whyohwhyoh

Have any of you ever used Cunard (or others) to relocate across the pond? What are your experiences with that?

Yes, my family relocated via the QM2 from California to Scotland in the fall of last year.

We rented a small SUV and drove from California to New York taking about 2-3 weeks visiting family along the way, and dropped the luggage off at the terminal before taking the empty car to the rental check in at JFK. ...Then a taxi back to the ship. We had about 500 lbs worth of luggage in our QM2 cabin for our family of 4 moving house across the pond. 8 large suitcases, and several hand carry backpacks. On the QM2 you can take as much luggage on board as you want, as long as you can fit it in your cabin. We had them remove the small table and chair in the cabin to allow for more room to stack luggage.

On one crossing I actually brought along my road bike, tucking it underneath one of the beds.

We are now doing the return on the Dec 15th crossing. But this time since we know exactly where we are heading, we are shipping 250lbs worth of stuff back to California, to make our journey a bit lighter.

whyohwhyoh

I can understand it might have been a pain for you but I'm quite pleased to hear that they do check suspicious looking items.

My only concern was that there was no one available to direct passengers to where to collect bags. So we just wandered around the ship asking crew and clueless security until we happened across the location. The notice should clearly state where to collect, that is the only issue I had. Perhaps it was a new process that day. But I enjoyed the scavenger hunt of the lower decks... Not so much the other passenger I bumped into. I'm there to just cross the pond as transportation, he was there to enjoy his cruise... and wasting time wandering lower decks for 30 minutes before send off annoyed him apparently.

--

whyohwhyoh

If you don't mind, what item of yours were they interested in?

My guess is any large quantity of metal that might be hiding a gun? I had a small bag of tools in my suitcase, couple of pliers, screwdrivers, a metal box cutter, picture hanging wire/nails, etc. Once they saw it they let me zip it up and they sent the bag to our room. We had over a quarter ton of luggage on board as we were moving house across the pond.

The other passenger had a nice set of woodworking Forstner bits.

--

whyohwhyoh

I have heard there is a long delay in delivery.

The only time I had a an issue was when one of my bags was sent to security on a 2015 Redhook embarkation. I wound up wandering the ship asking various crew and security staff where to go, and couldn't find anyone who knew what was going on or where to go.

I finally found the location, on the other side of the security entrance for crew on a lower deck, and bumped into another passenger on the same scavenger hunt I was on, but he was raging at about 100X my level. There were about a dozen or so bags waiting for passengers to claim and open in front of security before sending to your cabin.

Anyway, this is one area that QM2 could improve.

--

whyohwhyoh

thank you for your quick replies.

Pool looks good....I assume it's heated!

Yes the free Pavillion pool on Deck 12 is indoors and heated. (Actually has a sliding roof so can be outdoor in warmer climates), but I've never seen it open.

We will be traveling with our 8 and 11 year old children on the Dec 15th crossing to New York (my 11 year old's 8th crossing! so we know the ship well from all the young ages). There is usually a pretty good mix of ages, but I'm expecting the total number of children on the Dec 15th crossing to be quite low.

The G32 disco you asked about is decent. Live band in the evening, and the small dance floor will get going after 10pm. My wife has a good time.

--

whyohwhyoh

My family has used the QM2 to voyage to Europe many times... minimum 8 weeks stay, currently on an 18 month stay in Scotland, and will return back state side at the end of this year. (our family's 8th QM2 crossing)

One can request the cabin steward to remove the small table and chair(s) from your stateroom which then allows one more room to store luggage. We have put 8 very large suitcases in our stateroom, and once crossed with a bicycle that I disassembled in the cabin and fit under one of the beds.

--

whyohwhyoh

There are no porters or luggage carts at Victoria Coach Station; you and your wife will have to carry all your luggage from the taxi drop off point to the assigned gate for the Cunard coach.

Although Victoria Coach Station is a disgrace to such a fine city, there are actually a couple porters who could help out, one just might need to wait until they notice you waiting. I'm only responding to state there are actually porters available if needed for others reading along. Recently they charged 10 pounds to move eight large 50 pound bags from arrivals to departures.

However, if this is your 25th anniversary, I don't recommend transferring through Victoria Station. You will feel like you are in a 3rd world country as the bus station is extremely cramped, limited porters, one must go outside in the elements to go from arrivals to departures, etc. London really needs to upgrade this very busy and important bus station.

--

whyohwhyoh

Is there a way to view/use the USA Cunard website from the UK?

We took the QM2 across the pond to the UK a few months ago and now want to return later this year back home to the US. When I go onto the Cunard website it seems all the cruises are with flights, which of course we don't need as we are traveling one way. Of course there are other sites to get info from, but I'm wondering if there is a way to view the USA Cunard site. Like a special link or something. Perhaps I'm not savvy enough.

Curious.

--

whyohwhyoh

Chips are on the kids menu so still "on menu".

Anything off the kids menu should be readily available.

--

whyohwhyoh

Once you and in the atlantic there will be no satellite signal. For some reason the TV companies don't generally transmit to the open ocean :)

Last summer they aired every single World Cup match in the Golden Lion Pub as we crossed the Atlantic Ocean. So certainly they had a proper satellite signal for the entire Atlantic crossing.

--

whyohwhyoh

I just hand both over and let immigration sort out what they want to do.

That is our plan, just hand both to the UK immigration officer on board. I googled the heck out of this and couldn't find any info on this for transatlantic cruises.

We need to enter the UK on the French passports to be allowed to work, and stay longer than 6 months. But we are required to leave the US on the US passports per US government requirements and Cunard. We tried entering info online to leave New York on our French passports and Cunard called us to state that this is not possible for US Citizens, and sure enough I looked it up and they are correct.

This is the 1st time we are doing this, as in the past we always stayed less than 6 months in the EU, and had no intention of working etc. so just used all our US passports.

I believe the reason Cunard states only using 1 passport, is to prevent people from using different passports at different ports on a World Cruise for example. This could be advantageous as you could select a passport that best fits each country, visa costs, etc.

--

whyohwhyoh

In addition, If you are traveling as a couple, each of you gets the free internet time based on your World Club status.

 

Bob

But unfortunately not our children. Although, we did talk them into it once.

--

whyohwhyoh

Interesting thread. In our case we have both US and French passports.

On our next transatlantic when we leave the USA we are required by the US gov to use our US passport. Then we will use our French passports for entry in the UK, which actually occurs somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic.

Couple of questions for those that are dual (US/EU) citizens.

1. Do we need 6 months on our US passports on departure? I'm doing this to be safe, but couldn't find out for sure. Cunard won't accept our US passport in the system without 6 months.

2. Somewhere it states in Cunard literature that you can only use one passport on board; however, a transatlantic is unique in that disembarkation immigration occurs on board, not at the port. So we need to show our French passport to the immigration officer to get a proper entry into the EU.

--

whyohwhyoh

Perhaps this major overhaul is being done in two phases. 2 separate dry docks in 2016.

--

whyohwhyoh

Yes, very civilized.

...And I'd go a step further and state that Cunard is one of the best lines to travel with children of any age.

We have traveled on other lines, Celebrity, Carnival a few times and I've found the children amazing on QM2 crossings. I actually have carried out interesting conversations with various teenagers, and the children tend to be more well behaved of all ages.

In addition, on most QM2 crossings you are not flooded with masses of children like on a Disney or Carnival cruise, which likely tends to keep things better controlled. Also on QM2 crossings it seems that all the children staff are UK citizens who are getting child care experience for future jobs, and are truly engaged and thoughtful caretakers.

--

whyohwhyoh

Here is a video of our family's crossing last summer. Skip in about 45 seconds to get to the QM2 portion. We were traveling from northern California to Edinburgh last summer.... we don't fly, this is part 2.

--

whyohwhyoh

bringing our three sons with us. Our biggest concern is whether there will be enough to keep them happy. The younger two will be 8 and 10 and the oldest will be 14.

 

But if we don't have a couple of hours where the younger two can go roar around with other kids and do arts and crafts and stuff then its not going to be a very relaxing voyage for my husband and I!

My children have crossed the pond at all sorts of ages over the years on the QM2, and we are crossing again in a few months. My now 10 year old son is truly looking forward to his 7th crossing. Cunard has a great program for at least your 8-10 year olds, but it depends on their interests. They keep them very busy with various fun activities, free time with computer games, hockey on the deck, crafts, board games, etc. The staff are truly wonderful and have a great time with the kids. You will have to check your 8-10 yo out for an hour or so for lunch and dinner, and in the summer they close a little later ... around 11PM? I think... usually watching a movie late at night or playing video games. But overall my kids beg to spend their time in the children's zone; although I make a strong effort to spend time with the kids playing "tennis"/paddle ball, ping pong, ring toss, going to the pool, shuffle board, (and basketball back in the day when they had the court), and also boardgames on oceanview boardgame row, watch a movie in the theater (e.g. Lego Movie), planetarium etc.

Your 14 year old could get bored, but it really depends on the kid. The gregarious type 14 yo typically have a blast as they hook up with some similar aged friends... especially on a July crossing.

--

whyohwhyoh

6-8 bags should be no problem. We will be taking 8 ~20kg bags across the pond later this year. We usually have them remove any small tables and chairs in the room for more space, if needed.

I've even rolled my bicycle on board a crossing.

--

whyohwhyoh

I've used baby monitors as well on various cruises. Worked fine.

--

whyohwhyoh

7.traveling with kids...how bad can it be or get? 1 year old and 4 year old. we'll be lugging around with large suitcase, 2 car seats, and strollers (would my 4 year old need a stroller)? - can't be that bad right?

My family will also be moving to the UK later this year in the fall, using the QM2 as our chosen mode of transportation (wife doesn't fly). (yes we have our passports ;-) This will be my 10 year old's 7th crossing. He crossed at 0yo, 1yo, 6yo, 8yo, and 9yo. And his sister is 2 1/2 years younger. So we have crossed with a wide range of ages. My kids truly enjoy the kids zone; however, the 1 year old will not be allowed alone. I believe they changed this recently to 2 years old???

The suitcases fit well under the bed, there is actually quite a bit of storage there so use it as needed. For strollers, we prefer to try and book rooms at the end of corridors "dead ends" as this allows us a bit more freedom with strollers, and less traffic.

1yo and 4yo will be challenging on a crossing for sure. The 4yo will be in the kids zone, but you will need to tend to the 1yo 24/7. We used to put a baby monitor in the stateroom during naptime, and sit just outside the room and read a book. (hence the value of the dead end corridor). Now we prefer to be located near the kids zone, but not on the same floor as it.

Bring all the diapers you think you would possibly need. For a 1 year old, we would also bring a weeks worth of his/her food just in case. The buffet will be your friend, having a 1 year old. I also bring kids medication for fever, etc. I'm sure they have medicines available, but nice to have the brands you know well.

I remember one time actually crossing with only 1 stroller, and purchasing one in Southampton at a nearby BabysRUs on arrival. Carseats fit in the bottom of the closets for the crossing. It's gonna be a full cabin.

For our crossing this year we will be bringing 8 full size suitcases (max we can take onward on buses once in the UK), so it will be tight for us as well. But we always seem to manage.

--

whyohwhyoh

Since our family doesn't fly, and we have friends and family in Europe, we have made the round trip crossing 3 times over the past 9 years. Usually we stay for 1-2 months.

Heading over again this fall, but hoping to stay for a year or so this time!

--

whyohwhyoh

Video: Chicago to Edinburgh via QM2 with our 2 children

June 2014

Had a blast crossing with my 6 and 8 year old. My son's 5th TA crossing.

--

whyohwhyoh

Thanks for all the kind comments. Our family loves to travel as much as possible. If you think an inside QM2 cabin is small check out an Amtrak cabin... this was my son's 7th cross-country train ride, and always have a great time.

Here is Part 1 for those interested. Zephyr from California to Chicago...

--

whyohwhyoh

Video: Chicago to Edinburgh via QM2 with our 2 children

June 2014

Had a blast crossing with my 6 and 8 year old. My son's 5th TA crossing.

--

whyohwhyoh

I took a quick look as well, and it does seem true that QM2 has very limited balconies for 4 people. Only the larger suites.

We have traveled on QM2 as a family of four a few times on TAs, with another round trip coming up for a summer trip to Europe. But we prefer inside cabins for complete darkness, so never noticed that was pretty much all that was available. Our children will be 6 and 9 this summer. 9yo 3rd round trip, 6yo 2nd round trip to Europe. Never had any issues with traveling on QM2 as a family. The kids club works great, and is usually not that crowded. Swimming pools are nice. Various sports activities, etc.

I do know that 4 person cabins do fill up early occasionally, and even on Carnival we were unable to book a "round trip" to Hawaii due to completely sold out 4 person cabins.

--

whyohwhyoh