QM2: Boston Herald's Blog, Cruise Critic & YOU!

[LauraS]

Boston Herald Travel Editor (and Cruise Critic contributor) Fran Golden makes her virgin voyage (and first-time crossing) next week on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. Don’t miss her daily blog, beginning Tuesday, June 27.

 

But then come back here - don't worry we'll make it easy for you to find your way back! We figure there are a lot of folks out there who haven’t sailed on QM2 – but want to. And since you’re the experts, we ask you to participate in our mini-survey below. Let’s see if we can inspire a new generation of ocean crossing (not to mention Cunard) aficionados! Answer a few questions for us (and in the process *share* with your Cunard friends):

 

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

*Biggest kvetch?

*What I learned…

*No. of crossings on QM2?

 

 

 

TIP: Simply "copy and paste" the questions into your "reply window" or, for the more savvy board users -- use the 'QUOTE" feature and insert your answers!

 

 

 

 

[pnhmrk]

Biggest kvetch?

 

 

 

 

What is a "kvetch"?:confused:

 

(The spell check recognises it as a word, but I don't!)

[guernseyguy]

What is a "kvetch"?:confused:

 

According to:

 

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/archive/2002/06/01.html

 

kvetch \KVECH\, adjective:

1. To complain habitually.

noun:

1. A complaint.

2. A habitual complainer.

 

 

Kvetch comes from Yiddish kvetshn, "to squeeze, to complain," from Middle High German quetzen, quetschen, "to squeeze."

 

 

So I guess 'complaint' is the intended meaning.....of course it could be 'who was the biggest complainer' - for which there may have been an abundance of potential nominees on the Fort Lauderdale - Rio leg earlier this year.....

 

 

.....one people, divided by a common language......(although one of the citations comes from the Gruaniad in 2000.....)

 

 

 

Peter

[carlmm]

What is a "kvetch"?:confused:

 

(The spell check recognises it as a word, but I don't!)

 

Thank you for asking! I first thought as German I would be the only one not to understand.

 

My dictionary recognises "kvetch" only as American slang verb with synonyms like "to cavil, to nag, to nudge, ...".

 

Very fittingly, I might start to "kvetch" about the QM2 as being too much American slang, too much Disney world, too much Californian or even barbecue casual, and too less QE2, too less traditional, too less formal with too less European style service.

 

But to switch to the positive, there certainly were enjoyable "memorable QM2 moments", too. The most important ones are connected with people; may it be on the one hand a conversation with Commodore and Kim Warwick in the beautiful Queen Rooms in midst of elegantly dressed people, or on the other hand the meeting of nice, interesting and lovely people form various threads of life, some of which are a part of the cruise critic community.

[guernseyguy]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

I don't remember....but it definitely involved cocktails in the Commodore Club.....

 

*Biggest kvetch?

Marmalade from California, strawberry jam from a refinery, cream that had never seen a cow and afternoon tea an ever moveable feast (or famine, if you thought it was 4.00 and it had started at 3.00)

 

 

*What I learned…

Sic transit gloria mundi......actually thats not fair - by some miracle, in the 21st century we have a Transatlantic liner.....as someone once observed, if you want to see Cunard's heritage, look over the stern of the QM2 and look at the wake of four (once it gets fixed) props, powering you across one of the world's most dangerous oceans - thats the heritage - not the Disney trail....

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

One, to Manhattan.....not yet sure I want to cross to Brooklyn, despite its many charms...

 

Peter

[editor@cruisecritic]

Peter, that was a great entry. The reason we're asking y'all to answer these questions is that next week we're going to tie-in with the Boston Herald, whose travel editor is going on her first-ever crossing (not to mention cruise on Queen Mary 2). So, in conjunction, the Herald's going to link to this thread and we're hoping that all of you "veterans" will be around to contribute your experiences and insights.

You'll find an intro to each day's blog on our home page, in the review slot; when you click on the Herald link you can read the rest of Fran's daily diatribe. Then, the Herald will offer a link back to this thread.

 

We think there are a lot of people out there who haven't gotten around to trying Queen Mary 2 -- and we hope to get 'em excited (or at the very least prepared for the worst -- like the cream not from any cow on earth:) ).

We're hoping too that a lot of the folks sailing on RSVP's charter will check out the thread -- I'm betting a number of those travelers will be first-timers.

Anyway, appreciate your participation, enthusiasm, humor, wackiness, and insights. In any order!

Any questions, feel free to drop me a line at editor@cruisecritic.com but I'll also be checking the thread often.

Best,

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor

Cruise Critic

[pepperrn]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Gliding down Southampton Water, past Hythe, Calshot, Cowes and the Isle of Wight and then heading west across the vast North Atlantic. There are no words to describe the emotions.

*Biggest kvetch?

 

Arriving in New York (and realising the crossing was over).

 

*What I learned…

 

I learned that you should never attempt to predict the future. Despite those who said that the QE2 was the last transatlantic ocean liner, that we would never see her like again, and that everyone would cross by air in the future, Queen Mary 2, the largest Liner ever built, sailed past Concorde, a museum exhibit, in New York Harbor. QM2 entered service within months of supersonic passenger aircraft leaving service. Who would have predicted that in 1969?

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

 

1 (and another 2 booked)

[pb82]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment: The "Wow" of boarding the ship for the first time on June 11, 2004. A close second was the "Wow" of boarding the ship for the second time on May 23, 2006.

 

*Biggest kvetch? (This is a micro kvetch, less important than "comprised of".) Cunard knows that we are "Mr & Mrs Paul..." and that my wife's first name is "Michael", so it's understandable that in some documents they refer to her as "Mrs Michael ..." ( even though Miss Manners would never approve). So no surprise that on our recent eastbound crossing our invitations were addressed to "Mr & Mrs Paul...". Why then were were the invitations on the westbound crossing addressed to "Mr Paul..." and "Mr Michael..."? I can understand that Cunard westcoast doesn't communicate very well with Cunard eastcoast, but I was astonished that the shipboard eastbound database was so different from the shipboard westbound database.

 

*What I learned… That kvetches as above really don't matter. Just enjoy and delight in traveling on this marvelous ship.

 

*No. of crossings on QM2? Two crossings (east from New York 6/23/2006, west from Southampton 6/29/2006) and one cruise 6/11-19/2004 from New York.

[dnovak99]

Greatest moment:

Walking on 7 deck, Atlantic like glass, blue skies and light winds then looking about 1/2 miles off the port side and seeing the QE2 during our tandem crossing in 2004

 

Biggest kvetch:

Watching ill mannered fellow passengers talk down to very hard working and underpaid staff in Kings Court and those people who book on a "formal" line and then dress inappropriately

 

What I learned:

Never think that those romantic dreams, those once in a lifetime moments, are not attainable - they are.

 

Number of crossings:

Just completed our sixth (actually three round trips - as for us - it's all about the sea days )

[ocngypz]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

 

Bubbling my cares away in the t-pool.

 

*Biggest kvetch?

 

People who try to sell this ship to the mass market. She is a niche market vessel. The "Herald"?????????

 

*What I learned…

 

Bigger is NOT better.

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

 

Two, 14 on the QE2

[mufi]

What is your most memorable QM2 moment

Lying in bed with the only sound the swishing of the water past the hull, and marvelling at the engineering of the ship.

 

Biggest kvetch

Muzak, muzak, muzak

 

What I learned

That while it's not the only way to cross, it is the ONLY way to cross.

 

No. of crossings on QM2

Two, one each way.

[Patch Nelson]

What is your most memorable QM2 moment?

 

That would definately be dinner at the Captains Table on our Honeymoon ... fantastic to even be invited but the night actually lived up to the expection as well.

 

Biggest kvetch?

No serious 'kvetches' ... but I'd say that the rather zoolike features of the Kings Court at Breakfast. One morning there convinced us to use room service for the remainder of the crossing.

 

What I learned…

How to really travel in style!

 

 

No. of crossings on QM2?

Only the one to date ... but there will be more.

[Johnsy81]

have completed 1 voyage on QM2 with another scheduled this September

 

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Arriving at the NY Passenger Ship Terminal and seeing in person what had dominated all my dreaming and planning for the past 14 months

*Biggest kvetch?

Dealing with crowds (Kings Buffet and waiting to board the tender) and the size of the bathroom (D1 inside) - minor things to say the least

*What I learned…

That it is still possible to travel in style and with dignity, and that I must do a TA crossing soon!

*No. of crossings on QM2?

None yet

[cunarder]

What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

 

Captain Wright allowing and Second Officer (then) Ben Lyons raising my Cunard House Flag above QM2 as the official Cunard Flag (for an hour) as we were anchored outside of St. Lucia.

 

*Biggest kvetch?

 

Slow service in the dining room.

 

*What I learned…

 

Duplicating the atmosphere from QE2 may not be possible due to the size of QM2.

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

 

My first will be on QM2 in June 2007 (did one on QE2)

[fastship]

Most memorable?

 

Senior officers party in the queens room for maiden eastbound crossing.

Sail away from Manhattan is always special.

 

Complaints?

Disembarkation in New York was quite awful.

 

Number of crossings?

 

2 eastbound and 1 westbound with another planned for '07.

 

10 crossings on QE2.

[Ballater]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Watching Manhattan slowly move by our balcony window while my husband and I were in bed, 5:30 a.m.; everything was completely still, New York was waking up, and we were basking in what had been an incredible vacation onboard this ship. There's something about the QM2 and New York that is a magical partnership...

*Biggest kvetch?

The incessant loud announcements by the cruise director throughout the early morning hours of disembarkation day.

 

*What I learned…

That vacations don't have to be about how much you can cram into each day...it's about recharging your batteries, reconnecting with your loved ones, and realigning your priorities.

*No. of crossings on QM2?

One westbound transatlantic crossing; two other voyages.

 

[mtbny7]

Got a minute? Answer a few questions for us (and in the process *share* with your Cunard friends):

 

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment::

 

Being on QE 2 as she (QM 2) glided by us in New York harbor

 

 

 

*Biggest kvetch?

 

No sort of "Caronia"-level dining.... it's either cattle-call double seating or top-dollar grills

 

 

*What I learned…

 

There is life (sort of) after QE 2 (14 trips for me)

 

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

 

One

 

 

 

 

 

-Michael

[tree29]

Answering these questions has brought back so many good memories - what a treat it is to sift through and try to find the best experiences....

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Sailing out of Manhatten watching New York go by as the sun went down. It truly was a magical moment I'll never forget.

Also, playing backgammon in rough seas on 3 deck whilst the waves crashed over the windows. Taking a moment to think of all the people who have crossed the Atlantic by sea over the years.

*Biggest kvetch?

 

Nothing really I would regard as a serious problem. Minor irritations I would have to agree with Guernseyguy - how can you offer English afternoon tea with plastic jam and whipped cream. It just won't do ;)

 

*What I learned…

 

That some of the best pleasures came from not rushing around the ship doing activities, but having the time to sit and talk, read or just watch the waves go by.

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

 

1 crossing and 1 caribbean cruise. Both great but very different.

[Hobbit]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Watching the waves break over the Britianna dining room windows.

 

*Biggest kvetch?

Not enough washers and dryers in the self service laundrette for the demand.

*What I learned…

My husband, in spite of his protests, really likes cruises.

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

Only one, but we are still young.....

[Toffeegirl68]

What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

The moment we decided to book - thats when the excitement began.

Biggest kvetch?

That they hid a prize voucher under a seat in the Queen's Room the night of the Black and White Ball. They had a seat - that was prize enough!!!!!!

What I learned…

That I can get used to this!

And that small inside cabins are big enough if you are never in them.

 

No. of crossings on QM2?

One (of many to come)

[Ab Ovo]

Cunard fans seem to speak with one voice :) ... it is easy to agree with ALL posts ... :) :( :eek: .

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Making the Maiden Voyage.

*Biggest kvetch?

She seems less a true ocean liner and more a big cruise barge! But, for now, she's the only game in town for scheduled transatlantic crossings.

*What I learned…

Paying big money brings you VERY nice accommodation; paying little money brings you all the ship has to offer, and that, after all is the game: the ship is the destination. In time she'll have her own legend and lore and become quite loved.

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

Three, and 27 June and the two Summer short cruises coming up soon!

[Cunard Cruiser]

Greatest moment:

Watching QM2 enter NY harbor for the first time and then being invited onboard for a tour and reception.

 

Biggest kvetch:

Cunard being under Princess Management. It’s not as bad as when Princess first took over, but they still have a long way to go to be the “old Cunard” I know.

What I learned:

It’s never about the destination it always been about the ship.

 

Number of crossings:

QE2 – 39 crossing and cruises. QM2 1 cruise and 2 crossings (crossings this year)

[msk68]

What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Arriving in Southampton via the Orient Express and seeing the most magnificent ocean liner I have ever laid eyes on. The Orient Express is a worthy prelude to the QM2.

Biggest kvetch?

Oh my word, what a tremendous ship! Make sure you have everything with you when you go to dinner - if you forget something in your stateroom, it will take you 30 minutes to go get it.

What I learned…

That I can entertain myself and get lost in the true art of relaxation.

 

No. of crossings on QM2?

1, leaving on my second within the next month and my 3rd next March.

[wynkys]

Memorable moment - Arriving in New York on the inaugural Westbound.

 

Biggest kvetch - Disembarking in New York and trying to get a taxi, total chaos.

 

What I learned - Don't believe all Cunard marketing.

 

No of crossings on QM2 - one.

 

Wayne

[RobertQM2]

*What is your most memorable QM2 moment:

Gliding into NY harbour at 6am under Verazano Narrows Bridge and along side ,Miss Liberty was one of my most emotional moments. And this happend on our 25 wedding anniversary.

*Biggest kvetch?

Just a small "kvetch" have been passengers "kvetching" about "this and that"

 

*What I learned

That we'll book very soon our next trip with Cunard, because there are so many "things not to be missed on QM2" -- See thread with the same name

 

*No. of crossings on QM2?

Just one but more to come, as I saw some guys with a two figured number of TA's