Jack E Dawson

4 hours ago, mbfletcher said:

thanks jack

 

we are a group of 4,  two couples,  our booking was crossed referenced, we have the same dinner bookings,  cabins practically next to each other . but Cunard gave us a arrival time of 1.00 pm and our friends 15.15. not ideal as we are travelling in the same car.

A few questions if possible please. You say the entertainment was good. Was there any top acts about , on a previous cruise we missed kike dee by one day .

Was the Verandah restaurant open . Can't book on web.

You made a comment about drink prices, on that note many drinks do seem a bit pricy but it is the QM2, for instance a 250mm glass of Sancerre is $ 17.50. And we have the drinks package capped at $12 a drink. Will be getting around this by having a small glass hopefully. 

Thanks martin.

mbfletcher,

We were also a group of 2 couples. Our friends, who have never sailed on Cunard before, had a 2:15PM boarding time, we had a 3:15PM boarding time. I was a little surprised at this since we are Gold level and had a better cabin grade. I called Cunard and the agent told me that boarding times are random for everyone except Diamond, Platinum and Grills but she said that we should show up at 2:15 with our friends. However, when we finally arrived Southampton we realized that the luggage for the 4 of us was not going to fit into one cab. When the hotel booked our cab they informed us that we had a noon pick so we went with it. At the terminal it became pretty obvious that the majority of the passengers also showed up between noon and 1:00PM. Our friends dutifully showed up at 2:15PM and boarded in half the time we did. We had breakfast with some folks one morning who showed up at 3:15PM and boarded in under 20 minutes. At no point did anyone in the checkin process care what our checkin time was.

Regarding the entertainment, I can't say enough about the wonderful performances of the Cunard singers and dancers. They did 3 completely different shows and just blew us away. They have definitely taken it up a few notches. the other performers in the Royal Court Theater were Suzanne Godfrey - Flutist, Mikhail Shilyaev - Classical Pianist, Phil Melbourne - Comedian, The Revolvers - 60's Rock Music Review. In other venues around the ship were there was a jazz trio, a father daughter duo doing Beatles and Stones music,  a father and son duo doing folk and Irish music and Paul Paul Garthwaite with his 22-string guitar, one of our favorites. There were also other performers mentioned above.

As to drink prices, London Pride on tap was $3.80, a Cosmo was $11.00 and a Manhattan (Makers Mark) was $12.50. These prices do not include the auto gratuity.

Jack

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

Thanks Jack. We can take unlimited drinks on board with us? That’s amazing as we live an hour from Southampton and will have a few bottles in our cabin.

If we’re denied boarding because our suitcases clink too much can I blame you?

We just got off a Crossing on the QM2 this pass Sunday. When we boarded in Southampton on May 8th our bags were a clinking:)

The drinks package, at $69/person/per day is pretty stiff for us and we drink a lot. Both passengers in the cabin must sign up for it. Don't forget Cunard allows you to bring unlimited wine, spirits, soda and water onboard.

Jack

45 minutes ago, Lanky Lad said:

I will report back and let you know. @Jack E Dawson

 

Do you know who was the pianist in the Commodore Club? 

Carolyn Mayer, she was excellent. (on the right)

9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

 I suppose there is no way to know whether they were groups travelling together or groups of new friends, perhaps who had dined together the previous night.

exlondoner,

There was group of 6 Anytimes who came in around 7:30-7:45 each night as we were finishing up. They sat 2 tables away from us. It was the same 6 people and they seemed to get the same window table every night. I couldn't tell if they knew each other before the voyage or not. However, as I said in my trip report, getting the same table and coming in a little early  for the Anytime dining was probably only possible because of the reduced passenger load. 

Jack

3 hours ago, BouncingWheel said:

not necessarily as you can share with other anytimers. If you make new friends on the cruise who are also anytimers then you can also eat with them on some nights when your schedules match. Fully understand the comments regarding same waiters and tracking down your wine etc.. but for new people seeking advice then there are some pros to anytime along with the already mentioned cons.

 

Last week on our QM2 Crossing, we did see  groups of 4-6 of Anytimers coming out of the Chart Room and eating together in the MDR.

Jack 

22 minutes ago, taxatty said:

Jack--thanks for your great report. How did disembarkation go after your 6:30 AM arrival in Brooklyn? What time were you able to get off the ship and get transport (and what method did you use)? Thanks.

Disembarkation was very smooth. We did self-disembark. Our assigned time was at 7:30AM but we walked out of our cabin at 7:05AM. We had 2 large roller bags and were worried about getting on the elevators. As it turned out the elevators were empty. We also took the elevator down in the terminal, again, no problem. There were approximately a dozen Customs agents and only 2 other passengers clearing. We were through Customs in about 2 minutes. I first tried Uber but at 7:15AM on Sunday morning got no responses. Next I asked one of the waiting green taxies what the fare to LGA was. It was $85. Then I went over to a line of private cars and was given a rate of $80. We hopped in. We checked in at the United counter at  7:45AM and were asked if we wanted to take the 8:59AM flight, instead of our scheduled 1:00PM flight, which we did. We walked into our house in Chicago at 10:45AM. Pretty smooth. Here is a little tip. The program for disembarkation day said there would be a contential breakfast in the Kings Court at 6:00AM and a full breakfast at 6:30AM. We went down a few minutes after 6 and there was the full breakfast on both sides of the Kings Court. Dee had an omelet made to order. 

Jack

3 hours ago, cook68 said:

Glad to hear you had a lovely trip A TA was my first ever cruise and we absolutely loved it. 
Just to double check the Lloyds covid test was what they are calling the fit to fly? Is the certificate digital as email type or on paper? There was a lot of confusion a few weeks back on how, where and what the new test involved.
Also was the gym open any restrictions in there? 

 

 

The Lloyds certificate was paper. They were supposed to also e-mail us a copy but none in our group of 4 received it. They referred to it as a "Fit To Fly" certificate but the title on the sheet was Healgen Test Certificate - Confirmation of COVID-19 Rapid Test Result. It was readily accepted at the Cunard check-in.

Other than the equipment being spaced out, there were no restrictions in the gym. We were required to wipe down the equipment but that was normal.

Jack

1 hour ago, Lanky Lad said:

Thanks for the report @Jack E Dawson I am looking forward to boarding on Suenday even more now (if that's possible).

Thanks Lanky Lad, I have no doubt that you will have a great voyage. 

On our walk this morning Dee and I both noticed that there seemed to be a younger demographic on the ship, specifically more people in their 50's. Would be interested in what you observe. 

Jack

1 hour ago, deck chair said:

Hello Jack!  Thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive report and review.   Very interesting and appreciated by many.  I am booked next 1/3/23 NY to Sydney for 68 days on QM2.   Trying to decide if I should cancel.   Wondering when the various parties such as Captains' welcome and World Club affairs will return if ever.  Also, any sense if the traditional second closed 8:30 sitting will return.  As a solo traveler these issues are important to me. Thank you so very much.

Deck Chair.

 

I may get myself in a little bit of hot water here Deck Chair but let me start with your second question. On our voyage, the 6:00PM fixed seating followed by open seating, starting at 7:45PM, seemed to work brilliantly. For First Seaters, like Dee and I, nothing had really changed. However, for the Second Seaters, they had much more flexibility. Although Second Seating was supposed to start at 7:45PM, we actually saw them being seated as early as 7:30PM. Rather than a large group arriving all at once, like the First Seaters, they streamed in over a much longer period of time. I'm sure this put much less stress on the wait staff and kitchen staff. This must have been popular because the Second Seaters out numbered the First Seaters. It also seemed that the Second Seaters were a more gregarious group. Also, I know that there was group of 6 Second Seaters who sat at the same table near us every night. A small bonus was that our table of 4 felt absolutely no pressure to leave at any time. On the 3 nights that we didn't go to the Royal Court Theater for the early show, we stayed at our table till 8:30PM. It just seemed that the current plan of Fixed Seating followed by Open Seating was very popular. Now let me add a caveat, the current arrangement was greatly aided by the fact that we were operating with a reduced passenger load.

As to the Captian's welcome and WC affairs, there was no talk from the staff about their return but there was a lot of talk among the passengers about their need for their return. While the complementary glass of champagne was very nice and much appreciated, it fell way short of offsetting the missed gatherings. 

Jack

3 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

Thanks for the review. May I ask was there any classical entertainer(s) and the traditional string orchestra and harpist? Thanks in advance.

David,

Yes the Brevis String Trio and Harpist Fiona McGee performed their beautiful music in various venues around the ship. There was also classical pianist Mikhail Shilyaev who performed in concert. In addition pianist Akos Somogyi performed around the ship and flutist Suzanne Godfrey performed in concert. So there was plenty of classical and lite-classical available on our voyage. 

Jack

4 hours ago, WestonOne said:

You mentioned danclng classes were allowed.  What was the situation on dancing more generally?

As far as we could tell, dancing was pretty much back to pre-COVID days both in the Queens Room and G-32. Only a very few people wore masks when dancing. At our dance classes the instructors both wore their masks at all times. The one change that does remain in effect is that there were no dance hosts. 

Jack

6 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thank you for a great review,

We are boarding with Thumbun in just under 3 weeks.

We are hoping that shared tables will be allowed. We have late seating. Is that a specified time or a free for all? Thanks for any advice.

Shared tables were definitely allowed on our cruise. In the mornings when we went to the MDR for breakfast we were asked if we wanted to have a separate table out be seated with other passengers. This was also the case on the one day we had lunch in the MDR. If you asked to be seated alone, they were careful to leave the adjacent table empty so there was not another couple seated 6 inches away. If you asked to be seated with others, you would be placed at a table were the other guests had also just been seated so that you were all pretty much in sync on ordering. That was really nice. We chose to eat alone for breakfast and lunch the first four days of the cruise then asked for shared tables (which we prefer)  the last 3 days figuring that the incubation period for COVID would get us at least through the whole trip. 

Jack

9 hours ago, techteach said:

@bellboy Hopefully not a dumb question from a first time Cunard cruiser…we are looking at the Commodore and Captain Wine collections. If we don’t order one of these, or even if we do, is there a wine list we can order from at lunch and dinner? Does it have additional wines or is the wine list a compilation of the Commodore and Captain collections?

As you can see from the link Host Hattie posted, the wine list on the QM2 is very extensive with wines from countries all over the world and with a wide range of pricing. Our sommelier was very helpful with our wine selections. I find the wine list a bit intimidating, particularly with so many countries being represented. He was also not the least bit judgmental when I gave hime our wine budget. Bottles of wine we did not finish at dinner were alway available for us the next night. 

Wine is definitely served at lunch in the MDR as well as in the other restaurants (not sure about Kings Court). Wine can be bought by the bottle as well as by the glass but with a limited selection. We also brought 5 bottles on board and enjoyed a predinner glass with our friends in our cabin. 

Jack

12 hours ago, techteach said:

Jack, what a great report, thank you. Did you do the Watercolor class? How about the wine certification class? We made our hotel reservations for London and Southampton last night. Your wonderful narrative was fun to read aloud to my DH. Seems too long until December when we sail.

techteach,

I did not take the watercolor classes. This trip my wife and I thought it would be fun to take the daily dance classes instead (and it was), so I didn't want to over do it with classes. However, the couple that was traveling with us did take the watercolor classes. They loved them. She had some painting experience and he had none. The works that they produced were very impressive. The liked having the freedom of bouncing between the morning class or afternoon class to give their daily schedule more flexibility. As with the class that I took in 2018, there was a student art show on the last day. It is amazing to me hw these art instructors can draw so much talent out of their students in such a short time. The classes are a big commitment but so rewarding.

Jack

1 minute ago, Tonopah said:

Thanks so much, Jack. Do you know if the passenger choir and talent show were still offered? 

Tonopah,

There was no passenger choir or talent show. 

Jack

27 minutes ago, D&N said:

@Jack E DawsonHi Jack, great to read it all went so well.

We don't plan to do either of these things; but can you comment on whether the test you arranged at Lloyds was straightforward? And did you walk from hotel to Mayflower Terminal?

I see LifeonMars walked the other way that morning.

 

David

Would not advise walking from the Holiday Inn to the ship is docked at the Mayflower. Not how I want to start a voyage on the QM2. Our Cab ride was 5.80 pounds. I tipped the driver 3 pounds and he was very appreciative.

Jack

13 minutes ago, D&N said:

@Jack E DawsonHi Jack, great to read it all went so well.

We don't plan to do either of these things; but can you comment on whether the test you arranged at Lloyds was straightforward? And did you walk from hotel to Mayflower Terminal?

I see LifeonMars walked the other way that morning.

 

David

D&N,

Our test at Lloyds was almost a disaster. When Cunard changed the rules and required us to arrange (and pay) for our own tests I Googled "Southampton UK pharmacy" and found they had a store just a few blocks from our hotel (Holiday Inn) near he terminal. I went on that store's web site and from a list of appointment times for COVID testing chose 14:30 Saturday. I received a confirmation e-mail. A couple of days later I went back on that store's website to get their actual address and noted that they are closed on Saturdays. So I called the store to get some clarification and was told that they had changed their hours a few months ago but hadn't gotten around to updating their web site. I was told that no  one would be there that Saturday for my appointment and the store would be close. However, the person I was speaking with told me that the store on Shirly, a couple of miles away, would be open. I went on their web site, made the appointment then called the store. They confirmed that their store would be open. It was and all went smoothly. They were very nice in the store. We had our certificate showing a negative test in about 30 minutes after we entered the store. 

PAMJP

We just got off the QM2 this morning and had a bottle of the Cunard Chardonnay last night. The price was $37.95. They also cell a red at the same price. Your assessment of it to be similar to the house wine in a restaurant is correct, except I would add, in a good restaurant. We found it very nice.

Jack

JUST OFF THE QM2 - What’s Changed, What Hasn’t 

Dee and I just disembarked the May 8th - 15th  Westbound QM2 Crossing today arriving Brooklyn at 6:30AM this morning. 

Let me start off by saying that it was a wonderful voyage and that the QM2 Crossing experience is 95% back to pre-COVID. For us, the enjoyment level was 100% back. The mood on the ship, by passengers and crew, was positive, upbeat and fun. I had intended to post this and invite questions as we went along but WiFi is so bad on the QM2 that it just made it impossible. 

CHECKIN: We arrived at the Mayflower Terminal at about 12:15PM. After dropping off our luggage we got into a very long queue. The line moved quickly and within 10 minutes we were inside the terminal. Masks were required. 

Cunard has divided the check-in process into 5 stations. At the first station our documents were checked to ensure we had the 5 mandatory items; valid passports, up to date vaccination cards, negative COVID test certificate, health declarations and boarding passes. From there we were put into a second queue that took us to a person, at a  stand, who checked our passports again. She then handed us over to another representative, sitting 2 meters away and behind the normal  check-in counter, who did the traditional checkin. Evidently- our uploaded photos were good enough and that 3rd stage of check-in took about 2 minutes. After that we were directed to zone seating areas as boarding had not actually started. We had no more than set down when Grill’s passengers, along with Diamond and Platinum members,  were invited to board.  Seeing as we were NOT in that group we settled into our seats. However, about 20-25 minutes later our zone was invited to proceed to Security, the 4th station. It probably took no more than 5-7 minutes to go through the airport style machines. Security then exits you right to the up escalator and the gangway. There we were surprised to find a long queue that was barely moving. Finally, after about 15 minutes, we got to the to the gangway and discovered that people were only allowed to cross onto the ship one person/couple at a time where their boarding pass was carefully and slowly scrutinized by a security person. Behind this security person there stood the Cunard bellboys dressed in their red uniforms.

COVID: During the check-in process everyone was given a letter from Cunard that stated that as of May 6th (two days earlier) mask were no longer required anywhere onboard the ship with the one exception of the clinic. The letter went on to say that while masks were now optional, they were recommended. For us, this was a wonderful surprise while for others I’m sure this was a bit alarming. We noticed that on embarkation day, most passengers continued to wear masks. By the mid point of the voyage, probably fewer than 10% of the passengers were wearing masks. That percentage was a bit higher in the Royal Court Theater and in Illuminations. However, throughout the entire trip, ALL of the ship’s crew wore masks while inside and outside. The second big surprise for us was being told that we would not need a negative COVID test to enter the United States, when we arrived Brooklyn as long as we were not flying back out to an international destination. We were very surprised to hear this and I actually confirmed it at the Purser’s Desk 3 times. 

Seating is still blocked off to allow for spacing in all areas of the ship. Also, in the Chart Room, Commodore’s Club and Golden Lion, sitting at the bar was still not allowed. This really made it difficult to get a seat, during prime times, in these  3 locations. The Golden Lion has also pulled out a few tables in order to separate the performer’s area from passenger seating. . During lunch time, getting a seat in The Golden Lion was a real challenge. This brings me to a sore point. Despite there being limited seating with high demand in the Golden Lion during lunch service, there were usually 3-4 tables occupied by passengers playing cards, reading books or just staring out the windows. They were neither eating nor drinking. I thought this was a bit inconsiderate under the circumstances. 

On our first morning at sea, we noticed that there were 8-10 cabins on the Port side of deck 11, our deck, that passengers had not checked into. We could tell because the welcoming paperwork and room keys were still in the mail slots outside the cabin doors. It took 2 days before these items were picked removed. I suspect that these cabins were for passengers who either failed their pre boarding COVID tests or had not gotten tests done in time. 

During the Crossing we heard 5-6 passenger names paged. They were told to return immediately to their cabins and call the Pursers’s desk. We also saw one cabin on our deck being cleaned by a Has-Mat team. Sections of decks 4, 5 & 6 were blocked off. We assumed these cabins were being kept available for anyone needing to quarantine. Unfortunately we missed the first part of the Captain’s welcoming message so we did not hear how many passengers were onboard. My guess is around 1500. We did hear that there were over 1000 crew members. We had the same waitstaff and steward staff the whole voyage. There was no self service in the Kings Court. All of the various group classes were conducted. The QM2 staff were constantly cleaning and sanitizing the whole ship. All in all, the COVID restrictions had very little impact on our voyage. You could tell that everyone was very glad to be sailing again. 

ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment was excellent, everywhere. There also seemed to be a few more entertainers than normal. I wonder if these extra performers were in case others got sick. It made for a very rich experience. The Insights speakers were very good. Lord and Lady Howard. were both speakers and on the last day held a joint Q & A session that was very entertaining and surprisingly personal. I had heard them speak on a previous voyage but felt privileged to hear them again. Captain Rick conducted a 4-part series on the Concorde that was excellent and very eye-opening. He was also kind enough to make himself available in the Library each afternoon for small Q & A sessions. The other speakers also held individual meet and greet sessions in the Corinthian Lounge. Trivia, Bingo and Bridge sessions were all very well attended. 

I can’t say enough about the Queen Mary 2 singers and dancers. They did 3 different fantastic shows and are all so talented. Also the QM2 musicians did a great job. We especially enjoyed the Big Band night in the Queens Room.

FOOD & DRINK:

We love the food on the QM2 and this trip was no exception. In fact, I would say that this was the best food we have ever had on the QM2. The selection was very diverse and everything perfectly prepared. On 2 occasions I ordered off-menu items with no problems. I also noticed one night that the table next to us ordered fried shrimp off-menu in addition to their regular entries. This was all in the Britannia Restaurant. 

I meant to take some pictures of the bar menus but forgot. However, prices seemed to be about a dollar or so more per drink from what we paid on our last Crossing in September of 2018. The bartenders were very generous with their pours. My go-to Manhattan on the Rocks night cap in the Commodore’s Club always came as a double with no extra charge. We received a full bottle of my beloved Pol Acker on embarkation day and a second full bottle arrived at the mid point of the voyage. That was special. 

SERVICE: The service, as usual, was outstanding. I had ordered flowers for embarkation day for my wife since it was also Mother’s Day. I was worried because I had received a note from Cunard that, due to the high demand, some flowers might be delivered the next day. But when we walked into the cabin there were the flowers and they beautiful. Dee was so happy. I had also snuck aboard Mother’s Day cards from all the kids. She had a wonderful time reading the cards. The flowers stayed fresh the whole voyage. Well done florist department. 

Our cabin steward, Joselino, was outstanding. Although we kept a varied schedule, the cabin was always immaculate and he handled every request easily. He really help to make the trip special. Joselino also gave us a lot of good advice on dealing with the changes onboard due to COVID. Service in all of the restaurants and bars was also excellent. It seemed to me that there were more supervisors in sight. 

DRESS CODE: Here is where there were some surprises. I knew that jackets were no longer required for men in the MDR on casual nights but was surprised and sometimes shocked at what I did see. On the first night about 50% of the gentleman did not wear jackets. At first it seemed strange and disappointing. Oddly, of the half that did wear jackets, a surprising number wore ties, more than I’ve seen on casual nights on my 2 previous Crossings. There was also a small handful of gentleman who wore golf shirts (polo shirts) not tucked in. Fortunately they seemed to get the message pretty fast and by the end of the trip I saw only one individual still wearing a golf shirt. There was one couple, looked to be in their 30’s, who wore jeans and they weren’t even nice jeans. They looked like what Dee and I wear to work in the yard. This was really over the line but apparently they were allowed to get away with it. On formal nights, the good news was that almost all of the gentleman wore tuxedoes. Maybe 90%-95%. Those that didn’t wore dark suites. The ladies were really in spectacular fashion every night. Everyone certainly rose to the occasion on both of the formal nights. So while the men appeared to dress down somewhat on casual nights, the women certainly did not. On formal/gala nights, everyone took it up a notch compared to our last Crossing. 

MISCELLAENOUS: 

Laundry Rooms – OPEN

Watercolor Classes – YES

Wine/Cocktail Tastings – YES

Dancing Classes – YES

Bringing Liquor on Board – UNRESTRICTED

Hot Tubs Open – YES

Elevators Restrictions – 4 PEOPLE AT A TIME

Second Seating – NO, STILL OPEN SEATING

Tea Brand Served – TWININGS

Bath Products – CONDITIONAR NO LONGER PROVIDER

BOTTOM LINE: We had a great cruise, loved every minute of it. Staff, ship and the North Atlantic all did themselves proud.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few things so please let me know if anyone has any specific questions.

If there was someone else who was on this same cruise, I would love to hear your observations.

Thanks,

Jack      

3 hours ago, chatdad said:

We signed up for Fast Track disembarkation this past May 1 with a 7:15 to 7:30 window and actually left the boat at 7:00 am (second off I believe).  In a taxi and heading to LGA by 7:15.   Easy process, just make sure you pre-register for the fast track program.  There were no announcements, you just go down at your assigned time (or a bit early if you're in the first group).  

Thanks chatdad. Do you sign up on board at the pursers desk?

Jack

1 hour ago, Thorswife59 said:

We were sailing May 1 on the QM2 New York to Southampton and then back on May 29 Southampton to New York. If we need to provide self test for that one what’s the best way to go about getting that?  Can anyone recommend a place for a travel test in Southampton? Thanks! 

Thorswife5

You can get a lot of options in the thread "Private Covid Testing" here on the Cunard board. I've attached a link below.

Jack

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2845171-private-covid-testing/page/3/#comment-63100949

Thank you BigMac1953.

Yes bluemarble, that is correct. We are on that May 8th Crossing where self testing will begin.

Jack

Just wondering if anyone who might be on the QM2 now might be able to report how the embarkation process was. Did they still do the testing at the terminal our did you have to provide your own tests?

Thanks

Jack

I just hope the 1840 Ferreira Port hasn't gone up.