QM2 7 Oct Crossing log

[Underwatr]

Ok, I know people live for these (I know I do, anyway) so I'll try posting off and on during the crossing...

 

Saturday morning, October 8

 

This is our third cruise, and actually it’s the cruise for which we had taken up cruising a year ago. Last summer we were thinking about what we’d like to do for our 25th anniversary and it occurred to us that a cruise would be a good way to celebrate. But we thought it would be a good idea to take a shorter cruise first before we did a “big” cruise for our anniversary. So last year we cruised to Quebec City aboard the QM2 and realized that cruising – particularly on Cunard – was something for us. Shortly after getting back from Quebec we had booked our second cruise from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. Then we were convinced that we’d be somewhere on a cruise ship for our anniversary and what remained was just where. This week’s crossing fit that bill quite nicely.

 

We had taken Amtrak into New York from Pennsylvania on Thursday and stayed at an inexpensive hotel in Brooklyn (Super 8 Brooklyn/Park slope, if anyone cares – low frills, small room, but new, inexpensive for NYC and very convenient to Red Hook) Thursday night. Their checkout time was 11 AM so we arrived a Red Hook about that time. At this time there was no line whatsoever so we were processed and waiting to board by about 11:30. The members of the orchestra that will be performing during the crossing were conspicuous in the boarding lounge both by their general youth and by their cello cases. And for some of them, their yoga poses.

 

We were admitted just after noon and soon found our way up to our stateroom on Deck 11. Last year we had a sheltered balcony on the 5th deck, but the improved visibility from inside the room given by a glass-front balcony encouraged us to spend the very little extra to move up to an A2. We’ll see whether we use the balcony, but the view is nice.

 

Rather than bore you with details about lunch, sailaway, etc., I’ll offer some initial observations…

- The soft spots under the carpet in common areas are very noticeable. I even saw other passengers exploring the spots in the Grand Lobby with the toes of their shoes.

- Mr. Rouse: Which dinner seating do you think will plan to attend a 7:45 “Welcome aboard” show? It was too early for first seating diners and AFAIK too late for second seating.

- Three of the six B elevators were out of service last night, causing backlogs when the sailaway traffic on 12 & 13 tried to get down to 2 & 3 for dinner.

- Deck 11 Forward sure does feel a long way away from Britannia & The Golden Lion. But we’re very convenient to the forward observation deck and probably the Pavilion Pool.

- Thus far, QM2 is a much smoother ride than QV. We were also forward on QV and there was generally some shuddering against the waves. But there’s no sea state at the moment aboard QM2 so maybe things will pick up (we rode in Sea State 9 on QM2 last year and it was almost pleasant).

 

Today is starting out to be a nice day. DW has a spa appointment for 9 AM so we’ve opted for an expanded Room Service breakfast – eggs and yogurt to supplement our normal 7 AM fruit plate and coffee. Looking at the Daily Programme I might be free to read until 11:30 trivia in the pub.

[transatlantic fan]

Ok, I know people live for these (I know I do, anyway) so I'll try posting off and on during the crossing...

 

Saturday morning, October 8

 

This is our third cruise, and actually it’s the cruise for which we had taken up cruising a year ago. Last summer we were thinking about what we’d like to do for our 25th anniversary and it occurred to us that a cruise would be a good way to celebrate. But we thought it would be a good idea to take a shorter cruise first before we did a “big” cruise for our anniversary. So last year we cruised to Quebec City aboard the QM2 and realized that cruising – particularly on Cunard – was something for us. Shortly after getting back from Quebec we had booked our second cruise from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. Then we were convinced that we’d be somewhere on a cruise ship for our anniversary and what remained was just where. This week’s crossing fit that bill quite nicely.

 

We had taken Amtrak into New York from Pennsylvania on Thursday and stayed at an inexpensive hotel in Brooklyn (Super 8 Brooklyn/Park slope, if anyone cares – low frills, small room, but new, inexpensive for NYC and very convenient to Red Hook) Thursday night. Their checkout time was 11 AM so we arrived a Red Hook about that time. At this time there was no line whatsoever so we were processed and waiting to board by about 11:30. The members of the orchestra that will be performing during the crossing were conspicuous in the boarding lounge both by their general youth and by their cello cases. And for some of them, their yoga poses.

 

We were admitted just after noon and soon found our way up to our stateroom on Deck 11. Last year we had a sheltered balcony on the 5th deck, but the improved visibility from inside the room given by a glass-front balcony encouraged us to spend the very little extra to move up to an A2. We’ll see whether we use the balcony, but the view is nice.

 

Rather than bore you with details about lunch, sailaway, etc., I’ll offer some initial observations…

- The soft spots under the carpet in common areas are very noticeable. I even saw other passengers exploring the spots in the Grand Lobby with the toes of their shoes.

- Mr. Rouse: Which dinner seating do you think will plan to attend a 7:45 “Welcome aboard” show? It was too early for first seating diners and AFAIK too late for second seating.

- Three of the six B elevators were out of service last night, causing backlogs when the sailaway traffic on 12 & 13 tried to get down to 2 & 3 for dinner.

- Deck 11 Forward sure does feel a long way away from Britannia & The Golden Lion. But we’re very convenient to the forward observation deck and probably the Pavilion Pool.

- Thus far, QM2 is a much smoother ride than QV. We were also forward on QV and there was generally some shuddering against the waves. But there’s no sea state at the moment aboard QM2 so maybe things will pick up (we rode in Sea State 9 on QM2 last year and it was almost pleasant).

 

Today is starting out to be a nice day. DW has a spa appointment for 9 AM so we’ve opted for an expanded Room Service breakfast – eggs and yogurt to supplement our normal 7 AM fruit plate and coffee. Looking at the Daily Programme I might be free to read until 11:30 trivia in the pub.

Many thanks for taking the time to post, we join the ship on Friday.

[north east girl]

Hi Underwatr, Thanks for taking the time to post live from QM2. Like you we wanted to do something special for aur 25th anniversary. We decided to try QM2 and have been hooked ever since.

 

Will look forward to your reports throughout your journey. Have a very enjoyable anniversary.

 

Catherine

[eratog2]

Thank you so much for posing this Underwatr - I'm doing the crossing next year, so am following your voyage with great interest. Look forward to reading more from you :)

[heywood]

Thanks for your time Underwatr,

 

as you say we love to sail along with those on board at the moment :)

 

heywood

[BlueRiband]

We’ll see whether we use the balcony, but the view is nice.

Even if you don't spend much time out there the view of the ocean is wonderful. I slept with the curtains open and woke to sunrise at sea. Who's going to see you? A freighter captain with a good pair of binoculors?

 

Mr. Rouse: Which dinner seating do you think will plan to attend a 7:45 “Welcome aboard” show?

Dumb scheduling for sure.

 

Three of the six B elevators were out of service last night, causing backlogs when the sailaway traffic

Half the B and C elevators are used for baggage transport on embarkation days. You'll encounter the same thing the evening before you arrive in Southampton.

 

Thanks for starting the log, as I'm eager to learn how th QM2 handles crossings in colder weather.

[weary traveler]

glad to see you're underway and with calm seas.. i brought a group down to Red Hook yesterday from Boston/Cambridge and there were fears of delayed sailing due to issues on the previous cruise.. but everything looks good and wish you all a great trip

[Oahucruiser]

NIce to see the webcam show calm seas after watching the wild ride of a few days ago. Are you doing a back to back returning to New York? Thanks for posting this; I love to read them too.

[rgaudet]

I had a forward A2 cabin earlier this year and loved. Yup, far from the Brittania restaurant, but very convenient to the library, and the commodore club!

 

Looking forward to reading about your voyage. Have a great time!

[pepperrn]

Thanks for taking the time to post, great to read, I also join the ship on Friday. Looking forward to more, will bring back memories of my crossing in May this year I'm sure. Best wishes and good luck to you.

 

Bon Voyage!

[rgaudet]

Thanks for taking the time to post, great to read, I also join the ship on Friday. Looking forward to more, will bring back memories of my crossing in May this year I'm sure. Best wishes and good luck to you.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

I am so jealous of you folks that are doing more than one crossing this year. I never new it would be so addictive!

 

Look forward to more great photos Pepper!

[Underwatr]

Half of the B lifts are still not working. We're close to the A lifts including the scenic lift down to 7 so it's very minor.

 

---

 

Saturday, October 8

After depositing DW at the Canyon Ranch spa (she’s a bit directionally challenged, particularly for the first couple of days onboard, which is one reason I tend to book starboard side forward rooms, to provide some continuity between journeys) I made my way over to the library. I noticed the brainteaser/trivia quiz was available, and since the instructions said research from books in the library was permitted (just no internet searches) I set out to find the research section to find answers for most of the questions I didn’t know off the top of my head. We’ll see how it goes.

 

Then a bit of wandering to find the a la carte schedule (the menu in Lotus sounds intriguing; probably we’ll book a table there later in the week) and to find a battery for my alarm clock – it’s losing 2 or 3 minutes an hour on its old battery. DW arrived from the spa scrubbed and polished to within an inch of her life and is now enjoying the warmth and sun on the balcony. Lots of people walking the Promenade in a mix of short sleeves and light sweaters. The light breeze is from the south which makes the 60 degree air temperature very pleasant. We’re headed due east, which is a more southerly route than I had expected, but this conforms to the chart posted on Deck 12(?). QM2 balcony doors have a latch in the open position so I’m enjoying the air while typing.

---

We arrived rather late at the Golden Lion for the trivia quiz and so I had to compete as a team of 1. My score of 12 correct was in the middle; it appears that many onboard are more familiar with the names of both of Frank Sinatra’s actress wives. We remained in the pub for lunch; I had the cottage pie and DW had the lamb korma. I now know that cottage pie has ground beef in it, and not “cottage” as we were once told by a waiter onboard Queen Victoria.

 

I’ve just now returned from the CC meet in the Commodore Club. It was a fairly good turnout, with over 20 people all told. Some names/usernames I remember and some I don’t, so I’ll just say that they were all fascinating conversationalists. Someone remarked that it seemed a bit strange to meet and not be able to talk about plans for ports of call, but we still managed to find topics of discussion to fill an hour and a quarter.

[DKNYC]

Hi Underwatr

Happy Anniversary and thank you for posting your "Log". I enjoyed the A2 cabin I had a couple of years back. I had to endure a bit of rough water up there though. I found it fun, but had to hold on tight for a couple of nights.:eek:

I have noticed those soft spots that you spoke about. Hope they take care of those during the upcoming spruce up.

 

Denise

[southwestie]

GREAT to read, keep it going,

 

we are on a B2B next week,

 

 

see you there DKNY as we always do cruising the world together:)

[Lanky Lad]

Thanks for strating the blog, I will look foward to reading about your progress to Southamtpon, not least because I am boarding there :)

[eratog2]

Enjoying your blog so much, keep on please :)

[Underwatr]

Quick tip – the starboard side scenic elevatorthat runs between decks 7 and 11 will drop you right into the library on deck 8.

 

Quick tip – if you’ve never cruised on Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth, instead of teak their promenades are decked with the same substance that’s used for decking in the forward “Commodore’s Cufflinks” area of deck 7 on QM2. Slippery when wet…

 

Observation in the Daily Programme – “No more art auctions.”

 

Observation in the Daily Programme – “The dress code in the a la carte venues does not require a jacket for gentlemen.” I had hoped it was for the summer season only…

 

W e opted out of shaking the Captain’s hand (he’s just a Captain, not a Commodore or anything) and made our way toward dinner, pausing for some prom photos on the staircase in the grand lobby. Our table for six had only four guests again tonight; we’re told that the missing couple apparently is celebrating an anniversary tonight and so that may be why they’re absent. The two with whom we’ve eaten for the past two nights are a retired couple from Illinois recently relocated to Texas, both very entertaining and excellent dinner companions. Tonight’s show is a performance by Robert Meadmore, apparently someone with some West End credentials. I’ll attend; DW prefers a book and a glass.

[southwestie]

Quick tip – the starboard side scenic elevatorthat runs between decks 7 and 11 will drop you right into the library on deck 8.

 

Quick tip – if you’ve never cruised on Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth, instead of teak their promenades are decked with the same substance that’s used for decking in the forward “Commodore’s Cufflinks” area of deck 7 on QM2. Slippery when wet…

 

Observation in the Daily Programme – “No more art auctions.”

 

Observation in the Daily Programme – “The dress code in the a la carte venues does not require a jacket for gentlemen.” I had hoped it was for the summer season only…

 

W e opted out of shaking the Captain’s hand (he’s just a Captain, not a Commodore or anything) and made our way toward dinner, pausing for some prom photos on the staircase in the grand lobby. Our table for six had only four guests again tonight; we’re told that the missing couple apparently is celebrating an anniversary tonight and so that may be why they’re absent. The two with whom we’ve eaten for the past two nights are a retired couple from Illinois recently relocated to Texas, both very entertaining and excellent dinner companions. Tonight’s show is a performance by Robert Meadmore, apparently someone with some West End credentials. I’ll attend; DW prefers a book and a glass.

 

I am sure the other 2 will join you this evening, the sea looks very calm today and I am told all is well on board.

 

We dont bother with the Captain either, nor the Commodore come to that at the parties you see them all over the ship anyway, Robert Meadmore is okay, not done much in the west and what he did was not for long, the show will fine, I hope you enjoy it, I would join your DW with the book though:)

 

Cunard have stopped ALL the art auctions thank goodness, you get free bubbly though just by walking in and looking, nice if the art is what you like.QE had a great art collection

 

You dont need a jacket for the a la catre now, so many people like to go and not wear one it seems, I feel thats a shame, nice to dress up a little:)

 

Enjoy the rest of the voyage, always nice to read

[BlueRiband]

Commodore Rynd is on planned leave and the current QM2 master is Kevin Oprey.

 

I'm glad to hear that the CC gatherings at the Commondore Club have resumed. On my Sept 5th EB it never happened and on the Sept 20 WB only two members arrived.

The CC gathering in the Commodore Club is a bust and never happens. Two couples quietly reading, one man on his laptop, and a European couple who has brought their loud toddler into a bar. It’s a disappointment as the previous posts described it as a congenial gathering.

[Lanky Lad]

Tonight’s show is a performance by Robert Meadmore, apparently someone with some West End credentials. I’ll attend; DW prefers a book and a glass.

 

I have seen him on Queen Victoria and thought he was very good :)

[southwestie]

He also does tours with songs from the shows etc:)

[Cape Cod Sally]

Commodore Rynd is on planned leave and the current QM2 master is Kevin Oprey.

 

I'm glad to hear that the CC gatherings at the Commondore Club have resumed. On my Sept 5th EB it never happened and on the Sept 20 WB only two members arrived.

 

Hi Marie,

 

CC did meet on the Sept. 5th crossing--in the board room off the Commodore Club. I was wandering around and someone called out. So others might check there,too, when trying to find the group. I'd say there were 10+there.

 

Sally

[north east girl]

GREAT to read, keep it going,

 

we are on a B2B next week,

 

 

see you there DKNY as we always do cruising the world together:)

Lucky you Rob, wish I could have been there. Haven't got much holiday left for this year. Will have to wait until April 2012.

 

Catherine

[north east girl]

Hi underwatr, I have seen Robert Meadmore and thought he was very good. Definately worth making the effort to go.

 

Catherine

[Underwatr]

I did see Robert Meadmore last night - very nice voice although we Americans can only think of Danny Boy when we hear a tenor like that.

 

Sunday, October 9

 

I woke up early this morning while it was still dark. It was a clear night and I managed to see a meteor and a satellite pass over. Encouraged, I went down to the forward area of Deck 7 (forward of the bridge where there are few lights and a good sky view) but didn’t manage to see anything more. We’re still having excellent weather with low breezes and temperatures in the mid 60s even at 6 AM. Now that the sun has risen I can see that there are more clouds than yesterday but maybe it will burn off.

 

We’re continuing our eastern course, current position at 8:15 ship’s time is 40 degrees, 40 minutes N (more or less the same latitude as New York), 55 degrees 17 minutes W (on a line south of Newfoundland) sailing at 23 knots. We’ll turn to the east-northeast sometime this afternoon and remain on that heading until just off the southwest coast of England.

 

We had breakfast in Britannia seated with 6 British people. One of them was Jeff Tall who is onboard as a lecturer on submarines. It turned out that all of the men seated at the table were former submariners.