QV/QM2 Kiel to New York with a Holland America Prelude

[erewhon]

Thank you for your interesting reports, and photos.

[rafinmd]

Day QM6, Saturday, May 18, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

Nieuw Statendam is in St. Petersburg.  QV is at sea from Haugesund to Southampton.

It was not a pretty morning, both windy and overcast and I cut my walk back to 7 laps (2 ½ miles).  We passed about 20 miles to the south of Bishop Rock (traditional start/end point for transatlantic crossings) about 6.  In the absence of a sunrise I'm posting a collage of a passage around the promenade deck, from the bow, protected but with forward looking windows, to the port side backwards, and across the stern, and finally starting forward along the starboard side.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/qm2prom.jpg

People sometimes wonder "Can you go out on the bow?".  You can almost always get the feel of being on the bow going into an open space with a railing, but there are 2 more levels of bow giving protection from rough seas.  Spare propellor blades are mounted on the area accessible to passengers.  It's hard to see the whole picture from the deck so I'm adding a panel from a model of the ship.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/qm2bow.jpg

The ship's night club is called G32 and as at the far back of the ship, behind the Queens Room.  It's 2 decks high, decks 2 and 3, but the upper level is only accessible from stairways (no ramps or lifts) from the first level.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/g32.jpg

My morning was a bit hectic, mostly taking care of some administrative matters.  My first stop was the computer center where there was some relatively good news.  Cunard's systems are not exactly coordinated.  When I signed up for my internet minutes Friday afternoon the internet system was still on the old system.  The internet was still on the prior voyage and very poor.  When I tried to log on in the morning I had nothing and could not get on.  The computer guy told me I needed to choose a new user name, and create a new account.  He said the ship's financial system closed out promptly at noon so I should not be charged for the minutes bought Friday afternoon; the minutes I used (or mostly wasted) Friday were on Cunard's dime.

I had planned to book White Star Luggage to send my stuff back home.  I found out it no longer existed and that the ship was now using Luggage Forward.  There's an app under the free sites, and despite very slow wifi was able to create shipping labels to send my bags home.  I have yet to figure out how to print them.

In his noon update Captain Hashmi indicated the current conditions would continue for at least the next day.  The sun made a mid-day experience.  I love the chilled fruit soups but they are only on the menu at lunch.  I would rather have a quicker lunch but did stop in the dining room again for the berry soup and a lamb dish.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/lunch18.jpg

Perhaps I missed something but I remember it as a Cunard tradition that Cruise Critic people got together in the Commodore Club at 2PM the first sea day.  I haven't seen the 'tradition' mentioned recently but posted the idea on the roll call and we had a great turnout.  Most of us are returning home after transatlantics on other ships and some adventures in Europe while one couple is just starting a round trip to New York.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/meetgreet.jpg

There were 3 total Cunard Insights lectures.  The only one I got to was Concorde Captain Tim Orchard with a talk called "The Race for Speed".

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/orchard.jpg

On the first Gala Night Captain Hashmi had his Welcome Aboard party at 5:15 for those on early seating.  On the 323rd crossing we have guests from 37 countries with Americans slightly outnumbering Brits, 974 to 950.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/hashmi.jpg

Captain Hashmi then introduced the senior staff.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/staff.jpg

On the way back to the dining room I popped my head into the Golden Lion Pub for a quick photo.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/lion.jpg

We had a full table 66.  I did not find any appetizers I liked and got a basic green salad along with the Beef Fillet Medallion and ice cream.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes18.jpg

The featured entertainment was the Royal Court Theater Company with "Be My Guest" followed by the Black and White Ball" but I dozed off and missed them.

My parting shot will come from the Quote of the day on Catherine Kennedy's morning show.  It comes from Ingrid Bergman:  "Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is wanting what you get".

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

I love all those pictures showing the path of the promenade where you walk.   And the bow pictures.

 

Did that captain really fly a Concorde?  We flew on one of the British Concorde's.  Lovely plane.  We were fortunate to have had bad boy John McEnroe on our flight.

 

Sorry that the cold soups are only at lunch time.

 

Love the pictures.

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I love all those pictures showing the path of the promenade where you walk.   And the bow pictures.

 

Did that captain really fly a Concorde?  We flew on one of the British Concorde's.  Lovely plane.  We were fortunate to have had bad boy John McEnroe on our flight.

 

Sorry that the cold soups are only at lunch time.

 

Love the pictures.

 

No, Captain Hashmi trained to fly with British Airways, but not as a Concorde pilot.

[North West Newbie]

13 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

No, Captain Hashmi trained to fly with British Airways, but not as a Concorde pilot.

 I think KK was referring to Tim Orchard who did.

[exlondoner]

4 minutes ago, North West Newbie said:

 I think KK was referring to Tim Orchard who did.

 

He did indeed, but that's not how it reads.

[Host Hattie]

4 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

He did indeed, but that's not how it reads.

Roy mentioned 2 Captains, it's just unusual that the ship's Captain was also an airline pilot.

[North West Newbie]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

He did indeed, but that's not how it reads.

Not to me it doesn't. Surely KK's question was referring to rafinmd who said:-

 

"The only one I got to was Concorde Captain Tim Orchard with a talk called "The Race for Speed". 

[rafinmd]

15 hours ago, North West Newbie said:

Not to me it doesn't. Surely KK's question was referring to rafinmd who said:-

 

"The only one I got to was Concorde Captain Tim Orchard with a talk called "The Race for Speed". 

Correct.

 

Interesting that  the Captain of the Nieuw Statendam was also a qualified pilot, 2 out of 3 is really unusual.  I actually didn't realize that Captain Hashmi was also.  I'm sure though that none of them would have been Concorde, pilots are usually pretty young and Concorde has been retired a long time now.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Day QM7, Sunday, May 19, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

Nieuw Statendam is in St. Petersburg.  QV is in Southampton.

We started our crossing moving the clocks back for 3 straight days.  While our westward journey has sunrise getting a bit later each day, moving the clocks back makes it a full hour earlier each time.  Between the clouds and the time changes I haven't seen a sunrise for a few days, but I woke for a toilet call about 4:30 and stepped out on my balcony.  It was still cloudy but there was a bit of color behind me about 10 minutes after the actual sunrise.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dawn0519.jpg

When I went on deck about 5:30 it was still windy but did not seem quite as bad as Saturday and I set a goal of 3 ½ miles or 9 laps.  That walk got cut back to 5 laps as it started to rain.  

We had a little bit of in-room maintenance on the ship.  There were apparently complaints about the handles on drawers and cabinets being hard to use. A crew came around and replaced old handles with similar ones that had more space to get fingers behind the pulling surface.  They replaced all the handles on the desk and all the cabinet drawers but for some reason not the ones on the night stand or wardrobe drawers.  Yes, they replaced the wardrobe cabinet handles but not the ones on the drawers.  Go figure.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/handles.jpg

I did a bit of searching for decent wifi for my blog post.  I ended up in the Atlantic Room (lounge on deck 11 forward).  It's used mostly as a bridge lounge but there were a couple of unused tables where I could work.  At lunch I took my IPAD to Kings Court for a couple of searches and found the performance at that time and place quite poor.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/atlantic.jpg

I went to Guest Services to find out about getting my Luggage Forward documents.  The guy seemed quite unfamiliar with the program but took my confirmation number and went back to the office to check.  He said my documents would be delivered later in the day.  He called back about noon and Luggage Forward wanted to know my approximate departure time.  I did not know but told him I planned to take the Cunard transfer to Penn Station.  That was sufficient.

There were several lectures during the day (mostly morning).  The one I was most interested in was on New York skyscrapers but it conflicted with Captain Hashmi's international worship service.  I caught much of the lecture later on TV.

At 11 we had a presentation by TV producer Dale Templar called "Human Planet:The Production Secrets".  I had the feeling that it was more appropriate to a British audience and it left me pretty much in left field.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/templar.jpg

With the day's weather I did not try to go on deck for the daily horn test.  Instead I hung out at the deck 3 atrium where the ship's bell is ceremonially rung at noon each day.  

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/noonbell.jpg

There is a large sculpture of the ship above the atrium as well as several "Atrium View" inside rooms looking out on the atrium.  In his noon update Captain Hashmi indicated wind and seas would increase over the next 24 hours.  We crossed the Mid-Atlantic Ridge about 10PM.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/atrium5.jpg

The 12:15 lecture was Richard Sterling with his talk on Vivian Leigh.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/stirling.jpg

Lunch was a combination of nice turkey breast and skim milk from Kings Court followed later by a scone.  After my morning walk I had walked an additional 2 single laps to reach 2 ½ miles.  The wind had picked up a bit but the rain had stopped and decided to try to complete my original goal of 3 ½ miles.  While the wind had picked up the hatches at the bow had been sealed.  That reduced the wind on deck quite a bit and I ended up walking 6 ½ laps to just make 5 miles.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/sealed.jpg          

When I returned from the walk my packet was on the door hook.  It had the 2 document holders/tags for my bag and one label was ok but the other tag only had half the tracking bar code.  Back to guest services.  As of Monday morning I do not have a corrected label but do have a good pdf of it on my laptop.  Getting it transferred to a paper label will not be easy but should be possible as a last resort.

Afternoon tea was VERY busy.  We were accompanied by a harpist.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/tea19.jpg

We again had a full table 66.  I chose the chicken consume, beef tenderloin, and ice cream.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes19.jpg

The featured entertainment was singer Lorraine Brown.  I tend to find Broadway/West End singer types not very satisfying; they often seem more interested in demonstrating their vocal strength than being true to the music and seem to demand, rather than inspire adulation.  I looked at my notes from my last cruise and saw she did not impress me as being of that mold.  Having dozed off Saturday I decided to go to  the early (7PM) show which was in progress and then went back at 8:45 for the parts of the show I had missed.  I again enjoyed her show.  We gained another hour overnight.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/lbrown.jpg

My parting shot will have a local flavor.  Congratulations to Preakness winner War of Will, the trainers, jockey, and owners.

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

19 hours ago, North West Newbie said:

 I think KK was referring to Tim Orchard who did.

 

 

Yes -- I was referring to Tim Orchard.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you got a bit of the sunrise.

 

That is strange that they would replace the wardrobe handles and not the drawer handles.

 

Nice they have a lot of lectures, etc. to keep you busy on sea days.

 

Hope you get all your luggage tags straightened out soon.

 

Love the report and pictures.

[MarkBearSF]

Glad to see that at lease some of those hated knobs are being replaced!

Again, thank you so much for your daily reports. I'm enjoying them greatly.

[erewhon]

Roy,

Thank you for your updates.

Hope the luggage labels are now correct.

[MarkBearSF]

(aargh - that feeling when you see a typo and there's no way to edit it. Yes, I DO know the difference between "lease" and "least")

[rafinmd]

6 hours ago, MarkBearSF said:

(aargh - that feeling when you see a typo and there's no way to edit it. Yes, I DO know the difference between "lease" and "least")

Ah,I do know that feeling all too well.

 

Roy

 

 

[rafinmd]

Day QM8, Monday May 20, At Sea, Queen Mary 2, Gala

Nieuw Statendam is in Helsinki.  QV is at sea from Southampton to Skagen.

Stormy weather continues to be a theme.  The wind was so strong I decided right away to only walk 4 laps in the morning, just under 1 ½ miles.  I did not directly see the sun but it did give a hint of it's presence behind the ship about 5:40.  

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/sunlives20.jpg

The wind was quite strong and I mostly avoided promenade deck doors although most were officially open.   I actually walked 3 ½ laps outdoors leaving by the forward doors, making 3 complete circles, and re-entering the ship at the aft on deck 6.  That deck is open to everybody on the starboard side while the port side is part of the kids club with pools in between.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/6af6.jpg

The deck above the promenade deck also has a pool, probably the largest of those on the ship.  Deck 8 access is a bit restricted, either by exterior stairs from deck 7 or by an interior stairway from 7 near the entrance to the Princess Grill.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/8aft.jpg

At the foot of the interior stairs to 8 aft there's a model that looks a little out of place.  It's a gift from the shipyard on completion of Queen Mary 2.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/model.jpg

I went to the library for my internet access.  It's quite large with a book shop  2 librarians, comfy chairs, and 10,000 books.  It does get crowded on sea days but I was able to get in and out before the crowd
built up.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/library.jpg

It was a busy day for Cunard Insights although I did not follow all the lectures.  Captain Tom Orchard started things off at 10 with a description of a typical day in the life of a Concorde, from pre-flight planning to the destination gate.  I skipped Joan Harris' talk about her book at 11.

I did go up to my usual spot for Captain Hashmi's noon update although the wind may have overpowered the original Queen Mary's whistle.  He called our track a great circle route although he admitted we are far south of that trying to avoid the worst of the weather.

The 12:15 lecture was Art Historian Seth Gopin on Rockefeller Center.  There's a lot more to the center than I realized.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/gopin.jpg

I had to squeeze a quick lunch at Kings Court (pizza, green beans, and skim milk) before the next lecture, Ambassador Chase Untermeyer on the Muslim World.  

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/untermeyer.jpg

When I returned from Untermeyer's lecture there was a packet on my door, a complete and scanable set of labels for Luggage Forward.  Glad to have that resolved.  I did make one final lap around the ship, outside from the bow on 7 back to 6 aft and back inside the ship.  

We have been alternating "Smart" and "Gala" nights and this was the second of 3 Gala nights.  The Britannia restaurant is probably about as well situated for stormy weather as possible, on decks 2 and 3 (1 is essentially just the tender landing) midship.  In the little collage the top 2 views are deck 3 and the bottom 2 are deck 3.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/britannia.jpg

We had 1 unexplained absence but 9 of us were present.  My choices were the chicken consomme, roast turkey, and chocolate coconut cake.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes20.jpg

The Cunard World Club party was held between dinner seatings.  We had almost 1500 people new to Cunard and only about 1/3 had reached the Gold Level to be invited to the party.  I am in the top 7% of those on board for status but far behind the leaders.  The top cruiser has 981 days on Cunard, far above my 131 days.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/wcparty.jpg

The featured entertainment was half some numbers by the Royal Court Theater Company and half Suzanne Godfrey with her flute.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/godfrey.jpg

After the show I found myself drowsy and really accomplished nothing after the show, even though I did not really wake up enough to get to bed until 11:30.  I think part of that is that dealing with rough seas does consume energy.

Today's parting is a note that the weather for almost the entire crossing so far has been quite challenging but that no other ship can even come close to handling those challenges as well as Queen Mary 2.  She is really in her element.

Roy

[Happily@Sea]

QM2 may miss the worst weather - there is sub-tropical storm Andrea headed straight for Bermuda - looks like it may pass her route while she is in port in NYC.

 

Carole

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful day of activities -- love the reports.

 

Pictures didn't take.

 

Hope the weather settles down before you get to New York.

[travelnap]

Roy, I got the 404 error message again with your pictures on your last post.  Could you redo them again for us like you did the last time that happened?  Thanks, as we do enjoy your pictures.

[Happily@Sea]

9 minutes ago, travelnap said:

Roy, I got the 404 error message again with your pictures on your last post.  Could you redo them again for us like you did the last time that happened?  Thanks, as we do enjoy your pictures.

 

You can also get the pictures at his blog: https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/

[erewhon]

Roy,

Thanks  for the update, unfortunately the links to the photos just give the 404 error message.

[rafinmd]

Not sure what's going on with the photos, but I'll probably work on it when I get away from internet by the minute.

 

Day QM9, Tuesday, May 21, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

Nieuw Statendam is in Stockholm.  QV is in Skagen.

The seas acted up overnight and when I got up the TV said "Very Rough" and Wind force 9-10.  Naturally, the promenade deck was closed off and I walked a half hour on interior corridors.  Unlike many ships, the corridors on QM2 run straight through from bow to stern, giving a very long view ahead unless some of the fire doors work their way shut from the motion.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dawn0521.jpg

While on deck 11 I looked out the aft window and there was no sun but it was shining through some of the clouds.  That was the Grills deck but I went down to deck 6 for a better look.  While all the direct promenade deck doors were roped off it there is nothing to stop people from going out on deck 6 or 8 aft and taking exterior stairs to the promenade deck.  Nothing except perhaps common sense.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/commodore.jpg

For my daily internet session I went to the Commodore Club, the forward viewing lounge.  Unlike other forward observation decks like Crystal's Palm Court of HAL's Crows Nest (or even Commodore Club on QE/QV) QM2's Commodore Club is midway between the promenade deck and the bridge.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/pavilion.jpg

I got to just one of the day's lectures, Chase Utermeyer on The White House.  By the time I arrived the only seats available were very restricted on visibility so I watched most of it again on TV.  I skipped Dale Templar's 11AM talk on dangerous animals and places.

Conditions calmed somewhat by noon.  I went to the Pavilion Pool for the Captain's update, stepping outdoors very briefly when the horn test came.  Captain Hashmi indicated that conditions would continue to improve during the day but the wind and seas would kick up again overnight (but not quite to today's levels).  I actually did the equivalent of a lap around the promenade deck, starting by walking all the way forward in the gym, going outside at the first open door (around stairway B), and around the back of the ship but coming back inside from 6 aft).  As I rounded the stern a couple was relaxing in the aftmost poolette on deck 6.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/wildswim.jpg

As a World Club Diamond member I get a free lunch in the Verandah Steakhouse.  It's all the way aft on deck 8.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/verandah.jpg

I tried to eat as sensibly as I could choosing a very simple salad (no, Cunard is not stingy with dressings, I just don't like them), a grilled chicken breast, but splurged on the apple pie a la mode.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/verlunch.jpg

That lunch unfortunately meant I would miss Captain Orchard's talk on the Air France Concorde accident.  He certainly was not impressed with the official report on the accident, mentioning several factors including crew qualifications, Air France procedures, overloading the aircraft, and taking off with the wind instead of into it to be in a position to impress the President of France, none of which were included in the official report, and felt that the Concorde had several years of service left but for French politics.

I was back in time for a 2PM piano recital by visiting artist Matthew McCrombie.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/mccombie.jpg

We were again at 9 at table 66 with the same person missing for a second day.  I chose a basic salad, the rack of lamb, and a cherry strudel.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes21.jpg

The featured entertainment was comedian Ed Regine.  I enjoyed his show.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/regine.jpg

I stopped briefly at the Queens Room where the Queens Room Orchestra was joined by the Royal Court Theater Orchestra for a Big Band night.  The place was really jumping.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/bigband21.jpg

 

I'm straining for a parting shot but it was one of those days I dread.  Actually, times 2; a Diamond disembarkation packet, and another packet for my transfer to Penn Station.  Always a sad day.

Roy

 

[Bell Boy]

On 5/20/2019 at 12:14 PM, Krazy Kruizers said:

Glad you got a bit of the sunrise.

 

That is strange that they would replace the wardrobe handles and not the drawer handles.

 

Nice they have a lot of lectures, etc. to keep you busy on sea days.

 

Hope you get all your luggage tags straightened out soon.

 

Love the report and pictures.

Replacement of the Handles;

 

 It is a 'Work in Progress' there are hundreds of Staterooms/Suites to get through . They'll finish the complete refresh as soon as practical.   

[rafinmd]

50 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Replacement of the Handles;

 

 It is a 'Work in Progress' there are hundreds of Staterooms/Suites to get through . They'll finish the complete refresh as soon as practical.   

You would think they would do them all at once for each stateroom instead of going through each cabin multiple times.  Oh, and what I wish they would really fix is easier to open jam jars.

 

The links for the May 20 photos should work now.

 

Roy