QM2 Med 15th July

[ballroom-cruisers]

19 hours ago, deck chair said:

Hello!  As one who enjoyed the Commodore Club late into the evening it is a shame to hear the pianist ends at 11.    Perhaps it is temporary. Please, G32 or Yacht Club hardly the same obviously.

 

It's been variable... The pianist, Campbell Simpson, was replaced by the Queens Room orchestra pianist on two evenings and he played till around 11.30pm on two evenings. Campbell is back the past few evenings and he did play till 11.45pm a couple of nights ago but it's variable and be seems not that interested in playing, and plays small bits of the same pieces each evening.

 

The Queens Room orchestra is a bit of a shambles and don't understand how music relates to dancing, and play tempos that are wrong for the dances and often change during a dance. Quicksteps that are too slow or fast, foxtrots and rumbas that have weird phrasing and can change speed as you dance and the sax often squeaks at the end of a note. They are pretty inexperienced.

 

The jazz group in the Chart Room late evening play nicely and it's a nice atmosphere there to wind down at the end of the evening, though cocktails aren't at the same quality as in the Commodore Club.

 

Overall a lovely cruise though. Yes it was very hot in Italy but a little less hot in Lisbon today.

 

In general passengers look happy and relaxed, and the crew are doing a fabulous job keeping everyone serviced and fed.

 

The things that aren't right don't stop the whole cruise being enjoyable though. A few people are still wearing masks but the majority aren't. Life on board remains pretty much normal.

Edited July 26, 2022 by ballroom-cruisers

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for the update, was there any explanation for cancelling the visit to Livorno ? We are due to call there next June and I'm wondering whether to be prepared to miss it again.

[ballroom-cruisers]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for the update, was there any explanation for cancelling the visit to Livorno ? We are due to call there next June and I'm wondering whether to be prepared to miss it again.

 

We have not heard anything at all about why it was cancelled. Just heard people talking about having had to organise different shore trips and being sad at missing the trips they had previously booked on the original schedule. We weren't personally affected as we'd been to Florence many times in the past. Others were happy that they could do longer outings since the ship stayed overnight, and evening restaurant outings in Rome were possible.

[moses0]

2 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks for the update, was there any explanation for cancelling the visit to Livorno ? We are due to call there next June and I'm wondering whether to be prepared to miss it again.

No explanation. Didn’t someone say it needs dredging?

[Host Hattie]

10 minutes ago, moses0 said:

No explanation. Didn’t someone say it needs dredging?

Yes, that was suggested as a possible explanation.

I just wondered if you'd hear more once you were onboard. I don't really mind, I can see the advantages of an overnight stay in Civitavecchia.

Thanks both

[D&N]

8 hours ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

The Queens Room orchestra is a bit of a shambles and don't understand how music relates to dancing, and play tempos that are wrong for the dances and often change during a dance. Quicksteps that are too slow or fast, foxtrots and rumbas that have weird phrasing and can change speed as you dance and the sax often squeaks at the end of a note. They are pretty inexperienced.

We found that too.

If they are still on board; we preferred dancing to 'Exxile', normally in G32 but played one night in Queens Room.

We found much of their music suited most latin and ballroom dances as well as disco.

There seemed to be more feeling and soul to their performances.

I quite enjoy figuring out how to get in and out of odd shaped corners and avoiding pillars.

 

[exlondoner]

I have Covid and feel utterly wretched. Thanks to all,who,are cavalier about masks in lifts, etc.

[Host Hattie]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I have Covid and feel utterly wretched. Thanks to all,who,are cavalier about masks in lifts, etc.

Oh no, I'm so sorry. I hope Cunard are looking after you and you're feeling better soon.

[carlmm]

52 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I have Covid and feel utterly wretched. Thanks to all,who,are cavalier about masks in lifts, etc.

I am sorry for you. Thank you for reporting about your trip when the world looked better.

Now: All the best, God bless you.

[Victoria2]

53 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I have Covid and feel utterly wretched. Thanks to all,who,are cavalier about masks in lifts, etc.

Oh that’s awful. Echoing Hattie, I hope you’re being looked after.

[Tonopah]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I have Covid and feel utterly wretched. Thanks to all,who,are cavalier about masks in lifts, etc.

So sorry it caught up to you. I feel for you completely. 

[techteach]

@exlondoner Oh No! I hope you are not feeling horrible, that room service is good and the food still tastes good. Which ports are you missing while in confinement?

[Craigrlewis]

9 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I have Covid and feel utterly wretched. Thanks to all,who,are cavalier about masks in lifts, etc.

Oh SO sorry to hear this. Heres hoping for a speedy recovery-I ordered extra vegetables and tonnes of fruit & juice when I was laid up with it on my Alaska cruise.  I hoped a healthy diet would help. 
Fingers crossed its the mild version I sustained.

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Craigrlewis

[exlondoner]

Cunard, and particularly the QG staff, are looking after us very well.

 

[Victoria2]

13 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Cunard, and particularly the QG staff, are looking after us very well.

 

Sad you have to post this but very happy to hear how well you're being looked after. I hope you give us a 'warts and all'  mini review of your experience, both pre  and post Covid.

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Sad you have to post this but very happy to hear how well you're being looked after. I hope you give us a 'warts and all'  mini review of your experience, both pre  and post Covid.

 

I certainly shall. One thing that is an improvement; the walkin shower in our sheltered balcony cabin compared to the QG one where you have to clamber in  over the (high) edge of the bath.

[Petulia]

@exlondoner So sorry to hear that you’re feeling rather poorly with Covid. Has it affected both of you? 
 

Two more (sea)days on this cruise? Hope that you will feel better very soon and that you are well looked after. 

[ballroom-cruisers]

20 hours ago, D&N said:

We found that too.

If they are still on board; we preferred dancing to 'Exxile', normally in G32 but played one night in Queens Room.

We found much of their music suited most latin and ballroom dances as well as disco.

There seemed to be more feeling and soul to their performances.

I quite enjoy figuring out how to get in and out of odd shaped corners and avoiding pillars.

 

 

Agree entirely... It was the same on this voyage... Exile played in the Queens Room last night and are way better than the Queens Room orchestra currently, and indeed did play some ballroom and Latin phrased pieces of music, despite being nominally a party night.

Edited July 27, 2022 by ballroom-cruisers
typo

[ballroom-cruisers]

Sorry to hear that Exlondoner has Covid and hope it is mild with a quick recovery. It's not fun being unwell and also not fun missing normal on board life while you recover. But if you have any other cruises booked in the next few months at least you'll be very much less likely to catch it again next time you are enjoying a voyage.

[Host Hattie]

7 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Cunard, and particularly the QG staff, are looking after us very well.

 

That's good to hear, I hope you start feeling better soon.

[ballroom-cruisers]

A few additional comments as we get to the end of this voyage.

 

The jazz trio in the Chart Room have played beautifully each evening, including some music that could very easily be danced to if they were playing in the ballroom!

 

The food, particularly on Gala nights, has been excellent. All of the crew who have served us on the dining room, bars and room steward have been superb.

 

The only time masks have been required was for disembarking and embarking at ports, and in the tenders and shuttle buses. Although most people complied properly, a few brazenly ignored that requirement, including some rude and inconsiderate people who, not only were not wearing masks, but also coughing every minute, and should have been going to the medical centre to check their status. Equally one day on deck a man about 10 feet away was coughing his guts out so we moved well away. Again that was utterly inconsiderate.

 

Although we are gradually moving to increasingly less Covid protocols, clearly anyone who had obvious symptoms should not put others at risk deliberately and people need to act responsibly even though the majority will not need masks most of the time.

 

On the whole it has beena lovely voyage and almost uniquely the sea state has never been more than 'slight' the entire time.

 

I'm sure others will post more observations and comments about this cruise. But overall a great success.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks again for your reports, I'm still disappointed that I couldn't be on this cruise but I'm looking forward to next year now.

 

[RJChatsworth]

Exlondoner - Sorry to read about your COVID on QM-2 and hope you soon recover.  As you may recall my wife and I got it 3 days before arriving in Southampton after  the previous 3-week Stateside voyage.  Ever since catching it I have been totally exhausted.  We were moved to 5095.  Agree about the shower - I couldn’t have coped with climbing over the side of a bath to get to the shower.  Cunard treated us very well and I wouldn’t, like some might, blame them for us catching it - just one of those things…..!  We didn’t have to go in the ship!

[exlondoner]

20 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

Exlondoner - Sorry to read about your COVID on QM-2 and hope you soon recover.  As you may recall my wife and I got it 3 days before arriving in Southampton after  the previous 3-week Stateside voyage.  Ever since catching it I have been totally exhausted.  We were moved to 5095.  Agree about the shower - I couldn’t have coped with climbing over the side of a bath to get to the shower.  Cunard treated us very well and I wouldn’t, like some might, blame them for us catching it - just one of those things…..!  We didn’t have to go in the ship!

 

We are safely home. Luckily, my husband felt well enough to drive. With the possible exception of the Purser's Office (no surprise there) all the Cunard staff could not have been kinder or more helpful, particularly our QG butler, Claudio, who continued to look after us most assiduously. 

 

The only thing I would would say about Cunard is that after saying 'We strongly recommend masks...' in certain situations, they did little to follow it up with reminders. But that is nothing to the arrogance of presumably literate adults, who chose to ignore the recommendation, sneezing from time to time. But I have no idea how or where I caught it.

 

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, it was a super cruise.

[Host Hattie]

It's good to hear that you are home safely, I hope you're feeling better soon.