techteach

@D&N That sounds like a great idea. We have something special for dinner tonight and I’ll post a pic tomorrow.

No dress shoes for him tonight. We have to look out for the gala dress police!

I went to the hobby group, there were 9 of us and the ladies were very vocal about the lack of apparent caring by Cunard staff. I asked about grills priority as we moved from security into the actual checking and was told it didn’t exist by a port worker. Now I’m hearing it did exist and would have saved us hours. DH spent the previous 22 hours on antibiotic IV in an emergency room, he was released at 3:00pm, and we arrived at the port shortly before our 6:00pm, our arrival time, he could barely walk. But he stood for almost five hours to get through lines. Unless this story blows up in Cunard face in the media they will make no changes. And, I’m afraid the optics of people with money to cruise complaining won’t garner much sympathy.

@D&N, @Colin_Cameron, @NE John Today at lunch I asked Jugal, our QG sommelier about wine tastings. He said there would be none on this cruise. 😞 He mentioned the 1st growth tasting, I said we were interested. But they need more people to do it. So no go. I am frankly shocked they aren’t doing any kind of tasting since we do have sea days.

@D&N We love sitting on our veranda watching the sea go by, drinking wine and reading or doing crossword puzzles.

I’m hoping that MSC can use their clout to get changes made.

I don’t remember which thread it was in, but I had promised to post the current QG in suite bar menu. Here it is in 2 parts and all are available.

If you send it directly to Cunard you will receive an email confirmation. Since I book through Cunard I cc my agent at Cunard.

I took real pictures following their guidelines and they still took pictures at check in which takes up half of the check in time. The upload was very slow.

Osman likes to make a signature pasta which is very good. But, he is going on vacation and may not be back in early September.

@Austcruiser84 I think everyone understood the reason for the delay. It was the way it was handled by the port. A lady got out of line to go to the bathroom, when she returned a lady controlling the in and out screamed at her to stop and physically touched her. There were no chairs for elderly people to sit down as they stood in line for four hours. There was no water. There were 2 security scanners and many times only one was working. The other problem was people showing up at the wrong time and nothing being done about it. We are QG and the dining was officially closed at 10:30 when we finally boarded, Osman took pity on me and I ate a very quick dinner to get out of their hair. Half of the people were still not onboard. Why weren’t all restaurants open until everyone was on board? Why were muster stations closed long before everyone was on board?

@LadyL1 You say some lines limit the number of children enrolled…is Royal one of them.

Interesting to think about. What kind of contract do they sign as a dance host versus someone who charges for a lesson? Would Cunard want a part of that lesson payment? The more I think about it the more complicated it becomes. I normally wouldn’t comment in this thread, but I sat next to International dance judges today and overheard their discussion. Teachers, judges, competitive dancers…were side deals made? Very interesting. I’m out of the discussion.

Time of day to have a drink in the Commodore Club? Anytime. We have a tradition to work a cross word puzzle together when we travel. We continued the tradition in the Commodore Club each afternoon, which is why we never made it to afternoon tea. In the front of the puzzle book I wrote down what I enjoyed: Transatlantic Love Affair, Black Bellini, Ginger Cosmo, Commodore Herbert Jeff, Cornelius Guil??? (Unreadable due to too many of them?) the Rioja, Sancerre, Punch aux Pommes, and Vieus Carrie. The list is dated and noted it was on the QM2. The book is packed and ready for next week when we will add to the list. Thanks again @Chart Room Princess for starting a fun thread.

@NE John Too much oak on the nose. Did air help? I have had a glass too many and can’t remember how to spell air.ae.ting, ie. swirling the glass to let air calm the tannins…I SO wish you were continuing on with us into Boston!!!

Oh @vietmom I’m so sorry to hear you got covid and had to lose 5 ports. I hope you have another opportunity to sail and visit those missed ports. Feel better soon.

@erniebernie Sitka is one of my favorite ports to just get off and stroll. Definitely go do the totem poles in the forest and beware of bears. Learn about the art, the history, and how they continue it with future generations. Very cool. Skagway - we have yet to get the rail way. 😞 But, I booked an excursion from the T. Advisor to go to a dog sled training site. The 9 year old loved it. Lots of cute puppies. I loved seeing the Yukon. Include me with an @ to ask other questions. Happy to help. Getting ready for another Alaska cruise with another grandson in August!

@NE John How was the HdV? I generally enjoy Chard from Carneros.

@hoosier sailor The closest Marriott is on the waterfront. In September Harmony of the Seas is the only ship in port after the first week. It will be more expensive than some of the others, but if you want Marriott it is close to everything and a cab is super easy.

@jbooth2099 You don’t mention which pier you’re sailing from, but if it is Pier 91 there is a Total Wine 2 blocks away. You could order online and then do a pick up. Have your Uber/taxi pull into the pickup spot, and then respond to the text telling you it is ready. They’ll bring it out to your car. Super easy to get to Pier 91 from there.

If you can’t get into 5 Point, and you won’t get into Tilikum without a reservation, continue to 4th Ave and turn left. One block down is a french bakery. I can’t find it on g.maps, but it is there and it is good. It is not as sit down as the others and there are eggs and bacon. Since you’re sailing on a Monday the restaurants around Amazon would be open, but it is a longer walk.

@NE John Good job John!!! I’m glad it was a good tasting and the food was good. If you remember, I was not impressed with our California Cab tasting in December. Which was your favorite? This is on the west bound TA on QM2? If so, it means we probably won’t get the same tasting next week. Thanks again.

@Chart Room Princess What a fun post! I will have to go find my list. I know there was something about a Transatlantic Love Affair…

@Ready2go11 I hope you feel better soon. We think it’s all over, but it ain’t over. Masks are packed for our QM2 next week. Thanks for the report.

Pasted from our local newspaper. I just read The Seattle Times' article, "What tourists ask most about Seattle (and what the rest of us should know, too)", and I think it might interest you, too. You can read the full article here:https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/what-do-tourists-ask-most-about-seattle-we-know-and-we-have-answers/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=article_inset_1.1