calls are more lively than others but all are worth checking out.

[Queenvee]

rj1227 - Re: your pre-cruise travel....I always plan several weeks of land travel before sailing back to the US.  It's a great way to end a trip!  This year I'm spending time in France but other years have done Glasgow, London, Basel, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Barcelona as pre-crossing vacations.  A tip - I always plan to arrive in SOU the day before the ship sails since these days air travel & weather can be uncertain.  I stay at the Premier Inn West Quay which is reasonably priced and near a large shopping center if you need to buy anything before boarding the ship.  A LOT of cruisers stay there, so don't wait too long to make a hotel reservation!  If you haven't been to Southampton before, there's enough to do for a day - walk the old city walls, go to the Titanic museum (it has a new name & location but is well done) and more.  Could always go to Portsmouth for the day.  (I just returned from a QE voyage, SYD-TOK, which I bracketed with a week in Sydney before and two weeks in Tokyo after; I wish I had been sailing home from TOK!)

[rj1227]

My current plans are to leave on October 14 and return on November 5, which would be 21 nights away. My sweet spot with trips to Europe is 20-24 days. If I take the literary festival crossing, I will have to push back my departure date and change hotel reservations, but that can be done.  

 

Last December, I spent my last night at the Hampton Inn near Waterloo Station near London and took the train that morning to Southampton. I saw something of Southampton because I walked from the train station with my bags to the ship. I will not do that again. Portsmouth the night before sounds interesting.

 

A subject that goes well beyond my original post is use of a travel agent rather than booking directly with Cunard. I sent an email yesterday to an agent I have used regarding what on-board credit her agency might provide and am awaiting a response. (Coincidentally, Queenvee, she could be your neighbor, and I suspect you are familiar with agency. Under the forum rules, I can say only so much. But unless the on-board credit is more than modest, I prefer to deal dealing with the cruise line.) 

 

This thread may prove an instance where the responses to an original post not only provided much pertinent information but changed the travel plans of the OP.

 

 

[rj1227]

I have made the necessary changes in my trip plans (I am now flying out of New Orleans on October 21) and just booked this crossing with Cunard. The daily programs attached were a major factor in my decision. 

 

The reason for my interest in a literary-festival crossing is that I have a completed nonfiction manuscript (genre would be sports or social history), which I have been sending to publishers and recently to literary agents. As someone who worked decades in another field, I am learning that the subject and quality of writing matter far less than brand or "marketing platform," which I do not have. I am optimistic about finalizing something this summer. But I need all the inspiration and information about the publishing industry that I can get. This seems like an ideal crossing for me. And I don't think I gave my December 2023 TA crossing a fair chance. I want to try this a second time.

 

Again, my sincere thanks to everyone who responded to my original post. Queenvee, I hope onboard I have the chance to personally thank you for the help you repeatedly provided.

[Host Hattie]

That's good news, I hope you enjoy your second crossing more than your first !

[ECC866]

On 5/22/2024 at 7:37 AM, rj1227 said:

My current plans are to leave on October 14 and return on November 5, which would be 21 nights away. My sweet spot with trips to Europe is 20-24 days. If I take the literary festival crossing, I will have to push back my departure date and change hotel reservations, but that can be done.  

 

Last December, I spent my last night at the Hampton Inn near Waterloo Station near London and took the train that morning to Southampton. I saw something of Southampton because I walked from the train station with my bags to the ship. I will not do that again. Portsmouth the night before sounds interesting.

 

A subject that goes well beyond my original post is use of a travel agent rather than booking directly with Cunard. I sent an email yesterday to an agent I have used regarding what on-board credit her agency might provide and am awaiting a response. (Coincidentally, Queenvee, she could be your neighbor, and I suspect you are familiar with agency. Under the forum rules, I can say only so much. But unless the on-board credit is more than modest, I prefer to deal dealing with the cruise line.) 

 

This thread may prove an instance where the responses to an original post not only provided much pertinent information but changed the travel plans of the OP.

 

 

Congrats, RJ!   There is an active roll call for the Crossing if you are interested.  M436B 13 Nov 2024. 26 nights S/Ham-NY-Carib-NY-S/Ham Roundtrip. I’ve booked on the UK to US portion of the trip and joined the roll call a few weeks ago.  Queenvee has been helpful to me as well in that thread!

 

All the best,

 

Ed