Around the Horn Review

[ricker]

Queen Mary 2: Path of Magellan: New York—Los Angeles, Jan. 15 to Feb 22, 2006.

 

Overall Impression: My wife and I have one previous trip of 23 days on QM 2 taken in May/June of 2004. Our impressions are based somewhat on a comparison with that “pre-Princess” cruise. The QM 2 still does not fail to impress, and the staff is overwhelmingly top notch. Many of the “kinks” have been worked out, especially in Britannia. Overall, I would rate this trip very highly. Although not terribly significant, I will include some petty annoyances that cropped up from time to time.

 

Pre Cruise Air: This was one of the disappointing aspects of the trip, and immediately down-scaled our high expectations for the cruise. Cunard air from Spokane to NY was “Carnival Redeye” and arrival in New York was with minimal service at the airport, but with the use of a hotel lobby and a very good “complimentary” breakfast while waiting for our 12 Noon boarding time. This compared to a daytime flight on the last trip, with a “forced overnight” (paid by Cunard) at the Sheraton Towers. Transfers in 2004 were by Town Car, but in 2006 by bus with no assistance with luggage from the transfer agent. A little cut rate for a Line that touts quality with $325 hair appointments, $1000 skirts, $600 dollar sweaters, and $150 bottles of champagne, and makes a huge difference in setting the “tone” for a trip.

 

Cabin: We hit the jackpot on this one. On the last trip we sailed in what was then a B-4 “hull” balcony on the Deck 6, and while nice, the view was very limited from inside. We wanted a “glass” balcony and with the knowledge gained from these boards, we selected cabin 8013, forward on the starboard side. This was a B-6 obstructed view cabin, but with just 1 meter of the first lifeboat obstructing the view. It was just a few cabins away from the Library (wi-fi hot spot) and a flight of steps away from Kings’ Court. The down side was that on a couple of very windy, rough sea days, the salt spray from the bow wave kept the balcony wet with salt water spray—but maybe they all were, I’m not sure. The starboard side proved to be the best view side on this route. Going on the reverse trip, the port side would be best. No question that the glass balconies are far nicer than “hull” balconies for this type of trip. There are a couple other obstructed view cabins that would also be ok. Those between boats, (limited view straight out only) and ones behind the one small boat on each side. Standing up, I could see over the lifeboat from the horizon up.

 

Restaurant Service: We were very pleased with the service in the Britannia this time. At no time did we wait for our next course, and the staff was extremely friendly and competent. We had requested a table for two and were seated alone at a table for 4 on the lower level. This was a nicer location for us than the balcony table we had on the last trip. Toward the end of the trip we were moved to another area on the lower floor and were sorry to lose our waiter, but the new one proved to be just as competent. My judgment would be that the food may be just a tick lower in quality than last time, particularly the salads.

 

Entertainment: We can’t give this a fair critique, as we didn’t go to the evening production shows. These were the same that we had seen during our 2004 cruise, but there were some good quality ‘ad hoc” shows in the evening. One welcome addition was the matinee on some sea days allowing the early to bed folks a chance to see some great shows. A South American harpist, a wonderful violinist, and a Comedy pickpocket were excellent matinee performances. I would love to see more of this type of schedule. The lectures, as in the past were absolutely outstanding, especially Bill Miller’s spellbinding maritime series.

 

Itinerary: To me, this was really a sleeper. I had no idea how gorgeous the Patagonia region of South America was to be. Although the incident going out of Ft. Lauderdale caused the cancellation of the first segment’s ports of call, the rest of the itinerary was salvaged by truncating the times in the remaining ports. Not ideal, but it worked for most. Cunard did a good job with sea day activities like a “Crossing the Equator” ceremony featuring costumed participants, a marching band with an entourage of the Officers from the Commodore on down. Passengers who participated by kissing a fish, and a dunking in the pool, received colorful certificates with their names engraved on them. Later in the trip, a crew tug of war was held on deck 13 between colorfully costumed teams of crewmembers from different areas of the ship. Another favorite was the stop at Pio XI glacier where a tender was launched and 10,000 year old ice was brought aboard to serve as the dining room centerpiece. The pick of the litter for us was the transit up the fjord lined Beagle Channel with glaciers coming to the water’s edge, and the circumnavigation of Cape Horn Island with a bit of the high winds, choppy seas and squalls the area is known for. Although the ports after Rio were maiden calls, they didn’t offer the amount of fanfare as in 2004. But thousands of onlookers gathered on shore and paraded past the ship in small boats. One exception was the salute by the Uruguayan Navy as we entered Montevideo. My only criticism of the itinerary was the excessive number of tendering ports. I don’t know if this was a timing thing, a security thing, or an operational thing, but it detracted from the port visits. One port in Esmeraldas, Ecuador was not really adequate to handle the crowd that got off QM 2, and had little infrastructure to handle tourists. Only in one or two ports were courtesy buses provided to take passengers from the port to the city centers as was done in 2004.

 

Shops on Board: My wife was dismayed by the prices in the shops this time. Having bought many items of clothing last time, she thought the prices were very high on this trip. For example, the line of Escada skirts were from $1000, sweaters at $600. I broke a set of studs for a formal shirt and the cheapest available to buy were $400 (no, I didn’t). Neckties were $139, and sunglasses $150 to $400. One could use up their US customs allowance with just one stop. If this was a shake down for the World Cruise, I think they realize now they will need more sun screen, toothpaste, poise pads, and band aids, than they carried on this trip.

 

Staff: The training given to the staff of QM 2 is truly impressive. Not once did a crew member fail to say “Good Morning” or “Hello” when passing by in a corridor. Especially noteworthy were the waiters and waitresses in the lounges that were always friendly and cordial. Even the lowliest deck hand had a friendly greeting.

 

Appearance of the Ship: The ship was meticulously cleaned day and night. Windows were the exception in areas like the Golden Lion and Chart Room, the forward deck 2 and 3 corridors, and other areas which became so salt encrusted one could not enjoy the gorgeous views. Perhaps there was not an opportunity to hose them off with as much anchoring as we did.

 

Internet Service: I was very happy that I had taken a laptop. I got more and more proficient logging on and off the wi-fi so that in 3 to 5 minutes I could send a web-mail with a word document (with pictures) attached to my group of correspondents. The only thing I couldn’t do was get our kids to write back. The computer also allowed me to download pictures and make DVD backups. (I brought a couple blanks along). One difficulty is knowing when you have logged off, and occasionally a message will erroneously state that there is a cookie on your computer and you may still be logged on. Usually this is not true.

 

Summary: In spite of incident at the outset of the trip in Ft Lauderdale, the treatment by Cunard was more than fair. We were treated very nicely on board, and the staff made a great effort to keep things interesting, and to make the best of the itinerary. We enjoyed it enough to make an on-board open booking for our next sailing (good for the next four years) on the QM 2.

[Druke I]

Interesting review - thanks.

 

We'll be going 'round the Horn next month, on the much smaller Regal Princess.

 

We do hope to do a trans-Atlantic on QM22 in 2007.

[guernseyguy]

Queen Mary 2: Path of Magellan: New York—Los Angeles, Jan. 15 to Feb 22, 2006. Summary: In spite of incident at the outset of the trip in Ft Lauderdale, the treatment by Cunard was more than fair. We were treated very nicely on board, and the staff made a great effort to keep things interesting, and to make the best of the itinerary. We enjoyed it enough to make an on-board open booking for our next sailing (good for the next four years) on the QM 2.

 

ricker, thankyou for posting a comprehensive review & delighted that you enjoyed your trip, despite the strum und drang of the first leg!

 

Peter

[justbuddy]

Thank you for your in depth review. I really appreciate it as we are leaving on Sat. on Royal Hawaiian Liner. Reading your very new review has eased my apprehension regarding Britannia and a few other things. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise--your review was very fair and I am particularly impressed with your treatment of the start of the trip. You are a cruiser after my own heart!

 

Justbuddy

[travel-to-go]

Ricker,

You are such a sweetheart and a gentleman.

And thanks for your help getting Stephen and Paul's last names for me.

 

The Shops: Marc thought his regular ties were in the bag with his bow ties and cumberbunds for his tuxes. They were not, So off he hops down to the shop, figuring to buy a cheap tie to wear on a non-formal night! Whooeee! We could've taken another cruise for what that tie would've cost us! We borrowed one from another Cruise Critic (Thank You! You know who you are!)

A pair of lady's dress pants were a thousand dollars! Other things were equally dear. We have all sorts of imprinted items from our previous Cunard Cruises, from hats teddy bears, pens, to lovely bar glasses. And we didn't need a mortgage to get them. Marc has bought studs on board (when he thought he left them home- later found them) I have bought a number of nice austrian crystal cocktail rings. We bought nothing this time (Okay, some cough medicine that wasn't effective and some Advil Cold and Sinus plus some deoderent! <G> Souvenir deoderant! Imagine that! <G>

 

So, we have no "souvenir items" Figured we would rather spend the money on another cruise!

 

One more thing- Those of you who live in the LA area. Please go check out Jack-at-sea's blog.

http://www.jackatsea.com/index.html#Cunard

He and Ann have been dreadfully ill. She was in the ship's hospital last night. They disembark in LA tomorrow, and are concerned as to how to find medical care in LA if they should need it. Please. some of you good LA area Cruisers. Send him an email at jackatsea@askjack.co.uk and give him a number of a friend (that would be one of you!) he can call if he or Ann need help in the next few days before they head back to England. I have given him all of mny contact numbers, but I can't do much for him. I am in Connecticut.

I know y'all are the best! I know that from the CCers I met on board and those I have had wonderful discussions with here.

I know someone here will be a friend to him while he and Ann are in LA! It is posted on his log where they are staying, BTW. Just checked They will be at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. I am sure they will be fine, but think how you would feel; dreadfully weak and ill in a foreign city when you are all alone and know no one. (Or which areas of town are safe and which aren't, and where to find a good walk-in clinic or Emergency Room)

 

I know tht I can count on y'all That's why I posted this.

 

Karie,

Who thinks the world of the people here!

[jackatsea]

I am sure they will be fine, but think how you would feel; dreadfully weak and ill in a foreign city when you are all alone and know no one. (Or which areas of town are safe and which aren't, and where to find a good walk-in clinic or Emergency Room)

 

I know tht I can count on y'all That's why I posted this.

 

Karie,

Who thinks the world of the people here!

 

T2Go

 

Ann stayed in the wheelchair for the first day and we took things really easy. Today, we went to the Getty Centre and had a wonderful time, although by 1 PM we were ready for a "nap".

 

We appreciated ALL of the goodwill and offers of help and assistance made by Cruise Critic Members and from other fellow passengers.

 

jackatsea.com is down tonight for some reason, I'll find out why and fix things.

 

The domain has 2 years to run, so it should be working??

 

I've just re-read some of the posts and got tears in my eyes remembering the good times and fantastic people.

 

Right now, my intention is to leave things (spelling mistakes, bad grammer etc etc) as originally written, after all... it's the way it happened!

 

I will close the blog (on safe return to the UK) with a round up of all the "characters" we met on-the-way, onboard and on-the-way-back.

 

Actually, due to a breakdown of our room TV last night, we got a free breakfast, fruit & cheese AND chocolates from the hotel engineer (Frank, you're a star). I LIKE America (grin)

 

Very best regards

 

Jack(onland)

[LL-UK]

So pleased to see that Ann is on the mend and you didn't need your travel insurance.

 

I missed my fix of Jackatsea last night. I've thoroughly enjoyed cruising with you and really felt for you both when you were ill.

 

Wishing you a safe journey back to cold (just a few snow flurries here) England.

 

Best wishes

 

Lyn