frankp01

My phone cycles the ringtone. I'd suggest doing a dry run.... have someone call your phone and don't answer it. If you need a longer tone, I can create one with as many iterations as you want or need.

The date was off by a day for our transAtlantic crossing in December. Since Cunard is, apparently, aware of the problem I'm surprised they haven't addressed it yet.

Thanks for the feedback.

As a companion to the Cunard Announcement Tone I uploaded a while back, here is the QM2 Noon Bell for use as a ring tone. It might be a bit loud and may need to be toned down. Let me know if that's the case and I'll edit it some more. QM2 Noon Bell.mp3

They were both in Philadelphia. For the most recent trip, in July, because I was in NYC for a few days before boarding, I considered getting tested in NY. I opted, instead, to get tested at home, because I found a location very close to home. If I were you, I'd concentrate on the testing locations known to accommodate non-US travellers.

I just checked. That location does not do in-store testing. Nor do the other 2 or 3 stores closest to Penn Station.

I used the CVS website to locate a store with a clinic that offered rapid tests and specifically booked the test. As I recall, rapid tests could only be booked 3 days out, and were offered at a very limited number of stores And, I suspect you can probably only book in advance if you have a North American phone number. But that's just a suspicion. We were tested at CVS in December for boarding a uk-bound flight, and in July for boarding the QM2 in Brooklyn. Both tests were accepted for their intended purposes. If you can't access the CvS website, for some reason, if you have a specific location in mind I can try and find if they do rapid tests and accept non-US walk-ins.

I do believe that the 'free' test places won't process non-US citizens because they're only set up to bill the government. There are clinics that will test non-US folks, and they'll bill you directly instead. Since the ones I'm familiar with aren't in canopies on the pavement, they strike me as being just a bit more legitimate than the 'free' ones, in any case. One chain is affiliated with a New York hospital They won't let you pre-book (because they can't handle an international phone number), but they will take walk-ins. The other is a location that a British friend of ours used when returning to the UK in December. Northwell Health: PCR & COVID-19 Testing in New York | GoHealth Urgent Care (gohealthuc.com) Bloom Labs: COVID-19 PCR & Rapid Antigen Tests in Midtown Manhattan (bloomlabs.co)

There have been one or two recent threads where the poster tested positive enroute. One, I think, is titled QM2 for 3 weeks. You might ask there if one of the antivirals was available.

The first test we had was when testing was relatively new. The test was done in a small booth in the middle of the store's car park. There was nowhere to wait for the results, which arrived as a text in about 15 minutes. For the second test, which was now done in an existing CVS wellness clinic, we actually had to wait for the results before we were allowed to go. For the first test, we had to retrieve the results and print them out ourselves. For the second test we were handed a printout of all the results of our visit. That included blood pressure and the other usual results from a quick physical.

We had our COVID tests for our last two voyages at CVS. You are correct that a passport number does not appear on the results (not many US citizens have passports). But I don't think a passport number needs to be included. There's a document somewhere on the Cunard website that specifies what must appear. I can't find that now, but as I recall, it included name, date of birth, date of the test, test type, results, etc. Found the document. DOB is sufficient - Guest’s name and either date of birth, age, or passport number. Two caveats: Only a few CVS stores do walk in testing. Especially for rapid tests. You can try scheduling a dummy test to see where you'd be able to book and see if your store is one of them. If insurance is not covering the test, I believe the cost to you is MUCH higher than the clinics specifically set up to do COVID testing.

As long as you're not trying to use it in the QM2 bathroom. As I've discovered, there is only one outlet in the QM2 bathroom. It's part of the over-the-mirror light. And the outlet goes off when the light is off. If you wanted it in the cabin itself, you could plug it into the outlet behind the kettle. That would be out of the way.

I am surprised that the QM2 engineering staff doesn't keep a tri-tap on hand. They'd then be able to plug in a CPAP machine bedside, the same way I do my laptop, without having to run an extension cable over to the desk (assuming the machine can run on 220. If 110V, then it would have to run over to the desk). There is an outlet next to the bed. It's just that the bedside light is plugged into it. Without a three-way adapter, you'd be able to plug in the CPAP there, if you were willing to go without the bedside light.

Thanks. Around the ship it sounds like it will be easier than on the QM2.

Yeah, I've seen some pretty detailed videos of the desk outlets. That a European plug showed up made me think the standard, outside of the cabin, might be the EU format. Now, here's the reason I'm asking. I'm trying to deduce what outlets are powering the bedside lamps. For the QM2 I have a UK "tri-tap". It adapts a single outlet to let you plug in 3 items. That lets me plug in my UK-plugged laptop. If it's an EU socket there, my comfortable solution won't work. And I didn't want to ask folks to drag the bed out to check! If it's North American, I could bring a common US tri-tap. I'd like to be able to work in a lounge or the library. Unlike the massive UK to US adapters, it's trivial to carry an EU adapter. So it's just curiosity if I'll even need the EU adapter.

Interesting. I would have expected European sockets there.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

A boarding pass and boarding card are one and the same thing. It has a barcode that, when scanned by a check-in agent, brings up your registration data (photo, credit card for onboard expenses, etc.) As you mentioned, your room key will be waiting for you in the 'mail slot' outside of your cabin. Because of that, in the past once you had checked-in, you'd use your room key to enter the ship. Now, you'll use the boarding pass to be scanned by the ship's security crew.

In January, 2023, NYC to San Francisco via the Panama Canal.

What a shame! Here's hoping your isolation doesn't entirely ruin the rest of your trip. And here's also hopes for a quick recovery.

My experience, so far, has only been with Queen Mary. In the cabin there's a mix of UK and North American power outlets, with the UK in the majority. And outside of the cabin, virtually every power outlet around the ship is a UK format. On the QV, I see that there is one UK and one EU outlet by the desk. That makes me wonder if, outside of the cabin, EU outlets might actually be the 'outlet of choice'. For example, are the bedside lights using a UK outlet or EU? I ask because the UK adapters I carry are so bulky. I tend to work on a laptop around the ship, and always search for power outlets I can use. If I can use EU adapters, rather than UK, I'll save some packing space and weight. Lastly, on the QM2 the shaver outlet is part of the light over the mirror. That means, when the light is off, the outlet switches off. I'd like to bring a night light for the bathroom. It looks like there is a separate North American/EU shaver outlet. Does that mean it retains power, even when the light is off? Hopefully someone has observed and taken notice of this sort of detail around the ship!

The ramps are easy to navigate, if you have rolling suitcases. And there's plenty of room for luggage onboard. Not to mention the excitement of seeing the ship when you approach it from the water. I think the ferry is the best way to get to Red Hook.

Those become available 21 days before departure.

Are you using a smart device? On mine, it appeared that nothing had happened. But the file was, in fact, downloaded. I could open it from there. That behavio(u)r is a little less likely if you're using a desktop, though.

This won't help with the auto-logging off issue. Or the quality of the satellite link. But I checked the wifi signal in quite a few spots around the QM2. Here are the locations that had an excellent signal... if you're willing to position yourself at one of these you might have somewhat better of an experience. If you have a choice, obviously, position yourself near one of the repeaters: Carinthia Lounge Verandah Lounge Queens Room Chef's Galley The passageway connecting the Mareel Spa to the Carinthia Lounge. A plus for this location is the assortment of both North American and UK outlets. Some locations that I thought would be better, but surprisingly were not: Library (near the PCs) Connexions Lobby Grand Lobby