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Earth and Ocean is our favorite as well. And we too ate outside on our Antarctica journey, wrapped in parkas and blankies. Very popular so we learned to come a little late. The menu does repeat, so on a long cruise, you will not want to go there each night. We also liked the informal atmosphere.

Safarigal nailed it!

The casino awaits you, Lady H. The staff there are better than ever!

Unfortunately, except for Mr. Luxury, the commercial choices are all not good. Newark is the closest to the Manhattan cruise terminal, so the cab ride would be the most affordable. Unfortunately much of the Newark airport is in terrible condition. LaGuardia is the next closest, but it is constantly under construction and also not in good condition. JFK is far away and the cab ride is expensive, and when you get there, not at all pleasant. Maybe you should charter a jet like Mr. Luxury???

Well exactly! We have never had a problem boarding on HAL or Seabourn, or even very large ships on Princess and Carnival. In my experience, it has not been a problem of Carnival Corp., but of Cunard. This should be addressed as I fear it is chasing away repeat customers.

Will Cunard ever get embarkation right? Roy, I am so sorry for your long waits and exhaustion. Note that our June 22 embarkation in Hamburg took 2 1/2 hours and we were priority! Other PAX reported waits of close to 4 hours. We have never had these problems on other lines, but have experienced them on Cunard in New York, Southampton, Hamburg, Cape Town, and Los Angeles. Experiences like these probably scare away first timers. Actually worse than getting through the nightmares at many airports!

We are on the QM2 right now with an arrival in Brooklyn tomorrow. The motor coach transfer from the ship to LGA costs $60 per person and leaves at 8:15 AM. The latest one can disembark is 10:00. In the past availability of taxis at the Red Hook terminal has been sketchy; sometimes there have been several and other times none at all. Calling Uber or Lift may be your best option. I will try to send more info on the taxi situation after we disembark tomorrow. So this morning at 10:30 there were a few taxis waiting for customers. But bear in mind that the line to get through the very slow immigration process was immense, so bad that Cunard was holding lots of PAX on board until the immigration lines lessened. So the demand for taxis was limited by the slow trickle of PAX leaving the terminal.

We are on the QM2 right now with an arrival in Brooklyn tomorrow. The motor coach transfer from the ship to LGA costs $60 per person and leaves at 8:15 AM. The latest one can disembark is 10:00. In the past availability of taxis at the Red Hook terminal has been sketchy; sometimes there have been several and other times none at all. Calling Uber or Lift may be your best option. I will try to send more info on the taxi situation after we disembark tomorrow.

Sorry to have to pile on, but the wifi is really terrible. Yesterday we had a little family emergency and needed to transmit a legal document. It took up a good part of the afternoon to make it work, something we could have done at an airport, a hotel, or at home in a few minutes. We were finally successful. Anyone who thinks internet access is a needless bother for travelers is nuts. We travel a lot and need internet access to make our travel as smooth as possible, as so many things can get cancelled or changed these days, plus to address issues at home. Having inadequate access on the QM2 is more than frustrating. I guess that's all I want to say about this.

We believe there are at least a few Covid cases on board as a few days ago some PAX were requested to call the Purser's Office while we were in the middle of the North Atlantic. And the mask requirement got re-instated as we left Southampton. No announcements from the Captain about Covid, but I did not expect any. Beautiful sunny day today, breezy and a little warmer, so a good day for a long walk on Deck 7, something I love to do. Good news! We had a complete room service for breakfast this AM. Nothing missing!

Yes the launderettes are open, but not all the machines are working. Calm day today, overcast. Lots of people outside walking, which I will do later. More on the breakfast room service. Yesterday's delivery was missing a few items, so I tried to phone to ask for them but received a recorded message that due to a high call volume I should call back later. So I left to find replacements in the Concierge's Lounge, but met the Room Service Manager in the hall. He promised to check our room service tray personally each day to make sure it was complete. Well, sadly, this morning we were missing silverware and napkins. We had to call, but the next delivery had only one napkin for the 2 of us. We had to laugh. Are they running out of napkins? Are they doing this on purpose because they hate us? One never knows.

Or bring your own clams.

Yes indeed.

We went to the show last night, singer Jennifer Williams. She has a powerful voice and it was entertaining. I went to a good lecture by an art historian on the art works that had been commissioned for the original Queen Mary. She had good slides to show. We have taken to using the internet under a router in the Grills Lounge. It is still slow, often cuts out, but is a better connection than in our stateroom where the internet barely functions. IMHO, Cunard's upgraded system is no improvement over the past. We like to eat light breakfasts so we order a continental from room service once we are up and ready for the world. Everyday the room service guy forgets something. Today it was milk for the coffee and napkins. Another day it was silverware. Another day it was cups for the coffee. It would be funny if it were not so annoying. Obviously no one is checking the tray before it leaves the kitchen. Dinner in the Verandah last night was hit-and-miss. Our short ribs and desserts were good, but the clam chowder was missing clams. And interactions with the wine steward were absurd, very hard to explain the misunderstandings and poor communication. Sunny weather today...More lectures, more drinking!

I concur with the others about the immigration museum, which we thought was terrific. But that might mean too much time on your feet. Take your time getting off the ship to avoid lines. There are places to sit and eat & drink near the cruise pier. We think Halifax is a lovely town and are big fans of Canada!

Currently on board the QM2 and don't mind the mask mandate one bit. Yes it is a bother and at times uncomfortable. But I caught Covid in December while on the QM2 and would like to try to avoid that again. No assurances, but I do trust the medical advice that masks provide some protection.

We are on board as well, having boarded in Hamburg, and sailing to Brooklyn. The best experience so far is sitting in the Chart Room before and after dinner. The early chamber music is lovely and the jazz in the evening is hot. Service there is super friendly and efficient. Sad that there are a number of issues to report. We've tried every trick imaginable, including sitting under a router in Connections, but the premium internet package just barely works, even for simple tasks like email. Elevators our of order, lots of machines in the fitness center out of service, dryers in the laundry room not functioning. And things are looking a bit tattered. Maintenance? Happy that the embarkation in Southampton went well; ours in Hamburg may have set a new record for disfunction as just about everyone had to wait a minimum of 2 1/2 hours to check in, many more than 3 hours. Not a good start. Nice to be on the sea and we are hoping things improve.

The current segment on the QM2 has been off to a very bad start. Embarkation yesterday in Hamburg was absolutely horrible. First there were no porters, so we all had to walk with all our luggage to the end of a long line that slowly made its way to a door in the terminal where they accepted the bags. There had been a break down in the internet-based check-in so hundreds (over a thousand?) of passengers were packed in the terminal waiting in huge lines to be eventually checked in. It was chaotic as there were few staff around to direct the lines. So many unmasked people jammed into the terminal creating a super-spreader event. It took us 2 hours to get on board, and we were "priority." For non-priority passengers, the wait was probably over 3 hours. The captain apologized, but there was no compensation offered. Then the QM2 missed its river departure slot "due to technical difficulties," so we did not sail until way after midnight. Therefore no sail away party, no views of the Hamburgers waving goodbye, no views of the city and riverfront. We are in the Channel now, and struggling with an "upgraded premium" internet operation that barely functions. Not White Star service.

Poking fun, but it is an interesting image.

No DVD players in any cabins. There is a movie on the TV, I remember one per day, repeated through the day. Then another one the next day. I also remember a couple of foreign language channels. The selection on the TV is not extensive with much less to watch than you can find on some other cruise lines. Tv watching is not my favorite activity on the QM2.

I agree with the others, dollars, 3 tables. But there is also a small bank of slot machines. Blackjack can be convivial and fun. And the Club bar is just outside for drinks to be delivered!

Flambeed granola for breakfast.

I am another customer who prefers that Seabourn keep its current system for air, purchase through their air option if you want.

Our experience in Hamburg was that the passengers tended to arrive early rather than later, so by 3:00 there should be a short line of people waiting to board, unless something goes wrong.

Back to the original question about Cunard's loyalty program: After years of sailing, we have managed to slog our way to fancy pants Diamond status. At this level we will get a free lunch in the specialty restaurant and some free internet time, and that is about it. I am happy to receive whatever amenities I can get, but I do find Cunard's loyalty program to be less than generous. However it is not the reason why we sail the QM2.