bluemarble

It never seems to get old watching a Panama Canal transit on the Panama Canal Authority's webcams. Here's QV today in the Gatun Locks.

I hear the gala evening with the Burns Night theme has been canceled this evening. Because of QE's revised itinerary to avoid Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, January 25th is now a port day in Melbourne. They are going to have a gala evening tomorrow January 26th instead, their sea day between Melbourne and Adelaide. Haven't heard yet what theme if any they're going to have for the rescheduled gala evening of January 26th.

That was quick. Yes, that image is from one of the City of Hobart's webcams at kunanyi/Mt Wellington.

Here's a crop of a larger webcam image to retain full resolution at the maximum size allowed for a Cruise Critic attachment. That said, the Cunard ship in this image is still only a small blip within the area I've circled in red to the right of center. This is a port we've seen before. I'm confident it will be identified relatively soon.

This is an excellent segue to a recent article in USA Today concerning "5 things to know about transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary 2". Topping that list: "1. A digital detox is harder than you think" My take on the writer's point here were the issues she faced keeping up her cell phone and laptop dependent life style while on board a QM2 transatlantic crossing. She found herself forced into doing a certain amount of "digital detox", apparently more than she was expecting to have to do.

Mystery solved. When I manually adjust the time zone on my PC's system clock from UTC-6 (which is my correct local time here in Iowa) to UTC instead, here is what I see on that flamport.no page this time. The wonders of the internet indeed!

All very strange. This is a screen shot of what I'm seeing on the page https://www.flamport.no/arrival-list. I guess I'll just have to chalk this up as some kind of glitch on my end if you are seeing the correct date 26.06.24 for Queen Anne on this page.

Where are you finding the Flam Port Authority schedule listing 26.06.24 for Queen Anne, @sogne? I'm looking here: https://www.flamport.no/arrival-list. That page lists the following. 25.06.24 Queen Anne 07:30 18:00 I'll be glad to be pointed to where the correct 26.06.24 date is listed for Flam. That will help clear up this discrepancy I'm seeing.

Queen Anne is listed on the cruise schedule on the Flam Port website found at "flamport.no" but there is a discrepancy with the date. That website lists Queen Anne at Flam on 25.06.24 instead of 26.06.24. Both the Cunard website and the Bergen Havn website found at "bergenhavn.no" show Queen Anne at Bergen on 25.06.24. Not sure what's going on with the date listed on the Flam website. I haven't found a port authority website for Olden that lists the cruise schedule there.

Sorry, I made a transcription error when I copied this revised QE itinerary. For those following along, QE isn't due into Melbourne until 6:00pm on 24 January. Makes sense since she can't sail the distance from Eden to Melbourne overnight.

According to my itineraries, QM2 never did 5 night crossings. From 2004 through 2009 all of her crossings between Southampton and New York were 6 nights. During 2010 she did a combination of 6 night and 7 night crossings (most of the eastbound crossings were lengthened to 7 nights while most of the westbound crossings remained 6 nights). 2011 was the first year QM2 did all 7 night crossings in both directions. In 2013 they first introduced a couple of 8 night crossings.

Here's QV at Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) this morning as seen on PTZtv's webcam at "portevergladeswebcam.com".

See this earlier thread where we have been discussing that topic.

Further details on QE's new itinerary. 22 January: Sydney, Australia; Depart 6.30pm 23 January: Eden, Australia; Arrive 9.00am, Depart 4.30pm 24 January: Melbourne, Australia; Arrive 6.00am 25 January: Melbourne. Australia; Depart 5.30pm 26 January: At Sea 27 January: Adelaide, Australia; Arrive 7.00am, Depart 5.30pm 28 January: Port Lincoln, Australia; Arrive 8.00am, Depart 5.30pm 29 January: At Sea 30 January: At Sea 31 January: At Sea 1 February: Sydney, Australia; Arrive 6.30am

The decision has been taken to alter QE's itinerary for the cruise departing today from Sydney. She was to be doing a Queensland itinerary to Brisbane, Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas. But Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has caused those plans to be disrupted. Instead QE will be heading south from Sydney. The communication from Cunard I'm seeing posted elsewhere states their "best endeavours to make calls to Eden, Melbourne, Adelaide and Port Lincoln". @sfred, unfortunately that means you won't be seeing QE at Brisbane this time around. I hope the storm impacts won't be severe for you. On the plus side, Port Lincoln will be a new Cunard port if they do call there.

That's a very interesting bit of trivia this American can say he learned today. Quoting from the Wikipedia article for Scunthorpe Steelworks: "Primary iron production was at four blast furnaces first established or expanded in the 1950s, and known as the four Queens: named Queen Anne, Bess, Victoria, and Mary."

Yes, there are several 6 day westbound crossings this year. Most of them are offset by 8 day eastbound crossings. That's because MSC Meraviglia took over some of the dates QM2 had originally planned to be in Brooklyn. Cunard adjusted QM2's schedules to be in Brooklyn a day earlier than originally planned on most of those dates making several westbound crossings one day shorter and the corresponding eastbound crossings one day longer. Notice it's the westbound crossings that have been shortened to 6 days. Westbound crossings are 10 hours longer than eastbound crossing with the +/- 5 hour time zone difference. That way they don't have to speed up QM2 as much as they would have to for 6 day eastbound crossings.

There will be two gala evenings on your 6-night crossing. On the usual 7-night crossings, the gala evenings are scheduled on the 2nd and 6th evenings. For the 6-night crossings this year, the gala evenings will be scheduled on the 2nd and 5th evenings. @Host Hattie has kindly posted the link to the thread for the dress code and theme schedules I've compiled for 2024. The themes I have for both of the 6-night crossings in June 2024 are Red and Gold on the 2nd evening and Masquerade on the 5th evening. You can confirm that information in the daily calendar section of your booking when you log in to My Cunard.

I'm probably the last person who should be commenting on this since I've never done anything having to do with fitness classes. But to get the discussion started, I can tell you what I'm seeing and what has been listed in daily programmes I have from QM2. When I'm in My Cunard and request "See details" for the "Unlimited Class Pass (8+ days)", it briefly displays this message before switching to the screen to purchase the pass. "Please contact Mareel spa reception on board to book this treatment." Here's what I see listed within the "Fitness" category in an online brochure for the Mareel Spa services. Slow Flow Yoga 45 min $15 Full Cycle 45 min $15 HIIT Reboot 45 min $15 Total Tone Pilates 45 min $15 Unlimited Class Pass $99 Here's what I see listed within the Mareel Wellness and Beauty section of daily programmes from two recent transatlantic crossings on QM2. The schedule was identical for the crossings in both directions. Day 1: (Embarkation Day) Day 2: 8.00am Slow Flow Yoga - Queens Room, Deck 3 ($) Day 3: 8.00am Total Tone Pilates - Queens Room, Deck 3 ($) Day 4: 8.00am HIIT Reboot - Queens Room, Deck 3 ($) Day 5: 8.00am Slow Flow Yoga - Queens Room, Deck 3 ($) Day 6: 8.00am Total Tone Pilates - Queens Room, Deck 3 ($) Day 7: 8.00am HIIT Reboot - Queens Room, Deck 3 ($) I hope this is of some help. Someone who has actually taken the fitness classes will need to answer your questions about booking the classes (presumably done on board at spa reception), how full the classes are, whether they offer more classes than the one pre day indicated in my QM2 daily programmes, and whether there are any differences with the class offerings on QV.

Here are the 2024 voyages where I do not yet have the dress code and theme schedules. Queen Victoria V424: 14 Oct-21 Oct 2024 (Southampton to Barcelona) V426N: 30 Oct-3 Nov 2024 (Bruges and Rotterdam) V426P: 3 Nov-15 Nov 2024 (Canary Islands) V427: 15 Nov-19 Nov 2024 (Amsterdam Short Break) V428: 19 Nov-1 Dec 2024 (Canary Islands) V429: 1 Dec-5 Dec 2024 (Cherbourg and Bruges) V430: 5 Dec-16 Dec 2024 (Atlantic Coast Adventure) Queen Elizabeth Q433: 17 Nov-27 Nov 2024 (Queensland) Q434: 27 Nov-11 Dec 2024 (New Zealand) Q435: 11 Dec-18 Dec 2024 (Australian Literature Festival At Sea) Q436: 16 Dec-23 Dec 2024 (Tasmania) If you are on any of these voyages, please post here what you are seeing for your dress code and theme schedule in the daily calendar section when you log in to your booking in My Cunard. I'll just need which voyage, the dates of all the "Gala Evenings", and the themes (if any) on those evenings. I appreciate any assistance you are able to provide.

Here is a general description of the process from the Cunard FAQ to purchase an internet package once on board from the device you will be using to connect to the internet. Purchasing a package on board will be charged to your on board account to use your OBC. (Q) How do I connect to the Wi-Fi on board? (A) On our ships, you can connect to the Wi-Fi with almost any internet-enabled device. • Activate the Wi-Fi on your device, then select 'Guest Wi-Fi' from the list of available networks. • Once connected, an automated page should appear and you can select 'click here' to direct you to the cunard Guest Wi-Fi log in page. Alternatively, open your internet browser and visit "internet.cunard.com", which is the Cunard Guest Wi-Fi login page. • If you’re connecting for the first time, you’ll need to select Register, then enter some personal details, including a memorable username and a 4-digit PIN. • Once registered, you’ll be shown details of any internet plan you’ve purchased, along with any upgrade options. • If you haven’t yet purchased internet access, you can select your preferred plan on this page. Any purchases or upgrades will be charged to your on board account. • Confirm you wish to connect your device to your chosen internet plan, and you’ll be able to begin browsing. Alternatively, you can browse our free Cunard websites (and our on board planner, My Voyage) without logging in at all. ==================== I have not heard of any way to negotiate the price of the package. It is what it is. If you are planning to purchase the entire voyage package rather than purchasing individual 24 hour blocks as you go (for a higher price), one tip I'll offer is that you will probably have a terrestrial connection to the internet on your cell phone for most of the first day while you are in port and for some time while you are leaving port. You might want to consider deferring your purchase of the entire voyage package until your second day. You will only be charged for the remaining days of your voyage that way and will avoid the charge on the first day.

The Queen Anne 2024 Dress Code and Theme Schedule document is now complete! For those who may be interested, here are my stats on the number of Gala Evenings per week for QA's eight month inaugural year of 2024. QA: 1.73 Gala Evenings per week

Thanks for that. Was that separate from the dress code/theme schedule which I show as Smart Attire (without a theme) for January 25, 2023 on QV? Or did they switch that to a Gala Evening with a Burns Night theme?

PTZtv has an excellent Port Everglades webcam so I'll be watching.

QV is at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda today. Here's a capture from PTZtv's webcam found at "www.portbermudawebcam.com".