Pugwash's First voyage on Queen Elizabeth

[capnpugwash]

Well, as usual we left home at a little after 10am and the drive to Southampton was absolutely beautiful. We had the perfect autumnal day with bright sunshine all the way,it was glorious and a stunning start to our short holiday.

We arrived at the Ocean Terminal at about 11.20 and I bumped into one of the CSP Parking ladies who I have met on a few of my earlier cruises, it was a nice start to the boarding process to see a friendly face. We gave our luggage to the porter and the car keys to CSP and walked into the terminal, up the escalator and I thought I had arrived at Narita Airport; there was a sea of about 50 Japanese people in the Priority Boarding queue so we tagged on behind them and waited about 5 minutes to be called forward to a vacant desk. My cousin was working behind the registration desks, bringing key cards to the passengers so it was nice to see her smiling face as well. We had a kiss and a hug and Mrs P and I went through to the sitting area and waited to board. This started at a little after noon so we had to wait about 25 minutes but once the process started it was as smooth as silk and we were on by 12.15pm.

Our cabin is at the stern of the ship so we walked to lift C and went up to Deck 6. a short walk bought us to some double doors and a sign saying 6213 The Illingworth Suite. I opened the doors and we walked into a palace. It is 2000 square feet, which is bigger than our first house. It has a bedroom, big bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath, 4 foot square shower cubicle with 6 side jets, a lounge with 2 armchairs and a sofa, a wet bar and a dining room to seat 6. God I am so glad that I finally accepted the upgrade from a Q6/7 to a Q1. It is palatial. I hope that I will be able to settle in a normal cabin in future, but I would not have missed this experience for all the tea in China.

We went to the Queens Grill for lunch and we are on a table for eight at the rear of the room by a massive window, it is wonderful as was the food, I only had a little mushroom brioche and a turkey sandwich followed by two cups of fresh strong coffee. A pretty perfect lunch. Our waiters are David and Lisel and they are very attentive. Four of our tablemates turned up and they all seem very pleasant. We have arranged to all meet at around 7.30ish for dinner.

At 4pm we had our Emergency Muster and our Station is the Britannia Restaurant on Deck 2. What a beautiful room, in fact the whole interior of the Ship seems wonderful, very Art Deco and reminiscent of the 1930’s I imagine. The corridors on the cabin decks seem quite narrow to us for some reason, but overall it is a fairly spacious layout. The muster passed without incident, very few people arrived actually wearing their lifejackets, perhaps 10 or 12 but they soon were advised to remove them.

There was just a knock on our door and it was the couple from next door inviting us to a cocktail party tonight between 7 and 8pm, we are thinking of having one on Sunday which is the Formal night so we are having our personalised stationery printed, how very gauche but we had to do it. I have just got changed ready for the evening as I am heading for the Commodore Club to meet some fellow website folk and then I have to be back in the “Suite” (how posh is that) in time to collect Mrs P and go to the party, then dinner. Crikey I am supposed to be on holiday. J

We have just sailed away and the whistle was blown three times, I am not sure which ship we were greeting or maybe we were just saying goodbye to the home port, whatever it was, the sound was lovely.

More later

[Yankee Couple]

Sounds absolutely wonderful! Looking forward to additional posts. Enjoy your holiday! Try not to get too spoiled.

[alibabacruisers]

Hi Capn! We just missed meeting you and your wife as we disembarked this morning in the frigid cold...brrrr. We stayed in the balcony room 6195 right around the corner from you. I only ventured to that area once to see the wonderful double doors that hid that magnificent palatial room of yours. This was our first cruise o n QE but second with Cunard (first was on QM2 last year). The decor was very different but nice. We loved all the pretty art deco lighting fixtures throughout the ship as well as the beautiful blue used in the Royal Court Theatre. Met some very nice crew, one was Jenk in the Photo Gallery...he was most helpful to us and very delightful to speak with daily!! Could you please say helo to him from us if you see him (from Barbara and Ali)? Thanks. We tried many dishes in the Britannia Restaurant for the first time...like Lobster Thermidore and Banana Foster (don't know about Lobster, but the Banana Foster was very nice. I hope you and Mrs. P have a very nice short jaunt on QE and look forward to hearing more of your trip. Again sorry we missed the chance to meet you...have fun!

 

Barbara and Ali

[zider]

I am so pleased that you accepted the up sell, this is a cruise that you & your wife will remember for ever!! just enjoy the time aboard.

[pnhmrk]

I am envious of you in such luxury ;) :D

[MsDeva]

Envious here also! I have always wanted to have a peek behind those double doors ;)

 

Do hope you and Mrs P have a wonderful time.

 

Best

Judy

[scopewest]

Sounds fabulous and thanks for posting the details.

[north east girl]

Hi Capn, I guess your stateroom has the wow factor. The way you have describe it sounds wonderful.

 

Can you take loads of photos so we can all share your joy. Have a great time.

 

Catherine

[Dorchester]

Good Evening Cap'n,

 

Firstly, congratulations to you and Mrs. P on the massive upgrade! So pleased for you, and I hope that you enjoy it to the utmost. We have often had upgrades - but never to a Q1!

 

Please keep us updated on your progress, and I trust that your voyage will be a fantastic experience.

 

Regards,

David

[pepperrn]

Wonderful! I am so pleased for you, residing in your Q1. Thanks for posting, please keep the reports coming, good to get your observations on the best suite on QE.

 

Have a great voyage, looking foward to the next post, thank you.

[Cruachan]

...a lounge with 2 armchairs and a sofa, a wet bar and a dining room to seat 6.

 

Capn',

 

sounds fantastic. Just a pity they couldn't have dried out the bar before you got there. Was it a leak or what?

 

Have a great cruise.

 

:D:D

 

J

[Sauer-kraut]

The 'stewart' must have forgotten to leave some bar towels behind...;)

[patwell]

Wow Jim, that is some upgrade. Enjoy it....makes all of us green with envy!!

 

Have a wonderful trip and hopefully you'll get to meet my dear friend Bramcruiser ( David) and his partner from Canada....super people and I'm sure he was on the Roll Call. They're just back from a vacation in SOuth Africa which I can't wait to hear about. If you bump into him tell him I sent a Bpn Voyage message to his email.

 

Do enjoy your fancy accommodations!

 

Cheers, Penny

Penny’s Affair to Remember QM2 Review

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

November 10,2007...the “Affair” continued...did it ever!

 

October 16,2008...the “Affair” goes transatlantic as we sail in tandem with the grand QE2 on her final transatlantic voyage...what a thrill!

 

December 9, 2008....the “Affair” resumes again....Life is good!

 

July 30, 2009....transatlantic again...some “Affairs” just get better

 

August 7, 2009....the “Affair” goes on...this time “home” to Norway

 

Feb. 7, 2010....the “Affair” takes a sunny detour when Penny meets a Princess

 

Aug 14, 2010....the “Affair” returns to Norway, all the way to the top!

 

2011...North to Alaska!! A wilderness tour and cruise....sorry Cunard.

[capnpugwash]

I have just got back from the Commodore Club and no-one turned up for the meet and greet but there were a number of bar staff there that I knew from previous voyages and it was great to see them. I got there about 5.15 and the bar was packed, I‘ve never seen it that full on the first evening but there were a lot of previous passengers on board including about 8 gay guys from London at the bar who were a hoot. Their conversations were very wide ranging as were the names of the drinks that they ordered, it gives a whole new twist to a Pina Colada, I won’t say what their name for that drink was but you don’t need a degree to work it out. J

Dinner was delightful, our missing pair arrived and they are from Cheshire. A very nice couple. I think it bodes well for the voyage. After dinner Mrs P went back to our cabin and I followed my normal habit and went to the Commodore Club, I was bemoaning the fact that the waitresses were all unsmiling when a girl I knew from the QM2 arrived, she was smiley and bouncy and after a little hug and a kiss she got on with her work. She had only come back on board today in Southampton and is on board until June 2011 with no breaks. It is a tough life at Cunard I think, although sometimes I envy their travels. Of course it is a lot different being a passenger to being a crew member although it is sometimes easy to ignore. We lose an hour tonight and are due to dock in Amsterdam at 2am. I won’t be around to watch the mooring operation. It is almost time for bed so I will close now.

More later.

[Host Sharon]

Glad you are enjoying QE Jim. We loved her on the Maiden and found all the crew smiley and attentive. Pity you are arriving at Amsterdam so early - perhaps you will leave at a time to enjoy the sail down the canal.

[Vic The Parrot]

You've done well on that upgrade!

 

 

Can't wait to hear more. Enjoy! :)

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Cap'n, Congratulations on your upgrade.You and your wife enjoy the cruise aboard Queen Elizabeth :) Regards,Jerry

[northernsailor]

Sounds lovely! Is she not going via IJmuiden then? I'm due to do the same cruise but on QV in just under 3 weeks :)

 

Not so sure on her arriving at 2am, there is no way she could get there if she left Southampton at 5pm?

 

UPDATE: just checked, her eta is now 0930, as she's in the English Channel still i cant see which route she's taking - either way you should be up to see her dock hopefully :)

 

Chris

[hcrane]

Hi Cap'n - sorry we did not have more time to chat on the two day to Cherbourg - I too had a great surprise on my return to New York from Soton - got upgraded to a Q2 (Windsor Suite) from a Q6. Will be interested in comparing notes on the differences that getting bumped up four grades gives one (two come to mind - newspapers delivered on an iPad and having half liter bottles of water at your bedside).

Oh yes - those drinks - "P***s Collusus" maybe?

Best regards to you and the Mrs for a great voyage!

[Salacia]

Ahoy Cap'n! Hope you and Mrs. P enjoy every minute of your astounding voyage. Can't wait to read more about it! -Cheers, Salacia

[capnpugwash]

Either I had been misinformed or, more likely I had misunderstood that we were to arrive in Amsterdam at 2am, I awoke this morning to find that we were still at sea and our arrival time is 2pm. We woke just after 7.30am to be greeted by a grey sky with a smooth sea, the ship is wobbling a little and as we are at the stern we seem to have the motion exaggerated. It is fine and it does remind us that we are on a ship.

Prakash, our butler, served breakfast in our dining room and we were able to eat looking out at the iridescent wake of the ship as it stretched out behind us. The food served was enough to feed a small army of very hungry people so we barely dented it. I could get used to this life although it is quite surreal and possibly only to experienced once or twice. The wet bar/kitchen is about 30% larger than a normal cabin, ridiculous really but interesting nonetheless.

The cocktail party next door was well attended with about 40 or so guests and 6 waiters serving champagne and other drinks. It was the 80th birthday of the host and he had brought along 20 of his “closest” friends to help him celebrate. We stayed about half an hour and as we left Chris Wells, the Captain turned up for a drink. Such are the circles that Mrs P and I move in currently! Looking out I see that fog is descending like a grey blanket, but at least it isn’t snow. It isn’t thick enough yet to have the foghorn going unfortunately, but maybe later. What a wonderful evocative sound that is.

I am going to the gym this morning while Mrs P has her nails done, they have three types of manicure on board. The first is a regular type, the second is called Fire and Ice which I imagine involves heat and cold and the one that we opted for is a shellac treatment which is “guaranteed” not to chip for 14 days, sadly we disembark in 5 so I don’t know quite how we are supposed to make any claim, maybe it is true, who knows.

More later.

[BigMac1953]

Jim

 

Glad to hear that you succumbed to the temptation and took up the Q1 offer, but will you ever associate with the likes of us again?

 

Have a good one!

 

Stewart (no, I didn't forget any towels)

[Ray66]

Sounds lovely! Is she not going via IJmuiden then? I'm due to do the same cruise but on QV in just under 3 weeks :)

 

Not so sure on her arriving at 2am, there is no way she could get there if she left Southampton at 5pm?

 

UPDATE: just checked, her eta is now 0930, as she's in the English Channel still i cant see which route she's taking - either way you should be up to see her dock hopefully :)

 

Chris

 

Looking at the webcam just now (10.14am) it looks like they're going through the lock at IJmuiden.

[heywood]

Oh - it sounds wonderful Cap'n.:)

 

Those QM2 showers after your early morning swims won't be so inpressive now you've experienced 6 jets :D

[capnpugwash]

The gym was difficult to find, or at least it was for me but eventually I found it and it is equipped with the state of the art machines. I did a bit of rowing and then I went on a hand cranking machine which was fairly good. There was a spinning class going on at the same time with about 15 people cycling like maniacs while the instructor was giving them massive encouragement and shouting very loudly, it must be good for you but it is too much for me, even listening to her enthusiasm wore me out. I am back in the cabin now and am going to explore the mysteries of our shower cubicle and how to get all six nozzles going at once! Such excitement and challenges to face.

We are being followed by another large white passenger ship which is about 400 yards off our stern and appears to be catching us up, I can’t see what or who it is even with the binoculars thoughtfully provided by Cunard as it is too foggy. I can just make out this ethereal apparition through the murk.

It is just on 10am and we have just passed the outer bar of Amsterdam harbour which will lead to the canal which will take us into the City. It is a shame that the weather is so poor as the decks and balconies are running in water due to the mist and drizzle and it really precludes venturing out unless you are wearing a sou’wester or some other waterproof gear. I don’t possess such items so I will look through the windows at it all in comfort.

We had asked for the suite to be cleaned at 10.15 so whilst Mrs P had her nails done I went for a stroll around the ship, I ended up on Deck 2 in the Golden Lion pub and caught the tail end of a trivia quiz. I learned that the Axilla is the medical term for the armpit, so the morning was quite productive.

We progressed through the canal and arrived at a low road crossing where we stopped. This roadway then dropped about 5 feet through its’ entire length and was then withdrawn to the left affording us clear passage. Having passed through, it was returned to its’ original position and the traffic started to cross again. So we are now heading along a much wider body of water which may well be a canal but the sides are too far away to see whether they are man made or natural. This will eventually lead us into Amsterdam itself where we stay until tomorrow evening.

There is no Chart Room bar on board, it has been replaced by a larger and repositioned Britannia Club restaurant which I think is a real shame. It was a lovely bar on the QM and an acceptable venue on the QV. The feature of these Vista Class ships is that there are few separate rooms with everything being effectively a bulge from the main corridor. O ne exception is the pub which is a separate room with small square windows forming a divider from the corridor. The casino is opposite and is quite a large space where I imagine Cunard hope to add to their income, there were only a handful of people playing slot machines, they all looked far too complex for me to grasp so I kept my cash in my pocket. One innovation is the ability to insert the cruise card/room key into these machines and play against your on board account, seems a little dangerous to me as it must be so easy to run up a substantial bill if you are on a losing streak. Maybe there are restrictions as to the amount you can spend each day but I am not aware of any.

More later.