tacticalbanjo

I had a look at that list CruiseCritic have. They mention one brand which is synonymous with poor service and has facebook groups dedicated to how terrible they are. I've found some of the Cunard facebook groups are quite helpful in finding a decent travel agent.

I now tend to use a TA for much the same reasons @space oddity mentioned. I'm travelling with a child and we've started doing multi-generational cruises. It's ok booking online if it's just the one room I want but we've booked several trips where we want two or three cabins next to each other, with one or two needing to be three berth depending on which family members join us. We use the website for planning and trying to work out which cabins are available although the website does suck because it only shows a selection of rooms at a time. Our travel agent is great at getting us what we want with a small discount over booking with Cunard direct at the cost of earlier final repayment dates.

And they have parents they can bring along for the ride!

I know people love to be sniffy about the silent discos but when I was on QV in November the Yacht Club was packed for it and when they ran one in the Queens Room it was so popular they ran out of headphones. Yes, I wish they’d bring back the party bands and karaoke is not my cup of tea but I had a great time on QV this year and I have 5 bookings over the next two years so clearly Cunard haven’t frightened me off yet.

I was pretty set on a 2025 Alaska but not sure which line to do it on. But none of the other Glacier Bay going lines are doing many, if any, trips longer than 7 nights and if I'm flying all that way I want to see as much as possible. The options that are available don't have itineraries that appeal and heck, I just love Cunard. But I'm a little disappointed to miss out on Vancouver. I probably won't book until next year though because Cunard are wanting a rather large amount for flights and want to charge the same for adults and children. So I might hold off until my TA can look at flight costs and get them to sort me a package. Is it worth speaking with voyage sales next time I'm on board?

I personally hate the costumes that appear on the 20s nights. So tacky. It's a formal night not a fancy dress party. I don't mind colour themes or a nod to the theme with some jewellery etc but anything beyond that just looks to me like you don't know how to dress formally.

Don’t forget the options available on the children’s menu. I’m pretty sure this menu is fleet wide and it doesn’t change every day like the regular menu does.

I can't see how this would be an issue at all. I've definitely got more than one dessert when in an indecisive mood or I just fancied ice cream with my dessert.

The only time I've ever had a problem with the photos I've uploaded has been with my then 11 month old. The check in agent retook the photo then as we got on board the guy manning the entry/exit scanner thing promptly shook his head, tutted and took another photo.

I tried P&O and Princess this year after 12 trips on Cunard and I probably won't be back unless I see a good deal. It's not even that there was anything wrong with the cruises I took. But they weren't Cunard and boy was I glad to get that 'welcome home' feeling when I got on the QV last month. Roll on the Queen Anne maiden, then QM2 in June and QV in October!

Our meal at Verandah last night was fantastic. Last time we went I was pregnant and I couldn’t bear to order a steak well done so I was looking forward to my steak dinner. The glazed bread and maple butter is very moreish and even though we said we weren’t going to finish it because we both suffered from overeating last time we did Verandah, it did disappear. Then we both went for the lobster cocktail which was delicious but fiddly to eat. Am I alone in preferring a plate? Then came the wagyu for me and the ribeye for my husband with an assortment of sides. The onion rings were excellent. The wagyu steak I had been thinking about for over two years was as delicious as I’d hoped. Then we rounded out the evening with the sundae which hit the spot exactly. The service was as good as last time and when we explained that we had a child in the night nursery, they made sure service was brisk to get us through as much of the meal as possible before we got buzzed. But the toddler gods were with us and we managed an after dinner drink before she woke just as we were on the way to collect her. Today we spent in that easy sea day rhythm. It was a bit sad leaving the kids club for the last time (save for night nursery) and seeing the toddler waving goodbye to the youth staff and all the toys. She doesn’t have that many words so the fact that she can now say ‘kids club’ is a testament to how much she has enjoyed it. Today was Thanksgiving so turkey dinner and pumpkin pie was on the menu. The toddler was a big fan of the turkey and polished off quite a bit of her portion. I couldn’t say much in the way of plant life went in though! As we left dinner and headed for our room to get the toddler ready for bed we had a few people comment how well behaved she was during the trip which was lovely to hear. Now we are sat in the Golden Lion with most of our stuff packed up. We’ve had a great time but I am looking forward to a few home comforts like not having a toddler sleeping in the same room.

Her photo is on the who’s who board on deck 2 so I assume she’s on board.

The Hotel General Manager is Naomi McFerran.

I will try to have a look later. The weather in Stavanger today was awful so we chose to stay on board and get some laundry done. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea so the laundrette was packed and this caused some selfish impatience. I returned to the dryer about five minutes before it was due to end to find my laundry had been shoved in a basket. In a hurry to get back to lunch I took it back to our room then discovered that some of the thicker things like the toddler’s sleep sack were still damp. Incensed I left a snotty note in the dryer door to let the offender know how selfish they had been. That was about all we did today but now we are at Gin and Fizz enjoying a drink before we head to Verandah. Here’s hoping the toddler stays asleep!

We finished yesterday with a few drinks in the Golden Lion and the Irish band. They seem to have been on three times a night somewhere on the ship every night so we’ve got a bit bored with them as there are starting to be quite a few repeats but they are very good. Today we have been enjoying the Christmas decorations that have been springing up all over the ship over the past few days. The toddler is very good and knows not to touch but she is very tempted! She has also wanted to touch the metal butterfly sculpture that has appeared in the art gallery. She gets very animated when she sees it flapping her hands and saying ‘butterfly’ over and over again. We kicked off this morning by watching the Zumba class since the toddler seems very keen on watching the exercise classes. I think she prefers chairobics but you can’t have everything. The rest of the day developed in our usual sea day routine of kids club, lunch, nap, kids club and hobby meet up. A slow day but we needed the sleep after having been kept up a lot last night by the tiny dictator’s sore teeth. Tonight was a gala night and we had some photos taken but I don’t have much hope for them because the toddler seems to be allergic to smiling in photos so unless you are very lucky you just get photos of mummy and daddy smiling and the toddler looking bootfaced. Our dinner was good but again I’m feeling like the menus need to be refreshed. Unless we just end up on the same menu rotation each time? Still the toddler has been catered for excellently. Today she had spaghetti and meatballs from the kids menu because I knew she would really enjoy it. I think she is going to find it hard to go back to real life where no one comes to offer you a bread roll before dinner, there is ice cream every night and you get a chocolate after dinner. During dinner the captain came on and announced that we were heading to Stavanger slightly early to a medical emergency. He said we were moving at 21 knots and would pick up the pilot at about 11pm. We will probably dock about 12.30am and if we want to head into town for some Stavanger night life at 1am then we are more than welcome. Best wishes for whoever is involved in the medical emergency. We’re spending tonight in the Chart Room where the music is more sedate than in the Golden Lion but we won’t have to listen to karaoke.

Putting on a hold then separately taking a payment seems to be consistent with how a lot of petrol station preauthorisations and also stuff like Asda shopping deliveries work. It’s ok if you have the balance to cover twice the payment but causes difficulties for the many people who don’t.

I visited both Stavanger and Haugesund in July on Britannia with the toddler and my mum so I’m not bothered at all about the change in itinerary. And as you say, there’s a lot more to do straight off the ship. Right now our plan is to go to the oil and gas museum but we visited that on a previous trip in 2016 so if the weather is bad then we will just stay on board.

Last nights tour was a success and there were no flash users which was good. We crossed into Sweden to chase the lights and first stopped at a lay-by to test the waters. The lights were just beginning to show so our guide decided to usher us onto the bus and head to a better spot. Only when we got there it was a complete bust. We couldn’t see any stars and the only lights we saw were from passing cars. There was a lot of muttering at it having been clear at the previous spot and cloudy here so 20 mins into our hour long stop we packed back on the bus and headed to another stop. This was more successful but clouds covered the sky pretty quickly so we jumped back on the bus. It was agreed that we would visit a beach and even if the lights weren’t visible we would still get some nice photos. But the lights did come out briefly and because the coach driver forgot to put the lights on to let people out safely my eyes were finally adjusted in time to see some of the green colours. Hurrah! Meanwhile they also had lights back at the ship. My husband was on the ship with toddler duty and sent me this photo. This morning we woke up to a lovely sunrise. We took things pretty easy since the price of sending the toddler to bed an hour early so that Mummy could go on a trip was being awake at about 6.30. I would say at the crack of dawn but sun rise was at 9.30ish. After lunch and a nap we went to visit the snowmen. Then it was kids club for the husband and the toddler and hobby meet up for me. The door was locked when we turned up to everyone’s concern. The waitstaff said it had been unlocked a few minutes ago. Then someone spotted that there was someone inside. The door was knocked and out popped the captain. Everyone was quite embarrassed especially as we were a few minutes early but you just can’t get in the way of eager knitters, can you?

The pools have been drained since the rough seas earlier in the voyage and the doors from the Winter Garden to the Pavillion Pool have been closed since it got very cold but the hot tubs are open and there were several people braving them this afternoon.

It’s nice to hear that people are enjoying my posts. It’s been fun to put them up and share with you all. When I left you last night we had just settled into the pub for live music. At 9pm there was a game of Full House Party Bingo where they played 90 songs and you had to get a full house to win. We were having a lot of fun playing then the Officer of the Watch announced that the lights were visible so we rushed outside to look. When we came back the game was over but we were glad we had been out to look. And as a bonus the toddler stayed asleep until we came to collect her so we enjoyed the whole evening to ourselves. The weather in Narvik was cold but dry and we had a nice walk up to the War Museum. We tried the toddler in the snow on the way in but she didn’t like standing in it and was very upset that it got on her boots. She cheered up when we got inside and they had lots of things for her to look at. She was very enthusiastic about the vehicles on display. Then we had a nice walk back to the ship for a spot of lunch and a nap. I’m off out on my Northern Lights tour tonight and the forecast is showing partly cloudy so we probably won’t get an amazing view if they do come out but hopefully I see something. And if not, we have had a few sightings on this sailing even if they weren’t as spectacular as the sailing before. We will just have to come back again!

Yesterday turned to snow in the afternoon so it didn’t look promising for the husband’s Northern Lights tour but he did see some lights and some reindeer. But I think he mostly got cold due to the deep snow they were standing in and annoyed at all the people on the tour who couldn’t or wouldn’t turn their flashes off meaning his eyes couldn’t adjust. I go on my tour tomorrow so fingers crossed for clear skies! Today we have been at sea and treated to some wonderful coastal scenery. The toddler gets really enthused about looking off the side of the ship and whenever we go out on the balcony is straight onto one of the chairs to properly take it in. I went to the Claire Balding talk at 11am which was heaving. I’m a big dog fan so enjoyed the talk immensely - it made me want to FaceTime my dog back home! The husband saved us a table in the pub so that we could enjoy a pub lunch again. The toddler was not amused at having to wait for hers to cool but I understand that things like fish and chips just come off the line how they come off the line. In the afternoon I left dad freezing in the outdoor area of the kids club so the toddler could get some fresh air and headed to the craft meet up. I’ve been enjoying these sessions as I rarely get to talk to other crafters. Dinner was again excellent. So much so that the toddler polished off most of a salmon fillet then Mummy’s lemon sorbet and most of her own jelly portion. Then she tried to steal Daddy’s chocolate. I think she is going to be very disappointed to go back to regular food when we get home. That brings us up to now when I’m in the pub enjoying some live music with a cocktail on the go waiting for the dreaded pager to summon us back.

I think she would have been glad to miss out on all the yucky snow today! She didn’t want to look at it, touch it or stand on it. But she was very taken with a taxidermied reindeer in a gift shop. We asked her to pick a stuffed toy to take home but she only had eyes for this magnificent creature.

Yesterday was another lovely sea day except for the toddler teething which meant that we had to deal with extreme but understandable crankiness. It was interesting seeing the mix of people out in their gala evening finery and people togged up in case we got the announcement that the Northern Lights were visible. Our meal in Britannia was great. Both of us went for the chateaubriand and it was so tender you could have cut it with a spoon. The toddler thought her spaghetti bolognese was incredible and made a big mess of herself. RIP the tablecloth. We had skipped dinner the previous night but our head waitress Desiree Mei (who has been fantastic the whole trip) sent the menus ahead to our stateroom so that we could order the toddlers low salt meal ahead of time. We really have been looked after well. The toddler was very excited to see the lights of Tromso when she woke. She was less excited about the reality of having to wear a big hat and gloves. We had a bit of a stroll around, I picked up some souvenirs at the Sami Shop and then we headed back to the ship in time for lunch. Tromso is really very beautiful and it would be nice to spend more time but alas our time is controlled by a tiny dictator who is too frightened that she will miss out on something to nap in the buggy so we have to nap on the ship. So onto nap time!

For anyone thinking of trying Nordlys, we had a great meal there last night. The service was excellent even if they were bringing chairs through to set up for breakfast while we were eating. We both went for langoustines to start then the seafood sharing platter and the trio of desserts Midway through dinner the lights came out again so we whipped outside to see them. Just as we were about to sit down in the pub the dreaded pager went off which meant that the toddler had woken and couldn’t be resettled. The staff were very apologetic even though they can’t help not being mummy. But we were both in agreement that being able to even get out for the evening and be the people we were before the toddler came along for a few hours was special.

After the Golden Lion last night we headed to the Yacht Club for the silent disco. I know a lot of people frown on them but the room was packed. I know I’d prefer a packed dance floor to an empty one. And we had a good time until we had to collect the toddler. Today we woke to a dark Alesund but it slowly got lighter as we got ready and visited the Lido for breakfast. We didn’t have a tour booked so just walked around for a bit taking in the Art Nouveux architecture and scenery. It really is a beautiful place. Back on board we headed to the pub for lunch. I love my Golden Lion fish and chips to Michel Roux best not interfere with it too much! My meal was as good as ever even if the toddler did steal my mushy peas. While eating dinner there was an announcement that the Northern Lights had just been spotted so everyone rushed outside. It’s quite cold out and they look grey to the eyes but at least I’ve seen them. After we dropped the toddler off at night nursery we went out to look again and they had got brighter. We’re very much enjoying this trip so far and to see the Northern Lights is the cherry on the cake.