Queenvee

rj1227 - Re: your pre-cruise travel....I always plan several weeks of land travel before sailing back to the US.  It's a great way to end a trip!  This year I'm spending time in France but other years have done Glasgow, London, Basel, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Barcelona as pre-crossing vacations.  A tip - I always plan to arrive in SOU the day before the ship sails since these days air travel & weather can be uncertain.  I stay at the Premier Inn West Quay which is reasonably priced and near a large shopping center if you need to buy anything before boarding the ship.  A LOT of cruisers stay there, so don't wait too long to make a hotel reservation!  If you haven't been to Southampton before, there's enough to do for a day - walk the old city walls, go to the Titanic museum (it has a new name & location but is well done) and more.  Could always go to Portsmouth for the day.  (I just returned from a QE voyage, SYD-TOK, which I bracketed with a week in Sydney before and two weeks in Tokyo after; I wish I had been sailing home from TOK!)

rj1227 - I'm glad you raised the topic since I think it is a great offering by Cunard and they don't do a good job at publicizing their event voyages (and their website makes it difficult to find anything....😞).  They offer about six themed cruises including the National Symphony Orchestra, Theatre at Sea, English National Ballet, wellness and culinary - I just google Cunard theme cruises to get to the Cunard site.  

You may also want to visit the Roll Call for this cruise; Roll Calls on listed on the Cruise Critic main board site toward the bottom; select Cunard, then QM2 and you'll see a specific post for this cruise (I think that because it's part of a 4 week roundtrip from SOU, this one leg is included in the post for the full 4 week trip - just look for the post with the Nov 13, 2024 start date in the title).  Roll Calls are useful spots for exchanging info about ports, logistics, specific questions and meeting people; some Roll Calls are more lively than others but all are worth checking out.

Agree with bluemarble that I received a link to the program schedule about a month before embarkation date.  Every passenger received a hard copy booklet of the program by the first evening on board.  Just a side note that although the initial Festivals were westbound (NYC to SOU), they changed the Festivals to eastbound.  This was discussed in a panel and the Times folks explained that the time changes (losing time going east) caused too many problems with scheduling events so they made the decision to have all Festivals be westbound.  

The current list of speakers for the 2024 Festival includes wording such as "currently scheduled" because apparently there are changes in speakers up to a few months before sail date. 

Attached is the Literary Festival at Sea program for the 2023 crossing.  It's not nearly as nice a scan as bluemarble's 2019 program (attached above) but I have an inexpensive scanner!  Hope this is helpful anyway!

QM2_Lit_Fest_2023.pdf

rj1227 - I'll find the Festival program from 2023 and will scan/post the relevant pages tomorrow.  The costs are minimal - I feel like they were $35 or so but the prices are in the program.  BTW, I'm a solo traveller and enjoy the ability to meet people easily for a chat OR get away from everyone and find a spot to read or stare at the water.  While the ships do offer "solo get-togethers", I don't find them worthwhile (although I give them a try every 7 cruises or so) - and as a solo male traveller I think you would be twittered over at those events 😉.  But crossings are not for everyone.  Sometimes I've found that on a given voyage, I just don't click with the passengers - don't know why, but I just don't, so I accept that the voyage will have more "me" time and that the next cruise will be a different experience...and it invariably is.  

In a sense, you can think of the Festival crossing as not having sea days since you can be busy attending Festival sessions from 9:00 am to 4:30, with a brief break for lunch.  That's what I do, to the point where I feel like I'm missing out on my normal TA activities such as trivia and staring at the water.  

Hello Daisymabel 😁!!  I agree, QM2 is the best dance floor at sea.  I think you'll be on her again soon, so enjoy those crossings.

I am a solo traveller and ballroom dancer so here's my two cents:  Most nights, there is pre-recorded ballroom dance music played in the Queens Room for 45 minutes, starting at 7:30 or 7:45 (I forget the specific time).  During this period, it's never crowded so you would have plenty of room; there may be 5 or 6 (at the most) other couples on the floor but that leaves plenty of room. (Some of those other couples are beginners and others are experienced dancers.)  During the main ballroom dancing session with the band, there are two quieter times - when the session begins and the final 30-45 minutes.  Any "Gala" night - whether Big Band, Red & Gold, Black & White, Roaring 20's, etc - is always more crowded so I avoid those nights!!

In terms of dance hosts, QM2 does have hosts whose remit is to dance with solo female travellers or ladies who's partners don't/can't dance.  You'll recognize them because they wear name tags (and at the beginning of the evening, they stand at the back of the Queens Room).  It's absolutely fine to approach them, say hello and explain that your husband may not be able to dance often, but that you would love to dance with the hosts.  (The reason I suggest this approach is that the hosts tend to focus on unaccompanied women when asking someone to dance - that sounds creepy, which I don't mean!  It's just that in the 30 seconds between the end of one song and the beginning of another, they scan the crowd so if you've met them, they'll remember you.  😁

I have been on all four of the Literary Festivals at Sea and am going on the 2024 festival.  My experience has been that a majority of the passengers are British, perhaps because this is the first leg of a 4 week round trip voyage that includes 2 weeks in the Caribbean (SOU-NYC-Caribbean-NYC-SOU).  Over the 4 literary crossings, I've met many people who didn't know about the literary theme - some were very happy to attend some or all of the lectures and others didn't care one way or the other.

To correct a comment made above, lanyards are NOT issued to "those that were booked as part of the Literary Festival".  As on any cruise, there are some passengers who choose to wear a lanyard: people who book with any travel group, employees of the Sunday London Times (a co-sponsor of the Festival) and just random passengers.  There is no way to book "as part of the Literary Festival" - that simply doesn't exist.  (Other than booking through the Sunday London Times which It believe is only available to UK residents).  All Literary events are open to all passengers, with the exception of writing workshops typically held in the Connections room or surrounding meeting rooms which require a small fee and are usually filled up the first day (you cannot reserve them in advance).  As can happen on any voyage, sometimes lounges or rooms are reserved for a private events.  On the 2023 Literary Festival, Cunard made a specific point to make Constellations (the planetarium) available to all passengers for planetarium shows, which were listed in the daily program (in prior years, that room was used exclusively for Literary events but due to complaints Cunard changed that for 2023 and going forward).

Since there are no specific "Festival participants", I didn't have the unfortunate experience that a previous poster mentions about passengers only being willing to speak with other participants.  On the past 3 Festivals, I had assigned Britannia seating with people who were aboard for the full 4 weeks, not interested the Literary events and we had very interesting, lively conversations on a wide range of topics.  

As can be seen from the Festival program posted above, the program topics are quite varied and I wouldn't categorize them as authors promoting their books.  Topics in the past have included Role of the Sidekick in Detective Novels, Is the Setting/Location Critical?, How Authors Got Started, Historical Research.  One of the things I particularly enjoy is the chance to hear from well-regarded best selling authors AND authors I haven't read in addition to poet laureates, Man Booker Prize judges, book critics, authors who are also celebrities (e.g. Prue Leith, Alan Titchmarsh, Paterson Joseph).  I enjoy some sessions more than others, but I like having my mind opened.

So, rj1227, that's a long-winded response but I think these Literary Festivals are great and hope you enjoy this year's!

Hear, hear for book lovers!  As other cruise lines (e.g. HAL) eliminate their libraries, I'm so happy Cunard not only maintains but enhances their libraries.  Like other posters, I can always find an interesting book on their shelves; one of the things I particularly like is that they have books by UK authors that aren't commonly found in the US.  And another great resource is the librarys'  "paperback exchange" section where passengers leave books they've brought on board and finished reading.  Those have a huge range of genres; tip:  go the first day you board and, if you have room in your carryon or luggage, late on the day prior to disembarkation, you can usually find an intriguing title for the trip home.  

I've stayed in the forward interior cabins on Deck 9 several times and really like the location.  As Pushpit noted, they're located on a short interior hallway between the starboard & port hallways, so are very quiet since the only people who use that interior hallway are the people in those cabins.  Churchill's doesn't get much use and I've never smelled cigar smoke in those interior cabins. 

Just chiming in since I disembark the QE on March 28th at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, not Yokohama.  So confirming that yes, the OP's voyage leaves from the Tokyo terminal.  Note that there is a Hilton hotel within less than 10 minutes walk from the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal.  You can google the location of the terminal and see all that's nearby, including transportation options.

Since it appears that Cunard has cancelled all NZ cruises/ports for 2025 (as discussed in the other CC thread), I suspect that IF they resume NZ cruising, bookings would be open to everyone at the same time so you would not receive first chance to book. 

Glad to see that the change to a solo pianist has actually happened!  Lots of seats around the piano, which are always popular.

I sail on HAL and Cunard and like both. In general, these are some similarities: fellow passengers are generally well traveled and enjoy the arts; the lines' focus on their maritime history; understated yet elegant decor; and wide promenade decks (on the smaller HAL ships).  Differences: more international mix of passengers on Cunard; in general, passengers dress better on Cunard both during the day and evenings (on HAL, there's a lot of more casual "outdoor" style clothing worn during the days, and sometimes at night); on Cunard's non-Formal/Gala evenings, a sizeable percentage of women are dressed up - not in long gowns but what I would call cocktail dresses and many men wear a sports jacket/blazer, often with an open-necked shirt (no tie).  Daytime attire for a north Atlantic TA is usually slacks for women (sometimes nice jeans) and a tailored top - not a sweatshirt or flannel shirt.  If you're walking the decks, you wear warmer clothes!  When reading in a lounge, attending a lecture or playing trivia, slacks and a nice top (when I say nice, I mean a bit fashionable, decent condition (no rips or pilling) and something that shows a bit of effort has been taken.). I often wear a sweater with a scarf, along w black pants.  When I walk on the decks, I wear EMS wind-resistant pants and a fleece jacket.  Formal evenings I wear long gowns and dressy/cocktail dresses each night.  But, that's me.  It sounds like you enjoy dressing up so I say go for it! On Cunard, you won't be overdressed. (Whereas on HAL, I was often one of about only 10 women in total wearing a long gown.)

Great info - thanks everyone!  I'm a solo traveler so will only have the $135 credit to work with but I like the idea of planning carefully to use my 24 hour period over 2 days (e.g. 3:00 to 3:00 the next day).  Six days should work for me.  I like disconnecting as much as possible, and will use WIFI in ports too.

@Victoria2 and @NE John I have a similar question and would appreciate your thoughts!  I am on the 18 day QE voyage, Sydney to Tokyo, March 10-18, 2024.  I am Diamond level so will get the $135 internet credit.  I don't know what the daily rate is, but I'm sure the $135 won't cover all 18 days!  So, just to confirm, I can work w/Purser's Desk to set up daily access (good for 24 hours) whenever I want to connect?  Now that Starlink is so great, I'm thinking about connecting every 2-3 days.  Thanks for any insights!

I'm glad to hear about the return to the one singer; as many other posters have stated, the duos were often not so great and that area became raucous.  I missed the daily Lincoln Center on Stage performances on my August 23 NS voyage.  Guess you win some, you lose some...

Looks like a conference room in a mid-grade convention hotel.  Colors are bland and certainly doesn't read "glamour" or "anticipation".  I had already decided that QA is not for me, since I've sailed on her sister HAL ships and experienced the lack of a decent promenade deck and other issues for me.

@Down-Unders Did I see that you're on the March 10, 2024 Sydney to Tokyo voyage?  Me too!  You may want to look at the Roll Call for that cruise since it's pretty active; some people are arranging non-ship tours, etc.  (If you haven't used Roll Calls before, go back to the CC Board main page, select Roll Call/Cunard then pick Queen Elizabeth and March; the specific threads will appear.  Note that the roll call is for the full 28 day cruise, but plenty of the people posting are only on for the first leg.

I was on QE circumnavigation of Japan in 2019 and at that time, shuttle buses were provided but you may want to check w/Cunard to see if that's still the case.

If you didn't want to say anything yourself, you could have asked the waiter or manager to talk to her. I've done that in the past.

I don't remember seeing a Gideon's bible in the staterooms.

FYI...On the November 19, 2023 QM2 crossing, the ship was full and there was one dance host couple - man and woman.  A dismal reduction from a few years ago when there were at least 4 male hosts on crossings.

Interesting topic and one that I've grappled with in the past!  I've chosen to rent cars previously, but last month I spent a few days in Brighton prior to embarking on QM2 TA.  It was easy to take a train from Gatwick to Brighton but my plan of taking a train from Brighton to Southampton was squashed by train works (apparently Sundays are the days when train service is often disrupted).  What would have been a quick and inexpensive train ride turned into a two hour, £180 cab ride from Brighton Central Station to Southampton's Mayflower terminal.  Searching train options showed 4+ hour journeys, involving 2 or 3 changes often including a "replacement coach service"; coach options were worse and required going to London's Victoria Station.  I called a few car services (versus taxi) and they all quoted fares in the £170 range.  So, a taxi it was.  Lesson learned about weekend travel! 

I'll be on the QM2 again next November and am planning on spending a few days in the South Downs/Eastbourne area. Instead of a Sunday to Sunday crossing, mine is Wednesday to Wednesday so I think it'll be easier to take a train to Southampton (unless I decide to rent a car;  good to know the rental return place is near the pier).

@bluemarble Thanks for posting the schedule.  I didn't realize that other lines will be using the Brooklyn terminal quite heavily.  I wondered why many of the TAs now start on week days, versus the Sunday to Sunday schedule that Cunard has been following for a number of years.  (Of course, I remember back in the day when the crossing took 5 days so that was a whole different thing!). My annual November crossing now leaves Southampton on Wednesday, Nov 13 and arrives in Brooklyn the following Wednesday.  I can imagine the headache it must have been for Cunard to re-work their entire schedule, particularly for itineraries that had ports.  Someone mentioned that using the Manhattan terminal is more expensive for Cunard than Brooklyn - anyone know if that's the reason they use Brooklyn?  I always assumed it was because the Manhattan terminal was smaller than Brooklyn.