capnpugwash is heading home from New York

[rgaudet]

Watching the sail away on the web came and you can see the Verrazano in the distance.

 

I watched some of it too. Will someone cure me of this #$^#ing QM2 addiction I seem to have acquired?!????

[capnpugwash]

PARTIAL QUOTE

 

Hi Capn. Thanks for the update regarding QM2's failed scores on inspection. I didn't know the inspection failed because of a chef's locker on King's Court. I added up the detracted points that lead to the failed score, and I thought it was more encompasing than just that one locker, but I'll go back and re-check my figures.

 

I understand and appreciate your feeling that the CDC should have conducted a follow-up inspection promptly following the failure of QM2 to pass inspection. However, my understanding is that these inspections are unannounced, random inspections. I doubt that is a case of inspectors "have not been bothered to revisit and re-evaluate the condition of the ship..." but rather that the importance of a random inspection is paramount.

 

BTW, am I correct in thinking that no staterooms are inspected during the CDC inspection?

 

Regards,

Salacia

P.S. Please forgive me, but since you raised the topic of inspection, I felt a relpy was in order.

 

If the conditions on this ship were as bad as USPH reported I think that it was imperative that they re-examne the ship or are they content now that they have made their pronouncement. They have had three opportunities to do a random re-inspection, two in NYC and one in Boston yet they have not done so. Every time this ship sails into a US port it has been cleaned thoroughly in anticipation of an inspection so the random or surprise visits are actually expected. As far as I can see there is no proper reason for their failure to perform their duty unless it is that things aren't as bad on board as they implied. You saw the amount of negative posts that the news attracted and I truly believe that the record should be set straight or that it should be confirmed, this cannot be achieved by the Inspectors sitting in their offices.

Re cabins, I don't think that they form part of any USPH inspection.

BTW I am not saying this as a "cheer leader" but as a fair minded person and a Cunard customer.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 3

 

The Chart Room was quite busy with the string quartet from Hungary playing, by 8.30 they were setting up for the jazz trio. I went to dinner and that passed without incident, the menu was not particularly inspiring and for some reason they had no anchovies available, quite how one is supposed to make a Caesar Salad without those little rascals is a mystery to me.

 

After dinner I popped up to deck 9 and had a couple of drinks in the Commodore Club but I retired quite early to set myself up for what opportunities may present during the forthcoming week.

 

It is 12.20am and we have a slight sea, a force 3 southerly breeze and are making 21 knots heading due east. The temperature is 75/24 degrees with a rising barometer; humidity is quite high at 85%. We are about due south of Boston, Mass.

 

Today is Thursday July 7th and the time is 7.30am. It is an overcast morning and the weather conditions have cooled to 68/20 degrees, humidity is at 94% and the barometer continues to rise. We are 2937 nautical miles from Southampton and have sailed 285 since yesterday evening. Our speed through the water is 20 knots and we are heading 10 degrees north of east.

 

More later.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

Cap'n, Have fun on your QM2 crossing back to Southampton :) Regards,Jerry

[capnpugwash]

Update No 4

 

For no real reason I was a little slow getting going this morning so instead of a deck 7 breakfast I decided to go to the Britannia Restaurant on deck 2, porridge and kippers was the order of the day and very nice they both were, the portion of kippers is two small fillets so I should probably have requested a larger portion but notwithstanding that minor glitch I thoroughly enjoyed them, and I still am 2 hours later and will probably continue to do so for the bulk of the day.

 

After breakfast I went to the spa where the maintenance men were working on the steam generator as it was defunct. I did the pool for an hour and then tried out the sauna which I must say made a very pleasant change. Half an hour watching the deck and sea and I am back in my cabin to do a little work. Upon my return I found an invitation for dinner with the Commodore and his wife this evening which I have just accepted and will look forward to immensely.

 

There is a murky mist around the ship and whilst visibility is good, it is impossible to see the horizon, we have just passed an enormous tanker or bulk carrier on our starboard side, it was about 4 miles away and still looked very long and low in the water. It is a rare occurrence to see other ships in the Atlantic until we get closer to land at either side.

 

The weather at 11.30 is identical to earlier and we are sailing at 21 knots on an unchanged course.

 

At 2.30 this afternoon the CC meeting is scheduled to take place in the Commodore Club, there are 35 names on the list and I hope that quite a few attend.

 

More later.

[hollihedge]

Wishing you an enjoyable return trip home Cap'n. We had Nancy as our room steward in May and she was simply charming.

[callyuk]

Hi capn,

Looking forward to meeting up in a couple of weeks time.

I wonder if you could tell me. When you're on a back to back transatlantic; do Cunard complete and take payment for your on board account at the end of the first crossing, as they seem to do for legs of world cruises.

Chris

[capnpugwash]

Hi capn,

Looking forward to meeting up in a couple of weeks time.

I wonder if you could tell me. When you're on a back to back transatlantic; do Cunard complete and take payment for your on board account at the end of the first crossing, as they seem to do for legs of world cruises.

Chris

 

No as far as I know the amount is paid at the end of the total trip. always assuming that you have booked the whole thing under one booking reference.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 5

 

It is now just after 5pm and I am back in the cabin preparing for this evening’s festivities, this afternoon we had 11 members of CC at the meeting and Julie Rynd arrived followed about 5 minutes later by Commodore Rynd. This was a real treat for all of us as he sat in the group generally chatting with everyone present and then answered any questions that the people posed, he and his wife were really good company. He stayed for almost an hour and Julie was there until the very end, it was really fantastic of them to attend and made the meeting quite special.

 

After that I went to the Immigration on deck 3 and again there was no queue at 4pm so I whisked through it and went and had a nice fresh cup of coffee in Sir Samuel’s. The weather is unchanged and we are now due north of Bermuda. Our speed is now 22 knots.

 

The Commodore’s cocktail party for Britannia guests is held tonight as is the Black and White Ball, I won’t be attending either event although it would be good to hear the breakdown of passenger’ nationalities on board. There is a couple who have hats that look like minarets so they may be from Nepal or Bhutan or maybe Poughkeepsie. All may well be revealed in the Daily Programme tomorrow.

 

More later.

[rafinmd]

Hi capn.

 

Do you have a feel for how long the Commodore will be onboard? I am particularly concerned with the August 15-22 crossing. It is great to see he is back on QM2.

 

Roy

[rgaudet]

Update No 5

 

It is now just after 5pm and I am back in the cabin preparing for this evening’s festivities, this afternoon we had 11 members of CC at the meeting and Julie Rynd arrived followed about 5 minutes later by Commodore Rynd. This was a real treat for all of us as he sat in the group generally chatting with everyone present and then answered any questions that the people posed, he and his wife were really good company. He stayed for almost an hour and Julie was there until the very end, it was really fantastic of them to attend and made the meeting quite special.

 

 

That's a nice treat indeed. This may be a dumb question, but is the Captain of each ship allowed to bring their spouse on all voyages? Is it just the Captain? It's surely not all crew. It would be a real perk for the job (assuming they want their spouse to be there :D). Very nice for these folks that have likely worked many years at sea away from family for long periods of time.

[capnpugwash]

That's a nice treat indeed. This may be a dumb question, but is the Captain of each ship allowed to bring their spouse on all voyages? Is it just the Captain? It's surely not all crew. It would be a real perk for the job (assuming they want their spouse to be there :D). Very nice for these folks that have likely worked many years at sea away from family for long periods of time.

 

@ Roy, he is on board until mid September 2011

 

@ Rob, yes he is afaik, I know that the privilege also extends to other officers as well but I am not sure how far down the totem pole it extends.

[welshgirl001]

How wonderful to have the Commadore and his wife at the M&G.

 

Did you mention the time and place or does he read our wonderful forum:D

 

Julie

[hcrane]

I watched some of it too. Will someone cure me of this #$^#ing QM2 addiction I seem to have acquired?!????

 

Hi rgaudet - I too am an addict - I seem to be able to keep the addiction under control with at least one QM2 voyage a year. I now am in my third year of QM2 dependancy - not sure if 14 days on QE in August will satisfy the addiction - just in case, I'm very close to booking the 12/12 TA on QM2 - one can never be to careful with one's health:D:D:D:D

[Calliope]

Word on the Rialto is that the ROTTERDAM, which left Southampton on July 5 for New York City is experiencing some boisterous seas since departing Ol' Blighty. Reports have her facing force 9 or 10 winds. The QM2 might have some rough weather in the offing.

[Salacia]

If the conditions on this ship were as bad as USPH reported I think that it was imperative that they re-examne the ship or are they content now that they have made their pronouncement. They have had three opportunities to do a random re-inspection, two in NYC and one in Boston yet they have not done so. Every time this ship sails into a US port it has been cleaned thoroughly in anticipation of an inspection so the random or surprise visits are actually expected. As far as I can see there is no proper reason for their failure to perform their duty unless it is that things aren't as bad on board as they implied. You saw the amount of negative posts that the news attracted and I truly believe that the record should be set straight or that it should be confirmed, this cannot be achieved by the Inspectors sitting in their offices.

Re cabins, I don't think that they form part of any USPH inspection.

BTW I am not saying this as a "cheer leader" but as a fair minded person and a Cunard customer.

 

Hi Capn. I've only sailed on QM2 on voyages that embark/disembark US ports, but, as you wrote, I too have observered that the crew works very hard on the hours before disembarkation, cleaning and polishing (although I must add that from my observation, the crew always works hard). Does the thorough cleaning happen on every voyage, or just the voyages that dock at US ports in anticipation of CDC inspections?

 

At any rate, you indicated previously that you felt the inspectors had ulterior motives when QM2 failed inspection, and there were others that agreed with you. Ergo, it would seem that any further inspection reports would be equally questionable to you and others, even if QM2 gets a 100% score. So, what matter then if CDC does not re-inspect the ship promptly for those who put no stock in their inspection - other than bad publicity generated by a failing score which can (and should) be ignored if the source is considered untrustworthy?

 

Just my personal opinion, but I'm sorry to learn that the CDC does not conduct random inspections of cabins for reasons I would expand upon if requested.

 

More importanly, I hope you are enjoying your voyage and that lovely cool ocean air!:)

 

Salacia

Sweltering in NY

[capnpugwash]

How wonderful to have the Commadore and his wife at the M&G.

 

Did you mention the time and place or does he read our wonderful forum:D

 

Julie

 

Julie, when I got on yesterday I sent an invitation to Julie Rynd asking if she would attend and I mentioned that it would be marvellous if the Commodore could pop in as well, fortunately they were both able to and it was a very nice meeting:)

[capnpugwash]

Update No 6

 

The Chart Room was fairly full this evening in spite of the cocktail party and I wonder if that is a result of the many round trip passengers choosing not to attend the party again, I have no firm evidence to support this theory but it might make sense. Dinner was very good and the tablemates were all interesting people.

 

I did go to the Commodore Club afterwards but only stayed a short while as the loss of an hour was too much to contemplate. It is now almost 1am which in reality is 2am, the weather is 69/21 degrees but it is very humid at 91%. We are making 21 knots and have 2562 nautical miles to go. All other conditions are unchanged.

 

Today is Friday July 8th and there are no changes to advise in either the weather or the sea conditions, it remains quite clammy on deck with overcast skies. Our speed is also unchanged and we have covered 788 nautical miles from Manhattan which leaves 2435 to go.

 

More later

[Lake Barcroft Sailor]

How wonderful to have the Commadore and his wife at the M&G.

 

Did you mention the time and place or does he read our wonderful forum:D

 

Julie

 

I do not know about the Commodore, but, based on my conversation with her on the TA of the Victoria, I do know that Julie is a follower of Cruise Critic. In that case they were specifically invited, but I am not sure that would be necessary.

 

CC is avidly followed by several members of the ships and, I'd imagine, by Cunard as well and, to my mind, they take comments on CC seriously. In any event, the practice of CC meet and greets the first sea day at 2 in the Commodore Club is probably well known and it would probably be quite easy for any interested individuals to just show up.

[Lake Barcroft Sailor]

Julie, when I got on yesterday I sent an invitation to Julie Rynd asking if she would attend and I mentioned that it would be marvellous if the Commodore could pop in as well, fortunately they were both able to and it was a very nice meeting:)

 

RE: Previous post of mine. That is what happens when one posts before reading the rest of the thread.

[capnpugwash]

RE: Previous post of mine. That is what happens when one posts before reading the rest of the thread.

 

I agree that these boards are reviewed by all manner of people connected with Cunard but if you wish someone to attend I think that it is only common courtesy to write to them with an invitation. This must increase the likelihood of their attending.

[Norine]

Hi Capn - on another thread a question has arisen regarding the wearing of jackets in the KC restaurants in the evening (men obviously). Salacia has read on the daily programme that they are not compulsory, as you are onboard can you confirm that this is the case?

[capnpugwash]

Hi Capn - on another thread a question has arisen regarding the wearing of jackets in the KC restaurants in the evening (men obviously). Salacia has read on the daily programme that they are not compulsory, as you are onboard can you confirm that this is the case?

 

It says on the programme that "the dress codes for the a la carte venues does not require a jacket for gentlemen". This is on today's programme and tonight is a formal so I can only imagine that i applies to every evening.

[lannp]

The notice regarding the dress code not requiring a jacket in the evenings appeared on the back page of the Daily Programme partway through the Norway cruise (June 17) and the westbound crossing (June 24). It was not listed on the eastbound (June 10).

Linda

[capnpugwash]

Update No 7

 

I had a buffet breakfast and spent the rest of the morning in the spa area, the sky is still overcast but the sun does seem to be trying very hard to break through but it can’t quite make it. In spite of the 83% humidity the force 3 breeze is offering some relief, the sea is virtually calm. The temperature has crept up to 70/21 degrees and the barometer is rising, these barometric rises and falls are only fairly small whereas a large fall would be a warning of heading into some serious bad weather. We are almost due south of Cape Wrath which lies at the south eastern corner of Newfoundland, later today we will leave our rhumb line course and commence our great circle track to the western approaches of the English Channel.

 

At about 3pm I went down to Sir Samuel’s for a coffee and I had a hard time getting to the bar as the queue for Immigration was almost down to the glass lifts at the atrium, maybe 40 yards and this continued for at least the next 40 minutes although it had reduced to around 30 yards by then. I do think that had they not turned up until after 4pm there would have been no queue at all. But then again I suppose that if they all waited until later there would be a big queue so it just as well that they don’t.

 

Tonight is the second of four formal nights and it is also the Big Band Ball in the Queen’s Room. I am back on John Duffy’s table for dinner but he probably won’t be there as usually he does the first and third dinners. Tonight is usually the Chief Purser who is Chantal Moolman and the last formal is probably the Food and Beverage Manager who currently is Glenn Millway. They have both rejoined the crew quite recently and this will be the first time that we have shared a table with either of them.

 

More later.