Live from the Queen Victoria--Princess Elites sail Cunard QV to the Baltic

[GCurry]

Is this an attempt to curb my freedom of expression? :)

Not if it actually has relevance to the thread.

The Lakota Sioux (Amer Indians) have a saying "If you find that you are riding a dead horse, the first thing you do is get off it!!" which you might find to be good advice!! if at this point in life, if I want to be more PC, I can always get some thought provoking material from the pasture next door.

 

Thank you, Gene, for a very well written post. That's why they call you Gentleman Gene! Good to see you on the Cunard forum.

Beth

Thanks for the kind words Beth, they used to call me that, but as most people are too polite to say what sometimes needs to be said and suffer accordingly, I might have changed. Edited August 19, 2014 by GCurry

[Pennbank]

Well said G.Curry. It appears that there are certain politically-correct people who seem to be everywhere on these boards desperately looking for something to be offended by. Punki goes to great lengths and some expense to give her account of cruising on the Queen Victoria and, as G.Curry says, if you don't like it don't read it!

Political-correctness is a curse on society. I'm sure most readers saw nothing 'offensive' in Punki's comments but if the word 'ghetto' gives you a touch of the vapours perhaps it's time to get a life!

 

absolutely agree

 

Wonder how many person who constantly write on the Cunard forum have actually sailed on the ships recently. :eek:

[cwn]

Not if it actually has relevance to the thread.

The Lakota Sioux (Amer Indians) have a saying "If you find that you are riding a dead horse, the first thing you do is get off it!!" which you might find to be good advice!! if at this point in life, if I want to be more PC, I can always get some thought provoking material from the pasture next door.

 

Love your way with words!

[cwn]

Well said G.Curry. It appears that there are certain politically-correct people who seem to be everywhere on these boards desperately looking for something to be offended by. Punki goes to great lengths and some expense to give her account of cruising on the Queen Victoria and, as G.Curry says, if you don't like it don't read it!

Political-correctness is a curse on society. I'm sure most readers saw nothing 'offensive' in Punki's comments but if the word 'ghetto' gives you a touch of the vapours perhaps it's time to get a life!

 

absolutely agree

 

Wonder how many person who constantly write on the Cunard forum have actually sailed on the ships recently. :eek:

 

CC really does need a like button!.

 

PunkiC has a great chatty way in her posts on this cruise that make for good reading. These recent posts are spot on and have me breathing a sigh of relief. In the spring, we will spend a total of 34 days on two Cunard cruises and I was beginning to think we had made a mistake.

 

G.Curry, How's the water...we are almost neighbors.

Edited August 19, 2014 by cwn

[Mrs. Wilburforce]

I hope the op hasn't been frightened off. I was enjoying her blog and hope to read more.

As far as her use of the term "ghetto", was it a bit jarring? :( Yes. Would she have gotten the stink eye on the commuter train into Chicago? :eek: Absolutely. Can we forgive her and move on? Please! :)

 

This has been a very helpful day to day summary. I appreciate the op including her struggles with jet lag, sea sickness, and pain.

I have always wanted to see Petersburg. What an amazing trip. If only I could convince DH.

[GCurry]

G.Curry, How's the water...we are almost neighbors.

Our Texas beach water is running about 87 F so come on down. We just booked a five day Carnival Cruise out of Galveston for Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30 through Sep. 4) down to Mexico, Coz and Progreso (Merida); Texas heat for Mexican heat although cheaper than flying anywhere cool. The wife who works at NASA is also a college student and wants a trip on her semester break. She has condescended to take me with her!!:D

I'll work on my Spanish for as a UTEP grad, and reading the Cunard board, I find that I'm illiterate in two languages!!:rolleyes:

Merida will be interesting as it's the Paris of Mexico. When the US bought Louisiana from Spain, the Spanish and a number of French in New Orleans relocated to Merida; but, you knew that!!

A ship doing a Western Caribe can't pass Cozumel without pulling in, it's much like St. Thomas in that regard. I've seen 8 ships and 13,000 cruisers there in one day. I believe that it's a port of call for Cunard.

Edited August 19, 2014 by GCurry

[brigittetom]

 

Wonder how many person who constantly write on the Cunard forum have actually sailed on the ships recently. :eek:

 

We sail Cunard 3 or 4 times a year. My posts could not be more irrelevant or less productive. What's your point. :)

[Jimsgirl]

I too wonder if some posters have ever sailed on Cunard.

 

Recently I was "chastised" by a poster, who said how cooperative Cunard was. (I had been critical of Cunard )

 

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this poster had never cruised with Cunard.

 

I have double digit cruises (Diamond) with the line, having sailed on all four ships.

[cwn]

Our Texas beach water is running about 87 F so come on down. We just booked a five day Carnival Cruise out of Galveston for Labor Day weekend (Aug. 30 through Sep. 4) down to Mexico, Coz and Progreso (Merida); Texas heat for Mexican heat although cheaper than flying anywhere cool..........

...........A ship doing a Western Caribe can't pass Cozumel without pulling in, it's much like St. Thomas in that regard. I've seen 8 ships and 13,000 cruisers there in one day. I believe that it's a port of call for Cunard.

 

Sounds like a fun way to spend the Labor Day weekend. I know the Carnival line gets maligned often, but that 5 day out of Galveston is really a nice little break. I have gone it twice now with various of my grandchildren and probably will be doing one again next summer with the two youngest. I liked Merida...it is a pretty little town with a nice colonial center, I have done the cooking class and the near by ruins and horse show so far. They are both fun for young and old.

 

You are right about Cozumel. DH and I like the diving at both places, but traveling with the children I am restricted to doing the sub....done it twice now and even for an old diver it is a fun activity. But there is much more to do...so I am sure you will find something fun.

 

Sounds like the water is fine...you guys still having problems with seaweed? We live outside of Houston, but don't get down much anymore.

[pris993]

We are elite on Princess like the OP, did the OV twice in 6 months a year or so ago. We enjoyed initially a really nice TA from Florida to Southampton, then booked the OV again for a Mediterranean. We found the cabin, service, MDR meals and entertainment on board outstanding.

 

We enjoyed the OV so much, we ar considering booking the QM2 out of New York to Qubec City RT to celebrate our 85th/70th birthdays.

[brigittetom]

 

We enjoyed the OV so much, we ar considering booking the QM2 out of New York to Qubec City RT to celebrate our 85th/70th birthdays.

 

We did that last year and there is nothing not to love. Book it. :)

[PunkiC]

Live from the Queen Victoria--Princess Elites sail Cunard QV to the Baltic

 

Day Nine: At sea once again

 

We are back at sea and getting a little bounce. This morning we had full gale force winds with apparent wind speed of about 54 knots, but it has settled down now. I was still forced to keep my hand laundry to a minimum and dry it inside. Later in the afternoon the sun came out so I did the rest and we are now back once again to having no dirty laundry whatsoever except the tux shirt that DH wore for dinner and dancing. He has one more clean tux shirt and we have only one more formal night so we will wait until we get back home to have them done. It is so nice to arrive home without a bunch of dirty laundry.

 

It was very slow and lazy today but DH went out and about earlier in the morning and found the Russian buffet set up in The Queens Room where they were having a big sale of all things Russian, including vodka that you could take straight to your room. The prices were quite reasonable, but we had already purchased vodka in St. Petersburg and we never buy trinkets as we are at the stage of life where we are trying to get rid of stuff rather than acquire more. DH did bring me back some toast and caviar. It was red caviar, but not too bad. They had the full set-up with chopped eggs, chopped onion, toast points and capers. By the time I was ready to head down to breakfast the caviar was all gone which was too bad as I love caviar for breakfast even if it is not served with Beluga vodka which is how they serve it in first class on Lufthansa.

 

The Captain had a question and answer session at 11:00 a.m. in the theater but today I was just not going to rush around for anything and I knew I could watch it on television while I dressed for dinner, which I did. These types of interviews are extremely interesting to me. I think it would be fascinating to work on a ship for a week or so as long as I had a pretty easy job. There is no possible way that I could work as hard as the stewards or waiters for even one day. When I was in college I worked one summer as a waitress at Disneyland and can remember that even as a youngster I thought I was going to die at the end of my first 8-hour shift.

 

We just puttered around not doing much of anything for the entire day. Almost everyone seemed to be content to just sit around all day long and talk about their marvelous adventures in St. Petersburg. It was a very intense two days of touring and everyone with whom we spoke had a truly marvelous experience.

 

Although this is only our second Cunard cruise, we were invited to the World Club party with the Captain and senior officers. I am sure this was because we have become friends with Dragana, the Future Cruise Director who was the hostess of the party. At first we had thought to go to the party before dinner, but then decided that we didn’t want to rush around so we went to the party after dinner. It was very nice and we had a lovely chat with the parents of the Captain’s personal assistant. I wish we would have met them earlier in the cruise as we all got on so well.

 

After the party, where I must admit that the drink service was much more liberal than on Princess, we ran up to our cabin to get our masks and then dashed back down to the Queen’s Room for the Masquerade Ball. If for no other reason than the ballroom and the orchestras, I am sure we will be sailing Cunard much more often in the future. It was an elegant evening. DH and I were selected in the top 3 for the costume contest, but the winner was this very beautiful young woman in a sari and matching mask. I had borrowed a Cleopatra mask from my daughter-in-law elect and wore it with a beaded gold capelet. I typically bring only one black gown on a cruise and then decorate it with shawls, capelets, and jewelry to save on packing. Last night everyone just assumed that the capelet and dress were all one piece. The next formal night is Ascot, but I brought nothing to wear for the occasion. I have a few beautiful Ascot hats at home, but they are way too elaborate to drag halfway around the world for a single party.

 

The dancing at the masquerade ball was wonderful and we danced more than we had on any previous evening. After a particularly energetic Viennese Waltz, I had to turn DH over to the single women for a couple of dances while I rested. He is an excellent lead so the single ladies appreciate the fact that I tire more easily than he. After two sets, we left our table right on the dance floor and joined our dinner mates at a table against the wall. I took off my dance shoes and DH danced one more dance each with the two single women from our dinner table and then we happily went to bed.

 

cunardaddict writes:

 

Hi folks, I live in a place that is called "The Ghetto" by the local people. It is one of the very rare gated communities in Germany. I do not belong to a social minority nor do I or presumably any of my neighbours suffer from any substantial shortages of whatever.

 

We live on the hill above the Space Needle in Seattle and it is sometimes called a Catholic Ghetto. Back in the early ‘70s when we bought our home, Boeing (our primary Seattle employer) was in a world of hurt. There was actually a billboard on the freeway that read “Will the last one who leaves Seattle, please turn out the lights”. Moreover, bussing had just been introduced in Seattle causing massive white flight to the suburbs. We didn’t care about bussing as it had always been our intent to send our children to Catholic schools. Many other Catholics felt the same way and took advantage of the very low housing prices in the inner city, turning our neighborhood into something of a Catholic Ghetto.

 

Shortly after we purchased our current home, there was a massive gas crisis which had all those folks who had moved to the suburbs running back to the city. Within three years of the purchase of our home its appraised value had tripled. It is currently appraised at 33.3 times the purchase price and housing prices in our neighborhood continue skyrocketing. We are very blessed. Most houses are sold for more than their asking price within days as Amazon and The Gates Foundation have recently built their world headquarters down at the bottom of our hill, not to mention that ours is the neighborhood of choice for almost anyone who works downtown. These days our Catholic Ghetto school is the top-rated grammar school in the city and very affluent young people fight to get their children into the school. Sadly, even tithing parishioners are at times unable to get their children into the school as it can accommodate only 250 children, grades K-8. Even when I was pregnant with our first child, almost 40 years ago, she was the last person admitted to her class and that happened before she was born.

 

I suspect, cunardaddict, that you too might belong to the same social minority that we belong to—the one to which most people aspire. ;)

 

Ray 66 writes:

 

Just a note for anyone reading this who is going to do a St Petersburg tour in the future - there is no need to buy rubles, you can use US dollars.

 

This is true if you stay in the tourist area as everything is quoted in dollars, Euros and rubles, however, if you get out of the tourist area there are places that only accept rubles. I learned this when we tried to buy a beer when we had lunch at the pie shop. No dice. However our charming guide bought the beer in rubles and we paid her in dollars.

 

Did I mention that the guide told us that we were to tip 10% for guides and 5% for drivers? Typically, I don’t like being told how much I am supposed to “tip” but in this case it made sense as were unfamiliar with local customs and she was well worth a $30 per day tip per person. She was so adorable that I was seriously hoping I could take her home with us, especially since she was pregnant. As it is, I fear I may someday get arrested for stealing a baby from a shopping cart as I am one of the very few people my age that I know who doesn’t have at least one grandchild. If I ever do get one, I suspect that I shall become the more boring grandmother in the world and do nothing but dote on my darling baby. Fortunately my daughter-in-law elect is only 30 so there is still hope.

 

Tomorrow we visit Warnemunde which my daughter calls the Beer Town. When she was studying in Copenhagen, the students could take a bus/ferry trip for about 25 cents to Warnemunde to buy cheap beer and chocolate.

Edited August 20, 2014 by PunkiC

[Salacia]

PunkiC wrote "...I took off my dance shoes and DH danced one more dance each with the two single women from our dinner table and then we happily went to bed..."

I sense that you did not mean all four of you went happily 'to bed', but I have often been reminded about my naiveté. No judging, just pointing out that interpretation varies.;):)

 

But I do have a serious question:

 

PunkiC wrote: "I suspect, cunardaddict, that you too might belong to the same social minority that we belong to—the one to which most people aspire." What is the social minority that you suspect cunardaddict and you belong to and that you feel most people aspire?

 

Thanks for your anticipated reply. Your thread has certainly resulted in many interesting discussions, and I thank you for that. -Salacia

Edited August 20, 2014 by Salacia

[cunardaddict]

But I do have a serious question:

 

PunkiC wrote: "I suspect, cunardaddict, that you too might belong to the same social minority that we belong to—the one to which most people aspire." What is the social minority that you suspect cunardaddict and you belong to and that you feel most people aspire?

 

Thanks for your anticipated reply. Your thread has certainly resulted in many interesting discussions, and I thank you for that. -Salacia

 

I don't know to which society PunkiC is referring, but I am just not local having moved there 11 years ago. And I do not feel any sort of distress with the locals. They are just the type of community that opens up very slowly to non locals - 5 to 10 generations later one is accepted...

 

So you better ask PunkiC.

[Victoria2]

PunkiC wrote "...I took off my dance shoes and DH danced one more dance each with the two single women from our dinner table and then we happily went to bed..."

I sense that you did not mean all four of you went happily 'to bed', but I have often been reminded about my naiveté. No judging, just pointing out that interpretation varies.;):)

 

But I do have a serious question:

 

PunkiC wrote: "I suspect, cunardaddict, that you too might belong to the same social minority that we belong to—the one to which most people aspire." What is the social minority that you suspect cunardaddict and you belong to and that you feel most people aspire?

 

Thanks for your anticipated reply. Your thread has certainly resulted in many interesting discussions, and I thank you for that. -Salacia

 

PunkiC is entertaining us while giving useful information at the same time. This is a daily holiday report, not a sort of thesis which is to be studied and possibly pulled apart by the visiting professor.

 

 

Note the wink!!!!

Winks usually denote a bit of fun, mischievous too in this case. :)

 

PunkiC I agree about the Roubles. We didn't take any [and won't again either] but found we could have done with a very small amount for a drink when neither $ or credit cards would do. Like your guide, ours paid and we paid her.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Victoria2
mischievous

[English Voyager]

It is some years since we were last in Warnemunde.

 

Do the Cruise Lines still offer excursions to Berlin from there?

 

The thought of a 2-2.5 hours journey each way just to spend a few hours in a Capital City never appealed to us so we elected to stay in Warnemunde.

 

We found it to be a charming, relatively small ( about 8500 inhabitants) seaside resort that still retained elements of it's original fishing village.

 

Additionally, for anyone who wishes to shop, it is a very short distance from the city of Rostock.

 

As a point of information, depending on the mode of transport ,to travel from Warnemunde, via Rostock, to Copenhagen would take anything from 5 to 9 hours.

[cunardaddict]

It is some years since we were last in Warnemunde.

 

Do the Cruise Lines still offer excursions to Berlin from there?

 

The thought of a 2-2.5 hours journey each way just to spend a few hours in a Capital City never appealed to us so we elected to stay in Warnemunde.

 

We found it to be a charming, relatively small ( about 8500 inhabitants) seaside resort that still retained elements of it's original fishing village.

 

Additionally, for anyone who wishes to shop, it is a very short distance from the city of Rostock.

 

As a point of information, depending on the mode of transport ,to travel from Warnemunde, via Rostock, to Copenhagen would take anything from 5 to 9 hours.

 

Warnemuende is the closest port to Berlin. That is the main reason why ships go there. It has beautiful beaches - well, not this week due to severe weather - and a nice village center. The village belongs to the town of Rostock, heavily destroyed in WW2 and not reconstructed. It looks very much like East Berlin, only smaller. Rostock Zoo is worth visiting, close by other towns are Stralsund and Greifswald to the east and Wismar and Luebeck to the west, all much nicer. Schwerin Castle is also interesting. The Bad Doberan monastery is 25km west and there runs also a steam train along the coast passing Heiligendamm, the "white village". This is a luxury resort from the late 1800s and josted a G8 meeting years ago. Very $$$.

 

I wich you on QV a safe trip as the weather is not really improving...

Edited August 20, 2014 by cunardaddict

[Salacia]

Cunardaddict, how bad is the weather? Cunard website states that QV is currently docked in Warnemunde (not that I put much faith in the accuracy of that webpage).

Edited August 20, 2014 by Salacia

[cunardaddict]

I too wonder if some posters have ever sailed on Cunard.

 

Recently I was "chastised" by a poster, who said how cooperative Cunard was. (I had been critical of Cunard )

 

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this poster had never cruised with Cunard.

 

I have double digit cruises (Diamond) with the line, having sailed on all four ships.

 

Well, there my be various causes for Cunard beeing not so cooperative concerning an individual issue. I found them sometimes very, very quick and sufficient (Hamburg office) and sometimes annoying (Southampton office). One might think it could be a national problem...

[cunardaddict]

Cunardaddict, how bad is the weather? Cunard website states that QV is currently docked in Warnemunde (not that I put much faith in the accuracy of that webpage).

 

We have 13C 54F right now in the bay with winds of 3 to 5 Bft. On the open sea it could be up to 8bft. Rain 50%, sky changing from blue to dark every 5 minutes, yesterday heavy thunderstorms with hale.

 

Last year: 40C 104F.

[cunardaddict]

Cunardaddict, how bad is the weather? Cunard website states that QV is currently docked in Warnemunde (not that I put much faith in the accuracy of that webpage).

 

She's not docked at Warnemuende. According to AIS she is currently passing through Langelandsbelt northwards.

 

I presume that the strong easterly winds made it impossible to enter the Warnow river.

[3rdGenCunarder]

It is some years since we were last in Warnemunde.

 

Do the Cruise Lines still offer excursions to Berlin from there?

 

The thought of a 2-2.5 hours journey each way just to spend a few hours in a Capital City never appealed to us so we elected to stay in Warnemunde.

 

We found it to be a charming, relatively small ( about 8500 inhabitants) seaside resort that still retained elements of it's original fishing village.

 

Additionally, for anyone who wishes to shop, it is a very short distance from the city of Rostock.

 

As a point of information, depending on the mode of transport ,to travel from Warnemunde, via Rostock, to Copenhagen would take anything from 5 to 9 hours.

 

Although it was a long ride and a long day we did the excursion to Berlin. We had no idea if we'd ever get back to the area, so we didn't want to miss Berlin. We're old enough to remember the construction of The Wall and, of course, it's fall. So we couldn't skip Berlin.

 

Cunard's trip was fantastic. They handled the logistics beautifully, so we got to see a lot. We still talk about seeing Checkpoint Charlie (yes, I know it's a replica) and standing right where the Wall had been. I must confess to not knowing a lot of WWII history, so seeing the Airlift Museum was such an education.

 

If you've been to Berlin before or think you're likely to get there on your own, then the day trip probably wouldn't be attractive. As it turns out, we haven't been back, so I'm glad we were able to see as much as we did. Couldn't have come close doing it on our own.

[GCurry]

Once said when asked to join Rotary," that he would never join a club that would have him for a member!!"

PunkiC wrote: "I suspect, cunardaddict, that you too might belong to the same social minority that we belong to—the one to which most people aspire." What is the social minority that you suspect cunardaddict and you belong to and that you feel most people aspire?

I don't know either Salacia, but I can take some comfort in the fact that I'll never be a member.

[3rdGenCunarder]

PunkiC wrote "...I took off my dance shoes and DH danced one more dance each with the two single women from our dinner table and then we happily went to bed..."

I sense that you did not mean all four of you went happily 'to bed', but I have often been reminded about my naiveté. No judging, just pointing out that interpretation varies.;):)

 

But I do have a serious question:

 

PunkiC wrote: "I suspect, cunardaddict, that you too might belong to the same social minority that we belong to—the one to which most people aspire." What is the social minority that you suspect cunardaddict and you belong to and that you feel most people aspire?

 

Thanks for your anticipated reply. Your thread has certainly resulted in many interesting discussions, and I thank you for that. -Salacia

 

Thank you for being brave enough to ask the question. But I doubt you'll get an answer. That wink meant "we know who we are, don't we?" So the OP's fellow minority members were addressed. And for once, this curious mind doesn't want to know. As the wink invites us to do, I'll draw my own conclusions and be satisfied with that.

 

And now this discussion of winks has me thinking back to Graham Chapman... :D

(didn't want to use a wink here)

Edited August 20, 2014 by 3rdGenCunarder

[3rdGenCunarder]

Once said when asked to join Rotary," that he would never join a club that would have him for a member!!"

I don't know either Salacia, but I can take some comfort in the fact that I'll never be a member.

 

Thank you for posting that. I can never remember who said that, but I've always thought it was a great line.