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Queen Anne 14th - 28th July Iceland and bits of Britain.


Victoria2
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I think one of the nicest parts of being on for a while now is seeing my archery get better, slowly but surely. Here’s some shots from today’s session

 

IMG_7059.thumb.jpeg.f91f7c5320002c65ddffb3bc5de21bce.jpegIMG_7060.thumb.jpeg.c18cb83684fc0f0b536f185672ef673b.jpeg

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You’ve probably heard of car parks, well the The Cromarty Firth goes one better.

It's an oil rig park!

 

It's truly amazing to see these rigs close up and personal. They are huge and the one here is a baby one.

 

IMG_1108.jpeg

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24 minutes ago, MylesS said:

I think one of the nicest parts of being on for a while now is seeing my archery get better, slowly but surely. Here’s some shots from today’s session

 

IMG_7059.thumb.jpeg.f91f7c5320002c65ddffb3bc5de21bce.jpegIMG_7060.thumb.jpeg.c18cb83684fc0f0b536f185672ef673b.jpeg

Well done Robin Hood of Queen Anne 😄

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Just now, Victoria2 said:

You’ve probably heard of car parks, well the The Cromarty Firth goes one better.

It's an oil rig park!

 

It's truly amazing to see these rigs close up and personal. They are huge and the one here is a baby one.

 

IMG_1108.jpeg

I was amazed we went past them! I first saw them this afternoon, and thought there’s no way we can through them? Well, we did! 
 

Originally being from Weston-Super-Mare, I went to see the “Sea Monster” that was on the beach a while back when I visited my father. That was on an old Gas Rig - absolutely huge! 

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2 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Well done Robin Hood of Queen Anne 😄

With a 100% accuracy 50% of the time, taking from the Q1s and giving to the Britannia cabins. 😉

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Posted (edited)

Welcome to The Orkneys on this fine, sunny ( not) morning. Luckily for us, this is our fourth visit so know how starkly beautiful, the islands look in brilliant sunshine. Hopefully, the slight mizzle  will burn off as sunny intervals are forecast.

 

We went to the theatre last night to see a double act called The MacDonald Bros.

 

Very disappointed to find it was a short set.

 

Only it wasn’t!

 

They were so brilliant, the time passed in a flash. The most talented duo I’d never heard of. The pre show blurb indicated their music was ‘from Celtic anthems to pop classics they will have you singing and clapping along from beginning to the end in this high energy show!'

 OK, we'll give it a whirl.

 

Wow. What a fabulous, high energy show and what a talented pair. Apparently they were on a programme called  'The X Factor' and although they didn’t win, it gave their entertainment careers a huge boost.

 

The theatre was packed and rightly so. When they ended the evening with Loch Lomond ( only they had an encore, obvs.) three quarters of an hour had passed in a flash.

 

They are on again in the Queens Room in a couple of days. Our dinner will be timed around their set.


If they are ever on your cruise, go see. They are fantastic.

 

IMG_1115.jpeg

Edited by Victoria2
Hadn’t finished typing
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Yep so far everything for us is amazing.

Arrived at the terminal around 115 and large queue but after sorting out the car etc we were allowed through the priority line and by 2pm were on the ship and by the time we got to the  room all the bags were outside the door waiting

lunch in the golden lion was great.

We have one of “sideways” cabin on deck 4 and whilst no sofa (2 chairs) the extra window makes it bright.

Storage is not as great as Vistas (miss the bed drawer) but no shower curtain more than makes up for it

Ship is stunning and I said you can tell it’s Cunard but it’s different.

Ate on Sir Samuels last night and it was spectacular service and amazing view over the pool.

Every interaction with the crew has been great and every meal to date has been amazing.

Dress code seems to be complied with and in Commodore Club last night witnessed the waiter “reminding” a lady she needed to adhere tot he dress code.waiter told us night before a group of 15 people got irritated when reminded of the dress code on the gala night and started creating about how much they as a group had spent on the tickets etc.

Saw Noir and haven’t laughed so much  in ages - it really was amazing.

pride and Prejudice was different-‘akin to an elongated French and Saunders sketch IMHO

 

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14 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

If they are ever on your cruise, go see. They are fantastic.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were, and felt the show went by very quickly! Well worth the watch.

 

10 minutes ago, Craigrlewis said:

Dress code seems to be complied with and in Commodore Club last night witnessed the waiter “reminding” a lady she needed to adhere tot he dress code.

Myself and a few others commented last night how the majority of people seem to be following the dress code. It makes a nice change from the previous cruise! 
 

11 minutes ago, Craigrlewis said:

waiter told us night before a group of 15 people got irritated when reminded of the dress code on the gala night and started creating about how much they as a group had spent on the tickets etc.

As I seem to be saying more frequently at the blackjack table, it’s only money! 

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Did the archery and was  it he same group as Myles but my attempts were pretty poor so I won’t publish photo of my target!

Instead here is an oil rig

man in  shop told me they should be being dismantled but they end up in certain other countries instead where laws for disposal of such things are a lot stricter  

 

IMG_2813.jpeg

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2 minutes ago, MylesS said:

I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were, and felt the show went by very quickly! Well worth the watch.

 

Myself and a few others commented last night how the majority of people seem to be following the dress code. It makes a nice change from the previous cruise! 
 

As I seem to be saying more frequently at the blackjack table, it’s only money! 

We think the age profile hasn’t changed that much from our May cruise. We still feel the average age is reasonably high which goes against your impression of the last cruise.

 

What has changed are the number of wheelchairs. Def. not as many as in May. Still can’t navigate past the casino or opposite bar without asking folk to 'move please'. Crazy pinch points.

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16 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

We think the age profile hasn’t changed that much from our May cruise. We still feel the average age is reasonably high which goes against your impression of the last cruise.

Yes average age has gone up since Southampton. I think the last cruise was different only because it was made up of 3 cruises, two of which were 2 and 3 nights respectively 

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48 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

We went to the theatre last night to see a double act called The MacDonald Bros.

 

Very disappointed to find it was a short set.

 

Only it wasn’t!

 

They were so brilliant, the time passed in a flash. The most talented duo I’d never heard of. The pre show blurb indicated their music was ‘from Celtic anthems to pop classics they will have you singing and clapping along from beginning to the end in this high energy show!'

 OK, we'll give it a whirl.

 

Wow. What a fabulous, high energy show and what a talented pair. 

 

IMG_1115.jpeg

We saw the McDonald brothers on our first celebrity cruise in 2014. Absolutely loved them. Best act we have seen on a ship. When they sang 500 miles everybody joined in. It was a gala night and there were several gentlemen in kilts. We remembered them on X factor. So glad to hear they are still performing on ships. 

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Welcome to The Orkneys on this fine, sunny ( not) morning. Luckily for us, this is our fourth visit so know how starkly beautiful, the islands look in brilliant sunshine. Hopefully, the slight mizzle  will burn off as sunny intervals are forecast.

 

We went to the theatre last night to see a double act called The MacDonald Bros.

 

Very disappointed to find it was a short set.

 

Only it wasn’t!

 

They were so brilliant, the time passed in a flash. The most talented duo I’d never heard of. The pre show blurb indicated their music was ‘from Celtic anthems to pop classics they will have you singing and clapping along from beginning to the end in this high energy show!'

 OK, we'll give it a whirl.

 

Wow. What a fabulous, high energy show and what a talented pair. Apparently they were on a programme called  'The X Factor' and although they didn’t win, it gave their entertainment careers a huge boost.

 

The theatre was packed and rightly so. When they ended the evening with Loch Lomond ( only they had an encore, obvs.) three quarters of an hour had passed in a flash.

 

They are on again in the Queens Room in a couple of days. Our dinner will be timed around their set.


If they are ever on your cruise, go see. They are fantastic.

 

IMG_1115.jpeg

 

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Welcome to The Orkneys on this fine, sunny ( not) morning. Luckily for us, this is our fourth visit so know how starkly beautiful, the islands look in brilliant sunshine. Hopefully, the slight mizzle  will burn off as sunny intervals are forecast.

 

We went to the theatre last night to see a double act called The MacDonald Bros.

 

Very disappointed to find it was a short set.

 

Only it wasn’t!

 

They were so brilliant, the time passed in a flash. The most talented duo I’d never heard of. The pre show blurb indicated their music was ‘from Celtic anthems to pop classics they will have you singing and clapping along from beginning to the end in this high energy show!'

 OK, we'll give it a whirl.

 

Wow. What a fabulous, high energy show and what a talented pair. Apparently they were on a programme called  'The X Factor' and although they didn’t win, it gave their entertainment careers a huge boost.

 

The theatre was packed and rightly so. When they ended the evening with Loch Lomond ( only they had an encore, obvs.) three quarters of an hour had passed in a flash.

 

They are on again in the Queens Room in a couple of days. Our dinner will be timed around their set.


If they are ever on your cruise, go see. They are fantastic.

 

IMG_1115.jpeg

What?  The Orkneys, AND (be still my beating heart) the MacDonald brothers?

We found them on a Seabourn cruise almost ten years ago, and we were enthralled, enraptured, captured!  I have two of their CDs, but must explore their digital offerings.  They are so talented, and yes, so dynamic.  Vocal and instrumental skills incredible.  They were runners-up on X Factor, and brought the house down with “Five Hundred Miles”, which overplayed as it is by now, is still something of a Scottish anthem.  Love the ethereal Orkney Islands, and with the two Macs as evening entertainment, you’re on my version of a voyage to paradise.  Please keep posting, and thank you.

Edited by Mareblu
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Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

We think the age profile hasn’t changed that much from our May cruise. We still feel the average age is reasonably high which goes against your impression of the last cruise.

 

What has changed are the number of wheelchairs. Def. not as many as in May. Still can’t navigate past the casino or opposite bar without asking folk to 'move please'. Crazy pinch points.

I am on the next cruise to the Med. I wonder if that will mix it up. Some folk are getting off or  joining in Rome so that may make a difference. Hopefully will not have a problem getting a sun bed. Shallow,  I know. 

Edited by Winifred 22
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11 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I am on the next cruise to the Med. I wonder if that will mix it up. Some folk are getting off or  joining in Rome so that may make a difference. Hopefully will not have a problem getting a sun bed. Shallow,  I know. 

The England and Wales state school hols. will have begin by then, so there may even be a few more (well-behaved) children. 

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9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

The England and Wales state school hols. will have begin by then, so there may even be a few more (well-behaved) children. 

Yes I did wonder at the time I booked it. Strange because it was cheaper than the non school holiday for the same  itinerary. I have one of the larger deck 4 balconies so may retreat there. On her HAL sister ships those balconies come with a sun-bed. Will sound it out 😂

 

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Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Yes I did wonder at the time I booked it. Strange because it was cheaper than the non school holiday for the same  itinerary. I have one of the larger deck 4 balconies so may retreat there. On her HAL sister ships those balconies come with a sun-bed. Will sound it out 😂

 


I think it may mainly be because people who don’t have to travel in the school hols. (which is the majority of Cunard passengers) prefer to do so when the Med. is slightly cooler. Having said which, we are going in July next year, and August the following, if we are both fit and well enough.

Edited by exlondoner
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Very lazy and relaxing day onboard today, paired with a nice dinner in Britannia. Seems the weather got better throughout the day and we left on what I thought was a lovely sunny evening.

The daily programme for tomorrow looks great, with fruit carving, foil fencing & I'm looking forward to another blackjack tournament as well - and I can't wait to see the ventriloquist either.

Once the "app" has updated, I'll be sure to share some photos/PDF here.

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It’s a wet day, more from the spray than actual rain and I cut my deck walk down for fear of slipping. It looks a bit brighter so might venture out later.

Spent a hour watching a lovely foursome play Mahjong. It’s a long time since I played on a regular basis and this four did have some 'local rules' but good fun.

 

We didn’t leave the restaurant until around 9.45 last night after a wonderful dinner involving a great Chicken Pad Thai and finishing off with Crepes Suzette.

 

Might yet need that wheelbarrow for disembarkation!🥴

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I see the Grills Bar is now open from 10.30. This is a great improvement on 11.30, if you don’t mind your morning coffee in Stygian gloom. And they seem to be claiming bar service on the Grills Terrace, but perhaps not in the weather you have today.

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Just now, exlondoner said:

I see the Grills Bar is now open from 10.30. This is a great improvement on 11.30, if you don’t mind your morning coffee in Stygian gloom. And they seem to be claiming bar service on the Grills Terrace, but perhaps not in the weather you have today.

If staff know you’re up on deck, and they do patrol up there even in the damp, you’ll get service as we found out yesterday am.

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57 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Might yet need that wheelbarrow for disembarkation!🥴

I’ve already accepted I’ll need an industrial forklift - hope they can accommodate priority disembarkation! 

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23 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

Yes I did wonder at the time I booked it. Strange because it was cheaper than the non school holiday for the same  itinerary. I have one of the larger deck 4 balconies so may retreat there. On her HAL sister ships those balconies come with a sun-bed. Will sound it out 😂

 

Sorry, it’s not the best photo but this was from 4005. IMG_2667.jpeg.e44f8c7e379c02915c5aa34d85b0b5a7.jpeg

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