Live from the 2015 QE World Voyage

[maggiemou]

Hi all,

Hope you are all enjoying a less bumpy ship now.

Well, It was lovely to meet new and old friends on QE. I joined in Southampton and met 10 friends who are all Cunard lovers and we sailed over to Hamburg. Had four great fun days. Weather iffy but we expected nothing more for early January. We had a really good time.

When we returned to Southampton rather late it was a bonus for people on board as they got an extra half day stay. Not too good for people waiting to embark in Southampton but Cunard handled it all very well from what I heard.

We were in transit as we were staying on board to cross the Atlantic and then spent three days in New York.

The crossing was not too rough IMO. It was worse in 2011. Last years crossing was similar weather wise and we took the same Southern route South of the Azores and past the graveyard for the Titanic. Again this was the same as 2014 to avoid the worse of the bad weather.

Our time crossing the Atlantic was a lot of fun. ( we are fortunate we are good sailors.) We enjoyed the days events. I modelled some jewellery in the fashion show for a guest jeweller who was on board and designed her pieces for the people who wanted a personal items making. She was a very clever lady. Her name STELLA SARMIENTO. She is from Columbia. Some of her items were very unusual and my husband bought me two for my birthday gift.

 

We had two meals at lunchtime in the Verandha with our free vouchers for diamond members. The food was delicious as ever but the menu was exactly the same as last year.

I had my birthday party in the Admiral lounge and I had invited old friends from previous cruises and a few good Cunard members who know me well. The Hotel Manager and his partner and the Maître D came. As did resident singer Paul Richie and of course Kathy and John & Andrea whom I have sailed with on previous cruises. Also some new friends from CC. So it was a fun little get together.

I met up with quite a number of passengers from the WC of 2014. It was really good see them catch up. We disembarked in New York but before we did we placed a booking for next year.

We had three days in New York doing the usual things one does when in this great City. Only downside for us was after we left Crowne Plaza to JFK we discovered out flight was going to be delay by three hours. It was a late night flight and we had a connection the following day to catch to get back to our home in Cyprus.

Due to the delay we missed our connection. There was no other flight for two days so we have just had two days in Gatwick airport. Home now though after a long journey.

We had a good time on QE. Everything was fine and no complaints about anything. It was pretty perfect. However, I had no desire to stay on any longer. After four full world cruises the four previous years I still felt cruised out by it all.

I could not have done another full world if it had been free!! I did enjoy the break and tomorrow I am back working and back to normal life.

I know all the lovely friends I have who are still only starting out on this world voyage, are in for a fantastic time. To CEEDEE, & LADYMONET 49 and Barbara and all the rest of you have a wonderful time. Enjoy it and I know you will. :)

BTW Captain Clark's secretary told me he was so impressed I had written about my world cruise last year he wanted to read it so ended up with a signed copy of my book. It is also in the library on deck 3 as well.

Happy Cruising and thanks Kathy for posting your time on board. Pat enjoy your second half of the world and JT sends his best wishes. Don't for get your "Gong" :)

Take care all .Maggie.

Message to Glojo I spoke to the Norwegian lady. She has deteriorated somewhat, but is OK and has already booked for next year. She told me to tell you to book asap if you want the adapted cabin.

To Bee, I spent some time talking with Chris's painting partner the DR's wife.

Her son was on board. She remembered Chris.

Edited January 23, 2015 by maggiemou

[alibabacruisers]

Decided at 5:20 to go to dinner! Yikes, but we got there at 6:10 wasn't that

an amazing feat? We had new people at the table near us...a couple I met at

the M&G today and they were great! Muy husband and I both had the salmon and it was good according to my husband who likes fish...for me it was okay. Had the vanilla souffle with lemonicello (sp?) sauce and it was just okay. Then went to Midships Bar and I had a strawberry daiquiri that was very nice.

There was a huge line for meeting the Captain and his reception on our way to the Theatre. It was just 7:45 when we finished there so decided to head to the Royal Court Theatre, for the first time his trip, and the show was Mike Stirling! What can I say? He has an amazing voice and sang some excellent songs, including Music of the Night and Nessa Dorma (again ?sp). Now ready to call it a night!

[Scrapnana]

 

I hope the webcam was working ! I had brought a rotating red flashing led beacon to signify our participation - I hope it worked.

 

 

John

 

(previous post on roll call thread)

 

John,

 

I do believe that this is your red beacon on deck 6.

 

 

Missing all of you!

 

Whenever I looked at the clock today I was thinking, I should be eating lunch now, it is trivia time now, I would be at dinner now, time for the show.

 

Kathi

Edited January 24, 2015 by Scrapnana

[capnpugwash]

Those cookies/biscuits are called Biscotti :) and they are delicious.

[maggiemou]

Our first back in our home and it has taken all day to unpack and get sorted out. Hate that part of a cruise:(

I have had a break to read through the full content of this thread. Well done to Barbara for organising the meet & greets. Sorry I never got to see you much, but the time just flew by. I am enjoying your postings so do carry on. It is not easy as I well know from previous experiences of my own and it can get tiresome once you get into a busy part of the cruise. So try to pace yourself. We have to be kind to ourselves at times. :)

Kathy, Sorry I missed you to say farewell. Thanks for the beautiful card you made me. I will treasure it as I love it so much, plus the bag is so me. :)

 

Loved reading John & Andreas events in Miami. We took the same trip last year so brought back good memories. It was a pleasant surprise to see you in Time Square. Hope you enjoyed the walk back to the ship.;)

Keep the posts coming and love to all my cruising mates.

Maybe see some of you next year. Have fun Maggie.

[Scrapnana]

Maggie,

 

Glad you had a safe (although delayed) trip home. It was great to see you and JT again.

 

Kathi

[DreamflightPat]

John,

 

I do believe that this is your red beacon on deck 6.

 

 

Missing all of you!

 

Whenever I looked at the clock today I was thinking, I should be eating lunch now, it is trivia time now, I would be at dinner now, time for the show.

 

Kathi

Do you remember last years' railway from Fort Lauderdale just after I had joined the ship. about 10 of you came up under the Queen Elizabeth sign to wave to my friends that live in the apartments. We all had "glo sticks"?

Love Pat

[alibabacruisers]

Thanks Capn...now I know ..Biscotti!:)

 

Saturday, 24 Jan

 

Had breakfast in the Lido as usual at 6:30, but then was still a bit tired

from our later than usual night last night, that I went back to bed for a few

hours. When I woke up I decided to try the laundrette and found one washer

was available (note here: always a good idea to take your clothes with you

when checking the laundrette...you could miss it if you have to go back to

get them). I always stay with my laundry so I can keep a watch on the goings

on to report any activity ;) There were a few ladies in there with me at one

point, and of course the topic came up as to arguments in the laundrette. One

lady said another lady told her that she had been present when a pushing match occurred between 2 ladies. One had left her laundry in the machine and another dared to remove it, so the lady that left the laundry in the machine became aggressive and started an argument as well as becoming pushy. No wonder there was a note in todays DP asking everyone to please be considerate of others.

 

Read for about 30 minutes before catching up with hubby for a little lunch.

Then it was off to read...trying to finish this second book..DONE! Now I can

start the 3rd because I had already checked it out. It is pretty warm and

humid today but we walked a few laps around the promenade. 3 laps = 0.9 miles according to the posted signs. I really should be doing a lot more exercise than I have been....(note to self - just do it!!!). Oh that reminds me,

yesterday while I sat in the Cafe Carinthia on Dock 2 early in the morning,

I made a note to myself to report that when joggers were overhead on the

Promenade, Deck 3, you could hear it very clearly. It is a good thing that

on QE below the Promenade is public space and no cabins; that way you aren't

disturbed by the noise. On another noise note....I have noticed in the early am,at times, have heard the chairs above being moved about on the aft pool deck. It also comes from other cabins near me ...amazing people choose to scoot rather than lift and move:confused:

 

Had a request from a couple of people to be added to the private tour I

organized for Puntarenas so I will try to email the operator and see if I can

add more. From todays DP - tonight's entertainment is Jacinta Whyte, a singer. Also it is another formal night. Ballroom and Latin Dancing in the Queens Room for the dancers. There is also lots of different musical acts throughout the ship in various venues.

 

Since tomorrow is a port day, Curacao, we are tossing up between the Lido or

the DR for dinner tonight, as we would like to make it an early one so we are

refreshed for an all day walking experience on our own. The Lido will

probably win out.

[fantasy51]

On another noise note....I have noticed in the early am,at times, have heard the chairs above being moved about on the aft pool deck. It also comes from other cabins near me ...amazing people choose to scoot rather than lift and move:confused:

 

If it's early morning, it's possible that it is the crew putting the chairs out. I have never checked on Cunard but I know on Princess ships, the sunbeds were stacked up at night and then put out early in the morning. It was noisy when you had the cabin below!

[sydneylou]

Hi all ...I haven't posted for a long while...but you people are getting me very excited, we board in Honolulu and disembark in Sydney, we are having four nights in Waikiki before boarding. On QE website for this segment it said that the first formal night was the day we are in Maui, does anyone know if this is correct as I though that they didn't do formal nights on port days.

Is it still as formal at dinner every night as I am led to believe, happy if it is just wondering before I pack.

We haven't any tours booked yet, will play it by ear. This is our 16th cruise but our first Cunard, so expecting great things.

We are waitlisted for early sitting in Britannia so I hope we can get that sitting as booked the cruise almost a year ago.

Also will there be a M&G on our segment?

Hope you all have wonderful weather and look forward to reading your posts

Cheers

Louise and Graham

[kahtrav]

Hi all ...I haven't posted for a long while...but you people are getting me very excited, we board in Honolulu and disembark in Sydney, we are having four nights in Waikiki before boarding. On QE website for this segment it said that the first formal night was the day we are in Maui, does anyone know if this is correct as I though that they didn't do formal nights on port days.

Is it still as formal at dinner every night as I am led to believe, happy if it is just wondering before I pack.

We haven't any tours booked yet, will play it by ear. This is our 16th cruise but our first Cunard, so expecting great things.

We are waitlisted for early sitting in Britannia so I hope we can get that sitting as booked the cruise almost a year ago.

Also will there be a M&G on our segment?

Hope you all have wonderful weather and look forward to reading your posts

Cheers

Louise and Graham

I think it is correct - it's Valentine's Day, so I think that's why they are doing it even though it's a port day. It will be a quick change night for those of us on early seating :)

We haven't sailed Cunard before but it kind of seems like the informal on Cunard is more like formal on the other lines. I think it will be pretty dressy and jackets for sure for the men.

 

I don't think there's a M&G - the formal segment is from San Francisco - I didn't know Honolulu to Sydney was an option. Hopefully you'll connect with some of these folks.

[MicCanberra]

Am enjoying the live blogs as the QM2 is slowly making its way to pick us up in Fremantle, Western Australia in April. keep them coming time permitting of course.:D

[sydneylou]

Thanks for your prompt reply Kahtrav, Valentine's Day explains the formal night. Yes the Honolulu to Sydney segment was advertised and as we have done similar on Solstice but via Tahiti and know we quite enjoy all the sea days we decided it may be a good chance to sail Cunard and see Tonga and Samoa which we haven't been to. I would have loved to sail from San Fran as adore that city. Hope the deck chairs are comfy.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[alibabacruisers]

Hi all ...I haven't posted for a long while...but you people are getting me very excited, we board in Honolulu and disembark in Sydney, we are having four nights in Waikiki before boarding. On QE website for this segment it said that the first formal night was the day we are in Maui, does anyone know if this is correct as I though that they didn't do formal nights on port days.

Is it still as formal at dinner every night as I am led to believe, happy if it is just wondering before I pack.

We haven't any tours booked yet, will play it by ear. This is our 16th cruise but our first Cunard, so expecting great things.

We are waitlisted for early sitting in Britannia so I hope we can get that sitting as booked the cruise almost a year ago.

Also will there be a M&G on our segment?

Hope you all have wonderful weather and look forward to reading your posts

Cheers

Louise and Graham

 

 

Hi Louise, according to our literature the first formal night for you will be port day Lahaina , 14 Feb, for the Valentine's Ball. They usually don't schedule a formal on port days, but I guess they couldn't get around it this time.

 

I am on first sitting, and over the past few weeks, have been told they were no

openings on first sitting but that may change after SFO. We booked in October 2013 and luckily got straight onto a table...it seemed, at that time, everyone wanted 2nd sitting. I was watching and checking the site, making fake bookings, and saw it fluctuate a little back and forth.

 

As for M&G, sadly we have one after SFO and then the next is after Sydney. Once you are onboard, maybe you will connect with some of us around the ship. See you soon!

[alibabacruisers]

Sunday, 25 Jan

 

First, I would like to start off by giving a bit of info that I remember people,

including me, wanting to know. Things like magnets sticking to the walls. I

purchased two heavy duty ones at a $2 shop and they work brilliantly! The only places they do NOT stick is the wooden clothes closet and the bathroom walls (the door frame in the bathroom, however is metal so the magnet will stick there). I have my DP and relevant paperwork in one and the other holds my magnifying mirror for those tweezing moments:))

 

The next bit of info, which is totally subjective, is the new toiletry line Penhaligon's Quercus. I do NOT like the smell and only use the shower gel, which smells less obnoxious, on my delicates.

 

In the beginning, we requested wire hangers and received them, which was great as I needed to hang all those extra shirts I brought JUST IN CASE, and to my husbands dismay.

 

As usual, up to have breakfast in the Lido. I like the early morning time with

no rushing, no crowds, and fresh food and more importantly breakfast is my most important meal. Came back to the cabin to get ready for our exciting day in Curacao. The temp is supposedly to be around 28C and I know the humidity must be pretty high as my hair is showing evidence of that! LOL. Had a confirmation email from my tour operator in Puntarenas saying we can add more, so have now had 4 requests and I have confirmed with those 4. The operator also has been very kind and said I can add more up until we board his transport! In case anyone is interested, we are using Odyssey Tours who have a good rating on both CC and TA. Will give you our review after.

 

We have been out on the balcony watching us sail into Curacao and it is so

pretty here. I love the many colors already! We are docking at Mega Pier,

which is contrary to the info I had before the cruise started, although it

seems to be a better location that the other. We are very close to the Casino,

and a shopping mall....always a good start;) Looking out our balcony on the port side, you can see the pier, colorful buildings, and there is even a swimming pool right here. In the distace you can see the Queen Juliana Bridge and I was surprised to see bumper to bumper traffic on it. The port presenter said this island is very small 37 miles by about 6 miles (I think he said). The Captain has just announced that we may go ashore now, so I will be back later.

 

Left the ship at 8 to explore on our own, maps, both my own, and Cunards, in

hand. Right off the Mega Pier, is the area called Otrabanda. To the right is

the Renaissance Hotel, Mall and Casino. Most shops were not open until 9 or

10 so we just walked around to see what was here. It was an easy walk, however, the walkways were cobblestone and could be uneven so we had to take care. Next to the mall, which is basically an outdoor mall rather than the typical mall we are used to, is another shopping area called Rif Fort. It kind of

looks like an old fort made of thick stones. You could walk up some stairs

and there was a viewing area to take pictures over the water, town and you could see QE docked. Next we came back down and continued walking along the water and we came to the famous floating bridge called Queen Emma Bridge or the Floating Lady Bridge. It was a pontoon bridge that swings open to allow ships to enter or leave St. Anna Bay. Later in the morning, while having a nice relaxing drink on the Punda side we would have the opportunity to see the bridge in action. Before we crossed the bridge there were a few vendor stalls set up so we browsed a little for basic pricing for comparison later. Once you cross Queen Emma Bridge you are in the Punda area, which has lots more shops, the Curacao Museum, Fort Plein, and the Floating Market area (this is a fruit and vegetable market). Next to that was the Wilhemina Bridge that crosses over and into the Scharloo Area, which is the Jewish quarter. In that general area is a pretty green house called the Wedding Cake House because it resembles the same. Back into the central Punda area we checked out almost all the souvenir shops comparing prices and items. I found a couple of items at different shops. It was funny to me, to see that everytime we entered a shop, several of the employees kept a very close eye on us. I figured that since we were older than most of the non-ship tourists (most in their 20s) they would feel that we were a safe group, but no. There was plenty of tours being offered at the pier, as well both in the Otrabanda and Punda areas. A lady, Anya, greeted us at the Punda side of the Queen Emma Bridge and ptiched her tour. She was a very outgoing, pretty and very helpful lady. As hard as she tried, my husband could not make up his mind, so we kept on walking. We encountered her several more times throughout the day and she kept trying to budge him, but to no avail. We talked and laughed with her a lot today and she definitely made our brief stay in Curacao more enjoyable! It has been a beautiful, sunny day in colorful Curacao

and I loved it! We came back to te ship and had a nice lunch of pasta in the

Lido and then came back for a nice glass of Moscato we bought in FLL. It was

heavenly on our balcony watching the colors of Curacao. It is now almost 3 and all that exploring has taken a toll on my poor ;) husband...he is sound asleep.

 

All aboard is 5:30 and then dinner. Tonight's show is La Danza (8:30 and 10:30) and I think they have showed that over the years, but I don't remember it so we may be seeing that tonight. It is an informal night, with the Burns Night Ball in the Queens Room starting at 9:15.

[Oahucruiser]

Absolutely love your daily reports with so much detail. It's as though we are right there sharing your great experiences. Thanks for taking so much time to do this. I'll be interested in what world cruise gifts they give you each segment and where they will take you for the fabulous WC dinner.

[Janix]

Kathi,

 

 

 

Sunday 24h January.

 

I am sat on the balcony connected to the free Curacao wifi network, which is great. The iphone wont connect but no problems with the laptop.

 

Lovely sunny day 29C and just returned from our trip around the town. This is a very pretty place, although we are berthed at the Mega Cruise terminal, rather than on the river as last time. This is a major refuelling and provisioning stop but the containers appear to have been all unloaded and loaded onto the ship now. The majority of our provisions are shipped out by container from Southampton, and this is our first pick up since leaving.

 

A small diving vessel has just pulled away from the ship, so I suspect we have had our bottoms inspected ?

 

The temperature is currently around 29C, so very pleasant, but as this is a Sunday several of the main shops are closed. However the bars and restaurants appear to be well utilised by fellow passengers.

 

The last two nights have been formal nights and we have had two very good solo singers performing in the Royal Court Theatre, by the names of Mike Sterling and Jacinta Whyte, both of whom have appeared on the west end stage. The former had 1000 appearances as the ‘Phantom’ in the show of the same name and was very personable when we bumped into him in the Commodore Club.

 

The Panama Canal transit is on Tuesday and on current timings, is due to start at 0600 and finish around 1600 hrs. These are local times which will be 5 hours behind UTC/GMT. Last year we started around 10am so that would be better for us ! It should be possible to view the ship on the Panama Canal webcams if anyone gets the urge ?

 

We have John Laverick onboard as guest lecturer for the transit, and both his Insights talks have been standing room only, such is the interest in this man made marvel. It will be interesting to see the advancements made since last year.

 

Puntarenas is our next port of call next Thursday.

 

John

[Janix]

Oh well that was sent before I finished !

 

 

Kathi, Brilliant, yes that was us, although I hope it was better on any video ? Hope your settled again, and until next time ! :D

 

Maggie glad you both got home safely, after such a trek. Gret to bump into you both in Times Square, I do wonder what the odds of that were, and whether we should play the lottery more often ?

 

Pat, I remember it well, it was a bit blustery though ! There was a great show again from the apartments, but I forgot the flag - duh ! Your countdown continues :)

 

I cant remember who was told but it appears that we are berthing next to QM in Long Beach as suggested earlier in the Roll Call thread, and the first day in Sydney is at the OPT with the second day at a buoy somewhere, so I suppose that will have to be tenders ? I do hope this is correct.

 

Otherwise having a great time as usual, although some are not for some reason ? It amazes me sometimes how many set off on these trips without apparently doing any research at all ? Oh well :confused:

 

John

[roscoe39]

Am enjoying the live blogs as the QM2 is slowly making its way to pick us up in Fremantle, Western Australia in April. keep them coming time permitting of course.:D

 

Hi MicCanberra,

Ive been looking for the QM@ world blog you mention and can't seem to find one. do you have the url that you are willing to share? thanks...Roscoe

[alibabacruisers]

John, I agree and was thinking the same...I am amazed that so many leave

home without doing any research at all!:eek:

 

Sunday, 25 Jan cont'd

The Captain came on the speaker around 5:45 and said we were due to depart shortly. This is another thing I am amazed with this cruise. On other cruises at time for departure, we have had several guests late and they had to delay. Not so on this cruise! I believe at our first port, NYC, there was 1 name called and shortly after we left. Since then we have not heard any names called and have left either early or right on time.....Great!

 

We decided on the Lido for a quick bite and went at 5:30 to wait for it to open

at 6. We did not feel like dressing up so this was a good choice. There was,

however, a drama unfold as we were there. We got there at 5:30 and at 6 placed an order for pizza. While we ate it a lady came barrelling thru and boy was she upset! She was looking around counting the number of people wearing shorts. It seems that the head guy stopped her at the entrance to the Lido, by the sailaway door, and told her she was not dressed appropriately and could not eat there. As she counted, she started ranting and grabbed another head guy to complain to, rather than go back to the first guy (Head Guy). It was during this rant she noticed my husband wearing his shorts and made us the focus of her continuing rant. The poor guy tried to explain that we had been there prior to 6 and were finishing, but she had closed off listening to anyone! She went on, at the top of her lungs, that they had spent thousands of dollars on this cruise, they did not stay in their room, but spent their time spending money bars, and other areas and she will NEVER cruise with Cunard again! She told him her room number and said she wanted someone to contact her in her room to fully explain their behavior! Whew! Then, he came over and apologized to us, but then gently told us of the policy and asked that if we were staying longer, the hubs would need to change into slacks. We told him that we did not think, that especially since we came prior to 6, that it mattered. We thought we'd have come and gone by that time, and told him we would not make this mistake again and thanked him. I felt so bad for him because he kept saying he tried to explain things to her, and we told him that we saw him trying. He also said he thought that the "no shorts" rule was in the DP and of course, when we checked, that was true...we never fully read the Dress Requirement that is listed on the back page of the DP. It states, "that after 6:00pm, shorts and blue or worn denim (men and women); sandals and sleeveless tops (men) are not considered appropriate within the ship. On informal nights, any guests wishing to dress more casually are welcome to dine in the Lido buffet on Deck 9 and relax in the Garden Lounge, but should not use the other areas within the ship, including the Alternative Dining Restaurants, out of respect for their fellow guests". I guess before we just skimmed...well, now we know! :(

[kahtrav]

I'm about researched out by now (love the planning, but am probably way over-planned). Stan tries to get lots of stuff onto his GPS (not the new phone kind, but an old one with built in maps, etc.). We can't get to most of what we've marked, but if we're in an area, he can see what might be around. I've thought to cruise without the planning, but then you miss out. Don't quite understand being upset due to their own lack of planning.

 

I'm not big on shorts except when it's super hot, but if you want a casual, anything goes cruise, don't book Cunard. We know it will be a bit more formal in general than our previous cruises (HAL), but we did our research about that, too. Oh well, sorry she made such a fuss.

[Scrapnana]

Just watched the video of the sail-away from Port Everglades. Barbara's blinking balcony light and John's revolving red light are quite noticable.

 

http://portevergladeswebcam.com/replay.php

 

Just put in

queen Elizabeth January 22nd 2015

[MicCanberra]

Hi MicCanberra,

Ive been looking for the QM@ world blog you mention and can't seem to find one. do you have the url that you are willing to share? thanks...Roscoe

 

Sorry to mislead you Roscoe, I meant this blog and left out a comma. If you want the QM2 rollcall it is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2008848 but they aren't blogging so much as making arrangements for M&Gs.:D

[roscoe39]

Sorry to mislead you Roscoe, I meant this blog and left out a comma. If you want the QM2 rollcall it is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2008848 but they aren't blogging so much as making arrangements for M&Gs.:D

 

I feared that may have been the case thanks.....so far there has been a bit of dearth so I am grateful for the QE thread here to keep up with whats going on and the lovely Kathi of course, but all the others seem to have fallen to the wayside......

[MicCanberra]

I feared that may have been the case thanks.....so far there has been a bit of dearth so I am grateful for the QE thread here to keep up with whats going on and the lovely Kathi of course, but all the others seem to have fallen to the wayside......

 

One issue is that some people are doing the world cruise while others are doing just segments or just one leg, so there are a few rollcalls and not much movement on any of them.:D

Edited January 26, 2015 by MicCanberra