Live from the RCOA - on QM2

[Pushka]

Wow what a read, great writing Peter, it really took me back nicely, even though we were in the lower grades! Makes me think of looking into Grills next time especially now we are gold!

Hope the rest of your trip is just as good and you meet with Pushca and leave some bears for* I almost feel as though we got ripped off with 2 days to Adelaide and this round gets 3!!!!

 

Nice to meet you Peter and the others. Until next time!

 

Richard

 

I think Peter's keeping on eye on those bears for me. :p

 

Maybe Cunard adjusted the fare given the day less time on board first time round?

 

For those coming into Adelaide CBD tomorrow it is the start of what we call Mad March. We have the fringe festival, which comprises of talented people from all over the world who perform street theatre as well as event theatre. The Garden of Unearthly delights is open just off Rundle Street. There is the Festival of Arts which is more upmarket performances, and then the Clipsal 500 which you will hear from the middle of the city. At 12.20 pm the RAAF hornets will be doing a fly over across the city and it will be very very loud and very spectacular. They will also do the 'thing' where one of them flies straight up into the atmosphere. Basically the clipsal puts the city into gridlock on the Eastern side of the city (the Port is on the Western side of the CBD) so the traffic won't affect you too badly. But there is not a free hotel room anywhere!

 

Weather - chance of a shower but temp about 26. A bit cooler for those heading into Hahndorf. :)

[Whitemarsh]

Thanks again Peter. Two more sleeps.

 

Did you see the thread on the Cunard forum which says the QM will be berthing at the Overseas Passenger Terminal next week? That might even get you up early ! :)

 

Yes I did. Jane told us we'd be berthing there a while back. She must have had inside information.

 

See you soon.

[jcruizer]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is FOD - I think friends of ...... and who in particular is it aimed at???

[cruising kirby]

Peter,

 

Well done on an excellent read!

 

Sorry we missed the second CC meeting, Andrew developed a nasty cold and I was just starting to feel a sore throat coming on, so we spent most of that day resting in the cabin.

 

Our Britannia restaurant experience was fantastic, we had an amazing sommellier and table waiter, and the food was excellent. Having said that, your Grills stories are very enticing, so next time I think we will give that a try!

 

Thanks again for all your work organising the M&G's, and for taking the time to write such a comprehensive blog.

 

Sue

[capnpugwash]

Please excuse my ignorance but what is FOD - I think friends of ...... and who in particular is it aimed at???

 

FOD or Friends of Dorothy are what nowadays are called gays, bisexuals, lesbians or transgendered. Apparently the name stems from Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

[jcruizer]

Thanks Capn, I am ignorant no more. That s a great way to organise a meet.

 

I hope Peter doesn't keep us in suspense too long, before our next instalment:):):)

[Melb06]

such a pity i will not see the qm2 arrive in melbourne 2mow but i will see her depart at 6 pm. i hope she births in bow first not the stern

[milkcow]

We were in the QM2 for the Christchurch earthquake and the Japan disaster.

 

In the open ocean, a tidal wave is not noticeable. Only when it hits land.

 

We did get to see an American submarine cutting across our bow as it headed north.

 

David

[Pushka]

In Melbourne now and we are docked port side so ready for a faster exit tonight. Even Melbourne's weather is behaving and it isn't raining.... yet! Thanks Peter for organizing the Meet and Greet. It was good putting faces to names in our alter lives.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Megawat]

In Melbourne now and we are docked port side so ready for a faster exit tonight. Even Melbourne's weather is behaving and it isn't raining.... yet! Thanks Peter for organizing the Meet and Greet. It was good putting faces to names in our alter lives.

 

Say hi to my grand kids, one is getting a certificate for "student of the week" this morning!

Hope you are having a fantastic time and it doesn't go too fast, Pushka. Also hope your mum is enjoy the little cruise.

[Whitemarsh]

In Melbourne now and we are docked port side so ready for a faster exit tonight. Even Melbourne's weather is behaving and it isn't raining.... yet! Thanks Peter for organizing the Meet and Greet. It was good putting faces to names in our alter lives.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

My pleasure Carol, great meeting you. BTW, we're in Sir Samuel's atm :) if you aren't sight seeing in Melbourne.

[Whitemarsh]

The second sea day after Fremantle.

 

As we had to put the clocks one hour forward we slept in and missed breakfast. This being the case we pay a visit to Sir Samuel's for coffee and a danish. Whilst we're there Robin tells me that coffee is free in the Queens Grill Lounge, which I didn't know - they don't publicise it. Oh well, I know now. The weather has turned for the worse, compared to the start of the voyage, it's windy and what sun there is struggling with various storms on the horizon that threaten to come closer. It's certainly not outdoor weather, in fact the whole day the only time I go outside is for two minutes on the balcony.

 

At this point we've become acclimatised to the relaxing lifestyle on board an so grabbing our books we settle into our favourite space in the QG lounge and spend the rest of the morning reading and drinking coffee. After lunch we return to the the QG lounge for more reading and watch the staff set up for afternoon tea. Louise & William duly arrive at 15:30 and we all catch up on our various days. For some reason afternoon tea is particularly delicious today, I'm not sure why but everything seems to be bursting with flavour. It's so comfortable sitting back with a cup of tea chatting away that we lose track of time and I'm surprised when Robin announces that it's 17:00 and time to get ready for a drinks party we've been invited to.

 

We've been invited to have drinks with some of the 'Dorothians' who have an in-hull balcony. I'm very curious to see this category as I've never been inside one before. When we arrive and make our way out onto the balcony I'm amazed at how close the sea is, the sounds of the waves crashing against the ship are very audible and the view is completely different ( you look back and up at the lifeboats instead of down). I'm impressed with these staterooms, for rough weather you'd be front-and-centre for all the action. The view from deck 10 is wonderful but you don't have the feeling of being this close to the ocean.

 

After the drinks party we make our way back up to the QG Lounge for pre-dinner drinks with Louise and others. I regret that we didn't get into this routine earlier, it's a very enjoyable and relaxing way to start dinner. Tonight's dinner is lobster thermidor followed by pavlova for dessert. Clearly the chef has no idea what a pavlova is but his interpretation is nice enough. I notice that bombe alaska is on the menu again and that the a la carte menu isn't available. Louise tells me that this is the night the chefs parade through the Britannia restaurant as it's the last formal night for this sector of the world cruise. As there is no parade in the Grills, we make our own fun.

 

Our waiter stops by for a chat and I mention that we haven't had any caviar this voyage; I remember we had it on formal nights on the transatlantic. We're informed that they no longer offer free caviar in the Princess Grill anymore, it's $60 a pop (or some amount similar to that). It's still on the menu in the Queens Grill and apparently some people have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I make a mental note to participate in all future CC Cunard 'cost-cutting' threads with my very own tale of woe.

 

After dinner we return to the QG lounge for some post-dinner drinks whilst we wait for the 22:45 session of 'Appasionata'. At about 22:30 we head down to the Royal Court Theatre to reserve our seats. Again we are foiled by the eager-beavers who have taken up rows three & four in the middle. They must arrive at 22:00 or sit down as soon as the 20:45 show finishes. Sitting in the same seats we had last time (which are rather good in any case) we chat whilst we wait for the show to start. I spy some 'Dorothians' seated further back and make my way over for a chat. I'm stopped by the nice Bathurst couple (who we sat next to on the tender which took us to the ship on the 14th Feb - and who we have run into frequently since then) and we talk about the smoking in G32. They don't like the smoke from the upper balcony so they don't patronise G32 as much as they otherwise would. They are interested to learn about the smoking changes that are coming in after the world cruise but none of us know if smoking will be banned in G32 (along with smoking in the staterooms).

 

The show begins so I head back to seat. It's been nearly two years since I've seen 'Appasionata' and I enjoy it as much as I did the first time. The dancers are excellent (we learn after the show that the dance captain and the majority of the dancers are from the Ukraine) as are the singers. The Cunard dancers are back tomorrow night with their Motown tribute so I'm looking forward to that. After the show we all head up to the Commodore Club for some drinks. Churchills is quite busy and there is a good number of people in the Commodore Club as well. The drinks and discussions go on well into the morning. The bar staff leave and we take the opportunity to examine the large model of the QM2 that is behind the bar. It seems to be very accurate and we spend a bit of time trying to figure out which windows on the hull belong to which rooms. After that bed. Walking up the stairs and along the corridor is quite fun as we have 3 metre swells which cause the ship to pitch, just enough to rock everyone to sleep.

 

 

I haven't written anymore since the above update. On the day before Melbourne at 11:15 we met up with the Endeavour (a replica of Captain James Cook's ship) just south of Portland. Cunard had organised a helicopter so I'm sure you'll see pictures via the Cunard blog. The Endeavour passed us on the port side and fired two (blank) cannon shots at QM2. The loudness surprised everyone and the QM2 sounded her horn in response. We gave three cheers and the crew of the Endeavour responded in kind. It was a great moment.

 

Some shipboard news/gossip I have recently heard/learnt:

 

• Another passenger has unfortunately passed away. This brings the total to five.
  
• There was a fight in the Britannia restaurant. Not a physical one but a verbal disagreement that went too far. Apparently there was some banging of cutlery, a bit of yelling and someone stormed out leaving their chair upended on the floor.
  
• When the ship reaches Sydney most of the Australians will disembark and will be replaced with about 800 new Aussies, 500 Chinese & 150 Japanese passengers (the numbers are not 100% accurate).
  
• The dry-cleaning machine has not worked since Fremantle.
  
• The blonde lady that always wears the dark sunglasses is American, not Australian (depending on who you talk to).
  

 

 

After being onboard QM2 for nearly three weeks, I have enjoyed the cruise very much and have made the following observations and opinions:

• The QM2 appears to be very well maintained, I spotted nothing that indicated otherwise (when walking around the public rooms and decks).
  Onboard safety is taken very seriously. We've had umpteen drills whilst we've been onboard, achieving a perfect score (apparently) for the drill that was conducted in Brisbane under the watch of some maritime agency.
   
  
• The November 2011 refit has been a success. The new decor in the staterooms (well mine anyway) looks very smart and could even be better than the previous design.
   
  
• The food onboard is delicious and the presentation wonderful. After being onboard for nearly three weeks I've eaten a lot of meals and can honestly say there has only been about three dishes that I didn't care for. My voyage wasn't ruined, I simply sent them back and ordered something else. All my requests for off-menu dishes were met and nobody ever said no to any of my requests in the Princess Grill. At no stage was I ever served 'inedible' food (as is sometimes stated in Cruise Critic reviews).
   
  
• The service is excellent. I've mentioned before that we've wondered how the staff do it, how do they remember what everyone's preferences are, how do they remain so friendly and professional? When we arrive for drinks in the Queens Grill lounge our preferred drinks appear on the bar for us and my preferred coffee (how it's made and how I like it) is remembered as well. Our cabin steward has been very good, maintaining our room and fulfilling every request. The staff in the Commodore Club are friendly and excellent, they remember our drinks and are part of the reason we enjoy using that room. Whenever we pass a member of staff they always acknowledge us and are friendly and polite. The staff in the shops are great too, Nicholas is a stand-out. All in all - ten out of ten.
   
  
• The shore tours are well organised and (based on the individual research that others did, and reported to me) I don't believe that Cunard was gouging us on shore tours.
   
  
• Probably more so than any other area of the ship the staff in your allocated dining room play a big part in the enjoyment of your cruise (well for me anyway). The staff in the Princess Grill have been fantastic, truly wonderful. Our head waiter, two waiters and junior waiter have all made each meal very enjoyable, they truly are exceptional and the service has been consistently excellent.
   
  
• We've been fortunate this voyage in having Jane and Louise at our table. Having witty & intelligent dining companions has been a godsend, it's made the voyage 250% more enjoyable (I know that's not a real percentage - but if it's good enough for guests on the Maury Povich show, it's good enough for me).
  

 

So, any complaints? Well yes there was one, which I didn't go into great detail on here. Whilst I don't believe it's fair to judge a company by the actions of one employee, I will pass judgement on the way Cunard (the Princess Grill maitre d) handles the situation and I was entirely happy with how my complaint was handled and how it was resolved to my satisfaction.

 

It's been great meeting everyone that participated in the roll-call prior to the voyage. The M&Gs were well attended and we had about 18 people turn up to the Adelaide one.

 

So I'll end this blog here as we're docked in Melbourne. I hope you've enjoyed reading it.

[cruising kirby]

Thanks again Peter for taking the time to write your blog. Even though I was on board for almost all of your voyage, it has been an absolute pleasure reading your detailed stories.

 

Till we meet again on a ship somewhere in the world.................

 

 

Sue

[Jordy]

Thanks Peter, what a great read its been, it was great to meet you and I wish you and Robin all my/our best.

 

It was one Fantastic Voyage we all had....all hail Cunard, its staff and QM2

 

Ian & Russell:)

[Norfolk Brit]

Hugely enjoyable - many thanks.

 

Mary:)

[Oahucruiser]

What will I read now with my morning coffee? I wish you were going all the way to Southampton!! This has been SO enjoyable!

[jcruizer]

Thanks Peter, again a great read.

 

I cruised for 23 nights once in the hull stateroom and I thought it was great. You can see the water clearly and anything swimming in it. You were close to the action of anything happening on the dock (that was excellent as no hassle finding a spot to watch from above). The only drawback was that you could not sit and see the water at the same time. I would definitely pick it again if I needed to.

 

Your bit on the staff is so true everywhere on the ship. The waiters we had were fantastic and on other cruises they tried to get us to change tables so they could wait on us.

 

Thanks again for your report ;)

[missfrankiecat]

I too have really enjoyed reading your reports - thanks for the detail with which you have recorded your impressions for us.

[A Paladin]

I too have really enjoyed reading your reports - thanks for the detail with which you have recorded your impressions for us.

 

Me too, they were very enjoyable impressions, balanced, informative and never unkind to fellow passengers or crew. A credit to you Whitemarsh.

Unlike some of the cynical or self-absorbed comments and reports in the odd forum that perceivably give the author(s) a feeling of heightened self-pleasure!

[Artemis]

Bravo! Thank you! So happy you enjoyed your voyage so much!

[AlexDouglass]

Alas! Like so many others, I've been living vicariously through your wonderful account. With a TA coming up this June, I've also stored away some of your sage tips and good advice. I do hope you'll continue to chime in as others have questions or - perhaps especially - when the moaning gets too loud the Constant Complainers!

[Little London]

What am I going to read in the evenings now, I couldn't wait to get home and read what has been happening to you and Robin. Thank you so much.

[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]

I've enjoyed your detailed observations and reports, you even gave Vibz a fair critique so maybe the joy of it all has mellowed your outlook. If I am ever back in G32 I'll follow your lead and request some music from the DJ that I enjoy.

 

Thank you for making the report so enjoyable to read - I wish you well for the return to dry land and normality.

 

M-AR

[Lady Hudson]

Thank you for taking the time to write -- I have so enjoyed "traveling" with you on your voyage. Hope our paths cross some day on the high seas!

[soobs]

I looked foward to reading your update after work each day I am so going to miss it. Glad you enjoyed your trip.