Queen Mary 2 New York to Hamburg, 10/28 to 11/6

[theTom&Carol]

Hi, rafinmd.....

 

So enjoy your daily 'from-the-high-seas' crossing updates. Thanks for taking the time to post, and hopefully the satellite internet continues to work well.

Next evening you pop into the Queens room, report how crowded is the dance floor appears; Also, any G32 fun?

Any changes in the gym?

Keep up your 15 laps, and enjoy your crossing.

T&C

[pmb1]

...

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/scenestour.pdf

...

Roy, this link yielded "404 — File not found."

[rafinmd]

Sorry about the bad link. I'll track it down eventually, but it should be accessible from a recent post at

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com

 

I inadvertently set my IPAD alarm for every day but Sunday and slept through to 5:30. When I went out on deck my GPS still could not find any cities in range but it did say 880 miles to Southampton, and we seem to be due south of Iceland. It was overcast, a bit chiller, windier, and rougher than Saturday but with a vest added to my rain jacket it was decent for my 5-mile walk. My walk ended around sunrise but there was no sun to be seen until later in the day.

 

While a Sunday, there was still a very full program of activities. The morning enrichment activities were Diane Simpson at 10 with “Humor-A hilarious look at what makes us laugh and why”, followed at 11 with Andy Wyatt on the life of a long haul jet pilot. I missed most of it for the interdenominational church service at 11. Captain Oprey did not give a sermon but a short prayer had a great message, something like “Lord, today I have been perfect. So far I have not lost my temper, become inpatient or gotten angry. Please help me because I will soon get out of bed and then all bets are off”. The service was only about a half hour and I caught the tail end of Andy Wyatt’s presentation next door in Illuminations. As I walked the corridors this morning there were disembarkation packages hanging on the door hooks, it feels great to have a 2-day reprieve.

 

In the afternoon pianist Halida Dinova gave her third and final performance at 2 in the Royal Court Theater.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dinova3.pdf

 

The day’s final Cunard Insights presentation at 3:30 was Ivor Davis with “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad Beatles World”. I was at an IPOD seminar (office tools) and missed the lecture.

 

We had almost everyone present at our final formal dinner (one man was apparently not feeling well). A parade of chefs and waiters was held late in the meal. Midway through the meal a wave came crashing against the Britannia windows). The Senior Officers party for Platinum and Diamond World Club members was held between seatings. I heard somewhere at the party that our winds were now up to about force 10 (from force 8 this morning. We are feeling some motion but nothing serious. The main evening entertainment was flautist Suzanne Godfrey, who also played a couple of selections on piccolo and pennywhistle. The Royal Ascot Ball was held in the Queens Room.

 

Today’s parting shot is for American readers, a gentle but I hope forceful reminder to vote. It’s both a privilege and a duty.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Roy, this link yielded "404 — File not found."

 

Oops, forgot to upload it . This should work now:

 

getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/scenestour.pdf

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Roy, this link yielded "404 — File not found."

 

Oops, forgot to upload it.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/scenestour.pdf

 

Roy

Edited November 3, 2014 by rafinmd

[rafinmd]

Hi, rafinmd.....

 

So enjoy your daily 'from-the-high-seas' crossing updates. Thanks for taking the time to post, and hopefully the satellite internet continues to work well.

Next evening you pop into the Queens room, report how crowded is the dance floor appears; Also, any G32 fun?

Any changes in the gym?

Keep up your 15 laps, and enjoy your crossing.

T&C

 

I’m afraid the Promenade deck (plus the stairs) is my only exercise so I can’t really answer but see if you can see anything new in these photos.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/gym1.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/gym2.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/gym3.jpg

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/gym4.jpg

 

I’m not a dancer but my tablemates described the dance floor as ‘rarely’ crowded.

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dancefloor.jpg

 

When I walked into G32 (10 pm getaway night) there was a small band playing and about a dozen people at tables.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I remember from the HAL Future Cruise list you’re booked on QE in January from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale. Can you be on the lookout as that voyage ends for the transfer information and let me know what transfers Cunard has to Miami and the earliest flights one can book. This is crazy, but for 2016 I just booked QM2 New York to Southampton 1/3-10, and QE Southampton to Fort Lauderdale 1/10-22. I am booked on the Crystal Symphony BA to Miami 1/27 and will need to fly from Miami to Argentina. It may be forced but I generally want a practical reason to book a Cunard voyage. 19 days New York to FTL is probably but it does have the advantage (aside from 19 nice days) of having me fly out of Miami rather than the frozen north.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The weather was apparently quite rough overnight, although QM2 handled it quite admirably. When I started my walk many of the doors to the Promenade deck were roped off but conditions were not bad except for about 5 minutes of drizzle. It was very overcast but the sun’s rays did find a little hole to make it’s presence known. I added a long sleeve knit shirt to my vest and rain jacket and my 5-mile walk was comfortable. I did bring my eggs back from Kings Court and enjoyed them on my balcony, as well as my lunch.

 

All of our enrichment speakers leave us in Southampton. The morning presentations were Joe Johnson with “From Sgt. Pepper to Abbey Road”, the Beatles after they gave up live concerts. He was followed by a Q&A with Johathan Lynn and Paul O’Loughlin. In his final update Captain Oprey indicated that weather would gradually improve and in Southampton we would have a pleasant morning with afternoon showers. We lost our final hour at noon to get onto London time.

 

I started the afternoon with a visit with Petra in the sales office and now expect 3 Cunard voyages in about a 4 month period 10/15 to 1/16. I had planned on the October crossing but the other 2 are new. It will be my first mid-winter crossing. The final Cunard Insights presentation of the crossing was Peter Durrans on “Piracy in the New World”. I left a few minutes early for afternoon tea but hope to catch the last few minutes on Channel 43. Afternoon tea concluded with pianist Bernadett Bihari playing “Time to Say Goodbye”.

 

It was time to have my jacked cleaned so I fell a bit short of the dress code tonight, with a nice sweater in place of my jacket (It returned in time for the evening show).

 

http://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/semiinformal.jpg

 

Only the 3 Americans (all going to Hamburg) were present at the table tonight. When I returned from dinner my jacket was accompanied by Tuesday’s Daily Programme, introducing a management changeover on the ship. This is my first voyage with Captain Oprey but I have sailed with Paul O’Loughlin before. Leaving Southampton I will look to a familiar Captain, Chris Wells, but a new to me Entertainment Director, Joanna Haley. The Daily Programme also introduced 3 new insights speakers, although they may not all speak Wednesday.

 

The evening entertainment was the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers in Appasionata. I’ve seen the show before but haven’t yet seen a full performance on this crossing.

 

Today’s parting shot is taken from the Jeffrey Lynn Q&A. As Producer of ‘Yes, Minister’ he had to wrestle with the concept of government security. He suggested that when there are few secrets there are typically fewer wars because they typically start with a wrong guess about what the other party will do. An interesting point of view.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

When I went out on deck just after 5 we were about 7 miles from QE2 terminal. It was pretty chilly, with a bit of fog but not much wind. I walked about 5 laps until the terminal came into sight, and the first lines went out about 6AM, with the P&O Aurora ahead of us at Ocean terminal. While the ship is usually very sleepy at this hour, Kings Court was buzzing, and there were about a dozen smokers at the aft end of deck 7. I went up to deck around 7 to watch for the sun but it was quite an overcast day and very damp with fog on the glass around the lookout. I headed into Britannia Restaurant just before 8 and set off for a little of Southampton just after 9.

 

My tablemates had been told it was a 5-minute walk into town. That would require some pretty fast walking. It’s roughly 3/4 mile to the end of the dock, and then close to another mile to the main shopping area. In past years I’ve stopped at McDonalds in Southampton and used their wifi. Their new system entering a code that’s sent to your cell phone, I did not have my phone and it doesn’t work in the UK anyway so the wifi was useless. I explored the central area a bit and did a bit of shopping, and just paused outside Burger King to check their wifi. It worked for me and I got a burger and downloaded some apps and books for my IPAD, and started back to the ship. About the time I passed Ocean Terminal a shower popped up and I was quite moist when I entered the terminal. I don’t think there was much wait for checkin, but the security line was about 20 minutes. I was back onboard around 2:15, quite ready for some dry clothes.

 

Muster came at 4. As a continuing passenger I was not required to attend but did as it was “recommended”. For this segment all the announcements are being repeated in German. The gangway was pulled just before 5 and we started backing away a few minutes later. It was quite chilly and I returned to my cabin with the bridge cam on TV. We docked behind a car carrier and I noticed about 5:20 that it was still pretty much in front of us. Captain Wells came on the PA about 5:30 and reported that a “technical issue” became evident as we were backing away and we have returned to the dock to investigate. As I prepare to go to dinner I am still watching cars go aboard that vessel and the Aurora is starting to move.

 

Table 44 is almost completely new. Only waiter Alex and I remain. We have 7 new diners, all on the 2-day to Hamburg. New Assistant Waiter Nestor told me his predecessor Larry just became a full waiter. We spent the whole mealtime at the dock. Captain Wells came on at 7:20 and reported that the issue (a steering pump) had been repaired, but Southampton is a busy port airport style, and our next slot to leave is in 3 hours, after a large container ship clears the channel. We should still be in Hamburg on time.

 

This evening’s entertainment is Opera Singer Penny Mathisen. We lose our final hour to get to Hamburg time overnight so I did not go out at all after the show. Part of my bedtime routine is a little snack and the daily news blurbs sudoku. When I started the bridge cam still showed the car carrier’s entrance ramp. When finished the display was totally black. The voyage data showed us proceeding down the Solent at 6 kt.

 

Today’s parting shot, anything mechanical is subject to malfunctions. An advantage to an ocean liner like QM2 is the reserve power to make up lost time when necessary. In most any other ship I would worry about missing my flight connection but have confidence in this Captain and ship.

 

Roy

[Scrapnana]

I remember from the HAL Future Cruise list you’re booked on QE in January from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale. Can you be on the lookout as that voyage ends for the transfer information and let me know what transfers Cunard has to Miami and the earliest flights one can book. This is crazy, but for 2016 I just booked QM2 New York to Southampton 1/3-10, and QE Southampton to Fort Lauderdale 1/10-22. I am booked on the Crystal Symphony BA to Miami 1/27 and will need to fly from Miami to Argentina. It may be forced but I generally want a practical reason to book a Cunard voyage. 19 days New York to FTL is probably but it does have the advantage (aside from 19 nice days) of having me fly out of Miami rather than the frozen north.

 

Roy

 

Will do, Roy! (Writing myself a reminder:D)

 

Kathi

[rafinmd]

At 5 the voyage channel showed wind force 4, but on deck the wind was howling, the most challenging walk of the voyage. I finished just after 7, perfect time to get a load of laundry ready for the washer (none on Wind Star), and got started packing.

 

3 Cunard Insights speakers were mentioned in the embarkation Daily Programme and all 3 got off the ground today. First was maritime historian David Bray with “Tramps and Ladies”, covering the issue of ocean transportation in perhaps the past 100 years. Cruising has changed a lot since then, and perhaps cargo operations have changed even more radically than cruising. Next up was musicologist Jeff Woods with “The Greatest Singers Ever! Do You Agree?”. His nominees were Frank Sinatra, Maria Callis, and Paul Robeson.

 

In his only routine update Captain Wells reported the technical problem which brought us back to the dock was resolved in about 45 minutes, but that held us up almost another 5 hours for traffic. We have a tight time reference to get into Hamburg between river traffic and tunnels we must pass over at high tide, but we are making the progress we need for an on time arrival. We may see rain midday in Hamburg. Deck 13 was closed due to the winds but I went outside for the report. Since I was already bundled up, I took my lunch to my balcony for one last meal there. The Channel weather varied from sunny to fog but there were always a lot of other ships in sight.

 

The afternoon presentation was Martin Woodward with “Treasures from the deep, explaining how much of the “loot” from shipwrecks was less valuable than gold but sitll often quite nice. I left his presentation a bit early for a final Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room.

 

This segment clearly has a much different “vibe” than the transatlantic. The lectures are quite sparsely attended, and dinner has a much different feel. I was the only one at the table for more than the 2 days. One couple didn’t show up tonight, 4 German ladies showed up a second day at 6:30, and the final lady played with her phone through the meal. Alex was the real bright spot at dinner.

 

The evening entertainment was the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers in Viva Italia. Shows don’t change terribly often but I believe this is the first time I’ve seen this one.

 

As today’s parting shot, we sometimes lament “cutbacks” in cruising and long for “the good old days”. We should be careful what we wish for. David Bray had a few pictures and a menu from 3rd class travel, shared cabins, toilets down the hall, and gruel for dinner are not things I would wish for. Even First Class had it’s down sides. Bray showed an excerpt from a White Star Line brochure: “In the First Class, the Company contracts to give each adult passenger a separate berth, to provide all food, and do the cooking. But passengers are liable to be rejected if, upon examination, they are found to be lunatics, idiots, dumb, blind, maimed, infirm or above the age of 60 years.” WOW!

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

When I went on deck about 5:15 we were quite close to Hamburg with both shores of the Elbe River seeming quite close. It appeared that the moon was visible aft of the ship but it clouded up by dawn. The terminal came into view about 6 and QM2 spun around to face downstream and pulled up to the dock with the first lines out about 6:20. We appeared to be about as far upstream as we could go with low fixed bridges now behind us. Once again the normally quiet ship was buzzing with activity by about 5:30.

 

I normally allow about a half hour of internet per day when cruising. My World Club allowance of 4 hours with a 20-minute bonus for first day signup was 10 minutes short of that goal, but the last morning of the cruise I had 76 minutes and left the ship with 34 minutes unused.

 

After a final breakfast in Kings Court I headed down to Todd English just before 8. My estimated departure was 8:45. I was sent down to the Royal Court Theater for a head start on leaving the ship and Red 2 was called almost precisely on schedule. A Cunard first for me, when I gave my card to the officer at the gangway he returned it to me. Foreigners were required to leave their passports with the purser for an examination by German authorities, so I was surprised to see another passport check at the entrance to the baggage hall. I was on the airport coach by 9, but we had some stragglers and did not get away until 9:30. Arriving at the airport just after 10, I was checked in and through security about 10:20 now with about 2 hours to wait for my TAP flight.

 

The flight turned out to be late, and boarding did not start until the 12:45 departure time. We pushed back about 1:10 with a very short wait until we were airborne. Seating was very cramped but a lunch was served, something I rarely see at home now. My reading now is mainly relative to my 2016 Northwest Passage cruise, and I read about4 chapters of “Ice Blink” on the flight. We made excellent time on the flight, arriving just 2 minutes past our 3:15 schedule.

 

This was my second flight to Lisbon. The first was 5 years ago from the US, an early morning arrival, and I found the airport bus an extremely civilized way into town. Not so much at 4PM. I started out standing with my bags in awkward locations on the racks. As we continued into town I eventually got a seat, and by the last stop was able to get the bags into a favorable position on the rack for loading up. I am at the Hotel Ingleterra in Estoril, and the bus route ends right at the train station for that line. It was a short walk into the station, I got a seat and was off. Things were fine until I got to Estoril, and the doors wouldn’t open for me. Getting off at the next stop, I asked another passenger how to get a taxi, and she directed me to a yellow building behind us. When I finally completed that part of the walk I found I was at the Estoril station and quite fatigued. I asked the station about a taxi, and he said “you don’t need one, it’s only a 5-minute walk.” Maybe it’s a 5-minute walk if you know the way and aren’t carrying 70 pounds, but it was much more for me. After a few false starts and a pretty tough hill on the final stage, I was finally in the hotel about 7.

 

I went out to a pasta place for dinner but was really a bit too tired to do much else for the rest of the day.

 

Parting shot, I prefer 9 days on QM2 over 3 hours in an airplane anytime.

 

This concludes my reports here. I’ll be continuing on the Windstar forum.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2119135

 

Roy

[Scrapnana]

 

 

 

Parting shot, I prefer 9 days on QM2 over 3 hours in an airplane anytime.

 

 

Roy

 

Amen to that! Enjoy Lisbon and I will be reading your Windstar reports.

 

Kathi

[rafinmd]

I thought I was finished with Cunard for this trip once I left QM2 in Hamburg. Little did I realize I would be playing tag with Queen Victoria. I’ve shared ports with her 3 days in a row, first in Lanzarote:

 

 

In Las Palmas we were just a dock apart but the terminals pretty well blocked any good view, but she came into Tenerife after we did. I’m hoping on the way back to the ship to get a shot of the 2 ships together, I think even in the distance she will dwarf Wind Star.

 

 

Seems somehow fitting we should meet up this way after I booked a cruise on her while on QM2.

 

Roy