safarigal

Alas it happens - "computer glitch".

You are spot on! This has become our "go to" bar. It's lovely and away from the crowds - hopefully we can keep it our Cruise Critic secret. The only issue is that it closes at 6:00 PM. We went there for a refill during yesterday's sail away (which was quite disappointing) and they were closing. Way too early!

I booked 3 back to backs, all in the same stateroom. Somehow the brilliant Cunard system moved us to another stateroom in the same grade for the middle voyage. I wouldn't have minded if it had been an upgrade, but it's the same PG2, just on another deck. Grrrrr!

I am not sure how accurate this is, but I talked to an officer on board and he said that Queen Anne had requested that 30% of staff came from each ship ie 90% of staff would be from the other Queens. The other Queens didn't agree to this, and so they settled on 20% from each ship. You can tell the difference in who is new and who is not - in our first stateroom the prosecco was in a wine bucket, but there was no napkin or plate under the ice bucket, so there was water from condensation all over the table, we had to move to another stateroom yesterday, and lo and behold the ice bucket was on a plate, and there was a napkin. Small issue, but an example of the difference between new and seasoned staff.

We have just done the maiden, and feel that the majority of issues we experienced on our voyage should be sorted out for our next one. It will be interesting to see how different the next 2 weeks will be. One issue that may be permanent is the lifts. They seem to be woefully inadequate and there are long waits for a lift and they are often crowded. There is also this annoying voice that lets you know if the lift you are in is going up or down. Welcome on board, it will be interesting to see what your thoughts on Queen Anne are 🙂

Most of the food is free, but there is a charge for certain items.

Agreed!

Thank goodness we won't be disembarking tomorrow - I am not ready to leave this ship just yet! I won't be updating my blog daily for the next 2 weeks, but I will continue with sporadic posts. After a very shaky start things are running much more smoothly, and she is in good shape to greet new guests, but I will be sad to see those who are leaving tomorrow go 🙂

You are not hallucinating! I know the steam is fake, but I like it. Queen Anne's whistle can't compare to QE2 or QM2, but I think it is far superior to QV and QE. I would post my video of the whistle sound, but I can't access YouTube with the basic internet package so it will have to wait :(.

Although there is no controlled access to the grills terrace, one doesn't feel that there is an excess of interlopers wandering through the area. On QM2 there are always people going through the grills terrace while going up and down the stairs and this didn't detract from the enjoyment of being there. The terrace is lovely and has plenty of shade. It is a great place to listen to the whistle.

We sat in the back row, but my friend was still invited to join in. It was before the show when the actors walked around the room talking to the guests. No pressure at all, and she had a good time participating. The show is not spectacular, but it was fun and we really enjoyed it 🙂

I must admit I was a bit confused to begin with - and then it all made sense. The blue points to to blue lifts at the front, the rust to the rust lifts midships, and the red to the aft lifts. Actually not a bad idea at all. However, how is everyone doing with the lift lady informing you that your lift is going up or down? I do miss the deck sixxxxxx on QM2.

Interestingly enough, I was quite excited when we entered our stateroom on Queen Anne, and saw an ice bucket with a bottle in it. Yay, the Pol Acker is there! But no, it was a bottle of Cunard Prosecco instead. It was very nice, but lacked that familiar rust taste.

Yes, and the British Isles 🙂

Alas I never sailed on Queen Mary, I have only stayed on her in Long Beach. However, I have sailed on the other Queens, and very much look forward to boarding Queen Anne on May 3rd!