Jack E Dawson

Good decision orville99. Sailing on the QM2 is such a special event. I hope you and your wife enjoy it as much as we do. We will be boarding in Southampton on June 9th for our 4th crossing, or as we like to say, our 4th Once In A Lifetime voyage. Jack

orville99, There are actually some pretty good threads on this Cunard board that discuss sheltered balconies. We have sailed in sheltered and glass fronted balcony cabins on the QM2 and enjoy both. The cabins themselves are identical. The difference is the balcony area. The sheltered balconies are a little bit deeper than the glass fronted balconies, but same width, and you are looking out through an opening about 6' wide and 4' high. As a result you are fairly well protected from the weather. On our second crossing we sailed into New York Harbor in a heavy rain. We were able to stand IN our sheltered balcony, protected from the rain, and watch the Statue of Liberty pass by as sipped our coffee bundled up in our robes. For us the main disadvantage of the sheltered balcony is that when you sit in the deck chairs and look through the opening, you can't actually see the water, you are mostly looking at sky. So if you want that great balcony view, you pretty much have to stand at the railing of the opening. On the other hand, because the sheltered balconies are located below the Promenade Deck, you are not only closer to the water, you can also look down and see the water passing against the hull of the ship. On rough sea days we enjoy watching the waves crashing against the ship sending spray flying. All of the glass fronted balconies are located in the superstructure which is recessed above the Promenade Deck, you can look out at the water but not straight down at the water. Finally, we find the glass fronted balcony cabins to be a bit brighter and lighter than the sheltered balcony cabins. Hope this helps. Jack PS: here is a link to a YouTube video showing a QM2 Sheltered Balcony

You are exactly right exlondoner, we will take the train from Kingham to Oxford and connect there. The tickets were 152 Pounds for the 2 of us vs 50 Pounds for the train from London to Kingham. We are on the 10:00AM train. Our Crossing is on the June 9th QM2 sailing. Good to know Host Hattie as we will each have a rolling bag and back pack.

Thanks NE John. We rented a car on our first trip to London in 1986. It was quite the experience, and not in a fun way:) Jack

We will not have a car but instead will be taking the train from Paddington to Kingham, about an hour and 20 minutes. Our plan is to base in Kingham and utilize the hiking trails to visit Churchill and Bledington. We will also use the train (short ride) to visit Charlbury, Woodstock and Blenheim Palace.

Just a quick update- We have decided to take the much appreciated advice of all above and not do a same day arrival connecting from Dublin. But since the opportunity is just too good to pass up, we will be coming in a week early and spending a couple of nights in London then 4 nights in the Cotswold region (never been there). From there we are traveling by train to SH (surprisingly w/o having to go through London) arriving the day before embarkation. Less stress - more fun. We will still be coming in to LHR on the same connecting flight, just a week early. I will be sure to report our experience on clearing LHR. Thanks again to all. Jack

There will actually a few Cunard buses to handle the load so the time can very but typically between 10 and 11. There are just so many factors, when the ship arrives, traffic and which bus you get on. The buses are very nice and have a bathroom. We have taken the Cunard bus twice and have no complaints.

I don't disagree foodsvcmgr, this certainly isn't my normal modus operandi but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind. Of course we would insure our trip. Unfortunately the flight we are looking at is EI 124 which gets in to Dublin too late to catch the SH flight plus, the lower fair requires LHR to be the final destination. We do have points in the bank but have those budgeted for trips in 2024, 2025 & 2026. This started out as a spur of the moment, "lets go for it"idea but thanks to the wise counsel above it is now more of a long shot. If we do end up going I will be sure to report back. Thanks all. Jack

Thanks sfred and gumshoe958. I was not even aware that I could fly into Southampton, that would be great. One of the agents I spoke to at Are Lingus did mention CTA but that was something I was not familiar with. With this information we will move forward and see if we can make it all work. Thanks again Jack

We have just been invited to join friends for a Westbound Crossing on the QM2 departing in June. The price is right for the cruise but airfares are high. Our best deal is Are Lingus from Chicago to LHR with a change of planes in Dublin, however, the flight lands the same day as embarkation which we have never done before. Here is my question, coming from Dublin, will we still have to clear Customs and Immigration at LHR or will that happen in Dublin. I have spoken to Are Lingus 3 times and been told that we will only have to clear in Dublin, that we will clear at LHR and that we will have to clear at both locations. Does anyone have any recent actual experience please? Thanks Jack

Stick-Monkey, We have disembarked from the QM2 in Brooklyn on 4 occasions and we far prefer self-disembarkation but have done it both ways. We usually have two roller bags (slightly larger than yours), a maximum size carry-on bag and a backpack. We are in our mid 70's and have never had a problem. There are two oversized elevators to get you down to ground level. The advantages are: - You don't need to finish your packing until the morning of disembarkation. - If, in the morning, you unexpectedly need to make a wardrobe change or packed something you need, you still have your bags. - We like getting an early start and breezing through US Customs. But, with self-disembarkation you can pretty much get off when you want if you prefer a relaxing breakfast. There currently is no Global Entry in Brooklyn. Our experience was that NOT doing self-disembarkation resulted in a lot of "hurry up and wait". Hope this helps, and enjoy your voyage. Jack

Archipelago, If you go to the Cunard web site and look under What To Pack, you will find that "Smart attire simply means a dress shirt and trousers," So a polo shirt really doesn't meet the dress code for the Main Dining Room or Grills restaurants but is fine for the Ledo buffet area. With that said, you will see a small smattering of polo shirts in the MDR, mostly on the first night of the voyage. After that, polo shirts tend to disappear as most of those gentleman see what's going on and rise to the occasion. Jack

babe 135, Sorry if I am misunderstanding your point here. Also, I'm aware that not all promotions that are offered here in the States are available in the UK. We recently booked a cruise on the Queen Victoria and we upgraded to Princess Grills. That upgrade came with free gratuities, free drinks package, access to the Princess Grills restaurant, the Grills lounge and the two Gills terrace levels. Also included in the upgrade is priority boarding. Does this have any similarities at all to Princess Plus or Have It All. I've on Cunard. Thanks Jack

My vote for Best Posting of the Year Jack

For those of you in the States, I thought this "answer" on today's Jeopardy show was interesting.Does everyone know the question? Jack