QE around New Zealand and QM2 to Southampton

[Colin_Cameron]

This morning started with fruit (healthy) and Danish pastries (not so much) brought from the Lido for breakfast on the balcony. It feels much warmer than the 18C that we’ve been told, and with absolutely no wind which suggests that we’re moving with, and at the same speed as, the wind.

 

Actually, this morning started with me remembering to dig the anniversary cards out of the drawer (I’m not making that mistake again).

 

Today was the second of Stuart Tipple’s excellent talks. This time on the aftermath and follow up to the trial in ‘The Dingo Baby Case’.

 

There was an unusual opportunity made available today; dinner in the Princess Grill. Amongst some other unique items this was one of the things up for auction in a fund-raiser for the Australian Red Cross bush-fire relief fund.

 

We had booked our complimentary lunch (World Club Diamond perk) in The Veranda for our anniversary. This was our first visit since it became ‘The Steakhouse at ... ‘. I have to say that there were probably fewer items that immediately leapt off the menu as ‘must try’ choices. But, although it’s difficult to compare different meals eaten over a number of years, I think it’s safe to say that we enjoyed our lunch at least as much, if not more so, than in the past. Although the food was superb, and the service flawless, it’s the experience as a whole that you tend to remember and today that was the epitome of what Cunard has become to us. We were greeted by the chief sommelier, whom we first met when he was our wine steward over twenty years ago on QE2. (I suspect he may have been tipped off by our current wine steward, but even if so, the fact that such snippets of information are passed on shows care and attention to service.) Then we were served by a waiter we have known for nearly thirty years on at least five, if not six, different ships. There has to be an element of bluff to their recollection (if there is, they’re good at it) but I’m regularly amazed by their ability to remember names, faces and details (and to match them up). When the barman places ‘your usual’ in front of you without asking, after a three year gap, or a waiter addresses you by name when he didn’t even serve you but happened to work in an adjoining station the last time you were aboard, I’m simply speechless.

 

Another poor day at trivia made interesting by Kaori and her ‘perfec Samurai Engrish’. I’m convinced her colleagues must be picking the most unpronounceable questions for her. And If the question is easy, you just know that the answer is going to be impossible.

 

Our table for 10 has never been full, but tonight when our dance host left after about 15 minutes we were alone. According to our waiters, they notice a big drop in numbers on formal nights on the Australia/NZ itineraries. 

 

If you ever find ‘Celli’ on your programme, go and see them. An excellent show by two cellists. Short pieces of well known tunes, from JSB to Michael Jackson, interspersed with comic links.

[lissie]

You must have had a great day in Wellington today! You caught one of the 5 good days of this summer!  Waved to the QE as we passed but won't be in position to reproduce this pic of her as she leaves tonight - this was her last ( I think) visit in December

[Colin_Cameron]

As Lissie said, it was a glorious day in Wellington. The sun shone fiercely from sunrise to sunset. No matter how carefully you apply sunscreen the sun always manages to find the one little spot under your collar, or elsewhere, that you missed.

 

A compulsory shuttle bus out of the port today. We were dropped off near Te Papa, The Museum of New Zealand, and walked around the waterfront for a while before heading up Cuba Street and circling round to the cable car station.  I would describe it more as a funicular railway but here it’s known as the Wellington Cable Car. We waited in a short queue and got on the second car and were at the top in minutes.

 

At the top, as well as the magnificent views, especially today, there’s the cable car museum, the Carter Observatory and you’re also at the highest point of the botanic gardens. We opted to walk back down as there are well signposted paths through the gardens. Be aware that, while good, the paths are quite steep in places and could go for your knees if you are susceptible to that.

 

As we came through the old cemetery near the bottom I was surprised to see that there were several Maori graves mixed in amongst the others. They were from around the 1870s and for some reason I had expected there to be segregation at that time. I note that a number of gravestones were relocated when the motorway was built so perhaps they were mixed up then.

 

Back to the shuttle bus and the ship just in time for afternoon tea. Apart from the few minutes on the cable car we’ve been walking for five hours so feel we’ve earned afternoon tea today. We followed that with another trivia win and then a shuffleboard win (much to my surprise). And then it was sail away time. I finally realised the the drummer in the Upbeats is the same person as the drummer in the Queen’s Room Orchestra (or an identical twin). Cunard are really getting their money’s worth out of her.

 

A quick shower and change and up to the Commodore Club. 

 

The table is back to it’s usual five again tonight. And we discover that somehow we have four different bottles of wine open. There’s much discussion around the table and with the staff about the changes to both QE and QM2s itineraries. It shouldn’t (fingers crossed) affect us but I feel for one waiter who is about to go home to Hong Kong for a few weeks between contracts, but can’t do so as he wouldn’t be allowed back on board.

[Colin_Cameron]

I was up sharp this morning because it was my turn to prepare all the carrots for tonight’s dinner. Does anyone else have really weird dreams aboard ship?

 

This is our first, and only, tender port. We congregated in the Queen’s Room and it’s the first time I’ve known everyone to have to pass the ‘step test’. They had a couple of lines, 18” apart marked on the floor and a piece of blue paper with ‘water’ written on it in between. I didn’t see anyone fail the test through inability or infirmity but in the time we waited perhaps as many as thirty people failed through an inability to grasp what they were being asked to do. There had been a notice delivered to every cabin beforehand, there was a notice in the daily programme, as you approached the lines everyone was told what to do, and despite watching everyone in front of them successfully ‘take a step’ as many as thirty people in the space of twenty minutes failed to understand what was being asked of them. A crew member would demonstrate what to do and they would try again. This time they would try to use the piece of paper as a stepping stone. They would be shown again and they would put both feet in the gap avoiding the piece of paper. I watched some people attempt this four times before successfully putting one foot in front of the other. Some people just shouldn’t be allowed out on their own. It’s not a ‘step test’ Cunard need, it’s a ‘stupidity test’

 

This was amply demonstrated shortly afterwards. The tender was about half full when a swell picked up and we started bucking wildly. There were two people on the short (maybe four foot long) gangway which was bouncing up and down. They were shouted at to “Go Back” but they wanted onto this tender and refused until they were ‘encouraged’ to do so. The crew managed to raise the gangway before it was smashed or disconnected and dropped between tender and boarding platform. After a couple of minutes it calmed down, the gangway was lowered again and boarding continued. It was quite a long tender ride.

 

Akaroa is a beautiful large village/ small town in a stunning setting. Early on, before we left the ship, the clouds were sitting on the tops of the hills and we could have been anywhere in the west highlands of Scotland. But by the time we got ashore the sun was out and it turned into another glorious day. We didn’t fancy the three hour round trip to Christchurch so spent the day wandering the streets admiring the old buildings before stopping for fish & chips for lunch. I’m really glad I had ordered the elephant fish before I saw a picture of one on the wall.

 

At least a couple of the tours were up to an hour and a half late and we were late hoisting the tenders and setting sail. There was a deck barbecue tonight and I’m guessing it was fairly busy as the dining room was the quietest yet.

 

The show company only joined the ship a few days before we did and I’m hoping that they’re still gelling. The sound balance is never the best at the edges of the theatre, either here or on QV, so I won’t hold that against them, but their timing, on occasion, needs a little work.

 

As we left the theatre through the Queen’s Room the Upbeats struck up a jive that we couldn’t resist and then headed, panting, to the Lido for some juice to take back to the cabin.

[lissie]

1 hour ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Some people just shouldn’t be allowed out on their own. It’s not a ‘step test’ Cunard need, it’s a ‘stupidity test’

This made me LOL !  Seems like a totally sensible test to have! 

1 hour ago, Colin_Cameron said:

 

Akaroa is a beautiful large village/ small town in a stunning setting. Early on, before we left the ship, the clouds were sitting on the tops of the hills and we could have been anywhere in the west highlands of Scotland. But by the time we got ashore the sun was out and it turned into another glorious day. We didn’t fancy the three hour round trip to Christchurch so spent the day wandering the streets admiring the old buildings before stopping for fish & chips for lunch. I’m really glad I had ordered the elephant fish before I saw a picture of one on the wall.

 

You made the right choice there!  Christchurch was never the most interesting city - but now its still very much a construction site post  the earthquakes. Akaroa is delightful - I assume at some point the ships will go back to Lyttelton  - which is at least more interesting the Chc - but Akaroa is a gem 

[Colin_Cameron]

The weather continues to hold although it’s not quite as warm as it has been.

 

We got the shuttle into Dunedin and just walked around on our own for several hours visiting the railway station, the Settler Museum, First Church and the Anglican Cathedral. And the highlight of the trip, for some, several shoe shops.

 

Yet again sailing time, and the sailaway party, came and went with us securely tied up to the dockside. Eventually a train pulled onto the dock and what appeared to be over a hundred people piled off, and up the gangway.

 

It’s the World Club Party tonight and although it’s a ‘Smart Attire’ evening there appears to be fewer men without jackets than there was on the first ‘Gala Night’ and there are certainly more ties in evidence than I’ve seen all voyage. The announcement of ‘most travelled passengers’ proved controversial as somebody thinks we should have been in second place. I now have to re-count our cruise nights. (Do you think there’s any chance of me remembering whether that Vistafjord cruise in ‘99 was 11 nights or 12?)

[Colin_Cameron]

Forgot to say yesterday that I was really surprised at the number at the party last night. Given that almost everyone seems to be wearing a ‘red card’ on a lanyard around their neck I was expecting WC Party to be held in a phone box.

 

There’s low, broken cloud this morning in Dusky Sound which makes the scenery very atmospheric. By the time we reached Doubtful Sound, mid-morning, the sun was shining but still with patchy clouds floating around half-way up the higher hills. 

 

The roast lamb at lunch was excellent. There has been lamb on the menu at least once, sometimes twice, a day since we started which may explain why we never saw any sheep in NZ. The passengers on QE have eaten them all.

 

For the last couple of hours the weather has not been looking too promising, almost foggy at times, but as we turn into Milford Sound it starts to break up and continues to improve as we wend our way inland with peaks making sudden appearances startlingly high above us. I’m not sure that we actually saw any one hill completely from waterline to summit but as the clouds were rapid moving we certainly saw most of most of them.

 

As we left the sound and headed across the Tasman Sea towards Melbourne the clouds lift completely.

 

Last night’s show was an excellent pianist by the name of Ashley Carruthers and this evening he joined us for dinner which gave us an insight into life on the other side of the shipboard footlights. Not just from a performer’s perspective but it turns out he is also the agent for tonight’s act, ‘Rock Rhapsody’. And just to keep the conversation topical, also has an act aboard Diamond Princess that he is in contact with a couple of times a day so we got an update on conditions there. People getting deliveries to their balcony by drone, etc.

 

P.S. Apologies if some of the tenses are confused but I’ve been writing this at various points throughout the day. 

[LittleFish1976]

16 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Forgot to say yesterday that I was really surprised at the number at the party last night. Given that almost everyone seems to be wearing a ‘red card’ on a lanyard around their neck I was expecting WC Party to be held in a phone box.

 

There’s low, broken cloud this morning in Dusky Sound which makes the scenery very atmospheric. By the time we reached Doubtful Sound, mid-morning, the sun was shining but still with patchy clouds floating around half-way up the higher hills. 

 

The roast lamb at lunch was excellent. There has been lamb on the menu at least once, sometimes twice, a day since we started which may explain why we never saw any sheep in NZ. The passengers on QE have eaten them all.

 

For the last couple of hours the weather has not been looking too promising, almost foggy at times, but as we turn into Milford Sound it starts to break up and continues to improve as we wend our way inland with peaks making sudden appearances startlingly high above us. I’m not sure that we actually saw any one hill completely from waterline to summit but as the clouds were rapid moving we certainly saw most of most of them.

 

As we left the sound and headed across the Tasman Sea towards Melbourne the clouds lift completely.

 

Last night’s show was an excellent pianist by the name of Ashley Carruthers and this evening he joined us for dinner which gave us an insight into life on the other side of the shipboard footlights. Not just from a performer’s perspective but it turns out he is also the agent for tonight’s act, ‘Rock Rhapsody’. And just to keep the conversation topical, also has an act aboard Diamond Princess that he is in contact with a couple of times a day so we got an update on conditions there. People getting deliveries to their balcony by drone, etc.

 

P.S. Apologies if some of the tenses are confused but I’ve been writing this at various points throughout the day. 

 

Thanks for your posts, Colin. They're both informative and amusing. I've been through the Sounds on the same ship and found it spectacular - sorry you had a bit of cloud cover.

 

I'm joining the ship on Saturday; is there any nervousness expressed amongst the passengers regarding coronavirus? I'm in two minds about travelling at all and wondering what to do...

 

Any thoughts?

 

[Colin_Cameron]

1 hour ago, LittleFish1976 said:

... sorry you had a bit of cloud cover.

 

I'm joining the ship on Saturday; is there any nervousness expressed amongst the passengers regarding coronavirus? I'm in two minds about travelling at all and wondering what to do...

 

Any thoughts?

 

I think the clouds added a bit of atmosphere and made it look more impressive than if we’d had brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.

 

As for nervousness about the virus, the only concern we’ve heard is from people due to head back to UK or Europe via Hong Kong or Singapore. And even then it’s really only passing comments about ‘maybe we should think about changing our route’. Anyone already on board has been here for two weeks and they’re no longer allowing anyone on that has come via a trouble-spot so the ship could be the safest place to be. 

[LittleFish1976]

12 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

I think the clouds added a bit of atmosphere and made it look more impressive than if we’d had brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.

 

As for nervousness about the virus, the only concern we’ve heard is from people due to head back to UK or Europe via Hong Kong or Singapore. And even then it’s really only passing comments about ‘maybe we should think about changing our route’. Anyone already on board has been here for two weeks and they’re no longer allowing anyone on that has come via a trouble-spot so the ship could be the safest place to be. 

Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to respond. I feel a little reassured by that. I hope you enjoy a smooth crossing of the Tasman and that your time on your land travels here continue well. 

[Colin_Cameron]

Decided to have a big breakfast this morning as we had the senior officers cocktail party in the Yacht Club at 11am and a wine tasting at 2pm, and no doubt we’ll be back in the Commodore Club before dinner. 

 

Again, given that the ship seems entirely populated with ‘red card wearers’ I’m surprised that they managed to round up enough platinum and diamond people for this get together.

 

During the afternoon we made a start on the packing. It’s odd, packing at the end of a cruise, not to go home but to start the next phase of this holiday.

 

This is our last formal night and suddenly it’s like we’re on a different ship. It’s just like a Cunard ship should be. I don’t know where the work-shirt, shorts and sandals brigade (seen at the previous Gala Ball) have gone. There’s no sign of them. Not one. Anywhere on the ship! We passed by the pub, and through the Lido (the casual venues) and EVERYBODY is dressed for Gala Night. I’m not sure if the rebels have been confined to their cabins, thrown overboard, or admitted defeat.

 

It’s the final production show of the cruise, ‘Top Hat’ and it was excellent. Possibly the best production show I’ve seen on a ship. And having criticised them earlier, tonight they deserve all the praise I can give. The vocals perfectly in tune. The timing, as it needs to be for this show, absolutely spot-on. When you have all fourteen, dancers and singers, tap-dancing in sync, any issues would have been obvious. This is obviously their show.

 

Unusually, if my memory is right, this is the first production show that’s been on a formal night. The theatre box program has, at least for the last two production nights, only been using the starboard boxes leaving the port-side ones available for anyone. We have, and will continue to use them but you have to pick the right one. I still maintain that both the sightlines (due to the glass screens) and the sound quality, is better in the stalls. If you fancy one for either a free evening, or as part of the box program ( champagne, chocolates, etc.) check them out beforehand, maybe for one of the daytime lectures.

[Host Hattie]

I'm glad to hear that Top Hat is just as good as when we first saw it in September. 

Enjoy your last days on board, I look forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

[mahamelb]

After many years talking about it, and over a year of actual planning, it’s finally here
 
A three month trip to Australia and NZ, incorporating the above voyages, is now underway. Monday we travelled Inverness to Glasgow to visit the in-laws and out-laws. Today we flew Glasgow to Heathrow: plane, 60 mins. Shuttle bus to hotel 70 mins. [emoji848]
 
Tomorrow, on to Singapore for two nights before continuing on to Melbourne where we pick up a car and head off for a week on the Great Ocean Road (storms permitting) before returning to Melbourne to catch QE on 2nd Feb.
 
After that we have another month touring the east coast of Australia (bushfires permitting) before flying over to Perth to catch QM2 back to the UK.
 
I don’t intend to post from the land portion of the trip, unless anything relevant, or really exciting, happens, so next update on the 1st or 2nd Feb.
 
Until then, Colin.



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[mahamelb]

After bringing in the Chinese New Year in Singapore, we got to Australia on Monday. Picked up the.car and headed south. 
 
When we we stopped for lunch we discovered that because yesterday was Australia Day everywhere was either closed or extremely busy. As we were so close to our first stop we just bought some stuff in a supermarket and carried on to Points South by the Sea, just north of Apollo Bay. The holiday was made there and then when we were met by a couple of koalas in the garden. They disappeared soon after, never to be seen again, but that was item one ticked of the ‘Must See’ list within the first few hours.
 
Tuesday. And we ticked off item two when we rounded a corner to find a kangaroo in the middle of the road. He (or she) just stood there looking at us for a few moments then politely hopped onto the verge to allow us to pass.
 
Wednesday. After a stop at the Twelve Apostles we picked up an unwanted hitchhiker. When I opened the car door a rather large spider appeared from nowhere and shot into the car. I swear he knew these metal boxes are air conditioned. After describing it to a park ranger he reckoned it was a Huntsman, and although it is venomous it’s not usually deadly so doesn’t count. Given its size it’ll only eat small people, then he looks at Sandra (4’10”) and says, ‘I’m not really helping, am I’. Then he tells me that it’s not likely to bite me, unless it feels threatened. Maybe by somebody else trying to batter it to death with anything she can lay her hands on?
 
So, with trousers tucked inside socks, we carried on.
 
Thursday. Temperatures rising. 40C+ Wild animal #3 ticked off, and very nearly flattened. A couple of emu (should that be emus?) wandered out in front of us. Harry (the Huntsman) put in an appearance after lunch but quickly retreated somewhere inside the dashboard.
 
Friday. Weird day. Dull, cloudy, windy and 44C! God help us if the sun comes out. The roads are starting to melt. Drive too fast and it’s like driving on ice, too slow and it’s like driving through treacle. Harry has gone the way of the Norwegian Blue. He is an ex-spider. Sandra 1: Arachnids 0.
 
Saturday (today). We’re in St Kilda ready to board QE tomorrow. Not sure if it was the sun on Thursday, or the hot wind yesterday, but my lips have blistered. ( yes, the wind really was that hot.) We walked out the St Kilda pier and saw the penguins on the breakwater. They weren’t really on the ‘must see’ list, more of an added bonus. That was when the heavens opened and we were soaked to the skin through four layer of clothing, two of them supposedly waterproof.
 
Tomorrow should be a simple matter of a taxi to the dock but it looks like there’s a gay pride parade which will make traffic unpredictable. After thirteen days on the road we’ll get to unpack, and rediscover all those things that we know are in one of those suitcases somewhere. We do have a list of what is in which case, if only we could remember which case it’s in.

Loved reading your exploits. I live in Torquay near the Great Ocean Road and probably take so much for granted.So it’s nice to read something from a tourists eyes. We are cruising next week from Sydney to Southampton. Was to go via lots of Asian ports but now doing Australia ports instead before getting back on track to Sri Lanka.


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[Colin_Cameron]

Today has been the usual last day of finishing the packing, cashing in our prize points, throwing out all the bits of paper that we don’t want to lug around for the next month or more. 

 

I haven’t said much about the cabin, 5125, as it’s just a standard balcony cabin but we chose it specifically. If you look at 5123 and 5125 on the deck plans they show as CB ‘partially obstructed balcony’. But due to QEs (and QV) uneven arrangement of tenders 5125 isn’t, in my opinion, obstructed. The deck plans show six tenders but there are only five, three on the port side and only two on the starboard. 5123 is above the rear davit for tender 15 and 5125 is above the front davit for boat 17 but 17 is a lifeboat not a tender with a much smaller mounting davit. You can see it from the balcony but it’s so low that it’s all but invisible from inside the cabin (and the cabins above the other lifeboat davit are not classed as obstructed). I said, ‘in my opinion’ because you can see the obstruction in front of 5123, next door, but even this is only level with the cabin floor so is a fairly minor inconvenience. Et voila, an unobstructed (for all intents and purposes) cabin, at an obstructed price. 

 

We marked our booking ‘do not upgrade’ as the CA cabins, especially eg. 4105, 07, 09 and 11 are much more obstructed due to the gangway mounted above that tender. Then, the first unobstructed cabins are at the front of the ship and more prone to movement.

 

The only other thing I noticed was new carpet in several places throughout the ship since our last time, and in the cabin in particular, still has that new carpet feel so I think it must be fairly recent.

 

P.S. We’re now ashore in Melbourne and I probably won’t have too much to say until we board QM2 in Fremantle in mid-March. (Virus, bushfires, storms, floods and suicidal kangaroos permitting.)

[Colin_Cameron]

P.P.S. Something else I forgot to mention. For the first couple of days a number of passengers got confused by the American usage of the term ‘entrée’ to describe the main course. 

 

Just something to be aware of.

[Colin_Cameron]

Well, we made it to Fremantle. QM2 made it to Fremantle.

 

Will we get on board? Will we sail? Will we stop at any ports? Will we ever get off?

 

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE.

 

As I’m typing this we’ve had an email from out TA telling us today’s departure has been cancelled!

 

At this point that’s all we know.

[Colin_Cameron]

We bypassed breakfast and walked round to the cruise terminal to find out what’s happening.

 

The short answer is (at 08:30) nobody knows. About 9:30 they started collecting names and had letters for everyone outlining what happens next.

 

In summary; up to four nights full board accommodation (while they sort out flights), full refund for all elements booked through Cunard OR 150% fcc to be used within one year, flights and transfers to return home (original class booked)

 

I went back to the hotel and checked out and brought the cases  round to the terminal.

 

While we were sitting waiting Capt. Wells arrived and chatted to a few people before heading off again (probably a wise move to turn up in civvies).

 

By 11 we were on a bus heading back to the Pan Pacific in Perth that we had left just 24 hours earlier but not, unfortunately, to the suite that we had been in. 

 

Just as as well that we’ve got a decent room in a decent hotel as we’re now hearing of the suspension of all Cunard operations so maybe they’ll now be looking for rooms for everyone from QM2.

 

 

[Host Hattie]

How disappointing ...

[LadyL1]

Oh dear! This is awful when you have looked forward to a trip for so long. Sadly it just seems inevitable.

[Colin_Cameron]

When we go to to the hotel nobody, at least at the front desk, knew anything about us. The others seemed to be having a great deal of trouble making themselves understood until I asked ‘Do you have a block booking for Cunard?’ ‘Yes’, ‘Great. That’s us.’ Problem solved.

 

We hung about the hotel all afternoon but no sign of anyone from Cunard. We received two emails from Cunard. The first saying that they had arranged accommodation for us at the Novotel! And that they would be in touch today. The second confirming that we would be contacted today.

 

Well, today has come and gone and it’s now tomorrow. Everyone we speak to knows someone who has met someone who’s granny has seen a Cunard rep. But I’m not convinced.

 

From our window on the 21st floor we can see a familiar funnel in the distance.

 

I walked over to the Novotel on the off-chance there might be someone there and was told by the receptionist there that they had been expecting someone this morning but believed they were busy trying to find rooms for those being removed from QM2. That the World Cruise is now over has been confirmed by Roy (rafinmd).

 

[Colin_Cameron]

Well, we’re almost at the end of Day 2 of our extension and after an excellent initial response, organising hotels and transport within hours, it has sadly gone downhill from there.

 

Despite being assured, by Simon Palethorpe, of ‘Support from a member of our team throughout your stay’, the support, the member and the team have all been conspicuous by their absence. All that’s needed is some communication. A notice by reception saying it’s become a bigger task than it was and it’s taking longer than expected, terribly sorry, etc. etc.

 

Contrary to the letter we got (at the dock yesterday) saying ‘up to four nights accommodation’, the hotel has only been booked for two nights.

 

I wouldn't say the mood has turned ugly but it has definitely soured somewhat. Gossip and rumour are starting to take over, eg. the contact number on the letter gets answered by a bank! I don’t believe this on two counts, first I doubt a bank would be answering the phone on a Sunday, and secondly, there is no contact number on the letter.

 

A number of people have given up waiting and have booked their own flights. Others are suggesting buying a double decker and doing a ‘Summer Holiday’ around Australia, offering odds on how far we would get before Cunard noticed we were gone.

[Host Hattie]

Sorry to hear you've not heard from anyone, I guess the initial task of dealing with those embarking in Fremantle is now a lot bigger as everyone onboard has to be accommodated as well.

Rapidly changing travel bans probably aren't helping either.

I hope you have some positive news soon and thanks for keeping us updated.

[Colin_Cameron]

Went to bed around ten and got woken by my mobile ringing at 22:55 with a Southampton number showing. This was Carol at Cunard. 

 

If some of the crew believe in ‘We Are Cunard’, then Carol embodied ‘I Am Cunard’. This was no call-centre operation with multiple people in the background all reading from the same script. This was like a personal call from the CEO. “What were our preferences?”, was the first question and it went from there. There’s really only two sensible options. Either to Heathrow, or via Dubai to Glasgow or Edinburgh. She seemed delighted to be able to send us to Glasgow, I guess it leaves two more seats on a Heathrow flight and it being cheaper was probably a bonus. I told her about the hotel only having us (and everybody else) booked in for two nights and her response was, “That’s something I’ll have to fix.” 

 

Sometime during the night I heard paper being pushed under the door but ignored it. In the morning it turned out to be a bill for the food and drink (some of it but not all), still assuming an 11:00 check-out. When we went to breakfast we found the others all had similar bills but the hotel was accepting this was an error and reversing all the bills, but they were still expecting us all to leave at 11:00. I had thought it but others asked the question, “What happens if we don’t?” The answer was surprisingly simple, “The keycards deactivate at check-out time.”

 

By check-out time it was all sorted. After speaking with Carol I never had any doubt.

 

Which brings us to the difference in attitude of different people. Those who are regular passengers, say platinum and diamond, seem to be more forgiving of short term glitches, having trust that Cunard will sort it out (eventually), whereas first timers have nothing to base any trust on and are more frustrated and angry by, eg. the total lack of communication from 11:00 Saturday till 16:00 Monday, with the hotel threatening to throw us out at 11:00 Monday. As I said earlier, all it would have taken was an email to each hotel asking them to put up a notice saying, ‘terribly sorry, etc. etc’, to avoid a lot of frustrated, angry people. 

 

Having got our flights sorted we took a cruise down river to Fremantle this afternoon and we passed a very familiar ship in the harbour.

 

When we got back to the hotel the reps had finally made an appearance and were dealing with a very long line.

 

There’s also a very long line at the bar to order meals so we’ve retired to our room to order room service. We have several bottles of wine to drink to lower our excess baggage.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for the update Colin, it's good to hear that there's some progress.