QE2 24th August 5 nighter

Anyone else going? Hopefully we will still have some good weather left.

Anyone else going? Hopefully we will still have some good weather left.

Navaleye

Yes - we (two of us) will be on this "Bank Holiday" cruise.

Let's try for a meet (my last effort wasn't very good as I missed everyone else!) - name a place and time?

Andi

Navaleye

 

Yes - we (two of us) will be on this "Bank Holiday" cruise.

 

Andi

I'm wishing we'd split ours up in this way too now :D

I'm not sure of my cabin number, but I'll drop you a line when I get home.

I did the same cruise last week, it was great, La Rochelle is a really lovely place and we didn't leave enough time, shuttles were plentiful and very well organised. I hope you get a send off in Bilbao like we did, there were hundreds of people waving us off.

I saw 8002 and it was gorgeous, you have a bigger balcony, its very special up there!

Enjoy and bon voyage

Am in 3016. If anyone would like to get together for a drink, pleae give me a call and I would be happy to join you.

Am in 3016. If anyone would like to get together for a drink, pleae give me a call and I would be happy to join you.

Navaleye/Harriet75C

We're in cabin 2065.

Let's try (again!) for a meet up in the Chart Room at say 5:30pm on Friday 25th August?

I'll try and remember to bring the CC banner - we should be near the grand piano.

Andi

The Friday is the sea day, right? So it'll be formal night. (See - I've been doing my homework :) ).

What time do people tend to get into their formal clothes, because if people will already be dressed by the proposed meet time then that's fine, but if not could we make it slightly earlier so that I have more time to get dressed for dinner! (Or slightly later so we'll all be ready already and can just drift off to our dinner venues at the right time!)

Harriet

How about 4pm, then we are all casual ?

Sounds good to me.

How about 4pm, then we are all casual ?

Navaleye

That's fine by me!

Andi

ssnorway,

any chance of a quick review of your trip? Going v. soon now and beginning to get excited! Any tasters greatly appreciated :)

Harriet

ssnorway,

 

any chance of a quick review of your trip? Going v. soon now and beginning to get excited! Any tasters greatly appreciated :)

 

 

Harriet

Hi Harriet

I bet you are really excited, I don't blame you, I just hope you are as lucky with the weather as we were.

Embarkation was fine, the lady on the desk said it is quietist before 11,30 and after 3.30, they did not allow people through from the lounge onto the ship until 2.00pm so the former would be a bit nutty unless you particularly like sitting around looking at bored and frustrated people, we got there at one, had a fag on the outside balcony while admiring the beautiful ship, then before we knew it they were calling us aboard, the wait will be a bit longer if you are not in the grills, to be honest the priority boarding cards were not as much of a breeze as we had thought because we were number 278 and they called in 50's, even so we were probably on in 15 -20 mins.

Last time we went from Southhampton we got there about 3,30 and walked practically straight on, however if you want afternoon tea in the queens room I wouldn't recommend this, this time we lolloped around the room and got a bit tipsy, then went down for afternoon tea at 3.50 (closed at 4.00) and it was hell, service was dreadful and we wished we'd not bothered, i'm sure if you went down at 3.00 it would still be busy but you would have a more pleasurable experience (I hope!)

They didn't take a roll call at the fire drill and they didn't on the QM2 at Christmas either, so they won't know if you don't turn up, and lets face it when the ship sinks, we will all be stood in our cabin by our life vests won't we! and if our muster station is on fire or 50ft under the water we will find our way up to the lifeboats somehow! (sorry to sound cynical, however if you like looking a wally with your big orange water wings and listening to the seven (very bizarre sounding) whistles then i'd hate to spoil your fun).

Sailaway as ever was VERY busy, which I love but if you want a table you will have to get on deck quite early, I have a little philosophy (for what its worth) I think sailaways are so boring on these new ships because everyone has their own balcony and of course not many do on the QE2, and then there are the traditionalists like me who just want to be at the back of the ship seeing everything drifting out out view..... anyway it was buzzing and lots of excitement as we sailed out on our merry way, a brass band would have been nice, everything at the terminal was a bit unceremonious to say the least, oh and the band for the sailaway is up by the funnel bar, they are very quiet and you won't know they are there from the back decks, personally I think they should blast it around the decks a bit and get everyone in the mood.

First day at sea we had Jenny Bond on as a guest speaker and book signer, she was really fabulous!! I'm not one for celeb's but made a bit of a fool of myself when I got her to sign a book for my mum, and she looked a bit horrified (poor thing!), however despite that she had her picture taken with me to get rid of the idiot!

I hope you have someone like her on, she was really entertaining and even the non Brits enjoyed her chat. By the way it is likely to be very English, there were only 30 Americans on, and one or two from lots of other places as far as Japan.

I'm not a big fan of ships' entertainment so I will let you make your own mind up about that, we were on boat deck and if you stand up by the shops you can have a little look for yourself without looking a fool walking out infront of everyone if it's not your cup of tea either (oops I think I may have given something away there)

I loved the day at sea and would have enjoyed four more as well as i'm a lazy g*t and missed everything I planned to do when looking at the itinerary the night before, however we went in the thalasotherapy pool late afternoon and were the only ones in there, had a fab time and strongly recommend it, the $15 seems to keep the crowds away! Steam room and sauna are free to all guests but not busy at that time either. Some of the officers came in around sixish, you might enjoy that! (of course a bit of window shopping never did anyone any harm, but don't tell your hubby)

Bilbao was lovely, they had really prepared well with lots of buses all day at both ends, and they drop you very close to the Guggenheim (infront) and the very good shops behind and left at the roundabout, we will probably go back soon so we spent most of the time shopping but the museum is very much as you would imagine (if possibly a bit smaller than i imagined) next time we will go inside, everyone I spoke to said it was well worth it.

There were several thousand people there to see us off (and she had been there in May too) so hopefully it will be the same for you, its always nice having a little wave at the people wishing they were standing where you are!

La Rochelle was a real gem of a place, it's French national holidays throughout August and it was absolutely packed with French tourists, its quite nice to go somewhere touristy but not full of tourists if you know what I mean? (you will do next week anyway) there is a boat trip out to Fort Boyard which I wish I had known about, I might have got out of my pit a bit earlier if I had ( but likely not as we had our latest and boosiest nights the night before, but i'm sure you won't be doing anything like that!!)

We looked as grim as we felt and ended up having lunch in a surprisingly good restaurant called "Bistot Des Pecheurs" 2 Place de la Chaine, which was about the last restaurant before the right hand tower in the port, there were thousands of restaurants and they are most likely just as good as this one, but a lot of them had Formica tables and it gets on my nerves when my arms keep sticking to the table (i'm not like Victor Meldrew really... I hope)

We had a fish soup each which was served in really kitsch viking boats!! with cheese you added yourself (at your peril, it's very stringy) my friend had an amazing mixed seafood platter, which is only recommended for the brave hearted, which we weren't but if you like that sort of thing it was probably one of the best you could get anywhere, it was all cold seved on real seaweed and was brimming with oysters, clams langoustine, you name it is was there and hardly dead! Mine however I really could very highly recommend, fish "mix grill chef" three different types of fish chargrilled with some lovely "real" french fries both dishes were 15 euros each which we felt was excellent value. The service was quite cheery although it didn't start well because we just sat down without being seated, however the ice queen (probably the owner) soon melted with our sweet smiles and was very charming.

I don't want to upset our friend mr "Guernsey Guy" on here but it was my second visit to St Peters Port and I have to say my favourite bit is the tender ride backwards and forwards because you get great photo opportunities of the ship. However it is a very nice town with all the shops you have back home on the high street, the fort is a very pleasant place to wander round on a nice day, the last time I was there they had just got a Gaggia machine in the coffee shop and the person there didn't know what a cappucino or latte was however that was two years ago and i'm sure she's been asked a few times since then. I believe the scenery is lovely if you go for a ride around and the hospital from the second world war is supposed to be very good, I will definatley do some of that next time I go. Guernsey guy recommended a restaurant to someone on one of these threads and I only saw the post after I got back, cannot remember the name but we saw it after we had eaten our lunch and wished we had gone there, it has a decked terrace half way along the harbour and would be a great place to sit on a nice day. You can also go shopping at Creaseys department store, I sell to them and it will help pay for my next cruise!!

We wondered why the sailaway had to be at 5pm (as if we didn't know!) as the ferry only takes three or four hours to Southamton, it would have been nice to have a few cocktails at one of the harbour bars if we had a later sailaway (Bingo, there's my answer!)

Anyway you've got much more than you asked for, so I will wind up now. The ship is looking SPECTACULAR inside and out, Bon Voyage and I hope you have a lovely time, have a drink for me in every bar and tell me what you thought when you get back.

Mark xx

Thanks for posting that Mark, you've just helped me to relive the second part of our cruise too!

You mention that you may be going back soon, we're already booked on this same cruise for next August, and I wondered if you too may be considering that?

If you are, and you do, we MUST ensure that we don't miss each other!! :D

Thanks for posting that Mark, you've just helped me to relive the second part of our cruise too!

 

You mention that you may be going back soon, we're already booked on this same cruise for next August, and I wondered if you too may be considering that?

 

If you are, and you do, we MUST ensure that we don't miss each other!! :D

I'd love to, the only trouble is I am booked on the September one and don't know if I can justify one a month, but who knows, if they have any silly offers like this year I wouldn't hesitate, its cheaper than staying at a travelinn!!

If you are ever up in Manchester we could always arrange a hello cocktail hour, or afternoon tea at the Midland (nearest you get to White Star Service in Manchester)

Mark x

I'd love to, the only trouble is I am booked on the September one and don't know if I can justify one a month, but who knows, if they have any silly offers like this year I wouldn't hesitate, its cheaper than staying at a travelinn!!

 

If you are ever up in Manchester we could always arrange a hello cocktail hour, or afternoon tea at the Midland (nearest you get to White Star Service in Manchester)

 

Mark x

Wow, thanks for the offer, though afternoon tea is more my style than cocktails - I'll certainly keep it in mind! :)

The reason we booked was because we were offered a discount as a result of having just returned from a cruise, the price came out at £530 each for an M4 grade. While I had been tempted to wait and see if there were any bargains nearer the time, we wanted to be able to book 2 cabins next to each other as all 4 of us are going this time, so I just went for it!

No doubt someone will be along in a minute to say I could have got the price down to half as much again, if I waited until the cabins hanging off the stern became available, or something :rolleyes:

Wow, thanks for the offer, though afternoon tea is more my style than cocktails - I'll certainly keep it in mind! :)

 

The reason we booked was because we were offered a discount as a result of having just returned from a cruise, the price came out at £530 each for an M4 grade. While I had been tempted to wait and see if there were any bargains nearer the time, we wanted to be able to book 2 cabins next to each other as all 4 of us are going this time, so I just went for it!

 

No doubt someone will be along in a minute to say I could have got the price down to half as much again, if I waited until the cabins hanging off the stern became available, or something :rolleyes:

Ok then, a pint down the Rovers Return Chuck!

I don't blame you, when you have the family to consider these things make a big difference, although they would probably like to be on another deck so they could get up to no good, when mum's not looking!

I toured round the States with my mum and dad a few years ago and at every hotel my dad was aking for adjoining rooms and I was standing behind him gesturing to the reception staff that they didn't have any!! unfortunately they invariably found one and I have a few tales for another thread (probably on another board) about the outcome!!

I'll hope that our paths do cross sometime, however for now it's always nice to say hello on here, say hi to your daughter and husband for me too and thanks for looking out for us!

Mark x

By the way I dont think you said your daughters name, I kind of imagined it may be KIKI from your log-on name, kevin-Annette-kiki, or is your son one of the KI's?

Also going on this cruise in August 2007. Thanks Mark for the experience. I know the numbers change with each sailing and Cunard keeps it the best kept secret - but how many formal nights did you have on the 5 day sailing? Actually, I'm looking to dress up as I just bought a tuxedo for my QM2 debut in December and look forward to using it on the QE2 next year.

David

 

Mark x

 

By the way I dont think you said your daughters name, I kind of imagined it may be KIKI from your log-on name, kevin-Annette-kiki, or is your son one of the KI's?

You are correct, my son is one of the KI's - i.e. Kieran, my daughter is the other - Kimi, it's a 'family' nickname I put together back in 1998 when we purchased our first family PC, and it kind of stuck :)

As it happens I wouldn't dare put the teens in a cabin together, they would kill each other! We're going for the safer 'Girls in one, lads in the other' option!

Also going on this cruise in August 2007. Thanks Mark for the experience. I know the numbers change with each sailing and Cunard keeps it the best kept secret - but how many formal nights did you have on the 5 day sailing? Actually, I'm looking to dress up as I just bought a tuxedo for my QM2 debut in December and look forward to using it on the QE2 next year.

 

David

I saw you listed on the roll call list David (the one where I faffed up my own post somehow), hopefully some more will be joining us too, seems so far away right now! We had two formal nights on the 5th August cruise.

You are correct, my son is one of the KI's - i.e. Kieran, my daughter is the other - Kimi, it's a 'family' nickname I put together back in 1998 when we purchased our first family PC, and it kind of stuck :)

 

As it happens I wouldn't dare put the teens in a cabin together, they would kill each other! We're going for the safer 'Girls in one, lads in the other' option!

that kind of thing can cause chaos, my ex had the same initial as me and one of my oldest friends decided to call us M&M, the birthday card I had received for 20 years suddenly started coming addressed to my other half and not me!!

Mark

Thanks for the great review.

Now champing at the bit to get on the ship.

Will post thoughts when we return (heading off early tomorrow to the hairdressers etc. before we head down to Southampton). Will try not to get to the terminal too early if we won't be able to board anyway (but might not be able to manage it - famous for getting places early at the best of times, so if I'm excited then it'll be even more difficult!). Thanks for all the tips.

Harriet

I saw you listed on the roll call list David (the one where I faffed up my own post somehow), hopefully some more will be joining us too, seems so far away right now!

368 days to be exact! But who's counting?:D

I am sure we can round up some others in a year's time. Good luck to those departing on this year's voyage.

David

Am in 3016. If anyone would like to get together for a drink, pleae give me a call and I would be happy to join you.

Cabin number and RV noted. I shall keep a weather eye out for a fellow pruner.:)