durante

We didn't book through The Times either, but directly on the Cunard website as a double TA where it was made very clear that NY to Southampton was to be Literature based theme and listed most of the authors attending. Shame you didnt read it. I think most of the people wearing the Times Lanyards did so as it was their first cruise and thought it was the thing to do. Nobody looked their noses down at anyone, although it may be possible that anti-readers and killjoys were put out by the sight of people actually enjoying themselves! 

The Literature Cruise in 2019 was without a doubt the most interesting transatlantic cruise I have ever been on. Non-stop talks, debates and related shows. Entertainment as normal suffered slightly, which I was very glad of as it usually is quite repetitive! The Literature events were extremely popular with most people. I never heard of anyone complaining about them, and the fact that they are scheduling them every year has got to be proof of their popularity.

My mother is stuck in Perth staying at the Novotel, due to the sudden ending of the QM2 world cruise at Fremantle. She was told Cunard would arrange her flight back to the UK, but on the Monday was given a letter under her door with a flight on Qatar Airways with my sisters name as the passenger instead of her (she only shared my mothers cabin on the Sydney to Fremantle segment and is already back home in Sydney.)

When my mother went to the pursers desk, she was simply told it had been booked like that in Southampton, and no apologies or anything. When it came to leaving the ship no one helped her with her luggage, the coach she was on went to the wrong hotel and simply left people there. The luggage went to the Novotel, finally my mother was told she should be at the Novotel. She got a taxi there as there was no one to take her from the other hotel.

She spent ages trying to locate her luggage, finally she and other passenger found all the bags dumped outside the back of the hotel!

I believe she spoke to a "Cunard rep" who was at the Novotel, but still has heard nothing about a flight back to the UK in her name.

it is absolutely a shambles. 

I have tried phoning Cunard at Southampton but no one is picking up the phone to deal with this urgent situation, also left messages on their flights and complaints website queries.

Does anyone happen to know a phone number I could call in Southampton  other than their customer service line, who can escalate this?

12 hours ago, Pear Carr said:

Unfortunately QM2 is currently getting bad press 'It's the honeymoon from hell!' Benidorm actress Crissy Rock 'terrified' as she is quarantined on month-long Queen Mary 2 cruise amid coronavirus fears” Apparently passengers are in panic, according to a ‘friend’ of hers with one passenger fainting yesterday as they don’t know what’s happening or where they are going! I can appreciate the frustration at the change in itinerary and the fact that you will be having no port stops between Dubai and Fremantle, however, the change is in order to avoid coronavirus and is hardly a quarantine situation. Cunard have taken appropriate action in very difficult circumstances and should be commended rather than criticised. Being aboard the QM2 is often holiday enough for me! 

I read that article in the Daily Mail, and agree with you. Very silly woman.

Although it is heading to Fremantle, it will be first be going straight to Port Kelang in Malaysia to refuel and pick up supplies, however anyone getting off the ship will not be allowed to reboard. 

6 hours ago, rafinmd said:

How long will Captain Hashmi be on board and who is the Entertainment Director?

 

Roy

Roy, he said until Sydney. Amanda Reid is the Entertainment Director and she is also on until Sydney.

The other port change which was announced by Captain Hashmi  is that Bitung will be replaced by Bali.

I haven't received any statement from Cunard and am on that first sector.

That was one opinion. The usual activities were all still available except for the Planetarium, which was no great loss as most of the shows are repeated. The guest authors and journalists were very interesting and their shows were extremely popular and prompted quite a bit of discussion. I never heard anyone complain. I suppose there are alway some people who are not interested in these special event cruises, such as the Fashion Week, Food and Wine either....Just have an open mind and be prepared to enjoy

Hi, I have just returned from a BTB TA and the Transfer to Macy's was available to book once onboard. We did something else so cannot comment on it. 

By the way if one of your  December TA crossings is the Times/Cheltenham Literature Festival at Sea, it should be fantastic as we really enjoyed it last week! 

Yes, there is.

Am on QM2 arriving in Southampton tomorrow in an obstructed view balcony on Deck 8 and we still have the individual small bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser.

The search function doesn't work for me at all on my ipad despite clearing cache, history etc. Im looking at it now on my work pc and its still terrible. The maps don't correspond to many of the descriptions.

Hi Paulpgr ,

Cruisecal shows provisional schedule for QE at Madeira on 21 December from 8am to 5pm.

The website is incorrect when it refers to a 'taster menu' for the Diamond free lunch. It is actually a starter, main course and dessert taken from the standard lunch menu.

And for the person on the 2 day cruise, you don't get any benefits apart from the free internet, all the other benefits are for a week or longer.

I'm still waiting for a reply from Customer Services to a query sent in August, despite sending them a reminder a week ago...nothing.

Thanks ClanMcLean!:) I don't know why I never spot these competitions myself....

The room we are in has 1 double bed and 1 single bed. I think it is called a triple, although we only booked and paid for a twin room, they allocated us this one. The single bed is a proper bed not a sofa bed.

The other time we stayed here was in January when the building work was starting and it never bothered us during the morning when they started work

I am currently staying at the Premier Inn which is directly opposite West Quay shopping centre. The construction site you mentioned is behind the hotel, and absolutely no noise at night. As mentioned earlier, it should be finished by the time you are here.

The other thing I would mention is I can see the Holiday Inn from my window and can't see any shops/restaurants near to it, so think you would be better off at the Premier Inn if you don't want to do the longer walk to West Quay over 3 days. It's the second time I've stayed here and it's spotlessly clean.

I was on the QM2 full world cruise earlier this year, and we had one Indian port. We did not need an Indian visa if we wanted to stay on the ship, which is what we planned to do. And no problem with that as about half the passengers must have done the same and stayed onboard. However, prior to the cruise, there was a lot of incorrect information especially from Cunards Visa specialists CIBT who advised me we would need a visa even if we wanted to stay on the ship. This was totally untrue. The Telegraph article quoted by Blueriband below is factually incorrect as in addition to not needing a visa if staying onboard, the rule was changed to allow e-visas, I think in December so cruisers didn't need the full visa if they only stopped at one Indian port and wanted to go ashore.

Anyway, after worrying about whether we needed a visa or not, I emailed Cunard a few weeks before the start of the cruise and received a reply confirming we didn't need the visa as we were staying onboard. I don't know why they can't confirm the same thing to you, unless they think it's too far in advance to give a clear answer?

The lunch menu is now different to that link from the Cunard website. The Verandah is only open for lunch on sea days.

Hi Balloonman, here's an update on the Prosecco situation on QM2...there were only a couple of bottles of Prosecco left in the Britannia restaurant last night. Our sommelier said it would be replaced by a South African sparkling. They had already run out of the Prosecco in the alternative Coriander restaurant when we asked about it a few nights ago, and the replacement offered was the same South African sparkling wine. Interesting that the venues seem to keep their stocks separate.

Currently on QM2, and we had no problem bringing back six bottles of wine onboard after our day at the Wineries in the Stellenbosch area just over a week ago.

Hi Kathleen, my post and others on this thread relate to the Indian Visa on QM2 2018 World Voyage, so cannot comment on your situation regarding the Indian visa with Princess.

FTnumbers,

Am currently onboard and many people, including myself, do not have Indian visas as we will be staying on the ship at Cochin. If you still require confirmation directly from Cunard, then why not email them ? They will confirm you don't need the visa in writing which will give you peace of mind.

I originally had the same query as you, and wish the Visa specialists CIBT had been more open and factual, instead of advising that I would not be allowed on the ship without the visa, this was blatantly untrue, and a ploy to create more business for themselves.