roscoe39

Hi Im board at the moment and the refurbishment is for May. She is in good nick however I have noticed this year that there is a bit of rust on her hull that I have not noticed before but hey....she is built of steel and she spends her whole life at sea...salt water....steel....its bound to happen. I love this ship but like all of us....we are showing a few signs of wear and tear but we are still essentially magnificent beasts.

sorry slight correction, talking to the Captain last night and he is getting off in Capetown not Singapore..... Lyttleton ..... just got in.....dreary and over cast....could change at any moment.....as this is nz. There are a number of regulars missing off the ship this year, cheers to absent friends, some permanently some who chose the QM2, I wonder how they feel about it and their now changed itinerary. Quite a lot of the crew are getting ready to depart to the new QA, that often happens as they need the experienced crew for continuity but it does cause a gap on the ship. Ok time to catch the shuttle, last stop in NZ today then 3 sea days till Sydney

great pic...can I steal it?

Well a great day in Wellington of which I have to report a lot of Dinosaurs!!! We are quickly departing early so about to lose the internet, currently to mean to pay the $36 a day..... so will up date more after Chch tomorrow. Blog quickly updated with some pictures but Wellington put on a terrific day..... On we sail!

I had been hoping that some one may have been posting from the QV WC this year but alas...looks like its up to me... Auckland had been in the middle of a bit of a rain drought...that is until yesterday when my favourite queen arrives and the skies opened. 335 people were embarking and 60 crew were on changeover, and so it could have been a bit of a wet fest if the rain didn't become intermittent. We got a fabulous send off right on time from Queens Wharf and today we are cruising off down towards Wellington for tomorrow. Just passing Gisborne as we speak. The sea is reasonably calm and she is purring along like a kitten on a cushion. Some people had mentioned that the ship was beginning to show her age, I dispute that, shes looking magnificent, and the old girl is standing up pretty well to a life constantly at sea. I had dinner with friends last night in the MDR at the back of the dining room at one of the large tables by the window and the reports of horrendous vibration confused me, there has always been a bit of vibration in the dining room and in my mind it is no worse than it has ever been in the past. In fact it is familiar and comforting....but then...maybe I am just used to it. Captain Tomas is on until Singapore when Hoyt will be returning - so the ship has been blessed by two great captains this trip - tonight is one of the WC parties. Everyone seems happy on board, although I was standing behind a lady at the excursion desk this morning who was complaining that the seats on her last excursion bus were hard and could she make sure that the next excursions bus she had have softer and wider seats. Judging by what I could see I understood her request for the latter. There was also a lady complaining that apparently a cocktail dress had been stolen from the laundry room and could the ship please ensure there was a security guard in the laundrette to keep her washing safe. The excursion officer pointed her and her enquiry across the room to the pursers office. There was only one lecturer on today - disappointing knowing that in the past there were usually at least two a day, not sure if that is the new norm. Trivial pursuit quiz at 7.30pm? feels a bit incongruous considering its the dinner hour. Menus so far have had some delightful choices and alas I don't think I will be on a diet this year. My blog. exitviathegiftshop is up and running... although the cost of the internet is staggering. $usd24 and $usd36 per day is staggering. so posts may be a little sporadic as it is a bit more than I budgeted for.... http://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.com/ Enjoy your day wherever you are....I know I am..........

am I missing something? I am about to hop on the QV tomorrow as the last half of the WC and this is what my booking summary shows the internet as

the concierge has the same feature as the Grills Concierge in that they can facilitate bookings of taxis at ports and generally as a go between between you and the ship if you have any questions or queries you would normally line up at the pursers office to settle. In my experience of the world cruises the menus rotates about every two weeks...and there are variations to take into account the different countries you visit. Nothing drastic....

its not you my friend but the organisms cruise and cargo ships bring here..... poor old Tasmania is a perfect example of the damage unfettered cargo ships from china bringing harmful "bugs" into a once pristine harbour and destroying th local ecology...I assume you are European so plenty of examples in your own back yard.

sorry but if the reason is that the Cruise ships (and there are several involved in being turned away over the years) are not coming to NZ because of them having to come with clean hulls, without the damaging organisms from other parts of the world, them I'm with the environment and our government for protecting them.. They can stay away and help keep our pristine fjords and Bays clear.

its more than possible to arrange one, my travel agent put a package together that enabled us to spend a couple of nights at a reserve and flights and pickups for a very good value much less than the offered excursions from Cunard. It may be worth talking to a good agent and seeing if they can organise something for you....

interesting, I thought that the Open Dining was on level two? and that fixed dining was on three... personally on a World Cruise I would prefer fixed dining and it be on the much grander part of the dining room on two than the level three which to me always feels cramped. Have the two types of dining been swopped for this years WC?

I had one from on a short 8 day hop once, didn't impress me, you needed to keep the blinds across as the cabin across the atrium was looking right in. The ocean view cabins are a much better deal for me, I wouldn't take an atrium again.

I did that ate excursion a couple of years ago, it was a blast and well worth it, the poor old guide had trouble stopping us from racing each other....it was like herding kittens...

the visitor centre in is the centre of Paihia opposite the wharf where the ferries cross to Russell

maybe not in your cabin.....!.......

yes, no problem you can bring on flowers, certainly on Cunard you can anyway, done it several times.

I think that there may be a lot of factors at play here that you are not party to that could be affecting their decision to not call at Dubai so stating that Dubai is a perfectly safe port to call at does not take those factors into consideration.Under the circumstances its unfortunate that the world isn't playing ball with your desire to have a holiday but there are larger things at stake here. Im sorry you have not had a good experience but I would rather that the ship and all of her passengers were kept safe and I am sure that the safety of the passengers is paramount on making their decision.

the options this year for an over night were eye watering in their prices, and there were only two overnights offered.... I managed to put a package together in conjunction with my travel agent and we came up with a two night three day overnight including airfares to catch the ship up in Capetown from Port E and a very similar package that saved several thousand dollars on what Cunard were offering. since then several others have asked to join us but sadly now all of the really good reserves are booked out for overnights as its too close to the dates......

Exactly!! You know who you are … you over there in the corner trying to look inconspicuous

don't apologise the forum is here to answer any questions, as they say...theres no such things as a silly question.....just a sarcastic answer (which is not acceptable)

Paperless or not, i refered to the diamond perk of a free lunch or discount against a dinner meal at the verandah.

at least the diamond coupon helps, ill have to do a test and compare the two products,....ill let you know...

Its been slow progress she normally goes through a lot faster than this

thats great because the Rum Baba is the main reason I go to the verandah....you just saved me $50.... thanks....

just waiting fro her now to pass the Miguel lock....shes just lining up now....