QM2 Halifax-Boston Log (July 1-5)

That would probably be a disappointment for those on board QM2 but not as big a disappointment as they were to me when I saw them a few years ago. I use the word saw in the loosest possible sense as we were a distance away and the fireworks were set off on the other side of a two or three storey building. This meant that it was only the rockets that were visible to us from the ship.

Exactly !!! :)

A little confused here.... I thought QM II was to be docked in Boston until Saturday arriving Brooklyn Sunday AM?

 

 

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Hi landre. The only change in the itinerary is that QM2 is leaving Boston a few hours earlier than scheduled due to the hurricane. (See BlueRiband's post #43) -S.

Friday night, Boston

We got the go-ahead from US immigration to open the gangways at 12:30. The tours took place as scheduled but rain was heavy throughout the day, and traffic was at a standstill in one place due to a water main break. There were a number of passengers disappointed the fireworks had already taken place the night before. A passenger seated next to me on one tour made a point of asking how the fireworks view would have appeared at the Falcon street terminal. She concluded that Cunard had “lied” in their description of this voyage. Now here’s an act of nature, the fireworks reschedule was controlled by the city of Boston, yet she finds a way to blame Cunard.

Shortly after 9:30 several passengers are paged – presumably to see if their cards had failed to “ding” the system. Engines are being powered up and departure checks ongoing. We will back out and then swing the bow to head south. Captain Oprey advised that any loose objects on shelves should be stowed away as a precaution. The storm has downgraded to a Cat 1. Weather is expected to vastly improve by mid-morning.

QM2 will give you a smooth ride home through these waves.

Friday night, Boston

 

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Shortly after 9:30 several passengers are paged – presumably to see if their cards had failed to “ding” the system. Engines are being powered up and departure checks ongoing. We will back out and then swing the bow to head south. Captain Oprey advised that any loose objects on shelves should be stowed away as a precaution. The storm has downgraded to a Cat 1. Weather is expected to vastly improve by mid-morning.

Two very good friends are onboard, and I have been following your posts in order to keep track of them. Thanks for all the great info you've provided, and best wishes for a safe night at sea.

BlueRiband, thank you for your interesting and informative blog.

Late Saturday morning, sailing to New York

In the early hours of the morning we had some high winds where it became difficult to open balcony and outside doors. All outside furniture had been tied down. In the early hours I could feel the ship doing some slight rocking and heard a lipstick tube rolling around a table. Dawn was a yellow-orange glow on the horizon. As I write this the sea has white caps with what I would estimate to be 3-5 foot swells.

By mid-morning the deck stewards were setting out the steamer loungers. But this is definitely a day more suited for reading than for sunbathing. We are heading south at about 13 knows which I believe is the minimum speed she needs to make fresh water. We’re for enough off shore to open the casino and shops, so the captain is probably taking a long route back.

A brief stroll past the shops showed zero foot traffic for Chopard, Sterns, and “the vices” but plenty of interest in the $10 junk and cheap trotskys. As long as people buy this stuff Cunard will continue to sell it. Todd English is scheduled to give a demonstration in Illuminatons and by 10:30 some were already there to stake out their seats.

I took a brief look in the Britannia restaurant last night. About one third of the faux skylight panels are dark. This is probably another cost cutting measure: if it’s safety related or functional it gets fixed but if it’s decorative it can wait. If there are cutbacks in dining room staff then it’s reasonable to speculate that there are also cutbacks in other staff. What a pity that such a signature space should show this neglect.

Thank you for this wonderful blog about your trip. I felt as though I was there with you and looked forward to each report!!

BlueRiband, thanks for the update. Very glad to hear you all weathered the storm well. I hope the lights in the faux skylight in the MDR are soon fixed.

It's a beautiful sunny day here in NY, so hopefully the ship will be in nice weather soon.

Regards, -S.

Saturday afternoon

Clear, breezy, cool

The sea state has remained much the same today with white caps and wave heights of 3-4 feet. At the Noon announcement Captain Oprey mentioned that the winds were picking up as we pulled out of Boston. Had we delayed until our original departure time we would have been held in port until this morning.

As I write the weather is becoming warmer. Earlier today I needed to wear a light coat even on the sunny (port) side of the ship. Now the sun has moved to the starboard side yet it’s warmer.

At lunch I heard a rumor that QE2 has been sold for scrap. I’ve not surfed much with the internet being what it is out here so I have no idea what may have happened to prompt this. Her destination had been Odessa on July 7th but another member claimed it was all just the Ukrainian crew playing with her bridge equipment.

Bill Miller gave his talk on the development of the cruise industry. He has revised it to show its origins in the 1890s leading up to the expanding markets in Brazil, Australia, and China. Carnival now has an office in China.

“Unable to stay, unwilling to leave” – the last day of a voyage is bittersweet. Already luggage tags and customs forms have been distributed and within an hour or so bags will start to appear in the hallway. This time I’ve signed up for self help and will use the same black car service that brought me to the pier. I’ve not had a quibble with Cunard making some markup for the convenience of their arranging private car transfers. But not $320 to take me to upper Manhattan.

BlueRiband, thank you again for all your postings. Your efforts to take us all along with you were very much appreciated.

I swear could feel fog on my face from your descriptions.

Saturday, last night at sea

Clear, breezy

The ocean has calmed down from earlier today with now only occasional white caps. On our starboard side the last red bands of sunset fade and on our port side a half moon lights up the sea.

On this last night it appears that everyone showed up in the restaurant – a last indulgence before the return to reality. Kings Chaos is pretty quiet at 9PM. A private group has a meeting in the Winter Garden and in on corner a group at a table has brought their own backgammon set. The ship seems to be winding down early as tomorrow will be busy for the crew involved in the turn around and most passengers will travel home.

At this writing the decks are very windy with the combined breeze and speed of the ship. The propeller deck has been closed since we left Boston as has the 11 observation deck. We’re due to pass under the VZ bridge at 4:45AM.

The alarm rang as my window passed the Statue of Liberty. In the distance the southern tip of Manhattan was framed by an orange-red dawn sky and back lit the new World Trade Center tower. Since we were to dock in Redhook we don't get closer but it was still a wonderful view of the city.

At breakfast I learned what had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Neck Lanyard. (They were the couple who had lunch at a table for two in PG on embarkation day but were not seen after that.) They didn't care for the PG menu and much preferred eat in Kings Court.:confused::eek: Stuff like this cannot be made up.

This is the first time I had used "self help" disembarkation and it turned out much more convenient. I got through immigration and customs in 30 seconds (US passport) and my car arrived a few minutes before the 8AM call time. And it was just in time - the pickup traffic at the terminal was getting busier by the minute. The driver asked if I had a preferred route, but I told him that he was the professional and to use his best judgement. With hardly any traffic on early Sunday morning I was at my front door in about a half hour.

It was to brief a stay in QM2, but a brief voyage is better than no voyage. Now I look in anticipation for round trip TAs next year.

The alarm rang as my window passed the Statue of Liberty. In the distance the southern tip of Manhattan was framed by an orange-red dawn sky and back lit the new World Trade Center tower. Since we were to dock in Redhook we don't get closer but it was still a wonderful view of the city.

 

At breakfast I learned what had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Neck Lanyard. (They were the couple who had lunch at a table for two in PG on embarkation day but were not seen after that.) They didn't care for the PG menu and much preferred eat in Kings Court.:confused::eek: Stuff like this cannot be made up.

 

This is the first time I had used "self help" disembarkation and it turned out much more convenient. I got through immigration and customs in 30 seconds (US passport) and my car arrived a few minutes before the 8AM call time. And it was just in time - the pickup traffic at the terminal was getting busier by the minute. The driver asked if I had a preferred route, but I told him that he was the professional and to use his best judgement. With hardly any traffic on early Sunday morning I was at my front door in about a half hour.

 

It was to brief a stay in QM2, but a brief voyage is better than no voyage. Now I look in anticipation for round trip TAs next year.

Thanks very much for the blog. Welcome home.

This is the first time I had used "self help" disembarkation and it turned out much more convenient. I got through immigration and customs in 30 seconds (US passport) and my car arrived a few minutes before the 8AM call time. And it was just in time - the pickup traffic at the terminal was getting busier by the minute.

I will be using "self help" when I disembark the QM2 in September. My flight from LGA leaves at 11:30 AM. Can I catch a cab or should I pre-arrange for a car?

I will be using "self help" when I disembark the QM2 in September. My flight from LGA leaves at 11:30 AM. Can I catch a cab or should I pre-arrange for a car?

I didn't see one cab when I came out. I'd recommend pre-arranging a car.

... It was to brief a stay in QM2, but a brief voyage is better than no voyage. Now I look in anticipation for round trip TAs next year.

What a brilliant blog.

I almost felt like I was there.

(Regardless if, one day, you were here.)

Such a pleasure to read--you really have a way with words. Thank you.

I will be using "self help" when I disembark the QM2 in September. My flight from LGA leaves at 11:30 AM. Can I catch a cab or should I pre-arrange for a car?

There are usually only a handful of yellow cabs waiting as the ship starts to disembark passengers but they are soon taken and their replacements take a long time to arrive. There are usually quite a few limos and town cars waiting and available but I agree with BlueRiband that you might be better served to arrange your own to save surprises with the rates.

What a pleasant read. Thank you for taking the time. Over all these months...I thought you were a gentleman. Obviously with the rolling lipstick, I'm guessing not. :)

This whole thread has been really helpful. I've been without my iPad so not following along closely. When I turned on the tv Friday to see the bands and fireworks....I could not figure out how it was pitch black on Boston and we still had daylight. Now I know.

partial quote

... Over all these months...I thought you were a gentleman. Obviously with the rolling lipstick, I'm guessing not. :)

 

Rolling lipstick in a cabin during a storm was an observation shared by the OP. How the lipstick happened to be there is no concern of mine; the main point is that the Captain advised passengers to secure items within the cabin. That seemed like good advice considering the ship was skirting a storm. If the only disturbance experienced by the OP was a rolling tube of lipstick, I'd say that was a descriptive account of a ship that handled the storm well. Frankly, I don't give a toss about how the lipstick found itself in the cabin. I'm just happy to read that the ship did well in the storm. Cheers, -S.

Hi Salacia.....I used a really poor choice of words in my post. What I was trying to say is that I thought BlueRiband was a male poster...and since the lipstick was mentioned.....I'm guessing BlueRiband is a female poster.

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding....but trust me, I wouldn't judge anyone by a stray lipstick in the cabin. :D

Hi Salacia.....I used a really poor choice of words in my post. What I was trying to say is that I thought BlueRiband was a male poster...and since the lipstick was mentioned.....I'm guessing BlueRiband is a female poster.

 

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding....but trust me, I wouldn't judge anyone by a stray lipstick in the cabin. :D

:) I hear you...but you can bet your bottom dollar that if I found a tube of lipstick in my cabin, there would be questions asked! :D

:) I hear you...but you can bet your bottom dollar that if I found a tube of lipstick in my cabin, there would be questions asked! :D

Yes, well that would be a totally other can of worms. :D

Reading it made me feel as though I was right there on the ship. Wait. :D Actually, I WAS on the ship for this cruise, and I can't thank you enough for putting into words what I was too lazy to attempt to write. I'm a professional writer and I was enjoying myself entirely too much to lift up the pen. You did it for me, and I am so grateful you did. Your words are better than any snapshots or video I could ever have taken.