Please tell me something to look forward to on QM2 this week

[hope2]

So as the title says. This has been the most stressful prep ever for a cruise. Arranging observed tests, all the paperwork, Arrivecan etc and then this morning an email and oh joy mask mandates are back in place to be worn in all public areas except when eating and drinking! Kind of hoping I get a positive result tomorrow so can cancel.

[PORT ROYAL]

10 minutes ago, hope2 said:

So as the title says. This has been the most stressful prep ever for a cruise. Arranging observed tests, all the paperwork, Arrivecan etc and then this morning an email and oh joy mask mandates are back in place to be worn in all public areas except when eating and drinking! Kind of hoping I get a positive result tomorrow so can cancel.

As an aside.

Some, in the past, were alleging that orange juice and cola can produce a positive t-line result on a lateral flow test.  But to do this would be wrong on so many levels.  Never read any scientific document on the subject, not undertaken and one would not advocate the tying of it.  
 

[hope2]

Lol, I have heard that as well, but we have an online observed test, they may wonder why we are messing about with orange juice.

[ace2542]

52 minutes ago, hope2 said:

So as the title says. This has been the most stressful prep ever for a cruise. Arranging observed tests, all the paperwork, Arrivecan etc and then this morning an email and oh joy mask mandates are back in place to be worn in all public areas except when eating and drinking! Kind of hoping I get a positive result tomorrow so can cancel.

I guess we where lucky on our cruise then as no masks where needed. Though I guess a lot of people lied to board the ship from soton to fijords perhaps? But most people got off from our sailing very few doing nyc-soton-fijords- nyc sailing for 20 however many nights? Or is that mandate because ship is sailing onto Canada on your sailing? I take it you are not onboard now?

Edited September 13, 2022 by ace2542

[shippmates]

Enjoy the lectures and the shows.  Just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet of the ocean going by.

[exlondoner]

Outside lifts and bridge viewing area. Masks won’t spoil your fun.

[hope2]

21 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

I guess we where lucky on our cruise then as no masks where needed. Though I guess a lot of people lied to board the ship from soton to fijords perhaps? But most people got off from our sailing very few doing nyc-soton-fijords- nyc sailing for 20 however many nights? Or is that mandate because ship is sailing onto Canada on your sailing? I take it you are not onboard now?

No we get on Thursday. I guess cases have gone up although they could be being ultra careful for Canada. Someone joining in NYC for the Canadian leg has had the same email.

[ace2542]

8 minutes ago, shippmates said:

Enjoy the lectures and the shows.  Just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet of the ocean going by.

There is no ocean going by much on this one? Isn't every day a port day? Or everyday but 1 maybe?

[ace2542]

1 minute ago, hope2 said:

No we get on Thursday. I guess cases have gone up although they could be being ultra careful for Canada. Someone joining in NYC for the Canadian leg has had the same email.

Where are you getting on? It is on the westbound crossing to NYC now so far as I am aware?

[hope2]

Southampton on Thurs then Le Havre and TA. I think there is a short trip to Hamburg at the moment?

[Host Hattie]

She's in Rotterdam today 

[ace2542]

1 minute ago, hope2 said:

Southampton on Thurs then Le Havre and TA. I think there is a short trip to Hamburg at the moment?

I didn't know that. Most of the people on with me from NYC or on for Norway have got off already in Soton on Sunday. I think less than 100 doing the NYC-NYC 30 nights or whatever so the westbound TA setup for Canada will be nearly all new people?

[Tonopah]

You will be on the Queen Mary 2. Just being there is something to look forward to. We’ve been waiting over 2 years (2020 voyage cancelled). We will be happy just to sit in our (completely obstructed) balcony cabin and sip the dreaded Pol Acker, 

 

You’ve already jumped through all the hoops. Remember why you did it. 

[lissie]

You have everything to look forward to - great news that mask wearing is back to protect the crew and all of you. WE wore masks for 34 days in July/Aug-  still had a great time -btw  the Cunard masks are the most comfortable I've worn - I  have  a small stockpile of them now! 

[Victoria2]

6 hours ago, hope2 said:

So as the title says. This has been the most stressful prep ever for a cruise. Arranging observed tests, all the paperwork, Arrivecan etc and then this morning an email and oh joy mask mandates are back in place to be worn in all public areas except when eating and drinking! Kind of hoping I get a positive result tomorrow so can cancel.

No one could have been more nervous stepping back on a ship [QV] than us.

Yes we wore masks

Yes we were not particularly sociable

Yes we were wary

and

Yes, we had a wonderful time just being on holiday, at sea on our favourite ship

 

Hopefully, you will too.

 

[hrhdhd]

Members of the Royal Shakespeare Company are scheduled to be onboard. That has me more excited than the mask e-mail.

[frankp01]

We were on the first transatlantic after the re-start, so lots of precautions were taken (especially with respect to the regulations for entering the UK and the US). The only real imposition onboard was wearing a mask, and I was so grateful to be on board that that wasn't an issue. You'll have the entire voyage to look forward to. And, if you were truly scared about socializing during meals, just enjoy all of your meals in your cabin (predominantly free room service [and free laundromats] are perks that I don't think Cunard is given sufficient credit for).  

 

[Se1lad]

On my TA in May when mask wearing was also in force, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Once you were sat down in a restaurant/bar etc you could take your mask off and there wasn't an expectation to put it back on between courses or between drinks etc, so long as you were remaining seated.

 

I did initially struggle to see the logic however, as I am sure you are as likely to catch COVID being sat near someone in a bar as you are walking past someone if you are unmasked in both scenarios, though I suppose the point is you reduce the number of infections by eliminating some of the transmission opportunities.

[LittleFish1976]

4 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

Members of the Royal Shakespeare Company are scheduled to be onboard. That has me more excited than the mask e-mail.

How brilliant! That would be one of my dream cruises!

 

I hope you can share some reports of talks or performances with us here, please.

 

[frankp01]

56 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

I hope you can share some reports of talks or performances with us here, please.

We had the good fortune of having the RSC aboard the July Halifax cruise. I saw three of their events. One was a short original musical on the life of Joan Littlewood. One was an introduction to how the director can affect a performance by illustrating three or four different styles of directorship. And one was an audience participation class on how to warm up for a part. All three were quite good (as might be expected).

[hope2]

Thanks for all the replies, have tested negative this morning,so onboard tomorrow. Sure I will find lots to enjoy. 

 

[ace2542]

I still can't understand the masks on the westbound crossing yet not on the eastbound crossing we where on and we had the chaos of the brooklyn check in. I suspect the Southampton check in wil be  a lot less dramatic so again I don't understand it.

[Host Hattie]

34 minutes ago, hope2 said:

Thanks for all the replies, have tested negative this morning,so onboard tomorrow. Sure I will find lots to enjoy. 

 

I hope so, please let us know how it goes.

[LibertyBella]

I traveled on the QM2 in July, and the mask protocols were very strict. The testing and paperwork were a pain, embarkation was a very long and somewhat confusing line, but we persevered. In the end we had the most wonderful time, and we came home healthy and happy!!  

 

Just being on a cruise again after a few years was wonderful--but sailing on the glorious QM2 even better.  By the way, we chose the cruise JUST to travel on the ship--we were able to drive to NY, and we have already been to the ports numerous times (although we did take shore excursions at every place!).

 

Reading threads from some other cruise lines with multiple people catching COVID due to no protocols really made me appreciate all the QM2 rules, and not only that, the goodwill and cooperation of all her passengers.

 

I would sail her again in a heartbeat, masks and all, but it is back-to-school time now.  (I also agree the masks supplied were very comfortable, better than any others I have used.)

Edited September 15, 2022 by LibertyBella
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[hrhdhd]

I am boarding today and not looking forward to masks. I've been on three other cruises since December (11, 7, and 10 days), no masking, and I didn't get COVID. On the other hand, the Celebrity boards are full of anecdotes from people who did mask and got it. 🤷 I'm hoping they go away in one or two days.