Just off QM2!

We are sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport awaiting our flight to Baltimore. The cruise was a dream from the moment we boarded the ship until the luggage retrieval at the end. The only problem we encountered was the embarkation at Ft Lauderdale. It was awful to say the least. The procedure took over two hours. Evidently the problem persisted the entire day. Once on the ship, however, we were happy campers.

The worst things I have to say about the ship were: food portions were too large and the internet access was less than stellar and quite pricey.

Yesterday, a Coast Guard helicopter had to make an emergency rescue from our ship. It was a most impressive operation. We only hope the person who took ill is okay.

FYI, pre-cruise, we stayed at the Ft Lauderdale Doubletree. It was an amazing hotel. Every aspect of our vacation was lovely. More to come when I get back home.

--Judy

We are sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport awaiting our flight to Baltimore. The cruise was a dream from the moment we boarded the ship until the luggage retrieval at the end. The only problem we encountered was the embarkation at Ft Lauderdale. It was awful to say the least. The procedure took over two hours. Evidently the problem persisted the entire day. Once on the ship, however, we were happy campers.

The worst things I have to say about the ship were: food portions were too large and the internet access was less than stellar and quite pricey.

Yesterday, a Coast Guard helicopter had to make an emergency rescue from our ship. It was a most impressive operation. We only hope the person who took ill is okay.

FYI, pre-cruise, we stayed at the Ft Lauderdale Doubletree. It was an amazing hotel. Every aspect of our vacation was lovely. More to come when I get back home.

--Judy

judy and steve what was the problem at embarkation??? we never had to wait more than 10 minutes to boartd the ship!!!are the xmas decorations up???

Sounds great! Looking forward to reading more about it when you're back home and settled.

Welcome home, glad you had a wonderful trip.

I'll be anticipating your review.

Thanks for posting.

Pincus

Yesterday, a Coast Guard helicopter had to make an emergency rescue from our ship. It was a most impressive operation. We only hope the person who took ill is okay.

Here is what http://www.nbc6.net/news says about that incident:

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A woman traveling on the Queen Mary 2 was bitten by an unknown insect and is suffering from a severe bite. The Coast Guard airlifted the woman off the ship and took her to Jackson Memorial Hospital on Friday. Miami-Dade's anti-venom unit was called in to evaluate her. The woman was bitten by either a spider or a scorpion, but officials would not confirm which.

I can imagine spiders on the QM2, but scorpions?

Here is what http://www.nbc6.net/news says about that incident:

KEY WEST, Fla. -- A woman traveling on the Queen Mary 2 was bitten by an unknown insect and is suffering from a severe bite. The Coast Guard airlifted the woman off the ship and took her to Jackson Memorial Hospital on Friday. Miami-Dade's anti-venom unit was called in to evaluate her. The woman was bitten by either a spider or a scorpion, but officials would not confirm which.

 

I can imagine spiders on the QM2, but scorpions?

the bite was most likely in port rather then on the ship????

judy and steve what was the problem at embarkation??? we never had to wait more than 10 minutes to boartd the ship!!!are the xmas decorations up???

It was awful. We don't know what the problem was, but it was unbelievable. I am in the process of writing a review, but I'll paste in the part about check-in.

Evidently, this problem persisted the entire day. They apologized over and over again for many days on the ship. We were told it was "not Cunard's fault."

And, yes, they are in the process of putting up decorations for the holiday.

The check-in was abysmal at best.

There was already a large line formed outside the security area. We waited outside for at least an hour. At one point, someone decided to change the entry door and the person who had been at the front of the original line was now at the end of the new line. It was pandemonium. When we were finally allowed inside, they had ropes set up so we could wind our way through a maze before we could go through the security screening. This took another half hour. When we were finally allowed to enter the building to check in to the ship, we were herded into another set of roped off areas (grill and non grill were pointed to opposite ends of the building) At some point, one of the Cunard herders decided one of the lines was for wheelchaired people and actually asked the men who were at the head of that line to get out of line to allow the wheelchairs priority. Recognizing the stupidity of this plan, those in front, simply held their ground and continued with their check-in. There was no sign for wheelchairs, only the whim of the Cunard dock person.

The actually check-in was okay. We were on the ship within mere hours of our arrival to the pier!!

It was awful. We don't know what the problem was, but it was unbelievable. I am in the process of writing a review, but I'll paste in the part about check-in.

Evidently, this problem persisted the entire day. They apologized over and over again for many days on the ship. We were told it was "not Cunard's fault."

And, yes, they are in the process of putting up decorations for the holiday.

 

The check-in was abysmal at best.

There was already a large line formed outside the security area. We waited outside for at least an hour. At one point, someone decided to change the entry door and the person who had been at the front of the original line was now at the end of the new line. It was pandemonium. When we were finally allowed inside, they had ropes set up so we could wind our way through a maze before we could go through the security screening. This took another half hour. When we were finally allowed to enter the building to check in to the ship, we were herded into another set of roped off areas (grill and non grill were pointed to opposite ends of the building) At some point, one of the Cunard herders decided one of the lines was for wheelchaired people and actually asked the men who were at the head of that line to get out of line to allow the wheelchairs priority. Recognizing the stupidity of this plan, those in front, simply held their ground and continued with their check-in. There was no sign for wheelchairs, only the whim of the Cunard dock person.

The actually check-in was okay. We were on the ship within mere hours of our arrival to the pier!!

wow sounds like mayhem!! i hope you enjoyed your cruise and thanx for the info!!!!! P>S>we are sailing othis coming saturday!!! what time did you arrive at the terminal???????? best regards jim

the bite was most likely in port rather then on the ship????

What was the port prior to Key West? Some place more likely to have venomous spiders or scorpions?

We were in Cozumel the day prior to the evacuation. The day before that, Costa Maya. I don't know where the insect bite theory came from. I couldn't locate the link cited in an earlier post. They never gave an update about the patient's condition. I would expect a ship of QM2's technical level, the hospital would be prepared for bites and stings. We were never told what was wrong with the patient.

Earlier in the week, we witnessed a terrible accident while tendering to Grand Caymen. A young crew member was attempting to tie up the boat to the pier and his hand got smashed between the boat and the concrete. There was an incredible amount of blood and he was taken back to the ship immediately by a waiting tender.

Hi Steve,

We were in the same ports as you for Costa Maya and Cozumel. We were on the Fantasy. I was hoping to get a profile shot of the ship but we backed in at the dock in Costa Maya. The QM2 was always parallel to us during the docking operation. In Cozumel, the QM2 was blocked by the Princess ship at the pier.

I did get some nice shots of the QE2 in New Orleans. She was there when we sailed away on Monday.

Dave

Hi Dave!

I was having lunch while the Fantasy was manuevering her way into the "parking space". It was pretty interesting. She seemed to spin around in slow motion and then, ever so slowly, backed her way in. The captain on the QM had to close the gangways and the pier was also closed to pedestrian traffic. It was fascinating to watch (too bad it wasn't the Fascination:p)

Steve has some great photos. I'm trying to put them up on the aol photo website.

--Judy

Hi Steve,

We were in the same ports as you for Costa Maya and Cozumel. We were on the Fantasy. I was hoping to get a profile shot of the ship but we backed in at the dock in Costa Maya. The QM2 was always parallel to us during the docking operation. In Cozumel, the QM2 was blocked by the Princess ship at the pier.

 

I did get some nice shots of the QE2 in New Orleans. She was there when we sailed away on Monday.

 

Dave

Hi Dave!

I was having lunch while the Fantasy was manuevering her way into the "parking space". It was pretty interesting. She seemed to spin around in slow motion and then, ever so slowly, backed her way in. The captain on the QM had to close the gangways and the pier was also closed to pedestrian traffic. It was fascinating to watch (too bad it wasn't the Fascination:p)

Steve has some great photos. I'm trying to put them up on the aol photo website.

--Judy

Hi Judy,

Yes, it is pretty amazing to watch the ship spin around within its length. The reason for shutting down the pier is because they have to throw out the lines. Also when they start tightening them if one was to break it could hurt someone. Two funny comments made on our ship while at the rail looking at the QM2 were 1) Where are all the young people? 2) Why are all those people still on the ship when it is docked?

Actually the Fantasy and Fascination are almost the same ships. The major differences are in the interior decor. I dont have any photos of the Fascination yet.

Dave

I checked the Seventh District US Coast Guard's web site, and did a bit of surfing around. No mention. http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/

As for Key west, I grew up in Florida.

Last year, I saw the biggest Scorpion I have ever seen on a road in Key West!

So it is entirely possible to have gotten that bite in Florida. Usually, a scorpion wont do much to an adult, but if she were allergic, she could go into anaphylactic shock and die. Anaphylactic shock is where your throat swells up and eventually (very quickly, actually) it chokes you to death! You cannot breathe. Caught in time, an injection of adrenalin wil stop and reverse it. Not caught in time, an emergency trach tube (cut a hole in your throat and stick a tube down it) is about your only chance.

Folks, This is the Caribbean. And they take on stores from the islands- bananas, pineapples,. All sorts of spiders and bugs can and do hide in these things. Last year a woman found a Black Widow in her bananas. (On land, not on a ship) Fortunately, she knew a little about spiders. She was more curious than scared, and when she saw the red hourglass, she knew what she had and caught it! You can't think it is possible for Cunard to guard against all possible spiders? You could have one in your suitcase. 99% are harmless, in fact, they are benficial. But not if you are allergic.

Karie,

who is thankful she is NOT allergic. (knock on wood- allergies can develop at any time) but has twice had adrenalin shots. They are not fun, let me tell you! The bruise last time lasted a couple of weeks!

They had to scramble (is that the technical term?) a helicopter from Miami to Key West for refueling. Then the helicopter cam to the ship. I don't know how far we were from Florida, but I got a cell phone signal.

I must not have been clear about that.

We embarked from Fort Lauderdale the prior Saturday and were on a sea day returning from Cozumel to Fort Lauderdale. The captain said we were not far from Cuba. We must have been close to Florida at the time, because I got enough of a cell phone signal to make some calls.

The amazing thing is the ship never stopped. The helicopter only hovered and it took a few tries for him to get to the correct spot. We have some photos of the manuever. We were in our balcony with the action taking place above us and the fire crews in full fire gear ready, heaven forbid, to go.

Again, I'm not sure about the insect bite theory, but it certainly was an impressive operation. I have to figure out how to get the little movie (.mvi) clips into a website for you all to view. Here's a still in the meantime.

--Judy

Hi Judy,

Yes, it is pretty amazing to watch the ship spin around within its length. The reason for shutting down the pier is because they have to throw out the lines. Also when they start tightening them if one was to break it could hurt someone. Two funny comments made on our ship while at the rail looking at the QM2 were 1) Where are all the young people? 2) Why are all those people still on the ship when it is docked?

 

Actually the Fantasy and Fascination are almost the same ships. The major differences are in the interior decor. I dont have any photos of the Fascination yet.

Dave

Hi Again, Dave.

We've been on the Paradise. I loved that ship. It was different from any Carnival ship we had been on before. It's a Fantasy class as well.

In answer to your questions 1-Where were the young people? I WAS there hanging over the rail. I guess young is a matter of opinion! When I was in my 20s and 30s, my age was OLD! Now, I think 54 is not so young, but not so old, either.

2-While in port, I chose to stay aboard the ship. For me, the ship was the destination. I can't take too much heat and the excursions lasted for hours. I spent the day in the spa and the ship's library. The QM2 is so huge, that I was on the ship an entire week and never once saw a swimming pool.

Judy, who comes back from the Caribbean seriously Untanned!!

They had to scramble (is that the technical term?) a helicopter from Miami to Key West for refueling.The amazing thing is the ship never stopped. The helicopter only hovered and it took a few tries for him to get to the correct spot. We have some photos of the manuever. We were in our balcony with the action taking place above us and the fire crews in full fire gear ready, heaven forbid, to go.--Judy

Judy,

We had a similar occurrence on Royal Princess during a Transatlantic sailing, and we also watched and filmed it from our balcony. We had to divert so we could get within the copter's range from Halifax but also stayed at sea. It took us so far out of the way that it added a day to our voyage. Fascinating operation to watch, and it requires a lot of skill. It must be terribly frightening for an ill person, if the person is conscious.

I did not mean to insinuate that spiders and scorpions only exist in Key West. Heck, I got stung by a scorpion in Bunnell (Flagler) Florida, I think it was. This one was just BIG for Florida. You usually find scorpions this size in New Mexico or Arizona. Coming from Cozumel, there is even more possibility that you could pick up those kinds of things. It's hotter there on the Yucatan. And conditions are different. If she was allergic, they probably needed to take precautions for her, if she was having a severe reaction that was not going away, or that they were not well equipped to treat.No matter, Both Key West and Miami are in District 7. But some of the stories they had up were pretty exciting. And if you lived on Tortola, I am sure you would want to make sure the Manager of Foxy's got to work! <LOL> (He was rescued off an an uninhabited island. Seems his 11 foot skiff ran out of gas on his way to work. Foxy's is one of the most famous bars in the Caribbean if not the world. It gets written up in the travel mags and all sorts of places. They are having an "OLD year's Eve party (Foxy called it that because he COULD) that I have been invited to. A friend of mine will be part of the entertainment during the day. Alas, I am on call that night!

Anyway, as far as the hovering maneuver, it isn't too difficult if you don't have adverse winds. I asuume she was lifted up in a basket? Not that diffiult, as they throw out the basket (usuallly) Someone on the ground loads her into it, then it is a matter of directing and handling the "sling load" (Which is what this type of maneuver is called. While I have not done a sling load, I have successuflly hovered just fine, and I only have four hours in a helicopter. Marc could tell you better. He was a helicopter instructor. And we had lots of friends who flew sling loads. Kaman Helicopter and Sikkorsky Helicopter are both here in CT and I have met both Mr. Kaman, and the son of the original Sikorsky, Igor. Mr. Kaman also makes Ovation Guitars (his son is in charge of that) and the most important thing- If you know any person with blindness who has a seeing eye dog from Fidelco, He founded Fidelco and it is probably his proudest acheivement, maybe even more so than his fame for sling-load helicopters, such as the K-Max, which was built for exactly that- Logging applications, firefighting, and such.

Well, Judy, thank you for sharing your exciting story with us!

By the way, I think still one of the bravest and most incredible rescue operations I know of,(And you can still find video of it on the web) is the rescues done in San Juan Puerto Rico on New Year's Eve (20 years ago) at the Dupont Plaza Hotel. People were trapped on the roof, the winds were high, and flames were shooting up the side of the building. The heat from the very hot fire causes very unstable conditions. (Remember, Heat rises,Hot air is always bumpier and more unstable than cold air.) Those pilots were true heroes. I saw it on the news. I was there. I heard the helicopters, and the sirens, and a friend of ours ran into the bar to tell us the hotel was on fire. (He was at the pool at the time) 103 people died that day. It would have been a lot more without those very brave, very talented pilots.

Karie,

who doesn't men to make light of the skills of these guys. I'll be it was exciting. More so for the young lady! Shoot, I got excited riding in a plain old ambulance- not even a helicopter!

Curiously, the helicopter evacuation that Judy witnessed isn't mentioned on the Seventh Coast Guard District's web site, http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/.

Was the bitten a shy celebrity?

Seems his 11 foot skiff ran out of gas

Sorry to bring this thread down, but I had to reread that sentence a few times before I understood that you really did mean "skiff".:rolleyes:

Curiously, the helicopter evacuation that Judy witnessed isn't mentioned on the Seventh Coast Guard District's web site, http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/.

Was the bitten a shy celebrity?

We still don't know where the big-bite theory came from. I was there. There was a helicopter rescue on our ship. I have the photos and have posted one. It sounds like you don't believe our account of the operation. Does the Coast Guard have to post all of its rescues at sea?

--Judy

We still don't know where the big-bite theory came from. I was there. There was a helicopter rescue on our ship. I have the photos and have posted one. It sounds like you don't believe our account of the operation. Does the Coast Guard have to post all of its rescues at sea?

--Judy

I certainly believe you, and I believe the news story that I mentioned before at http://www.nbc6.net/news/10443685/detail.html (they said "insect bite"). I'm just puzzled that the Coast Guard, which isn't shy about reminding the taxpayers what a great job they do, hasn't mentioned this incident.

Paul

This is a PS to what I posted above because I just realized that my crack about "reminding the taxpayers" could be taken as anti Coast Guard. Not so, I'm a big fan of the Coast Guard. I too witnessed a successful helicopter evacution from the QM2. It happened on June 17, 2004, north of Puerto Rico, a man suffering chest pains. And that occurred only hours after an unsuccessful search (not the fault of either the Coast Guard or the QM2) for a "man overboard" suicide.

Paul

Unfortunately, the woman evacuated from the ship after suffering an insect bite in Cozumel died in the hospital. Apparently she was quite frail and suffered from previous medical problems.

My whole Cunard Queen Mary 2 experience has been very good. The embarkation process from Southampton took us no more than 30 minutes. While I dined at the Brittania Grill, I did not find the portions too big... and it wouldn't hardly be a complaint or a negative feedback. You don't happen to be anorexic, are you?