Join Pete and Judy on their FIRST crossing on the Queen Mary 2

[Underwatr]

I think 7AM on the first sea day is when signups form the behind the scenes tour occur. The tour is at some later time.

 

It is not a free tour.

 

Salmon and steak are always available, just not on the menu.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Underwatr

[Lady Hudson]

As I recall there are some "always available" items. Talk to your waiter. I know when DH sails, and being a picky eater, he can always order his favorites of Caesar salad and shrimp cocktail.

[sppunk]

Look for a more detailed report on the KC soon!

 

Thank you! Loving your reports, really captures the atmosphere I expect to witness in 22 months ha!

[Salacia]

As I recall there are some "always available" items. Talk to your waiter. I know when DH sails, and being a picky eater, he can always order his favorites of Caesar salad and shrimp cocktail.

 

Yes, Lady Hudson, that was also my experience. Twice, during many QM2 voyages, nothing on the Britannia menu appealed to me. I asked for steak once, and chicken breast on another occasion (and whatever vegetables and potato was most available). I must say that I was surprised to see the response from the waiters, which was really very hospitable, and the food was quite good - especially the steak, which I rarely eat.

 

I understand that salmon is also available, but I've found that when fish is offered on the Britannia menu, it is quite tasty (even fish I don't usually eat).

 

Regarding the shrimp cocktail, yes, I understand it is always available on board, but it definitely not something I would recommend - just my opinion :)

Edited September 7, 2016 by Salacia

[Scrapnana]

Dinner on HAL is very casual on non Gala nights by Cunard Standards. There are very few Hawaiin Shirts - that is our favorites. Most people wear a long sleeved dress shirt or a polo shirt or equivalent. Very few jackets on casual night. I would wear whatever you fill comfortable wearing on casual nights, with the understanding that there will be a lot more variation than on Cunard. Late seating on HAL is more dressy than early by my non scientific observations...

 

Many of the women wear dresses everynight on casual night, while plenty also wear slacks....

 

If you dress on HAL like you do on Cunard, you will be more dressed than the average guest but it will be OK, you won't be alone... There are many who dress up every night as well.

 

Just to add to what Pete said...

 

I have plenty of nice dresses and evening pants and tops that I purchased for "informal" nights on a Cunard world voyage. Since I have started cruising on HAL I wear those same clothes to dinner. I like getting "dressed" for dinner (which never happens at home) and I might be dressier than the majority of passengers but I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. So, go ahead and enjoy your clothes!

[pepperrn]

The-Inside-Cabin...

"I did hear from a more experienced Cunard cruiser – (or is it voyager) that at 7 am on the first day at sea, they offer a 4 hour long behind the scenes tour to the first 12 people who present themselves to the tours office. They said it is never advertised and they stated that it was open to all, not just those in suites or high up on the loyalty program ladder. Not sure if this is fact or fiction, but probably worth checking out if you are up at 7 am on the first sea day"

 

Hi The-Inside-Cabin,

 

REALLY enjoying your reports from Queen Mary 2 :) .

 

You were told fact, not fiction:

I took the "Behind The Scenes Tour" on a transatlantic crossing almost three years ago.

It is not normally advertised (you have to know about it), however I did see it briefly mentioned in the Daily Programme on embarkation day on one crossing (but never since).

You go to the Tour Office in the Grand Lobby (near the Purser's Desk) at 9.00 am (not 7) on the first sea day and apply for a place.

I arrived about twenty minutes early. I was number three in the queue/line, one of the guys ahead of me wasn't on the tour.

You have to be able to climb stairs as there are a lot of those, and able to walk distances (this is a big ship!).

The next day I received a letter thanking me for applying and telling me I had been "selected". The cost was, I think, $120 and worth every cent.

The tour took place on the last day at sea, we (13 of us if I remember correctly) met up in ConneXions at 1.00pm.

The tour took us to many areas and places normally well "off limits" to passengers, at each stop along the route an officer or senior crew member would give us an insight into the work of that department and answer quesitions.

Approximately half-way we sere served a buffet snack of sandwiches/rolls, canape, drinks.

We concluded our tour on the Bridge where we each in turn had our photograph taken with Commodore Rynd.

We were each presented with a certificate, a letter of thanks, a couple of small items as reminders, and copies of our photograph (one large, three small versions).

(I understand that some groups get a group photo, not individual, and some get to wear an officer's cap for the photo).

My tour took approx three and-a-half hours.

I would imagine that the small delay in selecting passengers is for security/to check if you've done the tour previously/names out of a hat when over-subscribed.

 

Keep the reports coming, loving them :) I'm next on board in November and thanks to your posts, my excitement is building.

 

Thank you.

Edited September 7, 2016 by pepperrn

[MarkBearSF]

On our crossing in May, I arrived in line around 8:30, was about #12 in line and the tour had been closed for a while before I arrived at the excursions desk. I was told that half of the spots were made available to the concierge for grill class cabins. I was put on a waiting list which I agreed to. Not surprisingly, a day or two later, I received a note card from the excursions office offering their regrets that they were not able to accommodate us on the tour.

No complaints about any of this really. However, on our next crossings (RT) I'll be there earlier to snag a spot.

Edited September 7, 2016 by MarkBearSF

[The-Inside-Cabin]

I think 7AM on the first sea day is when signups form the behind the scenes tour occur. The tour is at some later time.

 

It is not a free tour.

 

Salmon and steak are always available, just not on the menu.

 

 

 

Thanks for the tips !

[Pushka]

Aussie Flyer and I completed the Behind the Scenes tour in 2014. I joined the queue of 5 at 9am and by 9.30 the queue was well more than 20 people. It was a great tour and we spent quite some time on the Bridge. Just a group photo for us. We received a photo, commemorative pin and certificate and a Chef hat.

The tour was never advertised.

Loving your report.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[AllieBallie]

Wonderful posts The-Inside-Cabin, thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 7, Sailing toward New York City

 

Jon Sopel, Senior BBC Foreign Correspondent, was Jo Haley’s guest on her morning show. He discussed his lecture from the previous day and gave a preview of today’s lecture titled “Yes, Mr President” which recounted his interview with President Obama.

 

Oh by the way, I have further looked into the Kings Court for breakfast and learned that they have 2 cooks, at least, that will cook eggs to order. There isn’t a sign that says this is an option, but once you look for it, you will spot the cooks standing near their fry pans either working on a custom order or preparing items to be placed on the serving line.

 

We arrived for Jon Sopel’s lecture a few minutes before it started and the place was packed! Not quite standing room only, but pretty close. We managed to find a couple of seats way off to one side.

 

Jon spent the first ½ hour recalling how his persistent paid off and he was granted his request for an interview. Much of his talk discussed his preparation and the mechanics of conducting an interview with the President of the United States. Even though he was an experienced correspondent he was still quite nervous while preparing for the interview and said that President Obama was very gracious and made him feel at ease right away.

 

 

He had promised earlier to give his perspective on the upcoming USA presidential election and he did not disappoint. He refused to offer his personal opinion on the race, but he did give some interesting insight and discussed how the UK Brexit vote may indicate the mood of the electorate across the globe. Much to my surprise he asked a supporter of each candidate to expand on their reasoning for their support. I was surprised that he would go down this path of engaging the audience on such a hot topic, but he handled it very well and the participants and audience were all quite respectful and led to an interesting exchange of opinions. These lectures are normally planned for 45 minutes, but this one lasted for 1hr and 15 minutes and the room stayed full.

 

We enjoy fish and chips and were looking forward to giving the Golden Lion Pub Fish and Chips a shot. The menu doesn’t list them as “Fish and Chips” but calls them “Beer Battered Atlantic Cod” or something like that. However when I asked for “Beer Battered Atlantic Cod” repeating exactly what was listed on the menu, the server look puzzled and asked – “Do you mean Fish and Chips?” About 15 minutes later we were enjoying some wonderful Fish and Chips. The pub was crowded but we were able to find seats at the bar. They serve lunch from noon until 2:30 and when they say 2:30 they mean 2:30. I had stopped by earlier at 2:31 and they were definitely no longer serving lunch. I would suggest getting there before noon in order to get a table and order drinks. They will take your food order at noon. This venue is quite popular and tends to fill up quickly.

 

Judy hadn’t been to the bridge viewing area so we visited after our Fish and Chips. The place was busier than the first time I visited but was still not crowded and there wasn’t any wait to get inside. They have photographs of the various bridge instruments along with a brief description which is helpful to identify everything you will see.

 

The lectures are replayed on the TV in the staterooms on a loop on channel 44. I spent some time in the afternoon watching some of the earlier lectures and discovered that they were all very interesting. Quality lectures appears to be a standard feature on “crossings” and maybe this is the case on Cunard all the time. I watched the lectures by Dr Dan Wilkins, who spoke on science and outer space and then Dr Dan Hamilton, MD, who was a Medical Consultant for various USA TV Shows.

 

Judy stopped by the Grand Lobby on Deck 3 at 4pm to pick up a copy of Fern Mallis’s book “Fashion Icons” and had her copied autographed. Zandra Rhodes was there as well, and Judy had a chance to speak with her, learning that she spent about half the year in Solana Beach, near where we live in San Diego.

 

Due to high demand, Colin McDowell offered a second illustration workshop and would eventually offer a third workshop. As previously discussed, we attended his first workshop. It always pays to carefully read the Daily Programme carefully each evening as often times these events will be listed only once as a very small item and can be easily overlooked. In many cases advance registration is required and if you sign up the evening before you will be less likely to miss out on a popular event.

 

My quest to visit the Boardwalk Café remains unfulfilled as the cold temperatures and high winds have made the outside decks rather unpleasant locations to spend much time. Someone commented on my early post that this café is more suited for warm weather cruises and is rarely opened during crossings.

 

As part of Fashion Week on the QM2, Colin McDowell and Gail Sackloff worked with the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London to invite 5 students to present some of their designs during the crossing. The RCA is a prestigious graduate school offering Masters degrees (2 year program) in various aspects of fashion and design. Every day from 7:30 to 8:30 pm the students would appear in the Champagne Bar and were available for informal discussions. We stopped by this evening and had a wonderful discussion with 2 of the students and learned more about this interesting school and their future plans.

 

Dinner is a joy as always. Judy and I both had the Sea Bass, which is the second time this has appeared on the menu. The QM2 seems to repeat menu items more frequently than on other lines. Nevertheless, it was quite good and we enjoyed another evening of lively conversation with our tablemates.

 

Steve Bruner from San Francisco was on the main stage this evening. He bills himself as offering clean, observational humor. He put on a good show, but seemed fascinated with pointing out and commenting on every late arrival. I find this distracting and breaks up the flow of their performance and am puzzled why some comedians seem to enjoy doing this.

 

Tonight was Big Band Night in the Queens Room. Since they didn’t need an orchestra for the comedian, the Royal Court Theatre Orchestra move to the Queens Room to join forces with that band to create a “Big Band Sound.” They were very good and the dance floor was getting a good workout as many couples were having a wonderful time. I spotted at least 4 male dance hosts and I heard there may even be a female dance host, but I never spotted her, if one was actually present.

 

If you enjoy ballroom dancing, then Cunard and QM2 are for you as I can’t think of another line that caters as much to ballroom dancing. The amount of live music on this ship is pretty amazing.

 

Before settling in for the evening I stopped by the Casino to play some Blackjack. There are two blackjack tables but only one was in service and no one playing at the time. For the first 10 minutes I was the only player, but then was joined by a few other people who were in a good mood. My luck can best be summed up by the following hand. I was dealt a 9 and a 2 with the dealer showing a 5. I doubled down and drew a 10 and was feeling pretty good about having 21 against the dealer’s 5. Flipping over her down card, the dealer showed a 10 and now had a 15 – my excitement was short lived as she drew a 6 giving her a 21 as well for a ‘push’. My luck didn’t change and I called in a night after one shoe.

 

more at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[babs135]

I'm thinking of starting a thread with the title 'Don't Post Fantastic Reviews As It Makes Me Jealous' !!!

 

Really enjoying your report and the photos are super. We will be on board in December and if I wasn't restless before reading your review I am now. I think that in a moment of madness I said I might do a review but I'm not sure I can follow you.

 

Thanks again

[gacruisergal]

We will board in UK on October 18th for the westbound sailing. This will be our 46th cruise but first on Cunard. Love all the suggestions since we only have 7 days to enjoy all of it!

[jimmybean]

We will board in UK on October 18th for the westbound sailing. This will be our 46th cruise but first on Cunard. Love all the suggestions since we only have 7 days to enjoy all of it!

 

You will be passing the baton to us, boarding on the 25th.

 

After 46 cruises, you will have no problem discovering the joys of the QM2. Have a wonderful voyage, gacruisergal!

 

See you in NY ;)

 

Thank you, The-Inside-Cabin, for this great thread :) DH and I also find Cunard's speakers outstanding. This has been true both during crossings and segments of world cruises.

 

Jimmybean

[MarkBearSF]

Our favorite lunch aboard the QM2 is in the Golden Lion Pub. As you mention, it's extremely popular. In fact, at around 11:55 it looks like a frantic game of musical chairs as everyone quickly searches for a seat to grab.

 

We've found that it's an entirely different situation around 1:00. By then, most of the "first sitting" have finished and there are many tables available.

[Lovely other]

Loving your review and blog ... I followed your World Cruise one religiously

. Just wondered if you were going to post any of your dinner menus ??

[6boysnana]

Thank you again for adding to our cruise joy by posting your excellent reviews. I was a loyal reader of your WC report and was thrilled to see this cruise review.

I also looked for the menus on your crossing. It is always fun to decide what I would enjoy for dinner.

 

Thank you for your time and effort

 

6boysnana

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Thank you again for adding to our cruise joy by posting your excellent reviews. I was a loyal reader of your WC report and was thrilled to see this cruise review.

I also looked for the menus on your crossing. It is always fun to decide what I would enjoy for dinner.

 

Thank you for your time and effort

 

6boysnana

 

I didn't bring my scanner so I didn't capture any menus. Here is a detailed review with LOTS of information and menus!

 

https://cruisecritique.net/2016/07/19/queen-mary-2-remastered-and-revisited/

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 8, Sailing toward New York City

 

Continuing on with Fashion Week events, at 11 am today in the Royal Court Theatre, Zandra Rhodes and Colin McDowell sat on the stage and discussed a variety of related topics from the fashion latest trends, to her meeting the Queen when she was appointed as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, the female equivalent to Knighthood. She described the ceremony where she met the Queen and how she was supposed to follow a strict protocol which included the precise number of steps and the fact that the Queen would ask her two questions before she was expected to move on. She couldn’t remember what the two questions were as she was very nervous.

 

 

We went to the King’s Court for lunch where we discovered that it was decorated with ice sculptures and numerous cakes, chocolates and other sweets and delicacies. Once per crossing they prepare what they call a “Chocolate Extravaganza” and today was the day on for this event on this crossing. There were a couple of chocolate fondues with strawberries, pineapples and puff pastries on skewers available for dipping in the liquid chocolate. The amount of delicious treats was overwhelming and whs something to see – don’t miss it! The daily program didn’t advertise this event so keep an eye out for it or I am sure if you asked around you would find out which date they have planned.

 

As mentioned earlier, the QM2 has over 30 musicians onboard. The daily program lists where they are playing throughout the day. We had a special treat during lunchtime today as the Carinthia Lounge had a small ensemble playing Dixieland Jazz music.

 

 

The Charity Chart Auction was this afternoon. They auctioned off a specially prepared nautical chart depicting our route across the Atlantic. The chart was fairly large, maybe 3 feet across or so, and since they use electronic charts, this one was prepared for the sole purpose of the auction. It was marked with our course, along with the location of the RMS Titanic and then signed by all the ships watch officers. Before the auction started, I guessed that it would sell for $450, Judy guessed $1000. We should have averaged our numbers as the final price was $800 with only 2 people really in the bidding. There may have been a third person at one point, but it was hard to tell. The bidding opened at $500.

 

Immediately following the Charity Chart Auction the guest talent show began. A small note in the Daily Program announced that rehearsals for the guest talent show would be this morning at 9:30 with the show being held at 5:00 PM in the Queens Room. This event wasn’t publicized during the Entertainment Directors morning TV show and I didn’t hear it mentioned during any other discussion of future activities, so I was a little curious as to how many people would participate. I thought there would be at least 10, but was surprised to find that only 4 people signed up. Two would be reading poetry (one original), one person played the piano and the other played the harmonica. Everyone was very good, but if I had to pick the best, it would be the piano player.

 

Tonight was our third and final formal night. There would also be a Roaring Twenties Theme party in the Queens Room starting at 10 pm. Unlike the Black and White Ball, which had a very high participation rate, there were far fewer people wearing clothing with a Roaring Twenties theme. We spotted only a handful of women wearing flapper dresses and I really couldn’t find any men wearing something I would call unique to a Roaring Twenties theme.

 

Dinner tonight was Steak and Lobster, which was very good. Judy is not a big fan of lobster and ordered the Haddock, but the waiter thought she said that she wanted the Haddock and Lobster. He told her that it was not possible to get the Haddock and Lobster, only the Steak and Lobster. I thought that was a little weird, but Judy told him that she only wanted the Haddock so it wasn’t an issue. I suspect she could have ordered two entrees, Haddock and Steak and Lobster but they probably didn’t want to deal with taking off a steak and putting a haddock onto the same plate.

 

Toward the end of dinner, the dining room came to life with the Chef’s Parade. It looked much like the old Baked Alaska Parade with the diners waving napkins and the Chefs parading through the dining room with commentary by the Entertainment Director Jo Haley.

 

We enjoyed a visit by “Bell Boy” of the Cruise Critic forums who stopped by to mention that he has been enjoying my blog for this crossing.

 

Tonight’s entertainment was the production show by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers called “Rhythm of the Night” which was a journey through the sights and sounds of Latin America. Colorful and high energy, the show was delightful and outstanding. As part of the remastering, they installed a huge LED screen on the stage which completely covers the back of stage from left to right and floor to ceiling. They would display various scenes that complimented the show and was quite effective.

 

 

After the show we stopped to get our picture taken with the Noon Bell. The Noon Bell is no longer permanently displayed but was rolled out as a photo backdrop. We were in the Grand Lobby a few times and never saw the bell or heard it ring at noon. We asked around and never got a clear answer if the noon bell would make an appearance or if the ringing ceremony was no longer performed, but no one rang the bell on the three days I stopped by the lobby at noon.

 

Judy completed the shawl shown below that she started August 19th – see her Ravelry page for more details. It was straight knitting, making it easy to knit in public. This project began in the middle and was knit in the round. To accommodate all the stitches (almost 1,000 on the bind-off round), she ended up buying a second circular needle in Bergen and then two more in Oslo.

 

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[Ab Ovo]

What a wonderful thread. Just brilliant! Thanks. :)

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 9, Sailing toward New York City

 

Our final day at sea started out with blue skies and warmer temperatures. Tropical Storm Hermine was still swirling off New York City and the Captain had forecast we might encounter 30 knot winds and heavier seas later in the day. As the day wore on, we never did encounter much weather and thankfully, the forecasts for much worse weather never materialized.

 

A “Glimpse of a Ship’s Galley” was on the schedule for 10:30 in the Britannia Restaurant. We have been on many galley tours on various ships over the years. While they are similar in most respects, there are always some differences and we enjoy meeting some of the crew and getting to learn more about their routine. Typically we find these tours quite popular and pretty crowded. So when we arrived a few minutes late, we were surprised to find that there were only 50 people or so crowded around one of the Chefs who had just started speaking near the entrance to the lower level of the Britannia.

 

After the Chef gave us a brief overview of the galley along with some interesting factoids such as how many meals are served each day we filed into the main galley and followed a loop starting on the port side and winding around to our exit on the starboard side. Along the way we learned that every restaurant has its own galley, including room service. I was surprised to learn that the Princess Grill and Queens Grill although side by side, still maintain separate galleys.

 

Fashion week events continued with a conversation between Colin McDowell and Fern Mallis. Fern displayed the shawl she was wearing that was covered with emoji caricatures of celebrities from the fashion industry. She mentioned that she purchased this at a store in Manhattan (Chelsea) called “Story” http://thisisstory.com/.

 

 

We really enjoyed the food in the Golden Lion Pub so we stopped by again after the Colin/Fern discussion in the Royal Court Theatre. They don’t start serving food until noon. We arrived a few minutes early and had to wait for a bit before putting in our orders. The place was swamped with orders right when they opened, so we had to wait about 20 minutes to get our food. It was worth the wait as the food was very good. Judy ordered the fish and chips and I ordered the steak, mushroom and onion pie.

 

There were 2 fashion shows held during the QM2 fashion week, the first was by Zandra Rhodes and we commented on that earlier. The second show, which we saw today, was by students from the Royal College of the Arts. Each show was presented twice. We missed the first presentation of the students show, but we were able to attend the second show which was held in the Queens Room today at 2 pm.

 

We arrived about 30 minutes before the doors opened as we wanted to get one of the best seats on the elevated section with a direct line of sight down the runway. We learned from our first experience that the front row seats directly on the runway were reserved for press and VIPS, but the other seats off the main floor were first come first serve and we felt that they were actually preferable.

 

There were 5 students presenting and each would display 4 “looks” as I learned that is the name for each outfit that would be shown. We enjoyed the show and it was fun to see what types of outfits the students created. I am not much of a fashion critic, but here are a few pictures that will speak for themselves.

 

After the show we headed up to the Terrace Pool to check out the weather, which was surprisingly nice but windy.

 

Stephani Parker was the headliner tonight in the Royal Court Theatre. The show this evening was at 7pm instead of 10:30 and was kicked off by the Cunard Singers and Dancers for a single 7 minute number followed by a new 30 minute show by Stephani. Her first show featured Whitney Houston songs exclusively while tonight’s show included songs from a variety of artists including Lionel Richey, Michael Jackson and others.

 

Our final dinner was wonderful and our group all bade farewell until we may meet again.

 

The remainder of our evening was spent packing and getting ready for our arrival in NYC in the morning.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Day 10, Arriving in NYC at the Red Hook Cruise Terminal in Brooklyn

 

I didn’t want to miss our approach into NYC on our final day even though it would be an early morning. We would be passing under the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge around 5:30 am and should be alongside the Red Hook Cruise Terminal in Brooklyn around 6:30 am.

 

I woke up around 5:15 and hurried up to deck 7 in time to see us pass under the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge. The Statue of Liberty was just coming into view, and while well lit, was still pretty small. There were about 100 people or so scattered around various vantage points on deck 7 with the most being concentrated in and around the forward observation deck. Everyone was maneuvering to try and get a photograph of the Statue of Liberty as she grew larger as we closed on Liberty Island, but we were still so far away that any photograph without a telephoto lens wouldn’t be very satisfying.

 

It was thrilling to watch our approach to NYC and think about what it must have been like for the thousands of immigrants who had a similar view of the Statue of Liberty as they made their way from Europe to the USA over the years.

 

Once the sun rose and erased the last of the dawns early light the full splendor of Manhattan’s skyline was on full display. After taking in the magnificent views, I stopped by the Kings Court to get a few plates of breakfast to take back to our cabin. One feature we enjoy with Holland America is that they offer full room service every day, including disembarkation day.

 

 

We were asked to vacate our cabin by 8:30 am and wait in our designated waiting area until our disembarkation time, estimated to be 10:20 am. On Holland America you are permitted to stay in your cabin until your scheduled disembarkation time. We prefer this approach to requiring everyone to vacate their cabins and wait in designated common areas. Waiting in your cabin requires that all disembarkation announcements be made throughout the ship and Cunard as well as Princess advertise their approach as a silent disembarkation as announcements are only made in the specified lounge and not throughout the ship. I prefer to wait in my cabin and listen to announcements rather than move to a lounge and listen to announcements there.

 

Another argument I hear about the benefits of vacating your cabin early is that it allows your cabin to be available sooner. I have found that my cabin on HAL has been available as early as 11 am so I am not sure that it really matters, as there are enough people who have left the ship early by their own preference to keep the cabin stewards busy until all the other cabins are available.

 

A little before 8:30 am we left our cabin but left our carry-on bags in our closet after we checked with our cabin steward who said that was OK.

 

We wandered down to the Grand Lobby and were a little surprised to see them strictly enforcing the disembarkation order. There were a couple of people checking to make sure you were in the correct group and turning away people when it wasn’t their turn. Our designated waiting area was the Illuminations Theater and we stopped by to see how crowded it may be and were surprised to find the room almost empty. We cycled by the other waiting areas and found them all to be not very crowded with plenty of seats available.

 

During a break in the action I learned that only 9 immigration officials were present rather than 16 so they were running about 45 minutes behind schedule in vacating the ship. From time to time they would close the gangway completely when the crowds in the terminal grew too long. We learned later than once you were off the ship you were looking at another 45 to 60 minute wait to get thru immigration after you retrieved your baggage. Good thing we were in no hurry to get off and catch a flight. However, if you did have an earlier flight, you would have probably been accommodated sooner and we don’t know what the lines were like earlier.

 

Since we had a couple of hours till we would disembark we took the opportunity to revisit some of the common areas around the ship. We didn’t spend much time in the Commodore Club and zero time in Churchill’s which is the designated area for cigar and pipe smokers. We wandered thru Churchill’s, which still had the faint smell of cigar smoke and we discovered these giant ashtrays used to hold cigars. Smoking cigarettes is forbidden in Churchill’s.

 

We finally settled down in the Grand Lobby to wait for our group to be called for disembarkation. On the QM2 you use the same luggage tags for embarkation as well as disembarkation. Your disembarkation group is by deck after all the priority passengers: suites, elite status, early flights, etc. have been accommodated.

 

Disembarkation was going very slow and our 10:20 am estimated time came and went and the ship was now 1 hour behind schedule. This was going to be a long day for the crew and I am sure the terminal was full of people ready to come aboard.

 

At 11:20 they called for Deck 6 to disembark and we were on our way off the ship and into the terminal. Once in the terminal we quickly found our bags and asked a waiting porter to help us move our bags out to the curb. As we moved toward the immigration area, we discovered a massive, snaking, line that was probably an hour long, maybe longer. We sighed but then our porter said that we would be able to use the special porter lane and get right to the front. It only took us 4 minutes to get thru immigration by using the porter line. Even if you can manage your own bags, it may be worth your while getting a porter simply to save time in the immigration line. There wasn’t a separate line for USA citizens or for Global Entry. Once you got to the front of the line, there were certain lanes that were dedicated for USA citizens.

 

There were plenty of taxis waiting and we were soon on our way to our hotel near Times Square. The taxi fare was $35 before the tip.

 

We plan to spend a few days in NYC before heading back to San Diego. I will post some of our NYC highlights with some tips for seeing a few of the sights. I will also post more detail on the Kings Court and an overview of my entire QM2 and Cunard experience.

 

More on the blog at http://www.theinsidecabin.com

[alc13]

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear your final QM2 experience was so disappointing. I loved reading your posts - thanks for taking the time. (And as a knitter, I loved seeing Judy's FO - very nice.)

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Gosh, I'm sorry to hear your final QM2 experience was so disappointing. I loved reading your posts - thanks for taking the time. (And as a knitter, I loved seeing Judy's FO - very nice.)

 

 

 

My final experience was great. It isn't Cunard's fault about immigration delays.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for your comprehensive postings, I look forward to reading your summary.