Notes from a QV cruise

[Host Hattie]

I can't promise a "Live from " but I will try and post when I get chance.

We stayed overnight at the Montagu Arms as part of their Cruise & Stay package and had a taxi to the Ocean Terminal.

We were onboard by 12.30 and we're the first customers in the Golden Lion for lunch. I'm not a big fan of buffets so it was good to have an alternative.

There seem to be a few people with the included drinks package (not us unfortunately! ).

[BigMac1953]

l.

We were onboard by 12.30 and we're the first customers in the Golden Lion for lunch. .

 

Interesting. On the QM2 in September, they told us that they were no longer serving lunches in the GLP on embarkation day.

 

Stewart

[Host Hattie]

I don't think lunch was available on our last QM2 trips.

Our bags have arrived, unpacking is ongoing and muster drill is at 4 pm.

We passed through Britannia and there were a few people waiting to see the Maitre'd even before the official time of 2 pm. I had left the card in the cabin so we couldn't check the table.

 

It's a damp, grey day in Southampton so sail away might be a bit subdued.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Host Hattie

[transatlantic fan]

May I ask who the captain is as we join the ship when you depart.

Many Thanks.

[Host Hattie]

Commodore Christopher Rynd is currently in charge.

[transatlantic fan]

Commodore Christopher Rynd is currently in charge.

 

Many Thanks...Enjoy the cruise.

[ClanMcLean]

Looking forward to all the updates. How exciting :D

[japyke]

Looking forward to your posts. We had a metal fronted balcony last winter on our Panama Canal voyage and it was fine. Rather liked the location, very convenient to the public spaces in the heart of the ship. And the gym upstairs too!

[Host Hattie]

All good so far, Mr HH is having a fencing lesson !

[mariposa777]

I can't promise a "Live from " but I will try and post when I get chance.

We stayed overnight at the Montagu Arms as part of their Cruise & Stay package and had a taxi to the Ocean Terminal.

We were onboard by 12.30 and we're the first customers in the Golden Lion for lunch. I'm not a big fan of buffets so it was good to have an alternative.

There seem to be a few people with the included drinks package (not us unfortunately! ).

 

 

Love the montegu arms! We stayed there before our TA last year ( not part of a package, didn't know there was one!)

 

They keep sending me special deal emails .... So sad I'm so far away.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Host Hattie]

Our luggage had arrived by the time we'd had lunch. Sailaway was as damp and dreary as expected, we pulled away from the dock at about 4.50, followed out by Oriana. We watched from aft of the Lido with a few other hardy souls. The sailaway party was scheduled to start at 5.30 in the Winter Gardens, we gave it a miss. We watched from our Balcony for a while, it was a bit chilly so once we realised we were going the “other way” round the Isle of Wight we went up to the slightly warmer surroundings of the Commodore Club. There wasn't a great deal to see but someone more familiar with the local area seemed to know when we were passing the Needles lighthouse.

 

 

We took a prime people watching spot in the Midships bar. There were some interesting intrepretations of informal – a few jeans, some gentlemen without jackets.

We had a nice surprise when we bumped into a couple who were our neighbours on QE two years ago ! We were just about to be late for dinner but hopefully we will bump into them again.

We were on table 364, an oval 6 top on second sitting. Our table was more International than expected, an American Mother & Daughter and a young Mexican couple, all doing this cruise as part of a longer European trip.

 

 

We went to the Variety show, unusual for us, I don't think we will rush back to hear the singers.

Clocks go forward an hour tonight.

 

 

4th November- At sea

 

 

We waiting a few minutes for a table for 2 (I'm not very sociable in the morning) and had yogurt and fruit compote. We were originally given German menus and in the confusion it seems Mr HH ordered coffee for himself and my cup was filled as well. I normally have peppermint tea but I forced it down.

We sat in a box in the Royal Court Theatre for Maureen Ryan's talk, the theatre was fairly empty sadly. We both enjoyed it and didn't stay for Jessica Fellowes lecture on Downton Abbey.

Mr HH went to a fencing lesson and seemed to enjoy himself. I set my internet account up from the computer in the library, the wifi reception in the cabin isn't great.

We stayed to watch the beginning of the dance lesson but it was so busy we didn't join in.

We went to the Britannia for lunch and made a start on a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which hopefully we can finish tonight. (We also have some Malbec left over from last night).

We had a brief walk on deck and then a relaxing afternoon watching “Kingsman” on the cabin TV and snoozing. The TV listings don't seem to bear much resemblance to what is actually on !

Mr HH went out to try and get some wifi connection, I only realised after he'd gone that it was after 6 and he was dressed in trousers and a t-shirt !!

Edited November 5, 2015 by Host Hattie

[Host Hattie]

He wasn't banished and by the time he came back I'd remembered how to tie his bow tie so we were appropriately dressed for black and white night and the Commodore ' s cocktail party.

Food has been good so far with special mention of tonight's Chateaubriand and various chocolate deserts.

[Host Hattie]

I saw one gentleman in the Golden Lion in a polo shirt but apart from that everyone I saw seemed to be complying with the dress code. There were plenty of long dresses.

After dinner we went to see Allan Stewart in the theatre and then to Karaoke in the Golden Lion. There were some very talented singers (and some not so much !).

We are on tour in La Coruña so we ordered room service breakfast for 8-8.15. I was fast asleep when it arrived at 7.45.

[wetravelmax]

Looks like you are enjoying yourself ! I just returned from QV last Monday in Southampton and had a wonderful journey.

 

However, we had hit some 6-7 meter waves after leaving Gibraltar towards the Gulf of Biscay and later our toilet flushed over and suddenly became a running fountain.

 

I was a little surprised about one thing, on the cocktail reception in Hemispheres, the Commodore was strangely very rude to us after we asked to take a separate picture with him. Is this normal or is he just Business minded about the 25$ price per picture ?

 

Enjoy your time in board !

[Host Hattie]

Looks like you are enjoying yourself ! I just returned from QV last Monday in Southampton and had a wonderful journey.

 

However, we had hit some 6-7 meter waves after leaving Gibraltar towards the Gulf of Biscay and later our toilet flushed over and suddenly became a running fountain.

 

I was a little surprised about one thing, on the cocktail reception in Hemispheres, the Commodore was strangely very rude to us after we asked to take a separate picture with him. Is this normal or is he just Business minded about the 25$ price per picture ?

 

Enjoy your time in board !

 

Thanks, I'm not sure about the photograph, we tend to use the entrance which avoids the photographers.

It looks as if Mr HH accidentally bought 2 Internet plans, might have fun trying to sort that out later !

[wetravelmax]

Thanks, I'm not sure about the photograph, we tend to use the entrance which avoids the photographers.

It looks as if Mr HH accidentally bought 2 Internet plans, might have fun trying to sort that out later !

 

They are not too harsh on these internet plans. I accidentally went way over my free limit and I wasn't charged anything extra.

 

Was a bit shocked how rude he answered my question about the picture. At the end, I still bought the one picture ...

 

Hope sea waves are on your side !! :)

Edited November 5, 2015 by wetravelmax

[Host Hattie]

Love the montegu arms! We stayed there before our TA last year ( not part of a package, didn't know there was one!)

 

They keep sending me special deal emails .... So sad I'm so far away.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

They do a night pre - cruise, car parking for up to 4 weeks and taxi to and from the Cruise Terminal.

The first part of it worked very well.

[Host Hattie]

5th November – La Coruna

 

 

Our room service arrived early so we had time to watch the sail in, it was a grey morning but fairly mild. Our tour had a departure time of 9.30 and we had to assemble in the Queens Room for 9.00. We still hadn't been cleared by that time but we were in our coach and on our way only a few minutes late with one of the dance hosts as our escort. By the time we arrived in Santiago de Compostela the heavens had opened and I was glad of an umbrella but regretted leaving my coat behind. We were taken to our meeting point (moved undercover), given some general directions and left to explore the city. We were due to meet at 2.15 which is enough for a visit to the Cathedral, it's museum and lunch. We got back to the ship at around 3.30 and had a quick look around the area near the cruise terminal before all aboard at 4.30.

We had a problem with a broken hinge on our balcony divider, between our neighbour's piece of paper and Mr HH's work reshaping a cork we managed to stop the worst of the rattling. The ship was moving a little more so we thought it would be a good time to experience the Commodore Club. Our Mexican dinner companions were dining in the Verandah so we were down to 4 tonight. Our waitress is doing a good job of managing the extra salad orders from our American cousins, last night we all ordered the same 3 courses – Frogs legs, Canon of lamb and Crepes Suzette.

The show was the Singers in Concert which we decided to miss so we went to Party Night in the Queens Room and strutted our stuff a couple of times, helped along by the motion of the ocean ! Those of a nervous disposition may want to look away now, several of the gentleman (including the dance hosts) were dancing jacketless.

[fantasy51]

The show was the Singers in Concert which we decided to miss so we went to Party Night in the Queens Room and strutted our stuff a couple of times, helped along by the motion of the ocean ! Those of a nervous disposition may want to look away now, several of the gentleman (including the dance hosts) were dancing jacketless.

 

I think that jacketless is almost de rigeur on party night!

[Host Hattie]

We have 4 port days in a row now so postings may be a little brief.

We're just relaxing on our Balcony after a day strolling around sunny Cadiz.

Our Balcony divider has a shiny new hinge after we finally got round to reporting it yesterday.

There was an interesting note in the Daily Programme today that alcohol purchased ashore was for consumption in cabins only not on the open decks or in public rooms !

[probert]

Hattie,very interesting as we board the QM next week.

 

Three minor questions as we are now packing as we leave for New York tomorrow. Are tissues provided in balcony cabins?

Are any of the formal nights more formal than others? The reason I ask is that I have two very formal outfits and two not so formal ones

Do many of the men wear ties on informal nights?

 

We will be disappointed if people don't dress smartly in the evenings.

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

[Ray66]

Yes tissues are supplied in the bathrooms.

 

On informal nights there's a mix of ties and no ties.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for helping out Ray, yes there are tissues in the bathrooms.

The dress code seems to be well adhered to on formal nights, on informal nights I have seen a handful of men without jackets.

Probably more without ties than with.

This is on QV though, a somewhat different demographic than QM2. Have a great trip.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Host Hattie

[roscoe39]

Thanks for helping out Ray, yes there are tissues in the bathrooms.

The dress code seems to be well adhered to on formal nights, on informal nights I have seen a handful of men without jackets.

Probably more without ties than with.

This is on QV though, a somewhat different demographic than QM2. Have a great trip.

 

Keep posting hattie, just because no one is commenting back don't think we arnt glued to the screen for your updates. Have a fab trip on my favourite queen and bow to the commodore for me... Ps... Is Sally on board as cd?

Regards roscoe

Edited November 8, 2015 by roscoe39

[Host Hattie]

Thanks Roscoe, I did wonder if I was talking to myself ! Yes, Sally is still on board.

We have had a hectic few days so I will try and do a proper post tomorrow after we leave Tangier.

Late sailaway from Malaga tonight - 10.30.