buchanan101

Just now, exlondoner said:

By mid-September it makes limited difference how far north or south you are because of the equinox, when it is briefly the same everywhere. Might make a difference to warmth though.

Indeed - hence my "obviously". Our October crossing was lovely in the sun on our port side balcony, but the starboard side was freezing.

Port Out Starboard Home was (mythically I think) for ships to India, where the side of the ship in the shade was preferable... but was it, or was it just for the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song...."Posh with a capital P, O, S, H, posh..."

2 hours ago, D&N said:

Our original preference would have been June 2026. We booked September due to the gap in schedules. I asked my TA to investigate changing to June. Cunard's price for same B2B crossing on June 10th 2026 is nearly 28% higher than we paid on release date.

 

I'm thinking that we might see some sailings being cancelled, with bonus future cruise credit offered, and a number of new sailings available at much higher prices!

 

Edit: I should add that we don't think it's worth the extra money to get slightly longer daylight hours in June.

Quite a big difference in daylight hours between June and September, especially TA  as the route goes quite far north (depending on weather). We actually followed the great circle route almost exactly on an October crossing - which was unusual as the route is normally a bit further south for better weather - but we had a storm to the south

Even at UK latitude, Liverpool gets 17 hours daylight end of June and 12 hours obviously in late September

(Don't know why I'm mentioning this here - as we left Southampton OH asked if we'd see whales on the trip... I assumed she said " will we see Wales" and questioned her geographical knowledge... if she likes whales, hopefully Alaska next Sept will fulfill that requirement)

14 hours ago, bluemarble said:

I saw a posting about this elsewhere so I did some further digging myself for the details. Apparently Cunard is filling the previous gap in QM2's schedule for 15 May-24 June 2026 with new voyages. That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. Now the following voyages are being planned instead. Nothing yet on the Cunard website but these can be found now on various travel agent sites complete with fares.

Shame - I was hoping our New England fall 2026 cruise would be post refit. May be getting a bit tired by then,,,

@RalphWiggum The US version doesn't sound too great... sorry...

7 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Only Cornish Clotted Cream has PDO status.

 

It is called "Cornish Clotted Cream" for that, so anyone can call something just "clotted cream". Interesting

https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/cornish-clotted-cream

1 minute ago, QuestionEverything said:

Was on a crossing to NYC in June.

Have previously posted this.

What ever the ingredients, and from where ever, the scone and cream were not pleasant. The scone was dry and tasteless, the cream a weird yellowish/grey color, dumped on the side of the plate.

OP, yes the tea was provided from big stainless steel tea pots.

An altogether 1x experience.

You want a wonderful afternoon tea - try Oceania.

That's not good...TO NYC... our only two experiences, both ex-Southampton had genuine clotted cream for all 7 days. The Cunard scones can be a touch dry, but that's often the case with scones

Note to moderators - this CAN'T be off topic - it's a vital ingredient of a Cunard cruise...

...In Betty's in Ilkley (of moor fame) this month I had to have a cream tea..to remind me of Cunard cruises...

...and this is presumably pre-Brexit but it has a protected name in UK and EU (though that protection may have been rolled over as I assume EU products have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the UK: Champagne for example

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/clotted_cream#:~:text=If you buy an ice-cream in Devon or,giving its name EU-wide protection from potential imitators.

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

Can clotted cream come from anywhere than SW England and the Channel Isles?

In theory can't be made in the US...

https://www.foodrepublic.com/1369939/what-is-clotted-cream-illegal-united-states/

Just now, D&N said:

There are recipes online for making it. Some take longer than others, and shorter ones may be  more labour intensive.

They aren't going to be making it on board?

29 minutes ago, D&N said:

I suppose 10kg packs of scone mix make sense. It will be as easy to store as the individual ingredients. Other than varying the water quantity, glazing or adding fruit, the results are likely to remain consistent.

Roddas do seem to have a frozen version of their cream on their website, perhaps that is what Cunard use.

I'd assumed they would use bought stuff while it lasted from Southampton and make any further supplies after that. I thought that might be why it is not always clotted that is served.

This is a shock, and maybe I will have to cancel my upcoming Alaska (ex Seattle) and New England (ex NYC cruises), though surely they can source clotted cream in large US cities?

Nothing else is the same

2 minutes ago, MylesS said:

Enjoyed a lovely dinner in Sir Samuel’s for last night’s gala evening. I was invited to come back today by the maitre’d - so I shall! 
 

 

Nothing much planned for this morning, but will be doing the behind the scenes tour this afternoon and Noir this evening, so looking forward to that! 

Are they still only doing one show in Bright Lights all week?

Can't remember what the one we saw was called... was pretty good though

4 hours ago, juliecat said:

Check out the Seattle FAQ thread on the west coast departures channel and please, please try our smaller roasters’ proper coffee and not Starbucks!

Starbucks is the worst chain coffee in the U.K., so don’t worry. 
 

(Caffè Nero best of them IMHO)

@techteach

Found a solution. Stasher. A hotel near the Space Needle... probably more availability closer to the trip. But will ask the hotel we stay at before the trip if they can help

Also usebounce.com has a lot more options...

2 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Aha! That sounds an excellent idea - TYVM!!

 

I'm using Avios to and from Seattle - with my Amex voucher it's 200k Avios and £900 in Club (supposedly that's the equivalent of about £2900 total).  Great Circle and all that means your way is a fair bit more time in the air, but I like the NYC stop over idea. Love NYC...!

Port Valet doesn't cover BA - as it includes checking the bags in and getting boarding passes 😞

https://www.cruzely.com/everything-to-know-about-seattles-port-valet-free-cruise-luggage-transfer-service/

Just now, techteach said:

 

We like to break-up the hours in the air. Flying Alaska Air is always better than BA IMHO. We can fly first class on Alaska, spend a night in NYC, then fly out on BA in Business and only use our miles. 

 

I have been saying for 20 years that I was going to open up a luggage drop business at Pike Street Market! The port authority has a luggage direct service and I suggest you use it. They take your luggage from the cruise terminal to the airport. I believe it is free.

 

Aha! That sounds an excellent idea - TYVM!!

I'm using Avios to and from Seattle - with my Amex voucher it's 200k Avios and £900 in Club (supposedly that's the equivalent of about £2900 total).  Great Circle and all that means your way is a fair bit more time in the air, but I like the NYC stop over idea. Love NYC...!

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes I haven't seen any third party ones cheaper.  I knew they'd be expensive, particularly with my desire or unusual things and airboats and helicopter trips. 

 

One of the trips I've looked at is $540, airboat over Bear country but even I think that's a bit high.

 

I've booked the train too aand also whale and bear watching in icy point.

I wouldn't get OH in to a helicopter, so at least that stops the biggest spend. But she did send me up in a Tiger Moth at Duxford for my birthday, so...

(that's a little scary - they give you control of the stick...)

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Definitely not Boeing for me!  I've booked a couple of semi private tours already for two days and fancied something different.

 

I'm agonising over the QE excursions too, limited availability on Mendenhall Glacier or the float plane I'd already booked or now a helicopter!  I'm thinking of float plane in Ketchikan but that's a short day so no touristy shopping, crab or lumberjacks if I do.

 

So far have $2200 worth of trips booked with more to come, it's getting confusing!

The trips are VERY expensive - however the Cunard prices for the two I've booked (Juneau, glacier/whale watching) and Skegway (train) - I think I've got the ports right - are about the same price through Cunard and 3rd parties - which is unusual. 10% off prebooking helps. Will have $920 OBC - though for 10 days over a 1/3rd goes on Grills tips. The ship tour interests me, but probably won't interest the OH.

Just now, Megabear2 said:

I'm very happy with Seattle, somewhere I've never visited!

 

I've been looking at Viator for inspiration on things to do in my 3 1/2 days and thought I'd try a day trip out of the City.  There are trips to a German village, mountains and even Mojnt St Helens coming up.  Any thoughts on if any of this is worthwhile?

Thought Seattle was Starbucks, Space Needle and Boeing 😉 

@techteach The Cunard price of $80 is per person I believe...

Thanks for the info - intercontinental from UK usually says arrive 3 hours early, but it seems very doable, more so if self disembark

Out of interest why do you fly to LHR via NYC? Is it cheaper than the direct flights?

Will probably be arriving in Seattle 3 nights before the cruise

If we went on the later flight, any suggestions for where to leave luggage? I'm thinking I could ask the hotel we stay in before the cruise to put our bags in its Concierge? 

This is interesting. RETURNING Visa Waiver holders can use Mobile Passport Control (and may get a designated queue...)

Landing at Seattle is "returning"...

But only airports are currently using it...

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-control

9 minutes ago, BEAV said:

Yes, it’s definitely different when arriving in the US is involved. US immigration procedures require a “face to face” meeting at the first port of entry after leaving a foreign port. Thus the procedure arriving Seattle after a simple call to Victoria. By comparison, a round trip Alaska cruise from Vancouver doesn’t employ immigration formalities on return to Vancouver, as in your return to Southampton from Norway.

 

US citizens do not need an ETA for Canada, however I have no idea for other foreign citizens. 👍
 

 

Shame they can't rely on Cunard scanning people off and on again as any foreign national on the cruise will already have gone through immigration to get in to the US for the cruise... 

Shame they've moved from Vancouver to Seattle... port charges, or done to attract more US travellers? Victoria is partly there because of the foreign port rule for US origin cruises, but a worthwhile stop; more British than Britain - on my only previous visit in 1979...I'm sure it's moved on!

Repeat entries with a biometric passport is somewhat simpler I remember from 2016 (used some sort of Egate at JFK and was first at the immigration desk)? 

And yes, we need an ETA for Canada. Still that's two trips covered by ESTA and ETA: doing New England in 2026 on QM2 

https://www.handyvisas.com/eta-canada/british#:~:text=The eTA for Canada is a requirement for,3 Visiting family members 4 Business 5 Transit

Just now, DukeBeetle24 said:

Apologies if this is a stupid question (expect a few more as we are less than a month from our first voyage on Queen Anne and with Cunard) - do they provide blankets out on deck if weather is cold?

Yes - and you'll have some in your cabin (assuming you have a balcony)

Never had the batch arrival (fly BA so maybe they are treated slightly better?)... the game is usually making sure you are closeish to the bus exit doors and walk quickly to passport control which despite stamping etc doesn't take that long. Though it means you have to wait longer for baggage.

Loos at Innsbruck arrivals much nicer than Salzburg 😉. Car hire easy. Lovely location. Never tried Munich

I only use hotels obviously and the attitude hasn't changed.. they still want your money...(that's over cynical obviously)

A bit off topic here 😉

Just now, Megabear2 said:

Never mind the new rules my OH and his friends took an hour going through Innsbruck in March to get his passport stamped both in and out and also a special sealed off waiting area.  He thinks just maybe the Austrians aren't too keen on the British anymore.

I've found Innsbruck OK actually - used it last January and March. The "sealed off waiting area" has always been there since the introduction of Schengen; it's the same as any Schengen airport. Innsbruck flights will always be European given that only smallish planes can land, so the "special area" will mostly be British flights

The British are probably the biggest users of Innsbruck and they've certainly added immigration booths and although small and crowded usually works quite well as an airport; I've used it once or twice a year for the last 10 or 12 years. Austrians don't mind us too much...