rafinmd

Day 1, Friday, July 1, 2022, Board Queen Mary 2, Red Hook, New York I left the Renaissance about 10:45 and caught a taxi to Pier 11 Wall Street, arriving about 11:15. Buying a ferry ticket was easy and from Slip C I joined a queue of people waiting for the South Brooklyn ferry, shaded and grabbing a bench in the boarding area. My first view of QM2 in the distance was a bit hazy but lovely indeed. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/1stookqm2.jpg My first cruise was on something a bit more modest, and once boarding started the crew was quite serious about mask wearing, holding some patrons who arrived without one until some were secured from the vessel. We made one stop at Pier 6 which some other ferry passengers told me had a waterpark (I would think some passengers making New York a port call might enjoy) before arriving at Red Hook just a stone’s throw from the ship. On the way to the ship I paused for a photo of the forward end of the ship and located my cabin just forward of the C of Cunard. My energy level was fairly normal when I arrived at the terminal but that changed over the course of the next hour plus. While some people have reported standing in the sun I was lucky that the line started in the shade. The line to enter the terminal ran 3 passes between the terminal entrance and the customs exit. At noon+ there were still a LOT of people leaving the ship and trying to get on their way. I wonder if some of that might have been delays by some people who were disembarking after being quarantined (not people booked for 21 days but some who had booked a simple transatlantic). I think this was supposed to be the basic process: Step 1: Preliminary review of documents. Step 2: Security Step 3: Health check Step 4: Traditional check in Step 5: On to the ship For step 1 there were 3 lines for regular passengers and 2 more for people reserving wheelchairs. I was directed to the one on the right and I thought I had everything in order. The line moved EXTREMELY slowly, with most of the delays seemingly caused by people searching for documents on their phones. One person in particular must have spent at least 10 minutes on her phone trying different login credentials before apparently finally pulling up her document. There should be a way to let such people stand aside while they do the search and start on the next person. When I FINALLY got there I had 2 double sided sheets of paper (a) My e-ticket, (b)Arrive-Can printout, (c) Negative Covid Test, and (d) “Cleared” online health declaration. The guy looked at all of the papers except the online health declaration, my passport. He also wanted to see my vax card which I thought had already been uploaded, no problem there. What he wanted to see that I didn’t have was a boarding pass with a bar code. I looked at that several times in the online check-in and could never get to it, and the E-ticket indicated it was all that was needed, so I hadn’t worried about it. He refused to go any further but passed me off to the wheelchair line, which had little printers. That moved as slowly as the first line but when I finally got there the gal rechecked everything the first guy did and printed out the boarding pass, a little receipt type slip of paper smaller than my hand. By this time between the wait outside the terminal and inside I had been standing with almost 30 pounds on my back for about an hour, having accomplished barely 2 minutes getting something done but I finally had a green sticker on my boarding pass. Step 2 was the standard security screening which went reasonably normally. Step 3 was the health check where a gal had a little phone type device and recorded my answers to the same questions Cunard had insisted I answer on my own from home but nobody looked at. Fortunately, that was also quick. Finally, on to the traditional check-in line and another 10-minute wait. By this time my legs were close to collapse. When I finally got there and she entered my data and the computer wouldn’t let her go any further and I had to wait for at least one other party at the next station for a different agent. I am pretty sure when I sailed Adventure of the Seas to Halifax, Royal had gotten a confirmation directly from Canada about approvals but this had not happened for me and I had to show my printout for a third time. She also recorded the approval code on a list on a clipboard. Cunard had also rejected my photo so that was retaken. FINALLY, I was ready to board almost 90 minutes after arriving at the terminal. I thought it would be easy to get to my room but not quite. I boarded at stairway C. My cabin is all the way forward before stairway A. I took the elevator to deck 6 and started walking forward. My path was blocked at stairway B as the area between A and B on deck 6 (both sides) is the quarantine zone so I had to go down to deck 5, forward to A, and back up to 6 and arrived at my cabin about 2:10, plopping my bags down on the bed, exhausted. I was hungry and needed lunch but needed a bit of rest even more. I finally summoned the strength to go up to Kings Court about 2:30 for an eclectic lunch of skim milk, fruit salad and soft ice cream. Self service is suspended in Kings Court and all food is dished out by the crew. Not a big deal and probably a good thing in general but Cunard does not normally do this so it places a burden on the crew and makes them less available for other things. As I got to the elevator on deck 7 I was stopped by a crew member who asked about my muster station and since it was station A (the gym) he scanned my card indicating I had been to the muster station. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/lunch01.jpg It was about 3 when I returned to my room and my big bag that had been sent by Luggage Forward was sitting outside. I wrestled it up onto the bed and started the slow process of unpacking. My email from Luggage Forwarded said it was delivered at 2:01 so Cunard got it up to my room quite quickly. Unpacking was a slow process. Normally, all aboard is 5:30 and sailaway at 6. At 5:30 the emergency signal (7 short and 1 long blast on the horns and bells) was sounded and we had Captain Andrew Hall’s safety message. Shortly after 6 Captain Hall came back on the PA and told us we would be we would be delayed by some late arriving passengers (not surprising considering the current turmoil in the airline industry, and our departure would be around 7. While I had planned to check in with my table and introduce myself and then get dinner in Kings Court until we passed the Verrazano bridge I instead headed down to dinner. I am at table 302 on deck 2, a 6-top near the port side entrance. There was just one other person at dinner, a lady from the New York suburbs. My choices were beef consume, roast turkey breast, and apple strudel. Service was quite quick and we were finishing about 7:15, just as I saw us starting to move. I watched the bridge cam from my room and as we were getting closet to the Verrazano bridge I went up to deck 13 to watch us go under the bridge. I got a good shot of the bow going under the bridge but not so much the rear funnel. https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/bridgefwd.jpg Sunset was about a half hour away. I went down to deck 7 and watched from a lounger under lifeboat 15 as the sun dropped into the clouds near the horizon. The featured entertainment was violinist Venus Tsai. I did not attend. I was in bed about 10:30 and slept very soundly until about 4:30. I did go out on deck early Saturday. There were clouds but I did see a bit of color ahead of the ship. My parting shot has to be about the check-in process. Talking about a “perfect storm” on a cruise blog is probably not a good idea but I will anyway. There were so many changes that could have made a difference. 1. A better Cunard Checkin process to get to the “boarding pass” 2. Encouraging people to print things out instead of having them search through phones and a holding pattern for people having difficulty retrieving them. 3. Equipping all checkin staff with mobile printers 4. When all documents are in order and all requirements obviously met, having agents pass people on to the next step with the boarding pass where the capability is already there. There just must be a better way. Roy

Thank you for the report, Rich. Love all 3 of the days and the Rowling quote. Been to Honolulu several times, always on Crystal or land trips. It will be some time yet before I'm ready to comment on the meal. Oops, just realized my lists are on the other laptop that isn't yet connected to the wifi. Roy

Roy

OK, I have not fallen off the face of the earth and have much rebounded from the disaster that was embarkation (I felt like @frankp01 just hit the tip of the iceburg), but not to the point of staying up past my planned bed time (in about 10 minutes), I have processed my photos but have not written anything. @Host Hattie would you be so kind as to take the "Imminent" out of the thread title. It sounded good 2 days ago but not so much now. Thanks Roy

Finally left the dock about 7:15PM. Table 302 is a 6-top on deck 2, near the port, aft corner, but there were only 2 of us tonight. Roy

Finally left the dock about 7:15PM. Table 302 is a 6-top on deck 2, near the port, aft corner, but there were only 2 of us tonight. Roy

On board and exhausted. No stress getting to the ship but checkin was something of a nightmare. Trying to unpack as I hope my energy levels will rebound. Not sure about table size yet as I am likely to be on deck until the Bridge. I will try to stop down at 6 and introduce myself and perhaps join them for coffee and desert. Is anyone familiar with table 302 on deck 2? Roy

On board and exhausted. No stress getting to the ship but checkin was something of a nightmare. Trying to unpack as I hope my energy levels will rebound. Roy

Not sure that information will be available. 99% packed, leaving the hotel in about an hour. Down to just my IPAD for internet. Roy

99% packed for the ship, leaving in about an hour. Down to just my IPAD until settled in my room. Roy

I did not see an actual sun on my morning walk today because of the buildings but think I saw a bit of color in the sky. Roy

Thank you for the Friday Daily. I love all the days, especially Canada day and envy @Crazy For Cats being in Canada on this special day. I really wish my cruise started a couple of days ago so I could have been in Halifax today and then Boston on July 4. Not sure what to make of the quote. Have not been to Albania and will pass on the meal. My alternative is “rainbow” potatoes, chicken sausage, bacon, and raisin toast as served today in the Renaissance Times Square. Today’s care list: Melinda with stage 4 cancer Sam recovering at home from Covid complications StPeteCruiser recovering from Appendicitis Covid in Durango shelter staff Joy’s friend Ron facing Gall Bladder surgery Heartgrove brother about to be discharged with extremely poor prognosis From the rotation: StLouisSal with weakening legs and covid Cruzin Terri with continuing health problems Tana with persistant cough HAL Sailer DH Nephew Curt with serious mowing accident and new dimentia Celebrations and Shoutouts: A world cruise flight offer for Rich Seasick Sailer friend Ron recovering from successful gall bladder surgery Tioga Cruiser enjoying Grand Canyon Volendam caring for refugees 1 days for ski ww (Oosterdam July 2 to 16) 2 days for Mister Boston (Celebrity Summit July 3 to 10) My embarkation day (QM2 July 1 to 😎 Nickelpenny (Westerdam to 7/3) , jimgev (Noordam to 7/3 plus land trip), Norseh2o (Insignia to 7/4) and Crazy for Cats (Zaandam to 7/9) at sea Vacationing Staff Captain Sabine - Our first female Staff Captain and HAL’s likely first female Captain(I know this is a repeat but she’s worth it) Roy

I did not see an actual sun on my morning walk today because of the buildings but think I saw a bit of color in the sky. Roy

@D&N you are more patient than me. Are you boarding today? I did not see an actual sun on my morning walk today because of the buildings but think I saw a bit of color in the sky. Roy

Day 0, Thursday, June 30, 2022, New York, New York(Part 2) Since I’m posting this on July 1 I’ll start with a wish for a happy Canada Day for those who celebrate it . Dinner was pizza from a place called Little Italy pretty much across the street from the hotel. I was able to eat it at a table out on the sidewalk. My plan for the evening was for my 11th and probably last viewing of Come From Away. Last because the final curtain on Broadway is probably October 2. I have a strong history of combining Come From Away with Queen Mary 2, twice in London in 2019 and then in Melbourne just before things went haywire in March 22. I guess my familiarity with the show is more obvious than I realized as the couple next to me mentioned it at the end of the show. They did fortunately say they enjoyed sitting next to me. This was the final performance where masks were required as the requirement is lifted July 1. It was a very low key evening in the hotel after the show. My room looks out on Broadway and it feels like 24-hour daylight so I needed to sleep with the room darkening drapes closed. I woke about 5AM and took a 30-minute walk towards the East River. I never was able to see the sun come up but did find a little bit of color at my easternmost point. It was already pretty steamy when I finished my walk, and I made firm my decision not to use the subway to get to the ship. The Renaissance has a $30 facility fee that can be applied to the restaurants. The breakfast buffet is also $30. My breakfast included “rainbow” potatoes, chicken sausage, bacon, and raisin toast. My parting shot will be a note of caution. While we have made great progress, the disease that had me removed from Queen Mary 2 is still with us. That became poignant when one of the members of my Queen Mary 2 Cruise Critic roll call tested positive yesterday and will not be joining us. Sadly, there is also covid on the ship with some people in quarantine cabins and masks required for this voyage. While I would have been masked indoors much of the time anyway the freedom to drop it when there was nobody near me early in the morning would have been nice. Overall, I consider it a small price to pay for my safety. Best wishes to Cruise Critic member oatbagg1's husband for a quick recovery. Roy

I hope I'm not out of line here but Pat's nosebleed may have been a blessing. High blood pressure is notorious as the "silent killer" and getting it treated is very important. Roy

Happy Birthday to the two DH today. @StLouisCruisers welcome home. What an ordeal. Super glad I don't need to fly. Roy

Day 0, Thursday, June 30, 2022, New York, New York(Part 1) I left my house just before 8AM for the half hour drive to Amtrak’s BWI rail station. I was a bit uneasy about the timing with the start of the US Independence Day weekend but there were no traffic issues, the station and parking garage had plenty of space, and the longest delay I had see on the train status board was about 15 minutes. My 9:43AM train left precisely on time. There was a bit of an issue with my 1A seat as it had no tray table but when the Conductor took my ticket he moved me to one where it was easier to work. We pulled into New York precisely as I expected at 12:40. Since my last time here the official station has moved from the original station beneath Madison Square Garden to a space below the the old post office. When we were pulling into the station, the conductor indicated that if we walked backwards from the train we would enter the new station but if we walked forwards it would be the original. Since I was headed for 8th Avenue I walked forwards. Unfortunately it wasn’t actually the original station but just tunnels that ended at the Long Island Railroad and Subway. That's where things took a turn for the worse. My hotel is Marriott’s Renaissance Times Square, near 8th Avenue and 48th Street. My directions were to go north 2 stations on the subway and then walk back 2 blocks. Unforturnately, I ended upon an express train that didn’t stop until about 75th street. Several flights of stairs later (with about 25 pounds on my back) I emerged at the correction and while the walk to the hotel was short it took a toll in the heat near 90 degrees. There was a room ready when I checked into the hotel. I was pretty well drained by the travel and ventured only as far as McDonalds for a quick lunch. Roy

On the way. Train 182 dead on time! Roy

On the way. Train 182 dead on time! Roy

Are you sure you're thinking of Luggage Forward? This is the service that picks up my bag at home and delivers it to the ship. They mostly use either UPS or Fedex ground for the distance part of the journey. Roy

Britannia early Roy

My getaway day photo was taken actually yesterday morning just outside my door: Roy

Thank you for the Getaway Day report, Rich. Other than Cruise Critic I don't do Social Media. Handshakes have had tough times since Covid. Meteors can be spectacular. I like the quote by Baltimore's own Poe. Have not been to Port Lincoln and don't know what the meal is. My alternative is Iced Melon Bisque, Mixed Gourmet Greens, Chicken and Corn Soup, and Fruit Cup au Natural as served on MS Prinsendam the last day of May, 2015. Today’s care list: Jaguar crossing the Rainbow Bridge Melinda with stage 4 cancer Sam recovering at home from Covid complications StPeteCruiser recovering from Appendicitis Covid in Durango shelter staff Joy’s friend Ron facing Gall Bladder surgery From the rotation: Cruising-along niece awaiting a kidney Bennybear DH with melanoma Strength and healing for Kazu Celebrations and Shoutouts: Seasick Sailer friend Ron recovering from successful gall bladder surgery \ Kazu’s great neighbor Tioga Cruiser enjoying Grand Canyon Volendam caring for refugees 2 days for ski ww (Oosterdam July 2 to 16) 3 days for Mister Boston (Celebrity Summit July 3 to 10) My getaway day (QM2 July 1 to 😎 Nickelpenny (Westerdam to 7/3) , jimgev (Noordam to 7/3 plus land trip), Norseh2o (Insignia to 7/4) and Crazy for Cats (Zaandam to 7/9) at sea Vacationing Staff Captain Sabine - Our first female Staff Captain and HAL’s likely first female Captain(I know this is a repeat but she’s worth it) Roy

My getaway day photo was taken actually yesterday morning just outside my door: Roy