WantedOnVoyage

And she shoots... and scores....

Another victory for QUEEN VICTORIA over what's her name....

"Any time dining"... as long as it's their time, it's all good!

No thanks.

We disliked "open dining" on Oceania.... it was the old "make yourself comfortable at the bar" and the beeper like in some clinic.  

The old ways are invariably best.  Set sitting, table and stewards.  Not like booking a dentist appointment every single night. And not even magazines in the waiting room. 

Hardly the same animal at least if originating from the UK.... QM2 in January 2025 (which we did in 2022) and booked as soon as it was released is my favourite Cunard itinerary since it's DIRECT from the UK to the West Indies with nine (!) glorious sea days in each direction and if 2022 is an indication, lovely and increasingly warmer weather en each en route.  The other QM2 West Indies cruises are via New York so you have a winter North Atlantic crossing if originating from the UK plus the sometimes bumpy run south from New York, past Cape Hatteras, before getting into the Caribbean. We are already booked for QV UK-West Indies direct in Jan 2026 and if QM2, as rumoured here, is doing it in Jan 2027 we will book as soon as practical.  

I am just glad they even have these public computers as I do not (and will not) possess a "smart phone".  

I got "stuck" with the banquette seat on QM2 in Queen's Grill when it was all original (and in my opinion, much nicer looking, too) and it was perfectly comfortable and yes, for the reasons "exlonderer" suggests (good grief we agree!). What is on QA even looks otherwise. Like the seats in Second Class "slam door" South London carriage stock c. 1968. 

When an interior designer is left with a corridor by the architect to fashion into a restaurant with trolley service, "the up against the wall" concept is hard to avoid.  Odder still, conceived for what should be the premier dining space in a vessel.

Actually, I love painting ship.... give me a sunny day at sea and a five-inch paint roller and I'd happily work off my bar tab. And get an ace tan in the process. 

Enjoy QV and mind the wet paint...

Boy this is sure taking time.... they were chipping and priming her balconies on this side of the ship in May!  I have never been on a ship, in service, with more primer splotches than QUEEN VICTORIA and in three assorted colours, too.  She looked like a spotty 13 year old. 

Maintenance is good but not an attractive (nor particularly quiet or restful) prospect for those aboard at the time.  

They have 25 days to get this all done until we board in Barcelona.... so carry on painting, gentlemen.

7 minutes ago, david63 said:

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/first-world-problem

Excellent... I do appreciate authentic Islington Coffee Bar worldview as much as anyone. I love it!  "Don't put a chocolate on my pillow every night and I'll feel better about myself in the morning."

Oh well, another reason QA ain't my cup of tea... even on paper.  

What is this "first world issue" phase... is this some UK expression? Not sure what it refers to, other than possibly investing tens of thousands of hard earned dollars on a holiday at the top end and having expectations of a degree of excellence and thoughtful planning. Or is QA a "third world" ship charging "first world fare"? Or something.

Bad design is bad design. Just is.  Maybe it's the architect's son in me that recognizes it's best nipped on paper before it's built in. 

Sounds like QUEEN ANNE could spend many weeks being rebuilt and reconfigured after reading all of these comments. But, of course, she will not. Pity... almost all of these issues were noted and commented upon on these very pages when the very first deck plans were released. If some of us could see the potential problems, why could not the people paid to design her? Here, the real issue is that QA is far more of a modestly retooled PINNACLE-class Holland America ship than QV/QE are VISTAS.  Or indeed, a VISTA is just a better platform all round.   Just is.

True. Americans did not know where France was... until they landed there on 6 June 1944 and 4,414 of them died on its beaches. 

I might suggest ignorance of geography is not a national trait.  Even among those who presumed to rule over 1/5th of the earth's surface 80 years ago. 

And why they need to put the atlases back in Princess Grill cabins, too. 

I have TSA Pre-Check but no thanks to any government having anything more  on or about me, thanks very much.  

New ports for Cunard... the world is spinning on its axis already! They might have to put the atlases back in the PG cabins if they keep this up.

Ferrol is an interesting and definitively naval and shippy destination although I am not too sure about the potential delights of Dakar. We sailed off its coast in ST. HELENA and encountered a rather large and unpleasant bilious yellow effuent that did not tempt one to get much closer. 

Bluemarble...  you have me once again pencilling in calendar dates well in advance.  QUEEN VICTORIA round the world and what seems to be another repeat of my favourite long West Indies voyage direct from Southampton vie for my attention for early 2027.  We are off on QM2 on this in January 2025 and again on QV in January 2026.  If QM2 follows the same pattern in 2027, she ought to be home by early to mid February so one might imagine Dakar and Funchal, especially an overnight there, are part of an ensuing cruise. 

Thanks again for your splendid detective work and the tempting results thereof. 

It came from QA's christening... I believe it was the form of address her godmothers used in acknowledging the invited dignitaries, including the Mayor of Liverpool.  "Hey Guys..."

2 hours ago, rog747 said:

We all realise the Deck 11 walkaround possibility for all passengers is a glaring design issue, and that is that the private Grills Terrace is smack in the middle of it with 2 x Infinity hot pools on both sides, plus the B Lifts/stairs exit/entry doors on Deck 11 are only out to the Grills Terrace, Starboard side only.
Why this was never thought of as a potential 'issue' who knows... 

 

Well... it was thought of on these very pages as soon as the deck plans were released, so there's that.

But curious that the one big criticism against Cunard in that it is "class concious" is most glaringly introduced in the "Hey Guys" isn't Cunard Hip" flagship. Even QE2 did not have locked gates between classes when she was new.  

Not our problem... we'll stick with QV thanks very much. 

I think you might want to read up a bit more about the christening and name controversy....

It was a source of considerable embarassment to Cunard and caused some measure of offence in Scotland. I still remember seeing letter boxes in Scotland with the "II" defaced.  Indeed, during the back and forth over the proposed name for Q4 naming her QUEEN ELIZABETH II was rejected early on for not wishing to cause offense in Scotland where, of course, there was no Queen Elizabeth (I) as sovereign.   And why Cunard thereafer was happy to use "QE2" thereafter.  

I love Four Deck P2s... you get a deeper sunnier balcony. But... they can be noisy first thing in port days  as the gantry thingy for the gangway which extends out from the hull is right under Four Deck (especially if you have a cabin close to the midships stairtower).  It's not more than four mins. but you sure can hear (and feel) it being deployed.  

I'd rather listen to the crowd and the look on Sir Basil Smallpeice's ....

A ship named QUEEN ELIZABETH II launched on Clydebank... you bet it was a mistake!!  Her Majesty was provided with a card btw to read for the christening "QUEEN ELIZABETH TWO" and she never looked at it.  It must be worth a small fortune if it survives.

But no... the name was as written on the ship QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 referring to the second ship named in the Cunard fleet and not directly related to the sovereign. 

Thank you.  The fact that an article of clothing is even called by a sports name... "polo", "golf", "rugby"... means it is wholly inappropriate for evening wear. And yes, they all have collars and buttons, too. Big deal.  I cycle all the time and wear a black wool cycling jersey with a collar and buttons, too.  By the contorted, confusing nonsense that Cunard offers as "guidance" for dressing aboard their ships, I could indeed wear that to dinner on a "smart casual" evening.  But being able to do something, does not mean one should.  Don't.

"The Brooklyn Daily Eagle" called the merger "The Great Mistake of '98"

Even they regretted it....

Sorry, 12th Avenue Manhattan between 46th and 54th Street is the gateway to and from America... not Red Hook, Brooklyn.  

Sorry, but Brooklyn is not New York.  

The inability of Cunard to still use the North River piers, a mere 10-minute cab ride to the centre of Manhattan is a huge disincentive to sail QM2 trans-Atlantic.  Red Hook... it's Palookaville. Just is. In the old days, it's where the Mafia dumped the bodies off the Moore-McCormick piers.  

And even as a U.S. citizen, the stories of U.S. immigration at Brooklyn puts me off, too.   

When I buy Cunard Line, I'll put QM2 on a regular Liverpool-Halifax-Boston run. And QUEEN VICTORIA will do an annual Southampton-Greenland-Newfoundland-St. Lawrence roundtrip cruise.  Cunard would no longer just be associated historically with Canada, it would be integral to its operations as it was at the beginning. 

We wound up in it once in 2007 only because we were lost and have never set foot in it since....

I love the name.... the wonderful film "Donnie Brasco" (Al Pacino) features a sleazy strip mall casino in Florida and called "King's Court".  The film predates QM2 so maybe that's what inspired the name.