ToadOfToadHall

I'd bring a laptop to play the DVDs and a HDMI cable (or VGA) which you should then be able to connect to the TV in the room. That way you don't need to hump a 19" TV and if you can't connect to the one in the room then al is not lost as you can watch the films on the laptop.

A two nighter? Is it really worth to begin it? You arrive, unpack and soon after you have to pack again. What a pity, at least for me.

We often go away for 2 or 3 nights in a hotel in the UK but I too don't think I'd make the effort (which would be more) for 2 nights on a boat.

Celia Imrie was on QM2 and we were waiting for the lift with her. I said how much I liked her top (I do this to anyone) and after chatting for a minute or so I asked if I could take her picture. She suggested my husband took a picture of her and I together, which he did.

She was on the QM2 with us as well. Maybe the same voyage then ? It was a TA back-to-back but I can't recall the year now.

I walked past her in the corridor and thought "hmm, that looks like Celia Imrie" and then told Mrs Told about it. And then there she was in that evening's daily programme.

Also on the same trip I was stood next to Dr Ruth in the lift. I only knew because someone mentioned it after she's left the lift.

You put "in transit" according to Cunard's site:

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/before-you-sail/ESTA_Application_Address

"May contain lead shot"

The most interesting note on a menu, ever.

That's a completely normal warning on a menu for a game dish.

I have to say I admire the loyalty some people show the brand in that they are happy to say they think everything is marvellous and an absolute bargain.

Spot on. I was thinking that earlier today as well.

Nobody mentioned restaurants I was referring to pubs in the UK where you go for a drink without buying food.

That's because the goal posts constantly change.

A city of 120k is hardly an accurate point of comparison for a Cunard cruise ship. Its closest kin are high end hotels in large cities.

That's maybe because I didn't compare those prices to Cunard, I compared them to Adammara's quoted prices in their local pub.

Also, what has the size of a city got to do with anything ? Chester is generally regarded as quite an expensive city in the UK, certainly it's pub prices are higher than some other much larger UK cities.

We had lunch yesterday at the local 'in' pub, a 250ml glass of house chardonnay was £9.60, so I will be happy to pay $14 + service charge, considering the ambience, service and surroundings on Cunard.

I've just checked the prices of a 250ml glass of chardonny online at what are probably the two most expensive pubs in the centre of Chester - one was £6.00 and one was £7.30. The pub round the corner from me ( A Marstons pub ) charges £4.70.

I think it's safe to say that most pubs don't charge the thick in of a tenner for a 250ml glass of house wine.

Any chance that Mrs T has actually booked a surprise trip and is cursing Cunard for nearly letting the cat out of the bag? :)

That was my first thought. But I have asked and I've been assured that she's not. Plus it's the only email, there's not been any of the normal booking ones.

I see. So both of you have booked a cruise and had an email, whilst we're not booked one (last one was just over 12 months ago). Odd.

Last night Mrs Toad received an email that purported to be from Cunard (i.e. it wasn't their Cunard email address, and Chrome warned against following the link. The email address and the survey point to a market research company).

It was entitled "Thank you for booking a Cunard Voyage" and started with her full name. It then went on "At Cunard, we regularly carry out research to help us better understand what our guests want from their holidays, so that we can continue to provide you with excellent offers and experiences."

I followed the link anyway to see what happened. And nothing much, all the questions seemed genuine and it never asked for any personal data.

But the thing is she hasn't booked anything. Now, in a few weeks I shall be having a significant birthday so my first thought was that she had actually booked it as a surprise. But Mrs Toad assures me that is not the case.

So I can only assume that they have just fired out a bulk email to anyone on their database that has in the past booked/been on a Cunard cruise.

Has anyone else has such an email ?

On the same cruise we were behind another guy at checkin who was carrying a ukulele case. Turns out he was another onboard speaker.

George Formby ?

I started talking to one of the guest speakers on our first cruise and since then we've exchanged emails over the last 10 years.

Thanks, I have tried all of the above with no success.:o

I've just tried using Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome and Opera, to see if it made any difference. To start with, in IE (logged in or not), it would not show the attachments. I managed to get it to do it by trying logging on and off both from the main Cruise Critic page and from the logon option once I was displaying this thread. I got it to work in the end after doing that a couple of times. But now, if I log off and the back on again, it all works. So I can't replicate the fault !

Are we on a cruise ship ? The amount of stuff some of you seem to bring it sounds more like a camping holiday to me ! :p :D

:(I am unable to see your attachments

I had that problem to start with.

What I did was "right-click" on where the attachment was not showing and select "Open in new tab". Then I was asked to Logon to Cruise Critic (which I already was). As soon as a logged in again I could then see the attachments (and have been to now ever since I did that).

Maybe just trying logging off and back on again to the site ?

Ship was moored at the furthest point possible in Valencia this morning, but fortunately a shuttle bus to the city centre.

That's what we found last year on the QV; It felt like we were on Ryan Air compared to the other ships in a port - like landing an another country.

I think it tastes like normal, cheap instant coffee. I don’t do instant.

True. Instant coffee served black tastes of very little. I drink coffee black with no sugar if it's filter coffee, or white with 2 sugars if it's instant.

One lunchtime on our last cruise on the QV we overheard a couple on a table close to us commenting on how bad their coffee was. I spoke to the chap and told him he was correct and just how poor I thought it was as well. He went right off on one ! "You are right, you are absolutely right. I'm not having it, it's not good enough !" he said. He then kicked up a huge fuss and had the waiter bring him a new pot, then the head waiter came over and asked what the problem was, then he too brought him a new pot as well with much apologies.

And this thread has reminded me of that lunchtime !

I have a question to repeat cruisers about the Cunard coffee in the restaurants which so many people complain about- is the problem that people find that it is too weak, too strong, or something else?

Thanks!

(And yes, we are coffee people- I'm a hard core plain black coffee snob)

It has no taste. It does not taste of coffee - it tastes of nothing.

...you are almost guaranteed to come in contact with some surface during your transit to the area (the door to your cabin, the railing in the passage way or staircase, the elevator button, your cruise card, the edge of the chair in the bar for your pre-dinner cocktail).

Well this is true. But then you have just described being alive. Sort of living inside a sterile plastic bubble, what else do you suggest ?

I edited my post to clarify the point that I was tying to make. I agree with you 100%. I’m not the problem. It’s people like the guy that I encountered. But it’s because of people like him why I don’t blame the cruise lines for aggressively trying everything they can.

I must have quoted you/replied before you edited it. I too have seen people leave toilets without washing their hands. And I too, like yourself, think that I should say something.

It's the illusion of hygene in the same way as TSA present the illusion of security (recently read they miss 95% of illegal goods, like weapons, in tests).

Taking liquids of more the 200ml onto a plan is another example of the same thing. The idea behind 200ml is that several people working together could then meet on the plane and create a liquid bomb. But this has been shown to be impossible because at the very least you would need a laboratory to do it in, and even then it's highly unlikely. But yet again, Governments around the world will not back down.

And in Australia, do you have the nonsense about not using a mobile on the forecourt of a petrol station because of the risk of explosion?

But the fact a mobile phone has never caused an explosion (and in fact can't because they don't have enough power to cause a sufficiently large spark) makes no difference. The petrol companies came out with it and will now not back down, even though it's total garbage.

Can't speak for what happens on QM2 but currently bar staff on Queen Victoria are asking whether you want 1 or 2 ounces and what brand of mixer.

A bit of psychology going on there I think.

For example, in a UK pub, if you ask for a whisky (or whatever), you'll be given a single unless you specifically state a double ( I know someone will post an example that they have seen where this is not the case, just to prove a point, but it's not generally the case). But if a barman asks if you want a single or a double, a lot of people will say a double when they only wanted a single. "Oh, go on them why not?".

It's a good way to sell you more than you really wanted.

A few years back on a Holland America cruise, I was in a bathroom near the entrance to the buffet, and there was a man in one of the stalls who was very obviously going #2 (smells and sounds). He came out of the stall as I was washing my hands, bypassed the sinks, and just walked out in front of me.

 

Guess where he went? Yes, straight to the buffet line! It was revolting to know that this man had fecal matter in his hands and was about to handle the same utensils that everyone (including myself) would use as well. I just had to walk away and eat somewhere else. I feel as if I should’ve said something directly to him, but I feared making a scene. In retrospect I should’ve.

 

Ironically, I got violently ill later that week with gastrointestinal problems. Missed a day and a half of my cruise locked up in my stateroom due to this. Ever since that experience, I have made some changes to my habits onboard. I wash my hands more frequently than I used to, I always carry hand sanitizer or use the ones provided, and I try to avoid going to the buffet as much as I can.

 

For those posters saying that they won’t use hand sanitizer because they are ineffective, in my humble opinion something is still better than nothing. For those saying that sanitizers dry their hands too much, there are sanitizers available with hand lotion. Once again, I understand that they are not 100% effective in eliminating germs, but even if all they do is minimize by a smaller percentage, it’s still better than nothing.

 

Dry hands is much more desirable than being violently ill for days in your stateroom and missing part of your cruise because of fellow cruiser’s irresponsibility and very poor hygienic habits.

 

 

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But in your example, you using a hand sanitizer has not relevance in regard to person leaving the toilet and not washing their hands. They are the ones that should be using it, not you.