Capnpugwash is back on the high seas, BTB on QM2

[Salacia]

Wow - that really riled up the emotions. Last time I checked we lived in a free world ( at least some of us) and we are entitled to our views. Just thought that it might be a wind up as it does seem a strange occupation - at least from my point of view. Obviously, everyone who posted with regards to my comments don't believe it is. Fine ,enjoy what the Capn has for lunch and dinner and his Spa days ad infinitum !!

 

BTW I do find this site very educational vis a vis cruising and I will continue to view it as long as I am not hanged drawn and quartered if I am caught on a cruise by some of the posters here.

 

You certainly are entitled to your opinions Aggsy. You can even continue to be contemptuous of others here for however long that is tolerated. But I doubt that you would be "hanged drawn and quartered" if you "are caught on a cruise by some of the posters here". In fact, I doubt that you would get any notice at all. But of course, that is only from my point of view.

 

And now if you'll excuse me, I shall return to reading Mr.Pugwash's posts which I find interesting, informative and often make me smile. -S.

[Aggsy]

You certainly are entitled to your opinions Aggsy. You can even continue to be contemptuous of others here for however long that is tolerated. But I doubt that you would be "hanged drawn and quartered" if you "are caught on a cruise by some of the posters here". In fact, I doubt that you would get any notice at all. But of course, that is only from my point of view.

 

And now if you'll excuse me, I shall return to reading Mr.Pugwash's posts which I find interesting, informative and often make me smile. -S.

 

 

As I said everyone is entitled to their opinion. What one person may find interesting another might find totally mundane . I wonder though if I am right and it is a wind -up will all those who castigated me apologise - actually for doing exactly the same as they accused me of. I am sure the Capn is a fine fellow but I cannot believe that there are not a few out there who agree with me. To say "as long as you are tolerated" seems rather rich considering you said, to quote "you are entitled to your opinion"

 

Anyway enough already I am sure the Capn's Spas and his menu are far more interesting than having a go at me.

[David2115]

Is this all some sort of wind-up. I have just looked at this site after a few months and I cannot believe this is serious. How can a man just travel back and forth across the Atlantic and write everyday about his mundane experiences and about "his friends" among the crew. It has to be a wind -up ,surely. What I find more extraordinary are the comments and egging on of some of the correspondents here. All I can say is there are some seriously sad and lonely people out there if this is true. For goodness sake get a life or better still get a good wife or husband ( or partner).

What a c**k,!!!

[philayl]

As I said everyone is entitled to their opinion. What one person may find interesting another might find totally mundane . I wonder though if I am right and it is a wind -up will all those who castigated me apologise - actually for doing exactly the same as they accused me of. I am sure the Capn is a fine fellow but I cannot believe that there are not a few out there who agree with me. To say "as long as you are tolerated" seems rather rich considering you said, to quote "you are entitled to your opinion"

 

Anyway enough already I am sure the Capn's Spas and his menu are far more interesting than having a go at me.

Ah, the first bit of sense you have made, they surely are!:p

[capnpugwash]

Update No 10

 

Dinner was very pleasant this evening, we have been joined by another couple from southern England, I wasn’t too hungry having had lunch but had some pea soup, a Caesar salad with extra anchovies and a small portion of pasta, it was perfect. I did go to the Commodore Club afterwards but didn’t stay very long as for some bizarre reason I am feeling quite tired. Tomorrow is the Martini mixology class but I will give that a miss as well.

 

Today is Tuesday June 7th and nothing has changed, weather wise. The sea remains very calm and the wind is from the south and is only a force 3. The temperature is 63/17 degrees so it seems to be warming up a little. The sky is a delightful baby blue with very light clouds, it looks quite promising. We only have 1400 nautical miles left until our arrival at Red Hook on Friday morning, and at just over 18 knots for 72 hours the mathematics work out pretty well for an on time arrival. We have covered 1830 nautical miles since leaving Southampton.

 

I went to the Britannia for a change this morning to have porridge and eggs Benedict, strange how much you can really miss the simple things. It was really nice as was the company at the table.

 

More later.

[omakim]

Thanks CapnPugWash.

 

For Aggsy or anybody: What does "wind-up" mean?

 

Sad and lonely Jon.

[BigMac1953]

Thanks CapnPugWash.

 

For Aggsy or anybody: What does "wind-up" mean?

 

Sad and lonely Jon.

 

Wind up: to goad (as in wind up a spring), to make fun of, to spin a yarn etc. etc.

 

Stewart

[rgaudet]

Wind up: to goad (as in wind up a spring), to make fun of, to spin a yarn etc. etc.

 

Stewart

 

Yup, exactly what aggsy is doing to us. Ignore him/her.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Yup, exactly what aggsy is doing to us. Ignore him/her.

 

I wasn't going to get into this, but there are way too many posts about the "wind-up." this thread is going to get long--the Capn has many days yet to sail on this trip. With the board having its slowdown moments, excess posts make some threads hard to load (this from a board announcement, I don't pretend to know how the computer works).

 

So let it go. And, by the way, if someone is really snarky (and this guy was), don't y'all know how to use the triangle? I almost did that, but I thought the post would be ignored. By the time it occurred to me to hit the triangle, he had been quoted a number of times and the whole thing got a life of its own.

 

I enjoy "vicarious cruising," but I don't like to wade through an argument to do it.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 11

 

Returning from the spa just now I walked along deck 7 from stairway A to D and it seemed so much quicker and shorter than walking through the inside of the ship, maybe because it was sunny and there were some flying fish off the port side, not as good as dolphins or porpoises but better than nothing, and certainly better than endless straight corridors. I was passed by 10 or 12 very impatient power walkers but live and let live I think, well not really but I am in such a caring mood. I am considering fish and chips for lunch in the Golden Lion or maybe the ploughman’s lunch, decisions, decisions.

 

There is excellent news on the pigeon front, according to the Captain at noon, the owners have been contacted by Cunard I imagine and they live in the north east of England, in the Tyne and Wear area. I wonder if there is a pigeon help line for lost birds or worried owners, but maybe they used the serial numbers on the leg rings to identify the owners. I am unsure whether the birds are going to be captured and restrained, if that is the correct terminology, prior to our arrival in New York, the Captain did say something but I was surrounded by a crowd of vociferous Spaniards talking at the top of their voices. Whatever the plan is, I hope that it works.

 

More later.

[rolfecms]

Cap'n, I always enjoy following your travelogues and your wonderful writing style, so please keep it up for all those who enjoy reading them.

 

BTW, I saw that you enjoy the battenburg cake. We had it at tea and really liked it. Do they serve it in the dining room too?

[capnpugwash]

Cap'n, I always enjoy following your travelogues and your wonderful writing style, so please keep it up for all those who enjoy reading them.

 

BTW, I saw that you enjoy the battenburg cake. We had it at tea and really liked it. Do they serve it in the dining room too?

 

Fortunately, they only serve it at afternoon tea:)

[T5LHR]

Update No 11

 

There is excellent news on the pigeon front, according to the Captain at noon, the owners have been contacted by Cunard I imagine and they live in the north east of England, in the Tyne and Wear area. I wonder if there is a pigeon help line for lost birds or worried owners, but maybe they used the serial numbers on the leg rings to identify the owners. I am unsure whether the birds are going to be captured and restrained, if that is the correct terminology, prior to our arrival in New York, the Captain did say something but I was surrounded by a crowd of vociferous Spaniards talking at the top of their voices. Whatever the plan is, I hope that it works.

 

More later.

 

Oi! Cheeky! :D

 

We don't all wear flat caps and have a Whippet... :D

[capnpugwash]

Oi! Cheeky! :D

 

We don't all wear flat caps and have a Whippet... :D

 

I didn't make it up, it happens to be where they are from.:confused:

 

Update No 12

 

The pub was quite busy but I managed to find a stool at the bar and I had a pint of Guinness and opted for the ploughman’s lunch which was nice and light, the Stilton was great but the cheddar was a bit soapy, still with the beer it was great, I went to Sir Samuel's and had a nice large espresso coffee which finished the lunch off perfectly, which is, of course, exactly what it is designed to do. The trestle tables were out in force in the main corridor on deck 3 but there was no-one browsing or buying. The bars seem strangely quiet as well, even in the evenings. I can’t explain why, even though the ship is running quite full and a lot of the passengers are first timers, they are not a particularly elderly bunch but they disappear from sight in the evenings.

The main show tonight is Alwyn Wright, she is billed as a crossover violinist and we are exhorted to watch, listen and be inspired. I need to find out exactly what a crossover violinist is or does! And also what she does that is so inspirational. Maybe the crossover bit comes from her being a medium that gets spirits from the other side to play the violin. It must be something like that and maybe I will go and find out, although I could be sneaky and find someone tomorrow who went and quiz them on it, which sounds far more feasible.

We have the penultimate formal evening tonight, there is no ball planned apparently so people will be free to do what they choose after dinner. Unless there is a sea change in their habits, it will probably involve them going to bed early.

It is now 6pm and we are south east of Newfoundland, the weather is misty, with slight seas and a force 3 breeze from the south west, the temperature is a balmy 70/21 degrees. We have now sailed 2003 nautical miles which only leaves 1204 to go.

More later.

[Lake Barcroft Sailor]

Pigeons on the QM2 and Albert the Osprey on the QV--at least to the Azores--on its April crossing from Fort Lauderale to Southampon. Perhaps the avian world is getting word of the luxury of sailing with Cunard and are flocking to get aboard.

[Cosmic Rays]

I find the Capn's posts to be invaluable in many ways. I'm taking my Dad on the QM2 in July and it's something that he and I are VERY excited about. We read the Capn's updates together and they provide us with a lot of great information to keep in mind when it's our turn on this great ship. My dad, having crossed on the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth when he was a kid, has such special memories of those crossings, the stories of which, my sister and I grew up hearing. The Capn's updates remind my Dad of the life he experienced on the high seas on Cunard ships almost 60 years ago. And since our particular QM2 voyage is not a crossing, we've been enjoying the "crossing experience" vicariously... And in each and every one of these updates we read, it stirs a memory in my Dad that he then regales me with more stories of his experiences on the original Queens.

 

And most importantly: although we may only be going on a 5 night excursion on the QM2 - creating a significant father/son memory of a lifetime - by enjoying all of the Capn's posts and what you refer to as mundane, it's allowing my Dad and I to have well over a month of Queen Mary excitement prior to even leaving, and building up the excitement to our day of departure.

 

We look forward to each and every post he writes... And even if it's as mundane as a report of what entree he had, or what direction he walked around Deck 7, it gives my Dad and I something else to share and say "not much longer and it'll be us having that entree, or taking that walk".

 

To imply that people have no life because they are enjoying these updates is laughable. I, myself, am in final rehearsals for a show that I'm starring in that premieres in Montreal at the end of the week, and then moves to New York in the fall. I luckily have a week off from it that allows me to take the QM2 excursion in July. That's HARDLY what I'd call "needing to get a life"! And I can promise you that many people also avidly enjoying the Capn's posts on here on this site, have lives that are equal to, or even more full than my own.

 

We are so grateful to people like the great Cap'n, and Pepperrn who give us insight into the Cunard experience and these ships in ways that we may not otherwise have, which can ONLY enhance our experiences when it's our turn to board.

 

Ignore the nonsense and keep posting Cap'n!!

 

Here, here!! I agree with all you say for I too crossed the Atlantic in 1967 as a 14 year old with my twin brother and parents. We also sailed to Cherbourg and back on the QM and QE in 1966. We were lucky boys then and so these days my wife of 33 years and I love to cruise and have been fortunate to do a crossing on the QM2 and also a five day trip

on the QE2 and 12 nights on the QV. This October we are doing a 17 night cruise - our longest to date of many now - on the Queen Elizabeth, and the Capn's posts continue to whet the appetite....................

[CruisinChris]

Capn -

I'm a cunard newcomer and wish you would continue all summer. The board will surely be quiet without your daily updates - through which I am living and learning daily. I LOVE transatlantics (my last was an 18 night transatlantic) but I am looking forward to my first CROSSING. Don't let up on the daily details...not everybody has been there done that on Cunard....:)

[DKNYC]

Hi Jim

As you may have heard by now the weather in NY is predicted to be quite hot and steamy. Might find you wishing for the rain that you got on your last visit. Take it easy and keep hydrated.

 

Denise

[Salacia]

Partial quote:

The pub was quite busy but I managed to find a stool at the bar and I had a pint of Guinness and opted for the ploughman’s lunch which was nice and light, the Stilton was great but the cheddar was a bit soapy, still with the beer it was great

More later.

 

Hi Cap. Once (and only once) I ordered a Plougman's Lunch in pub in London, accompanied by some very dark ale?beer? What exactly constitutes a Plougman's Lunch on QM2?

 

On your last QM2 voyage, you mentioned the occasional short power outages. Any reoccurrences on this voyages? Power outages are not uncommon where I live. I'm thinking of packing battery operated candles for my next voyage (no fire hazzard and nice ambient lighting).

 

BTW, Denise gave you a good alert regarding our weather forecast in NYC...hot and ugly - but you seem to like saunas, so Welcome to NY :)

 

Hope the nightlife on board picks up a bit during your voyage. You haven't mentioned the casino. I've never been to a casino on shore, but I do enjoy the occasional visit to the blackjack table and the roulette wheel just for fun while on board. Usually good company there on QM2.

 

Cheers,

Salacia

[capnpugwash]

Hi Jim

As you may have heard by now the weather in NY is predicted to be quite hot and steamy. Might find you wishing for the rain that you got on your last visit. Take it easy and keep hydrated.

 

Denise

 

Denise, thanks for the update, I don't want rain.

 

@ S On QM2 it is cheddar, stilton and ham, a bread roll, lettuce and pickle. There have been no brown outs at all. Had fun in G32 tonight but it was quite dead compared to other trips, still Gin & Tonic and muddled grapefruit gets you through the night. Absolutely changes the taste. Well done Sorin.

[Salacia]

Muddled grapefruit???

[capnpugwash]

Muddled grapefruit???

 

Yes, try it, it is great. Only a slice but it takes it to a new level.

[Salacia]

Yes, try it, it is great. Only a slice but it takes it to a new level.

 

ok, thanks I will...but how do you 'muddle' the grapefruit?:eek::)

[BigMac1953]

On your last QM2 voyage, you mentioned the occasional short power outages. Any reoccurrences on this voyages? Power outages are not uncommon where I live. I'm thinking of packing battery operated candles for my next voyage (no fire hazzard and nice ambient lighting).

 

 

I spoke with the head of the electrical dept last week onboard QM2 and asked him about the power cuts.

 

He told me that one was planned to carry out essential maintenance and only lasted a few minutes whilst berthed.

 

The other he said, was a little unfortunate, as it happened very late at night and he only had a skeleton crew but needed a couple of experts who had turned in already. The actual repair job only took a few minutes. The delay was getting the staff out of their beds. Apparently.

 

Stewart

[capnpugwash]

ok, thanks I will...but how do you 'muddle' the grapefruit?:eek::)

 

Basically just squash it with the back of a spoon or similar, in bars they use a wooden stick to crush it in a glass or other container.