Merry Maid

Also, to paraphrase a quote from Terry Pratchet, you could display a notice stating, " I amn't lonely". Just to clear up that presumption.

MM

Dining at a table for one...

Reading a book, that seems to meet with general approval. A Kindle too. Doing puzzles also.

What about ...

Using a lap top at dinner?

Having a phone conversation at dinner?

Views please.

MM

We have only done one true B2B crossing i.e. one day in NYC and were lucky enough to dock in Manhattan. It is amazing what you can accomplish on foot in a day if you are reasonably fit. But this was some 15 years ago, not quite so fit now.

However there is an alternative which QM2 does most years round the Independence Day U.S. Holiday. WB June 23/24 (this year its the 24th) 5 nights in NYC then EB to Southampton. The ship meanwhile goes up to Canada for those 5 days. We have done this trip whenever offered for some years now and it is the highlight of our holidays.

A long time contributor to this site, not seen for some time, used to do the B2B often and stay in Brooklyn for the day, have a fine lunch and a stroll and a cab back to the ship.

In 2016 we took advantage of the Big Apple Greeter programme and were shown all around Brooklyn by a Native Brooklyn Couple and it was fascinating. So perhaps a visit to this charming borough instead of a mad dash to Manhattan might fit your bill if you've visited Manhattan before.

Maybe we'll do the B2B one day and tell our friends we are just popping over to Brooklyn for lunch. But as long as the July 4th trip is offered we'll stick to that I think. Roll on the 24th!

MM

Exactly the responses I was expecting. Which proves my contention that it is pointless to wail and whinge on here about the lowering of Cunard's standards because the prevailing view and actions are just this. "I'll wear what I like when I like.' and all too frequently the attitude of , 'And I'll do what I like when I like.' goes along with that. And that's just how it is. See the many, many posts on here over the years from people, usually males, asking questions about what they can 'get away with' on formal nights, how far can they stretch the rules, will there be sanctions against dining etc. etc.

And of course my post was judgemental, (what a pejorative word that has become), if I can judge someone as being smartly dressed then I can do the same for someone who isn't. We all make judgements about other other people, it's human nature. How often do we hear the plaintive cry of 'Don't judge me'. Well how the dickens are we to come to any conclusions without a judgement.

MM

The dress code is always a well supported thread on here, with, it must be said 99% in favour. But give it up people, the battle is well and truly lost. The Scruffifiers of the western world can claim a famous victory.

No matter how much we fulminate on here the downward trend is unstoppable. Look around you people, see how the world you inhabit is populated by torn jeans-wearing grandmothers and 70 year old males dressed like 17 year old skateboarders. No style, no dignity, no self-respect.

And it is not only on cruise ships, it is everywhere, high class hotels, restaurants, the theatre. Oh don't get me started on the dress in the theatre. Last Thursday I went to a sell out performance and I think there were probably about three men including myself who were dressed decently. I wasn’t expecting diner jackets but most of the men looked as though they had arrived straight from a building site or from a weeks hiking holiday. Anoraks, dirty shoes, greasy hair, filthy trainers, most washing machines have a setting for trainers but it appears not to be much used. Many were wearing their intelligence reducers, some of them set to full power, i.e. back to front. And rucksacks - ARRRGGHH. Some big enough to yomp over the Falklands and enough water bottles to cross the Gobi. All for a two hour performance in a theatre with running potable water and a large bar.

Many of the women were not much better, wearing jeans and other trousers that looked as though they had been attacked by savage dogs on the way in. The best dressed people there were some asian ladies in saris, a cool and elegant island in a sea of grubbiness.

So, sad to say, ladies and gentlemen it’s over, we may hold out in little pockets of resistance by refusing to conform to the all pervading dross but soon, very soon we will be an anachronism, weirdos in a world where everyone dresses like a sartorially challenged, colour-blind 14 year old.

Sad Innit?

Hi, I didn't take a crossing last year so I'm not sure if this is new info or not. I have just received the welcome folder for our June 24th TA. And lo and behold, inside there are nice printed colourful luggage labels just like there used to be years ago. So, no more printing and folding and stapling. Hurrah!

MM

Thanks to all for the replies. It must be thought on.

MM

Using launderettes on a cruise? Sorry folks, the concept escapes me.

MM

Can anybody tell me of their experience with the company Cunard uses for connecting with their ships in Soton. I have tried all methods of getting to the port from the north of England, train, driving, flying and National but the best by a country mile was Evesway Travel. Unfortunately they no longer service Cunard vessels and I have read some poor reviews of Cruise Connect. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

MM

Rather than attempt to decipher the daytime dress code, and save for trips to the gym or the pool, I'm just going to err on the side of cargo pants and short-sleeved Oxfords or polos until 6 pm.

Cargo pants Ugh! Why is it that men have managed very nicely for decades with 4 pockets in their nether-wear but now walk about looking as though they have either had an embarrassing accident or are imitating a bumble bee who has had a busy day foraging?

Just askin'

MM

I am sure many on this board will remember Cruachan.

His humourous, witty and informative posts were both fun and helpful. I have received news that he has died and his funeral will be on Aug 21st at York.

R.I.P. Jimmy, ( Cruachan)

Merry Maid

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, all this brouhaha about mens' dress. I do long for the days when gentlemen instinctively knew what to wear and when without all this striving to be different. Bow ties with dogs on forsooth! Black and white for formal nights is an easy enough aide memoir. Black shirts, absolutely not, unless you are aiming for the used car salesman look or carrying a Thompson sub machine gun. As for other occasions a slightly more libertarian approach to colour may be entertained as long as you don't frighten the seahorses. You are not meant to stand out. All else is mere foppery.

Gentlemen, behave yourselves, Ladies, restrain them, it is your bounden duty.

MM

I sailed on Caronia only once, on her last voyage before going to Saga. I wished I had sailed more. I preferred her to the QE2. Beautiful elegant vessel.

MM

I can't understand why one would need 4 hours to disembark unless there was some glitch or other with the computers. I have done the WB TA many times and always go for self disembark. You are off the ship by approx 7.30, there is a much shorter line for immigration control and also for taxis. On more than one occasion we have been in mid-town Manhattan shortly after 8.30 a.m. Going to the Battery area should be a shorter trip. If the taxis are a bit slow in arriving at Red Hook there are always town cars or limos and they not really much more than a cab, worth it if you are short of time (or patience) As you are on a day trip you won't have any luggage so self disembark should be a breeze but you need to register for self disembark at the pursers desk a couple of days before. At least that was the procedure as of June last year 2016.

Enjoy.

MM

When in the merchant navy many years ago, one of the first things to come aboard when in port was a telephone line. Don't know 'owt about ISP contracts though.

MM

No, actually I would come down from the room & remove the hat upon entering the rest. I know some take umbrage to that..oh well. I look at walking in the ship as the samne as walking down to a fine dining rest. or to a show.

Forgive me Keithm, but i don't understand how you interpret formal as requiring a bowler hat. Bowler hats were worn originally by gamekeepers, factory foremen, plumbers and other tradesmen before being taken up by 'City Gents'. As far as I understand headgear of any description is not required with a dinner-suit. Unless of course you are Fred Astaire and in full evening fig.

Just curious.

MM

It's not just for Yanks - I've no idea what a "cheese cutter" is either !

I would call it a 'Rat-catcher' At least we do Up North.

MM

Ah! If only someone would invent something to unwrinkle people.

MM

Oh dear, I bought mine M&S one in May 97! Still fits, I put the tightness down to the sea air shrinking it a bit!

A very common meteorological phenomenon sir.

MM

h

 

All men look good in a tux? Do you wear dark glasses to dinner?

 

David.

LOL! Especially those who bought their tux 20 years and 20lbs ago.

MM

I was hoping Merry Maid wasn't serious but it seems that her opinions are fixed. I have much better things to do than choose my husband's formal wear and he enjoys variety in shirts and ties.

I think he and the other men who make an effort to dress up look great and perfectly in keeping with formal dress code.

They are attending an event on a cruise ship not a masonic meeting !

Host Hattie I agree entirely. I was simply trying to point out the absurdity of criticising others for committing the same solecisms that I do. I have a pair of black Craghopper trousers which, were I foolish enough to press a crease in the front, would be indistinguishable from suit trousers from about three yards away. Should I be castigated for pairing these with a black coat on a formal night? As a previous poster said there are some whose interpretations of formal are more like fancy dress. So be it that is their choice as

long as they don't go about criticising other people for their choice.

Once more I seem to have difficulty in getting my main point across I really must pay more attention to my writing style.

MM

But the dress code is NOT black tie! It is "A tuxedo, dinner jacket or dark suit with appropriate neck wear for men." Clearly the word "appropriate" lends itself to personal interpretation. I note no mention of waistcoats, even though some obviously think these should be worn - again simply their personal preference. My preference is for a cumberbund (which in my case is not "invariably being hitched up or pulled down or twisted round").

First of all 'Black Tie' is implicit in the words 'formal' and 'tuxedo'. You choose to deviate from this, fair enough, your choice. However then you cannot raille against another person for wearing what amounts to a dark suit and tie because you think he is' cheating'. I've said before, what someone else wears has little impact on my enjoyment. What irritates me is the double standards frequently promulgated on this board. It is the, " we want formality, we love formality, that's why we use Cunard. You don't want to conform then clear off to a scruffier line". And then, choose to interpret 'formal' entirely according to their own wishes. It's quite simple, if you love formality and want to dress formally wear a black tie. Anything else just smacks of, "Hey look at me!" I've seen men with jewellery pinned in their lapels, men with cascades of silk erupting from their breastpocket. All very swish and eyecatching but not formal. Sorry. So wear your Union Jack bow tie with pride but don't fool yourself that you are formally dressed , you are not, irrespective of the Cunard code.

MM

I hope this is another tongue in cheek post Merry Maid ?

Well yes and no Host Hattie. Once again we have posters bewailing the reduction of standards and advising the so called cheaters and rule benders to seek berths on the other lines without the pale. But these same

people have no problem with bending the rules of formality to suit theIr own particular idea of fashion sense. We've all seen them, immaculately attired in evening wear but with a Union Jack tie or black one side and white the other, ties with dice and other "witty" motifs. You name it and there will be someone willing to pair it with a tux. Apart from looking ludicrous it is just incorrect. It's like wearing a black shirt and white tie it's wrong. Poor things, if they haven't got a partner to put them on the right track surely they have a mirror. The same goes for waistcoats. I'm sorry guys formal is formal. Black and white. We have no right to insist on strict observance in others if we do not comply fully ourselves

Gentlemen wearing a dark lounge suit (within the code) have no restraints other than taste and common sense, regarding their neckwear.

MM

As an afterthought to the above, I might point out that I do actually enjoy wearing a variety of quite colourful bow ties on formal nights - some of the more sober ones with matching cumberbunds. Now wearing a cumberbund really does sort the men from the boys as far as formal attire is concerned!

I have noticed a distressing tendency lately for men to wear a variety of coloured bow ties with a tuxedo. Might I suggest that this is totally against any formal dress code you may encounter Cunard or not. The only thing to put round ones neck when wearing a dinner suit is a BLACK bow tie. As for the insistence on a long sleeved shirts, while I am in favour of this I ask in all serious how would anybody know unless you were crass enough to remove your jacket in public. If one purchases ones shirts from a reputable shirt maker no one could possibly tell whether it had sleeves or not. As for your cummerbunds - well if ever there was a piece of clothing singularly unsuited for the task I have yet to see it. They are invariably being hitched up or pulled down or twisted round particularly on the more traditionally built type of gentleman. Wear a waistcoat with your dinner suit and PLEASE ensure it is black and not one of those faux Beau Brummel garish monstrosities which look as though they have been manufactured from the sitting room curtains of a fifties household by somebody who hates men. BLACK AND WHITE GENTLEMEN, BLACK AND WHITE the epitome of formality. No exceptions.

MM

Very sell said. And how sad it is when the "cheaters" are those who say that they love Cunard ships.

Who exactly are the 'cheaters' referred to here?

What a great pity it is that these dress code threads descend into such routine squabbles. I did not say that I was against the code, I did not advocate any diminution of the code. I simply pointed out what is the onboard reality. And no, it does not spoil my vacation when the odd few passengers deliberately or accidentally dress inappropriately. But as any objective view seems impossible for some to understand without getting all hot under the well starched collar I will bow out. Thank you all for your responses

MM