LymingtonLad

Thanks so much for the answers. Shortly after posting an email arrived from Cunard, showing the on-board credit we were expecting...so all resolved. Thanks again.

My wife and I booked a seven night cruise for the end of October during our last Cunard cruise in August. We understand that as a result of booking on board we have the choice between free parking, transport to the ship, or a $150 per person on-board credit. We'd like to choose the credit, but we're unclear how to action this? We can't find any opportunity on the Cunard web site for this and time is now ticking! Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.

My sincere commiserations. On our very first cruise, a short trip to Hamburg earlier this year, I caught covid and was moved to an isolation cabin. My wife continued to test negative, so she remained in our original cabin, but even though she could roam the ship as long as she tested negative, she was restricted to room service meals.I believe the reason was that she'd have to remove her mask while dining. Still, the little bit of the cruise that we did experience impressed us so much that we re-booked and we're off to Scandinavia on the Queen Victoria departing Sunday. I hope you aren't put off and will also cruise again. Good luck! Incidentally, here's my wife and I in Hamburg, just before I tested positive. If anyone spots us next week on Queen Victoria do come and say hello, we're both well so there's no risk!

Hello bluemarble, I'm such a Cunard neophyte that I hesitate to offer any opinion, however I'm pretty sure 5905 was the correct cabin, as that's the number my wife 'phoned. Pure speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that all cruise lines were alert to infection long before Covid, and therefore have permanent isolation cabins to tackle outbreaks of things like Norovirus. I'm going well out on a limb here, on a subject I know absolutely nothing about, but it wouldn't surprise me if Cunard deleted public reference to their permanent onboard isolation ward as it doesn't really fit with the party spirit!

My wife and I took our first ever cruise earlier this year, a short trip from Southampton to Hamburg and Cherbourg on the QM2. What a wonderful experience, we've booked again on a longer Cunard cruise in August and are counting down the weeks! But (there's always a but isn't there) the voyage wasn't quite as idyllic as it might have been. After a lovely day in Hamburg (here we are by the Binnenalster, sorry about the tilting horizon, we've yet to pass our selfie proficiency badge), I started to feel a bit under the weather. My wife had brought some Covid tests (what hadn't she brought, but that's another story), and thankfully she tested negative, but I was positive. We re-tested, same results, so contacted the medical centre. They arrived within a few minutes and instead of our lateral flow tests ran PCR tests. We were told to stay in our cabins and they'd phone back in half an hour. Their results confirmed our tests. We haven't anything to add to the various stories from all the very experienced cruisers who post here, but some may find it interesting to discover what happens if you ever test positive onboard! Cunard handled the situation with all the grace and professionalism you'd expect. My wife was told she could stay in our cabin, because she'd tested negative she still had the run of the ship but had to wear a mask every time she left the cabin and was given a PCR test each morning. There was no exception to the mask rule even for eating, so she had to stick to room service. I was asked to pack a bag and was escorted by two guys in hazmat suits, one behind spraying and one in front ringing a leper bell, well not quite but certainly keeping a clear gangway! I was taken to deck 5. On the little map we were given for the QM2 the mysterious deck 5 isn't listed. I was hoping for something amazing, but it all looked fairly normal. There, on the starboard side, we came across a door with "strictly no admittance" signs. Beyond were the isolation cabins, at a guess I'd estimate there was about twenty or thirty of them. I was given 5905, which was a perfectly pleasant cabin with a sheltered balcony, and told I mustn't leave under any circumstances. Leaving Cherbourg I saw a group of dolphins frolicking in the bow wave, my wife was watching sailaway on the Port side along with most of the other passengers, and they missed the show! Perhaps the dolphins are a bit shy and have figured all this out? The ship's doctor and one of the nurses couldn't have been kinder. They phoned at least once a day to enquire how I was (absolutely fine thank you, symptoms no worse than a cold) and I was offered, but declined, pretty much every patent remedy under the sun. Room service was really very good, but it was left outside my cabin on a tray with plastic plates and wooden cutlery, and after I'd finished I was requested to tip absolutely everything into a stout plastic bag and leave it outside the room for collection. We were given clear instructions well ahead of time on the arrangements when we got back to Southampton. My wife was disembarked amongst the last group, she was offered a porter and told to wait at a specific location. After all the passengers had left I, plus the two other Covid cases onboard, were accompanied off the ship with the same spraying/hazmat ritual. One of the other people was a flooring contractor from Glasgow who was working onboard, he was going to be put up locally in an isolation hotel by his company. The other passenger, who lived in Winchester, was offered a specialist "Covid Contagious" taxi by Cunard (no, I'd never heard of such a thing either). We live close by in the New Forest, and had brought a car. As we both felt perfectly fit and well we drove home with the windows down, and I then isolated until I tested negative. I don't know what the arrangements would have been if we'd had a connecting flight? It was a shame, but we'd had a wonderful cruise up until then and can't wait to go again (Western Europe, Queen Victoria, August, please introduce yourself if you meet us, we're not infectious!), and Cunard really can't be faulted in their sympathy and helpfulness.

Thank you for the comprehensive review, much appreciated.