Live From QE's January TA Crossing

Today we depart on an 8 night transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York.

I hope that this will be a complimentary 'blog' to the full 'Live From..' thread for the world cruise.

There will be a lot of talk over there about how on earth they will fit their luggage into their cabins, attending world cruise parties etc as well as anticipation of the future segments and undoubted questions from those excited bods who are awaiting their time to join the ship. By the time I and my fellow TA-ers are feeling miserable as we are about to disembark, some the the 'Worldies' will still be trying to remember where they put that new black sequined bag !!!!!

This I hope, will be more focused on the shorter trip and the need to pack all of the onboard experiences into one week. I'll be trying to keep an eye on the world cruise thread too - and probably joining in the conversations. It will also be interesting to observe the 'worldies' and to see what impact , if any, they have on the ship as a group.

Here goes.

This is our 6th voyage with Cunard, mainly TAs - with one trip being a double crossing with a trip to Halifax/ Boston sandwiched in the middle. I guess therefore, that this can count as our 7th TA.

We've sailed on all 3 current Queens (in order: QM2, QM2x2, QE, QV, QM2). I don't mind which I sail on, but I do love the wet spa area on QM2, plus, as our 'first' ship, it will always have a special place in my affections. I also turned 40 on board. Crikey - that was nearly 6 years ago.

We've had a mix of West and East bound crossings and I definitely prefer sailing to New York rather than sailing back home. I like gaining the extra hours on board rather than losing them.

Our first two trips on QM2 were in May, all subsequent voyages have been in Jan / Feb. Weather has always been mixed. I like big waves.

Today is the day !

There was no chance of me oversleeping today... The alarm was set for 8:00am, with a back-up set for 8:30am

We (hubby and myself) are planning to leave the house at 10am. We are booked on the 11:39 London to Waterloo service, arriving in Southampton at approx 1:15pm.

Onboard waiting will be my Dad and my 2 sisters.

It will be big sister's 50th birthday next Friday and she decided that she wanted to 'do a Jo' and spend her birthday onboard a Cunard ship. Neither sister has sailed before. Dad joined us on the QE maiden TA - and we shared a cabin. (This worked quite well.) He sailed with Mum on QE2's Farewell to UK trip, but is a veteran of the liners having worked as an officers' steward in his teenage years, including on the original Elizabeth. This means that he has sailed on all three Elizabeths. He will be quite happy to tell you about it if you have time to listen!!

We have a brother, but he will not be joining us as he is trying to buy a house and needs to direct his funds elsewhere.

Guess I should leave it there for now - exciting things to do like throw the rubbish out. Best also check the trains to Southampton to make sure there are no problems.

I'll be able to post from the ship (internet connection willing) as I get some free internet time having sailed before. Not sure I'd want to waste precious cocktail funds on buying internet time.

Til later...

The fridge is cleared, the rubbish is out. It is, at last, time to go.

The fridge is cleared, the rubbish is out. It is, at last, time to go.

So envious! Please post lots of photos if you can. I've got just over 5 months til I'm on board QE and I'm already too excited.

Photos and a trip report will calm me down. Promise.

When I disembarked from QE this morning, the air bridge wasn't operational so we all had to descend a fairly steep gangway from deck 1. I hope the have it all sorted out by the time you are boarding as it will be a nightmare. All the self disembark people had to carry their bags down this rickety slope. I have no idea how they will cope with wheelchairs. Hope you have a great trip.

Got off the QM2 this morning and got the shuttle over to QE. Knowing there would be a long wait, we decided to WALK to the mall, which is where I am right now. Will be making my way to QE withing the hour and hoping that the crowds boarding will be done.

The fridge is cleared, the rubbish is out. It is, at last, time to go.

Probably....:rolleyes:

Apparently traffic was awful earlier today but not SO bad by the time we arrived at 1:15. No queue for check in, so we were soon on board. Currently getting the hand washing lecture from the captain ahead of the life jacket demo.

Apparently QM2 will be leaving first, passing us in port.

Gotta go. Holiday to enjoy

Still no air bridge when we boarded - caused some problems for those with wheelie hand lugage. Nice lunch with some of our tablemates in Queens Grill. Captain Wells welcomed us to the 2012 (yes 2012) World Cruise - maybe we are on Doctor Who!!

Trevor

Looking forward to reading your blog for the next week or so. Hope you have a wonderful cruise and your sister has a Happy Birthday!

Wonderful to have an interesting and entertaining thread to follow about our favorite ship. Thanks for taking the time.

Still no air bridge when we boarded - caused some problems for those with wheelie hand lugage. Nice lunch with some of our tablemates in Queens Grill. Captain Wells welcomed us to the 2012 (yes 2012) World Cruise - maybe we are on Doctor Who!!

Trevor

Captain Wells has just informed us that its 2014.. .

Thanks for starting this thread, I am already enjoying reading it, and wishing I was doing a winter crossing this year!

So, last night, because we were still in the UK vicinity, I started to do a 'goodnight' post - but I literally fell asleep when I was writing so did not post it.

I think that this is what I was going to say:

Fireworks were due to start at 8pm but started a bit late. Unfortunately, just as they were about to start the heavens opened. The fair-weather folk ran for cover whilst those of us who are more bloody minded remained on deck. The fireworks were quite good and the rain did ease eventually but not until the hardiness of our jackets were tested to the full. Unfortunately, a medical incident on QM2 meant that her departure was delayed and we left first. This was a shame.

At dinner (8.30) we were able to go past the queue of those waiting to be shown their tables as we had found ours earlier. (Upper deck of Britannia, one table away from the back window... not that there is anything to see when it is dark.) Dinner and service was as excellent as ever.

After dinner we meandered through the art exhibition, choosing the painting which we might have bought if we were buying.... and watched a bit of the dancing - not that there were many people on the dance floor. Everyone seemed quite tired and were heading off to bed. With hubby - we had to go via the Lido - yes, even though he had only just eaten....

We did the compulsory review of the next day's timetable with our highlighters (sad or organised? - maybe both!) and I came onto this thread... and fell asleep.

End of Day 1

So, last night, because we were still in the UK vicinity, I started to do a 'goodnight' post - but I literally fell asleep when I was writing so did not post it.

 

I think that this is what I was going to say:

 

Fireworks were due to start at 8pm but started a bit late. Unfortunately, just as they were about to start the heavens opened. The fair-weather folk ran for cover whilst those of us who are more bloody minded remained on deck. The fireworks were quite good and the rain did ease eventually but not until the hardiness of our jackets were tested to the full. Unfortunately, a medical incident on QM2 meant that her departure was delayed and we left first. This was a shame.

 

At dinner (8.30) we were able to go past the queue of those waiting to be shown their tables as we had found ours earlier. (Upper deck of Britannia, one table away from the back window... not that there is anything to see when it is dark.) Dinner and service was as excellent as ever.

 

After dinner we meandered through the art exhibition, choosing the painting which we might have bought if we were buying.... and watched a bit of the dancing - not that there were many people on the dance floor. Everyone seemed quite tired and were heading off to bed. With hubby - we had to go via the Lido - yes, even though he had only just eaten....

 

We did the compulsory review of the next day's timetable with our highlighters (sad or organised? - maybe both!) and I came onto this thread... and fell asleep.

 

End of Day 1

Well done, remember that the days will fly by :) so please make the most of them!

Day 2

Clocks went back last night so today is a 25 hour day. The waking weather was lovely. Blue skies, calm seas.

At 7am I attended a free circuits class in the gym followed by an abs class. Note to all: on land, it is not generally an acceptable practice to turn up to a gym class 10 minutes late and guess what - the same applies at sea. If the class starts at 7, turn up before 7... You not only miss the warm up (which is important thing to participate in) but you also disrupt everyone else when you interrupt the teacher by asking questions about things which you would know if you were there on time. Rant over. Second rant. When you are doing a circuit, you are meant to follow the person in front, not randomly go wherever you please. Its not difficult... Second rant over. I guess if you don't often go to a gym you might not realise this. They were both good classes and the gym lady was excellent, enthusiastic and encouraging. Sometimes they appear bored and uninterested. The classes are not easy, but they are suitable for mixed ability attendees, so novices - don't be put off, just turn up on time and listen !!!

Breakfast followed. I had a few items from the cooked counter and this is where my next rant comes in. Honest I am not normally like this...... I left my things on the table to grab another piece of toast and a cup of tea and returned to find a couple had sat in my seat and given my stuff to the waitress and had my breakfast removed. They said they saw me leave - but if they had, wouldn't they have called me back for my stuff? Agghhh !!! I pointed out that they should be less quick off the mark next time - trying to be polite. So, lesson for all, on the whole, if someone has left something on a table, it means that they haven't left.

There WAS a library trivia quiz today - though not mentioned in the schedule. I love these and met a fellow devotee in the library. For those that don't know, some of the questions are quite obscure and you have to really use the library to research the answers.

I did manage to get to the Cruisecritic meet and greet - but only briefly as I had a hot date with hubby for the waltz dance class. Maggiemou was highly organised and had name tags for us all. Pity I couldn't stay longer. "Hello" to everyone I missed. I found Scrapnana to confess that it was me (i.e. face to a name) who had started a parallel "live from" thread.

Dance class was very very busy. Its probably all us 8-nighters trying to squeeze everything in over 1 week. Teachers are going to try and set up a follow-up waltz lesson, but hopefully not at the expense of another dance.

At lunch, someone else stole my seat when I we went to get lunch. Hopefully things will get better. This time my stuff wasn't removed. It was just ignored. A table for 4 was lost and we ended up 4 on a table for 2. Some people are just dense.

We have subscribed to the Soft Drinks Package. Payable as a fixed fee (calculated per day) you get to drink endless 'soda fountain/tap' drinks or fruit juices. We have also signed up for the Martini Mixology class on which every day. This will be our present to big sister, so I am shouting this for all 5 of us.

Its Saturday today so its a big football day. They showed 3 matches in the pub: Chelsea v Hull, Spurs v Palace and Man U v Swansea. The afternoon trivia was relocated to the Garden Room to make way.

Important note for hot chocolate lovers. The hot drinks machine do not have a 'chocolate' option. You have to make your own from little packets. A waiter did tell me that, if you order hot chocolate via room service, it comes in a pot.

The good news for passengers is that we are fully self service in the Lido restaurant - you don't have to wait to be served. We are getting plenty of lectures about washing our hands, so hopefully we will remain trusted to help ourselves.

Tonight is the first formal night - will be interesting to see what sights are on show this evening....

Weather and sea conditions are set to get a bit more challenging overnight and into tomorrow. I normally like a bit of stormy seas - but have some tablets in our cabin just in case.

Our cabin - is one of the ones near stairwell C on a bend. As such we have an extra bit of space inside the cabin towards the balcony. Slightly 'dead' space, so could be useful if you have extra luggage. The balcony itself has a bit of a bend to it too.

Speaking of my cabin, I'd best get back there and sort myself out for this evening. I shall be back around this time each day (but maybe not martini day). If I can suss out photo posting, I'll stick some on at some point.

For those of you on the ship, I will generally be found in the gym at 7, dance class at noon, and in the library between other things. You'll know its me as I'll have a London 2012 pump bag over my shoulder. (Contains a cushion to help me sit properly). Say hello if you see me - but do say who you are... else I'll look at you as if you are bonkers.

Aside from the extra hour that it seems to take, breakfast and lunch in Britannia are always nice and no need to fight over your seat...

Just cracking the technology to get my musings off my phone and onto here.... bear with

Formal night so hubby and I went for a predinner cocktail just before 8pm in the Commodore club. It wasn't too busy - being the opposite end of the ship I guess it is a deterrant to those less determined folk. We like the serenity of the Commmodore club, so think its worth the trip from staircase C to A then all the way back* aft to* the dining room. Anyway.... back to the facts... Our drinks were accompanied by a generous serving of freshly made crisps AND and an equally generous serving of mixed crunchy snacks. Then we were also served a small portion of hot canapés. I love all of these so am at risk of not needing dinner.... which was lovely and uneventful.

Towards the end of dinner the wine man (sorry, can't think of the right word...) fetched us a menu of after dinner drinks. Brandies, ports, liqueurs. .. not seen that before. Nice idea but we did not partake.

After dinner we wandered* over to the Queens Room where we caught the tail end of the professional dancers doing their show dance. They were excellent, concluding with a lift which, with the increasing choppy seas, was nothing short of bonkers, but amazing to watch.

We managed to find some seats. The singer is quite good. His slot was followed by a couple of sequence dances and then he was back and we got to do our waltz, not once but twice! At times it was like dancing up hill. The singer couldn't help but laugh every now and again as the ship rolled and we all staggered in synch. Taped music alternated with the band. We stayed for about half an hour and then went 'home' via the Lido for hot chocolate.

End of day 2

Cabin Ammenities

The lotions and potions provided in the cabins are in lovely little plastic bottles. They look like miniature glass stopper bottles but are actually plastic screw tops. I recommend working out how to open them before you start showering. They are screw top so its only difficult if, like me, you're trying to pull the lid off under a cascade of water without your glasses on! Doh!!

Shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and lotion are provided as well as mini soap.

All of the bottles fit on the shelf in the shower and are all tall enough not to fall off through the shelf side wires.

Pol Acker

A bottle is provided in your cabin for sailaway. I think that its drinkable, some people hate it. Each to their own.

Hubby and I had a full bottle with 2 glasses as did Dad (even though he is cabin-ing on his own). The sisters had a half bottle. We are gold level, the sisters are not...

Day 3

Did I say that the clocks went back an hour, early Saturday? They will change again early Monday.

Not a bad morning today, Sunday. Swells aren't too bad and the ship is fairly stable. Got to the morning abs class, which was tough, so feeling a bit achy.

One thing that I have forgotten to mention is that I am not using the lifts. Used them on the first day to get from boarding to deck 7 and then after dinner to get from deck 2 back to 7 (I was tired...). I have not used one since!!! So, if I decide to go from the library to the Commodore Club e.g. for my fleeting appearance at the cc meet, that means 8 flights of stairs... and by the time I get there, I need to make use of my soft drinks card!

SOMMELIER - there .... remembered the correct name for the 'wine man'!!!

Monday- Day 4

Made it to the 2 early morning 30 minute freebie exercise classes. Body conditioning followed by fab abs - though my abs have still not recovered from the day before. Showered in the gym showers after - there is shampoo and shower gel in the spacious cubicle with small bottles of conditioner. Towels are also on hand. There is no hairdryer in there though.

Exercising on a rocking boat is interesting. The instructors tailor the classes to match the conditions so conditions would have to be quite severe for a class to be stopped.

Some classes are chargeable e.g. Pilates and yoga but this is made very clear. Use of the gym equipment is free. There us the usual general sort of gym machinery.

The spa is beyond my budget so I won't make any comments.

I won the library quiz yesterday. Hurrah! I now have an extra stamp in my reward card. If you are a winner in anything you get a reward card which they stamp. For any subsequent wins you get an additional stamp. Stamps mean prizes. Hubby and I have a joint card as this is allowed. If you are both in the same winning quiz team you get a stamp each. We have 4 stamps (trivia, baggo, library quiz and golf).

Today has been an active day for me: gym, breakfast, library quiz, morning trivia, hoopla, astronaut lecture, tango, lunch and windy quoits on deck. Lunch today was in the Golden Lion. Hubby had a disappointing fish and chips (normally gets top marks) I had a lovely steak pie.

Dad has been taking it easy.... reading, eating, snoozing. The sisters have been taking it easy too though they did take advantage if the daytime low table limits at the casino to try their luck. They didnt have any..... They are pondering dining 'off piste' this evening to try the Russian buffet in the Lido (not an additional fee.)

Currently about to have a snooze before dinner...

Will post this at the Internet cafe. Its easy enough to type on this tiny machine but negotiating logons and copy & pastes for something so fiddly is a pain in the derrière.

DAY 3 (continued)

Well, I have managed to work out how to connect my smart (android) phone to the ships internet. If you are au fait with connecting to the wifi in Starbucks* et al, you will have no problem connecting here (*other coffee outlets are available). Once you log on to your account, just remember to log off.

This all means that I can write this off line and then copy and paste the text when I connect.

The amenities in the room are Pecksmith Quertus by the way.

Sunday late morning found me in my now customary place in the Golden Lion pub for morning trivia. We have buddied up with 2 American couples and this was our second morning together. We were fortunate to claim victory on a tie breaker having come joint top with just 15 points. (Wont give away the question/answer... that wouldn't be right).

A lecture on the Dutch history of New York was next followed by some snatched time on the library quiz before dance class... which today was the cha cha cha.... and then lunch. Spotted dad and the siblings in the Lido so we were able to swap tales and plans.