KeithErnest

Good to hear your trip to Geiranger and back was spectacular. You lucked out with the weather. 🙂 Agree silent disco is personal thing but I did find it fun to watch the crowd. The tender process to Leknes was a bit chaotic I think they wanted to wait for the coaches to arrive and control the excursion group on the ship and not dockside. Sorry to hear you caught COVID. The couple next to our dinner table became sick the last few days of the cruise and missed three dinner nights. We saw them during disembarkation. They did not look or sound well. We wondered if they might have caught COVID.

This was our first cruise and we chose Cunard for the Norway North Cape itinerary offered. We were both very happy with our Cunard experience and would have no hesitation booking another cruise with Cunard. The cruise did start off on a sad note. Shortly after departing Southampton and just off the Isle of Wight a passenger had to be evacuated by helicopter for a medical emergency. I hope all went well for the passenger. Boarding time. Our assigned boarding time at Southampton was 15:15. We arrived @14:55 and dropped off suitcases, then we proceeded directly to check-in, cleared security and were on board the ship by 15:10 Inside Cabin. We booked an inside cabin and we found the room to be nice size. Being newbies, we did not realize that our suitcases could be stored under the bed and our room attendant did not bring this to our attention. No biggie, but we will know better the next time. Dining Britannia Restaurant. We chose the early seating and requested a table for two. However, another table for 2 was only 6 inches (15 centimetres) away from our table. This appeared to be the setup in the dinning room for the majority of the tables for two. Lido Restaurant. We found the breakfast and lunch buffet selections to be plentiful. My only complaint is that there is TOO much food to select from. 😉 Afternoon Tea. Nice touch. Good to experience at least once in the Queen's Room, FYI the same food is served in the Lido buffet at 3pm. Food Allergies. My wife has food allergies (gluten, dairy and soy), this was not a problem because the dining room meals were separately prepared for her. One is given the menu a day in advance to select for lunch and dinner. My wife did enjoy her meals in the dining room. The buffet had a few gluten free options, but it was hard to exclude dairy or soy as soy is often mixed with gluten free products. After several days into the cruise there was an increase in the number of reported gastrointestinal illnesses which suggested Norovirus. The ship switched to an elevated level of sanitation. Crew members ensured that all guests entering any of the restaurants sanitized their hands before entering. The crew members also served the food and drinks in the buffet. This was a good thing. We found that the level of service provided by the crew to be excellent. Dress code. I feel that the dress code of smart attire and elevated attire after 18:00 hours to be a good balance between smart and casual attire. All guests wore elevated attire for the Gala Evening but I would say that only 5% of the guests participated in the Masquerade Gala Evening and 10% participated in the Roaring 20's Gala Evening. Entertainment. Overall a good variety offered. The Silent Disco was pretty cool to experience and it was a hit with guests. For those who have not experienced a silent disco you wear headphones and select a channel as two different songs are played at the same time. Shore Excursions. The shore excursion staff are very helpful. Not the staff's fault, but communication between Cunard and the Ships's Agent could be better in my opinion. First port call required a shuttle bus into Stavanger. The shuttle was prompt but we were dropped off in the wrong location. Imagine our surprise when we returned to the location where we were dropped off expecting to be picked up. Luckily we were not alone and a few other guests had already arranged for pickup back to the cruise ship. Second excursion to the Village of Reine. The excursion description indicated 30 to 40 minutes in Reine. Upon arriving in Reine the tour guide told us we had 15 minutes. Not much time if one was hoping to get a few pictures of the village. This was disappointing. My Voyager app. Sorry, but I had no luck getting into my account (android phone). I was able to connect to the Cunard_Guest_WIFI and my stateroom number displayed on the app screen, but no My Voyager menu appeared.

I was just on the QV (June 6th - 18th). Our cabin was on deck 6 and during the cruise the lamp shades were being replaced in all the aft cabins on deck 6. My first voyage on QV and did not find it to be shabby.

@techteach Interesting. Instead of using a percentage to calculate the gratuity, I would suggest a fixed amount per person dining at the table. IMO the price of the food should not enter into it. Yes, more work for the cook to cook a steak but it is my understanding that it is the server that receives most of the tip/gratuity. To add insult to using the bill percentage, here in Canada there are several options for adding a gratuity including 'other'. The percentage range is from 15% to 25% and all these percentages include the tax which has been added to the bill.

I booked my cruise with Cunard knowing that a service charge would be added to the cruise fare. I just budgeted accordingly. However, the "service charge" that I am charged in IMHO should be the same dollar amount listed at the time I made my booking or paid my fare in full. I am all for a fixed tip amount. In Canada, like the USA servers working at a restaurant expect a tip. Fair enough, but the tip I leave is a fixed amount regardless of what I order. Why should the tip be a percentage of the bill? Did the server work harder to bring me a hamburger vs bringing me a steak?

Sorry folks but not a "happy camper" here. Yes, Lofoten Islands and the Midnight Sun will still be nice experiences, but I booked the QV North Cape Discovery voyage for the itinerary originally offered by Cunard. Cunard is fully aware of any environmental changes for ships visiting Norway. After all, the QM2 port of calls to Flåm last summer were changed at the last minute. Which begs the question, why Cunard even considered Geiranger as a port of call in 2023? This is not a total surprise to me as I thought something was up when with the excursions for Geiranger page only said "Please bear with us while we add the final touches to your shore experiences. " Just checked no excursions for Stavanger or Alesund posted on MyCunrard. Does anybody know if the North Cape Discovery cruise visits any fjords or will I have to book an excursion if I want to visit a fjord? Thanks.

@kittenkboo Wow, That's a full day. Some additional resources that might help with your planning. 🙂 The Friends of the Public Gardens (the Public Gardens close 30 minutes before sunset) Discover Halifax Leisure Walking Map (from 2019 but not much has changed) Downtown Halifax Business Commission

Southampton may not have much to offer you. But if you stay close to the cruise terminal in Southampton then the passenger ferry to the Isle of Wight is close by. Visit Osborne House or Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight.

Hi again, Going to chime in again. As these suggestions may help other passengers that are looking for something to do in Halifax. From past visits to Halifax the QM2 docks around 8am and departs at 6pm. If you are a history buff then the Halifax Titanic Historical Tour sounds very interesting as it does cover Halifax. However, I did notice many of the historic places are drive by only. I also noticed that the tour lasts about 6 hours thus not leaving a lot of time to visit the Maritime Museum. The itinerary listed on Viator only showed 15 minutes at the Citadel Hill for the Noon gun. If this is a must do for you then IMO this is not enough time to experience the fort. Admission to Citadel Hill is $12,50 CAD ($10.75 seniors). Another national historic site, Georges Island in the Halifax harbour, recently opened. https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/georges A booking is required as a ferry space is limited. The ferry does run throughout the day. Everyone has different interests but if I was showing, a family member Halifax and only had a day my itinerary would be as follows: 1. A visit to Peggy's Cove (3 hours). Optional but mainly for the scenic village and the lighthouse. Or visit Georges Island. Not enough time to do both 🙁 2. I would park at the cruise terminal (Pier 22) and do a walking tour of Halifax. Walking tour ... * Walk to the Public Gardens via Spring Garden Rd. * From the Public Gardens walk to Citadel Hill. At the fort there is a change of the sentry every hour on the hour (front entrance). Once inside tours are offered every hour. Tours start 5 minutes after the hour. * After the Citadel Hill, go down the hill passing the town clock. * cross at the lights and head down towards the harbour. Passing the town hall (parade square). * continue heading south towards the harbour if one continues to the harbour you will reach the ferry terminal. * the ferry ride to Dartmouth is $2.75 cash only (ask for a transfer for the return journey. * the ferry to Georges Island is next to the Halifax Ferry terminal. *** if going to Georges Island, plan for 2 hours. * to the left of the ferry terminal is Historic Properties. Further down the waterfront is the Casino. * double back along the waterfront will take you back to the cruise terminal. * The Maritime Museum (admission adult $9.55, seniors $8.50) is on the waterfront and is about a 20 minute walk from the cruise terminal. Total walking distance is 7 - 8kms

Sorry I cannot advise on a Cunard excursion to either Peggy's Cove or Lunenburg, NS. However, I do live in Halifax. The two places you listed are popular tourist attractions in Nova Scotia. An excursion to visit both would be a full day with no time left to explore Halifax (visiting both places also means being on a bus for over 3 hours 30 minutes). Peggy's Cove is an hour's drive from the cruise terminal and Lunenburg is another one hour and 15 minutes from Peggy's Cove. Just FYI Peggy's Cove is very crowded even without tour buses visiting. As you are "on the fence" as to what to do that day ... IMO If you have not been to Halifax before I would suggest choosing Peggy's Cove over Lunenburg and spend a few hours exploring downtown Halifax. Halifax is a very walkable city you can do on your own. The Public Gardens, the Citadel Hill National Historic site and the Maritime Museum are all worth exploring. A ferry ride to cross the harbour is only $2.75 (cash only but ask for a transfer for the ride back). I am in the same boat with excursions as I am researching for the QV North Cape cruise in June. Finding it hard to choose an excursion especially with the visit to Leknes. Enjoy your visit to Nova Scotia. Keith