Rod Hagen Posted November 26, 2023 Posted November 26, 2023 Thank you everyone. When I said boat I meant Ship. BIG Ship like the ones discussed in this thread. :-) There's a lot of good advice, and I appreciate it, but I'm almost certainly gonna pass, I'm great w/pain, and a complete pussy when it comes to nausea. samhexum and MikeBiDude 1 1
Rod Hagen Posted November 26, 2023 Posted November 26, 2023 6 minutes ago, MikeBiDude said: Have your doc prescribe a scopolamine patch and test it out *before* your trip to see if it causes you any side effects. Of course nothing is 100% but I've seen many chronic "mal de mer" sufferers enjoy the ocean again using it. I used that on a short ferry from Santorini to Folegondros, but really how do you actually test it in preparation for a transatlantic cruise? There is nothing like a trans atlantic cruise for shear wave terror. Danny-Darko and samhexum 2
MikeBiDude Posted November 26, 2023 Posted November 26, 2023 42 minutes ago, Rod Hagen said: I used that on a short ferry from Santorini to Folegondros, but really how do you actually test it in preparation for a transatlantic cruise? There is nothing like a trans atlantic cruise for shear wave terror. Well I firmly believe there is a mental-anxiety thing that contributes to seasickness. So you're wise to pass. From experience: you don't want to be on a sailboat at sea with a crew member so seasick that they can't even hold down water and oral medication. 🤢Next step? A Suppository, light coating of Vaseline because the Suppository can sting. Rod Hagen 1
mike carey Posted November 26, 2023 Posted November 26, 2023 I think there is an element of 'getting your sea legs' too, even if it's just psychological. I did a crossing of the Sea of Japan (after a very pacific transit up the east coast from Yokohama to the La Perouse Strait) and was knocked for six by the SOJ, but after a tablet and a sleep, I was fine in what appeared to be the same sea states the following day. No idea what the fiendish soviet tablet was. Being horizontal was also better than vertical (no, I don't mean that sort of horizontal!). MikeBiDude, Marc in Calif, Rod Hagen and 1 other 2 1 1
Giorgio Posted March 7, 2024 Posted March 7, 2024 I've done both Transatlantic Southampton-NY and NY- Southampton on QM2. One was Maiden season the second 3-4 years later. I Love the ship. I prefer the East-bound trip to West because the 7day trip East cancels out any time change / jet-lag issues arriving in Southampton all refreshed and ready to go upon arrival in London. We disembarked early morning with plenty of time to catch the EuroStar to Paris on time for early check-in at our hotel. Depending on your flexibility $$ Princess or Queen's Grill suite is the way to go. There are a lot of built-in perks to the premium suites, it's nice to have more space and other on-board amenities not available to Britannia. I recently read that QM2 was just brought out of dry-dock and a complete refurbishment just like new early 2024. Cunard is a favorite line if you're looking for a world class experience. I'm scheduled for a 14 day cruise Southampton to Canary Islands round-trip embarking May 14th. Cant wait to experience another Brand New Cunard, Queen Anne. BSR and Rod Hagen 2
+ azdr0710 Posted March 8, 2024 Posted March 8, 2024 5 minutes ago, Giorgio said: Cant wait to experience another Brand New Cunard, Queen Anne. https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cunard-stories/queen-anne-maiden-season Giorgio 1
+ BenjaminNicholas Posted March 8, 2024 Posted March 8, 2024 25 minutes ago, Giorgio said: I've done both Transatlantic Southampton-NY and NY- Southampton on QM2. One was Maiden season the second 3-4 years later. I Love the ship. I prefer the East-bound trip to West because the 7day trip East cancels out any time change / jet-lag issues arriving in Southampton all refreshed and ready to go upon arrival in London. We disembarked early morning with plenty of time to catch the EuroStar to Paris on time for early check-in at our hotel. Depending on your flexibility $$ Princess or Queen's Grill suite is the way to go. There are a lot of built-in perks to the premium suites, it's nice to have more space and other on-board amenities not available to Britannia. I recently read that QM2 was just brought out of dry-dock and a complete refurbishment just like new early 2024. Cunard is a favorite line if you're looking for a world class experience. I'm scheduled for a 14 day cruise Southampton to Canary Islands round-trip embarking May 14th. Cant wait to experience another Brand New Cunard, Queen Anne. The QA looks like it'll be beautiful. Enjoy the voyage! This QM2 drydock wasn't nearly as revolutionary as many drydocks tend to go. This was mostly paint and carpet. For a better idea of the particulars, Cruise Critic has a great thread on it. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2971338-refit-pics/page/6/ Not that the ship needs some massive design shift, but Cunard handled this one with a very light touch. Giorgio 1
MikeThomas Posted March 8, 2024 Posted March 8, 2024 I’ve done 5 NY to Southampton crossings and will be doing my first westbound Southampton to NYC this May. As BN points out, the recent refurbishment was a light touch. In addition to carpet, etc., I understand they replaced their internet. It was in bad shape. It will be a while before they can afford a full makeover. They’ve got a lot of pandemic debt to payback. If I wasn’t meeting up with friends I probably would do something else. Cunard’s solo passenger charge is very high, they don’t give much onboard credit and drinks are not included. Quite frankly, I think there are better options. This fall I will sail from Barcelona to Miami on the new 600 passenger Explora II. Seventeen nights. Great price and all inclusive, beautiful new ship. I am really enjoying the smaller ships. Marc in Calif, thomas and + BenjaminNicholas 1 2
+ BenjaminNicholas Posted March 8, 2024 Posted March 8, 2024 1 hour ago, MikeThomas said: This fall I will sail from Barcelona to Miami on the new 600 passenger Explora II. Seventeen nights. Great price and all inclusive, beautiful new ship. I may be on that sailing. I did the Explora I the first month it was running and it's a GREAT product by MSC. Same client wants to try out the sister ship. Will also be on Viking's Polaris next month. Have done their river and ocean, but never this size. Very much looking forward to it. Marc in Calif 1
+ HeyDude Posted September 5, 2024 Posted September 5, 2024 On 10/26/2023 at 6:55 PM, BSR said: It's on my bucket list as well, although I do wonder if the idea (poshness, glamour) is better than the reality (7 days, no ports). The best tip I found about transatlantic crossings was to fly east and sail west so that you get an extra hour on 5 days of the journey. If you sail NYC->Southampton, you lose an hour on 5 days and will likely sleep through all those terrific English breakfasts. The advantage of traveling from west to east is that you suffer minimal jet lag upon arrival in South Hampton. You also avoid the difficult Trans-Atlantic night flight. The flights that return to the States from Europe are most often day flights. Giorgio 1
Giorgio Posted December 29, 2024 Posted December 29, 2024 I'm booked on QM2 October 2025.. might be fun to run into some of you in the SteamRoom VOYAGE NUMBER M532 NewYork to Southampton Princess Grill Starboard (sunny side of the ship) Cunard runs some pretty good promotions for solo travelers. Word of advice, I tried booking 3 nights in London through the cruise line and Cunard couldn't accommodate. From past experience I found their rates were significantly higher than Hotels.com anyway. I finally booked Londoner when I bought my return ticket through UnitedAirlines link to Hotels.com. They had an even better rate than going direct to Hotels.com. thomas 1
MikeThomas Posted January 1 Posted January 1 Have fun in October. I will board the QM2 this Friday, January 3rd for an 8 day crossing from NY to SOU. Meeting 6 friends. It looks like we will have some big swells! Fun! Giorgio, thomas, BSR and 2 others 3 1 1
+ nycman Posted January 1 Posted January 1 (edited) 37 minutes ago, MikeThomas said: Have fun in October. I will board the QM2 this Friday, January 3rd for an 8 day crossing from NY to SOU. Meeting 6 friends. It looks like we will have some big swells! Fun! You are doing a transatlantic crossing in January??? You’re much braver than I am. Have fun! Edited January 1 by nycman
MikeThomas Posted January 16 Posted January 16 On 12/31/2024 at 7:48 PM, nycman said: You are doing a transatlantic crossing in January??? You’re much braver than I am. Have fun! Thanks. It was a great crossing. The first few days were rough. 21 feet swells and I was on Deck 13. Lots of fun! + nycman, kingsley88, BSR and 3 others 2 2 2
kingsley88 Posted February 26 Posted February 26 Doing the transatlantic on QM2 is a bucketlist item for me too. I still remember back in 2007 when RSVP cruises had a gay QM2 transatlantic crossing over Memorial Day week. I didn't have $$$ back then so I was unable to go. Oddly enough RSVP/Atlantis never hosted another QM2 transatlantic crossing so perhaps something occurred and it didn't go well. At the moment, I'm thinking of August/September next year. I also wonder if the internet is strong enough that I can perhaps work remote for 1-2 days.
+ BenjaminNicholas Posted February 26 Posted February 26 29 minutes ago, kingsley88 said: Oddly enough RSVP/Atlantis never hosted another QM2 transatlantic crossing so perhaps something occurred and it didn't go well. Cunard no longer offer their ships to RSVP/Atlantis for buyout. The same goes for the Azamara ships. It was a one-and-done. RSVP and Atlantis tend to book large ships with a lot of room and a lot of things to do, as well as public spaces that work for their nightly dance parties. They don't normally cater to the small ship, luxury crowd.
MikeThomas Posted February 26 Posted February 26 QM2's internet was recently upgraded to Starlink. You'll have no problem working. You'l be able to stream and do video calls. It's not cheap (I think you can find the price online.) I'd consider booking now. You'll have to put down a deposit, but it's fully refundable up to 4 months from departure. Cabins go quickly. To avoid noise from above make sure your cabin only has cabins above you. Book starboard... amazing views of lower Manhattan, etc. If you're not booking a Grills suite, try and book Britannia Club... same cabins as Britannia, but a better restaurant. Do it. It's fun. August/September North Atlantic weather should be fine with temperatures in the 60s. kingsley88 1
+ Vegas_Millennial Posted February 27 Posted February 27 4 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said: The same goes for the Azamara ships. It was a one-and-done. However, I am taking 2 all gay charters on Azamara Quest next year with Outbound travel. Outbound has a different target audience than Atlantis.
+ BenjaminNicholas Posted February 27 Posted February 27 2 hours ago, Vegas_Millennial said: However, I am taking 2 all gay charters on Azamara Quest next year with Outbound travel. Outbound has a different target audience than Atlantis. That sounds like fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. The only gay cruise I've enjoyed was through RSVP on an Azamara ship in Asia. The clientele was much more relaxed, wider age range, intelligent and a lot of fun to be around. I imagine that was due to the higher cost of the cruise combined with the costs/time to get to Shanghai. + Vegas_Millennial 1
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