"Live from" Queen Elizabeth to the Mediterannean! My First Cunard Experience

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

 

We were about to arrive back at that circular stair area where I saw my Swiss friends, when suddenly, I spotted something:

 

 

A weird, lonely path that led upwards towards somewhere unknown. :O I kind of looked at my dad like, “:-D Eh? Eh? Wanna go check it out?” He looked at it suspiciously and told me to go. And boy was that the best decision ever. o_o IT WAS LIKE I HAD STRUCK GOLD. I ran up and emerged from the top, completely bewildered and amazed. The reason for this, was because suddenly, this appeared:

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

It was as if I had found the peak of the whole ruin!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

It had appeared that a doggie had followed me up :D

 

 

After many photos, we slowly made our way out of Pompeii.

 

 

 

I briefly lost my family because I was so busy taking photos LOL

Edited August 1, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we left Pompeii, it suddenly started POURING RAIN. o_o We ran and quickly got under the cover at the ticketing area.

[lovely_serenity]

Shortly thereafter, we met back up with our taxi driver and went into Naples. He then proceeded with his “point at like 5 things = Naples tour”. He then dropped us off at this spot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were here, my parents got angry because he tried to ditch us here =_=.

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

While we were taking pictures, my dad asked if we should tip him, Mom was quite angry at him for literally not trying to be helpful or anything, so she said no. He did nothing deserving of a tip. He just drove us there, ditched us, picked us back up, drove a little around Napoli, not stopping anywhere, and tried to ditch us in the middle of the city. We passed by this on the way back:

 

 

We arrived at the cruise terminal, my mom took out the money, and handed it to him. He kind of asked for more, and that really aggravated my mom. She said “NO”, turned around, and left. (LOL) He kind of looked defeated like, “Sigh, there’s really no chance that I’m going to be getting any more so I’m just gonna give up”.

 

 

We then entered the cruise terminal, and checked out the over-priced souvenir shops in it. While I was waiting outside of the shop, I saw a few people arguing with their taxi driver. My dad saw and told me that what basically happened was what Maximo tried to do, but failed. The taxi driver was asking for more money than they had initially agreed upon, and the passengers were anger. Eventually, the passengers gave the guy more money, and angrily stormed off. The taxi driver looked really satisfied after he had gotten some extra pocket money.

 

 

We then re-boarded the ship and headed to the dining room to eat. Here was today’s lunch menu!

 

[lovely_serenity]

 

Since Sis & I was parched from running around so much today, we ordered the Seasonal Fruit Plate, Cottage Cheese and Banana Bread with Nuts:

 

 

(It was good! The banana bread was moist ^^)

 

Mom ordered the Curried Turkey Soup:

 

 

(It was surprisingly good, unlike all other curry soups, this one was not too salty (although a bit bland to me))

 

Dad got the Navy Bean Soup with Bacon and Croutons:

 

 

(It was good and creamy, but a bit salty)

 

Instead of an entrée, Mom got another appetizer (she wanted to eat at the Golden Lion Pub), the Orange and Dill Gravlax with Celeriac and Grapefruit Salad:

 

 

(It was basically a piece of grapefruit on a mountain of oddly tough smoked salmon)

 

Dad and Sis got the Steak and Mushroom Pie with Garden Vegetables and New Potatoes:

 

Edited August 1, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

 

(They said overall it was okay, but the meat was in cubes and chunks, tough, and mushroomless. The bread and sauce were good though LOL)

 

I got the Potato Crusted Salmon with Spinach:

 

 

(It was good, but the random tomato on top didn’t match)

 

For dessert, I ordered the Boston Cream Cake:

 

 

(I quite enjoyed this one!)

 

And Dad ordered the Warm Blueberry Savarin with Rum and Raisin Ice Cream:

 

 

(Which was just okay.)

 

After that, we passed the gangway and the Queen’s Room:

 

 

Edited August 1, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

And went to the Golden Lion Pub for Mom’s entrée.

 

 

We sat down and ordered a Fish n’ Chips:

 

 

(It was REALLY good :D I highly recommend trying to eat at the pub at least once!)

 

Once we were done eating, we headed up to deck 9. On our way to the Lido, we stopped to play some ping pong.

 

 

 

We passed by the Garden Lounge

 

 

And went to the buffet.

 

[lovely_serenity]

There we ate a little bit of this and that, as well as our usual ice cream cones!

 

 

 

 

After that, we returned to our room. I took a few picture of random things while Sis got ready to go to the gym.

 

 

 

Oh right! Last night while I was feeling all nauseous, our head server handed me this before we left:

 

[lovely_serenity]

It was a packet full of dinner menus!

 

 

For the sake of privacy, I scratched out the name of our assistant server because all I did was bash him LOL. Our head server was a hard worker though, and he was nice, so I’ll leave his name ^^~

 

 

After that, we did our usual. We worked out for a while, and then got ready for dinner. Before we knew it, it was time to eat again! Here was tonight’s dinner menu:

 

 

 

Firstly, Sis got the Chilled Yogurt and Blackberry Soup:

 

 

Mom got the Cream of Chicken with Truffle Essence and Pistachio:

 

[lovely_serenity]

Dad and I got the Seafood Salad with Citrus Cocktail Sauce:

 

 

(This was tasty)

 

Tonight, Mom, Dad and Sis got the same entrée, the Steamed Baby Sea Bass with Bok Choy, Tomato Confit and White Wine Beurre Blanc:

 

 

(It still didn’t taste like sea bass LOL)

 

I on the other hand, got the Aubergine and Mozzarella Gratin with Creamy Polenta and Pesto Sauce:

 

 

(I actually quite liked this!)

 

For dessert I got the Warm Chocolate Brownie Pudding:

 

 

(Yumm!!)

 

And Sis ordered the Iced Strawberry Frangelico Parfait:

 

 

(which she liked as well)

 

And tonight’s petit-fours:

 

Edited August 1, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

After dinner, we headed to the Atrium & the Café Carinthia to relax and listen to music:

 

 

 

 

After that, we went to the theater to get seats for tonight’s show. I was really looking forward to tonight’s show!! Both of my favourite musical acts were going to perform! Mike Doyle and Phillip Browne! The Cunard singers also performed:

 

 

But Mike Doyle really had the best farewell song ever. He sang “Sailing” and would turn the lines into things like “We are sailing~ We are sailing .. to CANADA!!” “We are sailing~ We are sailing .. to THE U.S.A.!!” And everyone would cheer for their country. Everyone got up and waved their hands like it was a huge farewell. Amazing way to end the cruise.

 

 

After that, we returned to our rooms. We then ordered room service, just to have ordered it at least once and to see how good the food was.

 

[lovely_serenity]

We got Shrimp Thai Curry:

 

 

A Grilled Sirloin Steak:

 

 

Somehow … Mussels? LOL

 

 

A Warm Apple Pie and Custard Sauce:

 

 

And some random fruits and drinks:

 

 

Sis and I were actually feeling motion sickness again, so we just wound up making Mom and Dad eat everything LOL.

 

Here are 2 random photos of some candy we bought in Rhodes:

 

Edited August 1, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

 

As well as an important handout we received:

 

 

 

We packed up all of our things and went to sleep.

 

 

 

End of Day 12

[lovely_serenity]

Disembarkation - Civitavecchia, Italy

 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

 

 

We woke up early and hurriedly grabbed all of our things. We triple checked all of our cupboards and drawers to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind. It was finally the day that we would be going home. We went to the Queen’s Room and sat around, waiting for our group to be called. We it was, we all headed out. The weather was beautiful in Civitavecchia that morning, and there was a breeze. I said one last goodbye to my home for the last 12 days, and boarded the shuttle. It took us back to that place which we had boarded, and we had to walk that ridiculously long road, back to the train station. We boarded the train and headed straight to the airport. At the airport, we rolled around, sat here and there, and looked for a place to settle. As we rolled our bags, mine started to have a faulty wheel and not roll properly. It would randomly wind up having me drag with brick of a bag along the floor without the help of its wheels. As that happened, Sis and I came up with a song :D It went a little something like this (in the tune of “Sailing”:

 

“We are rolling, we are rolling!

Across the airport! Across the sea!

It’s getting heavy D: so very heavy

It’s a brick now! Please help me!!”

 

After we found a seat and settled, I thought I spotted someone familiar in the distance. I kind of inched over, and to my surprise, it was my Swiss friend!! :D :D :D !! I was so excited to see them one last time, shake their hands for the 7th time, and greet them before we went our separate ways. They were on their way back to Switzerland, while we were on our way back to Vancouver. After all the greetings were done and we wished each other well, they were on their way.

 

Not too long after, we got on our plane, flew to Toronto Pearson, and then to Vancouver Int’l Airport.

 

 

Final Notes:

We were overall disappointed by food, as it didn't meet expectations.

However, excellent room cleaner though, didn't catch him cleaning even once! Ninja-like!

 

 

End of Trip

 

 

P.S. I hope you guys realize that I just spent the last 14 hours straight writing this. :)

Edited August 1, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[DUSTY WILDCAT]

Sarah,

 

Thank you for a wonderful trip report. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite some of the snarky comments left by others. Your pictures were great!

 

I hope you enjoy your next trip and I look forward to the report. I'm sure Disney will have more pleasant dining room servers!

[Bimmer09]

An Epic review! Thanks for being so generous with your photos and text.

 

Norris, who will read your Alaska review next.

[az4ship]

What a gift you have! I loved this review

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[david,Mississauga]

Thanks again, Sarah, for devoting so much time and effort to this report.

 

I see you received the Canadian edition of the on-board newspaper (with Toronto's mayor prominently featured most days). On our last six Cunard voyages we received, at first, only the US newspaper. Each time I had to wonder why Canadians heading to Britain would be given only the US version. Usually we got the appropriate Canadian and British papers with only one request, but sometimes it took two.

 

I'm pleased to see that souvenir menus are still given on the Queen Elizabeth. They appear to have stopped that on the Queen Mary 2 a couple of years ago.

[busmech]

Thanks very nice. Was wondering if you would finish before your next cruise.

Enjoy

[KitKatK]

 

*Note: Sorry for the short day, but the motion was just too terrible. To make up for it, here is a picture I took of my stuffed tiger that I always take with me when I travel :D

 

 

 

End of Day 11

[/color]

 

Cute tiger! Sarah, I've noticed that you and your family seem to get motion sickness fairly easily. Have you ever tried taking meclizine for that? I know that I tend get it very easily as well, to the point that I probably wouldn't be able to cruise if I didn't take meclizine every day. I begin taking it the day before my cruise starts and make sure to take a dose (which last 24 hours) every day of my cruise. I've been in quite rough seas on numerous occasions and have never felt the least bit queasy. It might be worth trying.

 

It's supposed to be non-drowsy, but I have known people to feel sleepy taking 2 pills a day. You may want to try only taking one pill per day to see how it works for you. Also, I take mine first thing in the morning, but many who've experienced drowsiness taking it say they get better results taking it before bed at night.

 

Thanks for another great travelogue!

KK

[Zoescruise]

Thank you for the very thorough review!! I was nervous to sail on the QE this Nov, but you have made it look amazing! Thanks for posting the activities and the shows and everything about the ship. Looks like an amazing trip. Less than 3 months and counting for me!! Thanks again!

[Salacia]

PARTIAL QUOTE

Disembarkation - Civitavecchia, Italy

 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

 

 

P.S. I hope you guys realize that I just spent the last 14 hours straight writing this. :)[/COLOR]

 

 

 

Thank you Sarah, but I'm a bit sorry to read that you spent "the last 14 hours straight writing this." Just my personal opinion, but there are better things to do in the summer - at any age - but especially when one is young.

 

I wish you all the best as you embark on your college career. Regards, -Salacia

[matondo]

I have enjoyed reading your review! I am looking forward to following you on your Disney cruise. We were not overly impressed with the food on the Disney Dream, hopefully you will have a much more positive experience on your ship. Not being a foodie it wasn't a big deal. Overall we thought the Disney experience was amazing.

 

Hopefully, the people on the Disney thread will be more tolerant and less negative. It made me sad to read some of the remarks made on this thread. Remember you have a lot of loyal followers who will patiently wait as living life is much more important than reporting on it.

Edited August 2, 2014 by matondo