estim8tedpropht

[quote name='Host Hattie']We had -

Cunard Street - "a delightful compilation of witty titbits, trivia and trifles about these grand ships" (this was the only one we went to)

Jazz Poetry
Passion & Piano
Ghost Stories

Hope this helps[/QUOTE]

OK thanks so much! Getting ready for our cruise on the 21st! :)

Hello,

Does anyone know if there's a tailoring service onboard QM2? Thanks in advance.

[quote name='Host Hattie']I have a list of RADA events. [/QUOTE]

Yay, thanks so much! Glad to hear the trip went well!

I’ve just read Toffeegirl68´s great blog from the same crossing and can only add some points to that.

 

 

Travelling with my DP, my colleague and her husband, we spent the day before embarkation exploring Southampton and meeting friends we’d made during our previous crossing two years ago. With our heads still in Finnish time zone (that is UK +2 hours) we woke up early and after breakfast took a walk down to the waterfront to see if the destination had arrived. And there she was, looking every bit as gracious as I remembered, docked stern in at the Ocean Cruise Terminal. After the noon check-out we squeezed into a Skoda estate taxi, with four adults plus cruise luggage it really was a tight fit but just a short drive from the Dolphin hotel to the terminal. There we were given blue letter J card and waited for about hour and a half before being called to check in. In the end it seems we were lucky because after that there were some problems with the embarkation of the last passengers, delaying our drill and departure for an hour. Being in the early seating we missed the sailaway-party which was a bit of a disappointment.

We were in stateroom 8013, with our friends in 8014 on the port side, the two being mirror images of each other. I like the location of these cabins, as they are higher up on the ship than the sheltered balconies, close to the gym, book shop, Commodore Club and access to the deck 7 promenade. And when leaving for dinner all dressed up you get to walk the whole length of the ship and see people in festive mood, which adds to the sense of occasion. The half of a life boat in front of our balcony didn’t bother us at all, as when in bed or on the couch you can’t see it at all. And who comes on the QM2 to spend time in the cabin!

 

 

On the second sea day we experienced some rough seas, waves of 8-9 meters in the early hours and the ship bouncing around a bit. I later learned that they still had only three stabilisers out, wonder how bad it has to be before they take out all four. The weather made the ship seem quite empty, although she was booked to capacity. The rest of the crossing the weather stayed normal North Atlantic, with what looked like big swells but didn’t manage to upset the ship’s progress. One day we had beautiful sunshine and a brisk tailwind, so walking on deck felt like being in still air on a summer’s day. Towards New York the air and sea temperatures rose to around +17°C and the sea was dead calm, which was a blessing as on the second to last day they needed to do a helicopter evacuation of a passenger who had taken ill. After watching that operation I appreciate the skills of those helicopter pilots really high, as everyone who has been on the QM2 knows the hovering area is a really tight space.

 

 

As a birthday present to myself I invested in the Behind the scenes-tour. The price was USD120, a bit steep but in the end well worth it. We started at 2pm from the mooring deck and after 3,5 hours finished on the bridge. Very informative, interesting and exciting. We were encouraged to ask questions and so we did, learning for example that the next refit is indeed in May 2016 in Hamburg and during that she will get exhaust scrubbers. The amount of books left behind by passengers was stunning, a big cardboard box filled with them in the waste room. We were served some snacks and bubbly in the Britannia and given nice Cunard aprons. On the bridge we had a chat with the captain Chris Wells, a charming man with a witty sense of humour. I asked him what he would change about the ship if he had the chance. He said that they should have built more crew lifts, as during the turnaround days the current two offer insufficient capacity. He also mentioned that the layout of KC is a problem but not much can be done about it as it serves as muster stations and so has to divided into sections. They would also like to develop the Winter Garden into a more functional space, so we’ll see what happens during the drydock.

 

 

Then a few words about the most important thing on a ship, food. We took six of our seven dinners in the Britannia, where the quality of the food was from good to excellent, especially the fish. All warm courses were served hot and pepper was offered every time:rolleyes:. The portions were of good size, maybe too small for Americans but as I later learned they have been downsized to minimise waste. The real stars of the dinners were our waiter Ferdie, his assistant Keneth and sommelier Slivin, all great characters worth extra praise. On my birthday we dined in Todd English, which was a slight disappointment foodwise but still recommendable. With the coffee machine being broken in the Commodore Club our daytime lounging activity was this time more focused on the Chart Room and Champagne Bar. There we were served by three wonderful members of staff, Nil, Kalman and “Miss Poland” whose name we failed to catch. Evening entertaintement in the CR was provided by a charming lady, a fellow passenger singing a couple of numbers with the band. We went to the planetarium once and it was nice, except for the broken red seats all around. Evening shows in the Royal Court Theatre were mostly the same as two years ago, Apassionata by Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers shining above others. In the end there was again too little time to take part in all that was interesting, even with 25 hour days. The lure of watching the sea with a cup of tea (glass of Pinot Grigio) is just too strong to resist…

 

 

In the end we had a fabulous time and most definitely will be sailing on the QM2 again. What really made this trip was the staff on the ship, they work very hard for not a very good pay and still manage to give friendly, courteous and personal service. The ship is very much shipshape, after reading some reviews I was fearing for a lot more wear and tear but apart for some sink-holes there was nothing wrong. During the Behind the scenes-tour we saw some carpenters refurbishing the cabing tables so work is done constantly to keep up the appearance.

 

 

But after two crossing I still can’t figure out the KC layout:D

 

 

Feel free to ask me questions, I tried to keep my eyes open on the ship.

 

Thank you so much for your review! :)

Hi,

If you can find out what shows the RADA troupe is putting on that would be most helpful! Thanks!

Yes, there was on my TA crossing in the buffet. It was not on the breakfast menu in the MDR but I did not ask for it - it may have been available. I imagine it was full-fat, strained yogurt rather than actually 'Greek'.

 

 

 

Thanks for the info!

Hi all,

Does anyone know if there is greek yogurt served onboard QM2? Thanks.

My first Cunard experience will be next month on the 21st, so I'll have to update you after the cruise! :)

Toffeegirl 68

 

I am loving your blog!

 

As a Transatlantic Crossing newbie ( 15 December 15), it is already providing me with lots of valuable information.

 

Thank you :)

 

Coco x

 

I second this. I'm a complete Cunard newbie (Sail date: June 21st), and there's a lot of good tidbits in your posts.

There seems to be some confusion, the galley tour is free whereas the "behind the scenes tour" is not. The galley tour is a 30 minute tour of the galley area along with 500 of your closest friends but the "behind the scenes" is restricted to 16 passengers in total and takes about 4 hours.

 

Thank you for clarifying. :)

do you think this could be the explanation for the QM2 incident recently reported?

Apparently assistance animals are not only dogs but those little miniature pigs can be as well, in fact it seems almost any animal. We were on a flight once in the states and a lady had a pig that she sat in her lap and claimed that it was a

"psychological comfort" animal. Being NZers we were a little surprised but of course its a big world out there and who are we to judge...

 

I'm pretty sure whenever there's a service animal on board a cruise ship they notify the passengers. I've been looking through some old daily programmes online and quite a few of them mention service animals being on board.

Let me give you some background ... then you can tell me if you think it is a good idea to do a Transatlantic cruise on QM2 in August.

 

We are 5 people -- my husband and me, my mom (age 87 and full of vigor), and 2 daughters, who will be 21 and 17 in August. We are all big-time cruisers; mom has done 42 cruises, and the rest of us, including the girls, have done around 30 cruises each. We've done Norwegian, Carnival (neither of which we'd try again), Celebrity, Holland America and Royal Caribbean, but never Cunard.

 

Because the airfares to Europe from NYC are crazy-expensive, it may not be worth it to book a Mediterranean cruise this summer. However, sailing to England and flying home might be an option. We would do an 8-night Transatlantic and stay in London for a couple of days, perhaps even going to Paris for the day.

 

What kind of activities are there to do onboard during a Transatlantic cruise? Is there a noticeable "class system" onboard? How is the service? The food? The shows and entertainment?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Debbie

 

We're doing a transatlantic cruise as a family this June as my graduation present. I'm 23, my brother's 19, and my Dad and Mom are both in their 50's. I can't speak for anything onboard, but we're all very excited.

Will have to look out for this cookbook when I'm on the QM2 in June. Sounds like a nice present if it's still available!

Can someone confirm for me if this tour is free or $150? I would love to do it when I'm on board in June, but only if it's free.

I would love to see a sticky thread with this information. :)

Hello! Nice to e-meet you!

Thanks for posting your review. Lots of good info to know for my upcoming cruise :)

I just came here to say "Clever title." :)

Yeah it says the same thing on my VP. Hopefully nothing has changed.

Yes I'm wondering the same thing but for June. I'm assuming it will be the same shows.

Here are menus for my October-November crossing to Hamburg:

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/menus/qm2menum425/

 

If you look at the black bar at the top of the page, put your cursor over "programs" and scroll down to QM2 (should be the 3rd or 4th entry) for the Daily Programs.

 

Roy

 

Yay! More Daily Programs! Thank you Roy!

Hi=estim8tedpropht. Congrats in advance of your graduation from university. Regarding when the ship departing from NY will reach International Waters, it is most often a matters of hours, not days. Clue: when you see the casino has opened, you will know the ship is in International Waters. -S.

 

Thank you for this bit of info, you've all been very helpful.

I think that it is highly unlikely that his age will be queried at all. I wouldn't worry about it whatsoever.

 

Ok. Thank you so much!

I've uploaded all our QM2 daily programmes and menus, most recently from September 2014 transatlantic, here. Enjoy!

 

Thank you so much pb82!

Hi everyone,

I'm doing a transatlantic voyage on the QM2 in June with my family as my university graduation present and I was wondering if anyone can upload some recent daily programmes. Also if anyone has any recent menus that would be great as well. Finally if there are any tips that anyone wants to share please let me know.

 

Oh and one last question:

My brother will be 19 on the cruise. It says that alcohol isn't served in US waters to under 21's, but once out of US waters the age goes down to 18. Does anyone know when the ship usually leaves US waters? (Day 1, Day 2, etc.)

 

Thanks everyone.