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

[Venator Caudicum]

Take a wild guess at what?

 

You're not playing at being stupid, are you?

[jcruizer]

Thanks Capt for the interesting day by day post. I am enjoying it.

 

The Spa selection on the menu is the healthier choice. I tried it a few times and it was very nice.

 

Janice

[Cruise Liner Fan]

You're not playing at being stupid, are you?

No I thought that it was you being stupid :p

[Boytjie]

Or maybe they were going to save it for their dog. I often have thouught about it when I am on a cruise.

 

Maybe they had a dog in the kennel on board. :D

[capnpugwash]

Update No 11

 

I went to the CWC cocktail party and bumped into a few old faces from the ship and we had a fine old time, I was speaking to one of the Engineering Cadets named Tom who hails from near Portsmouth. He has only been on board for four weeks but seems to be a charming young man with a great future ahead of him.

 

After this was dinner which was a lot of fun, it seems that the table is gelling and the meal passed remarkably quickly and in no time, it was 10.30 and we all parted company to go to the bars, shows or casino. I went to my usual haunt and there was a good crowd in the bar and as they say in Ireland, the craic was mighty.

 

Tonight we gain another hour, which sadly, I thought happened last night so it is now 12.45am, which is quite early really. Still tomorrow is another day and I have to do it all again!

 

The weather is foggy again with a slight sea that appears almost oily, the sea is slight with a force 3 breeze and the temperature is 63/17 degrees with a steady barometer. We have sailed 2201 nautical miles and only have 998 to go.

 

More later.

[north east girl]

Update No 11

 

I went to the CWC cocktail party and bumped into a few old faces from the ship and we had a fine old time, I was speaking to one of the Engineering Cadets named Tom who hails from near Portsmouth. He has only been on board for four weeks but seems to be a charming young man with a great future ahead of him.

 

After this was dinner which was a lot of fun, it seems that the table is gelling and the meal passed remarkably quickly and in no time, it was 10.30 and we all parted company to go to the bars, shows or casino. I went to my usual haunt and there was a good crowd in the bar and as they say in Ireland, the craic was mighty.

 

Tonight we gain another hour, which sadly, I thought happened last night so it is now 12.45am, which is quite early really. Still tomorrow is another day and I have to do it all again!

 

The weather is foggy again with a slight sea that appears almost oily, the sea is slight with a force 3 breeze and the temperature is 63/17 degrees with a steady barometer. We have sailed 2201 nautical miles and only have 998 to go.

 

More later.

Hi Capn, What day do you sail into New York? I know from experience it is very early morning. Will you get up to enjoy the view? I know you have done losts of TA's, does it become old hat.

 

When we did our TA it was hard to see the Statue of Liberty, it was very dark. The New York sky line was amazing, all lit up.

 

Catherine

[capnpugwash]

Catherine, I think that we will go under the bridge at 4.30am on Tuesday May 17th and I will be up watching. I get a big lump in my throat whenever I see the Statue of Liberty and I delight in the NYC skyline even though, or perhaps because I have visited the city so often and so many times over the last 25 years.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 12

 

It is 6.10am on Sunday May 15 2011, as I woke this morning there is stillness about the ship, I thought that the fog had cleared but the foghorn has just sounded and the bridge camera shows the bow of the ship eerily surrounded by an almost impenetrable murkiness. It looks like a big white cat sitting in the dark. There is almost no movement in the water; the sea state and wind strength and direction has not altered and we only have 880 miles remaining on our journey so we have made little progress overnight. But that is ok as I am in no real rush to get there.

 

I had an overwhelming desire for a bacon sandwich so I chose to go to King’s Court and assembled the fixings for the sandwich; I even put some mushrooms into it. All that was missing was ketchup which I couldn’t find, albeit I didn’t look too hard or ask anyone. A cup of coffee and a banana completed the feast. It was really lovely and a pleasant change to my usual breakfast. The decks are awash with moisture from the fog and joggers and power walkers, I had a phone call to make so I took my life in my hands and went out on deck. It was quite a pleasant temperature although the visibility was very limited.

 

I am back in the cabin now preparing to head up to the spa for my daily treat.

 

More later.

[thranite]

It looks like a big white cat sitting in the dark.

 

At least it's not an orange cat. Then there would really be cause for concern.

 

:D

[north east girl]

Catherine, I think that we will go under the bridge at 4.30am on Tuesday May 17th and I will be up watching. I get a big lump in my throat whenever I see the Statue of Liberty and I delight in the NYC skyline even though, or perhaps because I have visited the city so often and so many times over the last 25 years.

Hi Capn, It is nice to know that the thrill of coming into New York never goes away.

 

I remember our first time for our anniversary and do wish to repeat the experience. At least you have a nice relaxing journey back to look forward to.

 

Catherine

[capnpugwash]

Update No 13

 

The spa was very quiet this morning and after about an hour or so relaxing up there, I headed back to my cabin. At lunchtime I took a walk around deck 13, and I ended up on the Terrace Bar on deck 8 via the stairs at the back of the deck that lead to the Grills terrace. I have never been on that restricted area before and the whole thing looked like a seal colony with the occupants dressed in heavy clothing laying on their comfy sun beds out cold, mouths agape. It was nicely warm and the fog has lifted, the forecast for tomorrow and even for our arrival in New York is possible fog with some rain. I really hope that the forecast is as accurate as normal and that the sun is shining.

 

There is a showing at 5pm of the King’s Speech in Illuminations and I am determined to see this one. It is a formal night, in fact it is the final formal of this crossing and also they are holding the Senior Officers Cocktail Party at 7.30 in the Queen’s Room before dinner. I don’t usually attend these but I understand that they serve proper drinks like Champagne rather than the good old Pol Acker. So it might be OK, the good thing is that I know a few of the passengers that will be attending so it might be good fun and they don’t lock the doors so I can always leave if needs be.

 

The situation has developed and I am wavering over my plan to go to the film, it has a running time of two hours and I just think that this might leave time a little tight to get changed for dinner and get to the party. I think that they will show it again next week so I will try to catch it then.

 

More later.

[Oahucruiser]

From the looks of the webcam, it is an amazingly flat sea. Our April 19th crossing from Southampton to NY was the same which was totally different from several previous April crossings. Quite unusual!

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Cap'n, According to nycruiseinfo.com, the QM2 will be docking at Manhattan's West Side Piers because a Princess Cruise Ship the Caribbean Princess will be docked in Brooklyn.I am saying this in case you did not know.A lot of people do prefer Manhattan sailings over Brooklyn sailings. Regards,Jerry

[capnpugwash]

Jerry, thanks for the update, we were aware on board that we were going to be in the city and am looking forward to it.

 

Update No 14

 

The cocktail party was good fun and there were less than 100 people there which made it far more pleasant. Dinner was good tonight although the usual Beef Wellington wasn’t offered; they did have a fillet steak which most of the table had with the addition of lobster tails. I had a lovely pasta dish and ignored the lobster totally. One of our tablemates is an undertaker from Ohio and he was going to enquire whether it would be possible to arrange a visit to the on board mortuary, it is interesting what some people look to do as pastimes.

 

We had the Parade of Chefs and they were all very well received with rapturous applause and some cheering. They do a really exceptional job in my opinion.

 

The weather is a great deal warmer; the sea temperature has risen to 69/20 degrees with the air temperature steady at 64/18 degrees. The barometer is steady; the sea is smooth with 1 foot wavelets and we have a south-westerly breeze which measures force 2. we gain 1 further hour tonight prior to our last day before New York tomorrow and we only have 531 nautical miles left of our journey. Our current speed is 18 knots.

 

More later.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Capn

We watch the King's Speech last night. I really enjoyed it.

 

Let us know what you think, when you finally get to see it.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 15

 

Today is Monday May 16 and I woke at 6.30am to partly cloudy and hazy skies with some fog, a force 3 gentle breeze from the south, an unchanged sea state and a steady barometer. There is very little movement on board the ship with these conditions and we are travelling at 17 knots. We have a mere 382 nautical miles to complete our westbound journey. The foghorn is being sounded regularly and continues to thrill me whenever I hear it. I should grow up I suppose, but to be honest, there are a lot of things that I should do!

 

A question which is often asked is how far away the horizon from a ship is, it is all to do with the height of the viewer’s eye level, for example from the bridge of the QM2 the distance is 14 nautical miles, and from the Promenade deck it reduces to 12.5. A nautical mile is equal to 1.15 land miles so roughly speaking; the horizon is a touch over 14 miles from the Promenade. A large ship would become visible to a lookout on the bridge at around 20 miles. I just thought that you might be interested to know that.

 

Today is packing day for 99.4% of the passengers, that doesn’t include me or the other 149 back to back passengers, which is so fantastic. I imagine that the ship will be fairly quiet later today as people head off to their beds in contemplation of an early start to view our entrance into New York Harbour, or should I say Harbor?

 

At breakfast I met a lovely lady whose husband has unfortunately developed Norovirus, this is his third day of confinement and by this evening or tomorrow morning he should be clear of all the symptoms. He really wanted some breakfast today but is absolutely restricted to his cabin. I asked if she was going to take him some food but it appears that his food has to be specially prepared and delivered by some luck crew member so that the Medical Department are able to closely monitor his intake and, I imagine, his output. Now that job wouldn’t suit me or most people at all. I never think of these things but when I encounter them, they make perfect sense of course.

 

More later.

[SeaMatesNYC]

Apologies in advance for the ugly weather NYC is expecting tomorrow. Winds 10-20 mph. High 64 F. Chance of rain 90% with possibly over an inch expected. At least you will be able to leave it. They expect rain here for the next 6 days! Ugh!

[The Real PM]

Apologies in advance for the ugly weather NYC is expecting tomorrow. Winds 10-20 mph. High 64 F. Chance of rain 90% with possibly over an inch expected. At least you will be able to leave it. They expect rain here for the next 6 days! Ugh!

Just one more and you will have reached that magic number!:)

[CateW]

I am really enjoying your posts and anxiously awaiting our B2B August 22 adn 29th. Hopefully the temperatures will be significantly warmer so I can spend time outdoors. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[phoebecat]

Update No 15

 

 

At breakfast I met a lovely lady whose husband has unfortunately developed Norovirus, this is his third day of confinement and by this evening or tomorrow morning he should be clear of all the symptoms. He really wanted some breakfast today but is absolutely restricted to his cabin. I asked if she was going to take him some food but it appears that his food has to be specially prepared and delivered by some luck crew member so that the Medical Department are able to closely monitor his intake and, I imagine, his output. Now that job wouldn’t suit me or most people at all. I never think of these things but when I encounter them, they make perfect sense of course.

 

More later.

 

OMG, are you fated Dear Cap'n on being on ships with the dreaded lurgy? remember the Canaries? Eeeeeek. Are you getting up to do the sail-in to NY? We did it in 2009 and it was just magical - as was the sail-out.

[capnpugwash]

OMG, are you fated Dear Cap'n on being on ships with the dreaded lurgy? remember the Canaries? Eeeeeek. Are you getting up to do the sail-in to NY? We did it in 2009 and it was just magical - as was the sail-out.

 

Hi Pru

Yes I shall be up to see it especially as we are parking in Pier 88 on the Hudson. Can't wait.

[voyagerdreamer224]

I am really enjoying your posts and anxiously awaiting our B2B August 22 adn 29th. Hopefully the temperatures will be significantly warmer so I can spend time outdoors. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

------------------------------

Hi, Cate! I too am living vicariously through the Cap'n's posts for now, and looking forward to my first B2B August 22 & 29th. Have you joined our roll calls for those trips yet? Looking forward to meeting you on board. Meanwhile, we have another week ahead of us of wonderful descriptive postings from the Cap'n to enjoy.

 

Jane:)

[capnpugwash]

Update No 16

 

I was a little late getting to the spa this morning and it was about 10am, big mistake as it was jam packed with not a seat or chair to be had. I believe this is to do with today being the last day for pampering so I should have realised and got there earlier. Anyway the upshot was that I spent 75 minutes in the pool and got out just before I turned into a permanent prune, a lovely steam and then a cooling sit down in the relaxation room which has great seats and large stools and one way glass overlooking the walkers and joggers on the promenade deck, they were out in force as well but that may have been more to do with the sun starting to appear than potential withdrawal symptoms.

 

I was undecided what to do after but I decided to head to the pub to listen to the Dixie group which is made up from the ship’s orchestra, they were great and in addition I ran into Sheldon who I have known for a couple of years. He is currently the barman in the pub and has recently moved from Churchill’s lounge to work in the pub and the service bar of the Theatre. I sat with a German/American girl named Seffi who I met on the first day on board, I had a couple of pints of Guinness to accompany my fish and chip lunch. It was quite lovely, the fish which was cod was in a light batter and the chips were quite ok. She told me that she had met up with Roger Daltrey yesterday and that he told her that he is due to sing again tonight in the pub. This is not on the programme so it shouldn’t be too packed out. I certainly won’t miss this show and it will probably mean leaving dinner sharply, but I really think that is a small price to pay to witness this legend sing in such a small location.

 

The weather continues to be very calm but the ship has developed an almost imperceptible roll, I suppose that we are sailing across the troughs of the small waves as they come to the ship from the south, which is the port side. We are 208 nautical miles from New York and are expected to arrive in a little over 12 hours. The anticipation is all very exciting. Luggage has started to appear in the corridors so the crew have a busy 24 hours ahead of them fetching and carrying the bags and restocking the provisions on the ship once it arrives in Manhattan. They will only have between 9 and 10 hours to perform this miracle so it is highly likely that some things won’t make it on board. Of all things they are short of marmalade, so I think that we will get a few packs of the Smuckers brand which is an American brand of marmalade that is remarkably sweet and runny. Not the end of the world really, is it?

 

As tonight is the last evening, the dress code is elegant casual. Most people do seem to have adhered to at least the spirit of the codes all week, there have been a few white jackets and grey suits, but the ladies have all dressed very elegantly so their husbands tend to blend into the background somewhat.

 

More later.

[Lady Hudson]

Do go see the "Kings Speech" -- I've seen it twice and loved it both times. Glad you are having a great time. Katherine (from Pennsylvania).

[DKNYC]

Apologies in advance for the ugly weather NYC is expecting tomorrow. Winds 10-20 mph. High 64 F. Chance of rain 90% with possibly over an inch expected. At least you will be able to leave it. They expect rain here for the next 6 days! Ugh!

 

Ditto;)

I was in Times Square today wishing it was a day later, so I could walk over to the westside pier to see QM2. Unfortunately I can't get away from work tomorrow. BTW in case you didn't know the Statue of Liberty is having it's 125 th birthday this July 4.

 

Denise