AnnintheGarden

I am leaving very soon and wanted to know:

if they have clothes steamers in the rooms. I am in a Q on the QM2 on 7/7

if dry cleaning service is available

if they offer shampoo and blowouts and manicures onboard 

Wow. That is so strange! I would have thought they would all have arrived as so many people have mentioned this. Ok so we will just hope for the best.

I understand you can send mail from the QM2 by putting your letter or postcard in a mailbox.

I wanted to know if you are able to purchase postcards and postage on the QM2 and if so where?

My girls would like to send their father postcards.

Thank you @Underwatr — so the Food & Beverage Manager oversees that part of the madness on the QM2. Amazing. I wonder what that job is like and how long people stay in that role.

Has as anyone ever met the Food & Beverage Manager on their cruise? I wonder if he has nightmares about running out of Beef Wellington. What a huge operation.

I am curious to know who is in charge of dining and wine on the QM2 - the crew hierarchy (chef and sommelier etc. to server).

Perhaps an experienced traveler will be able to explain. It is such an enormous undertaking with so many restaurants, buffets and teas. I would be so interested to learn more.

I apologize if this was explained elsewhere on another thread.

22 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

 

May one suggest the immediate defenestration of your TA with some vigour.

Look my agent was correct:

”Unfortunately,  the ship is not accepting any request's for July 07 or Aug 11 voyages these are blacked out voyages for ship's own activities.”

I phoned the Cunard Customer Care number and the woman who answered was astonished.

she said it absolutely is possible. She said she could not understand why my TA was being told it was not possible.

she encouraged me to email Cunard Onboard Services so I have just done so.

if anyone else has any ideas please let me know.

This just from my agent:

Venues are committed to ship board activities so there are no groups large or small that can place in party /meeting requests.   

My agent just said that it is only available for some cruises and asked if those who have attended these private events had them at a certain time of year. 

I am going to give her all of these comments.

My agent just said that it is only available for some cruises and asked if those who have attended these private events had them at a certain time of year. 

I am going to give her all of these comments.

Ok - I told my agent she cannot possibly be correct and asked her to check again.

I was just informed by my agent that the only option is to entertain in our suite and we can accommodate perhaps 10-12.

I was quietly astonished she was telling me this now as I have been quite clear all along regarding the fact that we will be entertaining. 

So so does anyone know definitively if entertaining in the suite is the only way? 

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with arranging a cocktail party during their trip.

I am curious as to the best days and times — (I know not to conflict with formal evenings at least and I would like it a bit later in the trip in case I meet a few other people I would like to invite)

Where are these normally held on the ship?

How was the catering handled?

I would appreciate tips and suggestions.

We are in Q. We head out on the July 7-14 from NY to Southampton and return on the August 11 trip from Southampton to NY.

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

It's unlikely to be very warm, but, more significantly, there will always be a wind, particularly westbound. Even a mild 15 kt wind, plus the speed of the ship at 20+ generates a near gale,  so you'll want something to keep your arms warm.

Thank you so much! 

What about footwear when walking on deck? 

Finally, what do people wear the day of embarkation? 

I was wondering how cool or even chilly it would be on deck for this time of year — July-August NY to UK and back again. I am packing for myself and two girls and am not sure how many jackets and long sleeve tops to pack.

As far as formal wear this has been very helpful. I will bring the more form-fitting gowns and leave the full skirted gowns at home. 

2 minutes ago, MarkBearSF said:

I was a total novice, who even makes a mess painting walls. By the end, I had learned techniques and was feeling comfortable, but didn't paint anything that was a real painting. Yet. I've intended to practice at home, but haven't. However, I'll be joining the classes on our next crossing.

To answer the question on brands, i just dug out my bag. The watercolors are Windsor Newton. The brushes are also Windsor Newton "Cotman" brand. The pencil is from Conté à Paris.

Thank you very much!

I was wondering if experienced travelers would share suggestions for wardrobe. We will be traveling in July NY to Southampton and then August back again.

I know we will have three formal occasional and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share photographs of what they wore. I assumed initially that I would simply pack a few gowns but then read so many people say they wore black pants and a nice top — now I am wondering if what I think of as formal is too dressy.

I am also wondering how cool it will be in the evenings etc. 

Do people dress up for theater or only on formal evenings?

We are in QG although I am not sure that makes much of a difference when it comes to dress.

What brand of paint is that? Just curious.

I am curious to know — what materials did the $35 kit include?

14 minutes ago, Whirled Peas said:

The Queens Grill dining room has some tables in the rear, behind the maître d' station, that are away from the majority of diners and look to be much quieter.  Although the QG tends to be a fairly quiet restaurant all around, as restaurants go.  Speak to the maître d' on the afternoon of embarkation about getting you a quiet table.

 

Speak to your butler to figure out how best to keep your suite quiet.  The suite walls are not overly thin, but you can hear activity in the neighboring suites sometimes. 

 

The QM2 is a huge ship, and there are lots of out of the way places on board where people curl up with a good book, a chess board, what have you.  In my experience, it never feels crowded or excessively noisy.  The grills sundeck is quite large and usually not too loud.  Same is true for the open decks on top of the ship.

 

How old is the child?

She will be 12 years old. 

I will be traveling for the first time on Cunard on the QM2 in QG with a child who suffers from Mesophonia. Noises can be upsetting to her and as we three will be sharing a room she will have no place for retreat.

I will bring a small white noise machine, but does anyone have other suggestions? 

Are the rooms sometimes times quite loud in the evening?

Are there times and events that could be overwhelming? Things to avoid?

I plan on having us breakfast in our stateroom to give her a calm start to the day. 

Thank you so much for tips Bigmike911. This is very good information. I did not realize the meal was a perk of that program. As this is my first trip I had not bothered to look into how that rewards program works yet.

1 hour ago, kentchris said:

 

 

This was the cake stand for the Grills afternoon tea on QE in December 2017, served in the PG restaurant. Sandwiches and top-up cakes etc were served separately. The scones on the top level were accompanied by Rodda's Cornish clotted cream and Bon Maman strawberry jam. It was slightly odd that there was only one of each cake/croissant on a table set for two, but we just about coped.

 

Fantastic pictures! Thank you so much.

So menu items include:

scones with clotted cream and jam

croissants

tea sandwich options could include:

(salmon, tuna, chicken) 

(egg salad)

(cucumber and cress)

cakes and pastries

I wonder if we would be able to request no meat or fish for ours? Has anyone had luck with that!