beaveh

Looks like my hol will now be uk based. Maybe they could retask the ships as floating hotels? 🙂

I’m hoping my June cruise goes ahead, if it doesn’t I’ll take the refund. 
I refund is better than a FCC for me for a couple of reasons.
I’m happy to cruise when the peak of this pandemic is over.. that could be months or years away and as the itinerary is one on the most important things. Taking a refund means I’ll have the flexibility to go for Cunard / celebrity as an alternative and choose an itinerary that really suits me. 

The situation is certainly changing daily.

My trip is to Norway on QV ON 31st May. 

I’ve decided to go with their offer of extra OBC.. If things have quietened  down by then, but I suspect the season may get cancelled so a full refund may be possible. 

Norway has closed its ports... So I've always got the option of transferring to another cruise 48hrs before departure, if I have second thoughts.

I think I'm going to stick it out and wait and see what happens. My cruise isn't until end of may, I'm not over 70 so it's just a case of seeing how cruise companies respond to port closures. I could take the cancelation offer ( part cash refund part FCC) but I’ll wait and see if they cancel the whole cruise. In which case I assume it will be a full cash refund. Then I'll be booking a last minute deal when the cruises are back up and running. I know we talk about cruises here, but the whole package industry must be having a nightmare. Fancy a package  trip to Benidorm anyone? 🙂

What are people thoughts on how things might pan out at the European cruise season kicks off? Also when would it usually kick off? March? April? 
 

I think the situation my be different for cruisers departing from Southampton, as no flying or travelling to other countries is involved. But I don’t want to end up stuck in my cabin or bobbing around in the sea for a week with no ports of call open.

they could change all Southampton cruises to uk ports only. Quite nice.. but I didn’t sign up for a uk circumnavigation 🙂

I have seen discussions on this thread about decisions about cancelling and taking FCC, but virtually nothing on the Cunards option to transfer to any other advertised cruise up to 48hrs before departure. ( maybe only offered to UK crusiers?)

What do people think of this option, as I think it's the one we will take? We are due to depart 31st May, so we could do the same cruise 30th May 2021. I'm going to wait a bit to see if there is a blanket cancel on crusies, then we can take the refund money and book for a short notice cruise later in the year.. If things have calmed down by then.

7 hours ago, Roger Ackroyd said:

"Additional" On Board Spending? That word "additional" doesn't appear on our email.  We already have $300 pp ($600 stateroom) OBS. Will we expect $1200? It's not clear.

 

Our cruise, is ex Southampton April 16th.  I am assuming that there will be a good number of potential customers who will take the money and FCC and run which leaves the next question: will Cunard run a cruise with potentially just 50% or fewer on board passengers?

 

And next question: what of excursions in Spain and Portugal (Granada and Seville)? Will those still run and if not because of Spanish crackdown on movement just what is the point of sailing down to Spain only to have to stay on board at the ports? You may as well just stay in Southampton and look at the docks from your balconies.

 

I can see Cunard cancelling all cruises On Queen Victoria between now and September.

 

I'll wait until 3 days beforehand and make a decision then.

Yes, I think it’s a case of watch this space and see what happens.

Cunard and P&O haven’t started their European season yet, so I’ll be reading people’s reports on here to see how things go. I’ve got a bit more time than you as we go on 31st May and I do feel I’ve got more flexibility with the new T&C’s to leave it till the last moment then maybe transfer to another cruise if things don’t look good.

I’m the eternal optimist, so I’ll stick with it and daydream of a complementary cabin upgrade for sticking with the cruise 🙂 

I’m sad to say I’m a new cruiser to Cunard and have been very much looking forward to my QV 31st May departure to Norway... but things have got a bit complicated now. 
 

I’m UK based and booked through a UK travel agent.  I’d still love to do this cruise but realise there is a possibility that if corona is suspected onboard we could get denied entry to Norwegian ports, restricted to our cabins or quarantined onboard for two weeks when we get back to Southampton ! ( self isolation back home is preferable to that ).

I’m not in an at risk health group, and not thinking of cancelling as I might catch it onboard. It’s more about the though of going nuts being stuck in a cabin with hubby for two weeks ( bless him 🙂 )

Im considering my options at the moment. I’ll see how things go, then maybe take the Cunard offer to transfer to another cruise next year, as I can do that up to 48 hrs before departure.  I realise I would lose my original OBC offer and the enhanced OBC  but if it’s a transfer would I still have ABTA protection? ( if the worst should happen to Cunard) and get a refund?

i realise if Cunard cancels, if I’m ill before departure or if I have a temp before boarding and am denied embarkation travel insurance will refund me.

so what are the catches to transferring to another cruise? I think I can do that for the full value up to 48hrs before departure?

sorry long post 😞

Thank you pennbank. That was in information I’ve been looking for 🙂 now I can work out if it’s worth getting a package or not. 

I’ve read all about the differences between the basic soft drinks package and the premium package.

what I can’t find anywhere is how much does a can of soda cost? Or how much a small bottle of water is, or a premium coffee is? None of the online menus I’ve seen have prices. 
 

can any one help?

We are new to Cunard but have used included packages on Celebrity before. Can I ask if the premium soft drinks package on Cunard  is worth it?

my husband doesn’t drink alcohol. We do drink diet sodas, so would like a choice of drinks in that respect. We would appreciate the small bottled waters and the odd mocktail or two each day. 
I’d like to do the maths and work it out but I can’t find pricing for soft drinks ( cans)  / bottled water and mock tails. 
we like normal teas and coffees, I think these are free with meals, are they free at other times?

I would say be careful if you are using Amex... that card is not widely accepted. Many places  won’t accept it.

16 hours ago, BellaAnna said:

We literally just got off the QV Fjords,Iceland and Scotland cruise so are still on a high!  We bought the Spa package and used the large whirlpool with strong jets ( my husband uses them on his back instead of a massage, he likes the control of where the pressure is). I particularly like the hot beds that look out to the sea!

I had Cappuccino each morning in the Chart room.  Delicious!

be sure and get up extra early upon arrival into Norway, the views are breathtaking!  Also don’t turn in too early as we did a lot of whale watching from our cabin windows.

Enjoy!!

Whale watching!!!! amazing I said to hubby this morning that I wondered if we would see any whales. Is there an announcement or something, or do you just have to keep an eye out? We are doing the shorter cruise to the fiords, so I'm not sure where the whales are and if they will be that far south.

Thanks for all the great info

9 hours ago, AussieVoyager said:

To pick up on what Glenndale said regarding the spa and sauna, I confirm that apart from the facilities in the spa (for which you need a pass which is around $35 for a day), there are great free saunas in the changing rooms.

 

I really enjoyed the free sauna as it is very bright with a glass wall overlooking the sea - you can whale watch from your sauna bench!

I take it you mean the changing rooms for the gym? That's nice to know. I quite like sharing a sauna with my hubby but I realise the boat ones will be single sex.

The most important thing to us is how the tea / coffee works. I assume hot drinks are always available in your cabin and from the buffet free of charge, what about other places on the ship? Where would you get lattes and capochinos from? I assume they are charged? I might have about 3 alcoholic drinks a day, hubby none. 

Neu

On 6/13/2019 at 2:28 PM, Neuhoftraveler said:

Many thanks to all responders.  We are pretty much decided to book QV on May 31, 2020 fjord sailing (V017).  The itinerary seems to cover just about all the most celebrated fjords with no unwanted (by us anyway) extra port calls or detours.

 

@exlondoner:  I'm not familiar with the term "Vistas."  Does this mean QV and QE?  Also, forgive me for not already knowing this, but do I understand you to say that on QV  Britannia Club is a separate restaurant, not just an area of the main hall as on QM2?  Are the menu and quality the same as the main restaurant?

 

Thanks again, and we hope others witl chime in.

Ah! I’ve just booked that cruise. I’m a first timer with QV and booked deck 7 ( balcony state room ) looks like I chose a good deck from the comments 🙂

I think there will be a very limited number of single cabins? Or you will be paying for a single occupancy of a double cabin! 

I’ve taken the plunge and booked a fiord cruise on QV next year. If done a couple of cruises on celebrity but never on Cunard. I have some basic questions that would be great if someone could help with. First and most importantly I’ve got some questions about the fitness and spa areas. If you want to use the royal spa ( sauna, steam, heated loungers) is there a daily charge or a charge for a week pass. ( like the Persian gardens on celebrity ). Is there anywhere else you can get a sauna / steam for free ( like the gym changing rooms etc)?

What sort of gym classes do they do?  I assume treatments are the usual massage / facials etc

ill be reading this board to find out as much as I can about dining options and drinks. :) 

I’m in the Solarium of Eclipse now and Oceana is a country mile away from S class standards. Cabins are smaller and somewhat dated food as previously stated is better on Celebrity but P&O speciality dining has the edge for me

 

 

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You're making me envious !

If I ever want to relax at home I imagine I'm in the solarium with relaxing music watching the fountains.

I think it will be Oceana balcony cabin and spending the money we save on speciality dining.

What are the free sauna / spa arrangements on Oceana? Is there a steam room or just a sauna ?

We’ve narrowed the cruise down to the Oceana, in the med. the s class ships had a great adults only pool under cover ( in the solarium ). Close to the spa and the gym. I would class it ‘ the quiet end of the ship ‘ . Is there a comparable place on the oceana?

We are much more quiet lounge type people, rather than busy bar and hubbub type people. So we will be seeking out the layed back quiet places on board :)

I’ve only done a few cruises and the last couple were on celebrity, but now I fancy a change.

How do P&O compare food wise ( buffet and speciality dining) are there cover charges for different venues.

We liked the gym, spa and solarium on the celebrity ships. Do the P&O boats compare well in these areas?

Are drinks reasonably priced or do they do soft drinks packages ( inc water, teas and coffees)

We haven’t found an itinerary yet, but looking for a quiet ( kid free) med cruise. :)

In the UK, I just wish we had the opertunity to chase lower prices. Here, when you book, you are locked in to the holiday price.... even if the price drops later. ( unless you want to loose a substantial deposit).

Last year my cruise dropped by £600 I was tempted to cancel and rebook, but my saving would have been just £200 after losing the deposit. Aargh!

I think invite is a bit random.

I was invited for the sail in to Santorini on our August 2016 cruise.

It was only our second ever x cruise and we were aqua class.

I couldn't go as we were due in the theatre to be first off with the tenders for a prebooked trip:(

On the Reflection there is also an ice room :) Cold, but strangely refreshing!

I depends.

If you are planning on using the sauna, steam, aroma room, showers etc, then bathing suit. I wore shorts and tee shirt over my swimwear if I was just going to lie on the heater loungers.