alc13

Loving this thread!  Thanks to Host Hattie for starting it and posting every day.  Also for the opportunity to meet @Mr H. H.  And so fun to hear from others on board, too, and see everyone's photos.  I wish I were there.  

As a side note, the Insight lectures are much more appealing than what we were offered on QE last April. Shame about the tough steaks and lamb.

Summer finally came to Maine.  A beaver has decided to build a dam in front of a culvert that runs under our driveway.  Every day we remove it, and every morning it's back.  Long term we need a so-called beaver deceiver, a contraption of wire and maybe tubing that prevents access to the culvert opening.  But in the meantime, we admire the beaver's work.  We've had a lot of rain lately, which fills the pond that drains through our culvert out to a river, and now that the rains have stopped, the beaver will, too. 

We planted a lot of perennials when we moved here 4 years ago and many of them now need cutting back.  I'm still learning about gardening, so my pruning may not be expert, but I love how much it tidies up an overgrown bed.  This week I'll buy new plants to replace a few that didn't come back this spring.  Sometimes I think winter is my favorite season here, but early summer is pretty wonderful, too.

3 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

And sheep here !

It's been a beautiful Bank Holiday weekend here. It was our wedding anniversary on Friday and we went out for a very nice meal in the evening.

Apart from that we've had a couple of barbecues and I enjoyed the final episodes of "The Marvellous Mrs Maisel" and "Succession".

Fabulous menu.  I will miss Succession!  Happy anniversary to you and Mr HH 🎉

What specifically has you worried?  We were just on and found nothing amiss.

It was fun to be part of the game! 
 

The Fukuoka welcome was astoundingly good  - really talented kids playing those drums. 

Off at Yokohama.  Three days in Tokyo next.  We haven’t managed to find sushi yet so that is high on the agenda!

On 4/21/2023 at 7:24 PM, Down-Unders said:

I have been reading on CC reviews, Cunard Q E Unrecognizable, Poor Service, Food up and down, not Value for money anymore, the only good reviews came the Grills, more like a 3 star ship with Dropping Standards. I know one has to have an open mind with regards reviews but with a 20 and 18 day cruise booked should we be concerned ?

I’d hoped to hear how non-Grills passengers on QE right now were liking their experience but I’m not having much success. Over half of the passengers are Japanese (I don’t speak Japanese), and the others are usually seated too far away for casual conversation.  We had breakfast in the Lido the other morning, though, and thought it was very good.

You might try re-posting your question while the Japan to Alaska cruise is underway.  There will be more English-speaking passengers on that one and you might have better luck.  We think the QE is in great shape, for what it’s worth.

We had a terrific port welcome here.  Location is spelled out if you look closely.

And where is this?

A dreary day at this port.  Are there others in the world with so many wind turbines?

It was a Red and Gold Gala on the QE last night and I have to say, most people looked stunning.  Lots of true formal wear, and the lesser choices looked good, too.  The Japanese passengers were almost always dressed beautifully, and the non-Japanese passengers mostly complied with the dress code as well.  This crowd, at least, isn’t looking for permission to dress down.

The 2 hr spa pass costs $49 once on board.  The $35 price is only if you book in advance.

I have another photo but it posts upside down.  Any advice?

Apparently QE passed under the bridge with only 4 meters to spare!

Easy one if you’ve been here -
 

4 hours ago, bluemarble said:

I'd also like to make a request for a photo of the port you visited yesterday since that's a new Cunard port we haven't seen yet. There are going to be several other ports on your current itinerary we haven't seen yet, so it would be great if you could contribute photos of those ports as well when the time comes. Thanks so much for adding to our seen Cunard ports list!

Oh, whoops, nothing from yesterday.  I’ll do the remaining ones, though.  My pleasure.

Where is this?  If you were there today, you can’t play.

Seems all good to me, but we’re in the Grills.  I’ll ask around.  The live music has been wonderful.  Service in the bars has been good so far, too.

13 hours ago, giddy_up said:

 

Could you please tell what the current requirements are for wearing masks onboard?

Masks are required except when eating, drinking, or in the gym.  Mostly complied with, too.

I will!  And yes, so great to finally be here!

Well, here we are on QE, and I can report that our carefully executed and beautifully documented pre-boarding Covid tests were not reviewed at embarkation.  The explanation was that the test results weren’t needed because we’d been vaccinated - which makes no sense, because of course we still could have been infected and contagious.  Japan is in the process of relaxing their guidelines for managing Covid, so maybe that’s part of the reason for Cunard’s policy change.

13 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

Currently, most big mass market ships are exceeding 10% infection rates. 

That is staggeringly high, especially compared to the US currently (where I live) and Japan (where we're going).  Apparently our exposure risk will be higher on board than off.  Frustrating.

We’ve done the Dec 15 TA a couple of times.  Great time to be on the Atlantic.  Recalls for me the time when that was the only way to cross.
 

As for other times of year, RADA performs frequently on the QM2 but wasn’t present on our Dec TAs.

What they all said.  Just bizarre.  If I were one of their customer service people I'd be tired of requests for help with it, but apparently fixing it isn't a priority.

Are embarkation and disembarkation days both counted?  Ie., will we be charged for 10 days of internet access on a 9-night itinerary?