Queen Elizabeth Position

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, sfred said:

Thanks @NE John - appreciate your kind words  We were in PG on this voyage (our sweet spot for medium/longer trips).

 

Pros (there are lots of them - I'll try to keep it to the big ones)

• PG service from our steward Glenn, maitre d' Stanley, assistant Lesandro, waiter Nell, assistant Alma, and sommelier Rajesh.  It was an outstanding team of Cunard professionals who did a wonderful job from start to finish.  We also went by to say hello to some familiar faces from past QE voyages who had moved to other areas -- maitre d' Sanjay and Joon who had moved to Britannia, and waiter Sanjoy who had moved to QG. 
• Entertainment show Circa, who were aboard for three performances.  They are Queensland based (circa.org.au) and are outstanding.  One of the best evening shows that Mrs. sfred and I have seen on Cunard.
• Insight lectures from forensic dentist Dr. Judith Hinchliffe and New Zealand astronomer Dr. Chris Benton.  They gave very interesting talks, and both were good public speakers.
• Port calls in Noumea and Suva.  We had nice walking adventures, and found good restaurants and cafes for lunch and coffee.
• Our weather was great.  No typhoons, which are always a threat this time of year in this area of the Pacific, and only one big afternoon thunderstorm in Suva, which happened after we had gotten back to the ship and was fun to watch from our balcony.  Seas were calm except for our last afternoon and evening before arriving back in Sydney, when we got into the same waves which impacted QV on her Tasman crossing from NZ to Australia.  For me it was fun - I like the ride - but Mrs. sfred prefers a more stable deck under her feet.
• Many nice sunrises with coffee.  My favourite time of day when aboard.
• FInding the additional Mauretania photos scattered around QE, and imagining what a TA crossing would have like back in the early 1900s.
• Internet was fast and reliable throughout.  I still wish Cunard would offer a 2 hour option to make the Diamond credit last longer, but that's a topic not specific to this voyage.  We supplemented the ship internet with mobile phone roaming on port days.

 

 

Could have been a little better 

• Port calls in Lifou and Luganville, new ports for Cunard and QE.  Getting to things worth seeing were very long walks and there wasn't much in the areas around the ship.  This isn't Cunard's fault - they had many excursions on offer.  It's just that our usual port day routine is to do our own thing and explore on foot.  This wasn't a practical strategy in these ports.  Note to self - organise a Cunard excursion when in more remote places.
• We didn't go to any of the Cunard singer/dancer evening shows.  We've seen them all before several times.  I guess we've been aboard too often!  🙂   Cunard might consider a more frequent refresh of these shows.     

 

Cons

• None.  We had a wonderful time.

 

Let me know any questions - happy to expand on any further items.

And the food?

[sfred]

11 hours ago, exlondoner said:

And the food?

 

Quite tasty, we thought.  Neither of us is very particular, and Cunard easily beats what we eat at home (with no washing up afterwards!).  We saw many menu items repeated that we enjoyed from our 36night SF-Barcelona voyage last year, but nothing was repeated within this 14night voyage, and the variety and quality were good.  We did Coriander for our Diamond alternative dining benefit, which is always a favourite.  The captain and several senior officers were also in Coriander that night, at one of the large round tables at the aft end.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, sfred said:

 

Quite tasty, we thought.  Neither of us is very particular, and Cunard easily beats what we eat at home (with no washing up afterwards!).  We saw many menu items repeated that we enjoyed from our 36night SF-Barcelona voyage last year, but nothing was repeated within this 14night voyage, and the variety and quality were good.  We did Coriander for our Diamond alternative dining benefit, which is always a favourite.  The captain and several senior officers were also in Coriander that night, at one of the large round tables at the aft end.

Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, I’ve been in one of the pop-ups, when the Captain etc were at that table. 

[bazzaw]

I am starting to get a bit worried - we board QE In Tokyo on 28 March . She had better start making arrangements to sail North soon!! 🙂

[sfred]

QE passed by Brisbane in the early morning today, 12 March, on her way northward.  18 knots at heading 357.  We waved 'hello' but I don't think anyone onboard noticed.  🙂

 

Edited March 11 by sfred