Live from QM2 - Norway and Northern Lights, M234A and M235

[exlondoner]

41 minutes ago, sfred said:

Hi everyone.   Cruise critic bumped me off shortly after boarding yesterday and I was unable to log in until this morning 2 Nov. 

 

We had a very nice evening last night and I was up early today for the usual walk.  Winds are westerly so it was nearly still across the decks.   A sunrise photo attached below.  I still have 2 bars of 4G on O2 with the English coast visible to port so I'll try to post this now before losing mobile coverage. 

 

 

I’m not sure why, but this is such an evocative photo. It made me yearn more than ever to be aboard.

[sfred]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I’m not sure why, but this is such an evocative photo. It made me yearn more than ever to be aboard.

 

Thanks @exlondoner.  Mrs sfred and I are very thankful to be back again.  It has been such a long time away.   QM2 felt wonderfully familiar as we boarded yesterday.  

[sfred]

Arthur the 2022 bear (ursus cunardus) is aboard, as are the plush ships.  But no reindeer like were aboard QV.

 

 

[exlondoner]

Just now, sfred said:

Arthur the 2022 bear (ursus cunardus) is aboard, as are the plush ships.  But no reindeer like were aboard QV.

 

 

The bears are adorable, but I’m afraid for me cuddly ships fall into the same category as ice carving and gingerbread villages, producing complete mystification.

[Host Hattie]

I'm guessing that's why there are always plenty left even when the bears are sold out!

[LittleFish1976]

5 hours ago, sfred said:

Hi everyone.   Cruise critic bumped me off shortly after boarding yesterday and I was unable to log in until this morning 2 Nov. 

 

We had a very nice evening last night and I was up early today for the usual walk.  Winds are westerly so it was nearly still across the decks.   A sunrise photo attached below.  I still have 2 bars of 4G on O2 with the English coast visible to port so I'll try to post this now before losing mobile coverage. 

 

 

 

What a perfect morning sky - you can almost feel the slightly chilly, damp air. How wonderful to be at sea.

 

[sfred]

14 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

What a perfect morning sky - you can almost feel the slightly chilly, damp air. How wonderful to be at sea.

 

 

Absolutely!!  I was one of the very few awake and outside in the early morning.   Of course being partially still on Australia time helped considerably.  

[sfred]

Here's another taken one turn around deck7 later, and also a few turns earlier.   As you can see I didn't have a lot of competition for space at the railing.   A great time of day on QM2.

 

By the way,  on board internet is working great today.   I'm sure that will change as we go further north into the fjords. 

 

 

[Host Hattie]

Beautiful light, thanks for posting and enjoy the rest of your sea day.

[sfred]

It's the start of our second sea day on the way to Bergen.   Sunrise is already later so it was dark for all of my usual morning walk.  Now in Carinthia with coffee.

 

The Shakespeare company did an excellent show yesterday afternoon and has some more sessions today.  

 

 

[sfred]

Daylight, although a somewhat bleak start to the day.   The captain reported yesterday that it should clear for Bergen tomorrow.   Pictures from deck 11.

 

Internet is still quite good. 

 

 

[Host Hattie]

Good news about the internet and the weather in Bergen.

[exlondoner]

38 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Good news about the internet and the weather in Bergen.

I don’t know which is more surprising, considering that Bergen gets about 80 ins of rain a year!

[sfred]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I don’t know which is more surprising, considering that Bergen gets about 80 ins of rain a year!

 

The captain gave an updated Bergen forecast in today's noon position report.   Cloudy and showers.  (As would be expected)

[sfred]

While there wasn't a sunrise this morning, we got a brief winter sunset as we were dressing for dinner.   We're doing Diamond dinner in Verandah tonight.

[Host Hattie]

Stunning, have a lovely dinner 

[TheOldBear]

A bit delayed, and partially redundant update - finally connected for at bit

 

Wednesday 2 November

 

Updates are a bit delayed by laziness and infuriating Cunard internet access. Apparently internet access can get worse when sightlines to the satellites are blocked by fjord walls. We’ll find out in the next episode. 😉

Halloween was an informal night - unless you were in the passenger chorus. Black tie was requested for chorus members. We elected to have an early Kings Court buffet dinner, before getting dressed for the performance. I don’t know if KC was having an off night, but I fail to grasp any appeal for a KC buffet dinner - despite it being our preferred breakfast and lunch venue.

 

Captain Hall elected to dock in Southampton Mayflower terminal a few hours before the originally scheduled arrival time, so he was not available to ‘conduct’ the Hornpipe. Five members of the Royal Shakespeare Company [in Halloween costume] were pressed into service.

 

The ABP pilot was picked up between the early and late performances. We rounded the Isle of Wight about the time the chorus was settling in, and singing ‘God Save the Queen ^H^H^H^H^H King’ [free history lesson: the control-H character is the code for ‘backspace’]

 

We had a late night snack in KC and met up with Anthony Inglis & family - and most of the rest of the orchestra. We elected to retire about 0100, and not venture to G32. By that time we were secured to the pier, and luggage offloading seemed to be in progress. We managed to put our room service breakfast hanger out just in time for a 0930 delivery time.

 

The next day, the breakfast knock came on the door at 9:15 as expected.

 

Mrs Bear elected to remain on board, and I decided to run an errand or two, and see about visiting a museum or two. That was reduced to a single errand and a small museum [and I wish I had brought my umbrella]. When leaving via the Horizon terminal. you need to walk the entire length of the baggage hall to exit via the unattended Customs checkpoint [Customs had finished with disembarking passengers].

 

There was another walk to the waiting double decker shuttle and the usual shuttle ride to the usual drop off. Service was supposed to be every 15 minutes. I was planning on finishing errand one, riding back to the ship - then Mrs Bear and I would have a pub lunch and visit Solent Sky with an Uber back to the ship.

It turns out there was a long ‘hiatus’ in shuttle service, and the bus shelter leaks. Texting Mrs Bear with updates - we decided she would lunch on the ship and I would get something local as the last of the thunderstorms passed through. The Sea City museum was nearby - so I visited there. Walking back after the museum trip there was a shuttle.

 

This was mostly returning crew, so we were directed to the crew entrance - until it was noticed that there were in transit passengers, so it was time to walk the length of the terminal to the ‘departures’ sign. Along the way we collected other in transit passengers who had just been directed to the crew entrance. Just before security, everyone was told ‘boarding was suspended’ - until they saw we were in transit. I forgot cell phones set off the metal detector.

 

There was an announcement that the ‘sail away’ party would be 4:45 at the Pavilion Pool. This was follows by an announcement that QM2 would be staying pier side until just before midnight.

 

And yes, reserved tables are back for the Britannia late seating - which is back at its usual 8:30 pm time. What was not done was having the late seating’s shows scheduled before dinner, while the early dinner folks were at table.

 

Sitting in Illuminations, we felt the bow thrusters go live just as the movie ended. We went up the deck 12 [no sailaway party expected] to view the stately turn to sea.

 

We slept quite late today - and rested up for our visit to the spa’s thermal suite. Another bit of good news is they have ditched the absurd prescheduling of the time slot - reserve before knowing what was scheduled.

 

Black and White evening tonight. (well, that was last night)

 

Did today's Royal Shakespeare Company workshop in the Queen's Room - and then decided to have lunch in Britannia, asking for a shared table.

[TheOldBear]

I will need to post a few pictures - probably after tomorrow's shore excursion. It appears to be a good think that my camera is weather sealed with the rainy forecast..

[Tonopah]

Bergen this morning.

 

 

 

 

[Host Hattie]

Have a great day 

[TheOldBear]

Friday 4 November

 

Typing this sitting in the Golden Lion after the day’s shore excursion - Odd no wifi connection near the central passageway, fine by the windows

 

Mrs Bear and I went on the Cunard ‘Sights and Sounds of Bergen’ shore excursion - this included a bus drive around the city [with some narration from our local guide] followed by the excursion proper to the Griegsmusum. All this was performed in authentic Bergen seasonal cold rain.

 

It’s a fairly long walk [almost 1 k] from the parking lot to the concert hall entrance at the museum.  The concert program began and ended with familiar pieces [“Morning Mood” “In the Hall of the Mountain King”] and in-between included some of Grieg’s lyrical pieces.

 

The Grieg’s house is quite small, with most of the floorspace roped off to protect the antique furniture and upholstery. Apparently Greig’s own piano may be used by special request - but not during bus tours [no one on the tour asked to try it]. Umbrellas were collected at the entrance, and returned at the exit to minimize dripping - and space per visitor. The web site says no photos inside the house, but the docent seemed to have no objections. No one elected to take the opportunity to visit the composer’s composition hut/studio visible downhill.

 

The tour returned in time for a sit down lunch in Britannia .....  its all amours time now, and a few folks are being paged to 'kindly but urgently ' requested to contact the purser I guess they missed the 'all aboard' call

[exlondoner]

35 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

Friday 4 November

 

The tour returned in time for a sit down lunch in Britannia .....  its all amours time now, and a few folks are being paged to 'kindly but urgently ' requested to contact the purser I guess they missed the 'all aboard' call

This sounds such an excellent new innovation that I’m sorry to think it may possibly be a misprint.  😀😀😀

[sfred]

This photo looks like a sunrise but actually was taken just prior to the noon position report.   We crossed the arctic circle at approximately 1.12p this afternoon. 

 

 

[TheOldBear]

Today was a lazy late sleeper day - went to the RSC workshop focusing on Henry V - the 'once more unto the breach' speech.  In the afternoon there was a piano concert in Illuminations - featuring music by Grieg. A different interpretation than yesterday at Griegsmusum 

 

Docking tomorrow in Tromso is scheduled for about 1:30 - we have the evening concert at the Arctic Cathedral planned.

[TheOldBear]

Pierside in Tromso - we have the cathedral concert on tonight's agenda [and 'night' started quite early].

 

Things do not look too hopeful for Northern Lights this evening - but there may be some clearing after sunset tomorrow. Today's featured enrichment session [playing to a packed house] was in the Royal Court discussing Aurora and solar activity.