Live from the Queen Elizabeth--Nov 21 to Dec 5 Med Cruise

[PunkiC]

Queen Elizabeth Mediterranean Cruise

 

Day 8 Sailing to Korcula

 

First thing this morning I went back down to talk with the maître d’ and got reassigned to a table for ten. We were still not able to figure out how we had been moved but it may have been the result of our changing cabins. Oh well, all is well that ends well. Hopefully I haven’t spoken too soon as there is a possibility that we could end up with ten duds—unlikely, but possible. My biggest concern with Cunard cruises is always the fact that we are stuck with fixed dining and have no other dining room option. On our cruise this August we lucked out and had an amazing table of ten but you can never be certain.

 

DH got back into the fencing class. He had decided to pass if there were lots of new passengers who wanted to sign up. As it happens, there were very few new people who wanted to join, so he was able to take another round of classes without inconveniencing anyone else who wanted to give fencing a try.

 

I was hungry so I decided to give the dining room a try for breakfast. It was ok and I enjoyed sitting at a large sharing table, but I honestly prefer the free choice aspects of the Lido. The bad part about a low-carb diet is that sooner or later, I start craving lighter, crunchier foods like crisp apples which are high inn carbs. In the Lido, I can have a bit of a side salad which satisfies that urge. Celery provides an especially good solution—cold, crunchy, light and refreshing.

 

We held our second Meet and Greet today and it was much better attended. It really helps to have adequate notice time. Unfortunately, they also had a very loud band playing in the Garden Room so we had to delay our start time by 15 minutes. We had good discussions about travel in Rome and Naples, as well as methods of acquiring the maximum amount of onboard credit, which is always a favorite topic, and people who had arranged private tours together were able to finalize their meet-up plans.

 

In the afternoon, we took it all pretty easy, resting up from our two very busy days in Venice where we did a lot of vaporetto touring and walking.

 

I tried to do some laundry in the self-service laundry, but it was packed and I didn’t have the patience for it. Instead I went back to our cabin and, since the sun came out, hand washed a bunch of stuff to dry on the deck. Of course, as soon as I had it all lain out, the sun disappeared for the rest of the day so we are stuck with a bunch of damp clothes drying around the cabin. That is the first time in 41 cruises that that has ever happened to me. Hopefully we will get a couple of bright sunny days as we head down to Civitavecchia. I suspect it will be raining during our trek to Vela Luka.

 

We were assigned a table of ten and I believe we will enjoy these couples—three couples are English and one couple is German. The German couple doesn’t speak English very well (certainly better than I speak German) but they wanted to be with an English speaking table so they would feel like they are really on vacation, and have an opportunity to practice their English. Makes sense to me.

 

I was way too tired after dinner to even think about dancing and then having to get up ridiculously early to catch one of the first tenders into Korcula Town. We will be meeting a taxi at 9:00 a.m. which will drive us to Vela Luka which is the town where DH’s parents were born and raised. I want to go to Mass at 10:30 a.m. in the Church where his mother was baptized and his parents were married. His father wasn’t baptized in this Church as he was born in 1887 and the Church wasn’t built until the 1900. We will then spend the day with some cousins, one of whom will drive us back in time to catch the ship in the afternoon.

[Salacia]

Sounds like a wonderful voyage. -S.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Salacia

[Morgans]

Enjoying reading this very much. Looking forward to hearing about your day. I think it's fascinating that you will be visiting the church that has so many family connections. Please keep us informed.

[MawganTr]

Still enjoying the blog. It's fascinating to hear the family history of your husband and how you are able to visit places from his family's past. Did you choose this itinerary for that reason?

 

 

 

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[Scrapnana]

Glad you like your new tablemates. Where is your new stateroom?

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[PunkiC]

Queen Elizabeth Mediterranean Cruise

 

Day 9 Korcula and Vela Luka

 

Today we arrived in Korcula, a tender port, to a very insistent rain. We had originally tried to book a morning tour to Vela Luka, returning with the afternoon tour, but they wouldn’t allow that so we instead had ordered a taxi to meet us at the pier at 9:00 a.m. The tour desk was very accommodating and allowed us to join the first tour group for the tender into Korcula Town. As it happened, we arrived and were cleared early, so we actually had time to enjoy a cup of coffee and bit of free internet at the Hotel Korcula, before our driver arrived.

 

The drive from Korcula and Vela Luka, where DH’s parents were both born and raised, takes about 45 minutes, but our driver accomplished it in about 30 on the winding, twisting roads between the two towns. By the time we arrived in Vela Luka, the weather had cleared which was a very good thing. Shortly after we arrived and went into the bar at the hotel, a cousin arrived to greet us. Her children were singing in the children’s choir which had processed down from the Church with the priest and 10 vested altar servers for a ceremony to light the first Advent candle. Following that ceremony, everyone processed back to the Church for 10:30 Mass. I went with another cousin, but DH chose to stay in the Hotel and talk with his old cousin who is 88 and didn’t want to go to Mass today.

 

The men always go first in the procession, which of course would never fly in America. Even worse, only men sat in the first four rows of pews. I don’t speak Croatian, but still it was very rewarding for me to attend Mass and receive communion in the Church where my mother-in-law was baptized and married. Her family lived just up the hill from the Church and she was very religious so I could picture her praying in that Church often as a girl and a young woman.

 

By the time we got back to the hotel, quite a group had formed at the table, including the Mayor. One of DH’s nephews in Anacortes, the town where his family grew up, had published a book on the Fishing Families of Anacortes and had sent along a copy to give to the Mayor for the Vela Luka museum, along with a copy of another book setting for the history of the family’s journey from Vela Luka to American. DH’s oldest cousin was a history professor who has written several books himself, and he gave us copies of his books to take back to the museum in Anacortes. It was fascinating to listen to our cousin’s stories of growing up under Communist rule and attending fascists’ grammar school as a boy. He also said that as a boy he and his siblings had to memorize the contact information for DH’s family, in the event things went really badly during the war and they had to go to America to get away.

 

This is off season, so there were no tourists and the dining room in the hotel was not officially open. They did, however, open especially for us for lunch. We had a very long leisurely lunch with some very good local wine. After lunch, we walked over to visit another cousin for coffee and dessert and she showed us some photographs of DH that his mother had sent to her during the war. We had never seen some of them before and she even had picture of me before DH and I were married. She loaded us up with local pasties which we took back to the ship and shared with our dinner mates.

 

One of our younger cousins who had at one time lived in the States and spoke very good English, finally drove us back to Korcula. Along the way we stopped at a brand new market where we bought some local wine. As we were walking back to the tender, we ran into our wine steward from the ship who inspected our wine choices and said they were very good.

 

By the time we got to Korcula town it was nearly dark and everything was closed up, even the Church. We peeked in, but didn’t go in as an older nun was busy scrubbing the foyer and we didn’t want to disturb her. Korcula Town is a very beautiful example of a medieval walled city which is some ways is nicer and more interesting than Dubrovnik or Kotor. The next time we come back we plan to stay longer, see more of the island and have more time to explore the old city.

 

The tenders going back to the ship were quite empty as most people had either taken and returned from early tours, or simply gone in and walked around the walled city which is quite small.

 

All ten of our table mate showed up for dinner and enjoyed the Croatian pastries supplied by our cousin. After dinner we watched the Sequence Dancing in the Queen’s Room. We must make it a point of learning some of the more popular routines before out next Cunard cruise. We have a book and instructions are available on youtube.co--we just need to take the time to practice.

 

All in all it was a very rewarding day which I am sure DH will treasure for the rest of his life.

[alibabacruisers]

That trip sounds fascinating! I am glad you and your husband both enjoyed meeting the relatives and hearing and seeing the stories and pictures! Love reading your reviews!

 

I do have a question that was sparked by reading another QE review and I was hoping maybe you had an answer. The OP talked about the Alfresco Lido Grill Dining Experience on deck 9 aft and said it was an alternative dining experience to which Cunard charges $10 (I guess like the other alternative restaurants). Have you seen that set up while you have been on board? Do you know if they offer it daily lunch or dinner? I would appreciate any info you can give.

[Artemis]

What a memorable day! Thank you for taking us along on your trip and for sharing your family stories. Best wishes as your journey continues.

 

 

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Edited December 1, 2014 by Artemis

[PunkiC]

Queen Elizabeth Mediterranean Cruise

 

Day 10 Our Fourth and Final Sea Day

 

We started the day with full gale winds which neither I nor DH noticed until the Captain came on and announced that all outside areas of the ship were closed until further notice. Apparently there were some folks who were concerned about the creaking of the ship and some who suffered from a bit of sea sickness. The only place we noticed any wave action was walking up the stairs in the theater which is in the bow, but then we are both old sailboat racers and are quite used to getting bounced around.

 

When I was in Dubai, I bought this beautiful gown at Duty Free in the airport. I love it and wanted to wear it to dinner for the Starlight Ball but it was too long and really needed to be hemmed which I have been planning all along to do on the ship. Finally this morning I made it down to the launderette to press in the hem prior to doing the actual work. I was very surprised to find the entire launderette on our floor packed with men only, most of them in bathrobes. One of them was ironing tux shirts, which I thought was very impressive. Needing to finish the dress, I went up to the next deck which was also packed but had a free ironing board so I could prep the gown. This launderette was also filled mostly with men. I found it all very strange.

 

Have I talked about the pillows on the Queen Elizabeth? They really do have nice big, fluffy pillows that make one feel very luxurious. Unfortunately, we always seem too busy for naps these days. We thought briefly this morning about extending our cruise from Civitavecchia to Southampton as the prices were very reasonable, but then decided it that it would be more fun to have a few days in Rome and then again in Paris before going home. We also need some time to get ready for Christmas since it looks like we will probably be staying home. We were hoping to find a condo at Whistler so we could go skiing, but so far nothing has shown up.

 

We have some extra Onboard Credit that we need to spend and were thinking of going to an alternative dining room restaurant but, when we called, we were informed that they are closed until they can get more crew on board. Apparently, there were twelve crewmembers who didn’t show up for the crew change in Venice. How odd is that? In talking with the head waiter, we learned that most crew changes end up one or two crew short, but that, for some unknown reason, this one was short 12. We also thought about using some of our extra OBC for a transfer into Rome but Cunard wants $69.00 per person which is a bit ridiculous. I would rather buy more internet time and take the train. We will have to walk from the train station to our hot anyway.

 

This afternoon we went to the theater to see “Jersey Boys” and we liked it very much. The theater was very full and you could tell that the audience was very much enjoying the music, as well as the story. Most of our tablemates also attended and we all gave it two thumbs up. We still have not seen the musical, but will do so I am sure, the next time we have an opportunity to do so.

 

After the movie I went back to the cabin and finished hemming the dress so I could wear it for our last formal night. The dress is gorgeous and I received tons of compliments throughout the evening. It is a very intense blue, with a beaded gold decoration on the front. We have two black-tie dinner dances coming up shortly after we return to Seattle and I will definitely wear the dress for one of them. The next time I go back to Dubai, I will buy another similar in style.

 

When we had finished dinner, we went to see the stage show which was “Hotel Royale”. I am a little jaded about stage shows, but this was quite good. The singers and dancers are all excellent and put a great deal of energy into their performances. I am only good for about one stage show a week, or even less.

 

The evening concluded with the Starlight Ball in the Queen’s Room where we had a lovely time dancing to the ship’s orchestra. We decided to enter the dance contest which consisted of a cha cha, a waltz and a jive. It was lots of fun and we received some very nice comments from the panel of judges and received another bottle of champagne. I don’t much like champagne, even really expensive champagne, so we always just take our gift bottles to dinner and share them with our tablemates for happy voyage toasts.

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Malta which is steeped in history. DH will love it.

[PunkiC]

Queen Elizabeth Mediterranean Cruise

 

Days 13 and 14, Messina and Naples

 

Somehow the days got away from me and here we are at the end of the cruise with our big bag all packed up, ready to disembark in the morning.

 

Both Messina and Naples are cities which are easily explored on foot, DIY.

 

The most interesting thing in Messina was the Cathedral which was quite beautifully decorated. There was going to be a funeral in the Cathedral at 3:00 p.m. and the coffin was already in the Church when we arrived at 11:30 a.m. Unfortunately, they had fake candles and I just couldn’t bring myself to light a fake candle for my children and other intentions, which I almost always do when I visit a church that has prayer candles. I am sure I will be able to find lots of real candles in Rome and Paris. At noon, there is quite a display in the clock tower of the church. A gilded lion roars loudly several times, followed by a gilded cock that crows three times, and statues of girls sounding the tower bells. There is also a circle of saints that proceeds around the virgin while the bell toll Ave Maria. Several other displays are located in the tower, but either they weren’t working or were not a part of the noon exhibition. This is a very loud display which can be heard all over town.

 

We went to a restaurant for a glass of wine and a bite to eat, but the service was so slow we had to leave before the food arrived. The internet was also pretty bad so we just went back to the ship.

 

Naples is a very dirty, crowded city which I could happily skip in the future. The streets are filled with litter and gum and all of the walls, even beautiful marble walls, are covered in graffiti. It made me feel very sad that people have so little pride in their city. The traffic in Naples is pretty scary as well. Traffic lights are optional and walking can be dangerous.

 

One thing I don’t like about Cunard is that they turn off the internet at 6:00 a.m. on the last day of a voyage section so I am going to be cut off in a few minutes. I will post more about disembarkation and our transfers to Rome when we get to our hotel.

 

We had about $169 BC left on the last night so DH decided t spend it on another bottle of wine and Princess transfers from the ship to Rome. I really wanted to take the train, but he is the one who has to negotiate the big bag around so I deferred to him.

[Salacia]

PunkiC, I don't know how accessible the latest news is to you, but Tacloban in the Philippines is bracing for a direct hit from typhoon Hagpit. Any crew members with family in the Philippines might be understandably distressed - please let them know they are in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks, -S

Edited December 5, 2014 by Salacia

[PunkiC]

Thanks, Salacia. We did hear that on the ship.

 

Disembarkation was crazy. It was raining harder than I have ever seen it rain and in just the short distance between the ship and the terminal, we were soaked from our shoes up to above our knees, even using umbrellas.

 

Why does Cunard take passengers into an alternative train station in Rome instead of the main train station? We are staying at the St. Regis Grand which is a very short walk from the main train station, but was a long and hectic drive from the station to which we were delivered. In addition to the rain, there were protests and the traffic was horrible. To make matters worse, there had been an oil spill in the street in front of our hotel and the entrance was blocked off. The driver stopped the cab and the hotel staff ran out and grabbed our luggage as we dove out of the cab and into the hotel. The police were blowing whistles, cars were honking their horns and people were yelling. As a result we managed to get out of the car without one of our bags.

 

Later in the afternoon as we were leaving the hotel to go out for a bite to eat, we ran into the cab driver who had come back to the hotel to return our missing bag. He just handed it to us and ran back to his car before we could tip him. So instead, we prayed for his intentions. It was just a cruise bag that only held a book, but we were glad to get it back and it was very, very thoughtful of him.

 

We walked for four miles around Rome and stopped for a bite to eat along the way. Fortunately the weather cleared up so we could do our site seeing in comfort. All of this walking has been building up my back strength and I find I can walk a little farther every day. I am still using my cane, but my speed in increasing as well as my endurance. We will be spending a few days in Rome before we fly to Paris for a few days and then back home for Christmas.

 

Wonderful holiday.

[MawganTr]

Do you have any reflections, now that your trip is over, about the difference between QE and QV? Having travelled on both it's funny that we have a favourite (QV) but it is hard to say why as the are nearly identical.

 

 

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[balf]

Do you have any reflections, now that your trip is over, about the difference between QE and QV? Having travelled on both it's funny that we have a favourite (QV) but it is hard to say why as the are nearly identical.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

I think the differences are little but the itinary colours how we view the ship more.

 

We have sailed on both but the QE Med based itinary didn't suite us at all. Too much weekly change over, too much returning to the same embarkation port if on a longer cruise. Like embark Athens and return to Athens in a week with half of the passengers leaving.

 

So the next time we sail on QE it won't be on this type of deal and we will view the ship in a better light again.

 

David.

[PunkiC]

We loved both ships and are looking forward to more Cunard cruises in the future. We got to know more of the musicians on this cruise so that made it more fun. Visiting St . Petersburg was totally amazing, but then so was visiting Dubrovnik and especially Korcula where we got to see cousins.

 

So far we have never had a bad cruise or a ship we didn't like except Norwegian and that was only because the buffet felt like a high school cafeteria. Holland America ships are beautifully appointed, Cunard has the elegant dance floors and we get spoiled rotten on Princess because of our status. I also prefer the food choices on Princess, but I am a picky, weird eater so I am sure very other folks would agree with me, except for the pizza. I think most people think that Princess Pizza rules the sea.

 

By the end of this last cruise, however, I had the wonderful pizza cooks, Virginia and Elizar, trained to make my pizza just the way I like it. I complimented them publicly to their supervisor, thanked them over and over again, and turned in Love Notes for both of them. They were really very special.

[Mysticalmother]

Glad you like your new tablemates. Where is your new stateroom?

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

PunkiC - I have enjoyed reading your reviews but , unless I have missed it, you have never replied to this particular question , and I am interested in the answer!

[PunkiC]

PunkiC - I have enjoyed reading your reviews but , unless I have missed it, you have never replied to this particular question , and I am interested in the answer!

 

I apologize for missing that. When I was on the ship I had to just skim the posts to save internet time. I still find myself typing logout.com when I finish a post. ;)

 

Our new cabin was 6137, starboard side, between stairwells B & C, closer to C, which made it nice for getting up to the Lido or down to dinner. We liked It so much better than our first cabin, both for the privacy and the ability to see both forward and backward from our deck.

 

I am already longing for our next cruise.

[icat2000]

Thank you for your review. Safe flight home. I will enjoy reading your next trip as I hoping to do South America in 2017 when I can access some long service leave.

[PunkiC]

Thanks, Sarah. We spent a few days in Rome and are now in Paris for a few more. Ah, the luxuries of time one enjoys in retirement.

 

Our South American cruises will be on Princess unless we switch to Holland America. We prefer Princes but Holland America has a more interesting itinerary. We still have a few more weeks to decide if we want to switch.