Solent Richard

Having put in an extra shift on my cruise blog to cover Queen Anne's Maiden Voyage port visits I had better now share it with the good folks of Cruise Critic. There are two ports of call, click on the links to have an idea what is on offer. First up is A Coruña on Sunday 5th May..... https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2024/02/09/one-way-to-do-a-coruna/ ....followed by Lisbon on Tuesday 7 May.... https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2014/08/20/one-way-to-do-lisbon/

Neither have my shirts. 😂

Wow. Now there's a turn up for the books.

Humble apologies. 😄😉

As has been said earlier, yes, there is an entrance on both sides of the ship and as is my style here is the photographic evidence... ***** Mind, if I happened to be on a 9 night cruise with thousands $$ OBC you'd never find me near the place . 😂 😂

Not being a conspiracy theorist I'll stick with @Bell Boy 's simply put line of 'it's WHO you know...' *******

Ahoy there @57eric . I would guess a mid-voyage upgrade would be dependant on the length of the voyage and would be unusual on a 7 night trans Atlantic. My OP did state 'the following day' though I had the notification on the evening of sailing (telephone message) from New York. Alas, as always, I was out and about socialising at the sail-away and then in the various other entertainment venues once we had slipped from Brooklyn. The following day I joined an interesting table in Britannia Club with one of the guest speakers, the British Athlete Derek Redmond. Needless to say we got on like a house on fire.... As @Bell Boy says at # 13, it's 'who you know' and my wife and I have been fortunate on multiple occasions to experience Cunard upgrades from Club to Princess and on one occasion, Princess to Queens Grill. The most amazing upgrade though was not with Cunard but onboard a Viking ship when we were upgraded to their top grade 'Explorer' Suite.... That was thanks to us being the 'Top Viking Sailors' on that particular sailing.

I too have borne witness to that statement and from an unimpeachable source. Tin hats at the ready Major. 😉😉

😄 I believe they are standard. Due to my fast upgrade I didn't have the opportunity to take a decent photograph of the Atrium view - this was my earlier effort...

Well yes. And that includes our shareholder dividends which I guess we all anxiously await their return.

Yes, I have that experience. I was travelling solo on an East Bound Trans Atlantic and chose it for no other reason than I wanted to write about it on my blog. Stateroom 5114..... It didn't last however. The following day I was upgraded to Britannia Club 12055....

Well on those cruise lines that have adopted this policy it certainly has reduced the queues (Lines for those who prefer) at reception on day one to have them removed.

Good morning Sir and thank you for your kind comment. While we may be in danger of steering too far off topic I'm impressed with your Bond knowledge. You'd no doubt be impressed with my recent holiday to Puglia, Matera & Gravina in particular, in search of Bond's latest movie scene locations... But to keep us reasonably 'on topic' I also wonder how many of Cunard passengers sailing out of Southampton appreciate how close in proximity they sail to the British SIS training establishment at Fort Monckton, a mere stones throw from yours truly's pad on the Solent shoreline.... ******

Do I take it that you, like myself and @Colin_Cameron, don't have a 'broker' at our beck-n-call @cruiseluvva? I'm not quite sure of the advantages when one factors in the broker's charges either. On a separate note, I spotted your comment on a closed thread regarding The Datai on Langkawi. Our favourite hotel in Malaysia. We are returning there in November along with a visit to Malacca to make up for the cancelled Queen Victoria visit in 2019.

Same here @Colin_Cameron . The only difference for myself was that I experienced no problem downloading the App. Maybe my apple Pro iPhone had a hand in that. An excellent system which will prove useful across the Carnival fleet. Kind of makes me wonder how those folk who aren't up with the latest in communications are going to apply. Could be some unhappy bunnies on here idc.

Surely that should read 'all other cruise lines that make a service charge have also increased their gratuities' I just checked and the last 9 of my cruises all had gratuities included in the pre-cruise price.

My wife and I did a similar cruise on Queen Victoria and had an interesting time with some new ports. I wrote a blog on it.... https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2019/05/06/queen-victoria-singapore-to-cape-town/ ...though, having done the Cape Town to Southampton voyage a number of times we chose to spend some time in Cape Town.

Better plastic than imitation @Bell Boy 😂😈

Who says James Bond never wears one? https://www.mytuxedocatalog.com/blog/the-cummerbund-5-facts-every-gent-should-know/ May I respectfully remind @rmsEtruria that 'Bond' was, by true profession, a member of the same Senior Service as I was and, as a serving Commander, Royal Navy, would have upheld the highest standards of dress and formality: where a cummerbund would certainly be 'de rigueur' - required by etiquette, fashion or custom I believe. To the best of my knowledge in all the photographs of Commander Bond in 'black tie rig' that I have seen his tux is buttoned and therefore, as with all good tailored jackets, the cummerbund would not be visible. A relaxed unbuttoned tux would of course show a cummerbund... ...though I doubt in the case of one previous comment regarding 'portly gentlemen' that such chaps would find a cummerbund of sufficient girth. Whatever one's view though, mine is categorically .... 'why spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar'? 😄

That's also my experience @D&N . As a Cunarder of many years experience, who has sailed on all of the current Queens, and who doesn't allow himself to be cocooned within the grills environs, I would certainly concur with your percentage figure for Black Tie dress. I'd also say that, again in my experience, the G32 didn't provide an escape from the high end dress standards on formal nights. .... A picture is worth a thousand words. 😄

It was Oceana... Same cruise but berthed at St Lucia.

Or better still, show some consideration for both fellow guests and performing artistes and arrive before the show commences. 😈

Wishing you good luck on the proper berth at Key West @Selbourne . It certainly worked well for us the last time we visited with P&O on Oceana....

Ah, I remember it well. We were onboard and it was Captain Kevin Oprey's first drive of the Queen Mary 2. The video is a bit long but I was amused at the caption at point 29.23 minutes which read 'Fire out - back to the party'. Some of us of course hadn't left the party - Senior Officers it was - and remained in the Queens Room, standing socialising and drinking champagne while the orchestra continued playing. Indeed, at minute 30.28 on the video Solent Richard and his good lady are clearly visible at the videographer's return to the Queens Room. And a few seconds later it again records yours truly in the company of that greatest of Cruise Directors, Ray Rouse. Happy days.

I see Paul gave you permission to share that photograph @rog747 . Did you hit a snag? I'd be happy to oblige if you have a problem. 🤙