canoncruiser

Two things ; there are no more cloth towels in the public lavatories-and the openings where they were to be deposited are now sealed up. The quality of the hot dogs has deteriorated. No more hot hors d’ouvres in the Commodore  Club (3 things!)😉 

Taxis will cost you a fortune. Depending on your luggage, call a car service or take the train from Southampton Central to Waterloo. Others may have some good tips about cars. 

I am on Celebrity Silhouette now, I am a great lover of Cunard; Celebrity and Cunard are chalk and cheese. I will be sailing home on QM2. After the pictures I am a bit nervous about our stops in Iceland. 😟

I did a very long cruise on Holland America' Prinsendam-loved it. They're all very different; mostly in good ways.

That beautiful poster would have been for London Euston to Liverpool service on the LMS-; before WW1 I believe all Cunard ships sailed from Liverpool. After that the express service went from Southampton. 

White Star was the first of the major Atlantic companies to shift to Southampton from which Oceanic and the 'Big Four' sailed before Olympic and Titanic. The London & Southwestern Ry. from Waterloo handled that service.

Apparently Liverpool was a difficult port for the very large liners even though both Cunard and White Star were HQ'd there. Also Southampton was closer to London and the continental ports,  The old White Star HQ is now a rather elegant and pricey hotel.☺️

Back in the day I sailed on QE and found out there was to be no Boat Train. Ship's staff said that after British railways were privatized, the ship had arrived  on two occasions to find that there was no train despite arrangements. Cunard gave up and began the bus service. Also I guess more and more folks now are headed to the airports and tours, rather than London-still the train was fast and very comfortable. The tracks are there at the QE terminal, but they're used for car carriers; and there are no tracks at the new Ocean Terminal. 😞

One has a table to one’s self- sheer bliss!😌

I have used Coriander several times and have enjoyed it immensely-food and service are superb , and the transformation of that section of the KC is very well done. Kudos to Cunard!😄

As to food-eat nothing you cannot lift!😉

Hate to be a color ‘nudge’ but the wine and bar stewards wear ‘maroon’ vests; they can be a bit scarce on Embarkation Day in KC but they are around and as was stated , another steward will find one for you if asked. Bottoms Up!😊

I did the WC on QE in 2016, I was in Britannia and I had an assigned table only for dinner.  If your table mates are a problem-you can change-the staff were very accommodating. Bon Voyage! 

On 7/10/2019 at 9:09 AM, TheOldBear said:

 

For Central Park, I would advise taking the Red Hook to Wall Street ferry - and then either taking the red line [#2 or #3] trains to Columbus Circle [south west corner of the park] or the green line [#5] to 59th st and Lexington Ave [near the south east corner of the park and 'museum row'.

 

Download a NYC Subway map here https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2019-07/subway_map_web.pdf 

Things to do in Central Park https://freetoursbyfoot.com/things-to-do-in-central-park/

 

 

As a New Yorker, I advise being very careful about which train to take from Wall St. to Central Park. The Red disc #1 is a Local and will take you to the SW Corner of Central Park @ 59th St. and Columbus Circle-you can catch it at South Ferry in front of the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The Red disc #s 2 & 3 are faster Expresses which you can take from Wall St. & William St. but you will have to change trains at Times Sq. and take a #1 to 59th. The 2 & 3 do not stop at 59th St. Also in front of the Ferry Terminal is a station for the Yellow disc M,N and R trains, which stop at 59th St and Fifth Ave on the SE Corner of Central Park-that puts you in front of the Plaza Hotel-you can the walk north to some of the museums or south to the fine stores and shops. Just make sure you give yourselves time to get back down to the Ferry ignorer to make your boarding deadline. Welcome to the Apple.😊

Thanks Bluemarble, things for us non Geeks always seem to get more not less complex despite the promise of an easy ‘brave new world’ with the internet. 😕

Hattie, have I missed something? What has happened to the Bridge Web-cam on Queen Mary2??? 😧

Hey Ho,

After many crossings -it’s a sheltered balcony for me, far forward on 5 Deck-if I can get one. I’m close to the A Stairs for the Commodore Club, and the Internet facility on 2 Deck. I can step outside even in some heavy weather, I like to feel the motion of the ship-if there is any- and it’s quiet. On 6 Deck one can hear the tramping above, and on 4Deck one occasionally hears the Theatre or other ’stuff’. So it’s 5 Deck for me, eve if I can’t be as far forward as I might like.😀

I’ve done a number of B to B TA’s and I’ve usually stayed on board-it’s wonderful! Like other folks, I sometimes dashed to Boot’s, usually to buy packets of Imperial Leather soap which I really like. Other than that, it’s great; recently I decided to cancel a tour to Windsor, and I was glad I did because it p......d down rain all day!!!! The cleaning and maintenance on ‘turnaround day is amazing, but there are lot’s of cozy places to read and think. 

A wise priest once said to a group of folks- please remember - some people are divinely led to hate. I’ve been reading reviews of those on the same crossing of QM2 and it’s as if the reviewers were in alternate universes- then I remembered a cruise a friend of mine and I made on QE2 NY to NY via the Med. We had really nice and delightful table-mates ; there were three different passenger lists, E’bound, Med. and W’bound. On the W’bound  I was delayed getting to lunch and from across the Columbia Restaurant I saw a look on her face which said WE ARE IN TROUBLE. A couple at our new table were already in drama; he was looking out of the window with a sour expression, and she was proclaiming to all in earshot the the silver was filthy and the table poorly set. She would not be molified; and went on to denounce her husband for selling “the Florida house”. We were able to change tables and had a delightful crossing.   Naw’ts as queer as folk!

We used to have US Immig. folks on the Westbound but that ended after 9/11. I was on the first Westbound trip of QE2 after the horrors - NY was still closed and we went to Boston and were bussed to NYC. The Immig. lads were boarded in Boston. It’s a pain, but that’s where things are with so much of our gov. these days-A PAIN.

Sounds like a Collector of Injustices-sorry you feel done by-but I’ve only crossed in Grill once, and that because of a surprise upgrade, and I’ve always been well received by Cunard staff and crew.  

Oh the memories! I made my first T/A on the FRANCE in 1969. I first met John M-G in that ship with his family-I have a picture of them on the stairway in the Chambord restaurant next to those wonderful and extravagant after dinner ‘bonbon’ baskets decorated with vast ribbons of striped candy. The waiters in that restaurant used to circulate with silver trolleys with ice  on which there were 5lb. tins of Beluga caviar - they would simply ask how much you wanted- and dish it out as per your request. No thimbles of caviar! There were wonderful nights in the Cafe de L’Atlantique-once some shipboard friends and I got drinks in that bar and went roaming in other bars where we also got drinks; when we came back to the bar in the Cafe the bar tender in mock horror noted that we had been in Tourist -our glasses were Tourist Class - not Lalique tumblers used in First! I made 5 crossings on the FRANCE-she was my fave. First or Tourist did not matter , the service , food and ambience were nonpareil.

In that awful year of 1974-my parents crossed in June and had a wonderful time - when they came home mother said there was considerable unease among the crew. Sure enough, my friends and I were booked on the sailing scheduled AFTER the one where the crew mutinied and that was the end of the FRANCE. 

I had the privilege of getting to know John and Mary M-G and dining with them-I hope his huge collection of memorabilia ended up in a good place. He also arranged for me to lead the memorial service on the 75th Anniversary of the loss of TITANIC next to what remained at the former Cunard Pier 54; at the dinner after we heard from Walter Lord about his further researches and we heard Song d’Automne for the first time. Oh the memories!

It may indeed be pond flat OR you may rock and roll, it’s hurricane season-in any event you will enjoy. 

Hi , There is the weather consideration as you live in the Snow Belt-but were I you, I would drive to NYC right after the Santa Claus event-if you are able and book a room in Brooklyn. You’ll be able to get a few hours sleep before you embark on the 8th. Bon Voyage!

If you’re interested, grab a Red Funnel ferry to the Ile of Wight and take s short bus ride to Osborne House. You can buy an inclusive ticket at the ferry ticket office. There was a nice pub outside of the main gate where we had a very nice lunch; or you can go directly back to the ship and have a late lunch there. 

I’ve disembarked several times with luggage to collect in the hall. I am Diamond-and I suppose that’s important-but having collected my bags, gotten a cab  to Southampton Central, bought a ticket and with no rushing , I managed to get the 9:30 Fast train up to Waterloo. I think it how quickly you can get off is the key. 

On the North Atlantic in April it’s almost anything goes as far as weather is concerned-except maybe for violent storms, but the way the weather out of Canada is behaving -prepare to dress warmly if you’re going to be on the outer decks.  If there is really ugly stuff up north or- as happened last year there was ice more southerly than usual - the Captain may take your farther to the south and it can be lovely on deck. Enjoy!

I find the HOLIDAY INN overlooking the port to be very clean and efficient. I know there are other places folks like but the place is comfy, close, reasonable and they lay on a decent breakfast. 

I did the full WC on QE in 2016--It was absolutely wonderful. We did not touch South America-it was Southampton to South Africa, Indian Ocean, Southern and Eastern Australia ,Rabaul, The Philippines , China, South Korea, lots of Japan, Taiwan ,  Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Dubai, Muscat, Suez, Malta, Spain and Southampton-I may have left something out. The overland tours were superb and the staff a delight.  One not so great thing-Cunard in what was obviously a a misconceived marketing move sold two and three day ‘hop on hop off’ trips in southern Australia. Bad move Cunard!

I ‘ve been on QE and QV but not since QV’s refit. Until now I prefer QE.

I went around SAmerica on Prinsendam-that was also a great cruise-68 days- with outstanding tours. 

You’ll have a grand time-Enjoy!