Can't wait!

[grifval5]

Hi everyone,

I am so pleased that I have found this Message Board. We are cruising for the first time on October 15th (2 weeks) to the Med on QE2. We have talked about cruising for a while, and have always admired the looks and history of QE2. I now live in the north of England, but have strong links with Southampton, having lived there until I was 16, and my father was a Customs & Excise Officer at the Docks for many years. I remember faintly that I was even taken aboard a couple of the 'big' ships when I was a child, including the ' Queen Mary' when we visited my father at work.

I am now trying to glean all information about sailing on the QE2, and have picked up many tips reading your bulletins.

A couple of questions, if I may ask:

1. The Med in October. Is it chilly on the decks? Any chance of reclining and sunbathing? What outdoor clothes are needed?

2. Are there any class restricted areas besides the usual restaurant ones?

Many thanks if you can help me out with these:)

Grifval5

[Transatlantic Tom]

Hi everyone,

 

We are cruising for the first time on October 15th (2 weeks) to the Med on QE2.

 

Are there any class restricted areas besides the usual restaurant ones?

 

Grifval5

 

All I can think of, in terms of restricted areas on QE2, are two lounges: Queen's Grill Lounge (on Boat Deck, starboard) and Princess Grill Lounge (which is accessed on One Deck, I think). These two lounges are, as you would imagine, reserved only for passengers eating in the Grill restaurants.

 

Other than that, the ship is your's to explore.

 

QE2 is a great ship, well worth the wait !!

 

Have a wonderful time !!!

 

Tom:)

[sfo-john]

Yes, and the two lounges that Tom pointed out are rather small anyway. Really just sort of enclosed galleries.

[rjms74]

As far as I know the Princess Grill Lounge Bar is open to all passengers & it is open from 7 - 9 pm daily and is referred to in the Daily programme as the Champagne Bar. I could be wrong of course but I used this bar a bit on my last cruise in 04 and did not see any notice as with the QG Lounge that it is reserved for Grill guests only. The QG Lounge is a nice retreat and I mainly use this for lunch time drinks & also afternoon tea is a bit more relaxed than the Queens Room although it gets quite busy.

 

I think this lounge bar used to be only for Princess Grill passengers & there used to be a lounge bar for PG starboard passengers on the Upper Deck (I think) too, before the S/board PG Restaurant became the Britannia Grill in the early 1990's.

 

Kind Regards,

 

RJMS74

[grifval5]

All information is very helpful. It will be a long 4 months waiting to sail in this great liner. I have put a picture on my Desktop to keep her in view!:)

[eatsallinsects]

All information is very helpful. It will be a long 4 months waiting to sail in this great liner. I have put a picture on my Desktop to keep her in view!:)

--------------------------------------------------------

If you email me, I will give you a link so you can hear their horns!

enigmaent@aol.com

[DanZ]

Why not just place the link here?

[grifval5]

Has anyone who has been on the QE2 Med cruises have any tips for the excursions?

[cunardqueen]

Hi l did the med cruise last year, the weather was warm everyday except one day when nobody was on deck, crossing the bay provided some entertainment, the fact we had to anchor of France in the morning due to the weather when we should have been disembarking only added to the fun!!!

The shore excursions, all l can say is in Alexandria take an official taxi from beside the ship, not really sure if the overnight tour to the pryamids ($399) is worth paying for (but 400 people did take it) and it leaves QE2 nice and quiet at night, however l do recommend the day trip to the Pryaminds, its a long day and you do see a lot!!

l would be inclined to book before departure with usually a city tour and then that can leave time after to wander around.

if you want to email privately l can give you more details etc.

cunardqueenATaol.com

cheers

[grifval5]

The stops we have on our itinerary are Gibraltar, Cannes, Barcelona, Livorno, Naples and Civitavecchia. Any tips on any of those would be helpful.:p

[sweep]

Hi Grifval5

 

We are also going on the October 15th cruise on QE2. We have been to most of these ports before and here are my tips:

Gibraltar - stock up on duty free

Barcelona - take an open top bus excursion, hopping on and off as you please. Leave time for a stroll down las ramblas

Livorno - take a ship's excursion to Florence

Civitaveccia - ship's excursion to Rome

 

Hope this helps

Sweep;)

[grifval5]

Many thanks, Sweep. That was just the information I needed. We are so looking forward to the cruise.

[Blazerboy]

Re: private rooms, The Queen's Grill lounge appeared to be open to anyone in any of the three grille restaurants, unlike the QM2. The Princess Grille Bar or Champagne Bar still doesn't show up on many deck plans in the brochures, but we found it a lovely quiet spot to meet when we had a small group and wanted to be away from the hubbub- especially nice when meeting people from other restaurants for cocktails.

 

I was crossing the Bay of Biscay last Fall, and it was cold, windy and rough, but as soon as we got further South, everything smoothed out, and we had warm (70's to 80's F) weather.

 

In Rome, if you do it on your own, see if "Evangelista" is open for lunch. The dinners there were fabulous.

 

In Florence, see if you can take a trip out to San Michele (see link http://www.fivestaralliance.com/luxury_hotel/florence/villa_san_michele?utm_id=856--1-2 ) Lunch on the terrace is a treat.

 

Enjoy the trip!

[stowaway2k]

The stops we have on our itinerary are Gibraltar, Cannes, Barcelona, Livorno, Naples and Civitavecchia. Any tips on any of those would be helpful.:p

 

Hi

Here's my experience.

 

Gibraltar: Duty-free is some of the best anywhere.

Also, make time to go to the top of "The Rock" The view is

unbelievable. If there are a few of you, hire a taxi for the rock.

Or, the cable car is fun. If you like walking, the cable car is

walking distance to/from the ship. So are all the shops and pubs.

 

Cannes: If you don't want to take an excursion, Cannes is a very nice

walking city. There are many beautiful cafes along La Croisette

and on the beach for a nice lunch.

 

Barcelon: Do take the hop on/hop off for a good overview of the city. Then

grab your guidebook for a closer look at the Gothic Quarter and

the amazing Gaudi architecture.

 

Livorno: There is nothing to see in Livorno. This is simply the port for

Florence and Pisa. If you want to see Florence, you can save

a bundle of cash by going on your own, sans shore excursion.

The train is quick and cheap. Everything in Florence is within easy

walking distance from the station. There is a lot to see. Take a

guide book. If you want to see David at the Accademia and the

Uffizi Gallery, reservations are essential, or forget it.

Call Firenze Musei at 055-294-883 on the web at

firenzemusei.it

Pisa can be done in half a day, or less, if you just want to see

the major sights. Take the train from Livorno, then taxi to

Campo dei Miracoli for the Leaning Tower, Cathederal, and the

amazing Baptistry.

You can save a lot of money on this stop by doing these things

on your own rather than spending the money on the shore

excursion. The plus side, though, for a shore excursion is that

all the planning and transportation is done for you. The downside

for doing it on your own is that you must keep a very close eye on

your watch and plan carefully. But you will save save save $$$

Start your planning on the web at trenitalia.it Click on "English"

for the english language pages. You can plan your time and

purchase your tickets here. Plan carefully! I would purchase

tickets at the stations though, but use the timetables at this sight

for planning ahead.

 

Naples: Sorry, can't help you here.

 

Civitavecchia: Once again, if you want, you can take the train into Rome

instead of purchasing a shore excursion. Quick and cheap.

You can take a taxi from the station to all the major sights, and

if there are a few of you, it's also quick and cheap.

You probably won't have the time to see everything you want.

Take a guidebook, and research ahead of time.

 

Have fun!!

 

kj

[grifval5]

Hi kj,

This is just the type of tips we need. There is just my husband and I, but we will probably make our own way to Florence and Rome as we have done the official tours of these cities on an Italian holiday a few years ago. This time we would like to just do our own thing (with all the help we have been given).

[sweep]

Hi kj

 

I found your comments very helpful too. Thanks very much.

 

How far from the docks are the railway stations in Livorno and Civitaveccia? Do you have any idea how frequently the trains run? My husband is paranoid about missing the ship so we usually take the ship's excursions but would like to be more independent.

 

Sweep

[Zipper25]

Dear Sweep

 

If you go to www.trenitalia.it you will find that you can see all the train time to and from both Livorno and Civitaveccia.

 

Rome too has a hop-on hop-off bus that leaves from directly in front of Rome's main railway terminal.

[stowaway2k]

Hi Sweep

 

I don't think that you'll be in the taxi for more than ten minutes each way.

You can do all of your train planning at the above mentioned sight.

Keep an eye on your watch...and have fun!

kj