Cruising with your pets

That's right you can take your pets on holiday with you.
I wrote a post a couple of days ago about how you could take fencing lessons on the Queen Victoria, (you can read the post here), and continuing in the theme of revealing little known features of Cunard cruises; today I'm going to tell you about how you can bring your pets onboard the Queen Mary 2.

Fencing on the QV

I was talking to a client of mine today who had just got back from a cruise on Cunards Queen Victoria, (he had a great time by the way). We were discussing all the different things he'd got up to when he mentioned he had taken some fencing classes onboard.
I looked into it afterwards and did you know the Queen Victoria is the only ship at sea to offer fencing lessons?

Cunards ships crossword puzzle

It's a cold Sunday moring so I've decided to post another 5 minute crossword for you all.
This one is a list of Cunards ships with the clues in the form of general knowledge questions.

Have fun and happy cruising.

What are Cunard cruises like?

I've been writing a series of posts lately aimed at first time cruisers to introduce them to the different cruise 'brands' available to them. What they can expect onboard; what the cruise is like, the kind of people they'll find onboard etc.
Today's post will be aimed at what Cunard cruise lines are like.

The Queen Victoria - Three of a kind now!

Sorry it's a bit late but I've only just got around to taking the pictures off my camera. You may remember me mentioning back in July that I was off down to Southampton to visit the Queen Victoria.

I was especially excited as this would complete my Cunard set; trip Queens. I've now seen all three of Cunards current ships, although I'm still gutted that I only started cruising after the QE2 had already retired. Hey ho, such is life. 

So what did I think of her? Very nice. Still not a touch on the QM2 mind, (you can read my review of her here), but still nice. I think I preferred her to he sister ship the Queen Elisabeth, (you can read my review of her here), but it was a close run thing. The art deco theme done out in beiges and browns on the QE was nice but I think the QV was just that bit more traditional and more in line with what I expect from a Cunard ship.

But you don't need to take my word for it, check out the pictures I took onboard below.

Cunards Grills - Another name for first and second class?

I recently wrote a post about all the different benefits you can enjoy when you book a Princess or Queens Grill onboard a Cunard ship, (if you're interested you can read the post by clicking here). Ever since I wrote it though it's been praying on my mind a little. Are the Cunard Grills just a higher grade of cabin, as available on all other cruises lines or are they a sneaky form class system ie first, second and steerage?

QM2 vs Independence of the Seas

I've been watching a show recently, (I think it was originally on Bravo), called Deadliest Warrior. It's a semi historical show where two groups of 'practical' historians will represent a warrior from the past ie a Ninja vs a Samurai. They test all the different weapons/armour that these warriors had to offer, (normally on an un-suspecting crash test dummy), and then at the end of the show all the data is collected and loaded into a computer which then determines who would of won in a fight, had they ever of met in real life.

It's actually quite fun and at they end they get two actors to enact the final result, it's definitely worth a watch.

The point of all this is that it's given me an idea for a series of blogs based on the same principal. I'm going to pitch two different ships together in a head to head 'fight' to see who comes out on top. The first match will be between.........

How much fuel does a cruise ship use?

A client asked me the other day how much fuel a cruise ship uses on an average voyage compared to his car. I wasn’t sure what to tell him as it wasn’t a question I’d ever been asked before but I went away and did some rough, (very rough), maths work to try and calculate it for him.

You can check out the results below, (the maths is very rough so feel free to correct me if you can).

More fuel surcharge increases

Just found out today that P&O, Cunard and Princess cruise lines will be putting their fuel charges up to £6 per day, up to a maximum of £200 per voyage. Unlike other cruise lines, who shall remain nameless however, (cough Fred Olsens cough), they wont be applying this charge to cruises already booked, just any new bookings made after the 28th Feb 2011.
The good news is that the increase will only apply to certain voyages, normally the longer ones, but todays top tip definitely has to be:
If you're looking to book a P&O, Cunard or Princess cruise this year do it before the 28th of Feb.

Strangely I'm on the side of the cruise lines with this one, if the price of fuel does go up clearly they need to put their prices up, it only annoys me when they apply it to bookings that have already been made.
But what do you think?

Happy Cruising

The Commodore and I

As you all know, all our clients here at Cruise.co.uk are intelligent, sophisticated and polite people who appreciate all the hardwork we put in behind the scenes, but as in all industries, we very occasionally get some one ring us up who isn't quite so polite. This happened to me several days ago and I thought I'd share it all with you.

A lady rang me up looking for a balcony cabin onboard the QM2. We had several cabins available but she wouldn't book one unless I could guarantee that she wouldn't have fraternise, (her word), with anyone in an inside cabin!
I actually thought she was joking to start with but when it turned out she was serious I obviously said there was nothing I could do to help. To which I got this comment......

Transatlantic Crossings – All you’ll ever need to know

I’ve been writing about Cunard a lot recently, not surprising really as I’ve just come back from trips aboard the QE and the QM2, but it’s got me thinking about the one cruise that all you cruise fans should do at least once, the transatlantic crossing.
This has to be one of the most historic cruises you can undertake, its origins go right back to the start of cruising and Cunard have been offering them from the get go. With that in mind I’ve put together this little guide on everything you can expect from a transatlantic crossing.

Should I book a Sheltered balcony?

By now you should all have heard that I have just come back from Cunards QM2, (see my previous blog on the ship here), and I absolutely loved it. One of my biggest surprises of the cruise was the cabin I was in, a B1 sheltered balcony.

The QM2 - I can't wait!

Just a quick one today to let everyone know I'm off down to Southampton at the weekend to board the QM2. It's just a short cruise over to Cherbourg so I'll be back by next Wednesday if you need me.
For all you hardened Cunard fans I'll try to get a review written by about Thursday, Friday time next week so check back to see all my pictures and see what I thought of her, (never been on the QM2 before, so I'm quite excited).

Happy Cruising

25 hour a day Cruising

Admit it, when you’re aboard your cruise ship it never seems like you have enough time to do everything you want. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Or is there?
Proving the old adage true, ‘you learn something new every day’, I found out something about cruising today that I'd never heard before.

The greatest meal never eaten

I was watching a re-run of Heston Blumenthal Feasts on TV last night when I caught an Edwardian episode about the Titanic that I had missed the first time around. I wont go too much into details on the show, I’m sure you’ve seen it before and this is meant to be a blog about cruising rather than TV, but it got me thinking about how much dining had changed onboard over the last hundred years or so.

And before I get lynched by a lot of angry cruisers, I’m in no way saying the quality of the food has changed, just the style. But how much of a difference does the style/presentation of the cooking really make? Is a steak just a steak?

I’ve just been on Queen Elizabeth – Wow!

First impressions of the QE? Wow!

Well, once I was onboard anyway. My actual first impression from the outside was that the hull looked more matt grey than Cunards traditional jet black, but that’s only a very minor point on a gorgeous ship. If you click the read more button below you will be able to see some of the pictures I took whilst onboard with my opinions of the ship, although as always please forgive the photography, unless you're completely surrounded by her elegance any picture you see will never do her justice.

The QE/QE3, an argument settled?

Awhile back now I wrote a blog posing the question why the new Queen Elizabeth was so named, rather than the more obvious QE3 to follow her predecessor the QE2.

Boy did that question annoy some regular Cunardians!
You can click here for anyone who wants to read the original blog, (along with all the comments from people explaining to me exactly why I didn’t know what I was talking about), but I now have the definitive answer to the question.......

Why not the QE3?

By now you all should have heard that Cunards newest ship, The Queen Elizabeth, will be named by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the second herself, so I’m not going to spend anytime belabouring that particular point. What I am going to do is indulge in my favourite pastime on this blog of ranting about subjects that no one except me seems to care about.

Why aren’t they calling her the QE3?

It’s a funny ol’ life at sea…….

Of the following three cruise stories, only two ever really happened, the other is a complete figment of my imagination. But, here’s the puzzle, can you spot the real from the false?

Good Luck…………

Will Muslims say no to P&O?

I was booking a P&O cruise for a client late last Friday when he asked me if P&O would be ok to serve him and his wife Halal, (food suitably prepared for Muslims), food on the cruise. Assuming this wouldn’t be a problem as I had done the same with other cruise lines I went ahead and booked the cruise for him.
Calling P&O first thing Monday morning to add the request I was shocked to discover this wasn’t a dietary request they offered on any of their ships.