BlueRiband

Used what is now called "Express Disembarkation" today.  It was a much less painful procedure than dealing with the baggage hall.  (The only time I took the advice to hire a porter it went terribly wrong.)

However today neither the escaltor nor the elevator was working at the Brooklyn terminal!   Everyone had to decend the stairs but Cunard sent crew members over to carry our bags down the staircase for us.  I don't know what they did about the mobility impaired passengers.

20 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

...Regarding the new Deck 8 staterooms 8116 to 8130 (port side only as I read it)  number 8130 is a Queens Grill suite.  

8124, 8126, and 8128 are wheel chair accessible cabins while 8130 is a Q7.

I took a walk down to the end and "small peepholes" are found in 8116-8126.  8128 and 8130 had the larger peepholes.  This suggests that only 5 cabins were updated.

6 minutes ago, JT1101 said:

The rowdier behaviors I think tend not to happen on Cunard ships because of the more formal atmosphere and the imbuement of history and tradition into everything. It sort of leads to self selection by guests. 

Agreed.  The dress code and formal atmosphere act as a filter.    Potential passengers who see the ships are a mismatch for their preferred vacation style won't book Cunard.

On 12/1/2023 at 8:51 PM, Liberal_Baggie said:

Did anyone get to the bottom of what went on with Deck 8 . Clearly cabins were removed was this a trial for a future refit or was it done for access to other equipment? I’m guessing cabins on deck 8 port side Aft were the ones taken out anybody got any information?

On 12/2/2023 at 3:14 AM, Winifred 22 said:

I walked all round deck 8 corridors and looked in the Verandah and could see no difference whatsoever except new carpet on the floors. No new exit to deck 8.

There was a Senior Officer's party today and I inquired about this from an engineering officer.  According to him there were no plumbing or other issues with the cabins removed but the replacement was just part of renewing areas of the ship.   The only noticeable difference - if one looks closely - is that the "peepholes" on 8116-8130 are smaller than on the original cabins.

Also, the outdoor Jacuzzis were replaced along with new steel decking around the pools.

As one who has always sailed solo, FWIW consider:

1) sailing solo for your first trip, and

2) seek a cruise line that offers a fixed dining and table option so that you will have stable company at dinner. 

Yes, the single supplement is pricey but the entire trip will be a waste if you have an incompatible cabin mate.  Remember that this is not an weekend trip by car and you cannot pack your bags and leave early if things go badly.

When I last sailed two of my table mates were widowed ladies - long time friends who were sharing a cabin.  Later one confided to me that although they often traveled together, this was the first time that they had roomed together.  Long story short, her friend had annoying and disruptive habits at night and she was now going to have to endure another seven days of that while sailing back to their home country. 

An unofficial social media page has some images - the lifeboats have been removed and old carpeting has been ripped out.

Damen Verolme Rotterdam (unoffical page)

According to the Port of Rotterdam website, the refit is thus described: "This concerns an operational 'refit'; both technical maintenance and renovation of carpets and staterooms." (Machine translated from Dutch.)

The Damen Verolme Rotterdam dock 7 is their largest: maximum of 405m length, 90m beam and 11.6m draft.  I'm hoping that once she arrives some images will show up on social media. 

There are not too many drydocks in the world that can accomodate her.  On the US east coast Newport News - which builds aircraft carriers - appears to be the only place if she ran into serious trouble on this side of the Atlantic.

FWIW, morning Masses, on sea days, are usually held in Illuminations/planetarium.  Evening Masses, on port days, are held in one of the Connexions rooms.  I can be a challenge for first-timers to find either one.  

On 10/3/2023 at 8:43 PM, mattR said:

Would the Cancellation Fee Waiver Program enable some of my group to cancel last minute if they put in new Covid restrictions last minute? 

As I read it, No.  As of this writing the "At Ease" program brochure reads, " ..there is no protection from cancellation fees within 72 hours of sailing date." 

Sounds like solos looking for the camaraderie of the same dining companions each evening are in for a lonely crossing.  The lack of fixed dining is my main reason for avoiding NCL. 

Cruise ships have been used for emengeny housing in the past and also to house Olympic athletes such as professional US basketball players.  

If NYC works this out with NCL it will put covid protocols to the test.  Do migrants get served meals or can they serve themselves at the buffet?  Do they have to mask whenever out of their cabin?  Can they come and go at will?  What testing/vaccination requirments will be required?   If there is no covid testing for a migrant to board and live there for weeks or months then why should I be required to get a covid test to board a ship for a 7-day cruise? 

The testing requirement has kept me from booking.  As I live in NY Cunard Care isn't availble but is replaced by the "At Ease" cancellation fee waiver coverage.   The US Cunard site reads that if one tests positive and is denied boarding Cunard says, "...we urge you to contact your insurance provider at your earliest convenience..."   Not so conviently for the passenger, the "At Ease" coverage teminates 72 hours before scheduled sailing.

As with many things in this world it pays to read the fine print or else pay a heft tuition payment in the University of Life Experience.   

I had the opportunity to take this tour a few years ago on QM2 and it was limited to 16 per sailing.  A fellow tour member asked why it was not expanded to include more passengers, given its popularity.  The answer was that it took work to conduct the tour and those preparing and leading it have  to do this in addition to the normal duties.    

4 minutes ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

...But certainly the situation onboard must of been bad or Cunard would not of gone so far as to issue the notice.

Or it was corporate "CYA" on the advice of shoreside legal.

21 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Thanks for the review tonyd285, appreciate your objectivity.

Wondering how intrusive you found losing an hour in the middle of the day (5)? We have only sailed westerly but are sometimes enticed by the lower pricing of the eastbound TA's.

Thanks

Jack

It really compresses your afternoons.  When the time change was made at Noon there's the captain's operational update then the next thing you know it's 1:15.   If you have activities planned or appointments booked one has to keep that in mind.

The last refit, originally planned before the covid shutdown, WAS to have completely renovated the spa.  Canyon Ranch is essentially unchanged since the ship entered service and getting pretty threadbare.  I don't anticipate anything being done beyond what is operationally mandated until the industry sees some stability.  

On 8/31/2022 at 3:05 AM, ldubs said:

 

...Could you describe the excursion that says it involves 1.5 miles of walking on uneven surfaces?  Someone who experienced that same tour might be able to give some real good perspective.   

 

I recall one such excursion to the D-day American landing beaches in France.   Two people on my tour had to sit out a couple of stops.  (These were the same two who had to take an elevator down one deck from the assembly place to the gangway.)  While their opting to sit out didn't interfere with the tour they certainly were unable to enjoy what they had paid for.   

She only sailed for about two years for Cunard.  After a 1974 fire she was declared a total constructive loss, her hull sold, and converted to a sheep carrier.  You can read her history here:MV Cunard Ambassador

Going back to the original post in this thread, being disembarked in a foreign port into a quarantine hotel for who-knows-how-long is a worry for me.  Even if I'm asymptomaic my being over 65 could be considered a risk factor for development of serious disease.  And if I'm in quarantine on board when the ship returns home, how to I get from the ship to my apartment if I'm still covid positive?  Do I have to use some medical transport service if no car service or taxi will take me?  

Yes, I'm selfish.  Better for me not to be sailing under these circumstances. 

41 minutes ago, deck chair said:

...  I am a usually a solo traveler and I believe most solo travelers feel the same. 

Deck Chair.

Ditto.  If I have different table mates every night it's a deal-killer for me.  This, and the potential for a reversion to more restrictive dining protocols, keeps me from booking.  I don't want to spend this kind of money and not be able to enjoy the same camaraderie of the past. 

6 minutes ago, lindylooellalouise said:

Fingers crossed it will be mandatory, just to keep everyone as safe as possible.

I guess we all have our own tolerances of what is necessary and safe.  The high potential for a "roll back" to more onerous covid restrictions keeps me from booking.   Cunard's earlier "Healthy Gateways" protocols explicitly stated that only passengers traveling together would be permitted to dine together.  As a solo, a roll back to that would be a deal breaker.   After paying that much money it would be no pleasure to dine alone or in my cabin.  

If that's what is necessary to keep the ship safe, and I'm not happy to comply, then my staying away is the better choice for all.

15 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

When are cruise lines going to take the new variant seriously and enhance protocols further with boosters (at the least) and a temporary mask mandate indoors in elevators, corridors, and anywhere you’re not seated or in a venue. This is a different beast, the cruise lines know it’s coming and haven’t done anything to help make it safer for the upcoming surge. I believe any such measures could be temporary, but they should at least be doing something!

Why give your time and money to a business  that you believe is not responding adequately to the situation?  Anyone who believes that cruise lines are not doing enough may be better off not sailing.  We've been living around covid for over a year and a half.  Everyone has to decide what kind of activities they will engage in based on their own health and that of those close to them.

She may not be able to sail at all in the foreseeable future.  Some lines, like Cunard, are denying passage to anybody who needs supplemental oxygen.  (With the exception of CPAP machines.)  The reasoning is that anybody with impaired respiratory function is at very high risk of serious disease if infected with covid.

This concern is keeping me from booking a Caribbean cruise right now.  I'm not worried about getting so sick as to need hospitalization.  I am worried about a single positive test effectively ending my vacation. 

The second worse thing that can happen is to be quarantined onboard until the ship returns to the US. 

The worst thing that can happen is to be disembarked into a quarantine hotel in a foreign port. 

"Gifts for crew", though nobly intended, is a topic that resurfaces occasionally.  Crew members have their own  devices and almost zero storage space.  The three best crew gifts are cash, cash, and cash.