alc13

2 hours ago, tacticalbanjo said:

We’ve already emailed the exec correspondence address as well as the normal email address (not that we’ve had a confirmation of receipt for either) but will try the presidents too for good measure. And maybe messages on LinkedIn plus ringing the call centre every day just in case someone can help us. 

I’ve read that Facebook and Twitter can help.  I would try customer service again, too.  At least they should be able to escalate your request.
 

Good luck - dealing with large companies can be difficult.

4 minutes ago, tjunmin said:

Actually, picture people in suits - in their posh offices - looking at applications on their computer screens - or tablets - like the one below, to have a better understanding of what consumers are doing and make business decisions. The image has been heavily readacted, but it gives you an idea of what is out there. This system is a few years old, so what is currently out there can be even more sophisticated. It tracked data for a small portion of the business and is not related to cruising or travel. The system was fed by massive amounts of data that were poured into it on a daily basis, and were processed by multiple servers nightly, before it was presented in a neat graphical way, easy to be visualized and consumed by business decision makers. All the visual data can be filtered by different categories, and clicking on any of the data on the screen will drill further down into the data, at a more granular level.

I have no doubt that is the reality.  The geek in my loves the data crunching aspect, and those are some pretty graphics.  But companies routinely monetize our behavior nowadays (eg, all social media platforms), and the underlying technology has gotten increasingly nosy.  

But that

17 hours ago, tjunmin said:

I find interesting observing people's priorities.

 

My main concern regarding wearing a tracking device - which the Princess medallion absolutely is - is the loss of personal privacy in regards to my physical location. The matter is not "I'm not doing anything wrong and therefore I have nothing to hide". What truly matters is that your movements are being tracked 24/7 on board, and you have no idea who is looking at that data, how it is being used, or how it will be used in the future. And marketing departments smartly package a tracking device as a convenience tool.

 

Hope no one takes this as a personal offense; it is intended as raising awareness of privacy concerns.

Like white mice in a maze.  Somewhere I picture lab coats and clipboards monitoring our tracking data.

On 1/14/2024 at 5:17 PM, DCThunder said:

I am considering booking a Cunard sailing in Alaska in June 2024.  I've sailed a lot on Princess and Holland America and would like to experience Cunard.  I've been reading some of the threads here on Cruise Critic and have watched a video or two on Cunard sailings, but am interested in what advice or tips you Cunard veterans might be willing to pass along.

Don't miss the live music that is scattered throughout the ship.  

Tangential but related, I think - sites like Expedia or Google don't list all the available flights for a given itinerary.  Which complicates the comparison between Cunard Air and DIY, because better alternatives can pop up on individual airline sites.  A thorough search for preferred prices and flight times can take a while. 

36 minutes ago, MylesS said:

I'm not sure if this breaks any Cunard tradition, but surely it would make the most sense for Princess Anne to name the ship, and I would assume then become Godmother?

Oh, I hope so.  She is my favorite member of the family.  

40 minutes ago, NE John said:

I heard that all soups are prepared in Kings Court, even for Grills. Nothing to back that up though. 

Interesting.  The soups are usually delicious.

Are meals prepared in the same kitchen for all 3 restaurants (4, if you could BC)? 

We had our first real snowfall yesterday here in Maine.  This morning I saw 3 mourning doves warming themselves on the heated birdbath.  Smart birds!

H426, Northern Lights, Oct 15-27, 2024

10/16 Black and White

10/21 Masquerade

10/24 Roaring Twenties

In our (recent) experience, OBC only showed up once we were onboard.

Happy New Year to you, to, @Lanky Lad!  And to all the group here on the Cunard Board.  

Love it, actually.  Reconciling comfort, convenience, and price - very fun for me.  It might be a kind of armchair travel activity, now that I think about it.

19 hours ago, Zeg said:

Some interesting and informative replies. Thank you. 
 

Still curious to learn what a ‘TA’ s good relationship’ with a cruise line actually means in practice. Are we talking about a preferred service? If so isn’t that discriminatory?  Or maybe some backscratching? Complimentary jollies, freebies? 

 

Perhaps cruise lines answer the phone or respond to emails quicker with TA’s?  Maybe you get a better cabin? I don’t know. 

 

What I do know is (in the U.K.) at least, many TA’s require larger deposits and earlier balance payments than booking direct. And cancellation T&C’s require careful scrutiny too because the booking contract is with the TA, not the cruise line. 

 

Doesn’t the ‘service’, we all receive (or otherwise) come from the cruise line itself? Surely the Agent is merely acting as a go between and in doing so taking a cut, which incidentally is fair enough. 

 

I’d be surprised if any cruise line would jeopardise its reputation by providing a two tier service, but I’ve been surprised before. 
 

I’ve an open mind, just curious. I’d book with a TA every time if I could uncover some real and personal tangible benefits. 

 

 

 

I've puzzled over this, too.  I enjoy making travel arrangements and will probably always rather book flights and hotels myself.  As for cruises, I used to think TAs could offer better OBC, but I don't know if that's true.  Our most recent Cunard booking has a healthy amount of OBC and we booked direct.  On the other hand, we just came off a Seabourn cruise, and there I used a TA because the OBC offering was (or seemed to be) better.  

We haven't encountered a problem yet that would benefit from having a TA to sort it out, but being impatient by nature I expect I might prefer tackling it myself.  All that said, I liked our recent TA experience and will probably call her again the next time we book a cruise.

Good point.

I wouldn't rule out a turtleneck.  It can look smashing.  

This year I finally got around to making @Colin_Cameron's fruitcake recipe again.  Another success!  

Considering the amount of fruit in it I think it qualifies as health food.

Happy Christmas, everyone.

Couple of other responses.  Starlink is amazing.  You wouldn't have any trouble reading emails with the included wifi package.   

Food is such a complicated topic.  For us, the meals we ate in the Restaurant (main dining room) were not very good overall.  Also, since you are considering a lengthy cruise, I will mention that the breakfast offerings in the buffet were the same every day.  

We were on the Ovation last week so I can speak to the wines.  If you are a wine lover, you may be disappointed by the included wines, which averaged under $15/bottle retail.  The list is not readily available so you must simply keep tasting the offered wines until you find one you like.  The premium wine list offers alternatives, but at a cost; I saw a few at $70/bottle and the rest were higher to much higher (the prices were about twice retail, I think).  There are a few wines by the glass available on the TK Grill bar menu but they cost ~$30/glass, as I recall.  So not much available in the $20-40/bottle range.  

On 12/9/2023 at 5:38 AM, Colin_Cameron said:

Life has been a bit of a roller-coaster these last couple of weeks. We had a big trip planned to NZ and Australia for the end of Jan including getting between them on QV as part of her world cruise. Final payment date for everything was the end of November. When dad's health deteriorated two weeks ago, suddenly going away for three months at the start of next year didn't seem like such a good idea. Everything else was changeable or cancellable, even after final payment but we had to make a decision on the cruise. Fast. So on the 27th we moved the booking to a short QA cruise closer to home later in the year (Copenhagen and Oslo).

 

Without getting too morbid about things, we never got around to making any of the other changes and this week we have re-booked the Auckland to Sydney voyage on QV.

 

I may be quiet for another couple of weeks as I'll be quite busy. Those Christmas cakes are not going to finish themselves, amoungst other things. So I'll wish you all a Merry Christmas now, and I'll be back in the New Year.

Sorry to hear about your dad’s declining condition.  I plan to make your Christmas fruitcake recipe this year and will post a photo.  Happy holidays to you, too.

16 hours ago, Underwatr said:

What is really needed is voyage history and WC status. I believe it was available there once upon a time.

I agree

Emotional Keith! - intriguing.  So far I don't think those are airing in the US but I will remember to look for them.  We see a lot of British TV here.  

We'll be going by train.  I'll look into Brighton, thanks.

I have a similar situation.  Instead of going into London, what about places to stop for a night between Southampton and Gatwick?  Any towns along that route that would offer a bit of sightseeing and maybe a nice dinner?

Maybe Winchester?

We watched the GBBO final last night.  I guess (?) it was the right outcome.  They all had ups and downs this season.  

Not wild about the new co-host but Noel Fielding is finally growing on me.