vettprincess

13 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Arriving this morning in Port Everglades:

 

 

Roy

Just watched her sail out of Fort Lauderdale. What a beautiful sight. We will be on her 7/1/22.

We were on the Mardi 10/2021 and 3/2022. Walmart of the seas in many many ways. The 50th big celebration was a complete bust. Lots of hype. Have cruised ccl for many years. Used to be fun but too many things wrong.  We like other lines much better but was hooked into those dates. No mas on ccl.

19 hours ago, Honeybeeisme said:

bluemarble, thank you for replying!  Yes, we are sailing on the Hamburg to New York crossing June 22nd-July 8th.  Below are the dates with the gala schedules. 
 

June 22nd.... Smart Attire

 

June 23rd.... Gala Evening

 

June 24th.... Smart Attire

 

June 25th.... Gala Evening Black & White 

 

June 26th.... Smart Attire 

 

June 27th.... Smart Attire

 

June 28th.... Smart Attire 

 

June 29th....  Gala  Evening Roaring 20’s (rather THRILLING!) 

 

June 30th.... Smart Attire

 

July 1st.... Smart Attire 

 

July 2nd.... Gala Evening Black &. White

 

July 3rd.... Smart Attire 

 

July 4th.... Gala Evening 

 

July 5th-8th.... Smart Attire 

Ahhh, I think I figured out why there are two Black & White Galas.  When we arrive in NYC we will perhaps be picking up passengers that will then sail to England.  Everyone then has a B & W Gala tradition?  
 

It sounds reasonable about masks... and masks!  Too much of a good thing! LOL.  

 

I’m just so very, very excited!  I have day-dreamed of sailing on a Cunard vessel since I was made aware of their existence when I was just a teen.  And an ocean liner?  Since a little girl!!  My husband is excited too.  He’s a little... reticent... about the Smart Attire let alone the Gala events... but I bought him a tuxedo.  He’s good to go!  LOL

 

THANK YOU AGAIN! 
 

Honeybee 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will be with you on the 7/1-7/8 part of your TA. Our third time doing this sailing. We bring ball gowns either black, red/black black/gold and or plain gold. We do not strictly adhere to the specific color theme. When we started cruising 50 yrs ago we brought 7 formal gowns for every week long cruise for many years. Then things changed. 

Have done 3 cruises on 2 cruise lines since it started and everyone is casual and in some cases barely clothed. We enjoy dressing up for the gala nights and we dress for dinner every night. 

Previously on our past QM2 cruises there were some male dance hosts to dance with the women who were alone. On our last QM2 we saw a female dance host that danced with the men. That was so nice.

Try not to worry about the gala dressing bring what works for you. And try and get out on the dance floor it is a wonderful experience.

Bon voyage

53 minutes ago, Transatlantic Tom said:

If you look on the lefthand side of my postings you'll see I'm on the St. Paul side !! We know a couple from the Stillwater area who have made a couple of QM2 crossings, and some people one block over have also made a crossing aboard her !!

 

We have been on that early July cruise - Halifax, Boston, and 2 seas days going around Cape Cod. A nice trip !!

Yes, I noticed you are from St Paul. That is so nice you have met some local people that are also fond of Cunard and QM2. The only crossing I have done is a round trip to Europe on the S S France in 1963!

All other cruises have been from NYC and LA and FL. I do not like to fly and those are the distances I can handle.  

This will be our third time doing that itinerary on the QM2. They have extended it to a whole week which is a lot better than the first shorter one.

Have a nice week-end.

2 hours ago, Transatlantic Tom said:

Maybe we should form a Cunard-Minnesota club ?? For those of us far, far away from the sea !!!😀

Yes, that would be fun and informative. We sail on the QM2 7/1 for the Independence day celebration cruise. Last did it in 2019. We have sailed on most of the cruise line (not the fancy ones)  and we celebrate 50 yrs of cruising this year. I am very curious about the Queen Anne (a HAL ship made into Cunard) and where she will be sailing.

I have no idea how to connect with you and our Cunard club. Any ideas? I am located in the middle of Mpls. How about you? 

14 hours ago, Transatlantic Tom said:

Some impressions of my first QM2 voyage since October 2019, and first transatlantic crossing since December 2018...

 

* The pre-embarkation process - COVID test, waiting for results and check in at Mayflower Terminal in Southampton - took approximately 90 minutes

 

* There were two onboard Antigen tests for all passengers, Day 3 and Day 6

 

* Face masks were still required in all public spaces except while dining or drinking (or on deck)

 

* Everyone pleasantly & cooperatively restricted themselves to "4-only" in the lifts

 

* Reliable sources indicated that the passenger compliment was approximately 1,475.

 

* The interior of the ship looked very good

 

* The service from service staff - rooms steward, dining room waiters, Kings Court stewards, lounge/bar stewards - was EXCELLENT !!

 

* The entertainment, i.e. 3 recitals, by pianist Anthony Hewitt was absolutely magnificent. He was incredible. Everything from Bach & Debussy to an all-Chopin recital to Gershwin. A real treat !

 

* Some interesting lectures: Bill Miller (ocean liner history), retired British Airways captain John Hutchinson (Concorde and BA history)

 

* Afternoon tea in Queens Room was as wonderful (and normal) as always - great service, a very good harpist and delicious sandwiches, scones & tea

 

* Many calm overcast days with temperatures of 55F/12-13C; one day wet & drizzly; one day rough with Force 9 on the Beaufort scale; one day cold (41F/5C)

 

* Regrettably, I found the Britannia Restaurant menu somewhat uninspiring and disappointing; something I've never seen in 41 years of sailing with Cunard.

     - My theory is that after a devastating 2-year hiatus and an absence of revenues they are "economizing" somewhat on the menus, not spending the money they would normally. My hope is that (a) this is temporary, and (b) as things progress there will be a return to some of the offerings one usually finds

     - Having said this, to my eye (or stomach) the desserts every night were as good as always - Lemon Souffle, Baked Alaska, Crepes Suzette, Chocolate Fondant, et al

    - Additionally, the 2nd of two formal nights featured an excellent assortment of traditional dishes: Escargot, Lobster Bisque, Beef Wellington, Baked Alaska !!

 

* Some of the offerings in the Kings Court were very good too: i.e. Rack of Lamb one evening

 

Finally -

 

* There was an outbreak of positive COVID infections during the crossing: an unknown number of passengers tested positive and were moved out of their cabins to a quarantine zone on Decks 4, 5, & 6 between "A" & "B" stairwells, port and starboard. Access doors to these areas - at lift/elevator lobbies and in passageways (fore & aft, port & starboard) - were closed and locked !

 

* Many who had been in the presence of passengers who tested positive were themselves restricted from pubic dining and drinking for the remainder of the crossing; additionally, these passengers were required to get a DAILY antigen test.

 

It was great to be aboard QM2 once again. All in all a good experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing your trip. A very good review of your crossing. From another MN Cunard fan. I envy the lectures you had. I have some of Bill Miller's books.

14 minutes ago, Cruisercl said:

QM2 sailing out of PE, FLL Courtyard CAM....

 

Wonderful photo. Thank you for sharing. Another cruiser from MN.

25 minutes ago, vettprincess said:

I am glued to the computer screen watching QM2 back up and then turn to depart to the channel from Everglades.

Wonderful to watch. I have sailed on the S S France then the S S Norway. And the QM2 and I am a ship nut.

I am glued to the computer screen watching QM2 back up and then turn to depart to the channel from Everglades.

1 hour ago, Starboardhome said:

Aboard QM2 right now. All aboard time is 18:30 so 19:00 departure is likely correct. Had no idea this was the first time in Port Everglades since Jan 20 2016. Coincidently we were aboard her on that occasion en-route to Rio. 

Answered my own question. Southern Caribbean cruise for you for about 14 more days. Have a wonderful trip.

35 minutes ago, Starboardhome said:

Aboard QM2 right now. All aboard time is 18:30 so 19:00 departure is likely correct. Had no idea this was the first time in Port Everglades since Jan 20 2016. Coincidently we were aboard her on that occasion en-route to Rio. 

Where are you sailing to?

Thank you

22 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

7:00pm local time is what I have for QM2's scheduled departure time this evening.

Port Ever. time and 6pm MN time, I assume.

15 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

Pretty good close-up of QM2 on the Port Everglades Webcam at the moment. Perhaps worth posting another image since it has been a while since QM2 has visited Fort Lauderdale. January 20, 2016 was her last visit here according to my records. Will indeed be watching her departure this evening.

 

Do you happen to know her departure time? Thank you.

5 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

Pretty good close-up of QM2 on the Port Everglades Webcam at the moment. Perhaps worth posting another image since it has been a while since QM2 has visited Fort Lauderdale. January 20, 2016 was her last visit here according to my records. Will indeed be watching her departure this evening.

 

Live on the port cam is wonderful. We will be on her 7/1/2022 for the Canada NE cruise. Cant wait.

been watching the arrival into cana. now turning around to dock where "parking" available. 

really really tight fit does not look possible to dock in front of ccl magic

miracle steering being done

we loved the escape so sorry about the damage and everyone's canceled cruises.

We booked the Mardi Gras sailabration cruise 2 years ago. Paid top dollar at that time. A huge disappointment. All we heard was how many passengers getting the cruise for 50 or 150 etc. Not much worth buying in the shops. No free lanyard when boarding. Saw John Heald constantly and near us in the dining room. Holding court at his table. 

Extremely crowded ship, venues small for size of ship (had read this from others) and lack of staff in many places. Food was subpar. Steakhouse was bad and that was our third time on other ships so know it can be good. 

Most overhyped over priced cruise I have experienced. 

I did not see this (daughter was there) but the big thing of the cruise was the older woman in the main theatre lifting her shirt off and exposing herself to the audience and turning around to make sure they all saw her t..s.

In this case, for this cruise, we certainly did not get what we paid for on an over hyped walmart cruise. 

Thanks for the information you all provided. We always stay in a cp balcony. Now will cancel our nov wos cruise. Just got off the Mardi Gras and then the chaos at the Orlando airport and I need no more noise.

So bye bye Wonder.

1 minute ago, Saint Greg said:

 

That's going to be a serious adjustment back to full capacity. "small line 10 minutes." It was always no line in August.

Just wait till next week. Long lines will be the least of the issues. Can hardly wait for this anniversary cruise booked over 2 years ago. Will be fun!

35 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 I’ll share it at the end of the LIVE (just being careful with daughter here and all).

Sorry to have asked. I also do not like to post sensitive info on cruise critic. Just wondered if you were getting the smoking from below.  I hope not.

2 hours ago, Lee Cruiser said:

We are in that cabin in April.  Did you have a lounge chair or just the two upright chairs?

We did not have a lounge chair. You might be able to ask for one. Do not think it will fit.

17 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

Ha; don’t know why those images uploaded so small; we’ll try more room images later. Right now we are getting ready for the Sail Away Party!

Thank you doing all the work to share this with everyone. Can you share your cabin number? In Oct we were on deck 10 starboard side, 10355. Overlooking the Havana small pool and cabins. Below us was a smoking area for the crew and guess where the smoke drifted up to!!

We did not complain but we had booked the 3/5 cruise 2 years ago and now have a cabin right next to the Oct one.

Now in 10351. Nothing we can do. Yes, the cabins are long and narrow and bathrooms very compact and this shrinkage of space  be an issue for some  people.  

Try and go to summer landing  A great place if not crowded.

1 hour ago, 75Vette said:

Just checked into Galveston.  Had to show all documents.  I told her we completed VeriFLY and apparently trial process not in process yet.   She could care less. Complete waste of time. 

76 vette here-verifly is a timewaster. Hope you have a great cruise. We leave 3/5 on the Mardi.

On 2/22/2022 at 6:05 PM, adonisr said:

Got an email from Carnival encouraging us to download and use the VeriFly app for covid vax proof, test proof, heath accessment.

 

Except, even if you use the app, you still need to bring all of those documents with you.

 

Not much incentive to use the app in my opinion.

We got through half of it and it stopped working. Will not waste anymore time trying to do it.

2 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

We have a 10:00 to 10:30 check in and arrived at 9:30 by Uber. That wasn’t intentional, I just didn’t realize how quick the service would be. Since we are platinum this cruise they let us skip the long line for 10:00 people and we got to enter with the suites.

 

Even though we have everything loaded to VeriFLY they wanted to confirm with our paper copies.they said they are still in the test stages. 

Wonderful you got to enter with the suites. We also are platinum. Verifly was not fully operational when we loaded info onto it. Always bring paperwork since a hazard to depend on tech all the time. Have a great cruise. One week from now we will be where you are.

54 minutes ago, travelplus said:

WOW wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing.