Jack E Dawson

Good morning schattenfell71. How was the flight? Jack

Thank you for sharing Jacqueline and well done Cunard/Debbie. I keep thinking that we should do QG in the future and this only adds to the desire to do so. I hope you will share your cruise experience with us Jacqueline. Jack

And Britannia Club

Well done steve4031. Now comes the fun of planning and anticipating. Looking forward to your trip report in July. Jack (fellow Chicagoian)

Looks like the QM2 might run into some rough seas as result of Hurricane Fiona on its way into and/or out of NYC. If so, those onboard will have a whole new appreciation for the term "Ocean Liner". Would absolutely LOVE to be onboard. Jack

ears, I started your review sitting in my den in Chicago and quickly found myself transported to the Queens Grill of the QM2. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and descriptive review. Although still 4 years away, my wife and I are hoping to sail in QG for our 50th Anniversary. You have answered a lot of questions and have further heightened our desire to do so. On our Crossing this past May we spent a week in London before boarding the QM2. Like you we scheduled our booster 2 weeks before starting our journey. Again like you, we did not get COVID and we were far less cautious. I think that the timing of the booster played a big part in that. Thanks again for the great review. Jack

Would highly recommend candied ginger. We have owned small sailboats (10m) for almost 50 years now. We always give a piece of candied ginger to anyone who sails with us and has concerns about being sea sick. In all that time we have never had an occurrence. Jack

Wow, what a wonderfully thorough review. Even with 3 Crossings on the QM2, I learned a lot form your experiences. Can you tell me if seating at the bar in Golden Lion and Commodore Club is back? Thanks Jack

I'm impressed with your ability to adapt. Jack

Fish & Chips and a pint of London Pride Jack

Thanks for the review tonyd285, appreciate your objectivity. Wondering how intrusive you found losing an hour in the middle of the day (5)? We have only sailed westerly but are sometimes enticed by the lower pricing of the eastbound TA's. Thanks Jack

Then let me suggest one stop as a part of your birthday celebration, La Champagneria Barcelona – Cava at La Xampanyeria Barcelona. This is our favorite place in Barcelona for tapas and cava. It is a fun happening place frequented by locals and in-the-know travelers from all over the world. It is located at Carrer de la Reina Cristina, 7, 08003 in the Barceloneta area of Barcelona. Order a whole bottle of pink Cava and all of your tapas selections at once. It is usually crowded but you can eat outside. Closed Sundays. Jack

I am greatly enjoy your blog, thanks for posting. You guys are real troopers, especially considering your March cruise. If I understand your blog, you will be returning to Barcelona for a third time in approximately 8 days? If so, do you plan to spend any additional time there? Thanks, Jack

Your travel story is an important one and a lesson we should all heed. I'm hearing similar stories from friends. What if you had been in Denver or Chicago instead of Washington DC. The old adage of arriving at the embarkation port the day before departure may need updating to 2 or even 3 days before if traveling by air. I can't imagine how physically and emotionally stressful the whole ordeal must have been for the two of you. According to the US DOT, if United couldn't get you there on one of their flights they have committed to put you on another airline that could. They are exempted if it is weather causing the delays/cancellations but I don't recall all of the NYC airports being closed for 2 days during that time period. You might have a reasonable claim against United for the added travel costs. Here is the link to the DOT web site. Jack

Well done D&N.

In May there was a full bottle of my beloved Pol Acker in the little fridge when we arrived our cabin and then a second bottle appeared half way through the crossing. We had an unobstructed glass front balcony cabin and we are Gold Level. Jack

The short answer LittleFish1976 is YES, although I'm not sure who you are quoting above. And since confession is good for the soul, I will tell you that I also bring on board more that 1 bottle of wine because I can get away with it despite Cunard's stated restrictions. Actually I'm not suggesting anything to the OP but am telling them the fact that, in my experience, on Crossings, assigned boarding times are not checked or followed by the Cunard terminal agents other than for Grills passengers. In effect, Cunard is giving tacit approval to arrive a the terminal anytime you want in the same way they are giving tacit approval to bring on as much alcohol as you want. LittleFish1976, I love sailing on Cunard but as I have said many times before, there are 3 things they do poorly; website, embarkation and WiFi. On my first crossing in 2017 it took Cunard 4.5 hours to board ~2200 passengers. In May of this year it took Cunard 5 hours to board ~1600 passengers despite the fact that there was no more at-terminal testing, I had uploaded my photo, uploaded my credit card information and the cabin keys were already made up and waiting at the cabin. That's a little over 300 passengers per hour with a staff I estimate at 40-50 people. Really! Football stadiums can seat 70,000 fans in an hour. I've seen a single gate agent board a flight holding 300 in 30 minutes. But forget the in efficiency, Cunard has a responsibility to develop a logic for assigning boarding times, communicating that logic to the customer and then upholding that process. It seems to me they have failed at all three. The problem is not that passengers show up when they want, the problem is that Cunard does this part of their job poorly and they don't seem to really care that they do so. Sorry Pratt2, didn't mean to hijack your thread. Carry on. Jack

With all due respect to your TA, based on our 3 QM2 Crossings and the experience of friends, boarding is not done by deck. On the other hand, I haven't been able to see any rhyme or reason to the boarding time assignments (other than QG & PG). But the good news is that you and your sisters can all show up at the same time and board together. Assigned boarding times don't seem to be strongly enforced, if at all. We have never been asked about our boarding time during embarkcation. Hope you will share your Crossing experience with the rest of us and get ready for an amazing experience. Jack

Lakesregion, I just looked at the most recent QM2 reviews (appx. 20) in the Review section and all but one were written by passengers in Britannia. Here is a link to mine from May-22 Jack

2BACRUISER, I think you have hit the nail on the head. Every great business has a corporate culture that drives everything from strategic planning to day to day operations and it has to come from the top. I'm not even sure that the position of Cunard CEO/President has even been filled (or ever will be). I think the head of Carnival UK is currently taxed with that duty as his time permits. To a certain degree, I think it can be said that currently the corporate culture of Cunard is being driven by its core passenger base. Thanks for the excellent review and followup. Jack

LadyL 1 While I do not have the measurements for the under-bed storage area, I can tell you that we normally store 4 bags under the bed (pushed together configuration). Two of the bags, we call them our "checked" bags are 76.2cm X 48.3cm X 30.5cm. These bags are accepted by all major airlines for checked luggage. In addition, we also have two "carry on" bags that fit into the overhead bins on the airlines. We are able to store ALL 4 of the bags under the bed on the QM2. Hope this helps Jack

Thanks CPT and gentlemancruiser, good advice. We typically tank-up at the hotel breakfast then skip lunch when traveling to help offset European food costs or else by a baguette and some cheese. In any case, the price of wine in Europe is a great offset. Jack

Thanks lucky cal, good information especially the point about not taking the coach back to the hotel in Paris and Zurich. Jack

We are booked on the Viking River Cruise from Zurich to Paris starting April 5th for 11 nights. Currently holding our place with $25 deposit. This will be our first ever river cruise and were enticed by promotions offering free airfare (Chicago) and heavy onboard credit. However, we are having some second thoughts and would appreciate advice as we transition from Ocean to River cruising. 1. Is the weather going to be too cold to enjoy alfresco dining, sitting on the observation deck and sidewalk cafes. 2. We are a little turned off by being in a hotel the first 2 nights and last 2 nights (packing and unpacking). Will these hotels be in good locations? 3. We are also responsible for lunch and dinner and drinks those 4 days. Now wondering if this is still a good value despite the promotions. Thanks Jack

I hope this admission of a lack of sophistication doesn't cost me my sailing privileges on Cunard but while I had heard of a fish knife I really didn't know what one looked like until our recent crossing in May. I had fish almost every night for dinner and when I asked our waiter (Clark) about an extra knife at my place he graciously explained that it was the fish knife. It appeared to be a larger version of my butter knife which added to my confusion. Jack