jaffy23

Hi Becks_r,

My USC wife and I (UKC) are set to move to New York on 22nd May on the QM2. We spoke with Cunard and they said there's room for 2 large suitcases under the bed. The higher (Princess / Queens) grade stateroom more space. Everything has to be kept in your cabin, and under 23kg per suitcase for 'elf and safety!

We're also taking our dog on the QM2 which was part of the attraction. About $500 for a little one. More for larger dogs and cats. The other part is sailing into NY via Ellis island for that full immigrant experience!

Really looking forward to it, and can't wait to start our new adventure. Good luck whichever you choose!


James

goldenstate31

Hi, I have been looking at this too. The only thing I can see at the moment is the price includes a return flight, which obviously we will have no use for. I am going to call them today to see if they have available just a transatlantic cruise. (We are planning to cruise over, stay in NY for 2 nights, UT for 7, then Vegas for 2, then finally onto CA!)

cy1982

Hi Becky,

Hope you got my message yesterday with some more details on moving to the USA via QM2. We did it in December. If you need any more info, feel free to send me a message. We'd be happy to help you navigate the issues.

Jerseygirl

Please post the details in this thread as it may help others. Thank you.

cy1982

Sure, here's the message below:

My wife, dog and I sailed on the QM2 to New York in December, primarily as our dog (who has now passed), had heart disease and wasn't certified to fly. We didn't want to have to leave him behind.

We brought 12 cases with us - there's no baggage restriction, as long as they all fit in your stateroom. We packed a bag for the week at sea and the rest of our things, in other bags, we simply stacked against the walls of the room. It was much better than I think I thought it was going to be and given we were moving to live in the USA, I don't think it could have been any better.

My Dad drove us from Scotland to Southampton, where we boarded. In New York, upon arrival, we used a limo/car company to pick us up and drive us to our rental car pickup place. There were porters at the boat terminal to help us with our luggage and once we reached our rental car, we simply packed it up and drove it to Texas!

For my wife and I, with our luggage (and excluding the costs of the dog), we got our tickets for around 440 pounds each - much cheaper than a one way plane ticket, a week at sea with all meals, costs (excl alcohol) included and unlimited baggage.

Jerseygirl

Thank you so much for taking the trouble of posting that. It's very useful info.

cy1982

You're welcome. I know how challenging it was for my wife and I to negotiate our move so I hope that these little notes, plus any other advice we can offer, can help others in our position.

One additional note however - the kennels onboard book up very quickly and I suspect we were able to book ours two and a half months before departure because we sailed in winter. I think I heard fellow passengers say the boat was booked up for most of this year but please do check directly with Cunard ([email protected]) I think. There was one cancellation, so that may happen.

JessicaKate

Hi everyone!

I happen to be a travel agent here in the UK that specializes in cruises. <snip>

I also happen to be the USC that is moving back to the US with my UK hubby this year and I have also looked into the cruise option.

Basically you can take as much luggage as you can fit into your cabin with any cruise line. Cunard do have kennels as previously mentioned as well.

Besides Cunard, there are plenty of cruise lines that do repositioning cruises to the US as well. Cruise lines based out of Southampton for the summer months in the Med will reposition to Florida, maybe Texas, etc for the winter months to do Caribbean cruises. This is the option that my husband and I are thinking of doing in November. Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas to Florida at the end of November for about the same price of a plane ticket.

<snip>

Best of luck with your own moves.

becks_r

Hi to everyone that has replied in the last week!!

I am so sorry about seemingly ignoring all your very helpful and interesting replies. Unfortunately my Mum managed to fall over and break her hip last Tuesday and I have been a bit wrapped up in all the fallout of that. And I have struggled to get online at her house.

I am hoping that her fall won't actually delay my plans, but it is certainly impacting on my planning. Once my head stops spinning and I can stay online for longer than 5 mins, I will review your replies properly.

Many thanks again everyone - I really do appreciate your time for this

Cheers

Becky

Jerseygirl

Ouch! Sorry to hear about your mum...do you mind me asking how old she is?

becks_r

She is 83

TimandRae

You've piqued my interest now!

My wife and I are beginning to plot and plan for a move stateside at some point next year with our little girl and dog. Obviously, as ever, it's going to depend on the paperwork but we're thinking around September.

How did you go about booking this? Did you go through an agent or DIY? What time of year did you travel?

I've never been on a cruise (or ever had the desire to be honest!) but I think it might be a slightly more relaxing way of moving to a new life than the inevitable mania of piling everyone and everything onto a plane.

What were the costs associated with shipping the pooch, if you don't mind me asking? How far in advance did you book things?

Think I'll go research liners now...!

jaffy23

We're off on the QM2 to NYC on 22 May with our dog. Never really thought about going on a cruise (we're in our early 30s), but liked the idea of a 7 day break, and an easy and safe way to bring our border terrier to NY without flying him.

Costs for the cruise can be reasonable depending on cabin grade and Cunard seem to run a westbound crossing most months. I was surprised how cheap the kennels are, but they only have 10 (I think) so availability is limited. It was $500 for the smaller kennel. Details are all at https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/fleet/kennel_info

cy1982

We planned it ourselves by researching online. There are a few forums and blogs out there recounting others experiences.

The main recommendation I can give - plan early!

We sailed in December, having found out we were cleared to move in September. We had a three month window to plan and move, but if you can start looking at this earlier, then you'll be in a better position. We found out while crossing on the boat that the kennels book very quickly throughout the year. I think we were very lucky to have found room in September, but this might also have been because we travelled during the 'low season' on the last crossing of the year.

So phone or email Cunard - [email protected] I think and check availability. The previous poster was right, around $500 for a smaller kennel although a couple sailing with their dog told us they were able to haggle this down considerably for their dog.

It's a wonderful experience. Unfortunately for us, our dog didn't quite enjoy it as much and as he had heart disease, we were fretting constantly about leaving him alone. The kennel master was wonderful and very accommodating with our requests (we had to get up early to give him medicine for example).

We were so lucky to discover the kennels onboard - had we not had this opportunity, we'd have had to have left our dog at home

Good luck!

MrsJaffy23

Hi there,

I am the USC married to Jaffy23. If you are thinking of taking the QM2 with your dog, plan ahead. We were originally planning to move in April taking the 27 April transatlantic crossing which is the first crossing of the year. I first called Curnard in November 2011 to find out how far in advance we should book and was told that the first opening in the kennels was in Aug 2012. We booked the cheapest possible stateroom and went on a waiting list for the kennels on the 27 April voyage. If you cancel 90 days before the voyage, you don't get your deposit back but you don't pay anymore. We kept in close contact with Robert at the Cunard kennel department, and in January, a spot opened up on the 22 May voyage. Robert gave us the heads-up and we moved our booking over and secured the spot for Ted in the kennel. We were so lucky.

The Queen Mary 2 can take a max of 12 dogs on each voyage and there are some restrictions on breed and size. For the upper kennels, the weight limit is 25lbs. I am not sure about the lower kennels.

To give you an idea of what the kennels are like, I found this video very helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtfTgI2wB18 and here is a blog post about Pepper's experience: http://betterwords.typepad.com/pepperinparis/.

We have always dealt with Cunard directly and have found their customer services teams to be excellent. Robert and Debbie in the Kennel dept are very helpful and very nice; I am sure they are used to dealing with nervous doggie parents! Cunard are also on Twitter, @CunardLines, and they have answered some of my questions today on the embarkation procedure.

Hope that helps! We'll blog about our journey!