Fifer

28 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

On our very first time on Cunard, the wonderful Andrew Naylor asked if there was anything we would like the chefs to prepare for us. 
I have met others who as newbies were asked the same by their Head Waiters.

 

The Cunard I know does not seem to be the same as other Cunards.

I do apologise V2, but a minor correction is needed here.  You are, of course, referring to the undisputed King of the Flambé Cart, Andrew Nelder.  Like you, he was the first MD we met in the Britannia Grill on our first QE2 voyage.  He seemed absolutely determined to activate the smoke alarms at every opportunity - regardless of whichever meal it was.  A true Cunard legend!

9 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

No need  to stick anything.

Print the labels off and fold them into one of these, which we have been using for many years with the previously supplied labels.

http://www.thanetdirect.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=72&products_id=196

 

 

 

I too have been using these for many years and find them to be robust and very user-friendly.

More likely to be Odessa, if memory serves.  If so, then it was a pretty rare Black Sea voyage which included all three ports now mentioned in recent posts.  PS I was there!

57 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Well done @ExArkie. QE2 was on a charter for "The Open" in July 2000.

 

A further 28 ports submitted for the not-yet-seen list.

And I was on that trip.  Our first Cunard voyage and a joy from start to finish - and it finished with us being addicted.  It was a tender port, but at low tide not even the tenders could get in.  The Glasgow travel agents who chartered the ship probably lost their shirts as it was far from full - from memory there were about 200 of us who did the round trip.  Happy days!

I have now booked on QV for the Trieste to Southampton trip in September 2024.  28 nights, including an overnight in Istanbul and a host of interesting ports across Croatia, Malta, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Istanbul.  This one has the feel of an adventure!

I can offer a slightly different experience.  When I got off in February from our 28 days to the Caribbean, I did not receive a final bill, as is customary.  I though nothing of it as I had been monitoring my on board spend via interim bill printouts and expected the normal automatic charging on disembarkation day.  However, when my statement came in, I realised that they had not charged my card.  I felt no great need to pursue them on the matter - nice be on the smooth end with Cunard for once and not be left holding the sticky end.  However, all good things come to an end and last week I got the call from a "Revenue Specialist" in Southampton.  She initially suggested that perhaps my card had been declined and after a robust exchange, then offered profuse apologies for their failure to deal with the issue more effectively.  For my part, I was happy to pay my dues and just grateful that they called me and not vice-versa!

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

And wouldn't Caribbean come under CDC and touch American ports like San Juan?.

It doesn't have to.  We did the January Caribbean trip on QM2 and we never went near a US port.  Smart scheduling could offer a very attractive trip.  I'd go again in a heartbeat.

7 minutes ago, LadyL1 said:

The lunchtime menu is left in a folder in the room. One can view the evening menu at lunch in the restaurant.

As far as we can remember, we think we had book menus to view in January of this year.

On our QM2 Caribbean trip in Jan/Feb, the lunch and dinner menus were placed in our QG staterooms every morning whilst we were at breakfast.  No folder at that stage.

4 minutes ago, kohl1957 said:

We booked QV's wonderful sounding Central Mediterranean Cruise (19 days Oct 2023) whilst aboard and were amused that no fewer than three other couples in the Grill Lounge said they had done the same thing!

Make that two more bookings from the Grills Lounge!  I and my friend Phil & his partner both booked this one as well.  For us, it will replace a missed Venice trip in 2021.  If the weather is as good as we've just had, I'll be very happy. 

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Cunard have been using Queen Victoria for quarantine if numbers were too high (don't forget it includes crew) and it has worked extremely well.  Any problems would of course be voyage specific but Caribbean "evacuees" have been well looked after.

During my recent Caribbean voyage on QM2, I was told by more than one member of staff that QV is only being used for crew quarantine and isolation.  It is not, currently, staffed for passenger service.

I am on the January QM2 Caribbean trip and they have told me that we will be sailing at 80% capacity.

TA was successful in getting QG for the January trip.  Pals are next door and it feels good to have something to look forward to.  Fingers crossed that it remains doable.

I suspect the real problem will be in New York, especially given the historic insistence on all passengers disembarking and then reboarding.  Once one sets foot on US soil, then it is not clear to me what will happen; but it probably won't be good.  Currently the CDC restrictions on cruises make no reference to transit passengers.  I am sure Cunard (and Carnival) are trying to resolve this, but, right now, I'd say that is a considerable obstacle.  The odds are probably against the voyage taking place.

1 hour ago, Lanky Lad said:

Quite possible, but we will not talk about who we picked up there. 

We too were on that voyage and I recall the issue to which you refer.

54 minutes ago, Lanky Lad said:

 

Yes you are right.  It was Southampton, Newcastle, Queensferry, Greenock, Liverpool and back to Southampton.

We did an early QE one which called at Edinburgh, Invergordon, Greenock, Liverpool,  Dublin and Cork.  We had a connection with every port and had a wonderful time - and drank rather too much, rather too often.  Liverpool was a maiden call and we had a service in the cathedral, complete with Lesley Garrett, Simon Weston and the Band of the Welsh Guards.  Memorable!

Has to be Scarborough.  Of course, in those days Round Britain meant up the East and then down the West.  I wonder if that pattern will return?  Up and down the Irish Sea is not nearly as interesting.

I get to the home page and then this:

"We are currently experiencing difficulties with our internet-based facilities due to a technical fault. 

This is impacting our guests and also our Customer Contact Centre.

We are working as a matter of urgency and hope to have services back up and running by tomorrow morning. 

Thank you for your patience."

7 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

What the heck is a " proper charlie"?

In the UK, according to the Macmillan online dictionary, it is a word used to indicate that someone is unintelligent, stupid or silly; a fool, buffoon or clown.  Its origins are said to be from the cockney rhyming slang expression, Charlie Smirke (= Berk, which in turn is earlier rhyming slang; Berkley Hunt = the unmentionable - think about that next time you call someone a charlie or a berk...). Charlie Smirke was an English jockey, who was a leading rider and racing celebrity from the 1930s-50s.

As so often with Cockney rhyming slang, the logic of the derivation is not always obvious.  Whilst current levels of usage are hard to determine, it remains widely recognisable in the UK.  The connotations of its origins are clearly unfortunate, however they were not of my doing, so I hope no-one feels it necessary to make a song and dance about them.

There are, of course, alternative uses of the term 'charlie'; cocaine, for example, and as shorthand for the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.  The latter usage is said to be as a consequence of Victor Charlie being used as the military code name for the Viet Cong and subsequently being shortened to Charlie.

That is enough language history, I think, now can we get back to dress code infractions and dining disasters?

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

As to dry cleaning, presumably those worried about germ infestation do so regularly.

Otherwise they may look like proper charlies, as we say in the UK.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

 

I should have thought four in a fortnight was more likely. We had four in nine days, with four ports, on QM2 recently.

I note that we have four scheduled for our imminent 2 week Med voyage on QV.  However, that is what Southampton thinks will happen, the ship may have - and often has had - other ideas.

56 minutes ago, thinfool said:

She should read her cruise contract when it comes to lawsuits.

She’s a lawyer - apparently - so you would think she had done so.

When my wife needed oxygen on board, we were able to hire a concentrator for use in the cabin.  The company we used were well used to working with Cunard and both delivered the machine to the cabin and and collected it afterwards.  For us it worked very well.  It was discreet, quiet and removed any worries about continuity of supply and transport issues.  However, pre-voyage, we did have to complete a Mobility and Medical Questionnaire for Cunard's Accessibility Services department.  They gave us useful advice and can be reached at disability@carnivalukgroup.com.

I guess that Entertainment Manager (QM2) has to be the lovely 'Joanna Haley' who has been making that 'departure announcement' ( direct into guest staterooms) for a number of years. She is the epitome of the Cunard brand, along with Voyage sales Manager 'Dragana Prodanovic. :D

It was Amanda Reid, in fact. Slightly unusual to find her on QM2 as opposed to QE. I think it was the explicit reference to the dress code that was unexpected.

It has just been reported to me by a friend on board QM2 that, on departing Singapore yesterday, the Cruise Director's 'Welcome Aboard' address included a specific description of what is acceptable and what is not under the dress code. My correspondent - and i - have never met such a thing before. Perhaps there is some recognition of the reaction here and elsewhere to the new code. It certainly sets the ground for enforcement action - but I'm not going to hold my breath.

My wife swears by the Atlantic Mist - and her a confirmed G&T drinker!