Capnpugwash is on the QM2 to New York, May 10 2011

[capnpugwash]

Here we go again: I woke this morning to the sun rising in a bright blue sky which is my favourite way to wake. Trouble was that it was only just past 5am but I admit I was a bit like a child at Christmas with the prospect of returning to the QM2 for a round trip voyage to the Big Apple. I laid in bed for a while trying to doze off but after 45 minutes I gave it up as a bad job and jumped in the shower. With that done, I started to pack for the trip. I have this process quite refined by now and less than an hour later I was ready to go, trouble was that it was still only 8am. I had my final breakfast with my family and sorted as few work things out, a final cup of coffee and I was off to Southampton. It was 10.45 and I pulled up to the Ocean Terminal through Dock Gate 4 at 12 noon. Within 20 minutes I was on board and walking around bumping into some old friends working on the ship, as always it was great to see them all. I visited a couple of bars and had a small beer in each and then thought that it was time to unpack. I am on deck 6 in a D5 inside cabin and whilst I do miss the daylight, the cabin is perfectly adequate for my needs and it has the added bonus of being directly next to stairway A which leads to the Spa, gym and more importantly the Commodore Club.

I popped to the King’s Court to grab a couple of cheese rolls at around 2 and sat for half an hour with a lovely Scottish lady who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was widowed last year after nearly 50 years of marriage and has travelled extensively and lived in about six different countries, she was a really interesting person and quite typical of a lot of people that I have met on board Cunard ships. After this I went to the Spa and was able to get a good deal on a 14 day pass for only $180, which considering a one day pass costs $35 was a hell of a deal.

The weather was so glorious this afternoon that I sat on deck 7 for an hour or so in the sunshine watching the 6 or so joggers circling the deck. After the Muster drill I popped up for my first visit to the Commodore Club where there were another 4 or 5 staff that I have met over the years, we had a good time chatting, a couple of Margaritas and back to the cabin to chill out and get ready for dinner.

More later.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Cap'n, Have fun on your back2back QM2 transatlantic crossing :) Regards,Jerry

[Bollinge]

Queen Mary 2 Back to Back TA May 10 2011

Queen Mary 2 Back to Back TA June 3 2011

Queen Mary 2 Westbound TA June 24 2011

Queen Mary 2 Eastbound TA July 6 2011

Queen Mary 2 Back to Back TA July 20 2011

Queen Mary 2 Back to Back TA November 10 2011

Queen Mary 2 Back to Back TA July 27 2012

 

Pugwash - You'll be charged council tax on your new permanent residence at this rate!

 

Or are you an M.P. claiming for a second home?

 

:D

[north east girl]

Hi Capn, Been waiting for this post all day wondering when you were going to start your live from QM2.

 

Wish I lived as close to Southampton as you, would love it.

 

Looking forward to you next post, have a great time on board.

 

Catherine.

[Summergee]

Hi Capn. Pleased you are sharing another journey with us.

 

Our sons were in a D5 on deck 6 last year (6007) and each time the foghorn sounded their room vibrated. They went to the purser annd were given earplugs. Hopefully you will not have as much fog as we did last July!

[thranite]

Hi Capn, Been waiting for this post all day

 

Catherine.

 

You must lead a very interesting life!

 

:rolleyes:

[cruiserking]

Hi Cap'n,

 

Enjoyed reading your first travel post entry as always. Looking forward to seeing QM2 arrive in Manhattan for change, always a big thrill for us west side folk.

 

Have a great voyage over.

 

Jonathan

[rafinmd]

Have a great voyage, Capn.

 

Roy

[FoghornLeghorn]

Have a wonderful time on the QM2!!

Looking forward to your posts, as always.

 

I'll be in 5164 next year - if you get down that way, would you let me know if it looks like a good location?

[_kerry_]

What a fabulous life you have ! Enjoy your voyage :)

[dreamgirl1]

Can't tell you how envious I am of your trip! Sneaked a peak at my office today of the QM2 bridge cam and thought what a glorious day the ship was enjoying sailing down the Solent!

For the first time in several years, husband and I don't have a transatlantic booked but hopefully that will change soon! Have a lot of fun in the Commodore Club for us (we are always on the Deck 9 so we happily consider the Club our "local") and please tell our beloved ship we hope to see her soon!

[bluemarble]

Best wishes for a pleasant and memorable voyage, Capn. In honor of the occasion, here are two images from the Ryde webcam today showing the QM2 followed a few minutes later by the QV. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Regards,

John.

[patwell]

Bon Voyage AGAIN Jim.....your audience awaits a bit of vicarious living!!;)

 

AIS shows you are about to clear land at Penzance running 23.7 knots....out to sea again!! Look forward to the updates as always. If you bump into my friend onboard you can tell them I survived! :rolleyes:

 

Safe journey....

 

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.

[phoebecat]

Just up with a cup of coffee and reading your posts - the best way to start a day when it's not on board a Cunard vessel of course! So looking forward to hearing more about your trip, and wishing desperately that Mr Phoebecat and myself were with you! Bon Voyage!

[north east girl]

You must lead a very interesting life!

 

:rolleyes:

Yes very, I'm off work this week, I just enjoy reading other peoples cruise experiences.

 

Capn, always describes his journey very well, you feel as though you are on board with him.

 

Catherine

[capnpugwash]

Update No 1

 

I had a couple of pre-dinner cocktails in the Chart Room which is a lovely bar and the string quartet was performing, it comprises 4 young ladies, and they were so very good and their performance was evocative of how I like to imagine the elegance and charm of travelling by ship in days gone by. You don’t get that in Airports, do you?

 

I am on a table for 8 in Britannia, right by the window. There were only 5 of us last night, which is quite normal as some people have travelled a long way to the ship and are understandably weary. We all had a pleasant dinner, the service and food were as good as I recalled and we chatted nicely throughout the meal. It was an excellent start to the trip.

 

I was making my way forward after dinner to the Commodore Club and I bumped into Campbell Simpson playing the piano in the Grand Lobby, his audience were mostly asleep which is a real waste of his enormous talent. He normally plays in the Commodore Club in the evenings, but apparently not at the moment for some reason. As I entered the bar I was followed by none other than Roger Daltrey of the great group, The Who. It is rumoured that he will be performing on board some time later this week, which should be good fun. We also have 8 or so actors from RADA who will offer acting workshops and perform both Much Ado About Nothing and The Canterbury Tales, these plays have been adapted for on board performance and each of them will only take one hour to perform. Depending upon when they perform it might be interesting to attend.

 

We gained our first hour last night and have made good progress into the North Atlantic. The seas are slight, we have a force 4 head wind and we have sailed 346 nautical miles since departing Ocean Terminal. The barometer is steady although we have a forecast of intermittent showers for today. The long term forecast gives us a smooth crossing with very little in the way of Ocean motion. But you know how inaccurate weather forecasting can be. The sea is a royal blue in colour and there are some light fluffy clouds in the sky, quite beautiful really.

 

With an inside cabin I slept comfortably until just after 6am, (which is 7am really.) the absence of daylight does make sleeping easy with just a narrow strip of light from the passageway shining under the door.

 

Last week the ship was on a short cruise from Hamburg to Hamburg with a call at Copenhagen so there were over 2000 Germans on board, Cunard has a good relationship with Hamburg and turned the Winter Garden into a Beer Garden for them. There are only 800 of them remaining on board for the trip to the USA.

 

It is almost 7.30 and breakfast time is fast approaching so I must get moving and prepare for another day in paradise on board this wonderful ship.

 

More later.

[north east girl]

Hi Capn, How wonderful to get the chance to see Roger Daltrey sing. I bet you feel as though you are back home.

 

I'm not back at work until next week, will enjoy reading your posts and wishing I was on board.

 

If only I could win the lottery, I know what I would do with the money.

 

Catherine

[capnpugwash]

Update No 2

 

Breakfast of porridge and Eggs Benedict was predictably nice, and was as welcome to me as the several cups of coffee which I had, coincidentally I was escorted to the same table this morning that I am on at night which meant that I had a great view through the window as we cut our way through the fairly flat and uninteresting sea.

 

After that I went up to the spa, there is a pool which is about 25 feet square and it has a serious flow from one end to the other caused, I imagine, by the copious stream of air infused water that erupts constantly beneath a metal tubular bench that you can lay down on, it is not the most comfortable of sensations to have enormous volumes of bubbles erupting underneath your body, it’s ok but I’m not totally convinced.

 

There is a sauna, three very warm steam rooms and plenty of chairs with footstools around the pool plus a large relaxation room with juices, water and a good selection of teas. Very civilised I thought. I went out on deck after my steam, to cool down and I got some very strange looks from people probably because it was quite cool with quite a wind blowing and I was sat in shorts and a tee shirt. The stares were wrapped up in warm jackets, hats and waterproofs, so I suppose I did look a little strange, perhaps even mad.

I have just had a letter pushed under my door and upon opening it; I find an invitation to dine with the Captain, Paul Wright, this evening. Two dinners with the QV and QM2 Captains within 3 weeks, does it get any better than that?  I phoned the Captain’s secretary to accept this kind invitation so I will be on best behaviour tonight, with any luck.

 

This afternoon is the CC get together and there are currently 29 people registered on the westbound segment of this round trip so we should hopefully have a good turnout and chat.

 

More later.

[bkecky]

 

Last week the ship was on a short cruise from Hamburg to Hamburg with a call at Copenhagen so there were over 2000 Germans on board, Cunard has a good relationship with Hamburg and turned the Winter Garden into a Beer Garden for them. There are only 800 of them remaining on board for the trip to the USA.

 

 

Wow! I would certainly be using the Winter Garden if I was onboard!

[transatlantic fan]

Update No 1

 

I had a couple of pre-dinner cocktails in the Chart Room which is a lovely bar and the string quartet was performing, it comprises 4 young ladies, and they were so very good and their performance was evocative of how I like to imagine the elegance and charm of travelling by ship in days gone by. You don’t get that in Airports, do you?

 

I am on a table for 8 in Britannia, right by the window. There were only 5 of us last night, which is quite normal as some people have travelled a long way to the ship and are understandably weary. We all had a pleasant dinner, the service and food were as good as I recalled and we chatted nicely throughout the meal. It was an excellent start to the trip.

 

I was making my way forward after dinner to the Commodore Club and I bumped into Campbell Simpson playing the piano in the Grand Lobby, his audience were mostly asleep which is a real waste of his enormous talent. He normally plays in the Commodore Club in the evenings, but apparently not at the moment for some reason. As I entered the bar I was followed by none other than Roger Daltrey of the great group, The Who. It is rumoured that he will be performing on board some time later this week, which should be good fun. We also have 8 or so actors from RADA who will offer acting workshops and perform both Much Ado About Nothing and The Canterbury Tales, these plays have been adapted for on board performance and each of them will only take one hour to perform. Depending upon when they perform it might be interesting to attend.

 

We gained our first hour last night and have made good progress into the North Atlantic. The seas are slight, we have a force 4 head wind and we have sailed 346 nautical miles since departing Ocean Terminal. The barometer is steady although we have a forecast of intermittent showers for today. The long term forecast gives us a smooth crossing with very little in the way of Ocean motion. But you know how inaccurate weather forecasting can be. The sea is a royal blue in colour and there are some light fluffy clouds in the sky, quite beautiful really.

 

With an inside cabin I slept comfortably until just after 6am, (which is 7am really.) the absence of daylight does make sleeping easy with just a narrow strip of light from the passageway shining under the door.

 

Last week the ship was on a short cruise from Hamburg to Hamburg with a call at Copenhagen so there were over 2000 Germans on board, Cunard has a good relationship with Hamburg and turned the Winter Garden into a Beer Garden for them. There are only 800 of them remaining on board for the trip to the USA.

 

It is almost 7.30 and breakfast time is fast approaching so I must get moving and prepare for another day in paradise on board this wonderful ship.

 

More later.

Capn,

If you get time can you find out any news on what may happen during the dry dock in Nov/Dec.

Enjoy the voyage.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Update No 2

 

Breakfast of porridge and Eggs Benedict was predictably nice, and was as welcome to me as the several cups of coffee which I had, coincidentally I was escorted to the same table this morning that I am on at night which meant that I had a great view through the window as we cut our way through the fairly flat and uninteresting sea.

 

After that I went up to the spa, there is a pool which is about 25 feet square and it has a serious flow from one end to the other caused, I imagine, by the copious stream of air infused water that erupts constantly beneath a metal tubular bench that you can lay down on, it is not the most comfortable of sensations to have enormous volumes of bubbles erupting underneath your body, it’s ok but I’m not totally convinced.

 

There is a sauna, three very warm steam rooms and plenty of chairs with footstools around the pool plus a large relaxation room with juices, water and a good selection of teas. Very civilised I thought. I went out on deck after my steam, to cool down and I got some very strange looks from people probably because it was quite cool with quite a wind blowing and I was sat in shorts and a tee shirt. The stares were wrapped up in warm jackets, hats and waterproofs, so I suppose I did look a little strange, perhaps even mad.

I have just had a letter pushed under my door and upon opening it; I find an invitation to dine with the Captain, Paul Wright, this evening. Two dinners with the QV and QM2 Captains within 3 weeks, does it get any better than that?  I phoned the Captain’s secretary to accept this kind invitation so I will be on best behaviour tonight, with any luck.

 

This afternoon is the CC get together and there are currently 29 people registered on the westbound segment of this round trip so we should hopefully have a good turnout and chat.

 

More later.

Cap'n, Since the QM2 sailed from Southampton yesterday, you have been invited to the Captain's table and met Roger Daltrey from the Who (Did you talk to him?) How Lucky can you get? If you can please ask Captain Wright if he is retiring real soon and what improvements will be done to the QM2 when she is put into drydock next November. Regards,Jerry

[Jimsgirl]

Though I know you are unlikely to drink them, can you tell me if the "new" juice/smoothie bar is in the Winter Garden on the QM2

 

I read this was to be a new feature, but have not read any reports on further developments.

 

Thank you

 

Lynn

[phoebecat]

Wow! I would certainly be using the Winter Garden if I was onboard!

 

Me too *winks* !

[William Dean]

I was followed by none other than Roger Daltrey of the great group, The Who.

 

Now had that been me I'd not have had a clue who he was. Even if he had a name badge on.

 

I'm afraid I'm underwhelmed. I'd have been more impressed had you seen young Peppern!!!!

 

WD

[northernsailor]

Sounds good so far Cap'n! Enjoy your meal with the Captain this evening!

 

Chris