Queen Mary 2 New York to Southampton, October 18, 2019

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like you had another wonderful sea days.  

 

Cunard definitely has more activities for sea days than HAL does.

 

Love the pictures.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Roy!!

Another wonderful writing from you.

Thank you for always trying to get a pic of our sunrises. To others maybe they see a sunrise pic and say ok, but for me there is true meaning that goes beyond and each one I see is a blessing.Good for you doing that extra mile on your walk Roy.

I enjoyed the pictures you took and I enjoy the decor. I hope the sun will make its mark out on the ocean with blue skies!

I agree with KK that Cunard seems to really keep the passengers more entertained with activities than good old HAL on TA!! I’m wondering just how our TA on Rotterdam in March will be?

Roy, on your cruise does Cunard have coffee cafe, and their specialty restaurants ? Do they have dancing with a orchestra or band? To most who on this board travel a lot with Cunard the questions are not too important but since I’m not a novice to cruising this is one Cruiseline I am so intrigued with. 
Have a good day Roy!

Santa Anna’s here today in San Diego! 
Really beautiful over our ocean this am!

High today around 80 and dry for the next 3 days!

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-3, Monday, October 21, 2019, At Sea, Queen Mary 2, Gala

I will start this post off with one of the pictures purchased on the ship; the one from the Welcome Party with Captain Haishmi.

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Our cloud cover pretty much continues.  For the first time of the voyage I walked my full 5 miles (14 laps).  There was the least evidence of a sunrise yet but there was a tiny bit of color in the sky right around dawn.

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It was a relatively quiet morning.  As I ascended the stairs to Kings Court for my second stage of breakfast an alarm came out for a man overboard drill and when I stepped out on the Promenade deck some crew members were donning their exposure suits by the port fast rescue boat.

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Margaret Gilmore's second lecture was at 11, this one on "Superpowers and Spies".  I had more trouble following this one (and dozed off a bit, payback for staying alert for the Knights).  I left early to be on deck for the noon update but caught more of the talk in replay before dinner.  We had sailed 519 Nautical Miles in the 23 hours since noon Sunday.

My afternoon activities began in the Royal Court Theater with a performance by Classical Pianist Roman Rudnytsky.

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The afternoon Cunard Insights talks were at 3:30 and 4:30.  Queen Mary 2 is really designed around the purpose of all weather crossing of the North Atlantic.  Dining and entertainment areas are pretty much concentrated low and midship (Except for the Grills dining which is up on deck 7 and aft--and that costs extra?).  Most lectures are in Illuminations, a planetarium, movie house, and lecture hall which sits on decks 2 and 3 immediately forward of the Royal Court Theater.  It is accessed by deck 3L, a tween deck which is lower than 3 and runs under the balcony of the theater.  There are some nice windowside tables on part of that deck.  The first talk was George McGhee on Buzz Berkley, and I quickly decided not to stay long.

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Afternoon tea is also at 3:30, back in the Queens Room.  It was accompanied this time by Andrew Cavendish-Gray on the piano and I stayed for tea and a scone.

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The 4:30 lecture was by Ken Lenox on "The Royal Family".  Something new to me this crossing is that many of the "enrichment" activities seem to be commercial in nature and the Insights lectures get pushed back.  Getting out of a lecture at 5:30 and being reader for a Gala dinner at 6PM is quite a stretch and I left this talk quite early.

As with the theater and Illuminations, QM2 has a unique architecture around the dining room.  It is on decks 2&3 midship (Deck 1 is the tender landing) with the galley aft of it on deck 2 and the Queens Room on Deck 3.  To get around the dining room the designers added another part of deck 3L.  The floor of the Deck 3 dining level is elevated near the windows to allow for a passage between the 2 levels.  The starboard passage is the art gallery; the port passage used to be the photo gallery but a couple years ago several solo cabins were installed in that space.  I will have one of those cabins on my crossing next August.

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For the second night in a row there were just 3 of us at Table 322.  My choices for the evening were the duck consume, the Spa selection Lemon Artichoke Chicken, followed by the Lime Chiffon Cake and Pistachio ice cream.  Jane was unsure what ice cream I wanted so that arrived in a separate dish.

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The World Club party was held between dinner seatings.  I'm a bit unsure of the numbers but they mentioned 1154 new guests, 245 Silver (not invited), 550 others (not invited) 274 Gold, 175 Platinum, and 86 Diamond.  I squeak by as Diamond because of 15 voyages; still a dozen nights short of the 150 to qualify by that route.  The top cruisers recognized had 795, 824, and 830 nights.  I THINK the 550 "others" were people continuing on from Quebec whose party came in a prior segment.

Captain Hashmi's comments included a story I found amusing.  He told of a flyover where the QE2 made radio contact with a passing Concorde.  The captain was a serious seaman who had little idea what happened in the hotel department.  The Concorde Captain listed their dinner menu and asked QE2 about theirs.  The Captain asked a young Cadet to go to the restaurant and find out what their menu was.  He got lost on his way back to the ship.  Hashmi was spared disaster when the Captain ad libbed "I could tell you but by the time I finished you would be in New York".

The featured entertainment was comedian Mike Doyle.  He was not my cup of tea.

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There was a "Night in the Ballroom" after the show.  I dropped by for just a quick peek.

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I'll take my parting shot from Margaret Gilmore's talk.  Nothing about spies or terrorists but the realities of parenting in today's technological world.  She said she had just gotten her first word from her 21-year old son after being away for a week.  Not "how are you", "I miss you" or anything like that but a simple 7-word tweet:  "Mom, have you seen my gym shoes".

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

On 10/21/2019 at 12:08 PM, DeeniEncinitas said:

Good morning Roy!!

Another wonderful writing from you.

Thank you for always trying to get a pic of our sunrises. To others maybe they see a sunrise pic and say ok, but for me there is true meaning that goes beyond and each one I see is a blessing.Good for you doing that extra mile on your walk Roy.

I enjoyed the pictures you took and I enjoy the decor. I hope the sun will make its mark out on the ocean with blue skies!

I agree with KK that Cunard seems to really keep the passengers more entertained with activities than good old HAL on TA!! I’m wondering just how our TA on Rotterdam in March will be?

Roy, on your cruise does Cunard have coffee cafe, and their specialty restaurants ? Do they have dancing with a orchestra or band? To most who on this board travel a lot with Cunard the questions are not too important but since I’m not a novice to cruising this is one Cruiseline I am so intrigued with. 
Have a good day Roy!

Santa Anna’s here today in San Diego! 
Really beautiful over our ocean this am!

High today around 80 and dry for the next 3 days!

Denise😊

 

I hope I am qualified with a pretty extensive history on several cruise lines to put the comparisons in a bit of perspective.  I pretty much drink all regular coffee from the buffet and don't really pay a lot of attention to specialty coffee and the bar scene so I'm glad to be jogged with questions like that that others may not be willing to ask.

 

I think there are 2 specialty coffee bars.  I just checked the one next to the buffet and will post pictures.  I think there's another down on deck 2 and will have a look sometime.  Of course, there are also bartenders roving the buffet who will get specialty coffee.

 

There's only one "specialty" restaurant, the Verandah which equates roughly to the Pinnacle Grill.  I will be dining there tonight.  The other thing they have is somewhat similar to HAL's Canaletto concept.  A section of the buffet is closed off each night but in Cunard's case they have about 4 different menus presented on a rotating basis.  Personally, I have never been tempted.  I will probably not repeat their menus this time but think I have them posted from my last crossing.

 

May the fires stay far from you.

 

Roy

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

 

I hope I am qualified with a pretty extensive history on several cruise lines to put the comparisons in a bit of perspective.  I pretty much drink all regular coffee from the buffet and don't really pay a lot of attention to specialty coffee and the bar scene so I'm glad to be jogged with questions like that that others may not be willing to ask.

 

I think there are 2 specialty coffee bars.  I just checked the one next to the buffet and will post pictures.  I think there's another down on deck 2 and will have a look sometime.  Of course, there are also bartenders roving the buffet who will get specialty coffee.

 

There's only one "specialty" restaurant, the Verandah which equates roughly to the Pinnacle Grill.  I will be dining there tonight.  The other thing they have is somewhat similar to HAL's Canaletto concept.  A section of the buffet is closed off each night but in Cunard's case they have about 4 different menus presented on a rotating basis.  Personally, I have never been tempted.  I will probably not repeat their menus this time but think I have them posted from my last crossing.

 

May the fires stay far from you.

 

Roy

Hi Roy! Just came back from our walk and saw your reply! Thank you so much!!

Your picture, such a good one of you always Roy! Nice tux.

A little glimmer of light at Dawn is still special! 14 laps very impressed! 
The pictures are so wonderful!! I love the elegant old school decor and orchestras? Wow!

Since I was born In Long Beach Ca. All I have to compare is Queen Mary at Long Beach Terminal Island! We spent the night for a 50Th anniversary for my parents and the pictures you took reminded me of that time!

Enjoy and no worries Roy with our fires.

Take care

Denise😊

[Jack E Dawson]

Roy, a quick question please. On the 5 days when the clock is moved ahead one hour at noon, do you find this disruptive or noticeable in you afternoon activities. We have avoided east bound crossings because of this but have been tempted by the typically lower fares Cunard offers on TA's going from NYC to Southampton.

 

Thanks

Jack

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Roy, a quick question please. On the 5 days when the clock is moved ahead one hour at noon, do you find this disruptive or noticeable in you afternoon activities. We have avoided east bound crossings because of this but have been tempted by the typically lower fares Cunard offers on TA's going from NYC to Southampton.

 

Thanks

Jack

Having done 3 eastbound crossings the only thing that really changes is the bell is "officially" rung at midday and then the clocks go forward to 1pm so the only impact is getting lunch if you eat in MDR. Doesnt impact or cause any problems with any activities onboard. We are doing our next R/T on 3rd November and cannot wait.

[rafinmd]

Jack, I do sometimes find things a bit rushed with noon and the start of afternoon activities but for me it's a very small price to pay for not having night after night of lost sleep or of losing 5 or 6 hours all at once on an airplane.  I've only seen one other thing I liked nearly as well; once on the Rotterdam we lost an hour at noon and another overnight a couple of times leaving a more or less proportioned day and a couple of days to recover between changes.

 

Denise, if you ever get a chance, check out Queen Mary's Sunday Brunch which is held in the original First Class Dining room.  The big difference between the old Queen Mary and Queen Mary 2 is that nearly the entire ship is open to everybody.  Grills have a different restaurant with a nicer menu but I think our restaurant is more elegant and there is very little elsewhere on the ship that the passenger in the cheapest cabin cannot fo.

 

By the way, I don't have a tux with me.  The jacket is a black blazer by Travelsmith and I think it blends in with the formal shirt and tux pants superbly.  I will take the Tux with me on the World Cruise but with only 5 total formal nights on this trip and some inter-ship transfers I decided to leave it at home.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful report Roy.  Love the pictures.

 

I do like the Concorde story.  We ate the entire 3 hours from London to New York.

 

You looked dashing beside the captain.

[DeeniEncinitas]

56 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Jack, I do sometimes find things a bit rushed with noon and the start of afternoon activities but for me it's a very small price to pay for not having night after night of lost sleep or of losing 5 or 6 hours all at once on an airplane.  I've only seen one other thing I liked nearly as well; once on the Rotterdam we lost an hour at noon and another overnight a couple of times leaving a more or less proportioned day and a couple of days to recover between changes.

 

Denise, if you ever get a chance, check out Queen Mary's Sunday Brunch which is held in the original First Class Dining room.  The big difference between the old Queen Mary and Queen Mary 2 is that nearly the entire ship is open to everybody.  Grills have a different restaurant with a nicer menu but I think our restaurant is more elegant and there is very little elsewhere on the ship that the passenger in the cheapest cabin cannot fo.

 

By the way, I don't have a tux with me.  The jacket is a black blazer by Travelsmith and I think it blends in with the formal shirt and tux pants superbly.  I will take the Tux with me on the World Cruise but with only 5 total formal nights on this trip and some inter-ship transfers I decided to leave it at home.

 

Roy

That’s a great idea for a Sunday Brunch 

sometime!!!! That is a very nice blazer too! Travel Smith is a great store! DH has a nice blazer we got from them that is wrinkle free which is great! Can’t wait for the WC. 
Have a great evening Roy

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-4, Tuesday, October 22, 2019, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

I wasn't  optimistic about it when I started but I did end up once again walking my full 5 miles (14 laps) on the Promenade Deck.  It was very cloudy again but the sun did generate quite a bit of color as it should have appeared.

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Now that I have posted pictures of most of the lecturers and performers I will add a few more from around the ship.  Most of my regular readers will know that my Holy Grail of cruising is Crystal and I have long felt that Cunard is the mainstream line most like Crystal and that is a double edge sword.  Most of the things I love about Crystal I at least like with Cunard but there are fewer (to me) things Cunard does that are better than Crystal and sway me to choose them.  Of course affordability is one, and regular transatlantic service is the one that stands out most to me.  The other major Cunard positive is to me the finest Promenade Deck at sea.  I think Crystal's is more elegant but where QM2 REALLY shines is the viability of the promenade deck in all kinds of weather.  It is situated high enough above the water that it takes a lot of salt spray to make it untenable, it has a great windbreak at the bow, and each entrance has 2 sets of doors making access easier when the wind is up.  The collage starts aft starboard with a short enclosed passage by the Grills restaurants and under some balcony cabins.  It continues past a bank of life rafts and then past a long row of loungers.  At the bow the passage is enclosed with a break from any headwinds and windows looking forward.  The passage back along the port side and ends with quite a wide space across the stern.

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Teak decks get a regular washing and on QM2 this is precisely choreographed (QE and QV have composite decks that just get a touch-up with a damp mop).  Precisely at 6 each morning the crews appear, one of the stern (covering decks 6-8) and one on each side of the Promenade deck.  They start by folding the footstools on the deck chairs and pushing them next to the railing.  Each crew uses a pressure washer and sprays the deck and the adjoining windows.  Once the washing is done a giant water vac sweeps up the water and crews with squeegees touch up any remaining water and squeegee the windows.

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Can you go out on the bow?  Yes and no.  There's a passage from the front of the promenade deck for great views forward, and standing among spare propellor blades.  Great views but is it the bow?  Not really, if you look forward you can see another deck in front of the space.  Not visible from "the bow", there's a third level as shown in the photo from the ship model.  You feel like you're on the bow but still well protected from North Atlantic Swells.  The hatches out there from the Promenade deck are heavy but are typically only closed during very strong winds.

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The morning Insights lecture was Gloria Barnett on "Human Effects on the Ocean" at 10.  I had lost track of when it was and only realized at 10:30 that I was missing it, and headed down quickly.

Each day I try to go up to deck 13 for the daily horn test and Captain's briefing.  There are 2 horns mounted on the funnel, one of them (tested daily) is on loan from the Original Queen Mary and has an amazing sound.

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The middle (or aft, since it ends midship) of deck 13 is a large open deck with some courts and a shuffleboard layout.  There are benches by the forward bulkhead where I sit for the horn test and Captain's update.  In his update he indicated that conditions would stay much the same for the next 24 hours.  Each day he closes his announcement with an explanation of a nautical term.  I've long been familiar with the origin of "bite the bullet" as a primitive form of anesthesia for injured sailors.  Captain Hashmi added something though that I had not considered.  The technique can only be effective if the sailor still has teeth.  Always something to learn.  He also indicated there was a rainbow in front of the ship but it was gone by the time I got to a place to see it.

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I did not do a lot mid-afternoon but did go up to Kings Court for a scone during afternoon tea time.  While there I walked along part of the Starboard Promenade deck and with the sun out people were enjoying virtually every lounger.

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The day's final lecture was at 4 with Ken Lennox presenting the first of a 2-part series on Princess Diana.

My travel agency gave me a voucher for an evening at the Verandah Steakhouse.  I had a little extra time to prepare since they open at 6:30.

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The bread and my salad were the same as I had at lunch Sunday.  For the entree I chose the Australian steak, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, as well as the apple pie a la mode for desert.  The steak was excellent although I am not sure I would have justified the $30 supplement for it without all the onboard credit I must spend.

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The featured entertainment was a full show by violinist Izabella Zebrowski.  She was very good although there have been other violinists I have liked better.

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The inspiration for my parting shot is a little item in the daily news summary delivered to each room.  There are certain events that people will never forget where they were.  I'm not sure if this was one for everybody but it was for me.  On October 22, 1962 I was a sophomore at Harpur College (now Binghamton University) in upstate New York.  I worked in the college cafeteria for spending money.  At that point the campus was growing by leaps and bounds, and that day a contractor had severed the main power line leading to the campus.  I was in the dish room (probably dealing mostly with paper plates and a few serving utensils), working by the light of a candle in a room very much resembling a bunker, and listening to President John F Kennedy on a tinny transistor radio when he made the announcement that Soviet missiles had been detected just 90 miles from our shores.  A night I will NEVER forget.

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

I love today's report -- especially all the ship pictures.

 

In 1962 I worked in the college's post office.

 

The Australian steak -- what US steak is close to it?

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Roy here in San Diego!

First to your parting or closing of your blog! I too remember the faith of that day!!

My brother was only 4 months old and I was his big sister who was watching him in his crib when our neighbors came over and a lot of chatter going on with the middle crisis! 
To the wonderful pictures of the promenade WOW I sure do like it. 
The Veranda Steakhouse the restaurant looked very nice BUT the steak looked small. I hope it was Prime aged. Than to me it would be worth it. 
My parting words are Thank you for always making it an adventure with your writings! Remember we are now doing our TA crossings and in Europe on several cruise lines like you and for us trying Oceania might not be Cunard or Crystal

be so much fun ! Looking for to our PH on her.

Denise😊

 

[roger3858]

Enjoying your report ! Just curious if there have been wine academy events on at all or if they offered the WSET wine course on your crossing? I didn’t spot any mentions of it in the dailies you’ve posted but wasn’t sure if they might have been advertised separately 

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-5, Wednesday, October 23, 2019, At Sea,, Queen Mary 2, Gala

Soon after heading up to the promenade deck I noticed that this would be a bit of a departure from prior days.  As I rounded the stern I got a pretty decent view of a sliver (waning) of the moon overhead.  

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I walked 4 miles (11 laps) initially, ending my walk about sunrise.  There were some low lying clouds and I could actually have walked another lap and still been in time but didn't want to miss the first actual sunrise in 5 days.  I walked a fifth mile when I came up for
the first stage of breakfast.

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The program for me was slanted towards the morning.  The first Cunard Insights lecture was George McGhee with "Joan Crawford--Always A Star".  I was familiar with most of the material as one of Crystal's Actor/Lecturers (Jim Brochu) talks about her frequently and saw her almost as a surrogate mother.  I found McGhee's more detached view of Crawford interesting and quite consistent with Brochu's.

He was followed at 11 by Gloria Barnett with "Fantastic Adaptations of Sea Life"  That conflicted with the 11:15 Senior Officers Party for upper level World Club members.  I encountered a young lady in a newly created position, a Hotel Department Cadet.  I saw much of Barnett's talk later on TV.

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I had noticed that our speed had dropped from about 22 knots down to 19.  I was wondering if that was because we were ahead of where we needed to be and perhaps that is true but planned; Captain Hashmi indicated it was because we were no longer being pushed by the Gulf Stream.  He noted that we would reach the northernmost point on our Great Circle route in the evening (49:50 north).  The temperature was just about a degree higher than previous days, 18/64.  The main access to the upper/outer decks is through the Pavilion Pool on deck 12.  It is covered, comfortable, and there are 2 hot tubs as well as table tennis, a band stand, and a bar.

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There is a large deck area behind the pavilion pool.  The space includes the "Boardwalk Café", a burger joint which is almost never open (I've seen it open perhaps 3 times in my 80 days on QM2.  Probably just as well, I've found the food on Crystal's Trident Grill and HAL's Dive-in far better.

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The last 2 days there is not much time for lunch.  With the clocks going forward at noon it's quite rushed to get to 1:15 lectures and I grabbed a bit of pizza and headed down to Illuminations for Andy Wyatt's talk on a day in his "office", a 747 crossing of the Atlantic.

Following that at 2 RADA presented a short play, "The Tram Track Tragedy".

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There were 5 of us at table 322 on the final Gala night, a new couple who joined Tuesday for the rest of the voyage, a couple who I think was there for just 1 night and me.  Sadly, one of the couple who had been there regularly took ill during Tuesday dinner and was not present.  My choices were the watermelon salad, Beef Wellington, and poached pineapple.

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Towards desert time we had the traditional parade of chefs.  The featured entertainment was the Royal Court Theater Company with Broadway Rocks.  I last saw it in May on Queen Victoria.

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Each night there is traditional dancing in the Queens Room and on Gala nights there is a themed ball. I walk through the Queens Room to the ship's night club, G32.  At the very aft of the ship it is on 2 levels, decks 3 and 4, but the only entrance is on deck 3 and the only access to the upper level is by stairs in the lounge.  They were playing 50's music and had a small dance floor.

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The ball in the Queens Room was the Roaring 20's ball.  I took photos of it both from the floor and from one of the windows in the upper level of G32.

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My parting shot comes from Catherine Kennedy's morning show and is a quote by Mark Twain.  "You will regret the things that you didn't do more than the things that you did".

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wow -- both the moon and the sun rise on your morning walk.

 

That beef wellington looks bigger and better than what HAL serves.

 

There is so much more entertainment on Cunard than on HAL in the evenings.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Roy! I also agree with KK

about HAL!

I so enjoyed your pics of the early early morning glimpse of the moon AND you nailed a wonderful sunrise.

Thank you for the pics of  The Queens Room and Gala Ball!

I wish I could get up so early for those morning walks on the promenade! This is a short cruise ending soon and I look forward to your Crystal cruise starting.

Thanks Roy

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

On 10/23/2019 at 7:46 PM, roger3858 said:

Enjoying your report ! Just curious if there have been wine academy events on at all or if they offered the WSET wine course on your crossing? I didn’t spot any mentions of it in the dailies you’ve posted but wasn’t sure if they might have been advertised separately 

I don't think so although it isn't something I would pay much attention to.  I'll review the Discover pages on the coach to London and report back if I see anything but I doubt it.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-6, Thursday, October 24, 2019, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

I'll start this post off with another shameless promotion of the Travelsmith Blazer, this one taken on the last Gala Night.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/lastgala.jpg

With that 4-letter word P-A-C-K looming I held my morning walk to about 2 miles, 6 laps and was done before sunrise.  I had thought of trying to catch sunrise from my balcony, but it was a bit too close to straight ahead and it was taking forever and  I headed up to the Promenade Deck for a better view with the bottom view framed by the spare propellor blades.

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The final day was a very busy one for Cunard Insights with all 5 speakers having a final shot at the podium.  Ken Lennox started things off at 10 with "Diana - The Tragedy".  He was followed at 11 by Margaret Gilmore speaking on "Reporting Terrorism", the view of both a counter-terrorism specialist and journalist on how the media can best handle terrorist events with emphasis on the London bombings of 2005 (3 Underground plus 1 bus).

As we come to the time I will be on the top deck for the horn test and navigation update I will digress with a few more photos of the ship, making an arc over the ship from back to front.  Just above the promenade deck, deck 8 aft has a nice pool, loungers, and quite a large smoking area.

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Decks 9 and 10 aft are penthouses and 11 is a very nice deck just for those in the grills.  There's a small landing on a staircase down from deck 12 to deck 8 where I paused briefly for a photo.

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At the back of deck 12 we have the kennels with space for about 20 animals.  The kennels are only used on transatlantics, on World Cruises they become a repository for unused luggage.

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I will now zoom over the pavilion pool and another deck to the forward section of deck 13-14, a place I mention with a bit of sadness.  In the last drydock additional cabins were installed there and today there are just a couple of narrow walkways to the bow with pretty much a no mans land in between.  The lower part of the photo from a model of the ship shows the original configuration with tennis courts and a pool.

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At the very front of deck 13 there's an enclosed overlook called "The Lookout" right at stairway A.

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Finally, there's another one 2 decks down on deck 11 called The Observation Deck".  Views are great from there but it's very much vulnerable to the winds and probably open less than half the time on a transatlantic.  I don't think I've ever seen conditions so favorable to be out there as on this voyage.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/observation.jpg

In his noon update Captain Hashmi noted we would pass Bishop Rock (starting point for the English Channel) about 1:20PM and pickup our pilot at 3AM Friday)  We should be docked about 6AM.  At noon it was our warmest day yet 21C/70F.

It was another quick lunch as Capt. Andy Wyatt was again speaking at 1:15.  I was not quite as rushed as Wednesday though as his topic was the Concorde which he had flown it only as a passenger.  I got the definitive view of the Concorde on my last crossing as Captain Tim Orchard (a Concorde pilot) was onboard.  Still the presentation was interesting.  I skipped the final 2 presentations (Gloria Barnett on Sharks and George McGhee on Cole Porte) and started packing in earnest.  I was very close to finishing when dinner time came.

There were 6 at table 322 the final night, the couple who has been there all along (other than the night the wife was ill), the new couple who started up the night I was in the Verandah, and one other person.  My final dinner was the chicken soup, lamb shank, and peach tart.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/dishes24.jpg

The evening main stage show was the Knights followed by comedian Mike Doyle.  I left after the Knights set.  I put the final touches on my packing after the show (I had hoped to have one bag I wouldn't need to touch in the hotel but one item did need to go in there to keep the big bag under 50 pounds.  The bags went out at 9:20 and a crew member was almost waiting to whisk them away.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/bagsout2120.jpg

My parting shot will be a wish for a great vacation for Captain Hashmi (Welcome aboard Captain Wells) and for assistant waiter Jane.

Roy

 

PS: I have 2 more days with Cunard with their hotel in London.  My handover towards Crystal will be when I arrive at Heathrow.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for all your great reports and photographs.

I'll add a link to the Daily Programmes to the Welcome sticky if that's OK with you ?

[jaydee6969]

Very interesting thank you.  Has given us a good idea of what to expect whilst on board for our TA on QM2 from New York in December 2020.

[rafinmd]

5 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for all your great reports and photographs.

I'll add a link to the Daily Programmes to the Welcome sticky if that's OK with you ?

 

Absolutely.  Thank you

On 10/23/2019 at 7:46 PM, roger3858 said:

Enjoying your report ! Just curious if there have been wine academy events on at all or if they offered the WSET wine course on your crossing? I didn’t spot any mentions of it in the dailies you’ve posted but wasn’t sure if they might have been advertised separately 

I did see it on the first day's Discover page, along with a couple of other potential events of interest to you.  My scanner is packed away and I probably won't get it out until I board the Bach Sunday but I will post them then if not sooner.

 

Roy

[roger3858]

Much appreciated Roy! Many thanks 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loved the ships pictures.

 

Can't believe that your first segment of your journey is over.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Nice picture again of you Roy, or should I say “My name is Bond James Bond!”

Great picture!

Like KK said first small segment is coming to an end. I really enjoyed the in-depth blog 

as always from you and I got a lot of great information and pictures of Cunard! She really is a fine ship with a lot of history!!

Looking forward to your continuation 

on Crystal!

PS Thank you also for always trying to get a pic of the sunrises and sunsets too👍
Denise😊