sfred

22 hours ago, sfred said:

 

It's been a few days, so I'll go ahead and identify this photo from @Clewgarnet.  This is RMS Olympic at the White Star Pier in New York.  Smoke is visible from funnels 2 and 3, so she may have been either preparing for departure or recently arrived.

Edit:  Apologies, I didn't do enough google research when finding the photo that @Clewgarnet posted.  This is not RMS Olympic at NY, but rather Olympic at Halifax. 

On 6/27/2024 at 7:56 PM, Clewgarnet said:

I may be cheating a little, especially as it isn't even a Cunard ship in the photo, but it was taken from a Cunard ship, so I think it counts! (Even if the Cunarder in question had swapped her RMS for an HMS at the time.)

 

It's been a few days, so I'll go ahead and identify this photo from @Clewgarnet.  This is RMS Olympic at the White Star Pier in New York.  Smoke is visible from funnels 2 and 3, so she may have been either preparing for departure or recently arrived. 

An interesting operational question - most historic photos I've seen of liners at the old Manhattan west side piers are bow-in.  Was there a particular reason for this?  What made it easier for the ship and tugs to arrive forward and depart backward, versus the other way around?

10 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Based on your research, @sfred, I think we should add Taranto, Italy to our seen Cunard ports list with the double asterisk footnote notation indicating "wartime service call" similar to our entry for Luderitz, Namibia.

Thanks @bluemarble.  Port 661 in the Where in the World game, number 32 in Italy, and number 197 in the former Roman empire.

MV Britannia was rather interesting research.  Built in 1930 for White Star Line prior to the Cunard merger, she was powered by two diesel engines, which were new maritime technology in that day.  It made for efficient operation in contrast to coal or oil fired steam boilers, and she was one of only three White Star ships (along with Georgic and Laurentic) to be retained by Cunard until finally being scrapped in 1961.

Taranto looks like a nice port.  Coincidentally, Mrs. sfred was watching one of the Stanley Tucci "Searching for Italy" shows earlier this week, and the episode was in the Taranto/Bari/Brindisi region of Italy. 

On 4/26/2024 at 1:17 PM, NE John said:

As someone strongly moved by cruising on the QE past the Gallipoli battle site on the Dardanelles, it’s important we don’t forget ANZAC Day. Especially for @roscoe39and @sfred  Even though it’s already tomorrow with you. Great words too Roscoe on your blog.

Thanks @NE John.  I just saw this post today when getting around to reading other Cruise Critic threads.  Mrs. sfred and I missed the Anzac day dawn ceremony this year.  We usually go to the one in Brisbane's Anzac Square, but we were already out of country, en route for a work trip to Morocco, and our short QM2 treat afterwards between Southampton and Hamburg. Hopefully we will be able to attend again next year.  Lest we forget...

1 hour ago, 2BACRUISER said:

Don't think a Cunard ship has called here but was new to us on our most recent cruise this month.

Thanks @2BACRUISER.  This is Taranto, Italy.  Very nice photos.  The first is the Castello Aragonese, and the second and third are of the Monumento al Marinaio.

I think you are correct that the current Cunard fleet has not been to Taranto.  However, I suspected that perhaps some Cunard ship had been there in the past, particularly during WW1 or WW2 as a hospital or troop ship.  I found the following reference in Wikipedia for MV Britannic, which although originally a White Star Line ship, also sailed for Cunard after the 1934 merger.  She was requisitioned during WW2 as a troop ship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Britannic_(1929)

"Between November 1943 and May 1944 Britannic made four transatlantic round trips: two to New York and two to Boston. She then took 3,288 troops with Convoy KMF 32 from Liverpool to Port Said in Egypt. She made two round trips between there and Taranto in Italy and then took 2,940 troops to Liverpool, where she arrived on 11 August."

On this basis, perhaps we can count Taranto as a "seen" Cunard port?  @bluemarble is currently on QM2 returning to NY, but will perhaps see this at some point and provide a ruling.

Thanks again, @2BACRUISER.

Dr. Cartwright was on our 2019 QE Alaska voyage, and was excellent.  Great that she's still with Cunard.

Thanks @NE John.  I also noticed QE's Port Lincoln South Australia plaque during our February voyage. That one went up on the wall rather quickly.  Perhaps QE never got any plaques from the five maiden calls to to Fiji/Vanuatu/New Caledonia in February. 

The two new Japan ones look very nice!  Thanks again, and also for your Alaska postings.  Hope your trip continues to go well.

1 hour ago, NE John said:

10:15pm sunset leaving Ketchikan last night. Once in a lifetime scene:

Beautiful!  Looks like a pool of volcanic lava.  Thanks for posting.

Thanks @NE John.  Looking forward to your reports and photos!

15 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

I imagine you did go through Carinthia, it's one of the larger lounge areas, with lots of sofas, just after Kings Court on Deck 7. It has the most expensive Illy espresso rig, and is, for many, a good place for coffee. It has a slightly longer coffee menu compared to the other venues. It also does an alternative breakfast menu for those who want just some small plates.

And in the evenings there is the "port bar" with a large range of evening drinks.  On one TA crossing we were on that featured RADA, they did a series of "bedtime stories" with the actors reading different parts of the stories  With a glass of port, it was a very pleasant way to finish a day on QM2.

20 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

That's a shame, it's next to the King's Court. They have a selection of sweet and savoury small plates.

There's occasions when I wish I had never found QM2's Carinthia breakfast selections.  They sometimes have a custard doughnut that is very addictive.

46 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

I think there might be some new plugs in the room, There was an outlet box, mounted to the wall in the corner on top of the refrigerator cabinet. It contained two US type outlets. If this has always been there, I not noticed it on previous cruises. So now there are 4 US outlets and 2 UK outlets by the desk area.

 

 

Thanks for your review, @Jack E Dawson.  Sympathies on becoming ill afterwards - hope you are both better soon.

Those US electrical outlets and RJ45 network jack are remnants from the time that QM2 had the television located on the shelf over the minibar, prior to the screen being mounted on the bulkhead wall opposite the bed.  Nowadays the power points supply the kettle.

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Surprisingly, I discovered that the coffee machine in the King’s Court buffet was better than expected, and certainly better than the room service coffee.

 

My favourite coffee was in Sir Samuel’s, but that is an added cost.

Of all QM2's free coffee machines, I like the one on deck 2 at Illuminations/Connexions the best.  This machine was out of service for a while post-covid, but is now back. 

Thanks @Miss G for your commentary and photos.

QE has departed Sapporo Otaru, finishing her 2024 Japan season, and is beginning the transpacific to Alaska.  First stop Kodiak on 3 June.  Best wishes to all currently aboard, and to @NE John, @david,Mississauga, and others for their upcoming Alaska trips. 

18 hours ago, NE John said:

The specific port - Seogwipo, South Korea 

Thanks all.  Great screenshot,  @bluemarble.  I've been on airplanes back to Australia and didn't have any chances to look on the Seogwipo cams for QE's visit.

16 hours ago, NE John said:

@sfred  Please remind me of the photos you want of the maiden call plaques on QE. I’ll post them here. Next month already!

The new plaques from QE's maiden calls in Februsry in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Fiji will hopefully have been hung by now. They most likely would be in the starboard corridor to the Commodore Club. QE may also have gotten some new plaques from the recent maiden calls in Japan and Korea.  If I remember correctly the Japan plaques are in the port corridor.   Thanks @NE John and hope you have a great time in Alaska! 

I don't think there's a 4 bottle option, only 6 or 12.  On QE in September 2023 the Commodore 6 bottle was $445 and 12 was $750.  Captain collection was $310 and $550.

We were in Britannia Club on our QM2 trip which finished today so can't say for PG.  There were definitely cheese trolleys in PG on QE on our recent February voyage.  As @exlondoner said, there are six or seven choices, biscuits, and fruit.

Thanks @babs135.  As @bluemarble indicates, your photo is the Dalian art gallery.   Looks like winter from the people's clothes.   

I went to Dalian frequently in a past work life.  Winter was very cold in contrast to summertime Australia. 

17 hours ago, rafinmd said:

While I haven't contributed much recently, I am thrilled that this is still alive.

It is my favourite time aboard!

We have a clear horizon this morning 15 May from QM2, enroute back to Southampton. 

Sunrise on the Elbe, Tuesday 14 May.

Taylor is aboard QM2.  $28

A rather hazy sunrise on Monday 13 May from QM2 in the Channel enroute to Hamburg.

7 hours ago, sfred said:

Looking forward to embarkation day beer this afternoon! 

And we're aboard!

QM2 is in Southampton this morning,  Sunday 12 May, arriving from NY.  That's not particularly noteworthy. 

The noteworthy part for us is that Mrs sfred and I will board later on today for a short four night trip to Hamburg and back.  We've been in Morocco for two weeks and the timing worked out nicely to catch QM2 before returning home to Australia. 

(Given our departure from Morocco on stolen letters of transit from Rick’s Cafe,  I wondered if it was a bad idea to be going to Germany.  But hopefully the authorities believed we went to Lisbon instead of Southampton. 😀 )

Looking forward to embarkation day beer this afternoon! 

1 minute ago, D&N said:

It did feel a bit like cheating. I did see some other pics of the port in the reverse lookup, but I knew that if I simply identified the ferry I could probably find the location.

The screenshot I had saved didn't include the ferry.

Earlier that morning in Japan, there was a great sunrise view of the wider harbour.   I saw a small dark blob that I thought was probably QE as she arrived but it was far too small and the lighting contrast of the dark water and brightening sky made identification impossible.   Sometime later that morning the webcam operator narrowed the focus to the ship to the view that @bluemarble posted.