Capnpugwash is back on the Queen Elizabeth on the Autumn Retreat 2011

[capnpugwash]

Thank you all for your kind wishes, I had a pretty wonderful day.

 

Update no 3

 

I met Chris, the young man from the table in the Midships Bar for a couple of G&Ts and then went into dinner, the table has really gelled well and we had a great meal. Gordana the singer and Miriam who is the pianist each gave me lovely gifts. The culmination of the meal came when 15 or so waiters and head waiters appearing with a massive 14, inch three tier chocolate cake serenading me with Happy Birthday. The cake was wonderful and such a nice thing for them to do, it was as light as a feather and was filled with a chocolate ganache. We all had a large slice with ice cream and fruit and there was still just under a quarter of it left. None of us was in a position to take a second slice unfortunately and I hope that some of the waiting staff was able to have some.

 

Chris, Gordana , Miriam and I had decided during the meal that we would not in fact go out as it was quite cold and the bars in the city were likely to close around midnight as it was a Monday night. Instead we went to the Commodore Club where we were joined by 4 of our tablemates plus two ladies that they had met earlier. It was a really nice party atmosphere and in a flash it was 12.45 and they bade us goodnight and retired to their respective beds. We four stayed on for another hour or so and after a quick coffee in the Lido went off to our beds about 2.30.

 

Today is Tuesday October 25 and we have a full day in the city, and with our plans altering yesterday we are thinking to head out for a couple of drinks and some Dutch pancakes. It is still cool and there is a chance of rain but we won’t let that deter us.

 

More later

[Underwatr]

Isn't this a crew area? When we arrived at that door on deck 6 on our QE cruise in June, it looked as though you weren't supposed to go through it. This is the part of the deck which you can see on the webcam I think. It sometimes shows people sat around sunbathing.

That's Deck 5 (on QV, at least. They open it for passenger access during the Panama Canal transit). Deck 6 would be a balcony above that.

[Ray66]

Yes it is deck 5. Thanks.

[capnpugwash]

Yes it is deck 5. Thanks.

 

It is deck 6 on QE and it is accessed via a watertight sea door fastened with dog, there is no sign prohibiting passenger access. the outside area below the bridge is also accessible via two normal doors in the gym, either side of the treadmills.

 

Update no 4

The four of us met at 11am and went into the city, the terminal is a very modern building with free internet access which a lot of people were taking advantage of. It does seem to lack a coffee shop but has everything else. We took a cab to the Pancake Bakery, 191 Prinsengracht which very near to the Centrum area, the fare was only 7 Euros. The restaurant didn’t open until noon so we were forced into a bar for a couple of wheat beers which is served with a slice of lemon; it was only 20 yards away. After about an hour we returned to the pancake place and I ordered a ham, cheese and mushroom pancake preceded by a bowl of pea and ham soup. It was a lovely soup and the pancake was great as well although it was very filling and I couldn’t finish it. We had intended to share a sweet pancake for dessert between us but we were all too full. The whole meal came to 72 Euros for 4 people which seemed to me to be very good value. It was raining when we came out but we walked along past the shops admiring the stylish nature of their displays. This area seems to be full of quite up-market shops of a very mixed nature, rather like London used to be before it became occupied by chain stores which have driven the small traders and designers away. It is such a shame for London and so nice to see here.

A short cab ride brought Gordana and I back to the ship while Chris and Miriam went off to look at some other shops. I am heading up to the gym again soon to make space for the delights on offer this evening. This will start with a 45 minute recital by the girls in the Queen’s Room at 7.45 followed by dinner for which the dress code is semi-formal. That will be my dose of culture for today, the recital not the dinner!

More later

[north east girl]

Hi Capn, everybody has been very nice to your for your birthday.Wish I could have been there to try that lovely birthday cake, sounded wonderful.

 

We did Amsterdam on QE in April this year and went into the city on our own steam. Got tickets online for Anne Franke House, this saved us lots of dollars.

 

Hoping to book a little trip before next June for the celebrations of all 3 Queens in Southampton. June just seems a long way away.

 

Catherine

[Pemcorgimum]

Happy Birthday for yesterday. xx

[SALAD MUNCHER]

There are 2 US outlets there, one of which is being used by the TV.

 

I only wanted something light so I chose a Caesar salad followed by some spaghetti with a tomato based sauce. Both dishes were excellent and after dinner the singer, pianist and the solo male joined me in the Commodore Club, as we were switching to European time overnight it soon reached midnight and they all joined me in celebrating my birthday. We did quite a lot of celebrating, concluding the morning in the Yacht Club which is a disco bar adjacent to my usual haunt. The staff soon deserted us at around 3am and we managed to talk the pianist into playing some music for us on the grand piano that was in the corner. It was very special and she certainly has great skills on the piano.

 

Today is Monday October 24 and the time is 9.30. I awoke at 8am and went for breakfast to the Britannia where I sampled both the porridge and the eggs Benedict

Belated birthday wishes Jim, 24th Oct is also my birthday so it must be a good day to be born....for yourn info it also it is the birthday of Wayne Rooney .......and is (Manchester?)!! United Nations Day! I am on the QV on this Thursday (27th) and like you look forward to every time I can be on board a Cunard ship! I really enjoy your trip notes and I look forward to reading more of your updates, regards Sue :)

[bkecky]

 

The restaurant didn’t open until noon so we were forced into a bar for a couple of wheat beers which is served with a slice of lemon; it was only 20 yards away. After about an hour we returned to the pancake place and I ordered a ham, cheese and mushroom pancake preceded by a bowl of pea and ham soup. It was a lovely soup and the pancake was great as well although it was very filling and I couldn’t finish it. We had intended to share a sweet pancake for dessert between us but we were all too full. The whole meal came to 72 Euros for 4 people which seemed to me to be very good value.

 

You are making me wish I'd saved my pennies and come on this cruise. Seems like I'm missing a great cruise! Although not sure I could keep up with you and Chris in the drinking stakes! I told you not to make it sound too exciting! Enjoy the next few days!

[rosler28]

There are 2 US outlets there, one of which is being used by the TV.

 

I only wanted something light so I chose a Caesar salad followed by some spaghetti with a tomato based sauce. Both dishes were excellent and after dinner the singer, pianist and the solo male joined me in the Commodore Club, as we were switching to European time overnight it soon reached midnight and they all joined me in celebrating my birthday. We did quite a lot of celebrating, concluding the morning in the Yacht Club which is a disco bar adjacent to my usual haunt. The staff soon deserted us at around 3am and we managed to talk the pianist into playing some music for us on the grand piano that was in the corner. It was very special and she certainly has great skills on the piano.

 

Today is Monday October 24 and the time is 9.30. I awoke at 8am and went for breakfast to the Britannia where I sampled both the porridge and the eggs Benedict

Belated birthday wishes Jim, 24th Oct is also my birthday so it must be a good day to be born....for yourn info it also it is the birthday of Wayne Rooney .......and is (Manchester?)!! United Nations Day! I am on the QV on this Thursday (27th) and like you look forward to every time I can be on board a Cunard ship! I really enjoy your trip notes and I look forward to reading more of your updates, regards Sue :)

 

Saladmuncher. I see Rooney had six candles lit on Sunday. I see you are not from Manchester which doesn't surprise me.

[imacruizer]

Happy Belated Birthday, Jim. What a lovely way to celebrate. As always, I am thoroughly enjoying your reports from the ship. Thanks for your posts.

[Thaxted]

Elizabeth joins me me in wishing you a very happy birthday indeed, Jim. It's always a delight reading your posts from the high seas. Do keep them coming, chocolate cake and all!

[SALAD MUNCHER]

 

Saladmuncher. I see Rooney had six candles lit on Sunday. I see you are not from Manchester which doesn't surprise me.

 

 

Sorry to disappoint you but I actrually am from Manchester, and lived there all my life until 2009 when I retired to Cumbria! No prawn sandwiches for me though - my dad used to take me to reserve matches in the early fifties, so I am a genuine man utd supporter from Manchester, a rare breed indeed! :D As for the six candles, I agree the best team won on the day! ;)

[capnpugwash]

Update no 5

 

The sauna was very hot and afterwards rather than using the outside pool to cool off I went onto the open deck area in front of the gym, it was very cool approaching cold and there was a steady drizzle running off the superstructure of the ship. Within 5 minutes of standing there I was cooled sufficiently to shower and am now ensconced in my cabin.

 

I spent a couple of hours in the cabin before going to watch the recital and whilst I did only recognise one of the six arias that were performed, the whole thing was truly wonderful. Miriam is a great pianist with such a lovely touch on the keys and Gordana has a beautiful soprano voice that really reached such tremendously high notes that I confess I was looking at the chandeliers in case the resonance adversely affected them. As soon as the performance ended we headed to dinner after which, predictably, we went to the Commodore Club and then to the Yacht Club. I think that it was Abba night and the club and dance floor was quite full, this was soon remedied by the DJ who changed the style of the music and managed to not only clear the floor but also to clear the club. It was yet another successful Cunard DJ exercise. Because we had left Amsterdam via a lock Miriam was curious as to exactly when and where the first one was invented. My uneducated guess was the 17th century or perhaps during the early Greek civilisation, this was obviously a Google moment ant it transpires that the Chinese were responsible back in the10th century, aren’t they a clever bunch!

 

We left there at a little after 2.30am and went to the Lido for a coffee and perhaps a late night snack, sadly the food on display was appalling with smashed crackers, one tiny piece of upturned pizza a half a curled sandwich. It was beyond shabby and has been pretty constant throughout the days that we have been on board. Other than annoyance at the apparent indifference of the night staff I was pleased that there was nothing there to tempt me so after a quick coffee I went to my bed. The ship was rocking around in the wind and waves but it made getting to sleep very easy.

 

Today is Wednesday October 26 and I woke at 8.30 in time for some melon and Eggs Benedict for breakfast, it was superb as usual. The sky is clear and cloudless and the sun is bright and working hard to raise the temperature to 13/55 degrees. There is quite a breeze blowing as we sit in the container area of Zeebrugge. We went on the shuttle bus to Blankenberg to catch the10.10 train to Bruges, it is only a 10 minute journey and there was no conductor around so it ended up being free. We did a taxi tour of this beautiful city which is like a nice Amsterdam, ending up in the market square where we had a much needed coffee. After that we walked around for a while looking at the lovely architecture of the old buildings. We then sat outside a restaurant which had the gas heaters warming the chilly air and had a sweet crepe, this is exactly what we should have had yesterday but didn’t realise it then. We ordered a small and a medium beer and the small one was big and the medium, massive. We managed to struggle through them and then after a further wander around and being faced with a 50 wait for the hourly return train, got a taxi to the ship. It was a little expensive at 50 Euros but it was far preferable to sitting on a windy platform for that long.

 

We are back on board and I have had a warming bowl of spaghetti with a garlic and tomato sauce which the chef specially prepared to order, it was very nice and I am just getting changed to go up to the sauna again. Tonight is a formal dinner and I suppose that we will have the traditional parade of the chefs so that we may have the opportunity to show our appreciation of their hard work.

 

More later.

[Jimsgirl]

Your description of the Kings Court food, bears out the fact that there is no set standard for service on Cunard.

 

I am sure that had that description been given by anyone other than yourself, the usual "I do not believe it" chorus would have erupted.

 

The fact is (as I am always saying) each cruise is different, the staff differ in all departments, and that which is "great" on one cruise can be "diabolical" on another.

 

One has only to read the descriptions of the 2 day cruise to Cherbourg to realise just how "diabolical" it can be.

 

Pity Mr Shanks did not do that cruise, if he had , perhaps he would pay more attention to ensuring the staff are trained BEFORE they come on board, that "disruptive bad passengers" are dealt with at the time they cause problems, and that "cruising Cunard" will become a "wonderful experience" once more.

 

Pandering to the lowest common denominater in passengers, and cutting the quality of food, entertainment and service in order to offer the lowest possible price , is a very slippery slope

[rgaudet]

Belated best wishes Jim! Enjoy reading your posts as always. But, all this sight seeing? I'm guessing you are already thinking of your upcoming TAs!

 

All the best.

[rosler28]

 

 

Sorry to disappoint you but I actrually am from Manchester, and lived there all my life until 2009 when I retired to Cumbria! No prawn sandwiches for me though - my dad used to take me to reserve matches in the early fifties, so I am a genuine man utd supporter from Manchester, a rare breed indeed! :D As for the six candles, I agree the best team won on the day! ;)

 

I'm a Manchester lad as well and also love Cunard. Hopefully I'll have the pleasure of meeting you on one of the Queens in the very near future.

[foodsvcmgr]

Cunard downscaling with cheap, short cruises to fill their ships with warm bodies in difficult economic times is nothing new.

 

In the depression, the superliner of that era, RMS BERENGARIA, was sent on short booze cruises, to the point that she came to be known as the

"BARGAIN AREA".

 

Fast forward to today, seems like Cunard is a victim of poor planning, among other things. Case in point, they dropped their traditional November & December series of Caribbean cruises from New York in favor of more cold weather crossings. Just got an e-mail tonight offering upgrades to Queens Grill for $199.00 on these sailings, not a good sign IMO.

Just how good will the food & service be at fares slashed to this level to fill the ship?

[foodsvcmgr]

I too hastily finished my response to jimsgirl without taking time to thank

the Cap'n for his latest narrative. They are so detailed and descriptive that you can easily imagine yourself in the Britannia or Commodore at the seat next to his.

 

Sailing next week on HAL this time, but looking at QE for November 2012:).

[capnpugwash]

Update no 6

 

I had my usual routine with the sauna and having cooled and showered I am back in the cabin, the Captain has just announced that we shall be leaving very shortly on our way to Le Havre, in fact we have let go our lines and having pushed off the quay we have backed out into the swinging pool and turned through 180 degrees to sail out between the inner and outer breakwaters into the estuary. We will then head west and cross over to the northern side of the English Channel to comply with the traffic separation lanes and during the small hours will turn 90 degrees to port and head straight across to the French coast.

 

Tonight there is a cocktail reception for all passengers on board, it will be held in the Queen’s Room at 7.45 for the late sitting diners, this should ensure that there is plenty of space in the Midship’s Bar where I shall be as I have no intention of attending.

 

I have just returned from the Purser’s desk where I have registered for self-disembarkation on Friday morning, it is quite horrible to contemplate that the end of this trip is looming in a little over 36 hours from now.

 

At the moment I am dressing for dinner and feel that a couple of pre-prandial G&Ts are called for, so I will head down in 25 minutes and make a start after all it is 6 hours since I had that large bucket of beer in Bruges. I went down and met up with Chris and at his invitation we shared a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne after which we went into dinner. It was the Gala Dinner as expected but there was no Parade of Chefs although the Beef Wellington and Grilled Lobster were both on the menu along with Bombe Alaske. It was a lovely evening and we all had a hilarious time with the stories and jokes which are too numerous to remember.

 

The Commodore Club beckoned and we were initially joined by the classical musicians and a short while later by June and Evelyn who are mother and daughter, and both very charming. As midnight came and went Evelyn turned 90 years old so we wished her all the normal things and the bar pianist played her favourite song for her, Oh What a Beautiful Morning from Oklahoma. She came on this cruise as an alternative to having a birthday party and was telling us all how much she has enjoyed it. She is as sharp as a pin and it is wonderful how she has retained all of her faculties.

 

Today is Thursday October 27 and it is 8.05am, we are docked in France for our last full day. All of our table are meeting for breakfast this morning in celebration of Evelyn’s birthday so I am just heading down to the Britannia restaurant to meet them.

 

More later

[Mysticalmother]

Capn - I just love reading your posts, but I do have a question for you following your latest....

 

(Quote)The Commodore Club beckoned and we were initially joined by the classical musicians and a short while later by June and Evelyn who are mother and daughter, and both very charming. As midnight came and went Evelyn turned 90 years old ..............(quote)

 

Goodness me, how old is June then ...?:):):)

[capnpugwash]

Capn - I just love reading your posts, but I do have a question for you following your latest....

 

(Quote)The Commodore Club beckoned and we were initially joined by the classical musicians and a short while later by June and Evelyn who are mother and daughter, and both very charming. As midnight came and went Evelyn turned 90 years old ..............(quote)

 

Goodness me, how old is June then ...?:):):)

 

A very good question, I must ask her :eek::):eek:

[capnpugwash]

Update no 7

 

8 of us turned up and once again we had a very nice time, there were about 35 cards from various friends and Evelyn seemed to enjoy herself, we were all a little tired after the accumulated late nights but it was good that we were able to share her celebration.

 

Today seems a little drizzly and quite cool at 59/15 degrees, the sky is overcast but there does seem to be an attempt by the sun to break through. Maybe it is too great a struggle for it to succeed. As long as the rain stays away I will be content as I am heading into town for lunch later on today. We will be here until about 9pm tonight as we only have 105 miles to travel to Southampton. Speaking of that city, its name has been replaced on the stern of the QE by Hamilton during this cruise. This alteration has also been made to the lifebelts and boats.

 

On a practical matter, I have spoken about the power outlet supplied in the cabin, I must tell you about the same in the bathroom, there is a shaving socket with a US socket and another which I wrongly assumed was UK but it isn’t. my charging unit doesn’t fit, it seems more like a European 2 pin socket, doesn’t matter too much on this short trip but any longer it would pose problems. My advice is to bring a 2 pin adapter and plug it into the socket in the main cabin.

 

I have started to pack the small bits and pieces ready for tomorrow morning and already it has put a downer on the day, hopefully a decent lunch will go some way to remedying the situation. I am heading off in 45 minutes so I will let you know later.

 

More later

[north east girl]

Thanks for the updates to your trip. Lucky you to have found some lovely tablemates to enjoy your trip with.

 

It is nice to have some short trips to look forward to, however they are over far to soon.

 

When is your next trip?

 

Catherine

[capnpugwash]

Thanks for the updates to your trip. Lucky you to have found some lovely tablemates to enjoy your trip with.

 

It is nice to have some short trips to look forward to, however they are over far to soon.

 

When is your next trip?

 

Catherine

 

November 10th, btb TA :):):)

[north east girl]

November 10th, btb TA :):):)

Lucky you Capn, Least we will have some more travels with you. Will help pass the time away for us who enjoy your live from posts.

 

Catherine