QM2 West Crossing Oct 18-25 2016

[Tnet]

I read some of the other posts from those who were on this trip and thought I would post too. This was our first cruise. We are both in our early 60's from the SF Bay Area.

 

1. Per the great resources of this Board, we stayed at Ennios in Southampton. Great location and wonderful and accommodating host. Our only complaint with staying there is that our room was right on the main road, and as we like fresh air, we had the windows open so we could hear traffic all night long. For those interested, per Harry (the owner?), the Captain of the QM2 was staying there also. As we travelled light with one rolling bag each, we walked to the terminal (about 10 minutes) for boarding on Tuesday. (FYI, we used White Star Luggage to send another bag in advance to the ship which had our "fancy" clothes).

 

2. Cabin: Our cabin was on deck 13 port side. One main issue was that there is only one elevator going there as opposed to 4 elevators for the other floors. No one told us this and we finally figured how to get there by going to 12 and asking one of the stewards who told us where the elevator was. Cabin was great with a beautiful view and wonderful service by the housekeeping attendant. (For those who were on the ship, the passenger was right outside our door on a gurney, and the helicopter just off our balcony to airlift him off the boat. It took awhile I believe due to windy conditions, and it seemed like the Captain turned the ship into the wind, and the helicopter could finally, after 2-3 tries, successfully, pick him up.)

 

3. Food: While we paid for the Britannia Club, we did have lunch at the Kings Court twice, pizza one day which was pretty mediocre and sushi on another which was surprisingly decent. We ordered room service once for breakfast, and the order got screwed up where I received eggs but never requested any. We also had breakfast in the regular Britannia, and noticed that the food and service was somewhat hit and miss there. For example, my wife ordered scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, and received her eggs but with no salmon. Another diner at our table was overlooked completely by the waiter, and finally ordered and was served about 10 minutes after everyone else was served. The service in the Britannia Club was excellent and attentive. The one thing we did notice is that the soups that they served were either too sweet or too salty. We finally gave up on ordering them as we found then inedible. The salads and mains were fine. Service was much better than the food.

 

4. Coffee: For two days we were buying cappuccinos from one of the bars in the AM, and finally realized we could order them from the Britannia Restuarant at no additional charge although it's not on the menu.

 

5. Wine: We are winos and order a bottle at dinner. Per Cunard, you are allowed only 2 bottles to bring on board. We brought only one which we consumed in our room. We did not purchase the wine package as the wines were not that interesting, so we just bought off the list at the restaurant. There is a healthy markup. We would actually drink more if the markup was less.

 

6. Library: We were there several days. Wonderful place to sit and read. Very nice to have a set of the Encyclopedia Britannia there as reference too.

 

7. Films: We saw two films in the theater. My only complaint was that there was a stain on the upper left top on the screen. Very noticeable to me. If I was at a real movie theater on land that I paid tickets for, I would not go back.

 

8. We are not dancers, but were surprised how late the dancing began. Something like 10-10:30PM or so.

 

9. Gym: My wife took two spin classes. Her complaints: no classes in the AM, only in the late afternoon and no water and no towels.

 

10. Friends of Dorothy: while we aren't gay, we are LGBT friendly, and went to the Commodores Club a couple of times to meet and chat. Don't know if this is on every crossing but it is very cool.

 

11. Calendar of Events: while there is a daily events newsletter, I would prefer one for the entire voyage for all seven days. Unfortunately, some events were not repeated and I wasn't aware of this.

 

12. Disembarkation: As we had our own bags, we left the ship when we wanted to and at our own leisure. Ditto the other posters on the issues with Customs and Immigration. Not Cunards fault, but it seemed disorganized and understaffed by the Feds. We waited in line for 30-40 minutes. People with dogs went through with almost no wait.

 

13. We still have our sea legs, which is weird. Hopefully will go away soon.

 

We would definitely do the trip again. Next time though we would stay on a lower deck, mid ship, so we wouldn't feel the motion as much.

 

Thanks to all who have posted before who helped answer questions (dress code, where to stay in Southampton, how to travel from London to Southampton etc) that we were wondering about. You guys are great here. Cheers!

[orvil]

Glad you had a good time.

 

Point of information regarding bringing wine on board. While the website says two bottles, that means per person. Also, they don't enforce it.

 

Where were you when the medical evacuation had to take place? If you ever have a chance to take the big tour, the visit to the sick bay is very interesting.

[Tnet]

Glad you had a good time.

 

Point of information regarding bringing wine on board. While the website says two bottles, that means per person. Also, they don't enforce it.

 

Where were you when the medical evacuation had to take place? If you ever have a chance to take the big tour, the visit to the sick bay is very interesting.

 

Good to know on the bottles! Thx!

 

Re: medical evacuation. We were in our cabin 13030. It is the last one on that deck (deck 13 is not full size but I think a 1/4, which explains the single elevator). The ship personnel and the sick passenger were outside our door (viewed thru peephole) as the door to the outside deck was right there. The helicopter was hovering to the left of our balcony and then would pull up and over the ship behind us out of sight. I was on the balcony taking pictures. It was LOUD.

[CruisinChris]

Sorry to hear about service in Britannia. That is disappointing.

 

So, regarding your walk to the pier - I'm contemplating walking myself from around the corner from Ennios. Any good shortcuts or tips?

[BlueRiband]

Good to know on the bottles! Thx!

 

Re: medical evacuation. We were in our cabin 13030. It is the last one on that deck (deck 13 is not full size but I think a 1/4, which explains the single elevator). The ship personnel and the sick passenger were outside our door (viewed thru peephole) as the door to the outside deck was right there. The helicopter was hovering to the left of our balcony and then would pull up and over the ship behind us out of sight. I was on the balcony taking pictures. It was LOUD.

 

Was this by chance the night before arriving in New York? I remember seeing the AIS position of the ship and she - and the Rotterdam - looked like they were both pointing NNE near the eastern most tip of Long Island. It was a weird heading even if the ship had been going to Canada and certainly not what one would expect to see for going into NY harbor.

Edited October 27, 2016 by BlueRiband

[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]

Was this by chance the night before arriving in New York? I remember seeing the AIS position of the ship and she - and the Rotterdam - looked like they were both pointing NNE near the eastern most tip of Long Island. It was a weird heading even if the ship had been going to Canada and certainly not what one would expect to see for going into NY harbor.

By sheer coincidence l looked at Vessel Finder that morning and noticed the deviation, it was the morning after they left Southampton westbound. Here's a screen grab.

 

M-AR

 

[BlueRiband]

By sheer coincidence l looked at Vessel Finder that morning and noticed the deviation, it was the morning after they left Southampton westbound. Here's a screen grab.

 

M-AR..

 

Then there must have been something else to account for the strange heading late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. Rotterdam was about 5NM on her port side doing the same. However MarineTraffic only shows the movement of the ship rather than the direction her bow might be facing. Anytime I look up her docking in NY, the pattern makes it look like she was being steered by a drunken sailor!:)

[Tnet]

Sorry to hear about service in Britannia. That is disappointing.

 

So' date=' regarding your walk to the pier - I'm contemplating walking myself from around the corner from Ennios. Any good shortcuts or tips?[/quote']

 

Super easy. Cross the street. Walk left and make the first or second right. You will hit the security gate who will let you through. Google maps shows 1/2 mile and a 10 minute walk.

[Tnet]

Here's a shot of the helicopter from our balcony. I included the railing to show how close it was.

[CruisinChris]

I also observed the weirdness on the ais going into NYC. I've never seen it before. I think it was just a glitch though because when I look at the pings of the posititions there's nothing weird.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[david,Mississauga]

...

2. Cabin: Our cabin was on deck 13 port side. One main issue was that there is only one elevator going there as opposed to 4 elevators for the other floors. No one told us this and we finally figured how to get there by going to 12 and asking one of the stewards who told us where the elevator was. ...

 

Thank you for posting your review. When you refer to only one elevator, can I assume you mean one bank of elevators? The "A" stair/lift area has a bank of three lifts/elevators. On my voyage all three were in good working order as opposed to the "D" lifts when one of them was always under repair.

 

I agree that having only the "A" lifts accessible to Deck 13 is a disadvantage. When boarding the ship on Deck 3, passengers are directed to the "B" lifts which, of course, go only to Deck 12. Although the "A" lifts serve all decks it can be inconvenient using Decks 2 and 3 - especially if you have some luggage - because of the short flight of stairs to negotiate the Deck 3L passageway which cuts through the Royal Court Theatre. We found it more convenient to use any accommodation deck (excluding 12 which is also a short deck) to go from fore to aft. As I said in my posting it is quite a hike to get from the Deck 13 staterooms at "A" to the Britannia Club restaurant at "D".

[Marcys]

I was also on this crossing. It was a rough one with force 9 winds. I have done a TA four times and this was the roughest one I have done, lots of rocking and closed outside decks.

[sfo-john]

Thanks for the detailed review of a lovely crossing. We also enjoyed it!