sandancer

I’m wondering if the staff at Southampton are more flexible. Our cruise departs from Fort Lauderdale and we have never been able to carry on more than 2 bottles of wine when embarking there (not Cunard however). Is it the ship staff who check or port security? We have never tried to carry on more than the allowance but still had our bags searched.

Our travel agent said they could not give us the BLC obc but reduced the cost of the cruise by the same amount we would have received.

My other piece of advice is to pace yourself. On our first cruise we were like kids in a sweet shop. We never missed a meal, and this was in the days of ubiquitous midnight buffet. We went to every show, took part in all the deck activities (limbo dancing anyone?) and took a tour at every port. Wonderful. 32 years later we still love to cruise but are way more selective. Some days we can just about be prised from the balcony to go for dinner.

She’s not been there since Thursday unless she crept back in last night.

Arcadia is no longer berthed at the Port of Tyne.

The only thing I can think of is to ask your credit card provider if this situation is something they can help with.

It just goes to show that it depends who you talk to when you are looking for information. Last week I was informed by an agent in the Cunard UK office that although they are still sticking with traditional first and second sittings, if you are late seating you can arrive at any time between 7.45 and 8.30. I think I’ll take the word of Castro and Millie, nothing like getting it right from someone who actually knows.

Actually it was someone on our rollcall for the cruise we took when we used them to get back to MIA who recommended them. We use Uber a lot when we are in Florida but only for short journeys. I’m a little reluctant to take a chance on getting one after a 10 hour flight. I would prefer to have something pre-arranged, especially at MIA.

Has anyone used this service recently. We need to get from MIA to a Fort Lauderdale hotel. We used them 2 years ago but that was picking from a hotel going to MIA. We were happy with the service then but that’s a lot less complicated than an airport pick up. We will be arriving on an International flight and sometimes it’s a very long process just getting through the formalities.

I can access mine. Just checked.

No boredom here Sarah. Really enjoying your posts. Our first cruise was in 1990 and we were totally overwhelmed by all the food, the entertainment and the service. Way down the line we still get excited every time we board but pace ourselves now. Enjoy.

For a Transatlantic in December we would always go for mid-ships and a lower deck. We prefer an aft cabin but know from experience that you do feel the motion more.

Unfortunately it applies to all standard Flex Accounts. If you want insurance cover included you need to upgrade to a Flex Plus Account.

We also have Flex Account travel insurance. It covers cruise travel. For an extra £20 each we were able to purchase additional cruise cover. You can claim for various situations such as missing the ship following an excursion. Unfortunately Nationwide will only offer cover to Flex Plus accounts after the end of September.

We are on the QE transatlantic in August, Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona. I called Cunard UK this week to check if we could upgrade our cabin. The agent told me that they are not selling any more cabins on this cruise even though there is availability, the cruise is showing as fully sold out. They will sail with reduced capacity. I hope this means there will be no cancellations on this particular cruise. Along with many other people we booked our own flights, hotels in both Fort Lauderdale and Barcelona although both hotels can be cancelled without penalty.

Sorry, have no idea. We went in the morning. You could go to their website. I’m sure they will have opening hours on there.

Just called Cunard (phone answered right away) to enquire about dining on our upcoming QE cruise. The agent confirmed that early seating remains unchanged but late seating is now from 7.45 although they are not referring to it as “open dining”. This suits us so much better.

Arcadia was docked at the Tyne Commission Quay, North Shields, yesterday. If I’m passing today I’ll check if she’s still there.

We used Lab doctor and confirm everything that’s been reported. We paid by credit card. Staff very friendly and helpful.

Cinque Terra was beautiful. I’d do some serious research to decide which village to stay in. I would suggest you avoid high summer. It will be rammed.

Just been. Highly recommend a tour company called Bella Italia. We did a tour from Livorno to Cinque Terra and it was great. Only 8 of us in the group so really personal service. I believe they offer tours all most of the ports in Italy.

Thanks. We usually have a drinks package but on this cruise it would cost $1794 for both of us. I can’t see us drinking enough to justify that.

Not according to the Cunard UK website. One bottle of wine each, no spirits. Didn’t notice about water or soft drinks but def no alcohol other than the wine. We are boarding in Fort Lauderdale and had planned on taking a bottle of rum but don’t know what to do now.

We ate in the Verandah last December on the Queen Elizabeth and the food and service were both excellent. We plan on eating in there on our next QE cruise in August.

Not just Princess, we cancelled our Royal cruise for the same reason. I do understand the reasoning behind the decision but it’s still very disappointing.