QM2 - Hints, Tips & Reflections...July 5th review eastbound crossing

[meenie]

During my QM2 crossing, I said something to the UK immigration inspector about how fortunate I think she is to have such a job. She replied that sitting all day (not really all day) stamping passports is not fun and that she feels lonely and misses her family....I think they take turns pulling this duty.........there are a great many ships that have immigration officers on board. Interested?

[elaine61]

During my QM2 crossing, I said something to the UK immigration inspector about how fortunate I think she is to have such a job. She replied that sitting all day (not really all day) stamping passports is not fun and that she feels lonely and misses her family....I think they take turns pulling this duty.........there are a great many ships that have immigration officers on board. Interested?

 

Whilst we as passengers with our friends and family normally with us think the ships are wonderful, I bet the staff don't have the same view!! I have often wondered what it must be like to work on the ships. I should imagine very lonely if you are away from your family. The Goan waiters and room stewards on the P & O ships are always waiting to make phone calls home at the various ports of call. Even when they get back to Southampton they don't see their loved ones!! They aren't as fortunate as some of the officers and get to have their families on board from time to time!! Now where is that application form and my CV (only joking don't think they'd take on a loley housewife)!!!!!!

 

Elaine

[mufi]

When we docked in Cape Town on QE2 our stewardess, who was South African had a few short hours ashore to meet her five year old daughter who she had not seen for months, or would again for more months.

 

It certainly made us think of the cost to some less fortunate of our fabulous cruises.

 

David.

[winterstar]

JLind: Thanks again. I am getting excited. I will start working on DH. He keeps begging me to have kids...I keep saying "just ONE more trip..." I think this could work. :D

[QE2 fan]

Jill,

Forgive me if you have already mentioned this, but what was the weather like on your crossing? Was the sea calm all the time? If not. how did QM2 cope?

[JLind]

Hello QE2 Fan-

 

Weather was supposed to be scattered thunderstorms the day we left NYC on July 5th, so we were relieved that it held out for the fantastic sail away and didn't start to drizzle and become windy until we were approaching the Verrazano bridge. It was raining as we went past Coney Island, but for that tail-end, we watched from our hull balcony cabin.

 

The first day out was the best- sunny and nice. In hindsight, we wish we'd spent more time outside that day. We were only outside a little bit, so eager to explore the ship and experience all that was going on inside. The next three days were mostly foggy/cloudy with moments of sun/clearing. I asked someone on the staff if the fog was typical of the "middle of the ocean" days and she said yes.

 

We ran into a couple on the 4th night whom we had met during the sail-away and they said that one of their most favorite things of the crossing was going to the very front of the ship un on Deck 11 forward, and that it was always quiet there, very beautiful and they loved spotting some whales. The next day, our last day, I was determined to see this special place, but it was closed due to high winds. Wished I'd found that suggestion earlier...

 

Regarding the seas- they were calm. No need for the Bonine sea-sick medicine we'd brought along. My mom has spent up to 4 months at sea and has some very colorful stories about rough seas. But that seems less common, and luckily for us, we felt very little movement on the ship.

 

I'd take the Bonine along just in case! It's available over the counter and works well if you take it just at the first inkling of feeling sea-sick.

 

-Jill

[JLind]

This is a final summary, hints, tips and reflections of our eastbound crossing.

 

The QM2 was elegant, exhilarating and exceptional!

 

•Favorite places: bridge viewing area, deck 11 forward observation area, library/book store, Commodore Club, glass elevators in front –off of Commodore Club, little reading/board game nooks around Illuminations, we also found the art on the ship to be appealing and continued to marvel at the huge Samuel Cunard collage, a portrait made of tiny pictures of ships. Truly, the whole ship was a treasure to explore!

 

•Favorite activities: Illuminations three planetarium shows, adult yoga, adult spa- at least one day pass for an afternoon if nothing else, tea in the Queens Room, golf simulator , wine tasting, walking around the full deck 7, RADA classes for 3 of us

 

•Favorite speakers/entertainers- We adored the lectures of maritime historian, John Maxtone-Graham. I know this sounds boring, but he was one of the best speakers we have ever heard. All 6 of us (even 11 yr old and 14 yr old) made a point of catching his lectures. It was particularly interesting to see his photographs of the first ocean liners and to see the different ship conditions of class distinctions when the immigrants traveled to America. John covered the history of cruising in a series of talks, with expertise and photos and wit! He has written books, and speaks from time to time on ships, and we recommend finding him if he’s speaking on anyone’s future cruise. We all also loved RADA graduates’ Chekhov performance, again, a hands-down fun moment for our whole group. Also particularly talented were Megan, the ship’s harpist and Campbell, one of the pianists (the other musicians were wonderful too- we liked the quartet when they played during dinner and tea).

 

•Gossip- We were commenting to our waiters how beautiful we thought the Britannia dining room was, and they said it’s pretty but not well designed. They told us that the kitchen is only on the lower level and that they have to bring up all of the food to the upper levels. They said that there will be a renovation in November (?) 2005. It seems that they will put a kitchen on the upper level among other design changes. ?

 

•Scavenger hunt: There are murals in the corridor leading to the Britannia restaurant on Deck 2. Find the North America one, and look just below the Statue of Liberty. There is a surprising bit of humor there that the artist buried into the mural.

 

•Shopping: Didn’t do too much, as we knew we’d be carrying our luggage on two subsequent train trips. However, I did look at an Hermes scarf in the duty free shop on the ship and found that the same scarf in Paris was a tad bit less expensive there, even including the tax. On the Hermes website same scarf is about 10% more than at the duty free ship shop.

 

•Art Auction: I was more a voyeur than an official participant. They did have recognized artists, notably Behrens, and Leroy Neiman, but I’d say you’d be best to do some homework before leaving for your cruise to know how much these artists’ works typically cost and the how much the size of the piece you would want to buy would cost at a local source. The auctioneer said that galleries hate them (cruise auctions?) because they are the Home Depot of fine art. The auctions did seem to be well attended. They will ship the art you purchase aboard, to your home. I have no idea if that is an additional expense. (Say $5,000 in shipping perhaps?!? Kidding.)

 

•Anniversary cake- cancel that please. The purpose of our grand trip was to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary. We made arrangements onboard to get a cake for them. (We also ordered flowers on embarkation day which were promptly delivered to their room by the time we had returned from that 4:30 boat drill.) Due to the fact that their anniversary was not actually during the cruise days, we chose the second formal night as the night for the cake. I thought that we might just explode after eating the elaborate formal dinner, and then ordering menu deserts, to now think of a cake coming as well. I whispered to my mom that we had ordered a cake and she looked, well, almost fearful! I got up and asked our waiters to forget about serving the cake. It was right there and ready for the table, but they were gracious, although surprised, and agreed not to serve it. I asked them if they might be allowed to eat it... Choose the first casual night, informal night, or last casual night if you have date flexibility with your special occasion cake- and don’t order all of the courses that night, or it’s a food over-dose.

 

•Oooops! How strange is it that we never got to see the ship?!? We were dropped off with our luggage at the pier without ever getting a full view of the entire exterior of the ship before embarking. You know, that “wow, look at that gorgeous, huge ship we are about to sail on…!” moment never happened. We did have that brief thrilling gasp as we approached the ship in NYC at the pier, but we only caught a glimpse of the bow. On a cruise when you have ports, you leave the ship and return, and see your ship. When we were inside the NYC pier terminal, we could see portholes and a piece of the side of the ship, and then we caught a close side view as we got on. When we disembarked in Southampton, our transfer was waiting, and we only were able to catch a glimpse of the bow as we left… There were visual obstructions both when we arrived and then when we left, and we never got to take a good look at the whole exterior of the ship!

 

•Suite spies – my children, (Sherlock Holmes and Watson)

During the cruise, the kids quietly and politely noticed where the suites were located. We had done this on a previous cruise on another line. On the last morning, disembarkation day, we ate breakfast in the Britannia dining room. Then we set out on our mission to take a peek at the fanciest suites. I must stress that we would never, ever, enter a cabin without permission of a steward, and always remained conscientious about the fact that not every suite would be empty and being turned over, if someone might be staying on the ship. We sought only vacant suites. With that said, oh what fun to find the small window of opportunity when everyone is scuttling about and stressing about their luggage, transfers and disembarkation- to peek at a luxury suite. 8:30am everyone was to be out of their cabins, and so at about 8:15am we set out to find the super fancy suites. We politely asked the various attending stewards if we might have a quick peek, (the doors to the staterooms are often propped open while they are restocking bathroom supplies etc.) and we hopped to about 5 different “wow suites”, wow! And then, we were on our way.

 

 

PORTS OF CALL – The “Destinations” and “Ports of Call” sections of this website were very helpful for the post-QM2 part of our travels.

 

• London-

Stayed at the Crowne Plaza near Buckingham Palace, although the location was great, for some reason which is difficult to describe, we did not love this hotel. There was nothing specifically wrong with it, and it may have just been a touch of withdrawal from the ever-so-elegant QM2. We did ride the tubes and busses even in the aftermath of the “events of 7/7”. Highlights of London: we hired a private guide to take us out of London for jaunt in the country one day- I found this guide in the “Ports of Call” section of these boards and Harry was the best guide! He does many London tours, but his website lists all of the various day trips as well. He spent the whole day with us (Oxford, Warwick Castle, Stratford Upon Avon, the Cotswolds) he was great with my kids and also sensitive to my dad’s limited mobility. I’ll write more about him on the Ports of Call board, but he’s fantastic and Harry’s site is, http://www.cruising-america.com/londontours/. We were thrilled to be in London when the new Harry Potter book came out; loved and recommend tea at the Goring Hotel; saw the hit musical, Billy Elliott on the West End- it was inspiring and fantastic, a “must see” if you like theatre, but tickets are hard to get unless you book in advance- we got these rare “Billy Elliott” tickets in advance through http://www.soldouteventtickets.com where you pick up the tickets at the box office, and then found better seats and so bought more tickets- through http://www.londontheatrebookings.com, where the booking fee was a bit less, but the tickets had to be picked up at a location separate from the box office- and when we were there in person we learned that you can contact the Victoria Palace Theatre box office directly for "Billy Elliott" tickets at the phone number, 0870-1658787; We also saw the show “Woman in White” on the West End, (picked up ½ price tickets at Leicester Square on the day of) it was very good; enjoyed a boat ride to Greenwich; visited “DaVinci Code” spots; had a wonderful time seeing old friends; took the double decker hop on hop off bus; strolled around Covent Garden; spent time in Westminster Abbey; had a great place to see Buckingham Palace and changing of Guard (thanks to Harry-the-guide’s suggestions); checked out Harrods but couldn’t spend too much time there due to our shopping-phobic guys. Unfortunate exchange rate for Americans, it was $1.89 to buy 1 British Pound. Ouch. But in spite of that, and the aforementioned events of 7/7, we had a jolly time in London.

 

• Paris-

Loved Mayfair Hotel, (booked through http://www.TravelPro.net who also arranged our trains from London to Paris, and from Paris to Brussels) hotel was ideal central location; beautifully decorated; gracious staff, (funny how many people have asked us how the French treated us- they were warm and friendly and helpful- the crankiest person I encountered in 3 weeks away was a porter at JFK airport in NY upon our return home!) Highlights in Paris include; narrated hop-on/off double decker bus around the city; visiting the Louvre; Opera House; Versailles (guide not great, so won’t list); Eiffel Tower, delicious cafes, Champs de Ellyses, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame…

 

• Belgium-

The only reason we went to Brussels was due to the fact that the one way airfare home to the US was ¼ of the price it would have been one way home from London or Paris. But it was a fun last stop on our wonderful journey. Hotel Le Dixseptième was charming- a real find, fabulous location near the Grand Place, and a superb end to our travel adventure; in Brussels we ate waffles, pommes frites with mayonnaise, and mussels at the touristy but fun and lively Chez Leon. Finding my favorite Belgian chocolate was my personal mission, and my winner was, Wittamer Chocolate with crème fraiche. The Wittamer chocolates without crème fraiche are also delicious, but it’s the ones with crème fraiche that put me over the edge. You will hear that Pierre Marcolini is the new “it” chocolate, but those Wittamer chocolates with crème fraiche are heaven on earth! Both Wittamer and Pierre Marcolini shops are located on the Grand Sablon, a charming area. I carried back 10 boxes of crème fraiche Wittamer chocolates on the plane home for my most dear friends and family…

 

Au revoir, mes amis, and bon voyage, I hope this review has been helpful!

 

-Jill

[donnotrump]

Dear jlind: What a super description of the QM2... What you did in a "crossing" matched our ventures in 38 days on this majestic ship...... And you were dead on perfect on all of your descriptions.. and oddly, we had the same table in the Britannia (for a few days) and loved it as well......As for the elevators, we found that many passengers never found them or thought that they were for staff only.. ...my wife gave daily tours to them...And.... when a passenger was quite ill, and she had to be evacuated to Nova Scotia, the best viewing site (it was quite chilly & windy on deck) for the air rescue for her, her spouse & of course the luggage) was the "outdoor elevators "(as we named them).

 

................. The Samuel Cunard "photo" and the Statue of Liberty bit were right on too....

 

........One should mention that to travel in the North Atlantic, one should be thankful for any "sun" days that do occur..

 

........Passengers should be aware that the "Stars" shows in the "Illuminations "are threefold and each one is as good as the others..

.

....Lastly.... for any "cruisers" .. a must read is an old early 1980s book called "Nothing Can Go Wrong".. co written by John D.Macdonald and the Captain of the American flagged Mariposa (his name escapes me) and it desribes the daily activity aboard a cruise ship as seen by the staff & by a passenger......with alternating tales of the same events...John D..... is the author of the Travis Mcgee (is it Macgee?) capers.....

 

Hope that all of your future cruises are as happy & fun filled...(also. the asme wishes for all readers of these boards.

 

. this is my first posting...

[juliang]

who can afford this???!!!

 

we are looking for a nice transatlantic cruise for two for under $250 a person each. If you have any suggestions, much appreciated.

 

/s/ very poor in dc:D :eek:

[donnotrump]

to juliang............................you must be jesting or working for the government or both..

[rickydiamond]

QM2 reflections;

 

To jlind - brilliant

 

To donnotrump; a nice riposte

 

To juliang - who are you in real life?

 

To all others - we are joining the QM2 on September 8th - in Southampton - so many thanks for all you asides; etc.

 

:) Hope that the food is reasonable

[susan1234]

JLind, again, thanks for your insightful and exceptionally helpful report. I have a question for you if you do not mind. Apoligise if I have missed reading this, but, what transport did you and your family use to go from Southampton to London hotel?

 

Regards,

su

[JLind]

Hi Su-

 

I never did specify about our transfer. We had actually booked a package with Vantage, which included the QM2, the transfer (a bus with actually only about 18 of us) and then the week in London at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We then added on Paris and Belgium on our own. We originally looked into a similar package -QM2/London- with Grand Circle, but they wouldn't allow my 11 year old daughter, saying she was too young.

 

So sorry if I can't be of help with independent transfer options. There must be info on these boards. I'd search or post your question regarding transfers as a new thread.

 

Good Luck!

 

-Jill

[elaine61]

Hi Susan

 

Not too far from the docks (but you would need a taxi), is Southampton Railway station (about 10 - 15 minutes)!! Here you can get a train into Waterloo I think it is!! Can you also not check that there are no coaches laid on for travel to London??

 

Elaine

[susan1234]

Not too far from the docks (but you would need a taxi), is Southampton Railway station (about 10 - 15 minutes)!! Here you can get a train into Waterloo I think it is!!

 

There are eight of us adults (including three seniors over 80), at least 16 pieces of luggage, hence it would be more convenient to have a van/bus hire for the transfer. Cunard does have the service but the cost is $80.00 per person. I am still exploring other possibilities, otherwise, we shall have no choice but to 'train' it. :(

 

Yes, I will do a search in this forum for the transport as well.

 

Many thanks!

 

Su

[dtwtraveler]

There are eight of us adults (including three seniors over 80), at least 16 pieces of luggage, hence it would be more convenient to have a van/bus hire for the transfer. Cunard does have the service but the cost is $80.00 per person. I am still exploring other possibilities, otherwise, we shall have no choice but to 'train' it. :(

 

Yes, I will do a search in this forum for the transport as well.

 

Many thanks!

 

Su

 

Have you checked into taking the Orient Express! It's a unique experience and reasonable compared to the Orient Express on the Continent. They don't offer it for every date, but they might be offering it for your arrival.:cool:

[Paul NH]

Jill,

 

Great summary. That was an interesting tidbit about visiting the suites. Did they seem smaller in real life compared to the photos?

 

I had the same feelings about not being able to get a good view of the entire ship, either in New York or in Southampton. I have read accounts from the old days where people had the same problem many times.

 

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

 

Paul

[elaine61]

Go to www.yell.com and search for private hire. It will give you a list of options. There was minibus and van rental there I think and also chauffer driven option!! Put in Southampton and see if there is anything there. £80 per person seems rather steep to me. I'm sure you could hire a chauffer driven minibus for less that £640 which is what it would be for 8 of you!! I did post a message with the website page etc, but my computer froze so lost the message. I hope the above site can help you out!!

 

Elaine

[wbc]

There are eight of us adults (including three seniors over 80), at least 16 pieces of luggage, hence it would be more convenient to have a van/bus hire for the transfer. Cunard does have the service but the cost is $80.00 per person. I am still exploring other possibilities, otherwise, we shall have no choice but to 'train' it. :(

 

Yes, I will do a search in this forum for the transport as well.

 

Another option is discussed in this thread. Good luck!

[elaine61]

I see it's $80 not £80!! Even so, it still seems expensive to me!! I hope you find something!!

 

Elaine

[Liv4cruzin]

A little late jumping on this thread; but had to say something.

 

Jill, if you're not a travel writer; you should be. BRAVO! I too was on the July 5th crossing & the return to NY on the 17th. Reading your account was as thrilling as my actual experience. The shocking morning of Juy 7th also caused me to reflect back to Sept. 11th. Being isolated as we were with only a few hours of fuzzy/snowy TV reception was even more distressing. The Captain handled the situation well & reported it w/ great sensitivity.

 

A few additional comments, if I may.... John Maxtone-Graham is a fabulous speaker. I had the pleasure of enjoying his running commentary during a QE2 crossing a few years back. But since he isn't onboard all the time, I doubt that there is the entertaining commentary on every sailing from NY. And that's a shame. He also does a great commentary while leaving Southampton. Maybe he should record his commentaries so it could be played during sailaway. It greatly adds to the experience.

 

During turnaround in S'hampton, I too "visited" the suites & penthouses. In response to PauNH's question about their size. Paul, I think the penthouses looked bigger in person. They are as big as most people's homes!

 

And I don't think anyone ever answered Elain61's question about US immigration on a westbound crossing. Unlike the UK folks who sailed over w/ us, the US immigration people come aboard w/ the pilot in the predawn hours. You report to immigration according to your deck location starting at the UNGODLY hour of 5:30 am. That's one way of making sure everyone gets up, dressed & ready to roll when the ship is cleared.

 

Everyone should try to sail this fabulous ship at least once in your lifetime!

 

Becky

[nitnyleo]

Thank you very much for the tips that you provided (and NOT saying how overly salted the gravy was or that the veggies were too mushy). You provided VERY useful information.

 

It must've been glorious sailing out of NYC in July. I hope it is a glorious weather day for my sailing on 1 Nov....especially, if I'm on that top deck. (I suppose I better learn to take night photos with illuminated objects; ie, SOL.)

 

And, an "especial" thank you for the tip on dining times. (I gotta change mine.)

 

Very well done post,

Cheers....Thom

[elaine61]

And I don't think anyone ever answered Elain61's question about US immigration on a westbound crossing. Unlike the UK folks who sailed over w/ us, the US immigration people come aboard w/ the pilot in the predawn hours. You report to immigration according to your deck location starting at the UNGODLY hour of 5:30 am. That's one way of making sure everyone gets up, dressed & ready to roll when the ship is cleared.

 

Liv4cruzin

 

Wow that will come as a bit of a shock to the family. We are not clearing the ship but do want to look around NY so I guess it will be a long day for us!! It's a shame that they can't do the same with US immigration as they do for UK!! Seems a bit more reasonable having to go in the daytime than at the crack of dawn!! And will I have to do it again when we return to NY before coming back to the UK or will I only have to visit US immigration the once???

 

Elaine

[mufi]

Elaine - You will not have to get up at that time. As a UK citizen you will be given, the day before a green form to complete. You take this with your passport when you leave the ship and will be fingerprinted and photographed. You can then go ashore.

 

This will happen whenever you return.

 

David.

[guernseyguy]

And will I have to do it again when we return to NY before coming back to the UK or will I only have to visit US immigration the once???

 

Elaine

 

Elaine, the short answer is 'I don't know' - sometimes they insist that the whole ship clears immigration, sometimes if you are not getting off, then you won't need to. If you want to enter the US again you will need to clear immigration again. Personally I find all this 'security' stuff a bit spooky, maybe we should start finger printing and photographing the cousins too....see how they like it!;) All that said since they've got all this stuff to do now, they tend to spend less time asking questions......

 

Peter