wombat57

We are sailing on the Queen Elizabeth from Sydney next year (if the Australian government ever finally gives the go ahead for cruising to recommence here).

What time is early sitting dinner in the Britannia restaurant, and is open dining available at all?

Also, do the balcony partitions open? We are sailing with friends so would like to have the partition between our cabins open if possible. Specifically cabins 7171 and 7175.

I have asked these queries of Cunard customer service officers and have received different answers so your assistance/information would be appreciated.

Thanks so much for your prompt replies and this issue is certainly not a deal breaker - I was just interested because of my recent (enjoyable) experience on a Princess ship.

I'm definitely interested in the lectures and other activities as well and enjoy the differences of the various cruise lines I have been on.

Thank you for your assistance.

I am looking at booking my first Cunard cruise on the Queen Elizabeth. I have been on about 15 pother cruises and particularly enjoy movie watching as I don't get much of a chance to watch movies in my day-to-day life. Screening of recent movies (both in-cabin and in the theatre) is a wonderful feature of Princess cruises which I very much enjoy so would love it if this was also available on Cunard ships.

I'd be grateful and if someone could provide this information for the Queen Elizabeth:

1. Are movies screened every day in one of the public theatres?

2. Are movies available on the in-cabin TVs?

3. What is available for viewing on the in-cabin TVs?

We were in Bergen in May and took an afternoon excursion to the Fantoft stave church and then onto Troldhaugen which was the home of composer Edvard Grieg (it is now a museum).

Troldhaugen is in a beautiful position by a lake on the outskirts of Bergen and it was a lovely drive through the suburbs to get there from the city centre.

Daily music recitals are held there at 1pm during the summer months and the museum runs a bus out to Troldhaugen from the tourist information office in the city between 1 June and 30 September.

http://www.griegmuseum.no

http://www.fantoftstavekirke.com

Do the cabins have a DVD player and can you borrow or rent movies to watch in your cabin? I've done this on other cruise lines.

I am expecting to spend quite a bit of time in our cabin (an aft balcony cabin on deck 9) as I am concerned about the (many) reports of overcrowding on this ship and have even have thought about cancelling our booking. I've been on about a dozen cruises before but never on a ship as large as this one.

I love cruising and expect some crowding on a cruise ship but don't really want to spend my entire holiday queueing up or constantly jostling for a seat in the buffet or bars or on deck. I'd be interested in your observations about your experiences on the Voyager.

Thank you very much for your advice and information.

I'd also love a copy of the walking tour - I'll be in Tallinn in May.

jenniferwilliamson_20athotmaildotcom

Thank you so much

Thanks Joe - very useful information and your photos gave me a great idea of what the ship is like (very different to the HAL ships!)

My husband and I have just booked a cruise to the Baltics and Norwegian Fjords on the Norwegian Star. We have only ever cruised on HAL ships and once on the Dawn Princess as NCL doesn't offer cruises in Australia/NZ or Asia.

This itinerary in northern Europe and the sailing date suited us perfectly so we are excited about giving NCL a go.

The HAL ships have a lot of accessible outdoor areas which are great for sightseeing - an open area on the bow, a large aft deck and promenade deck plus a lounge/bar with huge picture windows which extends right across the front of the ship just below the bridge.

The Norwegian Star looks like it is much more 'closed in' ship with lots and lots of indoor restaurants and bars but less accessible outdoor areas. That's just my impression from the deck plans so I'd love to hear from those of you who are familiar with the ship.

It's not a deal breaker but as we will be cruising in such a scenic area I'm interested to know the best areas on the ship for sightseeing.