Colin_Cameron

A Coruña

My first two choices have already been named.

Bergen as No. 1 with no hesitation. Manhattan comes a close second, but I really miss the sail up/down the Hudson.

Speaking of arrivals and departures, I’m surprised how much I’ve enjoyed sailing in or out of the Tyne, the Forth, the Clyde and the Cromarty Firth.

Do you think if this runs for long enough we’ll have named every port?

Or at least come up with the same list as the, “Ports you would never get tired with” thread?

I know it’s only 14 hours since my last answer but it’s now 00:05😄

Following the earlier hint my answer for today is Gaspé, Quebec, Canada.

I left that one since I knew that you knew that I knew the answer.

I hadn’t realised that no-one else had answered. That is/was the captain’s cabin on QE2.

21 minutes ago, Lakesregion said:

My impression was that the ship sailed out of port spent the night at sea to give the locals time to change the signs and the ship sailed back into the same port where everyone pretended it was a different island.

I used to say the same.

Then I went there.😄

I’m sure there are some places where you have to stick to the busy, tourist infested spots to be safe.

And then there are others where the opposite is true. As as my wife puts it when (she thinks) I’ve got us lost again, “At least anyone looking to target tourists is never going to find us here.”

She’s said that in Casablanca, Tangiers, Cairo, Alexandria, Guatemala, ...

I’m sure if we’d ever made it out of the centre of Montego Bay the same would have been true. We just never managed to escape.

3 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Any suggestions for Netflix/iplayer or Amazon Prime gratefully received. We're up to Series 4 of Bosch.

I’m afraid we gave up on Bosch after series 4. It seemed to drag on forever. Probably not helped by having read the Angel’s Flight book just before watching the series. Never a good idea.

‘Harrow’, about a forensic pathologist with a past, set in Brisbane is a good watch on Prime. There’s a common story running through each series as well as an individual story per episode. Only two series so far, the third delayed.by Covid-19.

While we wait for that, we’ve started watching ‘Unforgettable’. About a NY detective who has hyperthymesia which means she doesn’t/can’t forget anything. Only seen a few episodes but so far so good. Also on Prime.

3 hours ago, Rotterdam said:

1.Jamaica

Definitely number 1 on my list too. Although it wasn’t a Cunard trip.

Montego Bay, AKA Rip-Off Central. I’ve never known anywhere like it for vendors or taxi drivers who really wouldn’t take No for an answer.

23 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Who is this captain, and where is he now?

 

That's David 'Polly' Perkins.

We first met him on Crown Dynasty. Not long before they sold the ship.

Then on Royal Viking Sun. Just before they transferred it to Seabourn.

We sailed with him on the last voyage of Vistafjord.

And the last voyage of Caronia.

To be blunt, the man was a jinx.

I told him this the last time we met. On QE2. Just before they announced she had been sold.

5 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Another 'q' port is not too far away from many of you that have been contributing to this thread. It may be closest to @Colin_Cameron. I think @Lanky Lad posted a photo at or near that port earlier.

Aahhh!

Queensferry. Probably on the itineraries as South Queensferry.

Reminds me of QE2's 40th anniversary Round Britain tour. Lavish celebrations laid on (almost) everywhere. In Newcastle there were fireworks lining the banks of the Tyne all the way from the mouth to North Shields as we sailed in. At Greenock there was a display by the Red Arrows. In Liverpool there was the first of those spectacular Liverpool Cathedral concerts.

And Edinburgh? The only mention of our visit was a "letter to the editor" complaining that our tour busses took up too much space in the car park at Queensferry.🤬

23 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Who is this captain, and where is he now?

That's David 'Polly' Perkins. 

I lost track of him after he moved to Princess. 

What I meant was that I couldn’t make out what we are seeing through the glass in the doors. Are we in G32 looking out to the Queen’s Room, or are we in the Queen’s Room looking in to G32?

Having given it more thought, I believe those ‘saloon doors’ are on the G32 side so that means we’re looking out, towards the Queen’s Room. But I still can’t work out what that is through the windows. That slightly angled corridor at the left ( to a toilet?) makes me think this is the port-side of the ship.

29 minutes ago, Ray66 said:

I can’t decide if that’s the door into G32, or out of G32.

9 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

@sfred, there may be another Queensland port remaining for you to contribute tomorrow.

As I can't think of anything else at the moment I'm going to quite shamelessly steal this one.

Yorkeys Knob, Queensland.

46 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

As it's a new day, may I hazard Porto Quetzal in Guatemala.

I was about to suggest this then stupidly excluded it as we were on Sagafjord. Not thinking that one of the current fleet may also have called there.

I also ruled out Porquerolles, France for the same reason (Sea Goddess II, this time), but I'm fairly sure it's far too small for any of the current ships.

13 hours ago, bluemarble said:

I'm looking for a call where passengers are able go ashore,

Have any passengers ever gone ashore at Macapá, Brazil? (0.000)

We stopped for a while, waiting to pick up the pilot. But it wasn't a port call, at least on our cruise.

1 hour ago, steve1young said:

This one isn't too difficult to identify, but I thought to include it here as it's such a lovely angle, and from what I think is such a fun vantage point.

That would be from the starboard panoramic lift on QM2.

17 hours ago, Bigmike911 said:

 I think I might have been tempted to ask him to take the turf back and come again on a dry day, myself. 

As tempting as that idea was, turf is perishable, and our next dry day could well be in May😆. It wasn’t that Friday was due to be dry, just less wet.

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Aren’t deliveries typically made ALL THE WAY to wherever they are meant to go ...

Unfortunately there’s a very tight hair-pin bend half-way up the hill that all the delivery companies know about and all deliveries to this postcode have the caveat that delivery “to the door” may not be possible. To this drivers credit, he reversed 100yds to the bend in order to drive up the next section because he knew he wouldn’t get round it, but then couldn’t get any traction. He made more of an effort than most. As usual, the larger the vehicle, the better the driver. (a nine foot wide vehicle reversing along an eight foot wide road with a forty foot drop at the side) I had a neighbour lined up to help out on Friday with a van as I was more than half expecting this outcome, but of course he wasn’t available yesterday.

Anyway, I now have 99% of the turf laid with only some small cut pieces to fit tomorrow. The stuff on the slope took longer than expected as it had to be pinned in place to hold it until it takes root. 

One more skill to add to my CV.

2 years ago we had a long, dry, hot (for Scotland) summer and our lawn got burned. I thought it might recover last year but if anything, the dead patches just got bigger. As soon as we got out of our first lockdown this year I reseeded the patches, but by last month only about 20 of the 200,000,000(?) seeds had taken so it was time for drastic action.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks lifting the old turf, rotovating  the soil (would you believe if you need a two day hire it’s cheaper to buy one?), breaking up a couple of large boulders only inches below the surface with a pick axe, and levelling the whole area (well, evening out. About a third of it is on a 45 degree slope).

After checking the weather forecast I ordered the turf for Friday. At 08:00 this morning the delivery driver called to say he was 10 mins away! It’s been raining for 5 days with at least 2 more to go. Because of the wind and rain the hill up to our house is slick with leaves and the truck can’t make it so he drops the load where he can and I spent the morning in the pouring rain moving 3 ton of soggy, muddy turf the last 300 yards in my wife’s car (well, I’m not going to use mine. Am I?).

I managed to get about a third of it laid this afternoon before it got dark at 5pm and I’m currently recovering in a hot bath, with a large malt (whisky). I feel I deserve it.

4 hours ago, WorldTraveler151208 said:

Yes, that's right, the new ship is a disappointment, it's a shame that Carnival is bringing its standards to Cunard ...

 I remember the same being said about QE. And QV. And QM2. And when Vistafjord was changed to Caronia. And very similar was said about QE2. It wouldn’t surprise me if the same sort of thing has been said about every new ship Cunard has introduced since 1840.

Having said all that, I don’t disagree with you.

2 hours ago, sfred said:

The venue here is easy.  Can you name the ship?

 

That's the Winter Garden / Garden Lounge. The central door and shape of the roof means it is QE

2 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

That's great, was it a compliment or complaint at the time ??

That’s the problem with being quoted out of context. I know how Anthony Fauci feels (is that too political?). It was more a statement of fact.

It was a long review, and to my mind there was much more of interest in it. But I wasn’t thinking in sound bites.

1 hour ago, cruz040864 said:

Clearly the activities and the ship itself is not geared towards children.  Won't they be bored? 

That depends on the children. (And that , in turn, depends on the parents.)

We have cruised with up to 400 children on board. And unless you happened to spot some of the group activities you wouldn’t have known they were there. I have no direct knowledge of the ‘kids clubs’, but to keep that number of children invisible it has to be a) well organised, and b) engaging for the participants. The one time I sailed with a teenager she had no interest in the ‘teen club’ so I never got to find out what was involved.

We’ve never had ‘children’ at our table but have had at tables nearby and have talked to both them and their parents. They all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. We’ve had teenagers at the table a few times. They tend to be quiet on the first night but once they get involved in the conversations, if you involve them, they’re just part of the group. 

3 hours ago, bluemarble said:

I wish I had paid more attention to those Maritime Quest boards.

I should have paid more attention too. I had probably read this on two different cruises/crossings before a friend pointed this out to me.

Be careful what you write in a cruise review. You never know where it will end up.