LIVE (almost) from QM2 Transatlantic June 23 to June 29

[BklynBoy8]

7 hours ago, Joe33472 said:

 

I've been posting the daily programs and menus in PDF format since it's multiple pages and thought it would be easier for viewing.   Would pictures be better?  Definitely would be less work on my part than converting and combining in PDF format.  

 

Not sure of the others suggestions but PDF turns into a photo. And a Photo copy image turns into a file. So what easy for your to do but we appreciate all the details and clear copies to enjoy reading. Thank You...

 

We have 264 till be enjoy the Mary 2. Enjoy!

[BklynBoy8]

27 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

If someone else doesn't post, I can definitely take some photos and post online. 

 

Even though I was in PG I use to pass the Britannia Restaurant outside and took pixs to compare. Menus for Britannia is right outside of the restaurant wall or on the table inside of the entrance.

 

You may get some reflection from the above lights shining on the glass cover. 

[RK-NC]

29 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

Lunch is QG was great today.   So, maybe everything was embarkation day pressures.

 

I am beginning to think it is common to have dining issues on embarkation day. We cruised Celebrity in April and avoided the main dining room on the first night because we had heard of problems similar to what you experienced. Enjoy red and gold night! 

[MylesS]

1 hour ago, Joe33472 said:

 

Thanks RK-NC!  Yes, today is going much better.  We went to lunch and had a very lovely meal.   We started with the tomato tart with blue cheese and it was so good we forgot to take a picture.   Next we had ravioli and ended the meal with sticky toffee pudding.  All the food was served at the right temperature and served at a perfect pace.  The best part of the meal was that Osman came over and asked if we're okay for dinner (which we were struggling on what we would eat) and he offered to have something made for us.  We took him up on the offer, so we'll see how that works out.   I think we might actually try breakfast there tomorrow morning. 

 

Finally! Seems like a regular service for you from now on. Please enjoy!

[Joe33472]

21 minutes ago, RK-NC said:

 

I am beginning to think it is common to have dining issues on embarkation day. We cruised Celebrity in April and avoided the main dining room on the first night because we had heard of problems similar to what you experienced. Enjoy red and gold night! 

 

Yes, it definitely could be an embarkation day thing.  Hopefully, this is the turning point.  

 

 

[Joe33472]

28 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

Even though I was in PG I use to pass the Britannia Restaurant outside and took pixs to compare. Menus for Britannia is right outside of the restaurant wall or on the table inside of the entrance.

 

You may get some reflection from the above lights shining on the glass cover. 

 

That's exactly what I was thinking I would do if someone else doesn't post.  It will give us something else to do on a daily basis going forward!   😀

[Host Hattie]

I'm glad to hear that today was better and that you have made contact with Osman. I hope you enjoy your special order.

Lunch Menus are generally standard in all restaurants.

[DaisyUK]

2 hours ago, Joe33472 said:

 

Thanks RK-NC!  Yes, today is going much better.  We went to lunch and had a very lovely meal.   We started with the tomato tart with blue cheese and it was so good we forgot to take a picture.   Next we had ravioli and ended the meal with sticky toffee pudding.  All the food was served at the right temperature and served at a perfect pace.  The best part of the meal was that Osman came over and asked if we're okay for dinner (which we were struggling on what we would eat) and he offered to have something made for us.  We took him up on the offer, so we'll see how that works out.   I think we might actually try breakfast there tomorrow morning. 

 

Osman cooked some memorable dinners for us, so I have high hopes for you. Some would not have been to your taste as they involved lobster, but the veal he cooked was also excellent.

[Joe33472]

We went to afternoon tea in the Grills Lounge and it was very nice affair.   We enjoyed the finger sandwiches, desserts, and scones.  We're going attend tea in the Queens Room at some point, but we wanted a low key venue this afternoon.   There weren't too many people in the lounge so it was really nice and quiet.  We needed something quiet.  

 

Now, we're really stuffed and could use a nap, but I have a work meeting in 15 minutes.   Hopefully the Internet holds out.  😀   Should be fine, as right now there is definitely sufficient bandwidth for a zoom meeting. 

 

[Kordy]

6 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

We went to afternoon tea in the Grills Lounge and it was very nice affair.   We enjoyed the finger sandwiches, desserts, and scones.  We're going attend tea in the Queens Room at some point, but we wanted a low key venue this afternoon.   There weren't too many people in the lounge so it was really nice and quiet.  We needed something quiet.  

 

Now, we're really stuffed and could use a nap, but I have a work meeting in 15 minutes.   Hopefully the Internet holds out.  😀   Should be fine, as right now there is definitely sufficient bandwidth for a zoom meeting. 

 

Wow. The Internet in the middle of the Atlantic is sure speedy.  The wonders of Starlink!  I am impressed. This is enough bandwidth for a video call. 

[Joe33472]

1 hour ago, Kordy said:

Wow. The Internet in the middle of the Atlantic is sure speedy.  The wonders of Starlink!  I am impressed. This is enough bandwidth for a video call. 

 

Yes, it's amazing how great the Internet has been (knocking on wood!).  Meeting went great with video sharing.  I didn't open my camera, which likely helped with bandwidth.   Some connection issues when switching devices, but overall A+ with Starlink.   I purchased the two device plan, so we have some issues with switching between devices, but not a big deal.   We just have too many devices we'd like to connect to the Internet all at the same time.   First world problems 🙃

[Carnevale]

Thanks so much @Joe33472 for the room service menus and all the daily programs - they look good. Does anyone know if the room service menus are the same throughout the ship or if they vary for QG compared to Britannia?

[Pushpit]

16 minutes ago, Carnevale said:

Thanks so much @Joe33472 for the room service menus and all the daily programs - they look good. Does anyone know if the room service menus are the same throughout the ship or if they vary for QG compared to Britannia?

It's the same card in all staterooms and suites, in QM2, QE and QV to my certain knowledge. I gather QA has a few extra charged-for options, but I have to wait to this weekend for my first go at that. 

[leyland1989]

My strategy of going to dinner late (at 20:00) and doing my laundry during peak dining hours (18:00) paid off. It was empty. 

 

I'm very impressed by the dryer, extremely high airflow, my clothes are dry within 20 mins. 

 

Internet (my biggest concern) also working very well. I can use my VPN back at home and did a Team meeting without any interruptions. 

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 07:23 PM by leyland1989

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

It's the same card in all staterooms and suites, in QM2, QE and QV to my certain knowledge. I gather QA has a few extra charged-for options, but I have to wait to this weekend for my first go at that. 

But in addition you can order from the QG restaurant when it is open. I think the breakfast menu may have more choices too.

[Pushpit]

11 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

But in addition you can order from the QG restaurant when it is open. I think the breakfast menu may have more choices too.

The room service breakfast card in post 68 is the same as my Balcony stateroom from a few weeks back and QV in February, and that in turn was identical to the Inside cabin over the corridor from me. But yes, in Grills the meal menus are circulated on top, and so things can be ordered off that.

[Joe33472]

39 minutes ago, leyland1989 said:

My strategy of going to dinner late (at 20:00) and doing my laundry during peak dining hours (18:00) paid off. It was empty. 

 

I'm very impressed by the dryer, extremely high airflow, my clothes are dry within 20 mins. 

 

Internet (my biggest concern) also working very well. I can use my VPN back at home and did a Team meeting without any interruptions. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the heads up about the laundry!  This is hugely helpful!  I was wondering when we might do our laundry, so I think that this is a good strategy.  Maybe tomorrow night.   I must admit, however, that we're part of the 18:00 dining crowd.  Although we made it to 18:30 tonight.   And we're definitely not octogenarians yet, but were the only ones in the QG restaurant at that time.  🤷‍♂️ I guess we're early birds. 

 

Thanks again! 

 

 

[WantedOnVoyage]

May one order off the Grills breakfast menu for breakfast in your cabin??? I rather think not, for starters the menu is not even circulated to cabins, only lunch and dinner. 

 

I do remember "back in the day" when the Grills had their own augmented room service menu but it's been years since they offered that.

[RK-NC]

16 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

I was wondering when we might do our laundry, so I think that this is a good strategy.  Maybe tomorrow night.   I must admit, however, that we're part of the 18:00 dining crowd.  Although we made it to 18:30 tonight.   And we're definitely not octogenarians yet, but were the only ones in the QG restaurant at that time.  🤷‍♂️ I guess we're early birds. 

 

I liked the laundry tip too - thank you @leyland1989 Our voyage in Aug/Sept is 30 nights and I've actually been looking at the calendar and scheduling our laundry days. We're only bringing clothing for 7 days plus formal wear. Glad to hear the dryers work well. 

 

We are also early birds and nowhere near octogenarians 😂 We probably won't have Britannia to ourselves though. 

[Victoria2]

11 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

May one order off the Grills breakfast menu for breakfast in your cabin??? I rather think not, for starters the menu is not even circulated to cabins, only lunch and dinner. 

 

I do remember "back in the day" when the Grills had their own augmented room service menu but it's been years since they offered that.

We've added our own items onto the order card in the past and it’s been delivered so I’d say yes, you can as far as QG is concerned.

[Pushpit]

10 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

May one order off the Grills breakfast menu for breakfast in your cabin??? I rather think not, for starters the menu is not even circulated to cabins, only lunch and dinner. 

 

I do remember "back in the day" when the Grills had their own augmented room service menu but it's been years since they offered that.

As far as I know you can order from the Grills' menus full stop. So if you want kippers in your suite (!!!!) then you can. The breakfast menu doesn't change much from year to year (plus there are copies in this board) so it's easy to memorise what is on it from day2 onwards. Probably not a good idea on embarkation day though.

[WantedOnVoyage]

Well I would relish kippers in my cabin but I think only my cat would relish the lingering aroma for the rest of the day.

[Joe33472]

We had a wonderful dinner in QG and service was spot on.   What a difference between today and yesterday as far as food and service.  It's like night and day.   Does anyone think that Cunard social media folks monitor this board?   It wouldn't be too difficult to figure out who we are based on my user name and location.   Perhaps it's just the craziness of embarkation day and the fact that we were a little grumpy yesterday, and the two not mixing well together.  

 

In tonight's menu, there was an a la carte menu.  This wasn't in the menu last night, so perhaps on embarkation they try to keep special requests to a minimum.  Here is the A la Carte menu:

 

6.24.24 Queens Grill A la Carte Menu.pdf

 

We could definitely eat off this menu.  

 

For tonight's meal, Osman had Turkish salad prepared for us as well as roast chicken.    Both were delicious.  The assistant Maitre D' carved the chicken at the table and prepared a wonderful gravy.   We skipped dessert because we were so full.  

 

Excellent meal and service.  Top notch!   A++

 

[Joe33472]

Some transfer information for Brooklyn was dropped off in the room tonight.   We have a coop in NYC and will be stopping there for one night after the cruise before we make our way to Boston/Manchester NH area to visit our families.  I'm thinking that we'll just take a cab or perhaps I'll see if the car service which I usually use will pick us up.   I can imagine that it's pretty hectic at the cruise terminal in Brooklyn and that a cab line could be long.  

 

The private transfer prices seem a little bit more than I would typically pay for an airport transfer to JFK or LGA, but I thinking that they have to factor in waiting time at the cruise terminal, so maybe it's not too bad.

 

The car service I usually use is Carmel.  

 

[leyland1989]

1 hour ago, RK-NC said:

 

I liked the laundry tip too - thank you @leyland1989 Our voyage in Aug/Sept is 30 nights and I've actually been looking at the calendar and scheduling our laundry days. We're only bringing clothing for 7 days plus formal wear. Glad to hear the dryers work well. 

 

We are also early birds and nowhere near octogenarians 😂 We probably won't have Britannia to ourselves though. 

I'm all set for the next 5 days, hopefully my "tip" won't ruin it for everyone who's quietly doing the same, haha. 

 

Although I did get some weird looks from fellow passengers when I'm wearing my tux bottom and white under shirt running up and down the corridor with my laundry (trying to get ready while waiting for the laundry).