taxatty

Easter Sunday means very little in Miami will be open. A quick trip to South Beach for breakfast might work (try Big Pink if it's open), but at least you'll have a very quick trip to the airport with zero traffic.

We were in Antarctica for the year-end 2021 Cloud cruise. The snow was very deep in many places. We were very glad that we brought trekking poles. Get the aluminum collapsible ones that don't take up much space and don't weigh very much along with the snow basket attachments.

We just stayed at that Marriott after a QM2 cruise--a short taxi ride from the port. It's a decent large hotel with nice rooms, and the New York Transit Museum, subway lines and the interesting DUMBO area with shops and restaurants aren't far away.

We must then have gotten caught in rush hour when traveling from SCL to the MO as it took over an hour with heavy traffic most of the way.

If it's the MO, it's a fairly long way from the airport, but it's wonderful with excellent restaurants and close to some good shopping choices.

We had a Britannia Club deck 13 balcony, which is supposedly a little more updated than the BC deck 12 staterooms. Even though these cabins are almost at the top of the ship and very far forward, we felt almost no movement the whole cruise, likely in large part due to the very smooth seas the whole way.

I have the same addiction to planning trips on my own. If you aren't already aware, presuming there are no transit strikes going on, it's quite easy to get to the QM2 in Southampton by train or bus from many places in England. Alternatively, some people we know have rented a car and dropped it off in Southampton before a cruise. This website has always been helpful for planning our trips to and around London: https://www.londontoolkit.com/

That's exactly what it is. Cruise lines consider a ship to be 100% occupied when two people are staying in every cabin. Cabins with more than two occupants because of additional bunks, a sofa bed, or a folding bed can and do result in over 100% total ship occupancy.

We used British pounds and no one complained.

At least for us flying MIA-SCL-MIA last December, SS refused to book Premium Economy seats--only Economy or Business, and none of the latter were available.

There is also a Liberty leather goods store. We saw very few people shopping in any of the luxury goods or alcohol stores.

I can't help you on that one--we were in Britannia Club.

Sorry to hear about the positive tests. I absolutely agree with you that the "honor system" is a copout and a rapid antigen test during the cruise would be a cheap and easy way to separate out the infected.

We also liked the very good performance by the young RSC members on the ship (it was a little disappointing that there was only one such performance) and the interesting Queen's Room workshops that they conducted. We learned a lot about how they prepare for a show.

Now that the Internet here is finally working decently (maybe because we’re near the US coast), I can finally do a “Live From…” review. DW and I are recent Medicare qualifiers, first-time Cunard cruisers, but over 35 cruises in total on RCI, Princess, Celebrity, AMA, and Silversea. Today is the last full day of the cruise to NY and the first one with decent Internet, hence this review. Some random notes: 1. The weather is sunny and gorgeous, as was embarkation day in Southampton. Everything in between has been overcast, foggy and windy, with the foghorn constantly blowing, except for two hours one day after lunch. The outdoor pools and decks have been mostly empty until now except for walkers on Deck 7 like us. I feel bad for the poor Brits expecting to enjoy the sun loungers, but they’re out in force today. 2. We have a Deck 13 Britannia Club stateroom and have been very happy with space, the balcony, the glass shower door, our cabin steward, and the much more intimate BC dining area versus the giant regular dining room. Even on Deck 13 at the top and very forward, there has been very little discernable movement because the seas fortunately have been calm the whole time. 3. We took the train from Oxford (where we spent a couple of days pre-cruise—very interesting and enjoyable, an easy bus ride from Heathrow) to Southampton and arrived at the port around 10:00 (too far to walk there with luggage from the train station, and a cheap taxi ride). We were able to drop off our luggage shortly after 11:00, entered the comfortable departures area soon after, and were on the ship before 1:00. All in all, very smooth and organized. 4. This ship must have the longest straight corridors of any ship at sea. We have found it beautifully and tastefully decorated--by far, the most attractive ship we have ever sailed on. Most importantly, I found Homer Simpson in a lovely mural. 5. The presenters, especially Gary McKechnie on rock and roll legends and Nikki Chapman on her TV shows have been uniformly excellent. The other entertainment (the QM2 singers and dancers, a very funny British comedian, the 4 Tunes and others) have been good and worth seeing. We gave the dance sessions in the Queen’s Room a shot on the Black & White and Masquerade nights (I’m guessing most of the men were wearing tuxes and the women were dressed to the hilt), and it was great fun to watch the talented dancers. On the other hand, at least IMHO, the band played very forced and convoluted arrangements of songs by Coldplay, the Troggs and Lady Gaga, and the attempt to make them fit ballroom dances didn’t work. It was almost like imagining Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine playing Holiday in the Sun as a tango or Highway to Hell as a foxtrot. 6. Various reviews here have complained that the ship’s maintenance isn’t up to snuff. Frankly, the broken seats in Illuminations, the non-functioning machines in the fitness center and the rust spots around the ship haven’t ruined our cruise. Upon boarding, I noticed that our veranda wooden railing looked terrible with large white spots. Without us saying anything, while I was reading a book the next day on the balcony, several crew members arrived with a new railing and replaced it in a few minutes. 7. We have found the dining to be better in choice and taste than every other line we have been on except Silversea—which isn’t a fair comparison. At most, our BC dining room has been half-full at any meal. We did one dinner at the extra-charge Veranda restaurant and found the food to be superb and well worth the money. 8. Our first three times having afternoon tea were years ago in London at Fortnum & Mason, Harrods, and the Ritz, so anything else isn’t a fair comparison. Be that as it may, on this cruise we have done both the regular afternoon tea in the Queen’s Room and the extra cost Godiva version at Sir Samuel’s, both of which were far superior to Princess and Silversea’s versions. 9. The service has been uniformly excellent. Almost every crew member greets us when we pass by. When we had an issue with the location of our BC table, we were moved to a table we liked much better at the next meal. 10. DW is a retired librarian and is of course very impressed with what must be by far the best library at sea. There is no longer a full-time librarian however—just a regular crew member—another cost-cutting measure. 11. Finally, hardly anyone has been wearing masks except the crew, even though there are requests before every show to wear them. No reports of any COVID cases on board. Overall, both of us have greatly enjoyed this cruise and we would definitely sail on a Cunard ship again. Although there has been plenty to do each day, however, it may be awhile before we can handle this many consecutive sea days again. I can hopefully answer any questions you may have after we disembark tomorrow morning.

On the QM2 now in BC. The smaller, quieter and more intimate BC dining rooms in the back are much more appealing to us than the huge, noisy and high traffic main Britannia dining room. We would book BC again.

Currently on QM2. Masks are "strongly encouraged" at indoor venues but very few except the crew are wearing them. We kept our rapid antigen test that had been scheduled for the day before boarding even though we didn't have to and tested negative. I sincerely doubt if many others bothered. As an aside, I wanted to do a "live from" CC thread, but as has been reported here many times, the Internet on the QM2 is so horribly slow it's not worth the effort. It was better on my recent Silversea cruise to Antarctica! The captain said last night there are 2080 pax aboard--the most post-pandemic, with 700+ Brits and 700+ Yanks.

Don't leave Singapore without trying the very messy but delicious and not spicy chili crab and other local dishes--the ultimate fusion of every type of Asian cuisine. Tha Conrad had the best breakfast buffet we've ever seen--American, Asian and plenty of other choices.

Especially if you were already planning to sail on the Explorer for these Antartica cruises, paying the same price for a vastly newer and nicer ship should be one of the great cruise booking no-brainers.

The casino might also be converted to one or more staterooms or another amenity. It wouldn't be shocking to see SS start to ask significantly more $ for new Endeavour bookings where it's replacing the Explorer, so SS may not be eager to issue partial refunds for existing bookings, even for a suite size downgrade.

No different in the US. Many establishments still have greatly reduced menus and operating hours for the same reason. The most commonly seen sign here is "Now Hiring."

Who knows why SS won't book you on the MIA-SCN-MIA flights, which how we went last December/January using their air department. Please note that some of those flights may sell out as a lot of Chileans use them to do holiday shopping in South Florida or to visit with family back home, and we only got business class seats (SS couldn't get them for us) through a combination of having AA status, paying cash and AA miles for the upgrades and a lot of sheer luck.

Another issue here--with the Silver Explorer leaving the SS fleet next year, without adding the Endeavor--what (if anything) will replace it in Antarctica, the Kimberley etc.? SS has already shifted from the Explorer to the Cloud beginning November 2023 for the Antarctica fly/cruise packages.

That is precisely what many people I know are thinking, especially because relatively few cruises are currently selling out well in advance. If not ensuring a top suite or another particular stateroom on a ship works for you, there is no compelling reason to have to accept a non-refundable deposit many months before final payment date.