Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Capnpugwash is going to the Canaries again

capnpugwash

By capnpugwash,
in Cunard Line

Recommended Posts

capnpugwash

capnpugwash

Posted
Posted

Another adventure begins, or to be strictly accurate it began when I woke this morning at a little before 6am, like a child eagerly anticipating Christmas Day. I am far from a child yet I still have that sense of excitement as a voyage draws near. I had started to pack yesterday so I was easily able to complete the exercise by breakfast time, which I enjoyed with my family. I wanted to get to the port by 1pm so I left home just after 11am and had a very pleasant drive down the A3 to Portsmouth and then the M27 to Southampton. I detoured slightly through a suburb called Woolston and I was thus able to cross the new Itchen Bridge for a mere 50 pence toll. This cuts off the traffic in Southampton and brought me out about 300 yards from Dock Gate 4. The ship was moored at Berth 46 and as I parked there a little after 12.30. I joined a queue of cars waiting for C&PS staff to process them for valet parking. 10 minutes later I was on the escalator up to the registration area, I filled in the requisite vomit/no vomit form, handed over my passport and credit card and after a quick photo was through the Metal Detector arch and on board. I bumped into my cousin who has many jobs, one of which is passenger registrations at Southampton Docks; it was lovely to see her as it has been a good few months since the last time. Once on board I believe that I have been upgraded. I booked 4020 which is a B6 balcony and I find that I am in 8020, another balcony, no idea what the grade is but I will make some enquiries.

I went up to the Lido for a light lunch and was surprised to have the buffet served to me by waiters, I asked if there was a Norovirus warning in effect and he denied this and said that it was perfectly normal on the first day, it could be but I don’t remember it happening before. We were give a letter before boarding about Health issues and a further one awaited on the bed in the stateroom so I think that there is a little more to it than this waiter knew, or possibly was saying.

Having eaten I took a stroll around the ship and found myself at the Spa and Gym areas. The day pass is $35 or $200 for 10 days, if there are 2 of you the price reduces to $320 combined. Seems like quite a deal. The steam rooms are in the spa and the gym changing rooms only have a sauna. I believe that the spa is now operated by the Steiner Company. The gym seems well equipped but I only use a bike and a rowing machine so my judgement may be flawed.

We have just had the Passenger Muster and it passed without incident, although it was 10 minutes late starting as passengers dawdled in when it suited them and a few strays were pointed to their correct muster station.

I am now back in the cabin sampling the Pol Acker, I normally sample it while I unpack but for some reason I neglected to do so today, my cases arrived about 1 hour after I boarded so I was able to put everything away and as I am travelling solo, space is not an issue.

For those of you who are detail oriented, there are 4 power outlets on the desk; 1 UK 220/240, 1 Continental 220 and 2 US 115 volt. There is a hair dryer in the drawer under the flat screen TV, a bible and a thick book of American stories occupy two of the bedside drawers and the others are full of my bits and pieces.

My stewardess is Melanie, a very pleasant and willing young lady from the Philippines.

We have just slipped our lines at 4.45pm and are creeping very slowly towards the Queen Elizabeth II terminal which is vacant, we seem to be waiting her now and have been for about 5 minutes, and it is as though the ship needed to get her breath, strange really.

My table allocation is number 528 which is upstairs in Britannia, one of my least favourite locations so I will be lurking at the Maitre D’s desk at a little after 8pm to see what magic he can work, if any. Being solo might make matters easier to resolve but I could well understand how it could complicate things. We shall see.

We have now regained our breath and are heading along Southampton Water toward Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Our first ports of call after two glorious sea days is Funchal, in Madeira, let’s hope for some wave action across the Bay of Biscay to remind us that we are actually on board a ship, and not ensconced in a 5 star hotel.

We have just passed a Red Funnel ferry and we had a serious whistle salute between the two vessels, quite charming. I think that I might head up to the Commodore Club for an early cocktail, after all one should start as one means to continue!

More later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cruachan

Cruachan

Posted
Posted
Our first ports of call after two glorious sea days is Funchal, in Madeira, let’s hope for some wave action across the Bay of Biscay to remind us that we are actually on board a ship, and not ensconced in a 5 star hotel.

 

Hey Capn' - give all the ports you visit plenty warning that I'm on my way. I'll start to retrace your footsteps next Tuesday!

 

:D:D:D

 

J

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bluemarble

bluemarble

Posted
Posted

Great to read another live trip report from you, Capn. Entertaining and informative as always. I was able to catch a glimpse of the QV as you passed the Ryde webcam a few minutes ago.

 

According to the deck plans for the QV, I think you will find that your upgrade from stateroom 4020 to 8020 is an upgrade from category A6 to A2. Enjoy your trip!

 

John.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cruise Liner Fan

Cruise Liner Fan

Posted
Posted
Another adventure begins, or to be strictly accurate it began when I woke this morning at a little before 6am, like a child eagerly anticipating Christmas Day. I am far from a child yet I still have that sense of excitement as a voyage draws near. I had started to pack yesterday so I was easily able to complete the exercise by breakfast time, which I enjoyed with my family. I wanted to get to the port by 1pm so I left home just after 11am and had a very pleasant drive down the A3 to Portsmouth and then the M27 to Southampton. I detoured slightly through a suburb called Woolston and I was thus able to cross the new Itchen Bridge for a mere 50 pence toll. This cuts off the traffic in Southampton and brought me out about 300 yards from Dock Gate 4. The ship was moored at Berth 46 and as I parked there a little after 12.30. I joined a queue of cars waiting for C&PS staff to process them for valet parking. 10 minutes later I was on the escalator up to the registration area, I filled in the requisite vomit/no vomit form, handed over my passport and credit card and after a quick photo was through the Metal Detector arch and on board. I bumped into my cousin who has many jobs, one of which is passenger registrations at Southampton Docks; it was lovely to see her as it has been a good few months since the last time. Once on board I believe that I have been upgraded. I booked 4020 which is a B6 balcony and I find that I am in 8020, another balcony, no idea what the grade is but I will make some enquiries.

 

I went up to the Lido for a light lunch and was surprised to have the buffet served to me by waiters, I asked if there was a Norovirus warning in effect and he denied this and said that it was perfectly normal on the first day, it could be but I don’t remember it happening before. We were give a letter before boarding about Health issues and a further one awaited on the bed in the stateroom so I think that there is a little more to it than this waiter knew, or possibly was saying.

 

Having eaten I took a stroll around the ship and found myself at the Spa and Gym areas. The day pass is $35 or $200 for 10 days, if there are 2 of you the price reduces to $320 combined. Seems like quite a deal. The steam rooms are in the spa and the gym changing rooms only have a sauna. I believe that the spa is now operated by the Steiner Company. The gym seems well equipped but I only use a bike and a rowing machine so my judgement may be flawed.

 

We have just had the Passenger Muster and it passed without incident, although it was 10 minutes late starting as passengers dawdled in when it suited them and a few strays were pointed to their correct muster station.

 

I am now back in the cabin sampling the Pol Acker, I normally sample it while I unpack but for some reason I neglected to do so today, my cases arrived about 1 hour after I boarded so I was able to put everything away and as I am travelling solo, space is not an issue.

 

For those of you who are detail oriented, there are 4 power outlets on the desk; 1 UK 220/240, 1 Continental 220 and 2 US 115 volt. There is a hair dryer in the drawer under the flat screen TV, a bible and a thick book of American stories occupy two of the bedside drawers and the others are full of my bits and pieces.

 

My stewardess is Melanie, a very pleasant and willing young lady from the Philippines.

 

We have just slipped our lines at 4.45pm and are creeping very slowly towards the Queen Elizabeth II terminal which is vacant, we seem to be waiting her now and have been for about 5 minutes, and it is as though the ship needed to get her breath, strange really.

 

My table allocation is number 528 which is upstairs in Britannia, one of my least favourite locations so I will be lurking at the Maitre D’s desk at a little after 8pm to see what magic he can work, if any. Being solo might make matters easier to resolve but I could well understand how it could complicate things. We shall see.

 

We have now regained our breath and are heading along Southampton Water toward Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Our first ports of call after two glorious sea days is Funchal, in Madeira, let’s hope for some wave action across the Bay of Biscay to remind us that we are actually on board a ship, and not ensconced in a 5 star hotel.

 

We have just passed a Red Funnel ferry and we had a serious whistle salute between the two vessels, quite charming. I think that I might head up to the Commodore Club for an early cocktail, after all one should start as one means to continue!

 

More later.

Cap'n, From one ship fan which is me to another ship fan which is you, Have fun and enjoy yourself aboard the Queen Victoria :) Regards,Jerry
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruiserking

cruiserking

Posted
Posted

Have a wonderful voyage on the Queen Victoria Cap'n.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts from the Queen Elizabeth from your 5 night journey in November.

 

We will be sailing the QE on a five nighter this August and I was wondering if they still held the various World Club events during your voyage, the wine tastings and cocktail gatherings.

 

Thanks very much and enjoy your trip.

 

Jonathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Norfolk Brit

Norfolk Brit

Posted
Posted
Please tell me what that is - sounds alarming!

Joanna

 

It's a form they give you to complete at the terminal, asking if you have thrown up (or worse) in the recent past.

 

Providing you answer "yes", you will be allowed to board.

 

Sir Martin:cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thranite

thranite

Posted
Posted
It's a form they give you to complete at the terminal, asking if you have thrown up (or worse) in the recent past.

 

Providing you answer "yes", you will be allowed to board.

 

Sir Martin:cool:

 

Did you complete said form prior to your car journeys?

 

:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aggsy

Aggsy

Posted
Posted

I went up to the Lido for a light lunch and was surprised to have the buffet served to me by waiters, I asked if there was a Norovirus warning in effect and he denied this and said that it was perfectly normal on the first day, it could be but I don’t remember it happening before.

This seemed to be a regular thing after we visted a port where we berthed - Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore - lasted for two days. Was the same in the main restaurant - everything served by waiters ( even butter was in sealed packages) bit of a pain at breakfast as it slowed everything down, especially getting a cuppa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
capnpugwash

capnpugwash

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Update No 1

 

I went up to the Commodore Club and bumped into some friends that I had cruised with a couple of times before and I also met a few members of Cruise Critic, which was great, they were really nice and friendly people.

 

I got down to the Britannia 10 minutes early and went to the head of the queue, opening the very heavy fire door to access the Maitre d’. One of the reasons that I wanted to alter my assigned table was to enable me to spend mealtimes with a couple of friends who are also on board. The Maitre d’ was very helpful and hopes to be able to accommodate our request today. To the obvious relief of the people waiting in the corridor, I went out and took my place in the queue. Dinner time was approaching and the doors eventually opened allowing the hungry hordes to enter, the waiters were lined up to help the diners to locate their tables and I was duly taken to mine. The table was massive, and set for 10 people. I was first to arrive and in due course I was joined by 6 ladies who were all travelling alone. 3 of the seats remained vacant, possibly because the prospective occupants were tired after their journeys to the ship; this is fairly common on the first evening. We struggled with conversation on the table because of the distance between us; it really is a large piece of furniture. Most of the ladies were charming, but one of them, who I happened to sit next to didn’t quite fit into this category. It was her first Cunard trip and unfortunately nothing was right with her meal. We both ordered beef, mine was medium and hers medium rare. Mine was absolutely fine but she said that her meat was cold; I seem to be plagued by people who are unlucky with their food choices but I think that meat that is medium rare will be cooler than meat that is cooked for longer, isn’t that just physics?

Anyway she chose not to tell the waiter to allow him to remedy the situation, but rather to complain incessantly to me. She was a quite strange lady. There were some other issues between us during the meal which really strengthens my resolve to move tables or maybe to sit as far away from her as I can.

 

I escaped from dinner as early as possible and returned to the Commodore Club, there was a recent review published concerning the QV and one of the major criticisms was levied at the bar staff in that location. I think that I must agree, the barman lacks the usual sparkle that the majority of his colleagues normally exhibit, and it is not that he is new so I can’t quite put my finger on what the problem is. It might prove enough to deter me from spending much more time up there, hopefully not but time will tell.

 

The sea was a little lumpy overnight but is now almost flat calm, we have made the turn to head south west across the Bay of Biscay. It is cloudy with some sun peeking through, not very warm but not cold either. Our current speed is a little over 19 knots.

 

I am having email problems so I went down to the Internet Centre on Deck 1, the guy there tried to help me but his knowledge was pretty limited, I couldn’t understand why until he explained that I should come back later and talk to John, his boss, who would be able to help, I looked at his nametag and found that his name was Vladimir and that he was a dancer; just standing in for the computer expert. On board ships, it seems that everyone has to do everything, whether or not it is outside of their comfort zone.

 

After this little adventure I thought that it was time for a nice cup of tea, I am currently in Café Carinthia with a cup of Assam tea which is just what I needed. I seem to be taking a long time to get going this morning, I was a little late to bed but that doesn’t normally have this effect, I blame the waves and the soporific nature of cruising. I had intended to get to the gym today but it is looking more and more unlikely, still tomorrow is another day.

 

After the tea I walked forward through the Queen’s Room where about 70 to 80 people were taking a line dance class, some of them looked quite polished as though they were regulars, others were definitely in need of the lesson that they were taking, but they all seemed very committed to the whole thing.

 

I am back in the cabin and have been sitting on the balcony which is on the port side of the ship, I have never seen so many ships in the Bay before, I can see 10 other vessels of various types, from large container ships to a solitary fishing boat.

 

We are about a quarter of the way across the Bay and the weather is quite delightful, the sun is shining as the earlier clouds have burned off, the sea is dark blue with millions of sparkles reflecting up towards me as the sun strikes the surface of the tiny ripples. I think that I am going to sit out and get some fresh air into me.

 

More later

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Salacia

Salacia

Posted
Posted

Partial quote

.

 

We are about a quarter of the way across the Bay and the weather is quite delightful, the sun is shining as the earlier clouds have burned off, the sea is dark blue with millions of sparkles reflecting up towards me as the sun strikes the surface of the tiny ripples. I think that I am going to sit out and get some fresh air into me.

 

 

Hi Cap. Enjoyed Update #1, especially those last sentences which I read a few times just to get the full effect:) Enjoy the sparkles and the salt sea air! Cheers, -S.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
capnpugwash

capnpugwash

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Update No 2

 

I spent a very pleasant hour on my balcony listening to an audio book called Rumpole on Trial by John Mortimer, I imagine that my neighbours on the adjacent balcony may have thought that I had totally lost my marbles as I was, on a couple of occasions, unable to stop myself laughing out loud at the very humorous book, a little like singing along tunelessly to music when listening to it on earphones. As I sat there, I was treated to a massive school of porpoises leaping and frolicking out of the sea on the port side of the ship. Is school the correct collective noun? Maybe it should be pod or something else entirely.

 

I skipped lunch as I had eaten well at breakfast time and at 2.30 will go up to the Commodore Club for the CC meet and greet. There were 9 of us and we chatted for about an hour and then I went with Rebecca and bought the 10 day spa pass, $16 a day is a very good deal. I went and got some swim wear and returned for a swim and a steam, it was very nice; the spa hydro pool is about 20 feet square and it was as warm as a bath. The steam could have been a little hotter but it was perfectly ok.

 

Great news! The internet techy was able to sort out my email problem, something to do with ports and authentication. I have a reasonably good grounding in computers and stuff but I don’t understand ports and why there is a need to change the one that you use, it doesn’t really matter as long as it works, does it.

 

I am going to get dressed ready for dinner now, it is the first of two back to back formals, and is designated as the Black and White ball. That is quite easy for me, obviously.

 

There has been a development on the table situation, I got a card from the restaurant telling me that the Maitre d’ has arranged it so that I can sit with my two friends, that is the good news, the bad news is that they are joining me on the table from hell that I was sat at last night. It will be fine, I am sure. I will just have to select my seat carefully and position my self as far away from that lady as possible.

 

More later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Justimagine

Justimagine

Posted
Posted
Another cracking update Cap'n, please let us know if you manage to avoid the diner from hell, my fingers are crossed for you.;)

 

We can only hope that the "diner from hell" doesn't read Cruise Critic. Or, on second thought, maybe we hope she does.

 

Joanna

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...