tacticalbanjo

The internet is now provided by Starlink and we were seeing around 2.5-3Mbps down. Very reliable, no up and down speeds. I’ve seen speculation on another thread that the speed is throttled so that everyone gets more or less the same service all the time rather than one person being able to hog all the bandwidth. 
 

I managed to stream tv on my iPad with only a few buffering pauses. Very happy with the internet on board. 

4 hours ago, villauk said:

 @wowzz confirmed on his Easter cruise that Malbec was available on Sky. @Eglesbrech would you enquire if it’s still available since the dry dock please (I know you’d mentioned shortages of some items)? I only ask as there was not one bottle on Enchanted last year and I’ll bring my own if it’s gone off the wine offerings again. TIA.

I had a glass of Malbec in the Crown Grill tonight and my husband has had it in the MDR. Can be more specific than ‘Malbec’ though. 
 

This is my first Princess cruise having done 11 with Cunard. Some things like the room, the buffet and medallion (so good for travelling in a group) I really like. Others like slow service, fairly uninspired menus and general crowdedness I haven’t. 
 

I have my toddler with me and the staff have been excellent with her. 

Could it the reduction in formal nights be a money saving exercise? I know a lot of cruisers expect to see a higher level of food in the MDR on a formal night. So if you reduce the number of formal nights you also reduce the food bill. It's not much but when your ledger is billions in the red every little helps.

I also suspect that Cunard aren't as bothered about the opinions of existing passengers as they are about the opinions of potential passengers. It's no good catering only to your shrinking pool of existing customers to the exclusion of new passengers or you'll eventually go bust. So if potential passengers are saying that formal nights are offputting they'll get rid.

I was worried before my first trip with Cunard but find its something that I enjoy now. But I did have to buy a lot of dresses for that first trip because like most people my age, I don't own a lot of formal wear. It's just not called for these days.

I got one too. It's made the wait until my November trip to Norway on QV seem like that much further away.

I love dressing for dinner on the QM2 but if I didn't I'd still love the relaxed vibe, the great insight programme, the amount of space per passenger, sitting at the bar in the Golden Lion with a beer and a book, the uncertainty of how the Atlantic will behave and the sense of coming home I get when I step on board.

Honestly, with the way some people want to drive away customers who don't like things exactly like they do sometimes it seems like half this board don't actually want Cunard to be a financial success and remain a viable line long into the future.  

1 minute ago, Victoria2 said:

Technology wasn't available 'in our time' and so under those circumstances, we wouldn't have had our son sitting there for three courses but then drip feeding food worked for us, with the promise of 'The Pudding Trolley'!

 

The next generation are pretty similar but if any get 'lively', they get taken out so appropriate venues are chosen.

It works for our lot. How long for, we'll see. 🙂

It's the promise of the pudding trolley that makes me get the iPad out! I simply have to do my best to get to those delicious desserts 😄

7 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Not on my watch!!!

 

My bag was full of colouring books/Jnr Puzzler and tricks of the trade to keep children 'busy' if they got restless. Technology may have taken over for many, but table manners are still paramount in our family and technology has no place at our dining table, children or adults.

Believe me, I tried all the toys I could think of but my daughter likes to be moving and doing instead of sitting and they just ended up being flung on the floor which was disturbing for other guests. She wasn't a big eater at the time so food didn't distract her for long. The iPad ended up being the best tool for the job at that time (9 months old) but I expect to phase it out as she gets older and able to sit still for longer and take part in conversation more. We don't have technology at the table at home but we don't have three courses at home either.

2 hours ago, IB2 said:

Very brave to even consider it.  The best of luck….

In the weeks leading up to my baby’s first cruise I was so worried but we enjoyed it so much that we have four cruises booked over the next 2 years.
 

It’s so much less stressful than the airport if you sail from Southampton. You roll up with a car full of baby crap, get on board and it’s waiting for you in your room. You can take as much stuff as you like. You don’t have to worry about needing a car seat at the other end if you stick to walkable ports. 
 

There’s always a big variety of food available so you don’t have to worry about finding something to eat. My baby had chicken and veggies cooked specially for her every night. You don’t have to spend half the day searching for somewhere suitable to eat. 
 

There are toys on board and an evening baby sitting service for sleeping babies run by staff that are properly qualified. 
 

Many of the staff have children of their own and love interacting with kids. Many of the passengers have children and grandchildren and love interacting with kids. My baby soon figured out that she could wave as she was carried about the ship and gets lots of attention.

Sure, you might come across some people who disapprove of children being on board but they will be in the minority. As long as you aren’t annoying other passengers - swift exits if little one gets upset at dinner etc - then you are only enjoying something that Cunard themselves are advertising. The whingers can find an adults only line. 

58 minutes ago, IAH said:

Thank you for this! Really reassuring. Did you happen to use the pools at all? I read somewhere that under 2s aren’t allowed in any swimming pools so just checking this is the case? Our little one loves water!

Children in nappies aren’t allowed to use the pools on any cruise ship. There are splash zones on some Disney, MSC and (I think) Royal ships but no access to actual swimming pools. It’s a hygiene/disease spreading thing because swim nappies don’t absorb urine and draining a pool down at sea is so much harder than on land. 
 

I realise I should have said that the night nursery is until 11 not all night. Still long enough to have a few hours to yourself though.

I can’t help you with a toddler but I did take my then 11 month old on the QM2 in December and the QV in October when she was 9 months old. She was crawling and cruising on both trips so we were quite aware of making sure she wasn’t a nuisance to other passengers. We found that there always seemed to be one bar open that was quiet enough for little one to explore a bit without annoying any passengers or staff while we tag teamed drinking a coffee and baby wrangling. 
 

The children’s facilities are quite good. There’s a room with all sorts of baby and toddler toys for your little on to let off some steam in but they do need to be supervised by an adult. I can’t remember the exact times this is open but it’s for a few hours in the morning and afternoon. 
 

You can drop them off after 6pm to sleep in the night nursery which is the same room with travel cots put up. You get a pager and if your little one wakes up, you have to go collect them. The staff check on them every 10 minutes. You’ll know if you are likely to make use of it but if you can then I’d recommend it as a way to avoid being trapped in your room all evening in the dark being quiet. The staff are all UK qualified childcare workers and seemed really good at their jobs. 
 

We took our daughter to the main dining room each night and was able to get through 3 courses most nights with some cartoons on an iPad with the sound turned off and a bit of bread roll while we had starters. My daughter takes ages to eat so we could often get dessert down us while she was finishing her food. They were happy to cook her a meal from the menu each night without salt but we found it easier to just ask for a grilled chicken breast and some steamed veggies to be ready for her each night. We made sure she had a bit of variety via a buffet breakfast and lunch. Buffet also meant we could get food to her quickly.

If your toddler isn’t ok with a shower yet then you can ask for a baby bath. Our 11 month old had plenty of room to splash around in and play but she is on the smaller side. 
 

One of the biggest problems we had was that our buggy didn’t fit through the cabin door so we had to take our daughter out in the hall and fold it down to get it in the room. On our next cruise we’re taking an umbrella stroller.

You'd need to compare widths but my Baby Jogger City Elite was ever so slightly too wide to fit through our cabin door on Cunard which was a complete pain because we had to get baby out in the hall and collapse the stroller to get it in the room.

On 3/21/2023 at 1:47 PM, exlondoner said:

It might be worth asking nicely about the packages when you get on board. I seem to remember reading about a case where leniency (or common sense) had been applied in this matter.

Going back to this point. I have personally experienced this on a September 2021 sailing around the British Isles. My husband had the full drinks package while I only had the soft drinks package. However, I was visibly pregnant so it was clear that I would not be drinking at any stage of the trip.

I asked bar staff as soon as we got on board but it had to be run by the one of the bar supervisors so we couldn't actually buy the package until the next day which wasn't a problem since we would have struggled to drink the $69/$29 package costs on embarkation day. In fact, a lot of the bar staff were advising people not to buy on the first day because of this.

On a summer trip on QE my husband was unable to locate any cookies even after asking staff possibly because the buffet was closed between afternoon tea and dinner. I was 5 months pregnant at the time and cried from sheer disappointment. They really are that delicious.

It does indeed include those wonderful drinks and I thought they were the best mocktails available on board. I don't know about alcohol free beers as I didn't order any during my trip in September. I also recommend just asking the bar staff to make you a virgin version of what you fancy because I found the drinks on the normal mocktail list really sweet and a bit boring after a few days.

I was on QE on the 14th September trip and they only had 2020 bears available. I suspect that they already had large stock of 2020 bears before the break in service and need to get rid of them before launching any 2021 bears. I strongly suspect that there won't be any 2021 bears because of the cost of designing something new, producing it, launching it and selling through stock before the end of the year.

53 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I agree with your comment and as a daytime jeans wearer, would say I too dress above the required evening dress code including [very] high end separates on a couple of formal evenings as most dresses don't suit me. They are far more elegant than many dresses, just in case anyone thinks separates are  a bit of a no no. 🙂

Definitely separates aren't necessarily more casual than dresses but I've seen a lot that I would describe as being on the more casual end of the scale. I've seen more than a few dresses that I would say the same about!

31 minutes ago, Rob87 said:

Hi all

I was drawn to Cunard for its dressy evening attire and black tie nights so assuming my annual leave is approved we will be booking, however after reading this thread I'm not sure I understood the criteria.

 

We are 33 and 36 so I'm already worried we are too young, but on our last cruise in 2019 we met an older couple and did a few activities with them throughout the week and became quite friendly so i think we could fit in.

 

Anyway, back to dress code…. In the evenings my understanding is suit and tie / no tie with long sleeve shirts and then formal nights where its dress to the 9’s.

 

In the daytime though I want to wear jeans, shorts, flip flops, trainers and t-shirts but from reading this thread people would think we were stowaways as thats not how its done. Can someone put my mind at ease and tell me that in the day these are acceptable and loads of people do it.

I'm 34 and my husband is 36 and we've notched up 10 trips with Cunard over the past 6 years. We've always worn our regular jeans, t-shirts, trainers during the day and never felt out of place. We've always had a great time (which is why we keep coming back for more) and met some fantastic people. Don't be put off Cunard by the dress code police because it is a fantastic line.

I would say that we're some of the dressier at night but not the dressiest because some people really do go for it. I wear nice dresses on smart attire nights whereas a lot of women do seem to wear more casual separates. 

I was talking with my husband last night about how we both prefer a lot of things about the smaller ships (easier to navigate, better Commodore Club, better buffet layout, Gin and Fizz bar) but there's just something about the QM2 that makes it our favourite ship. I don't know whether it is the lavish public spaces, the atmosphere or the fact that when we sail on her we tend to pick TAs and have time to completely relax.

We're on QE next month and I'm absolutely itching to be back on board even if we have to wear masks and can't get off without going on an arranged excursion. But a big part of me is disappointed that I don't have chance to do one last childless hurrah on QM2 before my baby arrives in January and holidays become something very different.

Another here who buys open toe tights. I'm a big fan of tights with grippy soles too. You don't have to worry about losing your shoes!

Cancellation in case of an app ping is an interesting situation because legally speaking you do not have to isolate for a ping, only for a phone call by the NHS Test and Trace people. So, depending on T&Cs, your insurance company could deny the claim if they wanted to be evil. Obviously it is morally right that you should isolate for a ping so I would hope that insurance companies will pay out but I honestly wouldn't put it past insurance companies!

I plan to stay at home for the two weeks leading up to my cruise to make sure I can't be pinged or phoned as a close contact.

I was disappointed in the options available for my British Isles cruise in September both in terms of variety and cost. I get horrendous motion sickness so anything involving a coach is torture and a lot of the trips seem to be coach trips past various points of interest.

The only trip I wanted to do was already sold out (possibly because the attraction has timed entry still) despite regularly looking to see if the trips were available. Very disappointed that there is no trip to Culloden despite them saying in the blurb for Invergordon that it's nearby. And annoyed to see a walking tour of Liverpool ending in a pub when we can't walk around independently. I can't understand how that could possibly done in a socially distanced way when no rules will apply to anyone else in Liverpool. And at $85 a head. Must be the world's most expensive pub at the end of the trip!

I'll just be staying on board I think and hoping to revisit some of the ports at a later date. When we can sort out own, more interesting trip for less than Cunard is asking for. Annoyingly this will be my last cruise for a while because I'm expecting so I was very much hoping for the rules to be relaxed on cruises as they were relaxed on land. But I'm still excited to be getting on board - so long as I can get that doctors note to prove I'm safe to travel!

4 hours ago, ovccruiser said:

Don't really understand this as, according to the email received from Cunard, you have to provide a negative test at the terminal as well as proof of vaccination. So all boarding passengers should be covid free. 

Like most vaccines, the Covid vaccine isn't a guarantee that you won't catch it it just makes it much less likely. And unfortunately, there is a lag time between exposure and a positive test result so it is possible that someone could bring Covid on board if for example they were exposed during their trip to the port. These precautions will minimise the chances of this happening though.

7 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

To get the most of Mary2 I am booked on the BTB TA starting in Southamton April 24th- almost to they day two years after my canceled TA in 2020. Can´t wait.

I've just booked on the return leg of that trip. Watched some trip videos on YouTube last night to celebrate and found myself getting a little emotional. It's been so long since we've been on board and I know it will feel like coming home the moment we step on board.

5 hours ago, Fayecruises said:

i am somehow confused and disappointed I am a loyal Cunard guest   having done two world cruises in  2016 and  2020 Did I read this write   ---  Why are these sailings restricted to UK citizens  Why can;t US citizens who are fully vaccinated be allowed to sail  This seems like a slap in the face to Americana

I suspect it would be too awkward for Cunard to ensure non-UK guests travelled over in enough time to quarantine before the trip - at the moment anyone entering the country must self-isolate for 10 days vaccinated or not. Plus we don't currently know if UK citizens will be allowed to travel to other countries for leisure this summer so it wouldn't be a good look for Cunard to be bringing non-citizens over to fill up the few trips that are currently permitted to us.

I don't think you'll be able to do a round trip without spending time in New York - you'll need a vets visit for a GB health certificate and a wormer at least 24 hours but not more than 120 hours before check in.