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Help Me Coax My Husband onto the QM2!


Whirled Peas
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I have done two crossings on the QM2 and really loved them both. But I traveled with girlfriends both times because my husband is not enthralled with the idea of dressing for dinner every evening. He's an adventure-seeking traveler (climbs to Everest base camp, Grand Canyon river rafting, that kind of thing.) But I am retiring in 2019 and, in recognition that I have worked very hard for a very long time (while he has been retired for the past four years), he has agreed to at least consider a Cunard cruise!

 

I was shocked when he told me that I could try to "talk him into" a celebratory Cunard cruise upon my retirement. I JUMPED at the opportunity and went through the 2019 brochure with him. To my delight the cruise that he was most willing to consider was the last segment of the 2019 world cruise on Mary - 20 days from Dubai to Southampton! Wow!

 

So he hasn't said yes, and he hasn't said no. He is quite interested in that particular itinerary, as he always has wanted to experience the Suez Canal and visit Petra. But he is concerned about the length of the cruise. So my fellow Cunarders, especially those of you who have traveled this itinerary, I ask for your responses to the following questions. Once I have some responses, I will direct him to this thread. (At this point, he probably doesn't even know I lurk here and post once in a while.)

 

1. What were the highlights in term of ports of call and why?

 

2. How long, as a practical matter, did you have in Petra before you had to scamper back to the ship, and how much of that time was spent actually getting to and from Petra?

 

3. Who were your guest lecturers and were they related to the locations you visited?

 

4. Were the port days followed by informal dress nights, so we don't have to fret too much about getting back to the ship early to dress up?

 

5. Were there any exercise classes offered that men might appreciate (like NOT Pilates or Yoga)?

 

6 How often did the evening entertainment offerings repeat on a cruise of this length?

 

7 Were any of you feeling claustrophobic or tired of being in a small room after more than a week? (We will be in QG if I can convince him to go, so I think it will be plenty of room, but he is not yet convinced. Our longest cruise to date was 14 days and I could have stayed on board longer, but he was ready to be done.)

 

I really appreciate any insights you could share, good or bad.

 

Thanks,

Vanessa

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The " dress up " issue has been beaten to death on this forum for years, you don't have to EVER dress up, formally, as you can eat very well, and comfortably in the Kings Grill.

We did Petra on the QE and its a long day, about 11 hrs, I recall......we used the Cunard booking, so there was no worry on getting back on time. There's a L O T of walking and its on uneven, sometimes rocky ground. You can use one of the horse drawn flimsy/ rickety carts ( with a local driver, of course.) But its like a ride inside a blender. It is definitely a wonderful excursion, in fact we are re-doing it this coming spring, on QM2

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Hi

 

We did this trip on the QE in 2014 with the QM2. We had a little meet and greet with other Cruise Critic members where we met Maggiemou and Scrapnana. It's great if this happens and you see each other around the ship for a little catch up.

 

We are 40 and 50 somethings and had a great time. There were 6 of us - 2 in Britannia, 2 in PG and 2 in QG. We were the lynchpin as the others hadn't met before, as we had met on different cruises - thankfully everyone got on so well and we had fun.

 

We were all tired after flights to Dubai, 2 had only flown in that morning so were shattered in the evening, whereas we had a night before so felt a little better.

 

Suez Canal - we got up really early as we were joining the canal but were held in a queue waiting to go through. On the QE, they opened up the front deck (5 I think) where the crew have a jacuzzi, so everyone could see everything. I recall it being very cold and wore a vest top, shirt and jacket and still felt the chill. It got warmer as the day went on thankfully. We sailed through all day and Cunard put on a knowledgeable speaker throughout the trip. It was lovely to see people on shore waving at the ships, especially as there were 2 Cunard ones going through in close succession. Honestly though, there wasn't a lot to see through the canal, it was quite deserted, with a few houses at the side, the odd road that crossed the canal and had to wait for the ships to pass by before letting them cross and a bridge. There were a lot of military on the banks but they wave as well.

 

Egypt's port of call was cancelled, so we docked at Haifa, Israel instead overnight. We did a Dead sea trip with Masada fort which was really interesting and had the next day just mooching around Haifa.

 

We did the Cunard trip to Petra. I would rather have done this on my own as the guide took so long to get to the library (the "main feature") that 1 person fainted in the heat. We decided to leave the guide after that and wander on our own and found it better to do it at our own pace, ie. a lot quicker. We then returned to the hotel and were offered a buffet lunch and drink and returned on the tour bus. It was a long, hot, tiring day but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. If you can leave your guide and do it at a faster pace, I would recommend it. It was a full day, but there was still plenty of time and you didn't need to scamper back to the ship for dinner - we were anytime dining which helped - I don't know if the 6pm diners might have found it a little tight. If they did, I am sure the Lido would have worked that evening.

 

Re: entertainers - we rarely bother as we spend our time in the casino and not keen on the Cunard shows. If there's an entertainer that appeals, we will make the effort to go and see it, but stand at the back and leave if we are not enjoying it. I cannot remember a repeat of entertainers as this is sold as one segment, so they have different offerings throughout the journey. It is mainly Brits on this segment but you will get a lot of other nationalities on board which is refreshing. A lot of the South Americans on this trip disembarked in Lisbon for some reason. This voyage was remarkable as the 3 Queens met dockside in Lisbon making it very special.

 

If you are going QG, you will not regret it. You can have a nice casual lunch in hotter climes in the courtyard. If you are too shattered to go to the dining room on the evening, your butler will bring you dinner off the evening's menu in your suite (as long as you are within dining hours). No need to dress up then, you can eat in your robe!

 

Off the top of my head, I think we had either 5 or 6 formals whilst on board and they were always on sea days so no worries about getting back in time to dress up.

 

We do not like long voyages and find 7-10 is about right, especially with work commitments, but as there were 6 of us on board, we enjoyed it all the more.

 

Hope this helps a little

Lynne

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Some additional thoughts concerning Petra. Here is a link to the page on Cunard's web site which includes a description of their "Lost City of Petra" shore excursion, including the travel time from/to the ship.

 

http://www.cunard.com/destinations/middle-east-cruises/jordan/aqaba/

 

Petra is certainly one of the world's great destinations and not to be missed. I'd like to offer one caveat, though, about visiting Petra on a cruise line shore excursion, regardless of which cruise line. Like many destinations, there is no way to see all the important sites within Petra during a typical shore excursion organized by a cruise line because of time constraints. You will see the most famous site, the Treasury, as well as many of the other impressive rock-hewn tombs, but you will most likely miss seeing the Monastery which I personally consider to be the second most significant edifice in Petra. The Monastery is at the far end of the site and requires about two additional hours up and down a fairly strenuous path to do it on foot, so most cruise line shore excursions don't attempt that. As expected, I see no mention of the Monastery in the description of Cunard's shore excursion to Petra. As long as you are content with making it about half way through the site and calling it good enough to see many but not all of the highlights, you won't be disappointed.

 

Regards, John

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A couple of things to convince your DH: If you end up in Queens, your stateroom will be as large as a very large hotel room with a huge balcony, so you will not be claustrophobic. And you can take advantage of the big Concierge Lounge where you can get good quality personal service, plus coffee and treats, and the lovely Grills Lounge, which is often empty. So lots of room to spread out. Our favorite feature is the Chart Room where there is high quality jazz performance each evening in an exceptional setting. Emphasis, NOT cheesey!!! And then work your magic to tell him that this is your special retirement celebration and he needs to do it for you! Next time for him, and you can take a cruise to Antarctica! Or do a land-based exploration of Bhutan. That will shut him up!

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To further the discussion on the ports of call for the voyage you are considering, here are some additional thoughts of mine. First of all, I have not done this specific itinerary on Cunard, but have done a similar itinerary in reverse order (from Barcelona to Dubai) on Royal Caribbean. That said, hopefully some of these suggestions will be helpful.

 

Salalah, Oman - I haven't been to this port. Our Royal Caribbean cruise went to Muscat, Oman instead. But judging from what you have said about you husband's interests, perhaps something like Cunard's "Salalah by 4x4" excursion would be appealing.

 

Aqaba, Jordan - Petra of course. It's having been voted in as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" back in 2007 is well deserved in my view.

 

Limassol, Cyprus - We did a general "Nicosia Highlights" tour which was interesting but may be a bit too tame for an adventure traveler. I see Cunard offers a "Jeep Safari" tour that might be worth considering.

 

Civitavecchia, Italy - If you have not been to Rome, then by all means that's the place to go. Of course trying to see everything Rome has to offer in a single day is futile. One alternative is to take a tour that attempts to take in as many of the highlights as possible. I would suggest a different approach -- concentrate on either ancient Rome (the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon) or the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum with the Sistine Chapel).

 

Barcelona, Spain - Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Basilica is among the top attractions in Barcelona. Cunard's "Gaudi Tour" includes a tour of that famous church as well as other works designed by Gaudi. I have not been to Montserrat, but Cunard's excursion there might be a good alternative for something a bit more adventurous instead.

 

Lisbon, Portugal - I have been to Lisbon but not as a port of call on a cruise. Of the shore excursions Cunard offers, I might pick "Free Time at Three Sites" for an overview of the city. But I see there are a couple others that look like they would be more adventurous ("Jeep Safari" and "Lisbon by E-Bike").

 

Now if you like to plan your own tours rather than relying on Cunard's shore excursions, there are no doubt plenty of other alternatives to consider. The Ports of Call board on this site is probably a good resource for some other ideas.

 

I hope this helps at least in some small way to peak your (and perhaps more importantly your husband's) interest in this QM2 voyage.

 

Regards, John

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Happy wife, happy life?? Seriously, we did a 51 day cruise (our longest previous cruise was 12 days so we were wondering...) and we loved it. In fact I would have been happy to continue. We cruised through the Suez and, as mentioned above, there is not a lot to see but sand and people, including the military, waving and taking pictures. It was still interesting and we enjoyed it. My DH isn't one to dress up either but he did and the nights we didn't want to we dined at the more casual venue. We were on HAL not Cunard so not as formal but still. It is, after all, your retirement celebration so you should be queen for a few weeks at least. Go and have fun, make new friends and enjoy a different adventure, together. Hope it works out for you. I talked DH into crossing the north Atlantic in January so it can be done.

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Well, I am not surprised, but I am delighted, by these very helpful responses. I will ask my husband to come on and view them himself. The challenge for him is not so much dressing up as it is dressing up all the time. I think that's one of the absolute benefits of being in QG. If you don't want to dress, you can dine in your room with lots of choices. The limited time in Petra will be a problem, possibly a deal breaker for my husband, but we will see. I was afraid that it might be impossible to see that entire site in a single day on a cruise tour. But honestly, I can't imagine taking a land tour just to spend two or three days there. There is nothing else in the area that I would be dying to see, to justify the trip.

 

So I will let you know what we decide.

 

Thanks so much,

Vanessa

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... The challenge for him is not so much dressing up as it is dressing up all the time. I think that's one of the absolute benefits of being in QG. If you don't want to dress, you can dine in your room with lots of choices.

... Vanessa

 

But a man does not have to dress up all the time. On a crossing there are three formal nights. On informal nights a jacket is required and a tie optional. Perhaps some people consider that to be dressing up, but it's just a jacket. It can take as little as five seconds for a man to dress for an informal dinner. I have dined in all assigned restaurants on the QM2 and although a lot of us will wear ties on informal nights because we want to, in my experience the majority do not.

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... The limited time in Petra will be a problem, possibly a deal breaker for my husband, but we will see. I was afraid that it might be impossible to see that entire site in a single day on a cruise tour. ...

 

Don't let this be a deal breaker without first looking into an independent shore excursion to Petra rather than the one operated by Cunard. I don't know any specific tour companies to recommend, but I can tell you on our Royal Caribbean cruise I spoke with other passengers that did make it all the way to the Monastery in Petra on an independent shore excursion. As Lynnewob has suggested, part of the problem with a shore excursion organized by the cruise line is dealing with a large group that can't move as quickly or might not be able to deal with a strenuous climb as well as a small independent group.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It worked! After a few days of gentle cajoling, my DH visited this thread and decided that we would take this cruise. The comments from all of you, especially Blue Marble's suggestion that we consider an independent tour in Petra, combined with the fact that a Q4 suite opened up, made all the difference.

 

While I am more comfortable with a Cunard excursion to Petra, because the ship won't leave without us, I am willing to look at independent tours that show more. (I am reasonably fit and he is fitter, so we can scramble quickly to the Monastery.) That option, plus the sudden availability of the more spacious Q4 (with a second half bath), combined with all of your insights, did the trick. We are booked!

 

Can't thank all of you enough.

 

Soon to be retired Vanessa!

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Excellent! I think you will love the voyage and especially Petra. In case you couldn't already tell, Petra is one of my favorite sites in the world. Been there three different times now. Have a brother who is an archaeologist who has been involved in some of the excavation work at the Byzantine Church there.

 

Assuming you can work out an excursion that will allow you to make it all the way to the Monastery, the hike up and back should be a piece of cake for anyone who climbs to Mount Everest base camp. To offer you a bit of a tease, here is a link to a pretty good youtube video I found of hikers on the Monastery trail. Keep in mind this video starts all the way at the top, showing the Monastery for the first couple minutes, and then shows excerpts of hikers following the trail back down into the heart of Petra. It looks like these hikers may have taken a back way into the site as part of a longer trip through Jordan. In all likelihood, you will be taking this same trail up to reach the Monastery in the first place. I think you'll understand after watching the video why this hike is not part of most large-group cruise-line organized shore excursions to Petra.

 

 

The online itineraries I am seeing for your voyage show an arrival time in Aqaba of 8:00am and a departure time of 11:59pm, so that should give you a reasonable amount of time to work with for touring Petra.

 

All the best for what should be a truly memorable trip for you.

John

Edited by bluemarble
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Thanks for the link, Blue Marble. It does look like quite a hike, but my husband will take it on like a mountain goat and I will struggle along behind him!

 

Did I mention that we cut a deal? He does this cruise with me, to include the most expansive tour of Petra we can find. In exchange, I agree to climb with him (that's right, I said CLIMB!:eek:) to Macchu Picchu in October. So while the hike to the Petra Monastery will be a challenge, I am afraid it's just a warm-up for Peru later in the year. (I don't suppose Cunard does a cruise to Peru? No? Too bad.....)

 

Thanks again, all.

 

Vanessa

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Now that does sound like quite a deal. Petra and Machu Picchu in the same year. I'm envious, but not about the climbing part!

 

Not that you really need any more of my bright ideas, but one more place in Petra that most excursions never get to (because it involves hiking up another steep trail) is called the High Place of Sacrifice. Now it may not be practical to try to do both the High Place of Sacrifice and the Monastery in a one day shore excursion, and of the two, the Monastery is definitely the more significant site. But it just might be something worth asking about in your search for the most expansive tour of Petra you can find, especially if your goal (or perhaps more correctly your husband's goal) is to maximize the amount of moderately strenuous hiking time in Petra. The High Place of Sacrifice does offer some excellent views down onto other parts of the main Petra site below.

 

Regards, John

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Thanks, Blue Marble. My husband already found the other "place of sacrifice" and he is now conducting a rigorous search to find a guide who can take us to both sites. I have volunteered not to join him on this "sacrificial" hike so as not to slow him down. (My "sacrifice" is his gain, right/)

 

We have been waiting decades to be able to schedule multiple vacations and joint adventures such as Peru. We plan to travel extensively once we both are retired. We don't plan to leave a penny for our children when we fall off a mountain or temple somewhere!

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  • 5 weeks later...

QM2? Not good in Queen's Grill in my experience but elsewhere might be fine.

 

Better spend your money on Celebrity or, depending on budget, Regent or other all inclusive lines. Cunard is past it's prime.

Edited by Balloon Man
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Different cruisers have different experiences, I know. But I have been in QG on both of my prior Cunard cruises, and both times the experience was exceptional. Service was very attentive without being overbearing. The food in the Queens Grill was very well prepared (although traditional, not nouvelle) and I could (and did once or twice) order virtually anything I wanted "off the menu." The rooms were spacious and, especially after the remastering, very beautifully decorated. I haven't cruised on any other luxury lines such as Seaborne or Crystal, so I have no basis for comparison with those lines. But I have cruised in Royal and Penthouse suites on Celebrity, and I found my experiences on Cunard to be more to my liking, although Celebrity also provided an excellent product.

 

Because of work, I only get to cruise about once every other year. So we book suites when we cruise because we don't get to do it very often. Since I am paying a lot, I expect a lot. Thus far, Cunard has given me more than I expected in Queens Grill.

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  • 3 months later...

My husband is like yours, Whirled Peas, a really active guy and energetic touring traveler, used to run ultramarathons, etc. When we spent a week on QM2 returning to the US after a couple of years in London, he was a little challenged with so many days at sea end on end. He did really long workouts in the gym every morning, and spent afternoons with various classes or catching up with reading. It was a great, relaxing, recharging week for him, but by the end of the week he was ready to be done. I think if the days at sea had been broken up with days in port, he could have done another week or two! He chafed at dressing for dinner in the MDR every night because he hates to wear a suit and necktie, but changing clothes actually took very little time for him, and I think that he thought that time was worth it for the MDR experience - the fellowship of our tablemates, the attentive service, and the delightful live music.

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And one more thing about the QM2 -- it has the largest library at sea and a wonderful vantage point location in the ship...so another potential selling point if your DH likes old fashioned library browsing in a unique setting, comfy chairs for diving into the latest find, etc.

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