PLANNING AND PREPARATION



Friday, December 13, 2024

There are lots of things to do in preparation for the cruise. What and how much to take; International phone use, worldwide internet access; shore excursion reservations; April 15th taxes, required visas; medications, etc.


First, figuring out how to pay for it! The total amount is due now! I had to transfer money from my investment accounts into to my local checking account. This is normally not a problem but, since I had recently made some deposits in the areas I wanted to draw from, I had to wait for some transfer paperwork to take place. This resulted in a couple extensions to my invoice with Cunard. They accommodated and we are locked in.

Since we are committing late to this cruise, we are in the minority of the nearly 3,000 passengers who have already booked and reserved cabins and shore excursions. So, Sue and I started booking available shore excursions online. We spent three days going over available excursions and paying for them online. Surprisingly, only a small percentage were sold out and we are looking forward to some great experiences on our voyage.  We chose stateroom balcony amidships which has "obstructed view" which they told us only consists of some vertical cables which may have something to do with the life rafts situated just below our balcony. 

We both have a Passport and a Passport Card.  But, unbeknownst to us, our passport doesn't entitle us to enter any country.  Visas and/or ELT (Electronic Travel Authority) are required for Australia and a NZTD (New Zealand Travel Declaration) for New Zealand. Both have a phone app that can be used which requires declaring you haven't been arrested for anything or convicted of a drug offence among other questions.  The app also takes a picture of your passport and a photograph of yourself.  It also, of course, charges for these services.  In US$, 12.86 for Australia and $68.11 for New Zealand.  Now we wait 72 hours to see if we are granted permission.  Vietnam also requires some kind of visa for entry but, as I understand it, that will be taken care of on board before we arrive there. 

Unlike some other cruises I, we, have been on, the Queen Anne is oriented toward luxury and not so much toward family entertainment such as water slides, gaming, and other options you would look for on a Disney or Princess cruise. Cunard Lines even have an afternoon "Teatime" where white gloved waiters serve cakes and desserts along with the mandatory tea. Just what we need! Another temptation to put on pounds. Welcome to the English way of doing things! You are expected to "smart dress" for dinner and even more smartly for the twice weekly gala nights if you intend to break bread at their sit-down restaurants. There is always the buffet alternative if you want to forego the "dress up". This means I need to pack some dress clothes and perhaps, even buy a suit as the one I have doesn't fit. Sue needs to buy some dresses. 

Now that the cruise is paid for, we are getting offers of other packages that are available.  Their drinks package, which includes soft drinks, specialty drinks (mocha, slurries, etc.) alcoholic drinks up to $13.50 with a maximum of 15/day, is $49.50/day per person.  Both adults in the stateroom are required to purchase, so that means for our 98-day cruise, it would cost us $9,702!  I don't think so.  Mixed drinks, without the package, run from $8-13, beers around $7, soft drinks around $3.  Cunard Drinks Package Guide: Worth It Or Not (2024)?  (Tap and follow link, if interested)

Internet packages for our 98-day voyage, which I will need if I am going to do this blog, cost $2,058 for one device and $4,116 for up to four devices!  This package includes voice or video streaming which Sue needs for her online puzzles she likes to do.  She has a device that she thinks will work for both of us and get by with the least expensive option.  We will see!

Several days after our confirmation, I received an email offering upgrades to our stateroom. It is a bidding process starting with the top-level staterooms which are basically an apartment several times the size of our 180 square foot balcony stateroom.  Bidding for this starts at $30,190 and goes up to $64,845 PER GUEST! No thank you very much! Our balcony stateroom upgrade to the same thing without an obstructed view was $1,880 up to $4,085, again per guest.  They asked when I signed up if I would take a free upgrade if one became available, I told them we would.  We will take our chances and see how we get along with what we booked, keeping in mind it will be our home for over three months.  One of the disadvantages to agreeing to a free upgrade is that it must be taken, even though the upgrade may take us away from our mid-ship position on the lower decks.  I did not know this at the time it was offered.  Sue has some trouble with motion sickness so this may be a concern.   








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