Cunard Cruisers - How are things where you are ?

[ronpes]

1 hour ago, Tonopah said:

Just 2 1/2 months until our QM2 voyage. This week we will be trying on our pre-Covid formal wear, keeping what still fits and discarding those items that magically shrunk due to covid (yes, it is covid’s fault clothing shrinks). That will give up plenty of time to buy new necessary items.

 

We were exactly the same before our QM2 trip in May ie we went through our wardrobe approximately  two months beforehand and some nice stuff ended up being delivered to the local charity shop.

I tell my wife that if you leave clothes long enough in the wardrobe then they definitely start to shrink. 

 

Another hot one with us today weather-wise but thunder showers forecast tonight and tomorrow. 

 

Tonight I have busy getting my head round visa applications for Australia and New Zealand but I got there in the end. 

[Lanky Lad]

I am back home after a very hot drive North. It was all going well until we got to where the M5 meets the M6 North of Birmingham when the traffic ground to a halt. Once we had got through that it was pretty clear. Thank goodness my car has Air Con.

[techteach]

@Lanky Lad I hope you had a wonderful time on your cruise and it sounds like reality has already set-in. Start counting the days until your next vacation.

[techteach]

We took the 3 grandsons to Mt. Rainier for a hike, a picnic, and a hike. The weather was lovely, absolutely perfect. Getting the 4 year old back into the car to return home was quite a challenge. The picture is from Tipsoo Lake, elevation is about 6,000 ft. (Rainier is over 14,000 at the top)

 

[Host Hattie]

My least favourite junction @Lanky Lad, I don't have to use it much now but on a bad day it's grim. I hope you had a great time and left her in good condition for us next month!

 

Great photos @techteach.

It's much cooler here but we've not had  much rain 

 

[techteach]

@Host Hattie I thought I heard that flooding could happen? But then today there was an article about drought.

[D&N]

Here, the emergency services are warning to prepare for floods. Long dry spells are often followed by torrential rain and the ground is too hard to absorb it quickly. They point out it's best to check there's nothing in basements that might get damaged.

We're on slightly higher ground anyway, away from main water courses, and anything substantial has always flowed past us.

 

Hopefully those in low lying campsites and homes will prepare.

 

[Lanky Lad]

21 hours ago, techteach said:

@Lanky Lad I hope you had a wonderful time on your cruise and it sounds like reality has already set-in. Start counting the days until your next vacation.

I have already started the countdown.

 

@Host Hattie I had a great time thanks and left the ship in good condition ready your trip.

[ronpes]

Same here up North ie Flood warnings and it has been raining on and off all day with more forecast for tomorrow. 

 

Lanky Lad: Did you get off the ship in Mull or did it just sail around that area ? I was wondering if you got a chance to go to Fingal's Cave or Iona ?

[Host Hattie]

Our rain has arrived! Just in time for me to have to travel to another part of the site for a meeting, fortunately I had a lift as there were a lot of big puddles.

 

[ronpes]

Very wet up here in the North and the ponies were glad they had their rugs on. 
This barrow was empty yesterday morning so just shows how much rain fell in 24 hrs.

[Lanky Lad]

We had a bit of rain here but not much. No thunder but thankfully it is cooler now.

[Camgirl]

Well, I'm back from my short cruise with Princess. We had a good time, but it was quite a culture shock after only Cunard cruises!! The boat was overcrowded and understaffed, with queues everywhere. 

 

Now we have just 18 days until our, many times postponed, 19 nights on QV to the Med. Very much looking forwards to that.

[Host Hattie]

That's interesting, I had wondered about trying them but some of the posts from this summer put me off. That must mean it's 37 days until our trip to the Mediterranean 😸

 

[techteach]

Friday noon we board Celebrity Solstice for Alaska. First time cruising on Celebrity. Grandson #1 and I will do our monitored tests this afternoon. Boarding passes and luggage tags are printed. I started thinking about 2027 when we will take grandsons #2 and #3 to Alaska hopefully on QE out of Vancouver as I’ve never done the inside passage.

[D&N]

19 minutes ago, techteach said:

..... as I’ve never done the inside passage.

I wasn't clear as to whether the QE itineraries covered it properly.

Do they actually sail through the Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and the mainland?

 

For us It's immaterial anyway. We were thinking of doing Banff-Vancouver on Rocky Mountaineer, then QE round trip including Victoria in 2025. We didn't do Rockies or Victoria when on Princess in 1998.

However I've decided I can see all of those things on YouTube videos without doing the long haul flights, and we'll probably just do a round trip on QM2 again.

 

I've since seen a video of Gold Leaf service and it looks like I would turn my nose up at the wine the waiter was serving!

[Host Hattie]

I don't remember the wine but I  remember the amazing scenery! I'm still recovering from being served warm champagne on the Orient Express 😱

[D&N]

I keep forgetting about this.

Delta serve quarter bottles of this stuff. It was better than the Californian red & white that they served by the cup from big bottles.

Anyone tasting this would never complain about Pol Acker again.

[navybankerteacher]

On 8/17/2022 at 1:11 PM, D&N said:

I keep forgetting about this.

Delta serve quarter bottles of this stuff. It was better than the Californian red & white that they served by the cup from big bottles.

Anyone tasting this would never complain about Pol Acker again.

Does that “1951” on the label refer to the birth year of the company’s CEO?
 

I strongly doubt it signifies vintage.

[bluemarble]

29 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Does that “1951” on the label refer to the birth year of the company’s CEO?
 

I strongly doubt it signifies vintage.

 

I believe that number on the label is actually 1931. The Ca' di Rajo website says that's the year the winery was established.

[Bigmike911]

At long last RAIN, after months of no rain we had a one day shower about a month ago. Lately there have been promises and areas nearer the coast actually got showers. Yesterday it was raining all around us, but not here. 

 

Last night my left thumb and right middle finger were throbbing in pain, usually a good sign of rain. The light shower we got yesterday could not be called a thunderstorm though there was thunder. It barely wet the driveway.

 

This morning, about ten another light shower, which turned into a deluge and went on for several hours. I sat on my screened porch and reveled in it. After it was over, I checked the rain gauge- 2 3/4 inches. There was no standing water anywhere, so it all soaked in. We needed it and there are forecasts for rain for the next week.

 

My mood it brightening. I have been watching QM2s trip to Hamburg, Brugge and Rotterdam, then back to Hamburg before turning to Southampton. I was booked on this voyage and the onward trip to NYC, but canceled last year due to the uncertainty. 

 

2023 looks very much like a possibility. I have an 8 day Memphis to New Orleans on Viking Mississippi booked in June, so the fall is open. I need my Queen Mary 2 fix, badly. 

[Host Hattie]

We've had more rain but the ducks are still short of water and there is a hose pipe ban where our holiday let is.

It's a month to our cruise today, is it time to start getting excited?!

[ronpes]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

We've had more rain but the ducks are still short of water and there is a hose pipe ban where our holiday let is.

It's a month to our cruise today, is it time to start getting excited?!

Have you started packing yet?

We also leave near the end of Sep and we made a start at the weekend. 

 

I see some protocols are changing across various lines but we still have to get a test + certificate for entry into Canada.(for Alaska). oh well, it is what it is. 
My  stress levels are slowly creeping up due to various visa requirements etc and we can’t complete some until 3 days before boarding. 
We have also had a fair bit of rain the last week or so but it is very warm here today. 

[Host Hattie]

Not yet, I have started getting some clothes together and trying things on.

Highlight of the day was getting my new work laptop ! I remember the days when someone from the IT department would bring your new PC, transfer your files and set it up for you.

Now you get to collect a set of boxes and told to get on with it 😂

[ronpes]

Ah,... the joys of IT "support".    I remember it well.

And the kicker for us was that our department had to pay the  IT department a substantial monthly fee for "support" even although we had to download and install the majority of software etc ourselves!

And, if we had to phone them for support to actually talk to somebody, it would sometimes be a rapid explanation in Klingon as they assumed everyone knew what they were talking about. Aye,...right. 

 

Good luck with that.