2011 QV crossing......... Worth the balcony ??

[MMJK]

Am looking to book the 2011 January crossing on QV having done the QE2 transatlantic last year in April we had a rough crossing....... thoughts opinions on whether balcony would be worth it that time of year ??

 

Cheers

[Calliope]

God only knows how the North Atlantic will be during the QE's and QV's January 2011 crossings. In 2006 there were days during the QE2's January crossing where people were out on deck and comfortable with light jackets and sweaters. If that's to be the case in 2011 a balcony room might be quite nice, but the balconys are high up on the ship. Therein lies the question. The Grill rooms have the most desireable midships location with the Britannia Restaurant rooms being more forward and aft. If the seas are rough, high up on the ship and more towards the bow or stern is not where I want to be. With this in mind, when I booked the maiden crossing of the QE I booked a C-1. The room is midships and nearer the ship's center of gravity. I'm not taking a chance. If I didn't answer your question to your satisfaction, at least now you know now what I'm doing and why.

[capnpugwash]

I think that it is always nice to be within reach or retch of fresh air, LOL. That said I think that you find that in rough seas the QV does not perform as well as her Liner sister the QM2. she rolls a bit and bobs up and down - just like all of her modern counterparts. You may not encounter any weather at all. I am just off a 12 day btb TA and the seas were like glass fo 4 days, we had a force 8 for 1 day and the rest were 2 to 4 metre swells. A major consideration should be the wind speed, It does blow and combined with the speed of the vessel makes any sitting out on an unenclosed balcony short lived. She is a great ship and I hope that you enjoy whichever cabin that you choose, I think that the need to be lower is more important on QV than to be central, although that is obviously important as well. Hope this helps.

[ocngypz]

During our last QE2 tandem winter crossing with the QV, despite a couple of bumpy days, and despite what some of the video footage shot from the QE2 would lead you to believe.....

 

live reports from the QV stated little discomfort.

 

Mid-crossing, there were a couple of days where ambient air temp was in the low 60's with sun.. so it was quite nice out on deck with just a light cardie.

 

Of course, we never know that the weather gods will have in store for us... and that's part of the fun of a winter crossing!

[guernseyguy]

The Grill rooms have the most desireable midships location with the Britannia Restaurant rooms being more forward and aft. If the seas are rough, high up on the ship and more towards the bow or stern is not where I want to be.

 

Only Princess Grill are (nearly) all mid-ships (there are two at the bow!) - the most expensive QG suites are at the stern. On the 2009 Winter Crossing we had some pretty rough days but QV handled it very well - in some ways with less movement than the QE2 - which is to be expected - QV is not designed to maintain high speed in rough seas, so pitching was limited and there was almost no rolling. If anything QV 'shimmies' across the sea - the odd shudder, then a bit of a wiggle - but not uncomfortable - and boy does she creak!

 

The Grill restaurants are very high up - but midships - so there was surprisingly little motion there.

 

As to a balcony - we used it to pop out for fresh air - but don't expect to spend much time on it - unless, as Babette observes - its mild.

 

Peter

[stowaway2k]

On a cold winter crossing the balcony is great for keeping a large amount of liquid refreshment at a desirable tempurature.

 

As said before, QV's Jan '09 crossing was comfortable even though the seas appeared to be a bit rough.