Outbreak of stomach illness reported on Queen Mary 2

Posted on 31 December, 2012 by Spacejunkie2

Outbreak of stomach illness reported on Queen Mary 2

By Tom Stieghorst

Two environmental health officers and an epidemiologist from the federal Vessel Sanitation Program are expected to board the Queen Mary 2 when it docks in Brooklyn on Jan. 3 to assess an outbreak of illness on the ship.

About 7.5% of the passengers have been affected by an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, according to reports to the VSP. The ship is on a 12-night Caribbean Fiesta holiday cruise that began Dec. 22.

No cause has been assigned to the outbreak. Norovirus is often to blame for gastrointestinal outbreaks on land and sea during the winter months.

Cunard Line will conduct staged disembarkation of active cases to minimize the chance of transmission to healthy passengers, according to the VSP website.

Embarkation for the next cruise to Southampton, England, will be delayed to provide extra time for disinfection and cleaning.

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

Posted on 12 October, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

I know it is hard to believe but on 12th October Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her first birthday.

Here are some fun facts that you probably didn’t know about Cunard’s latest superliner.

By her first birthday Queen Elizabeth would have visited 108 different destinations

She would have travelled approximately 123,351 nautical miles

Celebrities and speakers which have sailed onboard include; Lord Jeffery Archer, Ruth Scott, Brian Hoey & Robert Kershaw

A total of 78 guest speakers would have travelled onboard by her 1st birthday

She has constantly received over 90% in her customer service questionnaires

Queen Elizabeth met her 2 sisters for the first time in New York on 13th January 2011, there was big celebrations & fireworks and Peter Shanks (Cunard MD) rang the stock exchange bell in NYC

A special celebration was held in the Queens Room on the day of the Royal wedding, where guests could watch the event on a screen and were given cake

Maiden call to Fjords in May, the first interactive voyage and blog of an onboard experience by Cunard’s New Media Executive.

Maiden call to Travemunde in June, where an estimated 20,000 people greeted the arrival of Queen Elizabeth.

Will you be sailing on Queen Elizabeth on her 1st Birthday voyage? How would you like Cunard to Celebrate her birthday onboard?

Soft Drinks Package Prices — Cruiseline Comparison 2011

Posted on 9 October, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

Soft Drinks Package Prices — Cruiseline Comparison 2011

Most cruiselines offer you the chance to buy a drinks package to save on cost of buying drinks individually. Over the next few weeks we’re going to give you the chance to compare everyone’s packages. This week soft drinks are on the table.

Soft drinks packages are particularly useful for parents taking children on board – and for those of you who don’t drink a great deal of alcohol of course

We’ve worked out that the average price of soft drinks on board is about £2.00 per glass so if you drink a lot, the bill can soon creep up!

Here’s a rundown of what everyone charges, and more importantly, what you get for your money…

Have you ever bought a soft drinks package? What do you think of the above deals? Any surprises?