I'm on QM2; any questions?

I miss Ray Rouse...

I don't.

David.

I don't.

 

David.

My sister and husband are on board so please keep on posting. Their names are Pat and Bob and they can be found in the smoking sections! If you see them, say hello!

I booked for next year but I'm not thrilled about the price so far. About 10% higher than this year and no prepaid gratuities unless you book Grills. The OBC is about the same as this year assuming this year's comes through. Petra pointed out that I'd get the benefit of any price drops but I don't recall that the price really dropped from last year's booking. But I figure it's better to lock in the onboard booking benefits while we contemplate a fourth year vs. a trip to a particular island sometime next winter.

My sister and husband are on board so please keep on posting. Their names are Pat and Bob and they can be found in the smoking sections! If you see them, say hello!

Travelwide,

I have probably seen them dozens of times. I will keep an ear out for them.

Jeanne

I might have read about it here but one surprise from previous cruises is the disappearance of the trays from Kings Court. They've also set the plate warmers to 450 degrees so what they might save in cost of retrieving and cleaning the trays the might be losing in paper napkins to make it possible to hold the plates. A hint: there are room-temperature plates over by the dessert / smoked fish section.

With regard to your report that there are no longer trays provided for Kings Court on QM2, are there utensils set on the tables or do you have to carry those along with the plate(s)? Also, do servers now provide drinks (i.e., water, milk, coffee) or do you still have to get them separately?

Depending on the meal there are loose utensils or utensils wrapped in a cloth napkin (serviette) where you get the plates. No drinks service; take your plate to the table and then return for your drink.

I have a slight tremor in my left hand (family trait although I'm lucky to have it only in one hand) which makes is difficult to carry a mug of coffee by the handle in that hand. So I take two trips if getting coffee for my wife and me.

Hi Underwatr.....I hope you are having a wonderful time. I used to think you could only carry one coffee cup per hand......until a nice gentleman showed me how to carry two. Made the rest of the trip a lot easier. Who knew? :D

Power's out.....

How did you send that message if the power's out?

Hi Underwatr.....I hope you are having a wonderful time. I used to think you could only carry one coffee cup per hand......until a nice gentleman showed me how to carry two. Made the rest of the trip a lot easier. Who knew? :D

Apology to the OP for going a bit off topic...

Brigitte, surprised that you aren't on this cruise. (After the one in 2011, we decided we'd rather be at home for Christmas.)

Hope all is well with you and Tom. Are you thinking of the QM2 Nov cruise NY to the Caribbean? Best wishes for the New Year! -Regards, -S.

Apology for the OT here as well. Salacia...thank you for asking. Same thing here. We've made the perfect Christmas at home for the last 2 years...and are enjoying the TA's and my favorite Hamburg. Although the Caribbean and Canada/New England are starting to look appealing again. A happy and healthy New Years to you as well. :)

CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) – Officials here say the cruise ship passenger, who collapsed and died here on Sunday, is the second visitor to have died within a one week period.

While they have released the identity of the second person, they have not done so for the first male person, except to say he was a passenger on the cruise ship, Ventura, which docked here on December 26.

They said Daniel Braccio of Brooklyn, believed to be in his late 60’s or early 70’s, died after collapsing at La Place Carnage duty free shopping mall on Sunday.

Braccio was a passenger aboard the Queen Mary 2 that had been berthed in Port Castries. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

-copied from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Second-cruise-passenger-collapses--dies-in-St-Lucia

With deepest sympathy to the family and loved ones.

Salacia

How did you send that message if the power's out?

Batteries.

While the ship is docked at the different ports, what activities are still available aboard the ship? I assume the casino and the shops are closed. Thanks, Kelly

You're right; the shops and casino are closed while we're in port. All of the restaurants are open with the exception that Todd English is not open for lunch. The shops will open at 5:00 and the casino is scheduled to open 30 minutes after departure.

There are fewer activities listed in the Daily Programme in port. Looking at today's schedule (it's an off-and-on rainy day in St. Kitts so we're hanging around today):

A movie -- The Fault in Our Stars -- is playing several times today in Illuminations.

Competitions in darts, baggo, and deck quoits as well as Golden Lion trivia throughout the day.

The book shop and the library are open 2:00-9:00.

Of course the Spa is open all day. I don't see any particular specals advertised for today but often there are reduced prices on one or two types of treatments in port.

01:14 - Cunard.com: "Queen Mary 2 is currently docked in New York, United States"

Is that accurate? Perhaps to avoid the storm, the ship docked early? Or more likely, the website is wrong yet again.

Webcam is dark.

Anyway, welcome back, QM2. We won't be seeing you again in our harbours for months after your departure later today, but we'll keep the lights on for you! :)

Cheers,

Salacia

...

P.S. Yup, Cunard.com inaccurate regarding position of the ship. If you wish to track course and see the QM2 enter the NY Harbor hours from now, see http://www.nyharborwebcam.com/

We're outside the harbor still.

I'm deciding whether to go up to 12/13.

Hi Underwatr.....I hope you are having a wonderful time. I used to think you could only carry one coffee cup per hand......until a nice gentleman showed me how to carry two. Made the rest of the trip a lot easier. Who knew? :D

Brigitte, what's the secret to carrying 2 full cups/mugs in one hand?

Entering New York:

Depending on the meal there are loose utensils or utensils wrapped in a cloth napkin (serviette) where you get the plates. No drinks service; take your plate to the table and then return for your drink.

 

I have a slight tremor in my left hand (family trait although I'm lucky to have it only in one hand) which makes is difficult to carry a mug of coffee by the handle in that hand. So I take two trips if getting coffee for my wife and me.

No trays, I think that it is disgusting, maybe all the passengers in the kings court should ask the staff to carry the trays to the tables and bring the drinks, or maybe we should all go down to the restaurant that would create work for the management to sort out. I was on the maiden in 2004 and I believe Carnival did not want trays to be used then, and the utensils where already:mad: on the table, no thought on the next diner, no utensils.

sssoooo thats what those 2 big pipes sticking out the rear of the ship are..............................dual exhausts for the turbine.in all our cruises we have never heard the turbine run on the qm2. we too were on the xmas cruise. aside from the short [no pun] partial electrical failure there was an interruption of water to some 628x cabins and a beverage dispenser shut down in kings court and a malfunctioning firedoor in kings court. all for very short periods of time. imho the ship is in very good condition and well maintained by her crew. weather was good,only one excursion was a bit of a let down. i put on 5 lbs [my wife has yet to release her numbers to me:D]as usual the chefs did a wonderful job on xmas and new years .i would agree with underwaters review .......we also signed up for next years cruise:).we had no issues on the lack of trays,i manage to put on 5 lbs:eek:without them. bottom line ...........cunard did not let us down and we will be faithful to her......working toward diamond .....i hope they give a better pin,the platinum pin looks like snoopy .one night we saw the strangest crescent moon set on the horizon

Hope you enjoyed the voyage now that you have returned. Was there new movies and entertainment every night or did they repeat? Will you be posting a review? Thanks for all the info you have given. Kelly

Different movies every night aside from a single repeat of Boyhood due to inaccurate show time information in the Daily Programme. I think those on the longer Southampton journey saw some repeats.

The headline act The FlyRights had a second performance but I understand it was a different show. In my experience the final night before New York is several of the previous headliners so having a second show by a single act isn't all that bad.

I don't normally write reviews on QM2 since my observations are very different from a first-time passenger.

Just one more question if you don't mind. I see you have also done a transatlantic crossing on the QM2. I have done that crossing 4 times but this is my first "voyage". Were there any noticeable differences between a QM2 crossing and this 12 day voyage other than the port excursions? I love the crossings but wanted to be on board for Christmas this year. Thanks once again. Kelly