D&N

Do the UK and US not have facility to book vaccination slots to suit the recipient? In this case advancing it to a date that would be far enough in advance to benefit from the extra immunity. As Victoria2 and exlondoner have said Cunard don't require it.

Hadn't been aware of International Cat Day. Bit of a waste of time as every day is a cat day. I came across some idiot writing that "they were once regarded as gods." We all know that they are gods, and they know that as well and demand to be treated as such. Hazel and Carmel had selected seats earlier that benefited from the air conditioning to keep themselves a bit cooler. We're a bit concerned about Carmel (Siamese) as she's not eating as much as we'd like. Not sure if it's just the heat. They were 13 on 25 & 26 January respectively with Carmel born about an hour after Hazel. In our experience that's quite old for small (6 to 7 lb) Orientals. They came from a rescue centre at 5 years old, but we were told quite a bit about their previous existence. Their teeth and gums were in an awful state, with result Hazel now only has one tooth left, which she broke soon after moving to France, leaving a stump. Her gums are now quite healthy. Carmel still has quite a few teeth and I had an idea of mounting a dish brush where she could rub her teeth/gums on it and that seems to be keeping her gum inflammation under control. They had been put in the rescue due to ganging up on their mother. However we only got that snippet of information when I went to collect them. We think Carmel attacked her mother who retaliated, Carmel screamed as if she was being murdered and Hazel came to her aid and attacked her mother as well. We quickly found out that Carmel wanted to attack our previous older Siamese who wasn't fit to retaliate. But we found that if we accidentally stood on Carmel's paw or tail Hazel would come running when she screamed and launch herself at whoever she thought was the culprit. We had to be vigilant while Cindy was still alive and thankfully had a way of splitting the house when we were out. We are committed to always having cats. We believe it's our duty to provide a home for up to 3 cats for as long as we are physically able to look after them. Although I'm not sure we'll bring another in until both of these two go. Suspect their response might be more prolonged than normal. They were with Cindy for 15 months and never accepted her. Anyway we all send greetings to the other lovely cats that have appeared here. although Hazel & Carmel probably hope they never meet them!

Possibly some folk might manage a Viennese to it. Far too fast for us, we'd trip over each others feet!

Cunard does not remotely compare to P&O in catering to British tastes. In 14 nights on P&O's Arcadia we were offered 14 differently named potato dishes. On QM2 we rarely had potatoes, although I'm sure they were available. Generally when vegetables were presented they could have been slightly longer cooked but were edible. Seasoning seemed well balanced, nothing tasted bland. We didn't feel we had been subjected to a "British" diet and probably more towards our regular Mediterranean style diet. We don't eat that much meat but none of the lamb, pork, beef or duck (I know it's poultry) we ate on QM2 was cooked beyond medium as we specified when a choice was given, and none of it was tough. Never been on QV, but nothing in the OP's report compares with our QM2 experience.

One of us being a 'Radley' fan (I quite like the wee dogs), we checked prices at start of crossing and thought they were slightly higher than my wife would pay at the Livingston Designer Outlet when she visits friends and family in Scotland. On day 3 a 25% off all handbags was publicised in Daily Programme, which made it worthwhile buying as they had a bag of a size and colour that suited. It would appear that it pays to wait until late in the trip to ensure that you don't miss out on such offers, assuming there is something you actually need or want.

There seems to be an update to the Wine List published on Cunard's (en-gb) website: https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/my-voyage/pdfs/qm/qm_wine_list_02a.pdf And it includes prices! The version I photographed on QM2 looks to be out of date. The Pauillac that we found excellent has gone from $72 to $85. Did they read my comment? An improvement for those on drinks package is that Chablis, Chianti and Rioja have been reduced to $12 per glass.

You may have tried this, but sometimes using a different browser solves the problem. A few days ago, couldn't get a final payment button to work on a webpage. Changing browser revealed a conditions checkbox that had been hidden on usual browser and when checked allowed the rest of the payment stages to proceed. Not had that experience as I too use a TA for Cunard. Our award winner appears to be 40 miles SSW of you.

It's doubtful that you can get a definitive answer to that question on this forum. It will depend on the conditions that apply to your reservation, which vary depending on the country it was booked through (website or travel agent). As far as I can see "CunardCare® guest protection" is a US product and I can't research it further on the Cunard US site without using a VPN. Third party comment on it suggests it provides much less cover than a UK policy, which would generally cover stuff like being airlifted from the ship in case of a medical emergency. Suspect if you're a US resident you won't be able to buy UK insurance from most companies. You are best to ask Cunard directly.

Going by date quoted; this is probably not relevant. In France, Cunard's approved scheme only covers medical expenses of €150,000 worldwide p/p. I think that could be used up very quickly if you had a serious accident in US. Holiday Extras don't sell to expats. Eventually Staysure organised a Spanish underwriter after Brexit and offered UK style £10m cover. Interestingly though, the French offering includes up to €50,000 cancellation p/p, which might have suited a recent question on another post, but only available to European residents or those of French overseas territories.

French Fries here (frites) should be real potatoes very finely sliced. We cheat and buy frozen oven fries/chips. Certainly not reconstituted but various things added for flavour and surface texture: [Potatoes 90% - sunflower oil 5% - wheat flour - rice flour - wheat starch - salt - yeast extract - dextrose - spice extracts (paprika - turmeric) - baking powders: diphosphates, carbonates of sodium - stabilizers: xanthan gum, diphosphates - antioxidant: rosemary extracts.]

There have been several posters agreeing with this. We experienced it and had a friendly word with Jack & Esther (assuming they were still onboard). But we got impression that their playlist was approved by Cunard and they had limited scope to deviate from it. Strictly Come Dancing and it's various international spin-offs do it as well. It's one of my pet hates. It doesn't make us instinctively want to jump up on the dance floor.

What was your excursion at Villefranche?

Thanks @MarkBearSF, We didn't find any time for shows. That will be the case as long as we can find a dance venue of any sort. We established a routine that just fitted into our day. It was challenging to continue it in the shorter days eastbound. But we'll follow the exact same routine next time. None of the paid for eating venue menus appealed to us either. We have no need for shuttles & transfers. Photos suggest the concierge lounge doesn't have a machine capable of making an americano to my taste and I don't see Tea Forté for my wife. We avoid snacking between meals. I'm sure most folk find it very useful. Regarding pursers desk service, we found phoning them to be more effective.

I found two of the folk I dealt with at the purser's desk to be fairly curt in their responses, but were able to answer the questions put to them or carry out the request, well at least partially. I bumped into an officer sporting, I think, a "Food & Beverages Director" badge beside a very busy queue/line and took the opportunity to have a word about something that particularly annoys me and appears to be Carnival policy. He was very dismissive. Whether that was because of the scenario in which we held the exchange or simply as it was a Carnival policy that he had no control over, I don't know. I wasn't impressed by that, but it was the only time I came across him in 2 weeks. Everyone else was very pleasant and with exception of one waiter who hadn't figured out how to make an americano coffee all knew what they were doing. We came across one issue. They have a system in lounges where if you have said you don't want further service they clear the table and place a single paper napkin on the table. This indicates your status to other waiters and they don't annoy you by continually asking if you want anything else. That backfired once. We'd finished our aperitifs and were about to head for diner. Our table neighbours had just come into the lounge and sat across from us. As we were vacating our 2 window seats, they replaced us as we got up. The waiters obviously didn't see our manouvre and due to the napkin thought they didn't require service. When they eventually flagged down a waiter they promptly removed the napkin whilst taking their order. We discussed this later at table and one of the waiters confirmed the system when we asked about it that night. Perhaps something to bear in mind if one quickly grabs a recently vacated table. Doubt I would do PG or QG. It may be irrational but I feel very uncomfortable with staff running after me. I have never had cause to use a concierge in a hotel and can't see why that would be any different on a ship. A polite note to our room stewardess achieved anything we required.

I thought it would have been useful if the daily bulletin was published on the app. I mentioned it to a lady on the Purser's Desk one day we passed and it was unusually quiet, and she said it was being worked on. She didn't volunteer a time frame. Like others I found it useful to monitor on board spend charges, particularly some early charges that should have been covered by the drinks package, and took two requests to purser's desk to fully remove.

Ah of course. Their Mayor, who is a socialist ecologist, has recently been reported as wanting to ban cruise ships on days when pollution is high. Quite how any cruise line can plan for that I don't know. Some reports point out that Marseille doesn't supply enough shore power facilities for the ships equipped for that, meaning they need to keep power plants running in port. So if they invested in that they could cut pollution without losing revenue.

No use to you then. We'll probably visit Île Sainte-Marguerite in next few weeks, with our usual picnic. Aiming to get to a cove at south-east of island for just after 10 am (about 2.4 km walk). Shores are mainly rocky rather than beaches, which makes water very clear for swimming and there's some tree shelter from sun. It would be very do-able from a cruise ship. Ferries leave from virtually where tenders drop off at Quai Laubeuf/Quai Saint-Pierre and take about 15 mins. There are southern shores within 1.1 km of drop off point, although best spots get taken early. Paths are wide and reasonably flat, although none of them are paved, so buggies and wheelchairs with small wheels would struggle. Anchorage on south between Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat is very popular with small boats and there was even a pizza catamaran! Don't know if they deliver to shore or just takeaway for boaters. It also has the: Fort Royal, where The Man in The Iron Mask was imprisoned for those seeking culture. We've done that so only go for the swim/picnic. There are a couple of restaurants on the north nearer the jetty. Elton John staged an impromptu performance beside the DJ in the more expensive one last August.

Do you have Cannes as a port call?

We used to make an annual 'wine' trip from Hull to Zeebrugge. We picked up Belgian cellular services from a couple of miles off coast. WARNING!!! If you do set a phone to allow roaming, change Network Selection to Manual, otherwise it will automatically connect to the satellite network and it won't take long to incur a substantial data bill. Better still, switch off the sim cards or use airplane mode unless you are monitoring what it is connecting to. Didn't have that problem on Pride of Bruges and Pride of York as they had no satellite connection.

I have a VPN subscription that would have let me view the TPTV version, but it's sometimes simpler to search for other versions with the film title. A UK VPN connection sometimes upsets French web pages.

I may have found the same video. "Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Shopping for a Queen 1959" found on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__2vOLtNPg0 I used Realplayer Downloader to get a local copy to watch tomorrow.

Today was our most ambitious hike so far; 16.85 km between rail stations of Anthéor-Cap-Roux and Théoule-sur-Mer, through the Esterel massif. Went equipped with 2.5 litres of water and some filled brioche rolls and a little wine for a picnic. 1.5 litres of water was frozen to help keep everything else cool. Was 30C+, hot and dusty. Kms 2 to 6 and a couple of kms towards the end, paths would be described as difficult; narrow, steep, loose surfaces and lots of trip risks. Making those bits slowest but most interesting and often offering more shade from sun. Highest point was 422 metres, but as we climbed up and down various hillsides the total climb was much greater. Photos include start, various waypoints and views, picnic spot and end, where we look somewhat more dishevelled than at the start! Hard going but quite satisfying, lots of striking views. But not the sort of thing you could do on a days activity from a cruise ship.

The actual webcam is mounted on a building at the perimeter of a marina a little bit further south from the 'Gare Maritime' that the tenders take passengers to and from. It pans through various views including the anchorage where QM2 was berthed and picked up some of the tenders passing the marina. One of the views is of a barrier entrance to the marina from the road outside. We had suggested to bluemarble that we would pose at the barrier so that he might spot us from his screen in Iowa. When he re-wound the feed he couldn't find us because the recording was an hour out. I captured the various frames of us approaching and at the gate and leaving (the 2 folk in hats). As I said, not that interesting, other than briefly between bluemarble and ourselves.

Hi @exlondoner, Hope you're feeling better. It would seem so judging by your other postings! When you get the time can you have a look at the video and let Hattie know you have? It's not really that interesting or funny. Was just that bluemarble was watching for us.

I would agree that it's nice to have a thread like this for stuff that's not directly cruise/Cunard related. I had a look for some of the other threads. It looks like it hasn't taken off on all lines. P&O UK seems to have far more posts than any other line, and I think Cunard is next. It is interesting to read what is happening to folk in other parts of the world and meet their animals. I hope something similar can continue. Incidentally we're still in heatwave conditions here (with an odd day that's just classed as close to it). We didn't actually use A/C in the living area on Friday. Taking a hike in The Esterel tomorrow so may have some photos. Cats are generally lounging about in stretched poses to keep as cool as possible. Hot conditions are expected up to mid August at least.