QE 18th November 2015

Wednesday 18th November.

Arrived early at Mayflower terminal at 1130 and it seemed already busy, there was a long queue of cars being checked in by CPS. However we were sent straight to check-in and were on the ship at 1150am. Everyone was directed to the Lido Restaurant as cabins were not ready, but at 12 noon we were told that cabins were now ready and we headed to ours stateroom on deck 7.

Our luggage obviously had not arrived so early so after a quick check of the facilities we went for a walk around the ship, to reacquaint ourselves with the ship, even though it is only 6 months since we left her. Our lunch was served in the Princess grill restaurant and on our return all our luggage was waiting inside our cabin. Unpacking didn’t take too long, and we were ready for Muster Stations in the Queen’s Room at 4pm.

QE departed from her Berth at the Mayflower terminal at 5pm on Wednesday 18th, and we cruised down the Solent in darkness once again taking the usual easterly route around the Isle of Wight.

Dinner was taken in the Princess Grill restaurant, and very nice it was to. After the rumours of changes to the menu we were quite satisfied with the choices offered. Although the A La carte Menu may be a little more restricted than in the past, I understand that this will change every seven days and be duplicated every 14 days. There has been a Cunard Signature Classic dish every night, the first was Rack of Lamb, the second Dover Sole and tonight is Gressingham Duck.

We passed on the early evening show for the first night, and retired relatively early. We were warned about the weather and it has been grey, wet and windy for most of the passage up to present.

John

Thursday 19th November.

Another grey day, showers and a little bouncing as we transit the Bay of Biscay. No sign of sunshine at present.

Insights Lecturers were Mike Harvey, who asked ‘Who killed JFK’ and David Pollard who commented on the ‘Life and Legacy of Captain Cook’. We have heard both gentlemen before, but still attended both lectures.

Maggiemou had organised a Cruise Critic meeting for those interested in the Commodore Club at 1215, following the Captains normal announcement at noon. The meeting was listed in the daily programme and was well attended with around 25 people managing to make up to the top of the ship, despite the movement we have experienced since leaving Southampton. Cunard provided coffee for the meeting and it was good to meet up with several passengers from past cruises.

There was also a classical concert in the Queens room at 2pm

Another very good meal in the restaurant followed by the second show in the Royal Court Theatre. The entertainment last evening was provided by Liverpool comedian John Martin who was well received, and apparently holds the World Record for non-stop joke telling.

John

Friday 20th November.

By now the routine is becoming well organised. Breakfast, morning lectures, and then meet friends for a quick lunchtime libation. However the afternoon nap was replaced by watching the film screening of Max in the theatre and we are now preparing to get ready for our first formal night.

The first Captain’s Welcome Reception is tonight for Britannia Guests to be held in the Queen’s Room. The entertainment tonight is provided by Benjamin Makisi, New Zealand’s finest tenor, whom we have also appreciated several times.

There is also the Cunard Ball held in the Queen’s Room at 2115 tonight. Our reception is to be held tomorrow in the Garden Lounge.

The weather is still grey and damp although the Captain did assure us that it will improve from tonight, and the swell will abate overnight.

John

Hi John,

Would you mind if I moved your live from posts to the main Cunard board?

I am sure people would love to read them.

Hi John,

Would you mind if I moved your live from posts to the main Cunard board?

I am sure people would love to read them.

Hi Hattie,

Wherever you think is appropriate is fine by me ?

Taking ages to get connected at present, 23 mins yesterday and now 9 minutes to get to this thread ? It wasn't as bad as this in January. never mind, have a reasonable allowance to have a go at !

Weather has now improved, it is becoming warmer by the hour, and the sea is quite calm now. I gather there is snow at home :-(

Captains welcome tonight, Bem Makisi was very good again last evening.

Ponta Delgada tomorrow, where we have a trip booked in the afternoon.

John

Thanks, all copied. Just post on whichever thread is easier and I will copy the updates.

Have a great evening and a good day tomorrow.

John and Andrea,

Glad to hear you are back on board and in the Grills!;). Hope you have a great cruise and I look forward to reading your reports.

Kathi

Thanks for taking the time to write about your voyage. Fun to read and very appreciated.

Hi Kathi,

Nice to here from everyone, must admit the internet has me frustrated this time, maybe it is the cabins situation, but it has been very slow :(

Thanks Hattie for doing the necessary, will bookmark the thread now !

Sunday 22nd November.

Arrived Ponta Delgada and were safely moored up by 9am. Weather was still grey but the sun was trying to emerge from the clouds. The high temp for the day was announced to be around 17C with a dry day forecast.

We had booked a trip entitled Countryside and Wine tasting which was timed to leave the pier at 1230, so this gave us a little time to have a gentle walk along the seafront and remind ourselves of our previous visit. Unfortunately as we visited on a Sunday the majority of the shops were closed, but the bars and restaurants were slowly opening in the morning around the port area. The military museum situated in the small fort at the western end of the promenade did not seem to be open.

After boarding the coach we set off on a trip around the majority of the island, passed the airport and headed up to the largest caldera on the island. After crossing the cone we then descended into the Caldera of Sete Ciadades. A short stop was made in the small village and then we headed to the bridge between the blue and green lakes for a photo stop. Unfortunately as the sky was grey, we could not see the difference in colour, you need a clear blue sky for this. We then travelled higher and higher up the ‘mountains’ stopping at various viewpoints for more photo opportunities, before heading down the other side of the island and viewing both the oldest and newest parts of the volcanic island. On arrival back in Ponta Delgada we were taken to the Hotel of the Azores for a wine and cheese tasting. Products were available for purchase and there seemed to be little wine left after the passengers from 3 coaches had purchased their ‘necessities’.

We left Ponta Delgada earlier than the planned 1700 hours, heading for our next stop in Barbados, on the 28th November. We have had two sea days since and the weather yesterday was sunshine and the odd shower. Today it is brighter and warmer and we are gradually seeing more blue sky. The sea is relatively calm, although there is a fairly strong breeze over the decks.

Everything on board has been as expected and we are enjoying the leisurely sea days. We have changed clocks twice now and I think we have another couple of changes before our arrival in Barbados. Unfortunately our visit to see Concorde in Barbados has been cancelled owing to lack of demand, so wondering what else to do on our third visit ?

John

Thursday 26th Novemeber

Another sea day, but we now have mostly blue skies and sunshine. Temps today were a very pleasant 28C, slight swell and a bit of breeze over the decks to keep you cooler.

Lectures yesterday were by David Pollard entitled 'the greatest ocean liner race that never happened' and by Laurence Trackman who is continuing his story of Chocolate with ' the making and marketing of chocolate'.

Entertainment last night was Ballroom and Latin Dancing in the Queen's Room and Ms Lorraine Brown in the theatre. Clocks went back another hour again last night.

However we retired to our cabin to watch a movie. This may explain why we didn't alter our watches before retiring, and arrived an hour earlier than expected for Breakfast this morning. However it was a beautiful morning and the loungers called.

Tonight is our third formal night, 007 night, which means there is a show in the theatre at the usual times of 2030 and 2230. Tonight's show is La Danza, which we have seen several times, but we may pop in to see how this 'new to us' troupe handles it.

Everything is going well, and we are still enjoying the trip.

John

QE in Barbados harbour. Temp 29C and we have sunshine and clouds and the odd raindrop or two. Presently on a photo tour around the island, just stopped at a hotel for refreshments. The Rum punch is very palatable. Ship leaving 9 pm tonight, so time to peruse the shops at the cruise terminal on our return from the trip, which has been very good.

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Star Clipper and Azura also in port of Barbados today.

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That looks and sounds wonderful, particularly on a very wet & windy dark evening.

Have a rum punch for me :)

More rum punch to come I think, so I can certainly try one for you Hattiesburg [emoji6]

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A

View from the Atlantis hotel, Barbados.

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Hi John, so lovely to read about your travels. So wish I was on board with you. Love being in Barbados too. Went there a lot when I was flying. Look forward to your next posts. Much love to you both. xxxxx

Cruise Critic meeting in Barbados [emoji6]

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Fabulous photos, wonderful info on what you are doing. It'll be great to meet you when you board the QV in 2016.

Hattie, my apologies I've just seen that you have been re-christened Hattiesburg ? Sorry for that, it's the spoil chucker again ! You have my permission to re-edit the offending post !

I would love to know why it does that after you press the send ?

John

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Thank you for the interesting commentary and photos, John. I am enjoying hearing about your voyage!

(Thank you for moving this to the Cunard board, Hattie.)

Jimmybean

I am loving the reports and photos. Keep up the good work.

It sounds like you are having a great time.

Chez

Sunday 29th November

St Lucia

From here on in all the ports are new to us, so St Lucia was a surprise. I don’t know what I expected, maybe a bit like Barbados ?, but it was completely different. We had booked an excursion entitled St Lucia by Land and Sea, and it was an early start after the previously leisurely days.

We left the port of Castries in a small coach and the idea was to head to Soufriere the second largest settlement on the island. St Lucia is very hilly and the roads maybe not the best and there are a lot of twists and turns as you head up one hill and down another the majority of the time in the rain forest ! So we did actually see quite a lot passing banana plantations and small fishing villages and some fantastic views over the surrounding countryside. We passed the picturesque Marigot Bay, a site chosed for the first Dr Dolittle film. It was a Sunday so most of the sops were closed, but the many rum shacks seemed to be coping well with the trade ? We were provided with a simple Caribbean style lunch, chicken rice vegetables etc at the Morne Coubaril Estate and then we were taken to visit some Botanical gardens and the diamond waterfalls, named because of the colours deposited by the volcanic salts in the water. This was actually quite interesting and is reputedly where the Empress Josephine bathed at one time, in the volcanic baths fashioned by the French.

We had our first view of the famous Pitons just outside Soustriere. Following this we then visited a valley which had been formed by the collapse of part of the wall of a volcanic crater. Here we could smell the sulphur in the air from the bubbling polls at the Sulphur Springs.

Next we boarded a large catamaran for the trip back to Castries by sea. We did experience the odd showing during the drive to Soustriere but this gradually became worse during the afternoon with more frequent showers on the boat trip, which had everyone clambering for shelter. However the freely flowing Rum Punch did help with the disappointment. It was still a good trip, and we stopped for a short while so those who wished could bathe in the Caribbean waters. We once again visited Marigot Bay before arriving back at the ship about 20 mins before the ‘all aboard’ time. QE sailed for St Maarten shortly after.

I have not been able to find wifi on shore for the last couple of days, so must apologise for the lack of photos, which I find are a lot easier to send using the Tapatalk app on my iphone. There is no resizing etc required so it does make life easy.

Thanks for all your comments, I do it mainly for my own recollections later, and am pleased to hear it may be of assistance to others.

Pat you should be here :D



John

30th November

St Maarten

We berthed here this morning at 9am with P&O Britannia off our port side. Also in port was Crucieres de France Ship Horizon and two luxury private yachts, one of which was Pelorus.

We took another tour, only for 4 hours which took us to a Rum tasting (at 1030 ?), a perfume factory and a restaurant where we had a cookery demonstration with the odd sample thrown in. All in all a reasonable way to pass the time.

We returned to the ship for lunch, and then had a trip around the local shops in the cruise terminal. We then took the ferry across to Philipsburg and another trip around the shops.

Unfortunately there didn't seem much for the blokes, apart from the many bars, so it was back to the ship for a bit of a rest.

Tortola tomorrow and another early morning for us.

John

30th November

 

St Maarten

 

 

We berthed here this morning at 9am with P&O Britannia off our port side. Also in port was Crucieres de France Ship Horizon and two luxury private yachts, one of which was Pelorus.

 

We took another tour, only for 4 hours which took us to a Rum tasting (at 1030 ?), a perfume factory and a restaurant where we had a cookery demonstration with the odd sample thrown in. All in all a reasonable way to pass the time.

 

We returned to the ship for lunch, and then had a trip around the local shops in the cruise terminal. We then took the ferry across to Philipsburg and another trip around the shops.

 

Unfortunately there didn't seem much for the blokes, apart from the many bars, so it was back to the ship for a bit of a rest.

 

Tortola tomorrow and another early morning for us.

 

John

Hi John, loving your reports. Having been to St Lucia many times during my flying career and St Maarten on a cruise it is just wonderful reliving my trips through your reports. Keep them coming. Have a drink for me tonight in the bar.

Tuesday 1st December

Tortola was our next port on our five island glimpse of the Caribbean Islands, and we berthed next to the Thomson Celebration. Following us in was also a Seabourn ship but at is ancjored in the bay I was unable to read its name.

The weather was again a bit mixed, it is really the end of the rainy season (which officially ends on the 30th Nov), so we experienced a mixture of clouds and sunshine and temps in the region of 28C again. Tortola is the largest of the British Virgin Islands and the capital where we berthed is called Road Town. We had once again pre-booked a ships excursion entitled ‘The Best of Tortola’ taking in the highlights over a four hour period.

We were loaded onto to a powerful ford truck converted to carry 16 passengers and set off through Road Town. There didn’t appear to be much to see here, although it is a financial capital, and several new buildings obviously were built recently as expansion to the many banks and trust managers here. After leaving Road town we headed into the hills and could now appreciate why such a powerful truck was needed as some of the inclines were remarkably steep. We had several photo opportunities from the hills and stunning views over other BVI islands and the neighbouring US islands of St Thomas and St John. It wasn’t clear enough to view Puerto Rico or St Croix however. We were told many of the islands were luxury resorts, only accessible by ferry or private launch.

After a short stop at Cane Garden Bay we continued around the island past Carrot Bay and Capoons Bay crossing over a small bridge to the adjoining island of Frenchman’s Cay where the famous Pussers Landing is situated. Here there are many swish yachts in the marina and a small shopping area, and of course a Pusser’s bar enticing people to try the local Rum Punch made with Pusser’s Rum which used to be used as Rum of choice by the RN in their rum rations, before this was scrapped several years ago.

We then returned to the ship by Sir Francis Drake Highway passing Sea Cow Bay and the Queen’s representative’s mansion on the hillside, before arriving back in the Port and returning to the ship for lunch. We then had a quiet couple of hours in the sunshine before departing at close to 6pm.

I tried to post a couple of photos yesterday, but it looks like they did not make the distance ?

John