First Impression of Remastering

These instructions are for those travelling from Hamburg to Southampton, is this a change ?

The UK immigration officers were on board for the July 6 EB crossing. very smooth disembark at Soton.

MM

Very quickly I will answer a couple of questions, and report a couple more observations, and then I will post the details of last night when we get home.

Bell Boy - the bar in Veranda is now open to anyone who wants to buy a drink during restaurant opening hours - you do not have to have a booking in the restaurant. There were actually 4 people there when we got there but they were, in fact, booked in to dine. It occurred to me that it could be quite amusing sitting there watching the Maitre D' stopping people from walking through. He told us it takes him two days to stop 50% of the traffic but that there are hundreds of them!

Mtsublueraider - I'm afraid I didn't look into one of the new inside Britannia Club rooms on Deck 13. To be honest, it didn't register with me that some were inside until you posted your query - sorry!

Observations are that the "You're a Star" cards are now back on the Pursers Desk, by the RNLI collection box - they weren't there the night before we arrived in Hamburg.

The ship's clock, as shown on the Bridge Log on the tv does in fact change at 2.00am, or 1 minute past to be precise - yes, I know, little things please little minds! I've always wondered and as I was still awake I sat up to see if the clock would actually go back to 1.00am at said time and now I know.

Re disembarkation this morning, we had breakfast in Kings Court - I just LOVE their freshly cooked omelettes - and then we made our way to the designated waiting area for Diamond and Platinum which was the Veranda. There were the usual tea, coffee and pastries available. As you know, we should have waited until someone came to tell us to disembark but someone went down to deck 3 to enquiry when that would be and was told to come now if you're ready so when he came up and shared this information with the rest of us I told him that we'd be happy to follow him but that if there were any problems I would nominate him to be the spokesperson for our group - fortunately he didn't have to do anything because when we got to deck 3 there was only a short queue. Incidentally, we queued on the right hand side of the wide corridor leading to the Grand Lobby and the left hand side was lined with chairs. The first "stop" was an ships officer who scanned our ships card - presumably to check our actual faces matched the one associated with our card - and then he told us to either go to the Border Control officer on the left or right (there were two of them). I did actually ask the lady who checked my passport "Does this mean you won't be getting any more free transatlantic trips?". She laughed and said "We'll still be doing those but this trip has come in from Hamburg". I'm guessing from that comment that, maybe, this is going to the norm for voyages arriving from Europe due to heightened security there! Incidentally, I asked the chef who cooked my omelette if the staff all had to get off and be processed by Immigration too but he said "no" although I'm not entirely sure he understood the question! Anyway, having cleared Border Control, we then passed through ships security as normal and they swiped our ships card one last time and then handed it back to us before we, sadly, walked down the gangway. The whole process from first joining the queue to stepping on the top of the gangway took about 5 minutes. All in all, a very smooth process but I'm not sure that we actually had any non EU nationals ahead of us.

We are now going to make our way home so back later....

Safe journey home and thank you so much for your posts

Thank you so much. We are so keen to try her next year.

Safe journey.

Happyboating, Thank you once again for all your observations. I'm delighted to hear that the Verandah Bar is now in use , pre dinner.

Such a pity that your trip was a short one, I'm going to miss my morning daily fix of Cunard..... Think about booking a world cruise next time please. :D

Bell Boy :)

The Border Control change you described regarding cruises which start in Europe and end in the UK seems to be pretty recent.

No checks previously, which we were shocked about... but then we experienced this very welcome change you mentioned in June when we did a Lisbon to Southampton cruise on Oceania Marina. However, a slight difference, possibly due to the ship being smaller than a Cunard ship, everyone had to hand in their passports at Lisbon, and only got them back once docked in Southampton before meeting with the Immigration officials who boarded the ship there to process everyone. We experienced no delays at all, and were impressed by the efficiency of the Border control officials.

Hi Bostonjetset,

 

A couple of years back I asked a maitre d' about this; why weren't the menus given to passengers as a matter of routine? His answer was that most passengers either:

Refused them.

Left them behind on the dining table as they didn't want to carry them around for the remainder of the evening.

Threw them away in the cabin rubbish bin (esp when flying; all that added weight and bulk).

I also asked my cabin steward about the last point. He said that often the cabin bins have little in them on the last morning, except discarded menus.

I've three sets (I think?) of menus at home (including from my first ever crossing in 2006). When I look at them, some actually bring back memories of a particular meal, or I can remember what I ordered.

In November I'll be on QM2 again; I shall ask if I can have the menus please?

 

Best wishes to you :)

The first time I noticed that menus were not dated and not handed out to passengers was our e/b QM2 crossing in 2012. But we had a cruise on Queen Elizabeth in 2013 in PG and the menus were handed to each couple in the usual paper folder signed by the waiters.

I'm sure we could have had a few on request, but we have quite a few now so I didn't bother. Besides, in recent years the menus are just inserts for the heavy leather folder. We have many menus of our 1970s and 80s crossings on QE2 - and ships of other lines. These were either printed on heavy cardboard covers with lovely pictures or annotated artwork or inserted in same. The crew would give several of these covers along with the menus. This was far more impressive than just pieces of paper.

Now safely home and collected the cat from the Cattery - she is currently sitting out on the pontoon sunning herself. Yes, we live on a boat but I can assure you that the service is much better on Cunard.

Yesterday evening was WOW, WOW, WOW. We started off in Veranda and chose a table to the left, as you go in, as I preferred to look out to sea rather than the pool deck. My first observation was that the big round seat in the entrance is now back - it wasn't there earlier in the week when we went up there to make our booking - it's now cream coloured. The staff were all very welcoming and attentive throughout. We started off ordering our favourite non alcoholic wine although the sommelier told us, later in the evening, that he has a larger selection in Veranda whereas the Ariel Chardonnay is only available in Britannia so, next time, we may try something else. Apparently they also have a selection of non alcoholic beers up there too which he informed us are quite popular. It was explained to us that it was a 7 course meal where we would choose the starter and entree and dessert and the chef would also serve us with an amuse bouche to start, a seasonal soup and a pre dessert dessert (that definitely got my attention - two desserts!) followed by petit fours. To start we were offered various rolls from a basket - I chose a focassia one - and also served a long tall vegetable flatbread (the vegetable looked, to me, to be thin slices of sweet potato) served in a tall stainless steel holder together with a special virgin oil (it was explained what it was) and two types of butter on a little piece of slate, one regular butter and one smoked with salt on the edge. We were then served the first course, an amuse bouche which we were told was a sardine brûlée - I have to confess I didn't think I'd like sardine and I've certainly never had a brûlée for starters but it was really nice. The second course was our chosen starters - we both chose langoustine ravioli which, again, we enjoyed. The third course was a wild mushroom soup which was served in a cup and had a white froth on it to resemble a cappuccino coffee - that too was good. The fourth course was our chosen entrees - I had the pork and DH had the steak although he removed the garlic escargots on the top of it. We've actually had garlic escargots in Britannia as a starter and enjoyed them but I think it's the thought of eating snails that put us off! The fifth course was the pre-dessert dessert. I'm not really sure what it was and perhaps it would have been better if I'd eaten the lot all together whereas I first ate the strawberry filled with balsamic vinegar on its own - just "ok" - and then I ate a ball of white, I don't know what, that had a bit of edible flower on it - to be honest I didn't like whatever it was but, as I've just said, perhaps I should have eaten it "with" the strawberry. Others, of course, may well like that course. I should also perhaps hasten to add here that as each course is served the waiter does actually explain what it is but as I was fixated on the word "dessert" I didn't think I needed to pay attention but I can honestly say I've never tasted anything like it - I didn't even like the texture of the white whatever. The sixth course was our chosen dessert and I had poached pear and DH had the chocolate desert - both delicious. The seventh course were the petty fours - I had a raspberry meringue which was truly delicious and DH had two chocolates. The waitress was actually surprised that we didn't want a larger selection but by this time we were quite full and we also wanted to make the show at 9.00pm. DH then finished with a cup of tea. We enjoyed the experience and will certainly repeat it as to only not like one half of one small course was a winner in our book - the ambiance was good, we liked our window table, overlooking the sea and away from most of the other tables - it was also good fun watching the Maitre D' stopping people from walking through the restaurant to get to the pool deck - it was interesting seeing how some people responded to the polite request to go back and use the stairs and to go down one floor and along. Some simply did as they were requested, others barged through anyway and one man shouted and swore at the poor Maitre D' simply not caring that he was walking through an upmarket restaurant and clearly had no respect for the diners in it - he wasn't British!

We then went to the Theatre - we actually tried to see a show the previous evening but because we don't read the Daily Programmes we hadn't realised that the shows were early rather than the usual 10.30pm. Actually, all the shows on this cruise were early as each day was either an embarkation day or a disembarkation day. Anyway, when we got to the theatre at 10.15pm the previous night we realised our mistake and just applied manyana and figured we'd see something the next night which, of course, we did. Our first surprise was that as we arrived we were offered a free programme - never had one of those before but apparently they've been doing them since Christmas. The theatre has clearly had some money invested in it - TIP: don't sit in the alcoves at the back on the ground floor as you won't get the full benefit of the enhancements due to the low ceiling there. I enjoyed the enhanced effects and the lighting now framing the stage - they were excellent - and the singers and dancers worked hard and put on a good show, however, sadly, the music wasn't to my taste! The show was called "Rhythm of the Night" and it isn't, personally, one that I've logged as a "must see again" but I'm sure others will love it.

We then had to go to the Pursers Desk to get a new ships card - this time DH had somehow managed to kill his and because of the instructions we had received about disembarkation it occurred to us that it may cause problems if his card wasn't working so we got it replaced - I'm pleased we did.

We had then intended going to G32 but ended up staying in the Queens Room as they had a "party night" with the resident group "Xtasea". We loved the music and there was also a balloon drop at 11.30pm which I've never seen before - it was FUN, FUN, FUN. The dance hosts were all wearing Hawaiin shirts, which I've never seen them do before, and even the bar staff were joining in the fun as I ordered a mocktail and when it arrived it had a piece of banana on the side of the glass that looked like a dolphin where they had cut the stem and then put a cherry in the split. I liked it. After the balloon drop we would then probably have gone to G32 but as we disembarked today we had to get back to our stateroom to pack our case and put it out for collection by midnight which we just managed to do.

I then wrote this up _ before I forgot the details of the menu - but then couldn't post it because I couldn't get the login to accept DH's new card details or perhaps access to the Internet was closed - I wouldn't normally want to be using it that late. Anyway, by the time I was ready for bed I noticed it was 1.55am hence sitting up a further 5 minutes to watch the clock change.

As some of you know, I fell out of love with QM2 about 5 years ago but now I've fallen in love with her all over again and as I have a milestone birthday in a couple of years I think we'll start saving for another TA B2B and I can't wait. I think the changes will be ongoing for a few weeks/couple of months and it seemed like something reappeared on a daily basis - the thing I'm looking forward to most seeing again is the bell!

Yes, it was a good cruise, we had lots of fun, did some more "firsts" - if I ever get to sample the Choco-licious sundae dessert served in a vase in Godiva's I guess another "first" will have to be using the gym in the Spa! - and met some lovely people - just wish I could wind the clock back now and do it all again.

Happy sailing to everyone - enjoy!

What a brilliant blog.

Many thanks for taking the time to keep us all up to date on the new remastering, and your exploits. It has been much appreciated by all, I'm sure.

Well done again!

Stewart

Thanks so much, HB, for the time and care you took to report on your trip. Your writing was a wonderful example of gentle travel correspondence. Thanks again!

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Loved reading your blog. Thanks for taking the time. 2 weeks I'll get to see for myself :):):)

Thank you for the update. We are counting the days to our crossing 1st September. I suppose it will almost be like meeting a new "QM2" instead of a reacquaintance.

Regards!

Thanks very much for your blog! Have just booked Verandah for our November 5th crossing based on your review / comments!

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Very interesting reading, many thanks for taking the time to keeps us all in touch with the latest happenings.

Just under 6 months before we re-visit her for the WC, so everything is looking good.

John

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a wonderful blog. DH and I will be sailing in December and can't wait :D

2 tiny pots of LL milk (which I'm sure had gone off). Good job I brought my own!

My milk had gone off too. I didn't realise it until the next day but I suspect that as it has 'Keep Refrigerated' on it and they are left on the tray with the tea and coffee sachets that this is the issue.

Thank you, Happyboating, for taking the time and effort to share your eye for detail and your renewed affection for Queen Mary 2 with us. My wife and I can't wait to board next Sunday for a round trip crossing.

Well....the film is in German but amazing impressions from the remastering In Hamburg and it has just been on the German TV today - unbelievable job in 3 weeks! http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/2785182/Schoenheitskur-fuer-Queen-Mary-II?bc=svp;sv0

Us too! see you on board

Well....the film is in German but amazing impressions from the remastering In Hamburg and it has just been on the German TV today - unbelievable job in 3 weeks! http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/2785182/Schoenheitskur-fuer-Queen-Mary-II?bc=svp;sv0

I watched the entire video right after it was posted. Probably my favorite so far.

Jeanne

Well....the film is in German but amazing impressions from the remastering In Hamburg and it has just been on the German TV today - unbelievable job in 3 weeks! http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/2785182/Schoenheitskur-fuer-Queen-Mary-II?bc=svp;sv0

Thanks for posting that- excellent video.

Happyboating, thank you so much for all your informative, well written and entertaining posts on this thread.

Quite superb, full of detail and useful observations and experiences.

I am even more impatient to see QM2 again for myself having read your excellent reports.

A huge, sincere well done from me :) .

Congratulations and massive thanks,

Thanks for the information on the 'remaster' happyboating. I'm not on her till next year but still love to devour the details.

Well....the film is in German but amazing impressions from the remastering In Hamburg and it has just been on the German TV today - unbelievable job in 3 weeks! http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/2785182/Schoenheitskur-fuer-Queen-Mary-II?bc=svp;sv0

This was a 24/24h 7/7 days job, which was terminated on schedule. It deserves respect and compliments to all those who contributed.

Thank you for posting!