Toffeegirl68

I like them as they are. :)

Recent discussion, which apart from the sharing of opinions, shares real experiences of 'early arrivers'..

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2268327

To me, DVDs of voyages are the equivalent of DVDs of concerts / live performances. They do not portray your view of the event and are NOT something which you will look to view time and time again (unlike a favourite movie).

The best memories are those retained in your head, which are brought to mind by a single picture / momento.

Money is best spent on creating new memories methinks. ;)

I've been next to a laundry room and didn't have any issues.

Our London focus group agreed that whatever the Winter Garden became, it shouldn't be turned into another café-esque area.

There is a plan to remodel Kings Court to improve circulation and reduce the number of entry / exit points.

We had a good debate about the merit of trays.....

Looking forward to seeing the cabin refits.

I get why people checking out of accommodation might arrive at port early. One might as well stare at a wall at port than look for somewhere else to stare at a wall.

However I do think that (for example at the large terminal at Southampton) they should be more discerning about how they dish out lettered order-of-embarkation cards. I'm not happy to turn up on time and wait for an hour whilst they process those not due to turn up for another 90 minutes. So sure, turn up ahead of schedule, but be prepared to sit in the corner and await your time.

If the early embarkation fairy has capacity, all well and good, but it quickly gets to the point where the queue does form, so to some extent, yes, they should enforce embarkation slots.

Sure, get there extra early to get a seat - but you're going need it if you turn up too early - as I waltz by to check in !! :):eek:

A tiny part of me thinks that this is sad.

There are fewer places to hide away these days :).

I can concur with BlueRiband's comments - I went to a small focus group in London in early summer.... all attendees had been on board recently - some for the first time, others had sailed more often.

As well as fixing broken things, they plan a tweak of cabin décor and also an over-haul of deck 7 public areas.

We will be on board in January '16 and not likely to return to QM2 til 2018 (Jan '17 TA will be on QE) - so will await everyone else's photos to see the outcome.

The voyage personaliser currently states the dress code as follows:

10 January Day 1 Dress: Informal

11 January Day 2 Dress: Formal - Black & White Ball

12 January Day 3 Dress: Formal

13 January Day 4 Dress: Informal

14 January Day 5 Dress: Informal

15 January Day 6 Dress: Formal - Roaring Twenties

16 January Day 7 Dress: Informal

In meantime... we were given a book : 175 Years of Cunard plus a red 175 lapel (?) badge each too.... Both placed on bed on penultimate evening.

Will complete my blog..... life temporarily taken over by a training course this week (with exams) whilst battling jet lag.

Photos on way too.

Incl. food......

Back at weekend to complete.....

Back in the spa so I will catch up on yesterday, which was apparently Friday.

I secured a ticket for the planetarium show" Stars Over the Atlantic". It lasts about half an hour and takes place in Illuminations (Forward, deck 3) where they also show the films. Only some of the seats (the red ones) are used for the planetarium show as they lower a dome which is projected onto, so only the seats under the dome are suitable. The seats tilt backwards to enhance the viewing experience. Planetarium shows are repeated a couple of times each day. Tickets are obtained from the desk in Connexions on deck 2 (under Illuminations) from 9am. Dont leave it too late to go get tickets as it popular.

The show started and the first 5 minutes were quite interesting. Can't comment thereafter as I fell asleep! Happens to me every time. Its the dark, the mesmerising voice.... David Attenborough's series about the ocean, with its endless scenes of swirling shoals of fish had the same effect. So, I awoke with the arrival of the closing credits and set off for today's 2.15pm 'olympics' event.

With high winds, going outside was not practical, so we played indoor skittles and then (golf) putting. When indoors, activities generally take place in the Pavillion Pool deck (12). We made noises of fun... cheering, clapping and laughing. Some passengers on the lounger chairs looked somewhat unimpressed whilst others moved so that they could see better. Their peace was interrupted for just over an hour

About to get off... will post written up bits and complete rest later....

The Second Best Marigold Hotel will be an appropriate to watch this on board a Cunard ship as I saw the first one when we sailed on the Queen Elizabeth.... and was fortunate to hear Celia Imrie talk about its filming...

The alternative to the film is the guest talent show. This can be quite good. There is karaoke in the pub this evening. I will be performing at neither.

Tonight its the Ascot Ball tonight and I shall be wearing my hat. We plan to grace the casino this evening but will need to squeeze in our own show dances at some point. We are not normally gamblers but place a chip or two on number 6 when on board.

I have finally started to do stuff and everything is on at once.

Clocks change again tonight so we will be 4 hours behind the UK. More on the evening after it happens.... got the Olympics and tea in the Queen's Room before then.

Update on the weather. We continue to have Atlantic weather.... No real roughness after the storm on night two. The lovely blue skies and calm seas the next afternoon were at odds with the force 8 of a few hours before. Today, Friday is a wet and windy morning. Not too windy that people are not being allowed out but I assume that the upper decks are closed. Can't see the appeal in going outside in this weather. If you were at home, the words: 'I'm not going out in this' would spring to mind.

We are now 3 hours behind the UK and one joy of being mid Atlantic is that we are missing all the election stuff (we did vote though before we left). BBC World News on the TV has revealed the results, with the Captain confirming at noon. We are 250 miles from the continental drift. In summer months, the ship sails further north. Storm force winds outside apparently, though the ship is moving more smoothly than the other day. Its all to do with the 'fetch' apparently which affects the swells. Again, a smaller ship would not fare so well.

There was a galley 'tour' this morning at 10.30am. We did not attend as we have previously been behind the scenes. There was a long queue, but I assume everyone got in. They will be well used to running these, so I recommend patience. Am off to the planetarium today at 1.30pm for one of the half hour screenings followed by the Olympics (come on Team Blue!), then tea in the Queens Room and maybe the 5pm movie - The Second Best Marigold Hotel.

World club drinks aka frequent flyers party. We arrived unpromptly. Having decided to go for a pre drink drink in the Commodore Club. Handshakes with the Captain were on, despite a sign advising the contrary. His speech was very entertaining and his team equally so. Mention was made of numbers passengers of each category (diamond, platinum, gold), number of voyages made by us all and number of nights spent on spent on board by us all in total. Huge! Acknowledgement then made to 1000 night plus travellers. We have quite a way to go before we get a bunch of flowers!

Drinks were on offer on entry. Red, white and sparkly wine, orange and something pinkish in a martini glass. It was possible to get a 2nd drink, but with far more sparkly about, specific requests had to be made for anything other. It felt somewhat grasping / desperate to have to ask.

Big Band night in the Queens Room tonight. I love the music but don't understand the band leaders need to bore us with the info that someones cousin was once famous or whatever. Please just play the music, because people start to sit down when you stop. We graced the Queens Room with 3 of our best efforts, one was a cha cha, the other 2 were the universally popular 'shuffle'. We then moved to the G32 nightclub. Vibz, the band are excellent. Best such live band we've seen on Cunard. We danced til about 1am. If you were there, I was the mad one with the tassled dress. (Hello JP.... fellow CC-er with whom I strutted some of my stuff)

Will post photos on return next week.

We fly back sunday evening.... inclusive transfer with UK saver fare.... mini ny tour incl. To help,kill time

Did the trivia quiz with hubby after 2nd breakfast. (6/20). Hubby departed to throw something at something no doubt and I found myself, having not moved for the 2nd day in succession, doing the 11-ish puzzler quiz. This is more fun as its more of an open challenge. I joined up with a young couple and we won! Apparently its not the winning that counts, but it is nice every so often.

I sneaked a quick spa whirl pool soak in at 11.30 before dance class at 12.15. Its handy having the mid day Captain's announcement as you know its time to head off.

Today was the quick step. The class was quite busy. We did not do so well when we tried to stick steps 1 to steps 2. Some couples have signed up to a private lesson. Its an hour for each couple. The current rate is $100 I think. No idea if this is standard.

Tomorrow is samba then tango the day after.

Lunch was disappointing. I asked for spaghetti with tomato sauce. Having said no parmasan on the spaghetti the chef promptly put some in the sauce! Consequently someone else got to have mine and I had to wait for another. .. which he rushed as he didnt put herbs in. I perked it up with Lea and Perrins instead!

Next was the Olympic game for the day.... scavenger hunt. .. searching for clues amd answering questions. I cant talk about this as it would give the game away. No cheating!

45 mins on the library quiz followed (it takes longer for me to do it properly), then spa where I write this in the foot spa.

Just before bed last night the toilet didnt flush and the water pressure in the tap was low. I called the purser who revealed rather matter of factly that the water was off til 3 (!!!!!!). It would have been nice to be told said I. Its an emergency came the reply. Now THAT I get, and can deal with it, so why not immediately say 'sorry, we have an emergency'. As it happened, the toilet effectively self flushed 15 mins later. The subsequent flush (first flush next morning) was a little delayed but all was well thereafter. I could relax.

Clocks did not change overnight. I was up just before 7 so decided to try one of the general hot tubs. The outside one on the upper was not too warm, plus it was very windy so I retreated to the pavillion pool deck.

Note that accessing KC in wet swim wear, robes or nightware is not allowed. I did a quick dash up staircase B (8 flights!) in my swimsuit and robe but stayed away from KC. No one was about at that time anyway. I stayed in for about 10 mins before breakfast and stretch.

Did a 'small' wash today. Free soap packets are still available in the box on the wall despite what it says on tbe uk website. These machines are new to me. They are not the sort where you can track progress by the movement of the programme dial. Dryers still available. Remember to press the prgramme dial to restart if you open the door to check progress. Do not be offended if your wash ends and someone removes your stuff.... hopefully they will do so nicely

We went to the art gallery for their brief soiree. The pol acker was flowing and a number of people were also assessing the art works. We liked some, none enough to buy... our favorite was on video display only - a water colour by Frank (?) Rogers of the bow of a ship going under a bridge. It was well over £1000, so it will not be leaving the gallery on our account.

Before dinner we popped into the photo gallery to see if our missing photos had materialised. They had - and even I liked one of them so we made a purchase with the discount which had been carried over from the day before.

Dinner had a few issues... I don't like potted shrimp as it turns out... I picked the shrimps out. My medium rare steak arrived medium well done due to my request being lost in translation so they fetched me another. The new one was lovely. Hubby's pork was nice but a little dry. Pud was lemon bread and butter pudding... :) Oh, and the wine is finally drunk. More laughs with the sommelier.

Petit fours are offered with the tea / coffee. I'm not always keen but recent ones have included chocolate covered stem ginger and also tiny meringues.

We moved to the Queens Room where the band Vibe were in residence. Gentlemen hosts were sporting hawaiin shirts. We had a couple of dances (of the bopping type) and then moved to the G32 night club for some proper boogying. It wasn't too busy, so plenty of room on the dance floor. We wandered off to KC circa midnight for hot choc and snacks.

Pianist played in pub today whilst we lunched. Could appreciate his talent but he was a bit over twinkly for our taste. A bit like Mariah Carey who won't sing one note when she can squeeze in ten!

After lunch on Wednesday I spent the next hour and a bit in the library doing today's quiz before heading up to the 'Olympics' at the deck 12 pool area. This really is good fun - far more lighthearted than the quiz and it really does not matter if you are good or rubbish. Today's events were table tennis (knockout setup, first to 11), hoopla (two goes each, one with each hand and 'baggo' (again, two goes each). We split into 2 groups as we had for quoits. We left promptly to get to an important appointment at 3pm in the Commodore Club..... Martini Mixology.

I totally recomend this or (and! ) if they offer it, cocktail tasting. Eat a good lunch though or you'll feel the effects sooner rather than later. Its advertised in the daily programme and you book in advance as places are limited.

I lingered in the bar afterwards, moving to a window seat whilst hubby went to the computer room. I chatted to a couple who joined 'my' table, then it was then back to the cabin to prepare for the evening. Tonight its informal dress. Last night was formal, though I had, at one point thought that it was informal. Lesson to self, don't listen to others.

We will be attending the art function this evening before dinner. Honestly I'll turn up to the opening of an envelope!

Wednesday. Another time change overnight. If I have been more leisurely on this trip already, this morning was more so. I woke early as ever, but this time turned over and dozed. Got up at 7am and took more photos of a near 'empty' ship before taking a coffee and yoghurt back to hubby, drink and muffin for me. We sat and watched some of the Helen Mirram film ad mentioned earlier.

Stretch class was followed by 2nd breakfast.

At some point I wandered to the library to find that by a fluke of others not handing in quiz sheets, I had won the library quiz... with 11 or was it 12 points.

I found hubby by accident in the pub.... which if I DO remember rightly is the Golden Lion! I ended up joining a quiz team but we were about 5 points off the pace.

Today, dance class is rumba, so we agreed to bunk class and meet for a pub lunch at noon instead. I disappeared to the spa for a double foot spa. For the uninitiated, this is where you sit at the foot spa, press the button and press it again when it stops!!!!! A light day in the spa area for today....

Fish and chip lunch was good, though some of the chips were underdone which was a shame and a blessing. i.e. I didn't get to eat so much... and didn't get to eat too much! Ho ho ho.

We didn't queue to 'meet' Captain Wells . I have met him before and he is a lovely chap with a wicked sense of humour. I was more concerned with having a seat. Sometimes I need to sit down as a priority, no matter how relatively young I am. Note to all... if you see someone who needs a seat more than you, offer them yours. Do not spot someone else and unilaterally decide that they should give up theirs instead. I am often the victim of such glares.... so please don't make assumptions. Rant over. Drinks on offer influded sparkling wine, as well as red and white wine. The white was quite drinkable. We even got seconds.

Captain Wells' speech was as humorous and interesting as ever, so well worth attending... at the expense of cocktails in the Commodore Club.

Dinner followed... and we were finally served our bin end shiraz viognier, with big laughs with the sommelier.

This voyage was booked as a last minute battery recharge for us both, having worked long hours in the previous few months. And boy do our batteries need recharging as we headed straight back to our cabin after dinner. After reading the in - cabin newspaper and planning the next day, hubby popped up to KC... he fetched me back a hot chocolate but I was fast asleep before he got back.... so endeth Tuesday.

Note: whilst we do not do shows, tonights schedule was rearranged. The advertised show was replaced with another. It doesn't happen often.... but it sometimes does.

So, I left you at the whirlpool.... not so suitable for tablet use. Today I tried out the spa lounge. It has self service teas and coffee and basic juices. I made myself a cup of tea and sat in a chair looking out to sea. Its funny watching people walk by.... they have no idea you are there behind the smokey glass. One lady stopped to sort out her windswept hair, using the window as a mirror. She did nothing embarassing but she would have been vaguely mortified to know that she didn't have the privacy she thought she had! It was lovely and quiet... the ideal place to sit after a treatment to let its effects.

I was more cunning than yesterday. Pre spa I got a couple of scones (they're little) and butter and put them in the cabin. Post spa I got a hot chocolate from KC, took it back to the cabin and enjoyed my mini feast whilst watching a bit of the movie 'Frozen' in German. I dont speak German. It's official, I've gone mad.

Incidently, I had a beef burger in a bun with skinny fries for lunch from the Chefs Galley. You can have them cooked to order buy I took a ready made one. And a slice of plain pizza. And then a little bit of hot rice pudding - nice, but not as good as my mother used to make.

I painted my face and donned a posh frock, put on my one pair of fancy shoes and grabbed my only evening bag and headed off for the Captain's party. Hubby wore a new 3 piece suit from M&S .... my dress and bag are courtesy of TK Maxx.