sarafinadh

There is no such thing as an out of fashion Tuxedo ; -)

My husband started off on the 80s with a vintage 60s brooks brothers worsted shawl collared single breasted. Later he added a winter white worsted tropical dinner jacket, shawl collar, with black trew.

In the 90s he added a contemporary worsted peak lapel double breasted. For fun he had a 40s double breasted wool flannel with grosgrain peak lapels. THAT was stylin!

Recently he acquired, in Italy, a classic superfine single with peaked lapels with a matte satin lapel, AND a gorgeous midnight blue shantung shawl collared with a matte satin black lapel. The Italian suits are tailored within and inch of his life, and the fit improved when he lost 5 lbs. The Italian tailors take their body consciousness to extremes ; -)

If his shape hadn't changed over the years there is not one of those suits that he couldn't put on and wear today. Our nephew benefited from his uncle's excellent wardrobe contents when it was time to part with things that no longer suited Himself's mature figger!

The one caveat to that is the observation that if it was made in the '70s, and isn't black, or has bell bottoms, then it was never a tuxedo to begin with!

And a good tailor can fix the taper of those pants!

No complaints here about the stall. Just the curtain ; -) And I am guessing from comments that Himself will have to shave himself if we ever sail on the QV or QE. I shudder at that thought!

I was impressed with the over all cabin layout and finishes. The couch wasn't plush, but it wasn't disgraceful either.

Reading Fennoexpress's comments I would offer that there is a possible improvement to the library, as nice as it is now. All of the cases lock and secure for the night. Every morning and every evening the poor schmoo who works it has to manually unlock and open ALL of those glass doors.

It would be a simple job to wire in electronic locks that could all open and close at the touch of a button. It took him almost 45 minutes to open it all up. People were waiting on him getting to the section they wished to look into. Clearly he was frazzled and feeling the pressure.

They wouldn't need to go to the much more complicated effort of installing opening and closing doors. People are easily capable of opening any case that has titles and subjects that interest them, so the doors would be opened by passengers, or the librarian could unlock them all and then manually open the doors, but passengers would have access to the books once the locks were open and wouldn't be waiting around whilst he went thru the stacks each morning.

It isn't a big thing but it would make mornings in the library much easier and more pleasant.

Regarding the splash pool and regatta bar. I think that is the deck up on top(?), where there is a grill/buffet that makes burgers. On our crossing we had lunch there twice and it was lovely, and there were many other passengers lunching as well. Perhaps at other times it is less used.

But on our crossing it was good weather and it was a very nice place to sit and eat excellent burgers. Ask them to stack two raw pattys and grill them together. They managed a very nice rare burger, juicy and flavourful, instead of the dry grey ufos in the buffet tray ; -)

I can imagine in hotter climes it would be very busy. Some shade might be needed in that case, Retractable awnings? We wouldn't have wanted to sit in the shade when we were there. The weather wasn't THAT lovely!

And I will throw in another thought. How about taking one of these under utilized spaces, or part of one of them and creating a closed smoking lounge with GOOD ventilation and comfortable seating and bar service. Much of the time The QM2 is crossing in very cold weather, even when the weather is nice it is not often warm, especially in the evening.

Perhaps that regatta bar space? A lounge and bar and deck space, covered and uncovered, where smoking is allowed and comfortable?

As a non smoker myself I value a smoke free environment, but the passengers who are smokers pay the same fares as the rest of us and while they are responsible for their smoking some sympathy would not go amiss.

Himself became a smoker at 19, in the jungles of Vietnam when the danger of death by cancer was a possibility so remote as to not even weigh against the immediate threat he and his fellows was facing each day. Attempts to quit have not been successful. He wishes to, but unlike some, has not been able to.

It is very possible to find a way to graciously accommodate the (many) passengers with a need for such a space. And a smart accommodation would lessen the interaction and irritation that non smoking passengers have with them.

The winter garden was almost unused on our trip. It seems like a good option for a three meal a day premium restaurant space to add some options beyond TE and the pop ups. This is an area where the QM2 is somewhat lacking compared to other ships. Entertainment supper club is an excellent idea ; -)

Colin, If it's the dog houses on the QM2 I would be happy to book cheap fare for my SELF ; -) Pretty Posh!

QE2Fan, My mind boggles at over EIGHT years aboard!!

But at 8 days x 45 crossings, I would be well into my 90's before I managed to give you a run fer yer money, lol!

All I have to do is go to Europe once a year for the rest of my life. I can handle that!

And if I ever get to where crossing over AND back is an option I could manage it much more rapidly.... Or maybe two trips a year some years... The possibilities titillate!

QE2Fan

We were on that Aug 27th sailing out of NY.

It was amazing, the weather was just perfect the whole way across. Warm enough for me to be in the pool briefly and then in the spa for the sail away, when I wasn't dancing on the deck ; -)

The stars at night were a blanket across the sky and the ocean was bright and clear with long intervals and small swells. There were a few whale sightings but I missed them.

We spent hours out by the Terrace Pool just lazing in the sunshine.

Loubetti

Please, Sandinistas wear re-tred sandals and espadrilles. Nothing like!! lol

Artemis,

If I had the resources I'd do both ways happily, but such is life. I am a wreck before a trip, chronic procrastinator you know. Since I have to choose I figure I can arrive home and collapse on my own dime until my body clock gets caught up and the laundry gets done ; -)

And to all, the "Crossing" is already on my reading list! Once that Mount Washmore is shrunk down to size a bit...

Nope ; -)

With two we could take turns holding the curtain somewhat in place.

Seriously.

You were told right!

Tight, but not impossible ; -)

There was a bath mat and we used it, but it was totally insufficient for the amount of water that splashed out. You could either position the curtain closer to the shower head so it didn't spray out there, or closer to the far side of the opening so it didn't spray out there. If you positioned it in the middle it sprayed out on both sides of the curtain and was even worse. But prolly most of the water was off the bottom of the curtain. Since it was only "just" as long as the opening it shifted in and out with the least movement, rather than staying mostly put inside of the shower. And that just sheeted the water straight down the curtain and onto the floor. When we finished showering and drying we used our towels to sop up the mess, which meant we had to have new towels each day, rather wasteful. Perhaps ours was smaller than most, I hope so. Be forewarned if you stay in stateroom 5027, which was in all other respects is a lovely cabin. I felt like Russel Crowe, only with fewer animals aboard ; -)

Loubetti,

As my daughter, the linguist, often reminds me; language is a living thing and it changes. You just didn't read down the page in the dictionary far enough!

Cu•nard

noun \ku-ˈnärd also -ˈnurd\

: An American based firm with British roots

Full Definition of CUNARD

1

a : a maritime company founded in Britain in the 19th century ; especially : a British Institution.

b : a British National Treasure now held in Corporate serfdom to an American Company

2 : a corporate branch of the worlds largest maritime passenger parent corporation; also : the jewel in the crown of Carnival Corporation

See Cunard defined for English-language learners » (Read; Americans, who haven’t spoken it for years)

Cu•nard•er

noun \ku-ˈnärd-ˈer also -ˈnurd-ˈer \

: A Ship in the Cunard fleet, an American based firm with British roots also: A passenger who has traveled with the Cunard fleet, an American based firm with British roots

Full Definition of CUNARDER

1

a : a large ocean going vessel belonging to the Cunard fleet; especially : a fleet of British influenced passenger ships

b : an enormous ship with distinctive black, red and white colouration and flagging

c : a ship named for and christen by a member of the British royal family

2

a : a customer, client, passenger or former passenger of Cunard

b : an individual with a predilection for the recreated ambiance of mid 20th century ocean travel

c : an addict in need of a fix

See Cunarder defined for English-language learners » (Read; Americans, who haven’t spoken it for years)

Cu•nard•is•ta

noun \ku-ˈnärd-ˈes-ˈta also -ˈnurd-ˈ es-ˈta

1 a female passenger of a Cunarder

2 a female partner, companion or spouse of a Cunarder (see Cunarder for disambiguation)

Full Definition of CUNARDISTA

1

a : a woman or girl who travels with Cunard

b : a female passenger of a Cunarder

c : a Cunarder who requires an extra piece of luggage to transport the shoes that accompany her wardrobe for dressing for all the evening events aboard the Cunarder she travels on

2

a : a spouse, wife, partner, girlfriend, companion of a Cunarder

b : an female Cunarder with a predilection for the recreated ambiance of mid 20th century ocean travel

c : an addict in need of a fix; both of a crossing with her Cunarder on a Cunarder, and a new pair of shoes

See Cunardista defined for English-language learners » (Read; Americans, who haven’t spoken it for years)

I know this is terribly pedestrian, but the shower curtains are dreadful.

I mean, really? Who thinks that the optimal dimensions of a curtain exactly match the opening they are trying to cover?

The one in our head needed to be three inches longer and ten inches wider.

The floor flooded every time we showered and there was nothing we could do to prevent it. It was a soggy mess.

We can be social and chatty on occasion, but overall prefer to spend time together. It wasn't a problem at all.

We found the MDR too noisy and crowded, even our two top had people sitting elbow to elbow with us. We just moved ourselves to The alternate dining option, Todd English on the QM2, and the Italian pop up one night, which for a reasonable cost gave us any time seating, as we chose, much nicer tables and far more attentive service.

Our waiters in the MDR stopped us once when we were passing thru to say they had missed us, but I think they were being polite and wanting an ided if we would be showing up again. We let them know that we would not and thanked them for their lovely service the night we had dined in the MDR. It wasn't their fault they were spread to thin among their tables and the sommelier in the area we were assigned to was ignorant.

As others have said, you can be as chatty or retiring as you choose, but if the MDR situation bothers you try the alternate route. It made a huge difference in our experience.

A number of years ago I was a reluctant cruiser facing a cruise for the first time. I used the information I gathered here, as well as at other sites, to educate myself about how cruising worked and how the Alaskan cruise we were going to be taking in particular would be. The guidance I received here was invaluable and made it possible to plan the best possible trip for my family. At the end of that trip I concluded that cruising was not for me, and I would not ever care to set foot on board one of these floating mini Las Vegas behemoths again.

For all sorts of reasons I wound up booking a crossing on the Queen Mary 2 and again I turned to the experienced community here to bone up on what I needed to know before we sailed.

And now I can say that this reluctant cruiser not only crossed the Atlantic, but crossed over to being a Cunardista.

I feel quite confident that the multi port island hopping cruising vacations are not going to ever be my cuppa, but a crossing on one of the Cunard ladies? As a stress reducing time change managing lead into traveling? You bet. If I had my way and endless resources I would take the ship there and back everytime I went to Europe. As it is I think we will just sail over and then fly back.

We arrived in England refreshed and on the right time, ready to really enjoy our travels in Europe.

The food was about as expected, and we did wind up eating in TE for the week. Even if the menu was a bit limited for that many nights dining, Louis and his staff were such a pleasure each evening and took such good care of us it was more than worth it to us. Being able to dine when we wanted was a bonus as well. We would have paid gobs more to sail up a class to Britannia Club and would have still been eating from the same kitchen, off of tables that are elbow to elbow with other diners.

The lectures were excellent quality and we both enjoyed them. The dancing in the Queens Room was wonderful. Tea was a nice middle of the day break. Our stateroom was comfortable and in good condition. For the most part staff provided excellent service all over the ship.

For the most part our fellow passengers were a pleasure to meet. We had a really wonderful group in the Commanders Club the first sea day and it was fun meeting all the CC Cunardists in person.

Over all it was a relaxing enjoyable 8 days. Halifax was a pleasant break on the third day but we would have been just as happy to have had a 7 day passage and no port day.

Himself surprised me with a wedding. We had never had a vow ceremony, just the legal business ten years ago, and I was totally surprised and touched and delighted once I figured out I was NOT the (first) guest at a cocktail party being held by the captain, but was a bride instead. Cunard pulled off the surprise and the ceremony and a little reception following with all the charm and appeal you could ask for.

What a pleasant surprise it was; not only did I not dislike it, I actually loved it so much I would do it again!

So, a Reluctant Cruiser, perhaps, but not a reluctant Cunardist. I have Crossed over!

Thanks to all here who helped me before hand, we took excellent advantage of the inside info to maximize our trip!

Err... watch?

Sorry, haven't worn one in decades. That's what my cell phone is for. I got my first cell phone in '89 and never looked back.

I view it as a big pocket watch ; -)

But of course with the phones turned off for the voyage they didn't update, and I am not sure that the daily change related directly to the satellite signal time, so even if we had turned them on it would have been manual changes. And carrying around a cell phone so you would have a pocket watch seems silly.

It would have just been nice if the TV channel that said it would show the time would have actually shown the time.

And the wake up call worked very well for us. Easy to set from the phone.

As everyone has pretty much pointed out, no they don't. Which I pretty much expected. What made it a problem for us was the cell phones were turned off and the time changed EVERY day, so we never knew what time it was. Occasionally we missed things we were interested in because of it. When we were out and about we just asked a fellow passenger for the time, but in the cabin the TV channel which was supposed to provide the ships time rarely had it posted. Mostly it was blank. I would up calling the front desk and asking, which was a waste of our time, and theirs.

I got the new Cunarder EMag today and had to smile when I saw the list of especially dedicated Cunardists. I couldn't help but think that at least some of you must be around these halls somewhere ; -)

Mrs Maxine Bernstein M411 2,961

Mr & Mrs Petitpren M404 2,187

Miss Erma Klindt M405 2,062

Mrs Theresa Turner V402 1,865

Mr George Hozey Q403 1,492

Mr & Mrs Frost M406 900

Mrs Joan Engelbosch M403 715

I recently carried flowers on board and had some from the on board florist as well. The red roses from the on board florist held up well and we carried the bouquet off at Southampton with no issue.

Oh it seemed just the opposite to me. The Britannia packs diners in like minnows, or sardines. In oil so we slip together even closer.

The grills were more spacious looking thru the windows,a nd for us one of the big draws at Todd's was the spacious seating. Made a world of difference.

We were in the duty free shop, he bought two boxes, we took them with us right then.

Yep, Himself purchased onboard QM2 and smoked'em while we were sailing.

The selection was limited. No Spirits. He wound up with Dunhills and doesn't much like them. They have the bigger brands I guess.

Don't get me wrong, I know the joy of the correct shoe. But on the ship, walking around in the evening, dining before the dancing and then strolling back to the cabin after, I would much rather have on a pair of heels that are comfortable, stable for walking, and fair for dancing, than dancing shoes, which never suit me style wise, and are not good for any of the activities off the dance floor. Perhaps mens' dance shoes are more forgiving when called upon to multi task, but ladies dance shoes are NOT ; -)

I would need to be a much better dancer than I am to take dancing shoes to change in and out of, and that's what I wold have to do. Dance shoes are tricky to walk in, oddly enough...

And the floor was so crowded and the boat rolling a bit made it so that any tempo irregularities by the band seemed far overshadowed by the irregularities by those of us on the dance floor. The good news was we figured out that everyone lurches with the roll of the ship at the SAME time. So it sorta works it n the end. I only got stepped on a few times. And once it was by my own partner ; -)

Ok, Ok, I can take a hint. But a detailed report will have to wait. I am in Paris right now, enjoying life on Il Saint Louis and headed to Florence on Wednesday at an obscenely early hour. Poor me, huh?

But the Ascot night was MUCH more of a fun deal than I expected, and I just downloaded all our pictures thus far and noticed this one as I was scrolling thru...

They started a chain and wove all thru the audience collecting ladies, many on the arms of their partners. I hooked up a lovely lady who was demurring she was too embarrassed and pulled her along with "good, we can be embarrassed together ; -)"

The line at least went all around the outside of the dance floor when we got back to it, to promenade. I don't know that this is the usual drill, but Imogen, the hostess, was so sweet she got everyone on their feet. The littlest lady was in the middle on this pic and did she ever have a ball dancing her way around ; -)

I never saw you wearing 3" heels Bob! I can't imagine what you were tisked about ; -)

You looked very nice in your Gentleman's attire and all the ladies dancing with you seemed to enjoy your lead! My friend Amanda thought you did an excellent chacha.

But your shoes looked to me as if they made the one inch tea height, no problem!

Final update on the fascinating topic. I was ASTOUNDED at how many ladies were wearing festive headgear of some sort on our recent crossing. Ascot night brought out a plethora of offerings, and a crafting session was held that afternoon for those who wished to get in on the fun but not brought along anything to wear.

Ok, yet another redundant answer ; -)

Scones with out raisins were available but seemed to run out. Ask if you don't see them.

Initially I was served sweet whipped cream. I asked for clotted cream and got an unsweetened cream that might have been clotted cream or might have been very heavy whipping cream well beaten just to the point of becoming butter. It was an improvement.

First hand review here. This is for a 'Renewal'. Himself surprised me on our recent crossing. We did not need the legal bits done, but had never formally 'exchanged vows'. So for us it was the first time we had a ceremony.

The staff was tickled to arrange it as a surprise. I thought I was attending a cocktail party with the Captain on the night of the Black & White Ball. I was so clueless I was initially a bit annoyed Himself had insisted that we be "on time" and were the first guests. To my surprise there were no other guests ; -)

As we entered, the Capt's PA (thank you Hazel!) handed me a lovely bouquet of red roses and the entertainment hostess pinned a red rose boutonniere on to his lapel. (sorry I forgot the name, but thank you too)

Once I figured out what was happening, and mopped my face up with the thoughtfully provided tissue, I realized there were lovely flower arrangements and a photographer in a handsome kilt (thank you Tom Tom!)

Captain Wells made the ceremony very thoughtful and hit just the right note. It was all a bit overwhelming, in the best way possible.

After there was champagne and a strawberry cream cake, beautifully decorated. The Captain, hostess and assistant along with the photographer and a very kind waiter helped us celebrate. They were all very generous with their time and we did not feel rushed at all. Later Tom Tom, in his cool kilt, escorted us around the ship to his favorite photo spots. We had fun and other passengers were generous in their best wishes.

It was all very professional, in the very best way, but also very warm. I know this is a packaged service they offer but for all that it was very personal and sincere. They made us feel very comfortable and very special in a private way. It did not feel scripted at all. Of course some of that may have been all the giggling as I slowly figured out what was up.

Beautifully done and the photos will remind us always of that special day!

Go try a transatlantic crossing. you will love it. The ladies will be delighted to dance with you and you will find endless companionship. Do not place too high an expectation on the food. It is basically good quality banquet meals. Like a high end cafeteria. On the QM2 Todd English offers better product than the MDR.

The music and lectures are sure to please.

Sara