rafinmd

Good morning from a lovely but chilly day at sea. I love chocolate and forgiveness but don't have a daughter. The quote sounds kind of fatalistic. I've driven by Corner Brook but never been there, although I was booked there on the Zuiderdam in 2020. Cobb is not a favorite salad of mine. My alternative is Oxtail Consume, Braised Lamb Shank, and Ice Cream as served on Queen Mary 2 July 6, 2022. I will probably take a day off on the lists tomorrow as disembarkation will be hectic. Today’s care list: StLouisCruisers DH awaiting biopsy result StLouis Cruisers Sister and BIL with covid Buddy entering Hospice Covid in Durango shelter staff Heartgrove brother discharged with extremely poor prognosis From the rotation: Strength and healing for Kazu StLouisSal with weakening legs and covid Cruzin Terri with continuing health problems Tana with persistant cough Celebrations and Shoutouts: aliaschief in Oregon Seasick Sailer in Hawaii Volendam caring for refugees 2 days for Cat in My Lap (Zaandam 7/9 to 8/13) 3 days for dobiemom (Rotterdam 7/10 to 7/17) jimgev in Alaska new bookings for me and Marshhawk rafinmd (QM2 to July 8), Mister Boston (Celebrity Summit to July 10), Crazy for Cats (Zaandam to 7/9), GTVCRUISER (Carnival Panorama to July 9) and ski ww (Oosterdam to July 16) at sea Vacationing Staff Captain Sabine - Our first female Staff Captain and HAL’s likely first female Captain(I know this is a repeat but she’s worth it) Roy

Day 6, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, Halifax, Canada It was a very nasty weather. We were late into Halifax due to traffic near the port and later still getting cleared as a small number of guests hesitated to show up for immigration. The original plan of the gangway opening at 8:30 was delayed until 9:30. I have a relative in Halifax and we had originally considered meeting for the day. When we talked he indicated that he is on along list for cataract surgery and that his partner who does the driving had a medical appointment of his own so my only meeting with Ron was on the phone. I really did not feel like going out into the weather and opted instead to visit the Canadian Museum of Immigration which shares the building with the cruise terminal. I spent about an hour in the museum before returning to the ship. The terminal itself is currently a huge open space. There are lots of market kiosks but they are currently vacant. I believe they are due to open later this summer. Lunch was a lovely slice of ham steak, fruit salad, and skim milk from Kings Court. It became a fairly expensive afternoon. I first met with Cruise Sales and am now booked for the first Caribbean Cruise on the new ship Queen Anne in February 2024. I also booked a transfer to Penn Station at the end of this cruise. There were again just 2 of us at table 302. My choices were Oxtail Consume, Braised Lamb Shank, and Ice Cream. We were finished before 7. The featured entertainment was the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers with Rhythm of the Night. I passed but did go to an encore of comedian Tom Briscoe at 9 in the Queens Room. The weather started clearing as we left Halifax but the evening was marked with gale force winds. Conditions are much better this morning with a beautiful sunrise over the Terrace Pool. My parting shot is from a display at the Pier 22 museum. It’s a salute to all who served on D-Day, (some units sailed from Pier 22) and especially those who did not return. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/heroes.jpg Roy

@StLouisCruisers prayers headed for you, Buddy, Your twin and BIL. Roy

Never left the terminal complex today. It's now 5:40PM (All aboard is 6) and the rain has finally stopped but still not a nice day. Roy

It's a nasty rainy day in Halifax and it was foggy yesterday evening so I'm posting another view of the July 4 sunrise, this one with great colors before the sun came up. Roy

It's a nasty rainy day in Halifax and it was foggy yesterday evening so I'm posting another view of the July 4 sunrise, this one with great colors before the sun came up. Roy

It's a nasty rainy day in Halifax and it was foggy yesterday evening so I'm posting another view of the July 4 sunrise, this one with great colors before the sun came up. Roy

Just now free to go ashore. Roy

Sitting in Halifax waiting for one guest to report for immigration. Just now released to go ashore (9:34 local time). Roy

Thank you for the Hump Day report, Rich. Greetings from Halifax, which I think is where Zaandam will be tomorrow. Rainy here but will be too windy for an umbrella, much like @Crazy For Cats in Sydney. Been to several Norway ports but not Geiranger. Interesting selection of days and I like the Emerson quote. The meal sounds quite nice. My alternative is Carrot and Mandarin Salad, Medallions of Pork Filet, and Carrot Cake as served on QM2 July 5, 2022. Today’s care list: StLouisCruisers DH awaiting biopsy result Melinda with stage 4 cancer StPeteCruiser recovering from Appendicitis Covid in Durango shelter staff Heartgrove brother about to be discharged with extremely poor prognosis From the rotation: Tana with persistant cough HAL Sailer DH Nephew Curt undergoing rehab after serious mowing accident Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney Bennybear DH with melanoma Celebrations and Shoutouts: aliaschief in Oregon Seasick Sailer in Hawaii Volendam caring for refugees 3 days for Cat in My Lap (Zaandam 7/9 to 8/13) 4 days for dobiemom (Rotterdam 7/10 to 7/17) jimgev in Alaska rafinmd (QM2 to July 8), Mister Boston (Celebrity Summit to July 10), Crazy for Cats (Zaandam to 7/9), GTVCRUISER (Carnival Panorama to July 9) and ski ww (Oosterdam to July 16) at sea Vacationing Staff Captain Sabine - Our first female Staff Captain and HAL’s likely first female Captain(I know this is a repeat but she’s worth it) Roy

Day 5, Tuesday July 5, 2022, At Sea, Queen Mary 2 It was a lovely but chilly sea day. I did not take a lot of photos but will start off with some of my room. It’s far forward on deck 6, and I have just a rather small porthole. When I boarded the ship the beds were combined into a queen with pretty narrow spaces on each side. Looking forward from near the porthole there is a desk and the bathroom on the left side and a sofa and closets on the right side. There is a mini-fridge under the TV and 2 US and 2 UK power outlets at the desk. A double US outlet behind the TV has one free plug as well. While I was at dinner my room steward separated the beds. While the porthole is small it’s nice to have space where I can look out. It was a fairly decent day for walking with probably about 2 miles total on the promenade deck. Nothing like what I would have done in my prime but still very nice. There were 2 Cunard insights presentations, both in the morning. Historian William Fowler started things off at 10 with a presentation on Schooners. For many years they became the workhorses of communication, transport, and cargo hauling. The 11AM presentation was photographer Neil Leifer sharing some of the stories behind his photographs. In his noon update Captain Hall indicated we were 90 miles off the coast of Maine with 138 miles sailed since Boston and 248 to go. We will start our approach to Halifax at 6:45AM, be alongside at 8, and time in port will be 8:30 to 6. Rain is expected in Halifax (It’s falling as I type this) and a high temperature of 62. I managed go through lunch without eating anything inside Kings Court, taking pizza out to a lounger on the Promenade Deck and a bowl of soft serv to deck 8 aft. The afternoon was quiet as well but I did go down to the Queens Room at 2 for another recital by Caroline Oltmans, this time works by Schubert and Beethoven. It was just 2 of us again at dinner with the complainer in chief nowhere in evidence. My choices for the evening were Carrot and Mandarin Salad, Medallions of Pork Filet, and Carrot Cake. Service was quick and easy and I was out in plenty of time to have watched a sunset but there was light fog. The featured entertainment was comedian Tom Briscoe. I passed but may attend a followup July 6 in the Queens Room. I did go to the Queens Room at 9 where the Royal Court Orchestra combined with the Queens Room Orchestra for an Big Band evening featuring the Great American Songbook. It was an early bed time since we lost an hour moving to Halifax time. Today’s parting shot. They say into every life a little rain must fall. It looks like it is falling on our day in Halifax this time. Just breaking. We are behind schedule and Captain announced our arrival will be about a half hour later than planned with the gangway out around 9. Heaviest rain expected around noon. Roy

Captain Beverly Bass from AA Flight 49. "On final approach we're coming into runway two-two and I'm thinking 'Where am I going to park this thing? There are planes lined up like sardines'". I wonder, was it DD or ground crew that figured out all the parking arrangements. Roy

Any luck on Pat's medicine? Roy

I reached milestone 50 on Crystal and am Diamond on Cunard, nearly all of it in standard Britannia. The menus in Britannia and Britannia Club are very much the same, coming from the same galley. The prime real difference is that Britannia Dinner is 2 fixed seatings, much like Crystal before 2018 while with Britannia Club you have the same table and waiters for all 3 meals and can arrive anytime between about 6:30 and 9. If at a large table the tablemates will try to agree on a time to show up. I sailed Britannia Club for 8 days on QM2 in 2010 but everything since then has been in straight Britannia on all 3 ships. I haven't missed it. If you feel you would like to try Britannia Club and it becomes available sure go ahead and try it. One additional Cunard quirk. I believe there are some "always available" selections but they are not publicized. If in doubt you might need to be a bit persistent to ask. Roy

I've taken the opposite approach. While these incidents are far too frequent I think in the scheme of things they are relatively rare (but with some sensible measures they should be much more rare). Part of the problem is that the press thrives on them. I wonder if there would be as many of these people if they didn't consider it a ticket to instant fame. Since I got dumped off QM2 in Perth 28 months ago things have changed for me with a heart valve issue which has affected my stamina and my ability to do things. While a repair restored much of what I lost, I can no longer do the long strings of cruises that I used to love and am staying closer to home. I would like to put off cruising until covid is totally controlled but expect by that time I may be unable to cruise so I'm doing it now. I know there's a risk but people are getting sick at home so I'm just accepting a little extra risk to continue living the best life I can while I can. The protocols are annoying but they are minimizing my risk and it's a compromise that I think is right for me. Roy

My visit to Stockholm was on the Prinsendam in 2015, I had a rather unusual tour that day, "Sensational Rooftop Walk". Here's a link to my blog post that day: https://serenitytokiel.wordpress.com/2015/05/31/day-p10-saturday-may-30-stockholm-sweden/ Roy

Thank you for the Tuesday report Rich. Not a work-a-holic, not suited to a Bikini, but I love apple turnovers. I'm not quite sure what to make of the Rowling quote. I've been to Stockholm on the Prinsendam. The meal sounds nice. My alternative is Rack of Lamb and Key Lime Tart as served on Queen Mary 2 July 4, 2022. Today’s care list: Highland Park, Kenosha, and Sacramento (All with deadly mass shootings July 4) Melinda with stage 4 cancer StPeteCruiser recovering from Appendicitis Covid in Durango shelter staff Heartgrove brother about to be discharged with extremely poor prognosis From the rotation: Bennybear DH with melanoma Strength and healing for Kazu StLouisSal with weakening legs and covid Cruzin Terri with continuing health problems Celebrations and Shoutouts: aliaschief in Oregon Seasick Sailer in Hawaii Volendam caring for refugees 4 days for Cat in My Lap (Zaandam 7/9 to 8/13) 5 days for dobiemom (Rotterdam 7/10 to 7/17) jimgev in Alaska Welcome home Norseh2o rafinmd (QM2 to July 8), Mister Boston (Celebrity Summit to July 10), Crazy for Cats (Zaandam to 7/9), GTVCRUISER (Carnival Panorama to July 9) and ski ww (Oosterdam to July 16) at sea Vacationing Staff Captain Sabine - Our first female Staff Captain and HAL’s likely first female Captain(I know this is a repeat but she’s worth it) Roy

On QE and QV I think there's a burger place on the aft pool deck but in any case it's easy to pick up food in the buffet and carry it through the automatic doors to aft pool deck to enjoy. I think there's also semi-open space in Winter Garden forward of the buffet and then some tables on the pool deck. Pretty sure I've done all 3. I expect Queen Ann will be much the same. QM2 is more problematic. I especially notice it now since I prefer to eat outdoors for greater safety from a covid standpoint. If you're looking at a Caribbean cruise the Boardwalk Cafe MIGHT be open but I think the odds are against it with the crew being saddled with other covid prevention duties (like actually serving all the buffet food). The options I've tried require some real desire to get outside, and willingness to compromise on food that is easy to carry while dealing with heavy doors. 1. There are several chairs with little tables on Deck 8. Access is from the stairs next to the Queens Grill: 2. There are about 3 proper tables aft on the promenade deck that might work for breakfast items but the tables are almost sure to be taken by lunch time. Finally, you could take very selected items like pizza, a sandwich, or bowl of ice cream out to the promenade deck and use either a lounger or sit on one of the big boxes where they store lounger cushions. No really good options but where there's a will there may be a way. Roy

Today's sunrise is from the forward deck of QM2 on her way to Halifax Roy

Today's sunrise is from the forward deck of QM2 on her way to Halifax Roy

Day 4, Monday. July 4, 2022, Boston, Massachusetts By the time I went on deck about 5 land and lights were already visible ahead of us. I have a long history with Boston as I have been there several times on cruises and land trips, my brother spent 4 years at Harvard, and I a month at an actuarial seminar at Northeastern University. Things started off with much more routine issues. I had a notice that there was not a credit card registered to my account and I needed to turn in my Canadian Customs declaration. The Customs Declaration was easy but the computer would not bring up the credit card scanner. While there I adjusted the gratuities. I would normally augment them a little bit but this time was a more substantial increase as the crew was working extra hard cleaning everywhere and serving all the normally self service food in Kings Court. The other routine matter was the result of a packing mistake. For formal nights on short cruises I use a Travelsmith Black Blazer and matching slacks but I had forgotten that since March 2020 I had replaced the slacks. The come un-hemmed. I packed them in the bag that went with Luggage Forward and when I left home decided those could be my backup long pants. The first gala night I put on the Travelsmith slacks and the legs extended down to my toes and were just not going to work. I had to go to my only other pair of long pants that I had worn since leaving home. They were in urgent need of laundry so that became my second order of business. The laundry rooms open at 7:30 and I lined up at 7:10 to be sure of getting a washer. The guy with the key came about 7:20 and they went in the washer. Back about 8:05 to move them to the dryer and they were done at 9. After moving the laundry to the drier I went down to Kings Court for a waffle. As noted before I prefer to eat outdoors and there were tables open at the back of deck 7. I did take the plate back to Kings Court when finished. My plans for the day were quite modest. There was a shuttle from the ship to Quincy and I boarded it about 11. I had thought of lunch at Panera which is fairly close to Quincy. The walk was along a greenway in the median of a wide boulevard where an ugly elevated highway once ran. Unfortunately, when I got to my destination it turned out the staff was out enjoying the holiday so I wandered back on various side streets to Quincy Market, a finally back to the shuttle. As I boarded the shuttle I confirmed something I had feared. I had looked for Durgin Park “in the shadow of Fanueil Hall”, an iconic steak house where my family celebrated my brother’s graduation in 1962 (and it was a legend way back then) and been back a couple times since then but the guide confirmed it is no longer in business. It will be missed. My afternoon was pretty low key but I did get to afternoon tea for a scone with a gentleman on the guitar. It’s been extremely crowded on sea days so this was the right time. There was a bit of drama at dinner but this time of my making. I had requested advance copies of the dinner for my own planning purposes but the staff was quite sure I needed to be on a diabetic diet, and I had to turn in my selections the day before. When my salad came it was awful. The waiter explained it was special for as a diabetic. I was quite forceful that I could eat what was on the menu, I just had to plan my other meals around it and think this time the message got through and I walked out with Tuesday’s menu. The rest of the meal was Rack of Lamb and Key Lime tart. It was followed by red, white, and blue petit fours. The complainer in chief was not present. Sunset came about 8; at 7:45 I caught a glimpse of the sun going down sandwiched between the platform for the rescue boat and the top of the cruise terminal. The Boston Pops concert was shown on the big screen in the Royal Court Theater. There was a celebration of the fireworks up on deck 13. I was a bit disappointed in that as the views were through the plexiglass barriers and the display was nice but a bit awkward to see. I also went down to the Promenade Deck where I could not see the fireworks but the bangs in the distance were very evident. I woke about 5 and when I went out on deck the sun had just risen over the bow. My parting shot will be a wish for healing for the people of Highland Park and the shooting victims. Roy

A bit more explanation perhaps. When I saw @srdancer post I had heard nothing about the shooting and the idea of restricting gun sales to those over 150 brought to mind some codger wheeling his walker into a gun store on his 150'th birthday and calling out "It's my birthday and I want my AK47. and that image tickled my funny bone. And to me that little touch of humor moved the needle from a direct political comment that might have offended some and made the subject a little less political while still getting the point across. Don't really get a lot of instant news on the ship and hadn't heard of the horror that inspired the comment, and there's definitely nothing funny about that, not to mention 2 or 3 other mass shootings the same day. I don't no if we have any big gun rights advocates among the dailyites and I think the benefits of keeping this space non-political vastly outweigh the value of an outright political comment and pushing some people away. It's still very important that we keep talking. I'm a bit sensitive to this as I have a gun rights person in my own family. Roy

No you weren't but 150 as opposed to an outright ban. I think the difference is adding a touch of humor that makes it a bit less political, and perhaps a better way of getting the point across. Roy

There have been comments elsewhere on the condition of the QM2 elevators. Ironically, this seems to be primarily an issue for those in the Grills. I believe the ship has 18 main passenger elevators, 3 each at the A and D landings, and 6 each at the B and C landings. As far as I can tell 16 are working just fine, the 2 with problems are both at the aft D landings; the ones that serve the Grills restaurants. Also a bit of an issue for the Queens room. Roy

Today's sunrise is very early over the stern of Queen Mary 2 coming into Boston for Independence Day Roy