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The 10 Things All Smart Cunard Transatlantic Passengers Do!
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Jan 28, 2025
My 10 must-do and tips for anyone considering or planning doing a Cunard Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing. These are the smart questions and things to do if you are thinking of doing, or have booked, a Cunard Transatlantic Crossing 10 Must-Know Tips If Doing A Cunard Transatlantic Crossing and 10 Things You Need To Know About Cunard Transatlantic Crossings ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 92 cruises I have done to date. BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs ————————————————- * Check out my T-Shirt range: http://bit.ly/TFTStore SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS ————————————————————— * Become a Channel Member and get perks: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Join * Become a Patron on Patreon and get perks: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * Make a donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=V9STJGYSEMGLJ * Buy my book “Cruise Traveler’s Handbook: USA Amazon https://amzn.to/2YVFmG4 and https://amzn.to/3tzIxBn UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3oXbzYc and https://amzn.to/3qawqIQ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
View Video Transcript
0:00
on my first cunard transatlantic
0:02
crossing an english couple on the
0:03
restaurant table next to me were
0:05
desperate to get off the ship they
0:08
hadn't understood what they'd signed up
0:10
for but had to endure another five sea
0:13
days before we got to new york on
0:15
another i met an australian couple that
0:17
hadn't appreciated what was required of
0:20
them on a crossing and were unhappy as
0:22
it was not what they wanted to do
0:25
i'm gary bembridge i've done five cunard
0:28
transatlantic crossings to date and
0:30
discovered
0:31
a bunch of smart things to do based on
0:33
mistakes people like that english and
0:35
australian couple and even i have done
0:37
to help make you
0:39
get it right
0:41
the first smart thing to do
0:43
is ask if a crossing
0:45
and not a standard repositioning cruise
0:48
is right for you
0:49
something the english couple had not
0:51
done
0:52
a repositioning cruise is when cruise
0:54
lines move their ships between the
0:56
mediterranean and the caribbean at the
0:59
beginning and end of each season
1:02
they tend to be up to 10 days or so long
1:05
they have a couple of ports of cool
1:07
along the way and you can choose your
1:09
favorite line to do it for example if
1:12
you need a modern ship ice rinks rock
1:14
climbing lots of special dining and big
1:17
production shows to have a good time
1:19
like the english couple did
1:21
you would definitely have more fun on
1:23
say a royal caribbean ship a queen mary
1:27
2 crossing is different
1:29
it's the only ship running a scheduled
1:32
transatlantic service running 22-25
1:34
times a year between southampton and new
1:36
york last seven days and has no stops
1:40
it's the only cruise liner
1:44
in service today
1:45
designed to cope with constant crossings
1:48
and is unlike any other cruise ship it
1:50
has an art deco inspired decor
1:52
referencing the old liners that used to
1:54
apply the same route before airplane
1:56
travel
1:58
but a queen mary 2 crossing is better
2:01
than a repositioning cruise if like me
2:04
you want to sell on a one-of-a-kind ship
2:06
and be able to say you're one of the
2:08
select crowd to experience the root
2:11
and the romance of the old transatlantic
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liners
2:15
but
2:16
before you do book yourself on the next
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smart thing to do is understand exactly
2:22
what you're getting yourself in for
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are you sure that you will not get bored
2:28
with seven days at sea most people i
2:31
meet on a crossing tell me they are
2:33
frustrated
2:34
but that's because they ran out of time
2:37
to do everything the program is with
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between four and seven activities per
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hour busy but it may not be for you
2:46
it is a classic cruising program and
2:49
focus very much on enrichment
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the showcase event is the cunard insight
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lectures each crossing has four speakers
2:58
with three to four talks lasting 45
3:01
minutes each every single day on my
3:04
crossings it has included an ex-concord
3:07
pilot maritime historian
3:09
new york skyscraper expert crime
3:11
detective tv and film actress author
3:15
astronomers retired army general
3:17
broadway producer and politician
3:20
the queen's room is a major focus too
3:23
with zumba line and ballroom dance
3:26
classes in the morning the huge
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afternoon tea attended by many hundreds
3:30
in the afternoon and packed dance balls
3:33
and dance nights with a live orchestra
3:35
there in the evening
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other daily activities include shows in
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the illuminations planetarium the only
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one at sea
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live music around the ship multiple
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trivia games bridge classes and
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tournaments hobby classes like
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watercolor painting deck games bingo
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cooking demonstrations fruit carving
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demonstrations and meetups for groups
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like solo travelers lgbt
4:00
christian fellowship friends of bill w
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and other special groups
4:04
but even if that doesn't sound like you
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another smart choice could be to use the
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seven days to completely switch off from
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the world helped by the less than
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perfect wi-fi and the library of ten
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thousand books something my partner does
4:19
while i go about enjoying the talks
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often tea and quizzes he just relaxes if
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this sounds good
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there is another big consideration and
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this is where the australians did not
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make a smart choice
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what is your view on dressing up
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ownership cunard is associated with ball
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gowns glamorous dresses and dinner suits
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and tuxedos however the dress code is
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not as strict as it used to be
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five nights of the seven nights are now
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smart attire so us men are expected to
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wear collared shirt it can then be a
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short sleeve shirt although probably 60
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or more or a jacket and a long sleeve
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shirt that's what i did on the two gala
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nights they're no longer called formal
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nights probably about 90 percent of
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people dressed up most men were in black
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tie tuxedo and women in glamorous
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dresses or even ball gowns to eat in the
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main restaurants you must follow the
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dress code it also means that if you're
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not dressed up you're not supposed to go
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to the shows or any of the balls and
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parties and the australians hated all of
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that
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while of course they didn't have to get
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dressed up and could eat in the buffet
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restaurant it meant missing out on much
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that the crossing evenings have to offer
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if you really do not want to dress up
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then it's smart to reconsider doing a
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crossing by the way
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one smart thing to do is wear whatever
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you would on any other cruise during the
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day so don't make the mistake that i did
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and think that you need to bring smart
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clothes for the day too but do bring
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layers because it can be windy and
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chilly out on deck
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and also by the way make sure that you
6:00
don't pack more than the airline
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allowance for the flight to or from the
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crossing home
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there are some smart choices to be made
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also about who you go
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with
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and why
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most passengers on the crossing are
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mature couples from their 50s and
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upwards there is a smattering
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of multi-generational families
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40-something groups of friends and just
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a few families many many people ask me
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if the smart thing to do is to take kids
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on a crossing in my view
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no even in the peak summer season
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there's not that many families with kids
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the program experience dress code are
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not designed for kids
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it's not an adult only cruise but it
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ends up being a largely adult-only
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experience there are kids and teen clubs
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up to the age of 17 but they're nowhere
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near the scale that you'll find on
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family orientated lines crossings are
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popular with solo travelers with twice
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daily meetups and some sort of cabins
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and also with lgbt couples as you start
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to plan
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here's a few things that you do need to
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do
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i think the smart way to go is the
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westbound route from southampton to new
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york first of all you have longer days
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as on five of the days you have 25 hour
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days due to the time changes and second
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you end the trip sailing into new york
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with a site of the statue of liberty on
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the eastbound route you have five short
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23-hour days but you do get to sell past
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the statue of liberty without having to
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get up at 4 30 a.m to see it
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so i feel that there's more bang for
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your buck going westbound because the
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fares are basically the same
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but
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when is the smart time to go
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for most people the concern on when to
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go is linked to weather
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and risk of seasickness to be honest on
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every crossing i've been on i have met
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people who've been seasick
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but that's usually because they did not
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make smart choices and do a few things
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upfront
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for example if you're going on a winter
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crossing because the prices are very
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attractive it's great if you want
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guaranteed big waves and lots of motion
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but it's not
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if you're prone to motion sickness
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the calmest times are of course during
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mid-summer periods
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but the north atlantic is unpredictable
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storms can brew up and you will get
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movement though queen mary 2 handles it
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better than any regular cruise ship on
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every crossing even in summer i've had
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some days with noticeable movement some
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flat sea days with sun and some foggy
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days so be smart and be prepared come
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with motion sickness remedies that work
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for you and know that if you do suffer
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by the way there is a painful jab in the
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medical center that will knock you out
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for a couple of hours but will
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absolutely do the trick now my partner
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gets very seasick when the seas are
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rough and on two winter crossings he's
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had the jab and felt fantastic and it's
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not been a problem at all
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there is though one important and smart
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thing to do if you're worried about this
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it's something that people constantly
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slip up on
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if you're worried about getting
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seasickness get a cabin in the middle of
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the ship as you will get the least
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amount of movement there i always go a
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midship
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always
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if you're really concerned then also go
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as low down
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as possible on queen mary 2 there are
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many cabins on decks 4 5 and 6 which are
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right down in the hull you can even have
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a balcony as they have shelter balconies
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cut out into the hull
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but to get a midship cabin you need to
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be smart and book the cunard fare that
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allows you to choose your own cabin and
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not their guaranteed grade fare where
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they allocate you your cabin
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many people are tempted by the slightly
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lower price
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but regret it when they find the cabin
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is at the front
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or the rear and moves a lot however
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don't let a concern about movement stop
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you from choosing the right type and
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grade of cabin to really get the most
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out of the crossing as you can get mid
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chip in most grades and that's what i do
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keynote like many cruise lines today do
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have a sort of class based system on
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board
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based on your cabin grade
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if you sell in the biggest
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suites you're in what's called queens
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grill and you dine in the queen's grill
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restaurant
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if you have the slightly smaller suites
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you're in princess grill and you dine in
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the princess grill restaurant if you're
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in a balcony ocean view or inside cabin
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you eat in the britannia restaurant so
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if you are traveling with friends and
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family
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make sure you're all booking in the same
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grade so you can actually dine together
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queens and princess girl have open
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seated dining so no fixed time to eat
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and you can have a table of any size you
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want and that's guaranteed
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in britannia there is a wider range of
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table sizes two four six and eight and
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you will have to choose a table size
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when you book it's harder to guarantee
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you will get a table for two if that's
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what you really want britannia has two
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sittings an early fixed time sitting and
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then it's only the time of recording a
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later anytime dining where you line up
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or join a virtual queue on the app to
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get a table
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if you don't want to go to the cost of a
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suite
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but you want open seated dining and a
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guaranteed table size a smart
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alternative could be to try britannia
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club which are the more premium balcony
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cabins with their own area
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in the britannia restaurant which is
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which has open seated dining now
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personally i like to splash out on a
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crossing because i like having a bigger
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cabin
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because i feel i spend more time in it
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than on regular cruises and so try and
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go queen squirrel but again i book the
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fare to choose the cabin and i always
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make sure it is mid ship
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by the way don't worry that you'll be
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locked out of large parts of the ship by
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not going in a grill's sweet cabin
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they do have a small bar a concierge
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lounge with someone to handle queries
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and complaints and a small deck on deck
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11 at the rear of the ship but that's it
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the rest of the ship is open and used by
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all
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but no matter the grade
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there is something you do need to do
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you do need to be smart
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about
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budgeting
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cue not have many add-ons once on board
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gratuities are also added to your bill
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at the time of the recording that will
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add
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around 80 dollars per person for
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britannia guests and 94 dollars per
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person for the grill's guests for the
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period of the crossing you can have them
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removed or increased we also do tip cash
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to our waiters and cabin student on top
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of these if they have been especially
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good and that's fairly normal on cunard
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drinks though is one area that adds a
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lot to budgets i always see passengers
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checking their bills down the person's
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desk and they are gobsmacked at how much
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they've racked up with all the sea days
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and the evenings qnote have various soft
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and alcohol drink packages the beer wine
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by the glass and spirits including most
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cocktails will add
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483 dollars per person to your bill for
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the week if one guest in the cabin buys
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a drinks package all adults in the same
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cabin must do as well so that would add
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just under one thousand dollars to a
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couple's bill for the crossing of course
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shopping bingo casino especially coffees
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and samuels and any specialty dining in
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the veranda steakhouse or king's court
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specialty evenings they will also be
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extra costs
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with as will wi-fi which can add quite a
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bit on it can be up to 20 per day for
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the streaming package with on-board
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budget sorted there is one really smart
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thing to do when you board
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the queen mary 2 is an unusual and often
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confusing ship to find your way around i
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spent at least 11 weeks on her over the
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years but when i get back on board like
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i did for the crossing it takes time to
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orientate and find my way around
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once on board go on one of the ship
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tours if they're offering them or grab
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this little deck plan that you will find
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in your cabin and walk your way around
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because of the way the ship has been
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designed pushing many of the big venues
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low down on the ship some venues are
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hard to find like the queen's room
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tucked behind the britannia restaurant
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reached by a hard to find corridor that
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goes through the clarendon art shop
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so this little brochure becomes a big
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friend of yours
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if you want to know more about queen
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mary 2 including how the ship stacks up
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today and some of the hidden features
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and secret things that many never find
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when they're on board watch this video
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where i show you how to get the most of
15:06
queen mary 2 right now see you over
15:09
there
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