Westbound Transatlantic May 17th 2006

[Toffeegirl68]

Thanks to all who answered my pre-voyage questions....here's how I got on...

 

Our adventures started on the 11.39am train from London Waterloo (we booked cheap tickets via the internet for the ‘Megatrain’ carriage – you’d be mad not to check it out). Arrived at 13:14.

 

No problems getting a taxi at Southampton and we soon arrived at check-in. As soon as we got out of the cab, someone relieved us of our luggage and we joined the check-in queue for the masses. It didn’t take long to get to and through check-in where we were issued with our photo id / key cards (photo taken at check-in desk) and then we were on board! A ‘meeter and greeter’ gave us directions to our cabin - 5251, an inside D6 which was compact but plenty big enough considering that we were hardly in there!

 

Waiting for us outside our cabin was our luggage, and inside was a half-bottle of ‘champagne’, some Cunard chocolatesas well as a bottle of pink ‘champagne’, some roses, a congratulations card for our wedding anniversary (4th) and a wedding anniversary certificate. The shower room contained the usual miniatures (from the Canyon Ranch Spa range) and there were 2 pairs of slippers and 2 light bathrobes.

 

AFTER unpacking (I am such a bully!) we went off to explore and grabbed some lunch in the Kings Court before the evacuation drill. By now, the weather was starting to turn so the Sail-away Party at 5.45pm was held under cover on Deck 12. A few brave souls stood outside whilst the ship sailed away but we decided to stay dry inside. We shared a mini-bottle of Champagne (the emphasis is on champagne but you can order any drink you like, all charged to your room) while we listened to the band and then went off to prepare for dinner.

 

We were second sitting in the Britannia, at the top of the stairs, table for 2. Everything we had was delicious. There was a choice of 5 appetisers and soups, 2 salads, 5 entrees and 6 desserts (including cheese option) as well as a 3 course healthy choice Canyon Ranch Spa Selection. We didn’t order wine every night and one night we only drank half a bottle so they kept the rest for the next night. The last night we took down the pink ‘champagne’ from our room which they happily put on ice for us. We never ate dinner anywhere else, we enjoyed the main restaurant so much (and why pay more to eat elsewhere when you are already happy with what you’ve got?!). I was given a cake on my birthday and on the penultimate night after the parade of the chefs; we were given a copy of the menus for nights 1-5.

 

The first night we went to the Welcome on Board show. All other nights we went to the Queens Ball room for a bit before going to the night club. We didn’t see any of the other shows in the theatre, nor did we see any of the films. (Never had time!)

 

Our days took on a little routine. I would get up have a drink and a muffin in the Kings Court before Pilates at 8.15am (be there early!) followed by half an hour in the aqua-therapy pool. It cost $79 for a 5 day pass to the aqua therapy centre (pool, hot tub, saunas, steam rooms etc) and I normally went twice a day. (I’m recovering from an accident and had major surgery on my back 11 months ago, therefore for me this was excellent – I miss it so…..). I’d have breakfast (again) at 10am and then maybe go to an Oxford Discovery lecture (Town Planning). Hubby meanwhile had a lie in, breakfast, RADA class, morning quizzes before meeting me in the Queen’s Ballroom for the dance class. After lunch in the Kings Court we would part company again for lectures, planetarium films, table tennis, darts etc before meeting up again for the general knowledge quiz in the Golden Lion at 4.30pm. I’d disappear off to the spa pool again and then it was dress for dinner time. Dinner was followed by vain attempts to do our new dance in the ballroom before retreating to the night club. Back to our cabin by 2 am, via Kings Court for hot chocolate, to plan the next day. Five hours sleep a night!

 

We dressed for dinner every night. The Black and White ball was on the Friday. This was the day of the Captains cocktail party for Britannia diners (Grill diners had theirs on the Thursday). I wore a long white dress with black bodice together with a black pashmina, hubby wore his DJ. Lots of ladies did wear black & white and it was nice to have dressed to the theme. On the other hand, many wore other colours and I am sure that they felt (and they looked) just as glamorous and not out of place. There were plenty of men wearing white DJs – indeed all of the gentlemen hosts seemed to be wearing white.

 

The Ascot Ball was on the Sunday night. For this I wore a long black dress with trusty black pashmina. Hubby wore his wedding waistcoat and cravat with his DJ (the best dressed man there!). At dinner, some ladies had feather hats/head dresses on, whilst some disappeared back to their cabins to don their hats before the parade round the Queen’s Ballroom at 11pm. Some wore hats they’d worn to weddings, some wore paper hats they had made that afternoon. It was an excuse to dress up – good fun and no harm done. Everyone who paraded round the room got a little gift and a special prize was given to the best hat as cheered for from a shortlist. One thing that was noticeable was that more people partied on these 2 nights than they did on the others.

 

The first and last nights were casual (no jacket and tie), Thursday night was forml (but no theme) and the Saturday night was informal (jacket and tie required – so still smart!). Lots of people wore jeans during the day – but that doesn’t mean that they looked scruffy and out of place.

 

During our voyage, we also squeezed in a visit to the viewing deck behind the Bridge, a cookery demo, the golf simulator, a game of bingo, a trip to the champagne bar (one must on one’s birthday) and the casino (one armed bandits only). We bought a couple of our photos for our parents and one for ourselves –we thought that they were really nice especially since I normally hate photos of me.

 

I cannot recommend the Commodore Club highly enough for a pre-dinner cocktail (choose one of the ‘cocktails of the day’ to keep those expenses down…). The best way to get there is to take the Scenic Lift from Deck 7 up by stairwell A. We didn’t find time for the shows, afternoon tea, sunsets and the out door Jacuzzis - the weather wasn’t always suitable for being out on deck!

 

Yes, the weather. We were lucky – we felt fine all the time. Indeed, we felt that the weather added to our experience (apologies to those who suffered). The dance classes were: slow, slow, quick, quick, stagger. In the planetarium, as our film was landing on Mars, the ship swayed heavily just as we touched down. Finally, the waves crashing against the windows on decks 2 and 3 were awe-inspiring! Most of the time, we didn’t even notice it (I know, sorry!).

 

The last night we didn’t bother going to bed. I was determined to see the arrival of the Pilot at 3am – and since we hadn’t been getting to bed til 2am it didn’t seem worth hitting the pillow. Most people retreated to their cabins early on the last night so we had much of the ship to ourselves for a couple of hours! It was quite exciting to see the Pilot boat whiz up and we watched the new arrivals climb up the rope ladder before meeting 2 of them (from the NYPD) in Kings Court. Soon after this lots of people started getting up, ready for the arrival in New York. It was quite cold out on deck (take gloves and a woolly hat!) but quite a sight going under the bridge (just made it) – and seeing the New York Skyline. You get a fairly good view of the Statue of Liberty even though you don’t sail right by her.

 

Breakfast was eaten and then were bade farewell to our cabin before gathering in the theatre ready for disembarkation This is done by the colour and number of luggage tag you are given. They give priority to those making a connection to get elsewhere. With 2000+ people on board you have to have some sort of system to get everyone off and you are far better off sitting in the theatre than standing in a long queue at customs.(Cases were collected from outside rooms the evening before). We were staying in New York at the Sheraton and Towers (booked via Cunard) and were on our coach by 9am. For us, it ran quite smoothly – we were disembarked and it was all over!

 

25 hours a day is not enough! We had a truly excellent time and look forward to making the same crossing again.

[pepperrn]

What a superb review of your voyage, one of the best reviews I've read, no detail left out it seems, thank you so much for sharing. So glad you had such a great time. You certainly packed a lot in and then didn't have time for everything, maybe next time?

 

I'm about to book again (for a year's time) and am tempted to book the Cunard package including the Sheraton, You said you left the ship at 9am, I assume you took the Cunard transfer, what time did you arrive at the hotel? Were you able to check in at once? What was the Hotel like? Sorry to ask so many questions but you seem to let nothing escape you and have an easy to read and enjoyable style of writing.

 

Thank you in advance for your time and trouble.

[DocM3]

I agree - great review - felt like I was there with you enjoying it all again.

 

Thank you

[Cardinal999]

Thanks for the great review!:)

 

It's nice to read reviews of recent crossings as I'm always interested to hear how much the service aborad has improved since she entered service!

 

Regards,

 

Antony

[PBrown]

Appreciate the review also. What weather should we expect on the June 9th crossing? I've read the weather in Europe is around 70 degrees but have no idea what temps to expect on the crossing coming and going.

[Pincus]

What a wonderful review. Thank you for posting.

 

A question: did you use Room Service at all. I like coffee first thing in the morning, and wonder how long it takes to arrive.

 

Thanks again.

 

Pincus

[PBrown]

A question: did you use Room Service at all. I like coffee first thing in the morning, and wonder how long it takes to arrive.

Pincus

 

Order the night before for a set time in the AM, that way you don't have to get out of bed until they knock on the door!:)

[Hobbit]

http://www.evilscoutmaster.com/EurDay35.htm

 

This is our web site with our review of the same crossing, which, as ToffeeGirl68 said, was great. Pictures are on the web site so it may take a minute to load. Days 35 through 41.

Includes great pictures of an Atrium View Room, a hard thing to find on the web, pictures showing you where to find Homer Simpson on the ship, and we have some pictures of the waves crashing over the windows on deck 2, which ToffeeGirl68 mentioned in her review.

A quick note about disembarking: If you handle your own luggage, you can walk off any time you want.

Hobbit

QM2 May 17th 2006

[Toffeegirl68]

We did the Cunard 'Windsor Combination' which included transfers from the ship to the Sheraton Towers, 2 nights at the hotel and then transfers from the hotel to JFK.

 

We were on the bus at 9am and got to the hotel at 2.30pm. The missing hours were spent on the air conditioned coach doing a tour of Manhatten, including stops. The tour guide was excellent and the luggage was always secure as the driver remained with the coach. One couple de-camped from the coach tour, and their luggage was dropped at the hotel with everyone else's - where it was taken straight to our rooms. We got to the hotel at 2.30pm and were in our room about half an hour later. (Slight delay in getting the keys ready for our bulk arrival). For the transfer to JFK, we were asked to gather in a specified area of the hotel 4 hours before the flight time. There was a slight delay leaving the hotel as not everyone turned up to the right place at the right time (typical) making it harder for the reps doing the organising. The traffic was horrendous - so all that time was needed.

[pepperrn]

We did the Cunard 'Windsor Combination' which included transfers from the ship to the Sheraton Towers, 2 nights at the hotel and then transfers from the hotel to JFK.

 

We were on the bus at 9am and got to the hotel at 2.30pm. The missing hours were spent on the air conditioned coach doing a tour of Manhatten, including stops. The tour guide was excellent and the luggage was always secure as the driver remained with the coach. One couple de-camped from the coach tour, and their luggage was dropped at the hotel with everyone else's - where it was taken straight to our rooms. We got to the hotel at 2.30pm and were in our room about half an hour later. (Slight delay in getting the keys ready for our bulk arrival). For the transfer to JFK, we were asked to gather in a specified area of the hotel 4 hours before the flight time. There was a slight delay leaving the hotel as not everyone turned up to the right place at the right time (typical) making it harder for the reps doing the organising. The traffic was horrendous - so all that time was needed.

 

Thanks for that. At first I was against the idea of taking over five hours from ship to hotel. But as you can't get into your room before it's ready for you and therefore, even if you self disembarked, got a limo, went straight to the hotel, dropped your bags off at the desk and then hit the streets, you'd be out seeing the sights without the benefit of the (free) coach. I've seen (on another thread) the places they take you to and wouldn't mind seeing some again. Once in my room I'm keen to have a short lie down (having been up since 4am to see us pass under the bridge and wanting to see New York at night without falling asleep during a show or evening meal (so embarrasing snoring face down in a plate of food at a resturant). Given that your bags are safe and you've nothing to carry about, seems like a good idea to spend those hours waiting for your room by seeing the tourist sites.

 

Thanks again.

[Toffeegirl68]

Beware that snooze. Having burnt all my candles at both ends on the ship - including staying up all night the last night - I went for a snooze at 6pm at the hotel. I woke up at 6am the next morning !!!!!!!!

[Pincus]

Really great site, thanks for sharing.

 

Pincus

[pepperrn]

Beware that snooze. Having burnt all my candles at both ends on the ship - including staying up all night the last night - I went for a snooze at 6pm at the hotel. I woke up at 6am the next morning !!!!!!!!

 

Will do, I'll set my alarm! Thanks for the warning.