TheOldBear

I feel a bit mischievous today and so I thought that I'd ask the question, why is it always "Man overboard" and why is the dummy that they throw into the water always a "Man", in these enlightened times of equality etc., isn't it time that we had the odd "Woman overboard" ????

 

David

Also, the standard signal flag for man overboard is "Oscar' ;-)

This past September, my carryon was filled with bottles, padded with socks. It went through security in Brooklyn without incident. The magnums were for in room consumption, most of the bottles we brought to dinner, and paid corkage.

Although Hawaii's Interstate highways are not connected to those in the continental United States, they are built to Interstate standards. The fact that they carry an "H" number, rather than an "I" number differentiates them from the connected system of Interstate routes on the continental United States.

Hawaii having an 'interstate' was the reason presented for promoting the Long Island Expressway [the "World's Longest Parking Lot"] from state highway to Interstate.

True, but not the norm. Of the over a hundred ports we have visited on cruises, only three required passports to be on our person while on shore. In our case, at least 97% of the time they were not required, so they stayed in the safe.

Well, if you need to get the passport stamped when you leave the ship, and again when you get back on board - it does not matter if it is not 'required to be on your person' - there is no other place for them. [the tour bus is not a secure location]

Perhaps for cruises where the entire ship has been 'cleared', then the ship's id is all that is needed - say if all passengers had been cleared before arrival at Le Harve, and then next stop was also Schnegen [spelling?] zone, then passports would not have been needed at that stop.

We have been cruising since 1984, over 100 cruises, and have never taken our passports off the ship - they stay in our safe. Thrives can get mega $$$ for US passports! You take your sign 'n sail card and any photo ID to get back on the ship. We have heard cruise directors say on 1st night, in the theater, don't take your passport off the ship.

In the 'old' days, all ships collected every non US passport when 'they' got on board. Their passports were not returned until late the last day.

Keep your passports in the safe for the entire cruise!

Sometimes you do not have the choice to leave the Passport in the safe.

Recent example, on a round trip transatlantic stopping in Southampton and LeHarve.

The UK passport check was made onboard, during the eastbound crossing. We brought our passports to a designated spot for inspection by the onboard UK Customs/Immigration official. [total out of safe time - 20 minutes :-) ]

The ship arrived 'cleared' in Southampton, and passengers could walk off as soon as the gangways were available.

The next day was Le Harve, on the other side of the channel. There was passport inspection just inside the terminal before you were permitted to walk to the tour bus, or out of the secure area.

Once you were out of the secure area, you need to show your passport again to re-enter it. [passport was stamped both for 'entering France' and 'leaving France']

So, if you were leaving the ship, you had no choice except to bring your passport along for the day. [passengers opting to skip the LeHarve port visit did not need to show their passport]

Does renewal require you to send in your birth certificate again? Does it require you to send in your old one now? You might try to send off for it now as long as you don’t need to send it your birth certificate which you’ll need as back up for the cruise in case it doesn’t arrive in time. Don’t worry about expediting it because your birth certificate is your back up plan. I applied for a first time passport for me and my child, standard processing, standard shipping and they arrived in my mailbox 13 days later. This was in October/November.

See the state department page on renewing passports by mail at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/renew-by-mail.html

We will be renewing ours this spring - well in advance of next year's planned cruise.

You may want to check over in the "France Ports" forum https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=593

Cruise Critic has their own version of geography - France is under their Mediterranean section.

This past September, there was a 90 minute delay leaving Le Harve, as one of the Ships tour busses was delayed. That would argue in favor of a ship's tour - particularly when the next stop is New York.

<much snippage>

Also, does anyone know if it's possible to book tours of the bridge and galley?

The behind the scenes tour is booked [and sells out quickly] the morning of the first day after boarding. If possible, try to find out the opening time of the tour office on your embarkation day.

I was waitlisted, but Cunard added an additional tour group due to demand. There is lots of standing, some of the staircases are much steeper than in passenger spaces, and there are a few 'knee knocker' watertight doors. Working crew has absolute right of way, and the escorts try to minimize the group's impact on the 'burma road' portion of the tour.

Do you audition for the choir?

 

Ricki

I don't know if anyone is turned away, but there is an audition and several rehearsals for the National Symphony crossings.

We are about to do a mid-December crossing on QM2 and are looking for (hoping?) for an animated ride. Two questions:

 

1) What source do people use for Atlantic marine forecasts?

2) If wind and sea conditions warrant, does the crew close of access to outside decks (like the promenade deck) and/or private balconies?

 

Thanks for any information.

We had force 11 winds on our westbound crossing this september - and the Beaufort scale only goes to 12.

All the Deck 7 access to the promenade deck were roped off - but some hardy souls were on the deck anyway [access via the aft doors from decks 6 and 8]. There were even some both wet and hardy folks in the 'minnows' pool on deck 6.

The 'lookout' above the bridge on deck 13 & the deck 11 observation deck were off limits - but the the deck 12 doors from the Pavilion pool often were available.

We had a sheltered balcony on deck 5 - and that lived up to its name. We could stand on the balcony in relative calm with an 80 knot 'breeze' just outside.

Just booked these today:

September 15 - October 4, 2019: NYC --> Southampton, Hamburg, LeHavre --> NYC (M929B) - 19 nights

October 4-18, 2019: NYC --> Quebec --> NYC (M931A) -- 14 nights

Booked a Princess Grill cabin -- traveling solo (yeah, I know) ...

 

I'm new to cruise travel -- just took my first ever cruise this past September (Holland America Amsterdam, 14 days, Seattle --> Alaska -->Alaska) and loved every minute, especially the sea days. By this time this back-to-back rolls around, I will have completed 3 more cruises ranging in length from 28 to 38 days each (two Holland America, one Regent Severn Seas). I won't be able to do this forever, so I'm trying to do as much as I can while I'm still physically able and have the means to do so. These itineraries hit a few more "bucket list" locations. Funny thing: most of the places on my bucket list are reachable via water. How convenient!

 

I keep asking myself "what have I just gotten myself into??" -- I'm not a very "formal" person, and I've heard ... rumors ... about how formal Cunard is. I'm hoping that my idea of "dress-up" (nice dress slacks and a fancy top with some bling) will be acceptable. I spent 32 years working in IT, and the dress code was distinctly ... casual. I figure wearing what I'd wear to a night of dinner and theater in NYC would work for this. I hope I'm right. ;)

 

It's almost two years away, so I have time to update my wardrobe if necessary.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

I’ve started a ‘roll call’ thread for the transatlantic round trip (M929B), you may want to join/watch the thread.

I would recommended one of the Normandy ‘D Day’ excursions for the day in La Harve - we went to the American sector this September, and the tour exceeded all expectations.

If you are a singer, note that the eastbound TA includes a passenger chorus rehearsing with the National Symphony & performing as part of. The last night’s concert. That was the reason we selected the round trip again for 2019.

I haven't been to a spa, but the one-day pass for the Aqua Therapy facilities is reasonably priced so I'm tempted. What does one do while there? - do one thing, then another, then another? Take a book? How long do people usually stay? How does one "rejuvenate" before dinner?

 

Thanks - looking to try and I want to make good use of it.

I thought the facilities are reasonably priced - better price per day with a multi day pass. [bought 6 day pass, valid for both legs of a TA round trip, but there was too much sloshing the last day so the pool was closed]. Some spa services [massages] include a day pass]

The pool is the centerpiece - it's warm, lots of jets and aeration, and has a lounge area/bench [sort of a recliner made from stainless steel, with water jets from below], an in the pool hot tub [circle of steel, just above the pool level, and some waterfall & jets spilling into the pool [nice to let the jet work on tiered muscles] .

The pool area also has a separate, hotter, hot tub and lounges.

Off to one side [port side] are steam rooms & sauna, on the other side [starboard side] access to the treatment rooms [for paid spa services like massage] and a relaxation suite in a 'greenhouse' on the promenade deck.

Sometimes we use the spa pool before dressing for a late dinner

I’ve got my eye on the 21-day transatlantic round-trip that others have mentioned (M921A), but it’s a bit too early for me to make a decision and book. I’d love to do that trip though. It’s on my bucket list to sail into Liverpool (my home town) on Queen Mary, and to do a translatantic round-trip - this particular itinerary really appeals [emoji851]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I was considering that round trip as well - but I think we will book M929B for the round trip [NY-Southampton-Hamburg-Southampton-Le Harve-NY]

The eastbound crossing is also the National Symphony crossing - and that was quite nice this September.

Which cruise line does it that way? We've done eastbound ta on Celebrity, on NCL, and on Oceania and all 3 of those cruise lines changed time in middle of the night.

On QM2 the eastbound [23 hour day] adjustments were made mid day, the westbound [25 hour day] adjustments were sometime at night - probably a longer 'mid watch' with two 0400 times.

This must be only on some cruise lines. We’ve done quite a few crossings and never had the time change during the day. It would be a lot easier, and I wish all lines would do this.

Probably this is at the Captain's discretion - but that was how it was done on our recent eastbound crossing [1200 became 1300 five times]

Next summer we are booked on a westbound transatlantic followed by a QE cruise and the eastbound crossing. This will be our first Cunard cruise since 2014 QE World Cruise. I had a question about transfers but my husband got the Cunard representative to answer it. But since I was in the of middle doing this, I wondered what changes we would see in either, the QE, or the QM2 which we haven't been on since 2010.:hearteyes:

For the QM2 there were extensive discussions about the 'remastering' result here on the forums.

Based on my recent TA round trip, I noticed:

• The new deck 13 cabins, and the walkways on top of them. Its another area to almost touch the Verrazano Narrows bridge when leaving NY harbor
  
• The photo gallery is moved across from the Golden Lion, and the vendor has gone mostly electronic.
  
• The new single cabins displacing the old photo gallery & part of the casino
  
• The new Carthinia lounge replacing the old Winter Garden proved to be a popular place on sea days.
  

The Kings Court also had a makeover - I guess my wife and I were some of the folks who didn't mind the old layout - but this was a modest improvement.

One nice feature of the National Symphony crossing is the passenger chorus. There are several rehearsal sessions, followed by a performance with the Symphony on the last evening.

On our crossing, Captain Philpott was drafted to conduct during the concert :-)

I think that I may have heard that Stephen Payne regrets adding the 2 gas turbines and now he says that it would have been better to have a 5th diesel engine to generate more electricity than the 2 gas turbines since the QM2 needs electricity to sail. Am I right with this story of Stephen Payne's regret of the 2 gas turbines? Regards,Jerry

Gas turbines are very light for their output, responsive to changing load/demand - but they are at their most efficient operation when running at full speed. And its rare that full power is needed. [and they need to burn more expensive low sulfur #2 diesel, instead of the 'heavy oil' that suffices for the low speed marine diesels]

On our recent TA, one of the diesels was offline and the turbines were needed for the entire cruise as a supplement.

Am I correct in thinking QM2 will still be the one and only in her class?

Well, in another thirty years or so she will be ending her planned lifetime, so there may be a successor 'last ocean liner'.

I'm hoping that is an annual school project for naval architects somewhere.

It was not in the bookstore in September - seems an obvious missed opportunity.

It would be interesting if on their new ship Cunard are still differentiating dining arrangements according to what you have booked, i.e. Brittania, Grills etc. This is maintaining the liner tradition. Most other luxury cruise lines have dispensed with this and the only differential seems to be in the position and quality of the cabin/suite. We love the dine anywhere and open seating arrangements and are anxious that we will not enjoy our forthcoming cruise on QE.

On the other hand the MSC Yacht Club or the NCL Haven 'ship within a ship' seems to be closer to the old 'first class' concept than Cunard 'grills'.

What did you carry as id in place of the passport?

In France, carried the passport for the rest of the day - would need to go through passport control again when returning to the ship.

In England, I had my driver's license - as a just in case. We were on a ship's excursion, so all that was needed was the ship's id card. I'm assuming that if returning to the port independently, there would be the need of some sort of photo ID to confirm a match for the ship's ID card [no access to the shipboard photo database]

So on a British Isles cruise, including Le Havre, do we need our passports off the ship? Just one of the questions I haven't asked yet. :)

 

Sandi

On our recent transatlantic, we did not need the passport for Southampton shore excursions [immigration completed onboard during the eastbound crossing] - but we did need to bring them on shore excursions at LeHarve. The passport was checked and stamped both entering and exiting France.

There was a bit of a backlog when reboarding, as there were only two passport stations. Four busloads took almost an hour from arrival at the terminal to stamped passports.

Does Red Hook have space to dock two large ships?

Nope, just the one pier.

Note if you use Google maps, the marker is not located on the actual terminal - switch to the satellite view and see a smaller ship docked at the terminal