Penthouse Occupants on QM2

[whylion]

We just got back from QM2 crossing south from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale. We received a kind of suprising upgrade from a Q5 to the Q2 Holyrood Suite. Two levels and three bathrooms. I don't know what we did to deserve this, but it was fun! We did feel a little self concious on the balcony, however, as the people on the pool deck kind of look up to check you out. THe balcony was great for crossing -- very little wind and usually had sun shining on it somewhere. Will post pictures if anyone is interested.

We peeked into the penthouse suites and they looked very nice. And the balconies are a lot more private -- go for the ones in the middle.

[sullaRaffaello]

We received a kind of suprising upgrade from a Q5 to the Q2 Holyrood Suite.

 

Just curious as to how soon before your crossing, you were informed of the upgrade? I'm going on mine in 2 weeks and want to know if I should still hold out hope for an upgrade. Thanks.

[whylion]

We found out about the upgrade when we checked in -- so there's still hope. There were three of us in the party (including our teenage daughter) and I think maybe that helped because there aren't a lot of cabins that accomodate 3. Also it was the last leg of the world cruise on which people tend to book longer segments. I hope it comes through for you.

[pisces1]

The person asked a specific question...why can't posters just answer it. If you don't have any experience than don't reply. As much as I love this board, I rarely get a straight answer when I post a topic. So most of the times I cruise thru seeing if someone else has already addressed the issue. If someone wants to splurge...who are you to suggest they downgrade so that they can get 2 cruises for the price of 1? Or knowingly declare how much time they will spend in their cabin?

 

We are booked for an Alaskan cruise on the ship's largest cabin. I dare not post that for I am certain to hear how you never spend time in your cabin....and it is not worth the money Well....we do spend time in our stateroom...and sometimes people are celebrating very special occasions, and decide to splurge because they want to have an incredible experience. I'm celebrating being cancer free and I can't imagine a better way to spend our hard earned dollars.

[travel-to-go]

The person asked a specific question...why can't posters just answer it. If you don't have any experience than don't reply. As much as I love this board, I rarely get a straight answer when I post a topic. So most of the times I cruise thru seeing if someone else has already addressed the issue. If someone wants to splurge...who are you to suggest they downgrade so that they can get 2 cruises for the price of 1? Or knowingly declare how much time they will spend in their cabin?

 

We are booked for an Alaskan cruise on the ship's largest cabin. I dare not post that for I am certain to hear how you never spend time in your cabin....and it is not worth the money Well....we do spend time in our stateroom...and sometimes people are celebrating very special occasions, and decide to splurge because they want to have an incredible experience. I'm celebrating being cancer free and I can't imagine a better way to spend our hard earned dollars.

 

Fishy! (pisces, you know!)

 

Congrats on your anniversary cancer-free.

One of my favorite cruisers on this board had just finished chemo when we went on our Labor Day cruise (and it was her 60th birthday to boot, the day after she had her last round.

She was bald (with a bit of fuzz) and wore a tiara on formal night.

A princess could not have looked more beautiful.

Life becomes very precious when you are facing perhaps not having it.

A very near-death experience is what led me to my first cruise all those years ago.

 

Cruise in whatever you want. I think the best ones have a spa on the balcony, if I remember correctly.

 

And give people a little leeway. We have fun here, and eventually get around to answering questions. Life is too short to get aggravated over things which, in the whole, aren't really all that consequential!

If we never got off topic here, the site would fold for lack of use!

 

I don't mean to scold, not at all. I am sincere when I say that it is all right. and feel free to ignore any unsolicited advice, or that which does not make you happy! It's your cruise. Our opinions mean nothing, if it is not what you want!

 

Enjoy your fabulous cruise in the ship's largest cabin (Just realized you said Alaska, which means it is not on Cunard. Not unless she changed itineraries!)

 

And hallelujah on your cancer-free status!

 

Karie,

who appreciated that life CAN be short.So I try to take big bites (but swallow carefully)

[Kindlychap]

We found out about the upgrade when we checked in -- so there's still hope. There were three of us in the party (including our teenage daughter) and I think maybe that helped because there aren't a lot of cabins that accomodate 3. Also it was the last leg of the world cruise on which people tend to book longer segments. I hope it comes through for you.

 

Ah, but at the beginning of the QE2 world cruise (the transatlantic) I had an upgrade from Q3 to Q2 - and I was travelling single.....

 

No logic from the upgrade fairy!

 

Matthew

[pisces1]

I didn't even want to mention "cancer" in my post because that is not the issue. I just wanted people to understand that there is a variety of reasons people choose their accommodations and you should never rush to judgement.

 

OMG about the quote "life is too short to get aggravated over things which , in the whole aren't that consequential."

 

Come on....that is insulting...to say the least. You don't know me nor do you know the posters that are communicating on this site. That is why I think it is more important to stick with the facts rather than offer frivolous suggestions that are not even asked for.

 

Once again, you proved that you can't make an honest remark without getting the "cheerleading" attitude.

[Trail46]

Pisces1: Well said. To each his (her) own. As the original poster, appreciate the fact that you noticed that so many have lost sight of the original question -I had to check it myself when I got halfway through some of the so-called replies. Seemed like some people used it as an opportunity to initiate (continue) a private conversation others weren't privy to. Perhaps we could start a thread about why people choose to splurge on one cruise rather than spend the same amount on many - for us, we are responsible for 24/7 care for an elderly parent - the arrangements we have to make to be able to go on just one vacation are mind-boggling.

[travel-to-go]

I didn't even want to mention "cancer" in my post because that is not the issue. I just wanted people to understand that there is a variety of reasons people choose their accommodations and you should never rush to judgement.

 

OMG about the quote "life is too short to get aggravated over things which , in the whole aren't that consequential."

 

Come on....that is insulting...to say the least. You don't know me nor do you know the posters that are communicating on this site. That is why I think it is more important to stick with the facts rather than offer frivolous suggestions that are not even asked for.

 

Once again, you proved that you can't make an honest remark without getting the "cheerleading" attitude.

 

Okay P1,

You don't know me either, nor do you know what I have been through or am going through.

This group and its "incessant idle meaningless off-topic chatter" (my words, not yours) have gotten me through the worst year of my life (so far) If you wish, you can go back through my posts. Right Click on my name and you are given the choice to read all of my posts (Do you have a couple of weeks? You'll need it!) Yes, I post totally irreverent posts. Yes, I get silly. Sometimes I am a pure flaming idiot. Other times, I have calmed arguments that threatened to spill over into the equivalent of verbal fisticuffs. I am not above a mean-spirited post myself when frustrated and selfish. I came REALLY close here. Trust me, I bit my tongue (or should I say my typing fingers) We are a community here. And like any community, some of us get along better than others. Some of us want to trip gaily through the daisies, while others want to figure out the time value to the penny of paying ahead on their fare or waiting til the last minute. Some want suggestions so they can cruise more and may not realize what choices there are. Some have never cruised, some have 20, 30, 40 or more cruises. Some want every small detail, including opinions, others just want straight, "give it to me then I'll go away" answers. Some want to hang around and make friends.

And some just cannot be satisfied, no matter what people say to them, they always have to kvetch about something. Some (most- me included) are in love with their own opinions. Some just want to bask in the glory of vicariously enjoying what others are planning (all the while, maybe reminiscing about their past cruises, or fantasizing their future) Some truly want to share the joy and the friendship.

 

As for myself, when there is a choice, I try to take the high road. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, assume they did not mean to be rude or spiteful or obnoxious, but simply did not realize how their words sounds. I assume that most people live stressful lives, and have personal doubts and fears. Most emotions are universal, It is only our way of expressing them that often sets us apart.

 

As for myself, in the last year, I have had repeated chances to question why I am sticking around this mortal coil, and what I have left to stay on board for. But always, I can come here and be reminded that in the darkest of nights, there are people half a world away- maybe they don't even speak the same native language- that care about me, my happiness and my will to live. Days and nights that I have sat here sobbing over my keyboard, wishing I could crawl in a hole and pull the hole in after me, someone comes along (knowingly or not) to remind me that that hole can be a porthole! And a mighty might ocean is right there to remind me of the vastness of it all, and the fact that over the next wave, around the next corner, just beyond the curvature of the earth that leaves the next parallel or meridian out of sight is a glorious wonder that I have never seen before, and that may take me to places so much better than any to which I have ever been.

 

If you choose to see the ocean half-empty and that the people on these boards, silly, bickering, opinionated, loving, educated, naive, sweet, vulnerable are here wasting your precious time in not giving you an automatronic answer to your question, well, then, maybe you need to step back and realize just how precious time is. Or not. Perhaps you are happy, totally satisfied with your life. I can't know that, though I have my suspicions, and I am rarely wrong in these intuitions. The goal is not a race to the finish, but the journey itself. Runway behind you and altitude above you are useless to any pilot, but the wild blue yonder beckons. The one above the horizon and the one stretching out to the horizon. You, my friend, (and I consider you a friend I have yet to have the joy of getting to know) need to stop and smell the roses (IMHO)- or lilacs if you don't care for the scent of roses. If you are allergic to scents, then take in the deep rich hues and myriad shades of grey around you. If you are unable to see, then listen to the spring awaken, birds, rustle of leaves, the sound of the ocean slipping not so silently by, the glorious white noise of our lives.

 

For god's sake, find something to be joyous about. It hasn't been easy for me to do so at times lately. I lost he job I loved more than anything, and that I did well, quite well and made me feel good about myself and my contributions. So well that the president of our huge vast department in our our corporate headquarters, felt an unprecedented need to try to save me. Believe me, I have never in all of those years seen them go so much out of the way to find a way to place and keep someone) I was overwhelmed at their faith in me. Unfortunately the only way they could do so was by putting me into a job I know nothing about, which I do not know how to do, and feel terrible about myself in. But every day I go in and learn. If I am to be a rubbish collector, then by god, I will be the best rubbish collector this world ever saw. Or maybe I'll wrap the garbage in a bow before I toss in on the truck. I went from a genius who walks on water to an idiot who can barely spell her own name in one day. But I've been down before, and dragged myself up to my full height, I will go there again. In fact, I'm already on my way. I will rebuild my life from the ground up. At the same time as I was getting laid off, (for no reason other than that I was the only person with my job title in a huge company and couldn't be pigeonholed, though all admitted that I filled a vast need not otherwise filled in this carbon copy world. Someone who was not replaced by an endless "press one for someone who cares" loop, someone who never said, "It's not my job", but "I don't know but I will try to help, try to find out."

The day I was to fly back from my beloved father's funeral, was to be my last day of work after over 27 faithful years. Everyone said they didn't know what they would do without me. Thanks to some people who believed in me, including the regional HR manager, at the 11th hour the call went, as the HR manager was getting on a plane at 3PM, he reached the very top of the company, who said save her, and created a position in order to do so.

Understand, Life without my father is something that could send me into hysterics since I was little. He has been my rock through more hardship and horrors than I would ever want to admit on this board, though I am not ashamed. I really did not want to go on. Losing that beloved job on top of losing the person who means the most to me and got me through the deepest depressions and most horrible angst just was more than one human should have to take.

But these people here, with their off-topic posts and indirect answers have kept me alive. they kept me alive when I was told Christmas eve that my cats would be killed and I had to go through rabies treatment. (by the way- I saved them- they are actually ferals and strays that I have trapped and fixed and vetted and released. I trapped them once more, and even now, they are living in quarantine in my garage while my car sits outside.) These marvelous people here have seen me through gut wrenching days, and reminded me of how lucky I am when the chips were down. They allowed me into their lives, and asked me to help, to give opinion and advice, as if my thoughts really mattered.

 

I cannot tell you how to live your life, enjoy your triumphs and face your fears. All I can say is that it sounds to me that fate, God, Kismet, Mother Nature, the Goddess,- whatever- has given you another chance, with a gentle nudge to partake of it fully. Don't be in such a hurry to get the answer that you forget the joy of solving the puzzle.

 

I am sorry that we have displeased you here. I wish you only joy, satisfaction, and peace. But I do not wish you all the answers. When there is no more wonder. There is nothing else left.

Above all, I wish you wonder.

 

Peace,

 

Karie,

who has a big mouth and talks (types) too much, but a heart equally as big.

P.s. I try not to "rush to judgment" and am sorry that my words felt like an insult to you. I assure you they were meant only as a token of my joy that you have achieved something marvelous, and a wish that you find a less harried peace. It came from the heart. Not from any mean-spiritedness or condescension.

I am sorry if I have harmed you in any way, in word or deed.

[travel-to-go]

There are a total of 34 posts in this thread (including my long boring whiny one) . Understanding that there are only 6 penthouses on the QM2, therefore in 2 1/2 years online, the chances of many people being here n these forums at this very point in time, to read and respond to this thread are somewhat limited. however, by the FOURTH post, partial answer had been provided. By the thirteenth, more information was forthcoming. By the 19th post, additional information was laid out.

 

If the OP truly did not have time to peruse these 33 posts, which included more than one complaining about the content of the other posts, (more noise, I suppose that did not answer the OPs question) then perhaps ringing up a good experienced travel agent (such as Babette,who I am sure as either toured or other wise gained knowledge of those penthouses, and has a Cunard rep she can go to for help in the unlikely even that she has not had the pleasure) might be the wisest thing to do. This is why one pays a travel agent. (or rather uses a travel agent. Cunard pays the commission.)

 

Besides, you are asking for others' opinions. It would be considered rude to say they weren't the RIGHT opinions, once given. Those who offered that for the difference in size and cost, that you might double your pleasure, should you so desire, but that if having a penthouse was your goal, then go for it, and they offered what meager information or opinion they had, in all sincerity, should not be ostracized or castigated for doing so, in a spirit of trying to suggest alternatives the OP may or may not have considered or be interested in.

 

Now, as to the question, so I am not wasting anyone's bandwidth again,

I guess my opinion is as good as anyone else's. Since the six penthouse cabins are all along the length of the 9th and 10th decks (my most recent cruise was on 11 deck), are not overlooked by anyone who might see down into them (any more than any other) and do not have a promenade next to them, there is no difference in privacy. A quick perusal of the photo pages that some have posted along with the deck plan could easily discern which cabins these are, IMHO. Unless, of course,the OP did not really mean the Penthouses, in which case, any answer given, no matter how exact, would have been wrong.

 

Pardon the frost. It was sleeting here today

 

Does that answer anyone's questions re: the Penthouses, AKA Q4 accommodations?

 

Karie, who is feeling querulous, cantankerous, and not her usual upbeat and forgiving self (especially when my friends have been maligned, some of them after offering honest suggestions or opinions which were then snapped at as "not what was asked")

 

So I say, does that answer the question?

I suppose I could find pictures that would show the relative positions from the outside of the ship, which, in turn would show that there is not lack of privacy, but then I guess that would not be answering the question.

And truthfully, I don't feel like the bother, knowing it might not be appreciated.

[pisces1]

Thanks Trail46....I think you finally got the information you were looking for. I hope you will be able to have this well needed and well deserved vacation cruise.

[pb82]

Bon voyage, Trail46. Enjoy your well deserved vacation. Remember the Commodore Club for cocktails and nightcaps, and the QG Lounge for tea and aperitifs. Too bad it's not a crossing so there won't be any pets to visit in the kennels.

Paul

[HeelMD]

Wow. I had checked back in on this thread for new info and I have noticed, with great disappointment, that it has developed a decidedly negative tone. After reviewing the entire thread, I couldnt find a single example of something that deserved the scolding thrown forward by pisces. Let's be civil to each other and let the moderators be the nannies.

[David Porter]

I did. One needs to be careful of the presumptions one makes. Then there is the moralizing that needs to be considered, no matter how well intended.

[doghouse2]

We have been fortunate enough to have had a penthouse--I think it was 9051 for a 14 day cruise. It was fantastic. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them but this was a great location. It is a bit of a walk to the elevator for dinner but after dinner you want such a walk. If you want any more info about the penthouse let me know. Have a great time.

[Bethcruiser]

Just a word to the wise for all you penthouse dwellers. On my QM2 cruise, at night, in the hot tub. I looked backward and there was a guy in the suite looking through a telescope. He did not realize his bathrobe was open, and from the hot tub you could see everything he had. (He was quite well endowed).

 

Be aware that at night people in the pools and deck area CAN see in the suites. :eek:

 

Beth ;)

[Trail46]

As the OP, thanks for the planning assistance. We booked an aft penthouse and will give an in-depth analysis of the six penthouse locations when we return! ;)

[travel-to-go]

Just a word to the wise for all you penthouse dwellers. On my QM2 cruise, at night, in the hot tub. I looked backward and there was a guy in the suite looking through a telescope. He did not realize his bathrobe was open, and from the hot tub you could see everything he had. (He was quite well endowed).

 

Be aware that at night people in the pools and deck area CAN see in the suites. :eek:

 

Beth ;)

Beth!

Who says he didn't know <G>

Actually, the penthouses are on the sides of the ship (at least, according to the ship deck plans I looked at! Subject to change, always!) There are suites that look out over the pool, but the penthouses specifically, if that's what the OP was referring to, look out over ocean.

To Trail 46.

I hope you will post pictures!

Have a great cruise!

 

Karie,

who would love to book a suite or a penthouse, if money fell from the sky suddenly. (maybe some day) But right now, I would be happy to book the engine room!

[HeelMD]

Trail46,

 

Which aft penthouse did you book?

[Trail46]

We booked 9067. Not going til March '08, thought, so a report won't be available anytime soon!

[mason525]

Trail 46-

I look forward to your post & wish the topic was covered as you requested. Meg

[happyscot]

Does anyone else really, really like horseradish sauce?

[PennyAgain]

Does anyone else really, really like horseradish sauce?

 

I think it is something you have to experience as a child and learn to love.

 

I love reading on CC. This thread is a classic.