Mickb

We used Source Bioscience after our recent QM2 cruise. We did the test on the morning of the second day - took it to a priority post office ( we live in Torquay and there were 3 listed). We had a (thankfully negative) response by text and email at 3pm on day 3 - excellent service. Price was £35 each test.

We were also in Grills and had a problem with the heating in our cabin on the first afternoon. We reported it to our steward and nothing happened. Then  I phoned the Grills Concierge and an engineer was there within 15 minutes. My keycard also stopped working and the concierge had a new one delivered directly to the cabin. ( I got in with my wife’s key). I was most impressed.

Just back from a short 3 day cruise on the beautiful QM2 - her first commercial voyage after more than 600 days of pause! It was simply wonderful to be aboard again. Check in with the COVID testing was a bit tedious but everyone did what they could to speed things along. We were in PG so we’re asked to arrive at the terminal at 12.30 and were in in our cabin by 13.45 and at lunch by 14.00. There were some glitches - the cabin heating didn’t initially work, the toilet stopped working during the second night - but these items were quickly rectified once reported and problems were to be expected after a pause of that length. We cruised down channel to Plymouth then across to France, then into Cherbourg for a day’s  stop and then back to S’ton. The food and service in PG was outstanding and it was obvious that the crew were delighted to be back with passengers. The second evening was a black and white gala evening and I would say that 90% of the passengers made a huge effort. It was a very glamorous evening. We are traditional and really enjoyed dressing up after 20 months of lockdown etc - Traditional Cunard at its best! Everyone wore masks moving around the ship and we saw no exceptions to this. We felt very safe.
We can’t wait for our next trip on QE in March.

Thank you Marion B - I can only imagine how disappointed you must be.

We are in PG for this trip and we will raise a glass to you at dinner tomorrow evening!

I hope you manage to rearrange soon!

Really tough - hope you manage to get a replacement cruise in place ASAP!

Bit of chaos this evening due to storm Arwen ( Iona delayed by 24 hours - all local hotels full) and the changes in 2 day Covid testing, but she’s scheduled to sail at 18.30 tomorrow evening we’ll be on board and We CAN’T WAIT!

She will be in Ocean Terminal on 28/11 to embark her first passenger carrying cruise for 18+ months🤞
we will be aboard - can’t wait!💥😁

So that’s about circa 70% 

sailing on short cruise on QM2 next weekend and wandered what capacity would be. Based on what is suggested - should be around 1600/1700?

Are Cunard ships sailing at reduced capacity at the moment? 

Ref the M141N - 28th Nov 

I spoke to my TA today who told me that the second night will be a Gala night where formal dress will be required. Seems a shame that Cunard have not seen fit to tell us this but at least we now know what to pack!

We have done several transatlantics. As you are going on the southerly route a port side balcony cabin will get you lots of sun. As you are generally heading west you will tend to loose the sun in the latter part of the afternoon so your shade requirements should be met. Starboard side cabins are colder and you notice the wind more. In the end it depends on how much time you like to spend in your cabin. If you only really use the cabin to change clothes and sleep then it’s probably not worth it - if you are like us and like to spend time reading or watching the sea - I would suggest that is.
we have done a couple of crossings on the QM2 on the northern route and used the balcony much less.

I will start by saying that I am English and English culinary tastes are in some ways different from American. We are 6 time HAL cruisers but over the years have noticed a marked deterioration in the quality taste and choice of the food offered in the MDR. We are not ‘rich’ and appreciate the value of a £/$ - we save hard for our cruise holiday and expect the experience to be quite special. The nadir for us came on the Eurodam when the MDR menu offered Meatloaf and fried chicken. Without in any way criticising those who enjoy those dishes - they could not be described as fine dining as is claimed in the brochures. For the rest of that cruise we dined in Tamarind which we thought outstanding - but of course at extra cost.

We have not returned to HAL but have since enjoyed cruises with Celebrity and Cunard.

Reading now that HAL has done away with Wine stewards, expecting the poor waiters to assume those duties as well as food service, confirms my belief that the Management have a plan to move the company downmarket. It is such a shame as the ships are gorgeous and the crews are largely outstanding.

It may be that I am a dinosaur and hankering for times past - but other companies that were peers of HAL seem to be managing to keep standards up  

The Grill’s experience is really very nice. I agree with exlondoner - we too took the holiday of a lifetime on the QE2 in Queens Grill in 1989 - it spoilt us for ever! 
can’t wait for our mini cruise on the QM2 in November - sadly only Princess Grill this time!

We are also booked on this short break and we’re told by our TA that there was unlikely to be a gala night. 

Have crossed Biscay 4 times in January. Twice - absolutely horrendous 

0nce - rough but fun, once - flat calm.

it’s a lottery - if you are bad sailors - think very carefully 

I think is the beginning of the end for Volendam and Zaandam. Maybe Fred Olen will take them too.

I think like most World Cruises - it is a mixture of segments and full voyage passengers. Personally I am glad that companies do this as in 2023 we want to find a segment from Hong Kong to the UK or Europe. If the world voyages did not accept segment passengers this option would not be available to us.

I don’t think Cunard is much different to others.

Cunard have cancelled the 2022 World Cruises for QM2 and Queen Victoria. They don’t think that there will be enough ports open. Queen Victoria is not scheduled to cruise again until April 22.

Begs the question - will Zaandam’s 2022 World Cruise actually sail?

‘Cases and deaths in the UK are starting to spike. Looks like the Germans and Austrians are right. The Austrians have even banned direct flights from the UK.’

This is not true. As of today there are approx 3000 new cases a day in the UK - down from 70000 in January. There were no deaths today. The Indian variant is a concern and is likely to become the dominant variant but the vaccines can deal with it. 40m 1st does have been given and 26m second doses. The total population of the UK is 68m. 

Eurodam left Torbay today after months at anchor. She is apparently headed to for the Mediterranean to prepare for her scheduled series of cruises in the Greek Islands later this summer (all being well).

Torbay had been described as a 'pleasure to be anchored in' by Arno Jutten, captain of  Eurodam, following the announcement of the ship's departure.

Many locals who have seen HAL ships anchored in the bay for the last 9 months were sorry to see her go but welcomed the start of a return to some sort of normality.

7 Cruise liners still remain in Torbay and Babbacombe Bay.

Speaking as someone who caught COVID from an asymptomatic colleague and was really ill - you may feel well, but be asymptomatic and infect others. As you do not want to have a test - even an antibody test, you will never know. The problem is that the majority of your fellow cruisers will be in the more senior bracket and are more susceptible to severe infection if they contract COVID. Even the fully vaccinated have a 15% chance of contracting the virus although they are unlikely to die of it.

Given  your convictions, to which of course you have every entitlement, you may find it easier to give cruising a miss for a couple of seasons?

Have a good holiday in whatever you eventually decide to do.

I find it strange that the Chief Exec of Carnival Group is saying that vaccinations will not be required for US passengers when his UK brand P and O Cruises will not accept UK passengers this summer who have not been vaccinated.

Zaandam left the anchorage off Torquay yesterday evening after nearly six months ‘at rest’.

She gained many friends ashore and her departure from the bay was marked by a horn contest with the Eurodam and the Marella Explorer both of which were anchored in the near vicinity. The sound of the horns echoed around the hills which adjoin Torbay and was very moving.

She was bound for Southampton for stores and fuel and is then going to join her sister Volendam in Corfu to hopefully resume cruising in the Mediterranean. I think this is a brave move on the part of HAL  because Europe is currently in the grip of a third wave of the Pandemic with infections in some countries doubling every 10:days. Because of EU bureaucracy, the vaccination programme is woefully slow with average of 12% of population vaccinated compared to 30+% in the US and 50% in the UK. 
Maybe the 3rd wave will have passed by the time she is ready.🤞🤞🤞

‘P&O Cruises has cancelled all its planned cruises until the beginning of September and those on Britannia and flagship Iona -- which has not even sailed with passengers yet -- until the beginning of October.

The line will instead offer a series of short break and week-long UK cruises, which will go on sale later in March.’

Will HAL follow suit? The UK is further ahead with its vaccination programme than any other European country. Must throw doubt  on Med cruises for this summer?

For those who are interested. There are no HAL ships in Torbay and haven’t been for 36 hours. Unusually we are experiencing very strong ( and bitterly cold) easterly winds and Torbay is exposed to winds from this quarter. The prevailing winds are from the SW which is why it is such good shelter. A further problem is that the bay is relatively shallow and the high E swell kicks up a lot of sediment which is not good for the ship’s filters.

They are milling around in the English Channel and we hope to see them back in the next couple of days as the wind is due to swing back to SW.