balf

Is it acceptable to order a pint of bitter at dinner.

David

We found a lot of the crew fairly clueless about simple things like directions and what was available. Many of them were new aboard too.

 

 

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Clueless. This is survivable re the cream cheese but it does make me wonder about the fabled White Star Service and particularly the level of safety training of crew who can't give directions to passengers.

David

Trevor Fountain, While you might not mind if a port is cancelled, there are those who might feel otherwise. For example, I imagine that passengers who book a cruise based on an itinerary in the hope of visiting a particular port or ports, or if they had booked a non-refundable private tour, or made arrangements to meet friends and/or family members at a certain port might be justified in their disappointment should that port/s be cancelled.

 

In other words, please consider that what might be a slight setback to some, might be a big disappointment to others.

 

-S.

Very true. We have been lucky with our must see ports, St Helena, Falklands and Egypt when it was safe. Would have been greatly disappointed to have missed any of them. And who wants to do a sail by instead of a landing. That's really adding insult to injury.

David

Should be this way across ALL cruise lines. Let the "pips" squeak when they can no longer come up with a valid reason to screw over the hard working staff who generally take great care of ALL of US!

So why don't they make this "service charge" mandatory and then there would be no need for the charade. It's either mandatory or voluntary, and assuming it's the latter they have no reason to withhold a refund of a charge the customer does not wish to pay regardless of the reasons.

David

It would be helpful, given that passengers are asked to become party to the staff remuneration, if Cunard would reveal all about how the system works. Without that info we can only guess, but is it not likely that any shortfall in tip revenue is made up by Cunard.

David

I would hate the tips to be built in the fare, the staff would have no need to go the extra yard to make you happy. Our friends in the U.S. have different ideas re tipping, I would think if some body said "good morning" they would expect a tip, yes we do tip in Britain but not to the same extent as the American:rolleyes:

Do you really believe that, have you ever sailed with a line where tipping is built in to the fare and you are told that there is no need to pay extra. I have, and received the finest service I have ever had on a cruise (Saga). And I've had some very indifferent service with Cunard at times over the years, and left the tips intact.

All these problems would be solved by quoting one up front price, and people would have to decide if they could afford it. And I would no longer be expected to sub for the refuseniks and be expected to pay extra for each "good morning".

David

Most room service items are free of charge however there are some exceptions to this, please see the *room service menu for an idea of costs.

Also, from May 2017 we are introducing an exciting new range of chargeable items to the menu.

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/fleet/room_service

I believe that now all room service items are chargeable, except breakfast. Very recent change apparently.

David.

Without wishing to sound glib, if you're on a Cunard charter flight and the air carrier messes up it's up to them to find a solution, not you. It would be very surprising if any company which charters BA flights (or anyone else for that matter) is not doing some serious extra disaster planning at the moment.

Just my thought. You would be in the care of Cunard and it would be up to Cunard to sort it out. Wouldn't mean that it would be stress free for passengers though.

David

No panic it's not happened here yet, but P&O have recently imposed charges for room service.

Could this happen any time soon here? Or would this be a step too far for White Star Service Cunard.

David.

Not an inviting prospect now room service charges have been brought in. I've seen the occasional passenger staggering cabin bound with food balanced precariously on trays, now it's bound to get worse.

Can't P&O adjust their prices so they can offer a hassle free cruise like they used to. Probably not, it's all about filling up those big ships. Sad.

David.

Complementary room service has always been one of the basic services on cruise ships (still is on Cunard and many more including Fred Olsen). What are they going to cut next because this won't be the last one that's for certain.

P&O seem to be leading the rush to the bottom of the market.

David.

UK travel advice here.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/egypt/terrorism

David.

This has been ongoing for years. It's hard to imagine that robust chairs that are fit for purpose can't be bought as with shore based outlets. But then Cunard get no direct revenue from the planetarium unlike seating in the bars.

Very few cruisers would choose to sail QM2 solely because of the planetarium presentations.

David

It's actually Carnival Corp. By moving registration out of England, they didn't have to pay prevailing wages to the staff.

It's not legally possible to get married on a UK registered ship. That's why P&O Brittania can't offer weddings unlike all the other ships of the line. So while staff wages may have had an influence, in fact if Cunard wanted to offer weddings they had to move registration out of UK.

David.

There's nothing wrong with Twinings tea it's just that the hot water from the dispensers is just that, very hot but not boiling. Applies to room service as well. I've always found that the Queens room afternoon tea is excellent though and with kettles now in cabins it should be easy to get a decent brew. And of course if you have a brand that you like at home (Yorkshire Gold is ours) a handful would not take up much room in the packing.

Wish they had included a tea pot though.

David.

The drive time from Llandudno to Southampton is around 5 hours. Add on allowance for holdups and stops on the way and 8 hours is about what you could expect.

As for tv and music many would be pleased for it to not be available.

Have a great cruise anyway.

DAVID.

I'd be interested to know if those responsible still have their jobs.

As is almost always the case finding the culprit would be near impossible. I suspect you would have to climb high in the company hierarchy to find who first came up with the scam. Did the master know or was this going on without his knowledge? I wonder if he is still in still a Carnival employee.

Work groups always close ranks.

DAVID.

Found this via the Farhom board. I wonder if one of the super size ships could have reacted so quickly. So glad the lad was saved.

https://elaineiakstravels.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/man-overboard/

DAVID.

This is all about attendance at the drill. Presumably then this system would also apply in a real emergency. There would be no problem sending a passenger back to collect a forgotten card,like where husband always relies on wife to carry it, in a drill, but add panic to the situation and some passengers would be presenting themselves to the muster point without a card for certain. Presumably paper pencil and passenger list would still need to be available.

And what happens, again in a real situation, if a passenger does not turn up. A search of the ship which is back where we started?

David

Yes we sailed on her both as Caronia, a few voyages, and a memorable sail through the Kiel Canal, and later as Saga Ruby.

Probable, no definitely our favourite ship. Add the superb Cunard service as was common then aboard this beautiful smaller ship!! Happy, happy days.

DAVID.

An inevitable consequence of the P&O fleet expansion.

David

Thanks. We will plan for a bit of a sleep in and a proper breakfast.

Time in most ports is limited so we try to get off the ship sap. Time for a lie in and a leisurely breakfast is on a sea day.

DAVID.

Fred Olsen also.

David

You can also buy 100 (minimum) shares of CCL stock and receive an OBC that varies with the length of your voyage.

Would cost around $5,700 today, a good deal for frequent Carnival brand cruisers. If they have that amount kicking around.

DAVID.

Not dining tonight? Ring the dining room and the message will get to your waiter.

Black jeans? Short of stooping to look I don't see how anyone could tell, or be bothered anyway.

There is a tendency for some to make up rules that don't exist. Enjoy!!

DAVID