Live from the Queen Victoria--Princess Elites sail Cunard QV to the Baltic

[Underwatr]

It occurred to me after I posted that I can book a limo using CapitalOne points as long as I can charge the ride to the card.

[cwn]

Thanks Punkic for taking the time to post the delightful informative report on your cruise on Queen Victoria.

 

I sincerely hope the recent seemly caddy posts are just some joking around that is not crossing the language barrier very well.

 

There is no excuse for rude behavior from someone in the service industry anywhere. We weren't there, but apparently this bus driver was willing to take euros for enough profit. Given that, I can think of more words than "rude" to describe that type of behavior. All he had to do was say "Sorry madam, I can only take pounds, period! He could have added you will have to get the money exchanged in the station. Instead, he ask for 20 euros for the fare..... So much for not taking anything but pounds, the legal currency of GB.

 

If I had been the next person in line, I would have gladly given the money to get the show on the road.:) Oh well, we are all entitled to our opinions and this has definitely been a most entertaining thread. Thanks for the laughs.

Edited August 26, 2014 by cwn

[cunardaddict]

In Germany you cannot pay by any other currency than EURO because this is our legal currency. Some businesses accept other currencies as an service but do charge extra for this.

 

Public transport generally does not accept anything but EURO and very rarely payment by credit cards. We have a debit card payment system that has proven over 40 years to be best for us in the whole of Europe. Tickets have to be purchased and validated before entering a transport vehicle otherwise a high fine will apply.

 

This is the way we have defined our way of settling charges and we are generally happy with it. If people from other countries are not they may consider to think over their expectations and level of respect towards other nations.

 

Btw.: I cannot pay a cabby at Dallas by EURO cash and I will definitely not receive a polite response when trying to do so.

 

You US people are by no means entiteled to requiere the acceptance of your behaviour all over the world.

 

You are welcomed as a guest in Europe and please behave as such.

[PunkiC]

Thanks cwn.

 

A couple more thoughts I had on the differences between Princess and Cunard:

 

Cunard has amazing pillows. We ordered four extras on embarkation and enjoyed them tremendously through our cruise.

 

Cunard does not have electronic kiosks where one can print one's statement whenever they desire. On the other hand there were never any long lines at the purser's desk so maybe they are unnecessary. As it happened we ended up with $14.73 left over on our account. I guess I should have bought the wetting solution after all. ;)

 

Cunard's casino does not smell of smoke when you walk through it. Do they even allow smoking in the casino?

 

Our return flight was a direct LHR/SEA on Delta in business/first and, before we boarded, we were invited to use the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Heathrow. It was one of the best club lounges we have ever visited. They had a proper dining room with some fabulous looking items on the lunch menu but lunch didn't start until 11:30 and we had to board at 11:40 so we just didn't have time to enjoy them. We did each have a Bloody Mary and some evil woman put a bowl of yummy, yummy vinegar potato chips on the table in front of me without asking, forcing me to eat them all. :p

 

Here is a link: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/us/en/the-virgin-experience/our-clubhouses.html

 

Once we boarded the plane we discovered that they Delta has lovely pillows and blankets. When I commented to the flight attendant that I thought the pillows were wonderful, she brought me two more so I could make a little nest. The seats were average business/first seats, not as nice as business on United, but better than business on Emirates, but, if you are lucky enough to have any lay-flat bed on a plane, you really can't complain.

 

Shortly after we were airborne, there was a loud explosion sound on the left side of the plane. It was a bit disconcerting. The captain explained that it was a static boom caused by the build-up of electrical static on the wing and was perfectly harmless, but that he would closely monitor the situation to be absolutely sure everything was OK. In all of my years of flying this was the first time I had experienced such a thing. One of the older flight attendants said she had heard it once before.

 

Upon our arrival at Seattle, we used our Global Entry, Known-Traveler status for the first time to bypass customs. It is really pretty slick and very fast. You just walk up to a Global Entry kiosk, scan your passport, answer a few questions on the computer, and out comes a pass with your information and picture. We should have done this years ago.

 

Our luggage came out first and our niece came and picked us up from the airport within minutes after we arrived. It was all very smooth and painless.

 

We have 26 days until our next cruise--just a little 3-day getaway but I am sure it will be fun.

[Underwatr]

Cunard has amazing pillows. We ordered four extras on embarkation and enjoyed them tremendously through our cruise.

We actually ordered the pillows after out last cruise. We took a photo of the tag info and some Googling led us here.

 

Cunard's casino does not smell of smoke when you walk through it. Do they even allow smoking in the casino?

I don't know specifically about QV but they stopped allowing smoking in the QM2 casino a few months before our first cruise in 2010. There was still a stale smoke odor then but over time and with new carpets the smell has dissipated. QE went into service after this date; for all I know they may never have allowed smoking in the QE casino.

[English Voyager]

Thanks Punkic for taking the time to post the delightful informative report on your cruise on Queen Victoria.

 

I sincerely hope the recent seemly caddy posts are just some joking around that is not crossing the language barrier very well.

 

There is no excuse for rude behavior from someone in the service industry anywhere. We weren't there, but apparently this bus driver was willing to take euros for enough profit. Given that, I can think of more words than "rude" to describe that type of behavior. All he had to do was say "Sorry madam, I can only take pounds, period! He could have added you will have to get the money exchanged in the station. Instead, he ask for 20 euros for the fare..... So much for not taking anything but pounds, the legal currency of GB.

 

If I had been the next person in line, I would have gladly given the money to get the show on the road.:) Oh well, we are all entitled to our opinions and this has definitely been a most entertaining thread. Thanks for the laughs.

 

To my mind, the report of alleged rudeness of the Hoppa Bus driver is a distraction from the fact that two people had previously travelled on the bus, and were well aware of the one way fare.

 

They knew that they had insufficient local money to pay for the fares, had by passed facilities that would have enabled them to obtain local currency, yet still elected to board the bus expecting the driver to accommodate them.

 

 

As for there being no excuse for rude behaviour from service staff I must remember to say that to US wait staff who start aggressively sounding off at a tip lower than 20%.:)

[PunkiC]

Actually, we hadn't thought about the fare at all and were unaware that a busy international hub like Heathrow would not accept Euros when they were readily accepted in every other country we visited, even those not members of the EU, like Russia. ;)

 

We most certainly did not expect anyone else to accommodate us, but were delighted when they did, although slightly embarrassed that the gentleman who loaned us the 10£ resisted repayment. Once we got change in the hotel, we gave the money to his wife.

 

Maybe we in Seattle are just a lot more friendly than folks in England as I frequently see people making change for fellow passengers and helping them out in any way they can. I have even seen this in NYC. The guy who responded with the loan was, BTW, and American. ;)

 

I have never her a wait person complain about a tip in the USA. They may be disappointed from time to time, but they keep it to themselves, or kibitz with their friends and colleagues after the customers are long gone.

 

Maybe I am living in a joyful little bubble, but it seems that as long as I believe in the goodness of my fellow man, they prove to be very good to me.

[pepperrn]

... Maybe we in Seattle are just a lot more friendly than folks in England ...

Can I lend you a spade? Although, I must say, you're doing just fine without one. :D

[capnpugwash]

Actually, we hadn't thought about the fare at all and were unaware that a busy international hub like Heathrow would not accept Euros when they were readily accepted in every other country we visited, even those not members of the EU, like Russia. ;)

 

We most certainly did not expect anyone else to accommodate us, but were delighted when they did, although slightly embarrassed that the gentleman who loaned us the 10£ resisted repayment. Once we got change in the hotel, we gave the money to his wife.

 

Maybe we in Seattle are just a lot more friendly than folks in England as I frequently see people making change for fellow passengers and helping them out in any way they can. I have even seen this in NYC. The guy who responded with the loan was, BTW, and American. ;)

 

I have never her a wait person complain about a tip in the USA. They may be disappointed from time to time, but they keep it to themselves, or kibitz with their friends and colleagues after the customers are long gone.

 

Maybe I am living in a joyful little bubble, but it seems that as long as I believe in the goodness of my fellow man, they prove to be very good to me.

 

To follow your logic, Euros would be accepted at JFK and LAX? Are you kidding me! Also it does seem that you expected the bus driver to accommodate you.

[PunkiC]

To follow your logic, Euros would be accepted at JFK and LAX? Are you kidding me! Also it does seem that you expected the bus driver to accommodate you.

 

All I expected of the bus driver was that he be polite. In the end it was actually a good thing that he was so rude as I am certain that it was his rudeness that prompted the American to loan us the money. :p

 

All's well that ends well.

[maina]

PunkC--

 

Thanks so much for posting in such delightful detail. I have a sense of let-down today, knowing that you have returned home and I won't have the daily enjoyment of reading your blog. While some of the details seemed a bit extraneous and, to some, worthy of extended critique, overall it was a great read. Happy future cruising!

 

Ann

[PunkiC]

Thanks, maina, it was a wonderful cruise.

 

We will be doing another on the QE in November/December and I will do another blog. The blogs are a great tool for remembering what we did, where and when and the responses give me interesting insights to the way that different people react to the same situation. :p

[3rdGenCunarder]

In Germany you cannot pay by any other currency than EURO because this is our legal currency. Some businesses accept other currencies as an service but do charge extra for this.

 

Public transport generally does not accept anything but EURO and very rarely payment by credit cards. We have a debit card payment system that has proven over 40 years to be best for us in the whole of Europe. Tickets have to be purchased and validated before entering a transport vehicle otherwise a high fine will apply.

 

This is the way we have defined our way of settling charges and we are generally happy with it. If people from other countries are not they may consider to think over their expectations and level of respect towards other nations.

 

Btw.: I cannot pay a cabby at Dallas by EURO cash and I will definitely not receive a polite response when trying to do so.

 

You US people are by no means entiteled to requiere the acceptance of your behaviour all over the world.

 

You are welcomed as a guest in Europe and please behave as such.

 

Your comment reminds me of a river cruise I took a few years ago. We were in a small town in the Netherlands. One of the passengers (American) was complaining at lunch that the little candy shop she'd been to wouldn't accept US dollars. I was cringing at her "how dare they!" attitude. It's true that many places around the world accept US dollars, but they aren't required to, and I wouldn't ask them to. I'm sure local businesses where I live wouldn't take Euros or Pounds.

 

We always get local currency in advance--and the Euro has made that much easier when we're on a multi-country cruise.

[Glenndale]

I sincerely hope the recent seemly caddy posts are just some joking around that is not crossing the language barrier very well.

 

No, this is not joking around, I was making the point that trying to use non legal tender in the UK was bound to fail, just as me trying to use GBP in the USA would similarly fail, but then I wouldn't be so ignorant as to attempt it.

 

There is no excuse for rude behavior from someone in the service industry anywhere. We weren't there, but apparently this bus driver was willing to take euros for enough profit. Given that, I can think of more words than "rude" to describe that type of behavior. All he had to do was say "Sorry madam, I can only take pounds, period! He could have added you will have to get the money exchanged in the station. Instead, he ask for 20 euros for the fare..... So much for not taking anything but pounds, the legal currency of GB.

 

He was attempting to resolve her problem and taking a 'tip' / adding a charge for his efforts. He would have had to exchange the money, something that PunkiC couldn't be bothered to do. If she is as well travelled as she has led us to believe, she really should have known better.

 

 

Maybe the driver felt that she was being rude with her sense of entitlement, that she felt she could proffer whatever currency she happened to have spare in her purse and it would be accepted?

We only have one side of this event ;)

Edited August 26, 2014 by Glenndale

[brigittetom]

We only have one side of this event ;)

 

This is Cruise Critic. There is only one side of any event. :)

[pepperrn]

... It's true that many places around the world accept US dollars, but they aren't required to, and I wouldn't ask them to.

Hi 3rdGenCunarder,

 

Yes, this has been my experience as well, many places will take US$. But I understand that many countries are keen to get US$ or Euros or (sometimes) GB£ in preference to their own.

In the UK we don't seem to be keen to get $ or Euros in preference to the £, although some "tourist hot-spots" and large stores will take them.

 

Countries such as Russia... for example... prefer such currencies to Roubles, or so I'm told by people who've been there (which explains why PunkiC had no problem with Euros).

I found that Turkey was very keen to have "foreign money" (this was in the days of the "old" Lira pre 2005 when the exchange rate was something like 1 US$ = 1,800,000 TL or more) and I had no problem using either US$ or GB£ in shops or bars).

 

Certainly in the distant past when I was briefly visiting developing or non-first-world countries, US$ and GB£ were VERY welcome (rather than the local "Ickies" or "Klebbies")

 

I still think I would always have some small notes in the local currency in my pocket, just in case. Or for using on a bus.

Edited August 26, 2014 by pepperrn

[fantasy51]

This business about currency exchange made me remember an incident about currency on one cruise.

 

I always try to exchange money for the local currency. A friend and I were in Yalta. We found a cafe and checked the English menu. I saw what it would cost to buy wine and hot chocolate and went to a nearby booth to change $US10. We enjoyed our break and I'd determined to hand over a couple of US dollars as tips (having seen how easily the waiter could exchange them). However, when the bill came in, it was for more Ukrainian money than we had. The reason? We had worked it out from the English menu and the prices were out-of-date! I decided that it was not worth arguing that a written price is a price, so handed over all our Ukrainian money, plus the dollars that were meant to have been his tip, and told him he'd have to exchange them himself. I walked away, leaving him looking bemused!

[fantasy51]

Countries such as Russia... for example... prefer such currencies to Roubles, or so I'm told by people who've been there

 

I went on a Baltic cruise in 2009 and booked a tour with a company in St Petersburg. They sent an email with the amount to pay and detailed it in Russian money, US dollars, etc. The only proviso was that if paying in other currency, it must be completely new banknotes with no folds in them. I decided I wouldn't take a risk of my notes being rejected so I exchanged my money in the UK before leaving and paid that way. I think I actually got a far better deal and exchange rate than those who paid on the day in pounds. In addition, the manager of the company made a 'mistake' in her charging and charged a bit extra. Not good.

[ToadOfToadHall]

...like Heathrow would not accept Euros when they were readily accepted in every other country we visited, even those not members of the EU, like Russia. ;)

 

Why do you think that might be ?

 

Let me think - oh yes, it's because the Ruble is a soft currently, is not an easily convertible currency, unlike, say Sterling. So in Russia, a hard currency (US dollars, UK Sterling, Euros) are very desirable. But in the UK, we already have a hard currency.

 

I have to say you are living up the the sterotype of a very insular American - you have little grasp of the world outside the USA. And to compare the Russian economy to the UK economy is a case in point.

[Glenndale]

This is Cruise Critic. There is only one side of any event. :)

Absolutely, 'the lady doth protest too much, methinks'.

[Salacia]

Well, it just goes to show that people can discuss many topics - including sex, religion, politics, race, and various cultural differences. An exchange of information: to my way of thinking that's pretty cool. In too many parts of the world, such a thing would not be permitted.

 

So cheers to the OP for a very interesting thread.

 

Regards,

Salacia

[cwn]

Well, it just goes to show that people can discuss many topics - including sex, religion, politics, race, and various cultural differences. An exchange of information: to my way of thinking that's pretty cool. In too many parts of the world, such a thing would not be permitted.

 

So cheers to the OP for a very interesting thread.

 

Regards,

Salacia

 

........Amen

[brigittetom]

Well, it just goes to show that people can discuss many topics - including sex, religion, politics, race, and various cultural differences. An exchange of information: to my way of thinking that's pretty cool. In too many parts of the world, such a thing would not be permitted.

 

So cheers to the OP for a very interesting thread.

 

Regards,

Salacia

 

I'm in. Cheers :)

[PunkiC]

Also to add... Having been on this voyage (5th with Cunard) we had the most amazing time.

 

I took part in the choir (QV vocalists) which I enjoyed a great deal. The performance was really fun)

 

Thank you for your performance. It really was wonderful and you sounded so professional. It was obvious that many of the participants regularly sing in choirs.

 

We weren't aware of any dramas or incidents on board until unfortunately, on the morning we docked there was a code alpha call (twice) for deck 5. Let's hope that the person in question was treated successfully and on the mend. It's always unsettling to think of a fellow passenger becoming unwell.

 

We too were worried about the Alpha Code and the outcome for the passenger involved. On our Hawaii cruise last December a passenger fell and suffered severe injuries to his hip about three hours into our return. The ship turned around and sailed back to to Hawaii where it met up with a Coast Guard ship that off-loaded the passenger. The Captain reported the next day that a specialist had been flown in to perform surgery and that they passenger was doing very well.

 

On our Westbound Crossing last year there was a 95 year-old man who passed out at dinner. He regained consciousness for a short period of time, but then died an hour or so later in the medical center. DH and I commented that that would be a pretty good way to go, especially at that age, and extra especially if we could manage to do it simultaneously on the magnificent dance floor on the Queen Victoria.

 

Once again, we had a wonderful trip. No complaints..other than having to disembark! Two weeks of living in the style in which I'd like to become accustomed to in the real world! Perfect.

(Oh! And we we're allowed to keep our key card!)

 

Disembarkation is always the worst part of any cruise. :(

 

Is it unusual to be allowed to keep the key card?

Edited August 27, 2014 by PunkiC

[MawganTr]

Re:key cards - on our recent trips they have kept them 'for security reasons' but this time the crew member told us to keep it as a souvenir!

 

 

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