buffyone

Thank you Steve for bringing back memories of that very same crossing. I was lucky to have been on board for the Southampton - NY part. Indeed, the weather also became quite unstable as the ship sailed from Southampton and it was certainly a little rough day 1 through 3. I had never been sea sick before. Even when whale watching in the North Pacific or embarking on a rough North Sea crossing to Europe, I had never felt even a little bit queasy. It was amazing to get through it and the Dramamine finally did the trick for me on day 2. However, it goes without saying, I also got to thoroughly enjoy the whole experience, even the real weather days and cant wait to do it again someday soon. 

Really looking forward to the next installment

We have been busy planting vegetables and going back to old recipes and baking from home. It has been a time to reflect, although 2 months ago it seemed like May was so far away. 

There have been many inspiring stories throughout the past few months such as Capt Tom Moore and this hero below

96-year-old WWII veteran is running coast-to-coast again. This time to raise money to sail a restored ship

As a solo cruiser I found that I had to be bold and enter the Queens Room with a purpose as if I was looking for a friend who had saved a seat for me. The trick is to look around and make eye contact with somebody who looks like they would welcome you at their table for two. A fair amount of solo teatime travelers will welcome a stranger for good conversation and a nice cup of tea and those warm lovely scones. You are also helping the waiters and Maitre D as they are always looking to hurry on single teatime patrons because of table space and the queue.

16 hours ago, lissie said:

I like the idea of the buffet being replaced with something more like a food court with food being served - I can see lots of advantages to that.  

 

There is talk in NZ that we may open the border to Australia before the end of the year - my pick is that QE will start an Australian-based season later in the year - maybe slightly earlier than planned? 

The buffet will possibly have to change temporarily or even permanently. The food court idea could be workable. 

Based on the latest news out of Australia and especially New Zealand, that may well be the location from where cruising could tentatively commence later in the year. 

On 4/21/2020 at 9:21 AM, seacruise9 said:

Hi, 

 

Thanks for posting this photo of my favorite ship. I have sailed seven times aboard the Queen Mary 2 and have many wonderful memories of this ship. I sincerely hope that I am able to sail aboard this beautiful ship in the future. I would love to be eating a scone during afternoon tea in the Queens Room.

 

Chuck

My favorite ship too. 

Cunard sent out a text to a link regarding the secret recipe of the scones and how to make them should you wish to make your own. Cant be the same though.

What ideas do you think Cunard (Carnival) are discussing/entertaining regarding having the Queens all cruising again soon? 

What do you imagine when you think of steps we need to take to get back cruising in some fashion similar to what we are used to? 

Bear in mind that we should assume the virus will eventually get less severe as more people around the world acquire some sort of immunity or, at the very least, the severity of an infection will in time be no worse than a current flu. Unfortunately, that may be more than one year.

First thing that may have to be expanded/upgraded would be the medical center. Additional ventilators, and medical staff, as well as the ability to deal with a on board endemic situation, should it arise.

Let's assume the chances are pretty good of a future cruise having just one person on board with the virus, then there is almost a guarantee that there will be some kind of spread on board.

How do we prevent the spread from affecting most of the passengers on board? 

One idea that came to my mind would be splitting the ship up into quadrants with different timetables for activities, dinning, and entertainment. Imagine it like the ship itself being able to cordon off certain areas from a emergency situation like compartmentalization.

In other words, it would be like having 4 separate groups of say 300 people on the same ship at one time but not interacting much.

Venues may need to be changed or duplicated for example,  additional pubs, additional lounges, cordoning off the kings court into separate dining areas. Access to certain areas would also depend on cabin location and use of certain elevators.

Mass group gatherings such as the theater and illuminations would have to be also based upon state room location and assigned passenger group.

How would the buffet change the way it serves food?  Vending machines?

What about evening grill dining, would the the tables have to be farther apart? How would it work?

What about dancing? The swimming pools, spas, entertainment?

How much more would a TA (for example) with a balcony stateroom cost? 

What other things would need to change in order for a cruise to be safe and viable?