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Didn't happen on QV last Christmas

We were onboard in December and the ship looked fine.  I often wonder, with all the painting and varnishing that goes on all the time how much heavier the ship is than when it was launched, cos that's the kind of stupid thing I think about!

5 minutes ago, babs135 said:

We all know the adage 'the straw that breaks the camel's back'. Could this be one of those straws?  Yes, as many of us have said (myself included) If you can afford to cruise you can afford the gratuities, but there comes a point when this could no longer be true. 

A pound here and a pound there soon adds up and if they increase the 15% on drinks that could be the final nail in the coffin for attracting new cruisers. Maybe I'm being overdramatic but I'm sure you get my drift.

It really is time the gratuities were included in the fare then we wouldn't constantly have these discussions

 

 

Totally agree with you.

1 hour ago, seasickphil said:

If you do that then the non frontline staff ( cleaners, chefs/kitchen staff etc ) have to survive on the poor basic pay.

Sorry, but its not my job to pay Cunard's staff.  Carnival should pay their staff a living wage.

Take the charges off if you don't agree with them.  I will be taking them off and tipping as I see fit

58 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

We were in an aft suite just over a year ago and there was the most awful smell in the corridor. The same smell was in different areas around the ship and near the hot tubs was just revolving.

Some shabby walls in the corridors too made it not much better than a North Sea ferry tbh! Actually, any ferries I’ve been on are in better condition.

I can probably go along with your comment about the smell, although I never noticed any smell, but the bit about the North sea ferry being in better condition than QV - really?

We have spent Christmas and new year on the QM2 and QV and had a great time on both, I would highly recommend it.  there were very few children on either trip, and those that were on board were fine.  Fireworks on NYE in Madeira were fabulous.

19 hours ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Nothing to stop the physical purchase of a full round of drinks for all one’s friends/group.  Done it numerous of times.

 

Having now read the T's and C's through you can buy a whole round of drinks, but only one of them will be on your package, the rest will be charged to your account at the normal cost

We had the same problem with our toilet, there was a delay in the flushing and then it overflowed and a plumber had to come out and then someone appeared with a big vacuum to vacuum up the water that was slopping around our bathroom.

Another issue we had was when the sea was a bit choppy, not stormy just choppy there was a lot of loud banging and clanging going on, and the vibration on the upper level of the Britannia restaurant at the back was quite noticeable.

Also, what is to stop just one person purchasing the drinks package and then buying drinks for everyone in their group?

We have just returned from the Christmas QV cruise and our onboard account was eye wateringly high, mostly due to alcohol purchased, but we also got duped into buying a spa package!  We also made the mistake of letting the sommelier in the Britannia restaurant choose the wine so ended up

drinking ridiculously priced bottles of wine, lesson learned there.  With regard to drinks packages do I understand correctly that bottles of wine purchased in the restaurant are not included, what about if you buy wine by the glass in the restaurant?

My husband will be wearing formal wear on appropriate nights, but on some 'smart attire' nights he might wear black trousers with a black sweater and a velvet jacket.  Personally I think it will look great.

On 2/9/2023 at 10:07 AM, ace2542 said:

What happens if you walk around the promenade deck the wrong way?

You would probably have to walk the plank

I recently found a website called JJ's House which has some lovely evening wear, I have my eye on a couple of dresses I want to order for my Christmas cruise

Booked QV Christmas 2023

My point was that IF Arunas and Katusha found themselves in a social dancing situation, that is what they would do.  I have seen world champion dancers on the floor in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool during social dancing sessions - or should I say general dancing sessions, but none of them were dancing in a competitive hold.  My husband was a competitive competition dancer, reaching quite a high world ranking level, but would never dream of 'dancing big' in the Queens Room, packed or not.

There are always some dancers who feel that they have the right to dance in full ballroom, competition type hold and dance at speed.  There is not the room in the Queens Room for this, in my opinion it is a social situation and dancing should be done socially.  I have been around ballroom dancing for many years, good dancers can weave their way around the floor (floorcraft) without charging at full speed and without their arms up and elbows out.  Arunas and Katusha are world champions and are beautiful dancers but I am pretty sure they would never consider dancing in full hold in a social situation.  The Queens Room is for everyone and consideration should be shown,  I have heard many people say that they felt intimidated and would not venture onto the dance floor because of 'better' dancers and that is sad.

Why should we have to 'buy a little insurance' the porters are doing what they are paid for and should treat all luggage with respect whether they are tipped or not.  My perspective only.

Agree with all the comments here - Angus Struthers would make a very good politician, lots of words but nothing actually said. It was a complete waste of time.

I posted the question to Cunard on their FB page - this is their reply:

Cunard Hi we are not making any changes to the dress code but we are updating the language that we use to describe the evening attire on board. Our Ask Cunard section on dress codes will be updated shortly but in the meantime, Gala Evenings do refer to Formal nights and Smart Attire will be the equivalent of Informal (jacket required) evenings

I just took this off the Cunard website, I think Cunard need to clarify the situation

Evenings

Evenings will be split into 2 different dress codes. You will be notified of the evening's dress code in your Daily Programme. As a guide, these will be:

Formal:

Evening wear consists of an evening or cocktail dress or smart trouser suit for ladies. A tuxedo, dinner jacket or dark suit with appropriate neck wear for men or you may wear formal national dress and military uniform.

Informal (Jacket Required):

Evenings would consist of a required jacket and optional tie for gentlemen, whilst ladies should wear cocktail dresses, stylish separates or equivalent. No jeans or shorts.

Informal (Jacket Optional):

The Informal (Jacket Optional) dress code amendment applies to Queen Victoria's summer fly Mediterranean season on embarkation days only, in Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Venice. Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will continue to have the standard Formal and Informal (Jacket Required) dress codes. The ship's newspaper will confirm the dress code of the day.

Guests who have Athens, Barcelona, Rome and Venice as a port during their voyage and are already settled in on board are encouraged to wear a jacket.

Please note that after 6:00pm, shorts and blue or worn denim (for men and women); sandals and sleeveless tops (for men) are not considered appropriate within the ship.

On formal nights, any guests wishing to dress more casually are welcome to dine in the Kings Court or Lido restaurants and relax in the Carinthia Lounge, Winter Garden, Garden Lounge, Yacht Club, G32 or on the open decks. Please do not use other areas within the ship, including The Verandah restaurant, out of respect for our fellow guests.

The Aussies don't tend to dress up for anything much. the first time I went there I took lots of going out clothes but they never came out of the wardrobe! :)

On our first cruise we had a table for 2. We enjoyed talking to the people on the next table every evening so ,since then, we have asked for a table for 6.

that's exactly what happened to us, except now we normally go for 8 and have so far met some lovely and interesting people

The thread regarding inexperienced ballroom dancers made my heart sink as an infrequent waltzer I was really looking forward to some 'proper" dancing.

 

However after reading the etiquette article it's just a case of common sense, consideration and tolerance. I didn't realise the direction of travel was counter clockwise - a very useful tip.

 

My husband is an excellent ballroom dancer and possesses various awards from his youth although he would never advertise this.

 

For myself as the possessor of a pair of dyslexic feet I plan to take some lessons before our cruise to save my partner's toes and my blushes.

 

 

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I'm in pretty much the same boat here, my husband is a very experienced dancer, I just hang on!!:')

No, it is not competition. However, everyone should be aware of and practice basic ballroom etiquette/rules, particularly with regard to floorcraft, so that your dancing (good, bad or indifferent) does not prevent others on the floor from enjoying their dancing experience. For inexperienced ballroom dancers, where you locate on the floor is more important than how well you dance.

It is not only inexperienced ballroom dancers who prevent others on the floor from enjoying dancing in the Queens Room. The ones who think they are experienced but have no concept of social dancing are the main culprits at this.