MeredithFairfax

Hi, I’ve just returned from the Med and we visited Valencia (sorry, not the other ports). The shuttles from the ship were free and regular. They drop you off on the outskirts of the City by the Museu de les Ciences. You will be given a map. You need to either get a taxi or a bus from here. It’s very easy and costs €1.50 each on the bus. It takes about 10/15 minutes to reach the centre. You can catch bus number 95 or 35. 35 drops you by the Station and we caught the 95 back as it was a quicker journey. Alternatively you can walk into the city along the old river bed which is now a green open area and looks like a 45/60 minute walk (although we didn’t do this). 
 

Obviously you could get a taxi direct from the port if you prefer. 
 

The daily programme no longer includes much information about the ports, sadly. 

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

I can't see why not. The passenger isn't non existent, they exist but just want a place to sleep which isn't with their fellow booked passenger.

Those with sleeping problems can sleep  [or not] in peace yet still enjoy QG. Not tried it but my parents used to tell  of a couple who used to book an inside cabin for their clothes on a World cruise.

 

Yes I see what you’re saying but I was just wondering how you book one passenger in two rooms simultaneously. I love the idea of a separate dressing room too 😁

Quick question. I like the idea of booking an extra inside cabin but wouldn’t all 3 passengers be named in the booking in the QG cabin? How would you book another inside cabin for a non existent passenger? I’m not sure you can book a named passenger twice. Can you? Have I misunderstood?

On 4/12/2019 at 11:23 PM, gt834162 said:

Does anyone know why Cunard do not allow 3rd guest occupancy of the Q5/Q6 grade suites yet they do for other smaller cabins.

 

The reason for the question is that we will now have a 17 month old daughter with us.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Nick

We have often had this issue with third guest occupancy.  If the room is not showing as allowing a third guest on the deck plan, then you may not have much joy.  Even if the plan does show that a third guest is allowed in the room, they still might not let you book it for three.  It’s something to do with the number of people they are allowed to carry on board. I have tried to argue this with them over the phone on numerous occasions, to no avail.

It it also depends on the ship ... there are a lot more 3/4 berth cabins on the smaller ships than on QM2.

Is your 17 month old in a bed or a cot? Does a cot count as 3rd person? Just curious 🙂

I am afraid not you only get that luxury when having afternoon tea if you are in Princess/Queens Grill.

We were recently on the QE and the exact same clotted cream (in it’s original plastic container) was available not only in the Grills lounge but also....in the Lido!:o :eek:

Sharp intake of breath ;)

I wish I had taken photos!

It was available in the Lido every day until about 2 days before the end of the cruise when it ran out and wasn’t replaced.

Our recent cruise to Iceland was sold out. We were on the Queen Elizabeth and we were also in the Grills. Some days we had conversations about how quiet the ship was. The only places that seem to get busy are the Queens Room (on a formal night), the Theatre and the Commodore Club. Even then, we found a seat when we needed to.

Oh dear that doesn't sound promising for out honeymoon cruise next week, it's the longest cruise we've ever done & first time on Elizabeth. Really hope they can get it fixed between the end of this cruise & the start of ours. I think I'd rather they cancel it than start off knowing it has problems and be stuck with it for an extended period...

I heard rumours on board that these issues have been going on for a while but they are just rumours and there is no way of knowing the truth. The experts are now on board and I don’t think it’s fixed yet so it’s unlikely to be fixed by Friday, but it could be I guess.

I can’t imagine they would ever cancel a cruise...but perhaps I’m wrong and someone will enlighten me.

whatever the problem it appears her speed is not affected AIS has her doing a constant 20-21 knots since leaving Iceland

That’s right, we don’t seem to be slow when we are out at sea, just when we manoeuvre into/out of harbour.

I had forgotten about the kitchen power outage earlier in the cruise which Matt4711 mentioned. And he’s quite right about the amount of movement felt on board. The sea is flat calm sometimes but the ship is moving more than it should.

We are on board at the moment. We did also miss Isafjordur in Iceland and yes there was a complimentary bottle of wine. The ports we have missed have been tender ports. We are missing Stornaway because they are unable to provide tug assistance for us. We are still going to Belfast after Killybegs.

Most of the people we have spoken to on board are disappointed for obvious reasons. There are a large number of Australians on board who may not get a chance to visit Iceland again.

Interestingly, the ship was listing for a short time when we left Olden last week. Not sure if the current issue arose due to that or if they are related. Very disconcerting though. The Captain did apologise the next day and reassured everyone that the ship was safe.

We did this once but we asked to be dropped off at the 9/11 memorial on the way. They told us the time and place for the collection later in the day (outside Macy’s) and we just worked our own way there. Later in the day there was a terrific storm and the roads were gridlocked; the coach was very late picking us up. I’ve never been more grateful to be on an organised excursion ;)

Does anyone have experience with the Flower Arranging class?I’m also curious about the cost.

 

I was thinking of purchasing a flower arrangement for mycabin (see page 18 for the Flower Shop price list in Cunard’s Gifts and LittleLuxuries Brochure), but I read somewhere that if you take the Flower Arrangingclass early on your crossing, you’ll have an arrangement to take back to yourcabin. It sounds like a great way to have flowers for my cabin, and learnsomething in the process.

 

https://www.cunard.com/Documents/gifts-and-special-occasions/gifts-brochure.pdf

I tried the flower arranging class on a transatlantic crossing (they don’t offer it on ‘normal’ cruises I don’t think). It was a guy named Mikey who ran it and it was great fun. Not the sort of thing I would normally do tbh, but I was really glad I tried it. You can either have your arrangement sent to your cabin or to your table in the dining room.

It wasnt on QV two weeks ago.

Well that's something for me to bear in mind for future trips - not only is PG different to QG, but the menus differ from ship to ship. I haven't experienced this before although I remember last year after QM2 had her refit, there was a significant change in the a la Carte menus. Some (but by no means all) of these changes seem to have now been rectified.

I guess they have to claw back some of the money they've spent somehow :rolleyes:

Yes, but this is an exception. It is generally not encouraged in PG like it is in QG and certainly not on the menu.

Actually this is incorrect. I am sure there are differences in the menu offerings but on QM2 PG a couple of weeks ago, Chateaubriand was most definitely on the a la carte menu.

Yes it is :)

We have to check in by 15:45 at the latest; QM2 sailaway is now scheduled for 17:00.

 

 

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Thanks :)

We will be boarding QM2 in Hamburg later this month to cruise the Norwegian Fjords. Cunard has asked us to board earlier than originally planned, since they want to give us a mini cruise of the harbour, allowing us to see the skyline and the new Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Brilliant idea! Since reading your posts, I am now wondering if we might hope for a sailaway "send-off" as well??? Needless to say, we are looking forward to it very much.

Morven

 

 

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Do you mind if I ask - what sort of time have they asked you to board?

 

And from September 2010 in Princess Grill

A bit off topic but.....

...loving the filing system Hattie! I'm intrigued to know if you have separate files for the daily programmes etc., or if everything is integrated into one file?

I wonder how many of us are doing this :confused:

Thank you both for your replies. I shall be investigating the cookie stash behind the bar on my next visit :D

Everyone seems to love the tea service in the Grills Lounge. I just like the Lounge. It's one of my favorite spaces on board. We go there for coffee at 11:00 AM.

Quick question- are there any pastries or similar when you go at 11am? Whilst we've been for afternoon tea, we've never thought to go for morning coffee. I feel like I'm missing out ;)

My advice - take a set of 'backup' straighteners if you are able. When my (almost new) straighteners stopped working on the first formal night of our cruise, our next port stop was spent trying to buy a new pair. The ship do sell them in the salon, but had sold out. We were lucky - we managed to find some ashore, but we wasted valuable time in Oslo looking for new ones (they are not stocked in department stores in Norway). Never again will I start a cruise with just one set ::D

We once enquired about an upgrade whilst on board. They took a couple of hours to think about it and then quoted me the most ridiculous price. They were also very reluctant to tell me which room was available. They would only tell me if it was midships etc. It was very strange. We declined.

I'm not sure of all the reasons why similar-sized staterooms can or cannot take a third person, but I know of one reason. Those staterooms that have a communicating door between them have a shorter chesterfield/sofa than those that don't because the door is adjacent to the sofa. It is the long sofa which converts to a bed. I have had both types of these staterooms in both Princess and Queen's.

Ah yes, I see. Thanks for helping to solve the mystery :D

I would just add one more thing. With regards to having three people in a room, you might find this more tricky on QM2 as they only have a limited number of suites that will accommodate 3. I'm not sure why, because from what I could see, the rooms are all similar sized within a particular grade, but they won't allow you to book 3 in a room that isn't designated to take 3 on the deck plan.

P1s and P2s that take 3 are either more forward or aft and even some of the Q grades won't take 3 even though they are huge!

This doesn't seem to be the case on QV or QE but I don't know the reason behind it, other than to make more money :rolleyes:

I have read all of your posts with interest and a little apprehension. I am sailing on the 1/3/17 sailing of the QM2 -- first time on Cunard and first time not on a Crystal ship in what seems like forever. I have heard wonderful things about the QM2 and even better things about QG and now am concerned the the food and service will not as great as I thought. Also, if something is not on the menu, how do we know what to order? Finally, who knows who "belongs" and who doesn't? We are not fancy dressers and have almost always been treated well wherever we go. Help? Did we make a mistake? Or am I overthinking this (as I usually do)? Thanks. Janet

I've not sailed Crystal so I can't compare to put your mind at rest. One thing I do know is that QM2 is fabulous, particularly since the refit. The service on board is excellent. Do not worry about ordering off menu etc., as you don't need to! We have never felt the need to order off menu until our most recent trip when a couple of our favourite items were 'missing', but I can't imagine wanting to invent your own menu all the time! It's just not necessary as there is plenty of choice.

The dress code is formal but in a good way - it's very elegant and adds to the atmosphere on board.

I've never been lucky enough to travel in QG but I have never once felt inferior to anyone else in the restaurant. Everyone seemed to me to be treated equally.

You will have a fabulous time on board I'm sure. I would book again in a heartbeat if my bank balance allowed it :D

"Your bags will get there no problem"

Well that haphazard kind of response goes some way to explaining how one of our bags went 'missing' for a while when we embarked in Southampton. They told us to go and look in the lobby as there were some bags there with no labels. There were quite a few! Goodness knows where our label went::confused: I should have laminated them like you do :D

We also noticed when some passengers disembarked at Hamburg that there was a stack of unlabelled luggage in the corner of the baggage hall. I don't remember ever seeing this before but maybe I just haven't been very observant in the past.