TouchstoneFeste

19 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

The Long Room in currently being restored and all the books have been removed.  Access to the Long Room and Book of Kells continues, however there are no other books in the Long Room.

 

We were there in December, and they've refilled a few of the shelves so you can get a glimmer of what the Long Room looks like normally. Even mostly empty, it's pretty awesome. Plus there are exhibit cases along the floor level full of fascinating stuff.

11 hours ago, NE John said:

Great news and thanks for the input. To confirm - that was under the US Grills Drinks promo?  

Yes. But again, I didn't track it carefully - I didn't take note of the cost of each glass of wine she ordered, for example. I just noticed that a few showed up on our account then a week after the trip we got a refund (but I couldn't trace the refund directly to any combination of charges). Hence my use of the word "appeared".

It appeared to me (admittedly I didn't keep track in detail) that the $13.50 limit was actually honored on our December crossing; we seem to have been charged for only glasses of wine which clearly exceeded the limit (over $16, for example). In fact we got a refund after the fact which may have covered some of them.

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I have no problem with him/her entering the cabin when I am not in it. As s/he knocks before entering, it gives me plenty of time to remove myself from view, if, say, I am standing in front of the mirror half dressed.

Real curiosity, not meaning to be argumentative.

Do the stewards have "all door" medallions? Will the doors unlock as they pass by?

1 hour ago, e&mcruise said:

Seems a bit ass about to have the best cabins kicked off first

Others are noting that you're not really kicked off, but as @LadyL1 points out, those cabins do need to be serviced early. I think the logic from the passenger point of view is that getting off first also gives you shorter queues for immigration, porters, taxis, etc.

15 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Not yet, they still have 2 of the 4 running. I'm not sure why theirs had impressive names and ours just numbers. 

Perhaps so they didn't have to say things like "Queen Mary shut down for repairs".

5 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

Well that fell flat 😕

 

A valet, a gentleman's gentleman.

 

Think Mr Bates of Downton.

 

 

Indeed, I had to look up what *other* Mr. Bates might have been referenced. The Post Office scandal fellow?

I've been able to find out the probable speakers just by asking customer support:

cunardonboardservices@cunard.com

They may not know much at this point, and things can always change.

5 hours ago, rsquare said:

Wing collars leave the hardware of a pre-tied bowtie embarrassingly visible.

There are pre-tied ones where the hardware is under the bow itself. But the clips for adjusting the length aren't hideable even if your tie isn't pre-tied. I've ended up with three different length bowties to adjust to my variable neck :)

5 hours ago, rsquare said:

Cunard, confusingly, uses the term "button down shirt" to mean any shirt that has buttons in the front going from the waist to the collar

I never realized that! Thanks for the info.

7 hours ago, maggielou362 said:

Someone on here will correct me as required, but what I recall (from when such things were taught) the general British/Anglo conventions were:

• White Tie (tails etc, VERY formal)
• Black Tie (dinner suit, black (bow)tie. A.k.a. "Tuxedo" in USA),
• Morning Dress (wear it to the Royal Enclosure at the Races?)
• Cocktail Dress (dressier than Lounge, little more flamboyant/less restricted than Black Tie)
• Lounge Suit (probably the equivalent of business suit in Aust and USA).

These dress codes used to appear on formal invitations.

In my opinion it's very prescriptive, somewhat dated, elitist and not as relevant, but everybody, including the ladies, knew what it meant and complying ensured that you would not be embarrassed.

So as I see it as a new Cruisecritic Cunard disciple, for Gala Evenings: of course, wear White or Black Tie if you wish, you will look and feel spectacular. If you love the tradition of dress codes, then stride out in your trousers with satin stripes, your winged collar, your satin lapels, cufflinks and bow tie you tied earlier. BEAUTIFUL.

But if someone wants/needs to wear trousers without a satin stripe, or an ordinary collar rather than winged one, a lounge suit with or without a tie, (even a suit that is pale coloured 😮😉 ) or trousers and open-necked business shirt ("button-down" in USA?) then surely that complies with Cunard's dress code? It would certainly not bother me if people wore such attire in the evenings, including Gala ones. I just want everyone to feel socially comfortable on their holiday. 

PLEASE JUST MAKE SURE YOU WEAR SOCKS!!!! (even if you wear you casual loafers)

First, I should say (as many others on this forum have also said) that it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the evening if a few individuals aren't "up to code". I think it really would bother me if a large proportion of people disregarded the dress code - it would change the overall atmosphere. But that's not the case (yet?)

A few comments, though:

Certainly the idea of black tie is dated, but I would dispute that it's inherently elitist ... not if you can get a Marks and Spencer tuxedo for £100. Or perhaps it's elitist, but in an acceptable way?

In modern, but still fully formal, dress, either winged or "standard" collars  are acceptable. Likewise either cummerbunds or waistcoats. With the appropriate tie!

The dress code for formal nights does specify a "dark" suit and a tie.

This is really always a discussion about men's wear. From my experience, the women on gala nights are virtually always appropriately dressed. And often spectacular :)

1 hour ago, holidaylover10 said:

I expect it will be deemed to bright.

Not at all. That and/or the dark grey would be very nice, I should think.

55 minutes ago, D&N said:

Just watched Andrea Bocelli singing and playing piano on a tv program dressed formally (repeat I think). Dress shirt had standard rather than winged collar. Looked absolutely fine.

I have one cut-away collar formal shirt. I've not worn it with a tux and bow tie yet. But I imagine it should be ok.

A standard collar is fine in black tie as long as it's an actual formal shirt (cufflinks and studs) - doesn't have to be a wing collar. Likewise, a standard black silk necktie is fine - doesn't have to be a bow tie.

I know I'm sounding like a prig, and gala nights are not black tie per se. Just sayin' - if you want to dress black tie, go full black tie. Anything less can look sloppy (in my opinion, of course), and you'd be better off just going with the "dark suit". (I'll give ground on the cummerbund, as long as you keep your jacket buttoned.)

5 hours ago, rsquare said:

Pushpit's comment raises a question that I have had for a while about dinner jackets.  I have seen gentlemen (almost invariably British when I have heard them speaking) on formal nights wearing a tuxedo jacket with ordinary black dress trousers (ie, no side stripe), a regular dress shirt (sometimes even with a button-down collar) worn with a black bowtie and no cummerbund or waistcoat.

 

Apparently, this passes muster with Britannia's maitre d'.  Is this a style of formalwear that is widely considered acceptable, or is it a hack to save packing space and sort of look like you are complying with the dress code?

If the fabric of the trousers matches the fabric of the jacket, I would call it "a dark suit with an interesting lapel". (If the fabrics don't match, I don't know what to call it. An upscale sport-coat-and-slacks?) Actual black tie includes the stripe-y trousers, a formal shirt and a waist covering - either a cummerbund or a waistcoat (to disguise the fact that your shirt studs don't go all the way down).

However, given what passes for formal wear on the red carpets of the world ...

(I just skimmed a page of images of "James Bond tuxedo", and apparently Daniel Craig doesn't wear a waist covering, although I think all of the others do. But in any picture where he isn't "en deshabille", the jacket is buttoned.)

16 hours ago, benel204 said:

The only time ample boobage comes in handy)

Surely not the only time.

9 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

don't......Im sure all the pirates will have the proper dress code warning in advance........

 

(have a great trip....youll love it.....)

The problem is they regard them more as guidelines than as actual rules.

2 hours ago, Cruise Puss said:

we saw staff politely asking passengers on a few occasions who were in the Chart Room Bar to leave after 6pm as they were not dressed appropriately.

On our recent crossing there were several people in egregious violation of the code on a gala night (sweatshirt and baggie jeans in the Commodore Club; at dinner in the Queens Grill a man whose concession to formal dress was to put a sloppy sport coat over his open-collar tattersall shirt) and no one corrected it.

20 hours ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

The only thing we found the app useful for was keeping an eye on shipboard charges. Most other features were not kept up to date or had little content.

On our recent QM2 voyage our ship's account wasn't updated until after halfway through the voyage. Odd, since the servers now all have a terminal strapped to their waist.

13 hours ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

This regular Grills passenger would much rather have the lower fares charged for the UK market and buy a drinks package that actually works for most drinks.  With the considerable increase in the per drink prices across the board, $12 doesn't get you much at all.  It used to be real benefit. No longer. 

 

 

On our recent voyage it appears they were being somewhat flexible in applying the limit. Some (not all) wines over $12 did not appear on our account. We also received an unexplained nearly $60 refund after the voyage. I couldn't make it match up exactly to the drinks charged, but the only other less-than-$60 purchases on board were some small items from the shop. Or perhaps I should be thanking Cunard for the gift of George the Cunard bear.

For anyone else facing this dilemma: I find that Pisa's airport has a Fast Track to security (not less security, just "jump to the front of the line") for €12. Here's the reply I received from the airport operator, Toscana Aeroporti:

"The possibility to book the priority lane online in advance is not currently provided, but you will certainly be able to purchase it once you arrive at the airport, at the customer service on the Arrivals side of the Pisa Airport (the desk it is a few meters from the departures area)."

(It appears that many airports now have this feature, so it's probably always worth checking.)

3 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

2) Have they done anything to improve cabin connectivity on QM2?

Short answer is "yes". Connectivity was dramatically improved in December versus an equivalent cabin in May of 2022. Basically indistinguishable from our connectivity at home except for occasional disconnects. But I did love this topic, and thank you for it.

19 hours ago, space oddity said:

If you try to book a room and the kid-slots are sold out, you get a really unhelpful error message about "this room not being able to accommodate" the guests involved, or something equivalent.

I was idly checking a voyage and got this message for most of the Queens Grill staterooms - "can't accommodate 2 passengers". I tried it for 1, 2, 3, and 4 people with the same result. I've seen "sold out" previously and, in fact, this morning it now shows all the QG classes as available. Anyone know what this means?

There's a forum dedicated to Cruise Technology. You might find fuller answers there:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/677-cruising-technology/

With careful searching and many grains of salt (read the reviews!), you might find some tours with "special access" - for example, before the official opening hours. We once joined up with a "sunrise at Stonehenge" tour because we thought that would be fun, and realized later that we'd be there before almost anyone else and that we had access to the inner ring of stones (not accessible to the general public). Another tour took us through the Vasari Gallery in Florence - again, not accessible to the general public.

I get tired of hearing the same Christmas music over and over during the course of the season, and onboard it was relentless. (Other than that, I enjoyed all of the Chrstmas-y things.)