tjunmin

Yesterday was a gray and rainy day - probably the British passengers felt right at home ;-) - but today the sun and warm weather were back in full force.

I added more photos of QM2, such as The Commodore's Cufflinks (and more!) [link], food offerings from The Verandah and Carinthia Lounge [link], as well as from Britannia Restaurant [link].

One more sea day before we reach Mauritius!

Thom

On 4/2/2024 at 5:43 AM, Germancruiser said:

Thank you so much for sharing those wonderful pictures of my favorite ship. I, too, came from Celebrity ( starting with them in 2001) - I much prefer the quite and classy athmosphere on board Cunard ships- esp. of course QM2. I still put in the occaisonall voyage with X- but Cunard is now ny choice. For the first time I saw that they really did a great job in the last dry dock, esp. the Dining Room chairs and Carinthia have been in dire need of an update- and they got it- nicely done, too.

My favorite Celebrity ships are the Millennium class; smaller and more intimate. I hope that by the end of this voyage, I'll be a Cunard convert. In the meantime, I'm paying close attention to the service onboard.

I read before boarding that the Winter Garden was underutilized prior to the dry dock, and that the Carinthia Lounge is a much more welcoming and successful venue compared to its predecessor. I was not aware that the chairs in the dinning room were in dire need of an update; I can attest that at the present moment, they look fine and feel comfortable.

On 4/1/2024 at 11:44 PM, LJS24 said:

Love your photos !!  I'm going on my first QM2 cruise next year so find it really interesting looking at current photos

Glad to hear you are enjoying the photos. The QM2 is a truly beautiful ship. Hope you'll enjoy your sailing on her next year!

If there is anything you'd like to see that is not in the albums, let me know and I'll go take a picture.

On 4/1/2024 at 11:41 PM, D&N said:

Of course my suggestion isn't backed unanimously!😀 The rooms and areas do look great empty and your photos are really bringing out the colours and the feeling of space. I just feel that all the spaces were designed to accommodate hundreds of people. My memories are generally of them being full and that's what I look forward to seeing on our future sailings.

 

What I realised after our last trip was that my phone and compact superzoom camera have really small sensors and the quality of most of our photos was very poor in comparison to your APS-C. 

I've now bought a Sony A7C and lots of kit, which of course is far bulkier than a phone and selfie tripod/stick!

When I grow up, I'll get a full frame camera. ;-)

Congratulations on your Sony A7C purchase! I've been looking at full-frame cameras for a while, but the prices of the top of the line ones are eye watering.

How are you enjoying the Sony A7C? What are the pros and cons in your eyes?

On 4/1/2024 at 10:52 PM, NE John said:

The Carinthia area really needed an update and it looks great in your photos. The food offerings are underrated there.
That 300mm lens makes a huge difference. I have a 10 year old Nikon that I prefer over the IPhone camera because of that close up lens. Thanks also for the heads up about the Adobe/Photolab software. I’ll get educated about those platforms before my upcoming Alaska cruise. 

I really enjoy the food at Carinthia Lounge. Generally speaking, the food offerings are tasty, the presentation is nice, and the serving sizes are small; it reminds me of Spanish tapas. The only downside is the lack of variety; the offerings are always the same, with little change.

Regarding lenses, you are absolutely correct. Photos taken using modern cell phones like the most recent iPhones look fantastic, especially when shared on social media. However, when blown up on a large computer screen, the limitations of a cell phone camera lens are clearly noticeable.

The 300mm lens is new to me. I purchased it for this trip, so I'm still getting used to it and learning its peculiarities. My previous lens was a FUJINON 18-55mm, and it did a relatively good job. Here are photos from my previous cruise on December 2023, taken using the FUJINON 18-55mm lens [link].

I've used Adobe Lightroom for years (with the 18-55mm lens). DxO PhotoLab is new to me and I'm still learning how to use it (with the 18-300mm). Each one of them has its own merits. If you don't use them and are considering purchasing, both of them offer free trials.

Today was a lovely day at sea, with pleasant temperatures and calm seas.

For breakfast and lunch, Carinthia Lounge offerings were delightful [link]. I also included some photos of the amazing Easter chocolate decorations at Kings Court.

Cunard Insights featured David Harper, with his humorous and entertaining account of The Big Three, followed by Danielle Barnett's life journey. The afternoon was spent reading Musashi - from Eiji Yoshikawa - on a comfortable Promenade deck chair.

Friendly dinner service at Britannia Restaurant capped off the day [link].

Thom

22 hours ago, rmsEtruria said:

Marvellous pictures—thank you! Can’t wait to experience all this ourselves; but still over a year to go . . . .

Planning is half of the fun! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful experience, with such a competent crew onboard.

On 3/31/2024 at 5:32 PM, Mudhen said:

Pictures were fabulous! Cunard should hire you for some of their copy!

Thank you for sending them on to us!

You are so kind. I'm just an amateur trying to improve my photography skills. Glad you are enjoying the photos!

On 3/31/2024 at 5:07 AM, intel said:

I really enjoyed your post and especially the photos. It would answer a lot of questions raised on this site at times. Our last cruise on QM2 was 65 nights that was many years ago and it bought it all back what a great ship it is and appears to be in very excellent condition.

Really appreciated and look forward to your further posts.

I can only imagine how delightful it is to spend 65 nights on board the QM2, with all the fun filled activities during day time and the exciting entertainment in the evenings. I do hope that the photos will assist passengers new to Cunard in the future, planning their first voyage on this magnificent vessel!

On 3/30/2024 at 11:31 PM, NE John said:

You really captured how well the ship looks post-retrofit. 
I also join in asking about the photographic equipment you use. 

I've never been on QM2 pre-retrofit, but I do enjoy some of the updated features, such as the new Carinthia Lounge.QM2 is a dignified grand lady, and it is a pleasure capturing her in the best light possible with my good old Fujifilm X-T20.

On 3/30/2024 at 10:39 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

Thank you tjunmin, your photos are REMARKABLE!!!! The composition, color and essence, all beautifully captured. And I'm sure you are not hauling around your own lighting. If you don't mind me asking, what camera equipment are you using?

Again, thank you so much. I hope you find Cunard to your taste and have the opportunity to sail all 4 ships.

I've had the opportunity to work in Chicago for a year and half. I love the city, with its gorgeous architecture and fantastic food scene!

My good old Fujifilm X-T20 is what I carry around to take photos. While I'm impressed with how easy it is to take good photos these days using top-of-the-line cell phones, I like the quality that good lenses bring to photography.

I also hope that Cunard will be a good fit for my future cruising needs!

Thom

On 3/30/2024 at 10:02 PM, D&N said:

@tjunmin Thank you. Your photos are great. I'll make a point of watching for more.

 

One minor thing, and I know it's difficult from a personal privacy point of view, but I think most of the venues look better when they are packed with people enjoying themselves. I'd enjoy any you get the opportunity to take without having recognisable faces.

Thanks for the suggestion! It will be a challenge to include people in the photos and ensure that faces are not recognizable. If I manage to capture any, I'll include in the albums!

Thank you all for your kind words.

I'm using a mirrorless Fujifilm X-T20 with a Tamron 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 lens. It is a somewhat older camera, but it does the job. The lens is a recent purchase. I take photos in RAW format and post-process them using DXO PhotoLab. I used to use Adobe Lightroom, but had to switch to PhotoLab because Lightroom does not offer a lens correction profile for the X-T20 with Tamron lens combination.

I uploaded my Galle, Sri Lanka photos into the Ports of Call album [link]. I visited Colombo a few years ago, so I decided to explore the Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications - a UNESCO World Heritage site - in this trip through a Cunard offered tour. It was a lovely sunny and warm day (32C/90F). For lunch, we had the opportunity to experience a delicious traditional Sri Lankan seafood curry, among the many dishes offered.

Four sea days ahead of us, until we reach Mauritius. Lots of food pictures to come. :)

Thom

This is my first cruise on Cunard and on the Queen Mary 2, after being with Celebrity for 16 years. Currently on board, sailing from Singapore to Southampton.

Photography is one of my hobbies. I've been taking photos while on board and on shore excursions. Food is a passion of mine and very important in my cruising experience, so taking photos of everything I've been eating as well.

I love art deco, so it has been a delight to experience the QM2 and its refined interiors. My QM2 photos can be found here [link].

Before my sailing, I've struggled to find photos of the food offerings on board. Photos of the Britannia Restaurant and the menu items will be posted here [link].

I've been enjoying the food offered throughout the QM2, from The Verandah to Bamboo, through Kings Court, as well as Sir Samuel's, Carinthia Lounge and Golden Lion (although the service in the last one has been abysmal in my personal experience). Photos from all venues can be found here [link].

In this cruise, I'm doing a mix of Cunard-offered shore excursions and private tours. Photos of my experiences from Singapore to Southampton will be found here [link].

At this point, I'm only one week into my sailing. I'll be adding more photos on a daily basis throughout my journey.

I'll write a full review of my experience, sharing my impressions about Cunard, at the end of my voyage.

Boarding in 6 days. Anyone else joining?

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I’m not sure you can book the pop-ups on My Cunard. However, they are often cheaper on the first night.

At the moment, 6 days before my sailing, I can see pre-booking available at Bamboo only for the first 3 nights of the cruise, but not for the remainder of the itinerary. Thanks for sharing that the pop-ups are cheaper on the first night!

5 hours ago, Pushpit said:

I don't think so, but you can check, since the on the day price for those venues is US$25 per head. So unless they are offering it to you at US$20 then I don't think there's a discount. On the day for The Verandah is $30 for lunch, $50 for evening meal. 

At the moment I see Bamboo being offered at My Cunard for $20, which indicates the discount is applicable then. Thanks!

I learned on this board that the lunch and dinner prices at The Verandah are $5.00 cheaper if booked in advance through My Cunard.

Is the same discount applicable to booking Bamboo, Coriander and La Piazza in advance?

Thanks for sharing the food photos! Hope you'll continue posting them. :)

For suite guests, seating in Blu will be based on availability. Approach Blu's maitre d' on the first day of the cruise and inquire.

If you are sailing on a Millennium or Solstice class ship, you'll be able to order from the Blu menu at Luminae.

1 minute ago, Jim_P said:

Mine isn't .

Just to remove any ambiguity, the way I interpreted your reply is that HDMI ports are not accessible at the back of the TV in your cabin/suite.

2 minutes ago, Jim_P said:

Screen mirroring works though if you want to watch your own stuff.

Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately currently I have an iPhone and an iPad and I've never managed to  make screen mirroring work on TVs. Many years ago I had a Samsung phone, and back then I was able to do so.

I believe I read in an old thread that the HDMI port at the back of the TVs are not accessible. Is that still accurate?

2 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

 If it is an upgrade from an inside that is perhaps a reasonable amount but if from a typical balcony cabin it seems a bit high to me.

OP indicated that it is an upgrade from normal balcony, not inside.

5 minutes ago, AuthBen3 said:

Lonelyplanet.com says: “Two-day transit visas are free and only necessary if you plan to leave the airport.”

Cunard says (from the daily program distributed on board): 

1 minute ago, VIII88 said:

I have not been able to find information from the official Sri Lanka immigration website regarding free transit visa. The only available eVisa is over US$200! The website from one of the previous posts does not direct to an application site. Should we just wait until we board the ship in Singapore and let Cunard crew help us or wait until we reach Colombo and process entry visa to go on our shore excursion then?

I used this website and received the free transit visa: https://www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/