D&N

We don't have any intention to be in QG, so the most we might see tableside is sole or desserts.

As an aside I think the looking up for sprinklers is all theatre to show that they are taking that into account. These people know exactly where every sensor and sprinkler is located, they don't move them from one night to another.

But the main issue on this thread further justifies my reasons for bringing a second black tux suit along with the navy and ivory ones. If one gets contaminated with any food odours it can be laundered at very reasonable prices on board, and I'll not need it back the next night anyway! 😀

59 minutes ago, bnuckols said:

I indulged a little too much at a cocktail tasting one afternoon on QM2 in 1918. Our neighboring table had a roasted suckling pig that night. I  very carefully avoided viewing the table-side dissection!

That's impressive. What age is Stephen Payne?

40 minutes ago, Lemorvan said:

We call that a mug of builders tea. 

At home my wife doesn't drink anything else, and often fills it twice from the pot.

Edit: In a china mug of course!

We named this "Heinz 57".

It's on a half landing on QM2 staircase B, at 57 steps down from deck 12.

We think it might depict a tin of Heinz Beans in tomato sauce.

As I've said before, I'm not really into art. Pictures of cats are good. I'd settle for some ships, on a ship. And there are a few of them.

3 hours ago, gtonboard said:

Hello Ballroom Cruisers....

 

You wrote about Calvi in this thread and I will be visiting there in about a month on Silversea. You mentioned the beach....did you have to travel by boat, taxi, etc, to get there, or was it within walking distance of the ship? Thank you!

Hopefully I'm not upsetting HH.

I can see a CC post on beaches in Calvi simply by typing "Calvi cruise critic" into Google.

But if you want @ballroom-cruisers to know that you are asking them a question on these forums you will need to put that magic @ in front of their forum name!

This was the cream that we had and saw. It was nice but not clotted. It appeared today on a YT video of sixth day of a Westbound Crossing on 9th June. Same stuff on those treacle tarts as served in the little dishes for scones.

As an aside. I do jam followed by cream for practical reasons. I'll only want a coating of jam of a few millimetres thick to start with, but I then want as many inches of cream piled on top of that as I possibly can!

Only issue we had with the app was returning from Rockaway. Our French sims allow massive amounts of data and unlimited calling in the US and lots of other countries. But the problem was I couldn't get a signal at the terminal to validate the tickets. The guy at the pier believed me, we went and sat on the ferry, I picked up signal there and returned for him to scan the ticket (at least I think he scanned it, it was over two years ago).

That shouldn't be an issue around Red Hook or Manhattan.

I'm really not an arty person. But the artistic director and lots of other folk have been extremely clear that a sequence that didn't even register with me in the opening ceremony was completely misunderstood by certain groups. In some media cases because they wanted to provoke controversy. The sequence related to some artistic work about Greek Gods, which I believe is in a museum in Lyon. Greek Gods. The Olympics. Even my very limited recollection of the classics suggests there might be a connection there.

As a result they've spent the last few weeks pouring over their plans for the closing ceremony just in case there might be something in there that they didn't realise might upset some group on one side or another.

Remember that France is fiercely protective of their constitutional status as a secular society. The creative arts don't normally consider who they might upset when dreaming up content. One only has to think back to Charlie Hebdo to see the reactions from extremists.

Oh, I wouldn't want to put anyone off but the area between Pigalle and Sacre Coeur has always had a reputation for pickpockets. Not suggesting you avoid it, as it's probably our favourite religious building in Paris, just be careful. Probably not as bad as the Rome Metro!

4 hours ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

i agree with your opinion that Illuminations should just become a state of the art cinema that shows current hit movies & classic movies. Does anyone here know that when movies are shown in Illuminations are movies shown using 35 millimeter film which is the same film used in movie theaters or do they use DVD discs or Blu-Ray discs?

I think it's at least 36 years since I was in a cinema.

Are you honestly telling me they still show films in 35mm?

I would hope they send them via a secure link to the theatres in 4K or 8K with a date limit on the files.

5 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Perhaps it's time to let us know the answer to the question you posed almost two years ago now on the "Where in the World?" thread which no one attempted to answer then. What breed of dog is this? 😉

At last a really serious question, although you all know I would have preferred a cat! 😀

My usual source, Google Photos, suggests this may be a Hungarian Pumi. Failing that, perhaps a Cavapoo.

8 hours ago, Clewgarnet said:

I wasn't bothered by the lack of a bookshop on QA until disaster struck this morning. My Kindle refused to charge! It's down to 38% and I have a long coach journey tomorrow, possibly with no reading material!

 

I've left it plugged in at the purser's office, in the hope that it's just my cable that's faulty, not the Kindle itself.

Did you have shorts or a tee shirt with you but not spare Kindle cables? 🤣🤣🤣

Having asked that my wife uses Kobo, and we have Kobo apps on both of our phones. In practice she only gets time to read on the flights between Nice and Heathrow.

Edit: assessing the Chart Room's cocktails is a much more productive pastime!

27 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Not brilliant in the gourmet stakes though.

TBH we don't really go out for gourmet here. We can eat superb food and drink great wines at home.

Going out is more for dressing up and people watching. In a way; entertainment. And like yesterday, the venue. We don't have a balcony view of the bay of Cannes and the Îles de Lérins.

8 hours ago, david63 said:

Is it a requirement to have said bag in multiple colours to co-ordinate with one's evening attire? (asking for a friend)

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I should just stick to pockets. Nobody is going to notice if they sag slightly really, are they? Why would they care?

We don't currently have that one but might buy it soon. We've a similar one plus a shopper of different fabric. Of course this is my wife's favourite brand in leather bags. At one point the company behind them owned Tula as well. But they dropped that line and don't really have much available in evening bags. She's had to look at other brands for them.

I'm sure a Tesco bag for life would serve the purpose.

Sir Brian Souter of Stagecoach Group was well known for attending board meetings with his papers in a plastic carrier bag!

10 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Bournemouth to Heathrow is surprisingly straightforward, but Gatwick is a nightmare. Poole to Cherbourg overnight is painless. And Bournemouth Airport is expending…again. Not brilliant in the gourmet stakes though.

Hopefully that situation will never arise. I think the French tax people quite like us and that will only get better as Nora gets older! But I do like to have contingency plans at the back of my mind!

5 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

And I suspect your lives may not have always been so atraightforward. 😀 Mind you, it is quite nice in South Dorset as well. And I think there may be a fair amount of dancing here.

If we were expelled from France we (I) would never return to Scotland. South Dorset might be an option, although I'd probably be looking to be nearer the short channel crossings and Gatwick/Heathrow.

I've known for at least 35 years that I didn't want to live in Scotland all my life. 

1 hour ago, GeorgianGal100 said:

What lovely pictures and the food looks amazing.  I often think you two lead the most wonderful life and the icing on the cake....your gorgeous cats!

Exactly! Who else would question whether they actually want to go on QM2 or not? 🤣

Then again, we really struggle to find dancing here. Nowhere is perfect.

We started off heading for Mandelieu-La Napoule yesterday, en-route to Théoule-sur-Mer for lunch. We like the flags that the council fly all over the town including near our local station.

The trains are either too early or a bit late so we had coffee at Mandelieu and the Chateau Gardens were open this time (third time lucky!).

We then caught a bus for the few stops to Théoule.

We were entertained by some swimming Llamas while we ate, and forgot to take photos of our desserts in our haste to eat them.

There's a few photos, and I've made a collage of them.

2 hours ago, david63 said:

If we, as in the male species, have to have all of our pockets sewn up then where do we put all the accoutrements that SWMBO insists that we carry❓😇

In a doggie bag, whose main purpose is to carry photography equipment and my wife's dance shoes. 

There's been a few threads about that. Some folk on world cruises booking a nearby inside cabin for their luggage. And others who book a third person in a grills suite but don't actually want them sleeping there. So I think the phone rep gave the wrong answer.

12 minutes ago, marazul said:

Many people do not know this, but there is a ski resort in the Maritime Alps only 1.5 hours from Nice. It is called Isola 2000. The ride up there is beautiful and it would be worth doing on one extra day in the area.

 

Isn't that's the truth. I still think of our wonderful apartment with the view of the Baie des Anges.

We've made day return bus trips to Valberg several times. As someone who drove coaches on Loch Lomond side very early in my transport career I love watching the drivers handling the corners in the Gorges du Cians. I wear my seatbelt these days though!

We'll have enough time to take the ferry to Bay Ridge and back for QM2 photos, then lunch at Red Hook Lobster Pound. That should cover the ships clearance for immigration.

We've another lunch idea for 2026, which may give some longer distance views of QM2.

7 hours ago, Clewgarnet said:

I'm happy to report the scone was delicious, and served with clotted cream, not whipped. The scone was a little moister than those I make at home, which is what I'm always striving for. No big air pockets but a general lightness. I could have eaten twice as much clotted cream, though!

 

What we had and saw was nothing like that. I'd describe it as quenelle shaped portions of a cross between a fresh and a butter cream. It didn't appear to melt easily, but certainly wasn't clotted.

15 hours ago, Brummel said:

I'd like to get a professionaly done photograh of myself in all my Gala Night finery. Would like to hear from all who have been photographed by the in-house Cunard photographers. Have you been pleased with the experience/results? Does one tip the photographer? If so, how much?

 

Thanks for your comments. 

We wanted lots of photos. We regret not having more of us from pre digital times.

Two years ago we were quoted $395 for all pro photos around ship in a week, and paid $595 for two weeks. We only actually had pics taken on seven nights and plan to make sure we get more next time.

There was a more expensive option to have higher res studio pics done, but we didn't like the trial shots and didn't bother with that.

Just remember to refuse when they suggest putting hands in pockets. It's not good for the garment!

For regular trains we've been using a Day Pass recently. For the Alpes-Maritimes (06) department, it costs €20 for 1st person then €5 for each extra (up to 8). So if adding up singles exceeds €25 we get better value. You must all stay together.

You can get a two department pass, Var (83) and Alpes-Maritimes for €35 plus €5 per additional person.

5 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I am thinking that we may need to not make this our last visit to such a beautiful area! 

Simpler just to move here and never leave! 😀