About to Become Live on QV

[david63]

No "...gates" today!

 

Yesterday we were in Ajaccio where it threatened to rain so after getting off thr ship with no particular plans as to what to do we noticed the little tourist road train so as it has been some years since we were last here it was decided that going on the train would be a good idea, especially as it was under cover from the rain. First issue was that on the poster outside the ticket office for the train it said €8 but the lady selling the tickets said €12 each. As my French is non existent it was not queried.

 

The only seats that appeared to be available were at the front of the carriages although when the driver came along and made the passengers move along many more seats suddenly became available. Now there always has to be one couple who refused to move along and insisted on sitting in the middle of the row until they were told to get off the train to allow others to get on.

 

The idea of the train was fine until it started to rain at which point we realised why the fron row of the carriages were empty - when it rains then those on the front row get wet, very wet, and guess what, it started to rain.

 

Anyway after an hour and a half of travelling around on this train in the rain two wet people waddled back to the ship and stayed there for the rest of the day, although we still had the drier going in our suite.

 

Not long after leaving Ajaccio the sea started to get "lumpy" and this only became worse as the night went on. The Captain this morning gave us an update and was quoting telephone numbers foe the wind and swell.

 

Today was a sea day but the weather in the morning was still a bit on the cool side with a fair amount of wind so we spent the morning in the theatre firstly listening to another intersting talk on medical law by Chris Martin (not the one from Coldplay) followed by an In conversation with Julian and Jiaxin LLoyd Webber.

 

For anyone not aware of the reason why Julian does not play in public anymore he was telling us that 10 years ago half way through a concert he found that he could not move his arm and after further investigation he has nerve damage to his right shoulder which only allows him to now play for about 10 minutes at a time.

 

Tonight was "Roaring 20's" with many, mostly women, appropriately dressed but unfortunately there were several men who did not conform to the dress code with apparantly nothing being said.

 

Anyway - onwards and upwards with tomorrow being Messina.

[david63]

Sorry for lack of updates but it has been a busy few port days.

 

Saturday was Messina - a port that we have not visited before and one that we will not miss if we never see it again. It is quite a drab place especially around the port area with many large grey buildings. It probably did not help with it being a Saturday and many places being closed.

 

It is a long time since I have seen the number of "hawkers" outside the port gates - could not move for then trying to take you in their taxi or sell you umbrellas (an obvious sign of the weather). Spent a fair amount of time trying to find an ATM as I needed some Euros for tomorrow and sure enough just like buses or policemen when you find one you find several!

 

Anyway after a couple of hours wandering around and looking at the main attraction of the clock tower with its animations and the weather looking like more rain we headed back to the ship just in time for the heavens to open.

 

One strange thing at this port was that when re-entering you had to put your bags through a scanner but also had to do it when getting on board the ship - it is normally one or the other.

 

Sunday was Naples and for us the highlight port of this cruise as we had arranges a private trip to Pompeii a place that neither of us had ever been to. The first hurdle was trying to find out driver in the melee that was outside the terminal but once that had been achieved we were on our way and 20 minutes later arrived at Pompeii where our guide was waiting for us. Now there are guides and there are guides and this was probably one of the best guides we have had anywhere in the world - not only did she know her subject, as you would expect, but she spoke excellent English.

 

One of the areas that we wanted to see was the new excavation that was featured on TV a couple of months ago so we mentioned this to the guide and she arranged the tour to accommodate this arriving at that point five minutes before it opened and being first in the queue that day. All in all it was an excellent two hours where we learnt a lot about Pompeii. Another 20 minite drive and we were back at the ship.

 

I should add here that today was the first day since leaving Barcelona that the big yellow thing was in the sky!

 

Monday was Civitavecchia, a port that we have docked at several times but always been on an excursion usually to Rome but this time we decided to stay local.

 

There were seven cruise ships in port today and most, if not all, were doing either full or partial turnaround (QV was partial turnaround) which meant that the port was utter chaos. This port operated its own shuttle bus service to get out of the port (I saw somewhere that said from where we were docked it was a 45 minute walk to get out of the port. So off we go to get the shuttle but all we were told was to "wait over there". Over there was just a throng of passengers and crew, many with multiple cases, all waiting for the next shuttle - which went straight past us empty. Eventually on came ans stopped and fortunately we were in the right place for once and quickly got on.

 

Never having actually been to Civitavecchia before we were surprised as to what a pleasant sea front walk it has so, once we had found it, we had a pleasant walk in the sun (yes it was out again!) along the front for an hour or so. Eventually we decided to return to the ship with some trepidation knowing that it was likely to be just as chaotic as when we set off. Luckily we soon found a shuttle bus so asked if it was going to QV, just to make sure we were going in the right direction as we did not want to find ourselves in Rome. The bit that was missing from the driver's reply was that this shuttle bus only took us to where the port shuttle buses were.

 

One thing that amazes me is how may passengers, not Cunard, lug cases around ports to get to the ship - surely there could be an easier way for everyone. Anyway we were back on board quicker than we had anticipated and spent the rest of the day playing "spot the new passenger".

 

Last night when inn the Grills Lounge having pre-dinner drinks one man came in wearing shorts but this was dealt with efficiently and he went to change without any fuss being made.

[david63]

Tuesday was a sea day and there were two Cunard Insights in the morning (and one, that would have like to hear at 12:15 - who schedules these things?). The first was on vampires in literature by Dr Gerri Kimber - not a subject that I was particularly interested by SWMBO insisted that we went to it. Now I don't mind a going to some of these where there is an interesting speaker but this was so robotic - just reading a script and timed almost to the second.

 

The second was far more interesting being one by The Royal Butler (forgot his name but he is Scottish}. There was almost a full house for this - mostly our cousins from across the pond!

 

Now a new strange practice has been introduced in the QG (possibly other restaurants). When the table is set there is a water glass on the table, as you would expect. Your waiter then comes along and asks if you want some water and if the response is in the affirmative he/she takes the glass away, fills it with water and then returns it - no more jugs of water at the table, When, out of curiosity, I queried this with our waiter I was told that it was an instruction from upon high!

 

Tonight was Black and White Gala night and whilst most complied with the dress code there were some who stretched the definition to beyond its limit - notably a table of eight Americans sitting on the table behind us.

 

Also as I posted in another topic the "gentleman" who turned up with no jacket and shirt outside of his trousers was sent away to get his jacket which was a light coloured sports jacket. The whole exercise was futile as when he sat down the first thing he did was take his jacket off and put it over the back of his chair. I don't know why the Maitre d does not just say "sorry you do not comply with the dress code - the buffet is downstairs"

[lancashire_cruisers]

To get the most out of a Messina port stop you really need to take a tour to see the beauty of Sicily. One of my favourite places to go.

[david63]

On 9/19/2024 at 12:45 PM, lancashire_cruisers said:

To get the most out of a Messina port stop you really need to take a tour to see the beauty of Sicily. One of my favourite places to go.

Our days of being "herded" on and off tour buses are well behind us - we are far more selective as to what we do.

[david63]

Some more updates'

 

Wednesday was Cephalonia. We woke to what you expect a Greek island to be - wall to wall sunshine. Fortunately the Captain says that he had negotiated for us to be alongside rather than tendering (unfortunately that pleasure was for NCL!).

 

This was something of a nostalgic port of call as we were last (and first) time here 21 years ago and on that occasion we remember having a lazy Greek lunch somewhere. Oh how the place has changed in those 21 years - totally unrecognisable and vastly developed.

 

Thursday was Corfu. We were misled here as the weather forecast was for light showers in the morning with heavy rain in the afternoon. How wrong was that? Just as we got off the shuttle bus the heavens opened and continued like that all morning so after a couple of essential purchases we headed back to the ship only for the sun to come out and and "crack the flags" all afternoon.

[david63]

Friday was Kotor somewhere that we had not visited before. There was no problem getting off the ship as she was docked almost at the old town gates! This, it would seem, is Montenegro's home for cats - i have never seen so many.

 

Kotor old town is a charming place with many small winding streets which we went up, down, back, forwards along trying to find our way out as the place is a maze.

 

Fortunately the weather was kind once again but the place, both within the city walls and outside, was so busy with the number of people and noise with traffic that after a while we returned to the ship for a rest.

 

Saturday was Dubrovnik and was typical Dubrovnik weather - hot with wall to wall sun. As we have been to Dubrovnik several times and "done the walls" and most other tourist things there and knowing what the return shuttle bus service has been like in the past we decided to have a relaxing day onboard.

 

Unusually for a port day this was also a gala night being Masquerade which many passengers entered into the spirit of. I have never found that wearing a mask works that well being a glasses wearer!

[david63]

Sunday was a sea day with one of the highlights being a Cunard Insight talk by Margaret Gillmore the ex BBC security reporter who was giving some insight into the Russian assassinations in the UK. This was the first of three talks that she is giving.

 

Monday was Trieste and also turnaround day. QV has turnaround every Monday and it is not much fun firstly having to get up a silly o'clock for breakfast and then having to wait an extra hour for lunch. I have to admit that the port at Trieste was far better organised than Civitavecchia the previous week with barriers controlling the flow of passengers - the only downside being that it was unclear as to where anybody was supposed to go,

 

Trieste is another place that we have not visited before and is an interesting place to wander around although as I can attest it is an easy place to get lost in.

 

Anyway we have a new intake of passengers this week so we shall see what they bring.

[Wonky]

Who are the MDs in grills?

[missson1967]

3 hours ago, Wonky said:

Who are the MDs in grills?

It’s Raoul in QG, and Ismail in PG, at the moment.