longton

We recently did an Indian Ocean cruise on Queen Victoria.

I don't know if the theatre dress code is enforced on transatlantic crossings but on our cruise it wasn't. I often saw men without ties or jackets. 

On my UK Voyage Personaliser for a forthcoming trip on Queen Victoria it states:

Alcohol Policy Duty- and tax-free alcohol is available for purchase and will be delivered to your stateroom on the last day of your voyage. You may bring one bottle of wine or champagne per person on board to celebrate special occasions. If consumed in restaurants or bars, each bottle will be subjected to a $25 corkage fee. This fee is subject to change. Guests who are under 18 years of age are not permitted to purchase or consume alcohol on board.  In U.S. waters, Cunard abides by the U.S. legal drinking age of 21 years. Any wines purchased via the Little Luxuries Collection are not subject to the on board $25 corkage fee.

If you can afford it, then business class offers a more generous allowance as well as higher standards of service and comfort.

We sailed in Queens Grill in January 2018 from Southampton to Cape Town. Our butler replenished the drinks regularly and brought us canapes every day, mostly we didn't eat them.

We were very underwhelmed with our QG experience. So much so that we are sailing in Britannia on our forthcoming cruise from Hong Kong to Cape Town next month.

Many thanks to all who replied. I always carry two credit cards in case one doesn't work.

I'll let you know what appears on my credit card statement later.

Next month we are sailing from Hong Kong to Cape Town on Queen Victoria.

A couple of questions for seasoned Cunarders:

I assume the ship will take a copy of my credit card prior to embarkation. Will this show Cunard or Carnival, Hong Kong or UK etc? I want to alert my bank in advance so they don't have suspicions about the transaction.

We are entitled to "Complimentary in port shuttle buses". Do these buses take us to a place in town and are they available in all ports?

Many thanks for taking the time to read and reply.

Musica should have arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning. It is now due to dock on Saturday morning. Strong winds have prevented the ship from docking earlier. It is presently anchored a few miles from the port.

Yesterday the awful smell was noticeable. It hit us as soon as we embarked on Deck 5. They have burners in some places, obviously trying to mask the smell. It seems less noticeable today. Enjoying free Internet white sitting on deck 10. It's provided by the town of Zadar where we are now docked. Warm and sunny day but breezy.

It starts:

"When I was asked if I was interested in sailing the Java Sea for 10 days with Seabourn Cruises" ..............

Did Seabourn pay her to do the cruise in return for positive publicity?

Thanks for the useful replies.

We are returning from Johannesburg and flying Emirates in business class so we can take 2 bags at 32 kg each. In Economy the allowance is 2 bags at 23 kg each.

We will have about 40 kg each in two bags, so I am assuming that Cunard will allow this.

We are sailing on Cunard for the first time in January 2018, Southampton to Cape Town. We are in Queens Grill.

This is our third cruise. Our first cruise was with Seabourn (loved it), our second with Silversea (so,so).

A few questions:

How do we access the QG restaurant? Does someone check our pass at the door, or do we swipe the pass?

Can we make ice cubes in the room fridge, or do we just ask for them when we need them?

Can we take two suitcases each, probably around 40kg (90lbs)?

Many thanks.

My mother and sister sailed on Seabourn Sojourn from Barcelona to Cape Town in Nov/Dec 2014. My mother asked for permission for me (the son) to join them on board for lunch in Cape Town. I had to supply my passport details. There were no forms to complete and so it was easy, straightforward and quick. Perhaps it's easier for family members?

I loved it and did my first Seabourn cruise out of Singapore in December 2015. I probably wouldn't have done that cruise if I hadn't been on the ship in Cape Town. Six of us (all family members) are now booked on the Ovation inaugural cruise in May next year. So one free lunch has led to significant business for Seabourn!

Four of us have today booked for the maiden voyage Venice to Barcelona. We've never done a maiden voyage and are really looking forward to it. It's in May in the Med so the weather should be decent. There are some interesting ports of call.

Markham

They are on the Seabourn website but haven't yet appeared on the website of the cruise company we normally book through.

The itineraries are focused on the Caribbean for December 2017 and it's disappointing, at least for us, that there aren't any Asia or Indian Ocean sailings in this period.

Finally, the 2017 and beyond itineraries are out, and available on Seabourn site.

We are looking to book a Seabourn cruise in December 2017 but three ships - Sojourn, Odyssey and Encore only have itineraries up to Sept / Oct 2017. Quest has itineraries into 2018.

Does anyone know when Seabourn will likely release their itineraries?

Thanks for telling me it's only wine you can take on board on embarkation day. I had misread it to mean two bottles of any alcohol.

I don't drink wine so will stick to beer!

We like gin and tonic. Does tonic come with either the Royal Replenish or Select drinks packages?

We plan on taking two bottles of gin on board and would like to drink g and t in our suite.

We leave on Sunday from Hong Kong on our first ever cruise!

Thanks.

We are taking our first ever cruise later this month.

When I booked the cruise through the travel agent, I signed up for the Select drinks package without realizing what it covered.

Now I know what it is, I'm happy with mine because I drink beer. My traveling partner doesn't drink any alcohol so it seems a waste of money to pay for Select which includes wine and beer. Could I change this on board to the much cheaper Royal Replenish package which excludes alcohol, and get some OBC?

Do both packages include tea and coffee, bottled water?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

eney

We are taking our first ever cruise later this month. We are on Legend of the Seas from Hong Kong to Singapore.

The ships arrives in Singapore at 8 am. Am I correct in assuming we will have breakfast and then disembark?

Approximately what time will disembarkation be?

Many thanks.

We're new to cruising and are taking our first cruise in August from Hong King to Singapore. A member of our group requires a visa for Brunei and the Philippines, two of the ports of call.

I know he can get one at the Embassy but someone told me the ship can arrange visas on arrival in the port.

Is there any truth in this? Do passengers wait in line to get their passports processed at the port or are they processed on board before disembarkation?

Thanks for your comments.

Fletcher, I love reading your posts. Keep them coming, please!

Bom Bom Island was always on the itinerary. Ports of call at Dakar (Senegal) and Banjul (Gambia) were cancelled and replaced with the Spanish ports of Malaga and Cadiz. Tomorrow it's arrival at Luanda, Angola.

The ship has just had two ports of call in the Cape Verde islands. What were the excursions like?

I assume the weather is hotting up now as you head south towards the equator. Six sea days ahead.

Hope you are all enjoying the cruise.

They were probably paid for or subsidized by the European Union!