Fall 2010 Mediterranean tripleheader

[rafinmd]

The day started pleasantly, if a bit chilly with an arrival into Catania shortly after 7. My tour today was Taormina and Mt. Etna. While yesterday’s tour had only 3 guests, today we had 6 coaches. The itinerary was quite long with an 8:15 departure and return at 4:45 (only 15 minutes before sailaway), but we saw some beautiful areas. Taormina is about 25 miles north of Catania and sits on a hill about 800 feet above and overlooking the sea. Our coach took us to about the 550 foot level. An optional elevator took us just above 600 feet with a gradual incline as we walked through the narrow streets of the beautiful town. It was quite a busy day as in addition to us there were 2 ships in Messina (Oceania and Wind Surf, which I will board Sunday) and 2 more tendering from Taormina (Silversea and an apparent charter). There were several lovely churches in Taormina (our guide pointed out a square which had once been home to a Church, a Synagogue, and a Mosque), but the highlight for me was the Roman Coliseum. It was especially nice today as there was a musical performance underway as we visited.

 

Mt. Etna is an active volcano. This area is also active seismically as it sits at the junction of the European and African plates. On the way up the mountain our guide pointed out a number of earthquake damaged buildings, and restoration often takes decades. The road only goes part way up the mountain; the top of the highway is about 6200 feet. There was evidence of recent lava flows in several places on the way up, and at the top where we dined there had been eruptions as recently as 2002. About half the buildings had survived the flows and about half were new. We had excellent views of the surrounding valleys and several craters despite a few patches of fog.

 

Our late return to the ship, along with a formal night and the Captains farewell reception less than half an hour after my return made it a busy night. After a wonderful dinner (I had the veal medallions and baked Alaska) came the lavish Million Dollar Musicals show featuring the musicals from Hollywood.

 

This evening we are sailing through the Messina Strait dividing the Italian Mainland and Sicily. At it’s narrowest point this passage is only about 2 miles across.

 

Tonight’s parting shot is simply the Crystal sailaway song: “What a Wonderful World”.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The temperature on our arrival in Naples was in the mid-50's but warmed up to the 70's by mid-day with plenty of sunshine. We arrived in Naples about 7 and were soon joined by Le Boreal (the ship I had seen tendering in Taormina) and the Star Princess.

 

My tour today was Pompeii and Herculaneum. These 2 ancient cities were both destroyed in 79AD and discovered in the last 500 years but the details are quite different. Herculaneum was right at the base of Mt. Vesivius and was overrun by fire and lava, burning the population to death almost instantly and burying the city in lava. The lava never reached Pompeii, but the fumes suffocated the helpless victims. Vesivius blew much like Mt. St. Helens a few years ago, and a massive cloud of ash and debris eventually covered the city. The people were buried under the debris and fairly well preserved. Pompeii was the larger and more prosperous city but both of them have been uncovered leaving excellent remains at both sites. We toured Herculaneum in the morning, had a nice lunch just outside the gates at Pompeii, where we toured the ruins in the afternoon. We returned to the ship just before 4, leaving me one more chance for Tea in Palm Court.

 

After our farewell dinner we had a final variety show in the Galaxy Theater with repeat appearances by comedy-pianist Jon Courtenay, Flautist Clair Langan, the Dance Team of Natalie and Chris, and the Crystal Ensemble, and then on to the sad task of packing.

 

Today’s parting shot comes from the closing words of Flautist Clair Langan in tonight’s farewell show: “What’s important in life is not how many breaths you take but how many moments take your breath away”.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

There were a number of noticeable jolts and bumps over night, and when I went out on deck early in the morning it was drizzling with a heavy wind. Walking around the front of the deck, I saw the familiar shape of a Windstar ship just ahead of us. A few minutes later my ship, the Wind Surf came past and I realized one of the smaller ships that was supposed to leave Saturday night was still in port. I found out later that it had developed some cracks and was headed for a shipyard. It was doing the same itinerary as we are and we have it’s passengers on board. As suggested by one of the Crystal forum’s most active and knowledgeable posters, Keith1010, I had a very leisurely breakfast on Serenity and departed the ship just before 10. It was less than half a mile to Wind Surf, but the walk was a bit of a struggle as the strong wind made my heavy packs with a lot of surface area made for a challenging walk. I dropped my luggage off at the Wind Surf and took the shuttle to the port entrance, picked up a map and explored the town of Civitavecchia a bit. Most of the shops were closed but it was still a very charming old town. I explored the quiet streets for about 90 minutes, stopped at an internet café to do some things I couldn’t on the ship, had lunch and started back to the pier. I had planned to walk back to the ship, which was quite close to the port entrance, but the wind had gotten very strong and the shuttle bus became necessary. I went through security, then the registration process, and spent the rest of the afternoon settling into my new cabin. We had a planned 5PM sailaway, but it was delayed the weather. It was about 7:30 when we sailed out past the Serenity, due to depart at 9. Captain MacAry reported we would have to sail across the wind for a half hour before turning. We bounced quite a bit through dinner but most people seemed to take it pretty well in stride.

 

This evening’s entertainment was a Halloween/Sailaway party in Compass Rose.

 

Tonight’s parting shot is a wish for a great Halloween for all.

 

Roy

[Love Cruises]

I am enjoying every minute of your most interesting posts. I can't wait to hear about your adventures onthe Wind Star!

[rafinmd]

Despite our late departure we sailed into Portoferraio, on the Italian island of Elba, on schedule. While this had been billed as a docking port, our dock was also used by ferries and they were staying in port due to the weather. Our anchorage in the harbor was calm, but the tender landing had breaking waves and we had to arrange permission to go to the old port. All of this put our arrival a bit later than anticipated.

 

I had booked a tour to the Napoleonic Museum. The ship has a sandwich bar in the Yacht Club which promises custom made sandwiches. I asked for a sandwich and was told they only could prepare sandwiches from a list on a chalk board. None of those fit my taste so I passed on the idea. A few minutes later I was passing by and one of the staff came running after me and gave me exactly what I requested.

 

As we disembarked the tenders a driving rainstorm came making for a mad but still wet dash for the bus. We drove around the scenic island making a stop at the picturesque town of Porto Azzurro. There was a lovely Spanish fortress overlooking the town that made a great climb. Back in Portoferraio we visited the palace where Napoleon stayed when exiled here. It was in a fort high overlooking the town, one of three walled fortresses in the town. Napoleon was here only 10 months but made a permanent impression on the island.

 

As we prepared to tour the house, we looked over the harbor and saw the Wind Surf backing into a dock recently vacated by one of the ferries. As we returned to the shore from the Palace, the rain returned with full force and I was glad to be able to quickly return to the ship for lunch in the Verandah. I took an independent afternoon stroll through town in nice weather, returning before a late afternoon shower.

 

We had our Captain’s welcome aboard party in the lounge this evening, and a show by vocalist-entertainment director Savannah Rye.

 

I’ll lead into my parting shot with a posting from the Windstar forum:

 

I really enjoyed your posts on Crystal. And I'm looking forward to your posts on Windstar. I have also sailed them both, but not back to back. I'm curious as to how you'll perceive Wind Star after Crystal. Obviously, 2 totally different experiences.

 

This is my first “cruise” with Windstar, but I knew pretty much what to expect after a crossing with them last fall. I am not a luxury oriented person so my thoughts are likely not typical of Crystal cruisers, in fact I have 2 favorite cruise lines and my other is a true polar opposite of Crystal, much more different from them than is Windstar. I find the quality of service quite close to the quality on Crystal, although it is less comprehensive. Each company has it’s strengths, and I see that particularly in relation to a match of the ship experience to the land experience. I think Portoferraio was a wonderful port, but a mass of people descending on it, even the 1000 or so Crystal would have brought would have made the experience less enjoyable. I have not yet swayed from my initial thought that 12 days on Crystal and 7 on Windstar is a great combination.

 

Now the parting shot. Our guide today indicated that Elba has been rated the second best Mediterranean Fortress after Malta. My Mediterranean experience is limited but her statement rings true. It has been my good fortune to experience each of these 2 great ports this year, and probably with each port matched with a ship that provided the best possible experience of the port. We have choices in cruise lines but thankfully one choice does not preclude also making another choice when it is appropriate.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

We arrived at our anchorage just after 7. Elba Island is birthplace of Napoleon, and is part of France. For this port Windstar used a local tour boat to provide tender service and provided a shuttle into town, about a mile from the dock. I did not take a tour this time, but explored Porto-Vecchio on foot. The town was very quaint and historical, but did not have much in the way of true historical spots. The walled city sits about 150 feet above the harbor giving spectacular views. The streets are all very narrow and traffic very light. The St Jean-Baptiste Church occupies the center of town. I explored the town with it’s quaint streets for about 3 hours and bought a sweater for the North Atlantic crossing before walking back to the tender pier. The water sports platform was opened and a few people were using the small sailboats or kyacks off the ship. One person (a Norwegian) had braved the cold water for a swim.

 

The evening entertainment was singer Deborah Boily, who sings in the style of Edith Piaf, with the theme “French Connection”.

 

For today’s parting shot, I am composing this immediately after breakfast Wednesday. There has been a controversy on the Seabourn forum about the main dining room being closed for breakfast. That is how it has always been with Windstar. The Verandah has a buffet line, but they also have waiter service and you can easily get whatever you want delivered to your table. I believe that is what Seabourne is trying. Having a choice of dining rooms is nice, but having a choice of service modes all in one place does not seem to me much of a sacrifice.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The island of Sardinia, the second largest in the Mediterranean, has been in many hands, having been colonized by the Greeks, Phonecians, Romans, Pisans, Genoese, and Spanish. While it is now part of Italy, the largest cultural influence is Catalan. The town of Alghero sits on the northwest corner of the island. It was founded in the early 12th century, and the most prominent feature is the walled old town which sits directly on the water, not high on a hill as the previous 2 ports. The wall of the city contains 7 watch towers, and at the center sits the Cathedral with a tall tower that is visible from a distance but pretty well obscured from nearby as it is approachable only by one very narrow (perhaps 10 feet) alleyway. The city is also a vibrant fishing village with a large full of fishing boats of all sizes. Aside from the walled city, the primary tourist attraction is the Neptune Grotto, but it is closed for the winter. It can be reached with difficulty by land after descending 600 steps. The grotto is best reached by tour boat which in season is about a 90-minute round trip.

 

I spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the town and waterfront on foot, and then relaxed on the ship.

 

The evening entertainment was a rock and roll show in the Compass Rose.

 

Today’s parting shot relates to dinner in The Restaurant. We were swapping stories about travel mishaps. My contribution was getting hauled away by the police in Newfoundland in 2000. I was walking in Gross Morne and was called over and asked for identification. I hadn’t carried my wallet since it was a short walk. I was escorted back to my hotel and later told they were looking for an escaped prisoner. I guess I should have been pleased since the person they were looking for was about 20 years younger than me.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The day was sunny with just a bit of a chill, and a fairly busy sea making the ship a bit unsteady most of the day. It was the busiest shipboard day I have seen on Windstar. In the morning one of the sports directors gave a presentation on his climb of the world’s 6th tallest mountain and how the experience relates to life in general. In the afternoon there was a session of Liars Club, a presentation on future cruises, a cooking demonstration, an afternoon concert by Deborah Boily with Leah Stonum, and a farewell Captain’s Coctail Party. In the late afternoon we passed the south side of Menorca, our destination for Saturday. After we were by it we turned around and Captain MacAry announced we had pressed through the choppy waters as quickly as possible and, now ahead of our schedule, were doing a bit of scenic cruising.

 

The evening’s entertainment was Name That Tune in Compass Rose and Dance Request Hour in the Lounge.

 

As today’s parting shot, I was a bit surprised today by Windstar. I sailed transatlantic last fall and with 10 consecutive days at sea there was virtually no planned activity, while here a single sea day was pretty well packed. I would certainly expect a period of several sea days to have more activity than a single one; this is just another example of how Windstar is unique in the cruise industry. They have a dedicated cadre of people who love the crossings just as they are and come back to them year after year.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

This was my second visit to Palma, having been there first on the Crystal Symphony in 1996. We docked shortly after 7 at the cruise terminal which is just over a mile south of the center of town. The ship’s tour that would have been of interest to me was the Valldemosa and Chopin tour but had done that from the Symphony and decided just to explore the town on my own. After taking the ship’s shuttle into town, it took me a bit of time to find the information center and learned there was public wifi in the square, a real benefit. The real center of town is the palace and cathedral, right next to each other. I visited the palace which still functions as a palace for official meetings and functions but not as a residence. There was a terrace with a lovely view of the waterfront, there were probably 20 rooms open for the tour. I did not enter the cathedral next door but the exterior was beautiful and imposing, although a bit surprising that such a large structure would be allowed next to and blocking the view of the palace. I also visited the Arabian baths, dating from the 12th century and much like a Roman Bath. I also stopped at the Basilica of St. Francis, but it had closed before my arrival. The streets of Palma are mostly very narrow and excellent walking, but they run at odd angles making it easy to get lost. I walked back to the ship in mid-afternoon.

 

Dinner was a change of pace. We had a barbeque on deck with a wonderful selection of meats and trimmings. The aft pool had been drained and the musical group from the lounge was performing there. As we got to desert around 8:00 we sailed out of Palma.

 

When I was in Palma I was carrying a carton of UHT milk, and had a small pair of scissors (approximately a 2-cm blade) to cut it open. The guard at the palace would not let me enter with the scissors, and held them until I left the building. He spoke impeccable English; he could easily have been from Kansas or Missouri. I passed one of the tour groups outside the Cathedral, and the guide was quite hard to understand, as have many of the guides on this trip. Her English was clearly much better than my Spanish, but based on my experience with the Palace Guard, I wonder if that was the best the tour company could do. At times I wonder if some tour companies take a limited command of English as proof that the guide is really an authentic representative of the region. Just a thought.

 

Roy

[ChansonDeLaMer]

Roy, your posts are great. I'll look forward to reading your future accounts of this wonderful trip. Your observations are terrific.

[rafinmd]

Mahon sits near the end of a narrow fjord-like inlet about 2 miles in from the edge of the island. The sail up to out dock was very scenic. Normally, the bridge on Windstar is open except at or near ports (on the first day, the Captain advises that the bridge is open only to invited guests and then invites everyone). Normally, the bridge will close anywhere from 2 hours to 30 minutes before arrival in port. Today, it was open as we entered the harbor, remained open after we picked up the pilot, and was closed only as we pivoted to head the right direction at the pier, less than a ship length from the dock. It was also reopened within the first mile of our 2.5 mile sail out of the harbor. Most unusual. As we came in we passed ancient walled fortresses on both sides of the channel.

 

Our dock was right in the center of Mahon, but it was about 150 steps up to the town. The streets were again very narrow with many in the center of town closed to cars, and there were a number of beautiful churches. Unfortunately, most things closed down about 2PM, and I arrived at the town museum too late to tour it.

 

With 150 miles left to our destination of Barcelona, we had to leave Mahon at 4PM, but the sail back out the channel was again stunning.

 

Our crew show came at 6:30PM today, along with Captain MacAry’s farewell remarks (including a number of truly bizarre questions Captains have been asked by various passengers).

 

The remainder of the evening is being taken up by the sad task of packing. I expect a hectic day tomorrow as the Pope will be visiting Barcelona and I expect challenging traffic conditions.

 

As today’s parting shot, Windstar’s policy on onboard bookings has traditionally been a bet generous than what I’ve experienced on other lines. While transferrable, the deposits have not been refundable. They are doing something new. While there is no traditional refund of the deposit on cancellation, an onboard credit is applied to the existing voyage, effectively an immediate refund of the deposit whether the new voyage is completed or not. This is apparently a brand new policy, so new there was a lot of confusion among the staff about it’s existence. It seems to me an offer too good to pass up. I’m not yet 100% sure, but I’ve signed up for an April 2012 crossing on the Wind Star. It’s a winner for me, and if I cancel Windstar loses only a bit of administrative expense, but it makes a future voyage more likely.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The Wind Surf docked in Barcelona about 6:45 after the Norwegian Pearl and Voyager of the Seas. Disembarkation was between about 7 and 8:30 with continental breakfast in Compass Rose starting at 6 and full breakfast in the Verandah at 6:30.

 

I had booked an airport transfer with a tour of Barcelona. It was quite a hectic experience due to the Pope’s visit to the city. Our main attraction would normally have been the Church of the Holy Family, but that was strictly off limits today. This church was begun in the 1880's, and is still in the construction process; the guide estimates about 20 years to go. Today, the Pope will consecrate the church’s high alter. About 7500 people will be in the church, and another 40,000 watching on video screens outside. Fortunately, they have a perfect day for the event.

 

After a short stop at the maritime park with some very modern sculptures, we made our way to the city’s largest park, a large hill wih great views of the city. It is also home to several of the 1992 Olympics venues including the pool, built into the hillside with seating overlooking the city, and the martial arts venue. Continuing through town we saw a number of the buildings form the 1882 (I think) worlds fair and also more Olympic venues. We passed the original bullfighting arena. It was abandoned for a number of years, and now has been raised about 30 feet with a new parking deck below and is being domed and redeveloped as a shopping mall.

 

Our final stop was an archetectural walk through central Barcelona. The city has a varied design history with a number of buildings featuring elaborate mosaics both on the facades and the ceilings, and office buildings designed to look like Moorish castles or with

elaborate sculptures on the facade.

 

I arrived at the airport shortly after noon and had some time to kill before checking in at 2:15 for my 4:20 flight. It was uneventful and we arrived on time despite reports of headwinds. After quickly clearing passport control and baggage claim, I made my way to the coach station, and was ticketed for the 6:30 coach to Southampton. We spent about 40 minutes running between Heathrow terminals, and another 80 to Southampton Central. I walked about a mile to the Mercure Hotel and it was quite late by the time I got dinner and headed off to bed.

 

As today’s parting shot, I have just completed the second leg of my journey experiencing 2 very different cruise ships with a third very different style to come. It is fantastic that we have such a world of choices.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

While the weather was pleasant Sunday evening, a storm blew through

overnight. When I finally ventured outside the wind had subsided but there was still a substantial rain. The weather cleared mid-morning and I took a preliminary walk around Southampton and made sure I knew where the ship was. There were 4 ships in port, a P&O ship, an RC ship (I think the Voyager), and Queens Mary2 and Elizabeth.

 

I left my hotel about 11:30 for a walk to the ship, docked at the QE2 terminal. I found that my heavy luggage was more of a burden than I was prepared for today, and after about 3/4 miles spotted an unused luggage cart (trolley) and took advantage of it for the remaining half mile to the terminal. Cunard has mostly gone to self-printing of documents. I had printed luggage tags, but somewhere along my previous travels they were either misplaced or discarded. A staff member wrote out tags for my bags and directed me to the bag drop. The checkin area was uncrowded, and I made it through the process quickly and was on board about 12:20. There have been times at QE2 terminal where I have stood in line to board almost as long as the process took today starting with my hotel departure and walk to the ship.

 

Kings Court was characteristically uncrowded making lunch rather pleasant. I explored the bit (not a big deal as this is my 4th time on QM2), and started selectively unpacking.

 

The original schedule called for a 4PM muster drill, 5ish sailaway, and 5PM Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. Announcements from the bridge delayed the drill first to 4:30 and then until just after 5, due to delays on getting everybody on board. The source of the delay was not explained, but there is construction in the terminal, apparently requiring people driving to the ship (and there were many on this short cruise) to park at an offsite location and take a shuttle. The late muster drill played havoc with the Meet and Greet, but I did get to meet Crane and Cap’npugwash. Sailaway was now officially 6, but we waited as the new QE came sailing past us with many flash bulbs popping from both ships and ships horns blazing. We cast off our lines about 6:15.

 

I am booked for the 2-day cruise in Britannia Club. Dinner was less than a complete success. I have a table for 7, but only 3 others showed up before I left about 7:45. One was an elderly woman who was uncommunicative at first but warmed up after a while. This was her last night at the Restaurant. The other 2 had expected a table for 2 and seemed to be in a snit about not getting it. They arrived about the time we were having desert.

 

I had said when I sailed Queen Victoria in March:

At the early seating I found the restaurant less elegant than expected. This may have been an impression clouded by my recent time on the Crystal Symphony, but I thought I remembered the Britannia Dining room on QM2 being much more elegant. In any case, the food was excellent.

 

I stand by that assessment. I have returned to Britannia soon after disembarking a Crystal ship and this time my impression is much different. It’s not a matter of Cunard vs Crystal, it’s strictly my impression of QV. The color scheme in Britannia on QM2 is much brighter, more varied in color, and seems much more cheerful.

 

The evening entertainment was a vocal performance by Allen Stewart.

As today’s parting shot, I think I saw a need for some changes from the Britannia Club Maitre’D. The lady at my table has Britannia Club through Cherbourg and then is moving to the main restaruant. She complained about being told she no longer belonged in the Club even though she still was entitled to another day there. I was asked about my impending move and when I gave my new cabin number was told I would still be dining there, even after I told him I was moving to an inside cabin. Ship’s personnel should know more about their areas of interest than the passengers.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I went down to the Promenade deck early and walked about 2 miles, concluding my walk as we pulled up to the dock in Cherbourg. At breakfast I was joined by 1 other couple from Southern England who were on board only for the 2-day Taste of France. They had dined at Todd English last night.

 

Cherbourg, part of Normandie, is on the northwest coast of France approximately 200 miles west of Paris. It was at the heart of the Normandy Invasion in World War II, and most of the tours today were battle related. Since this is my only full day in Britannia Club I decided to spend the day near the ship. It was about a half mile by shuttle to the center of town. The prime attraction I saw was the Trinity Church, which has been a major site of pilgrimages from medieval times to the present. An event was just starting as I arrived the first time but it was beautiful inside when I returned later. The port sits about a half mile from the center of town but a basin supporting only small ships comes virtually to the town square. The streets are a mixture of the very modern, along with some very narrow pedestrean alleys making it a nice city for walking. I spent some time at an internet café and returned to the ship about 1PM, in time for my only Club lunch. I was the only one at the table, but Suzanne and Franzie gave me excellent service.

 

Afternoon tea was a bit of a zoo, with a 20-minute wait for seating in the Queens Room. This has not been normal in my experience. I attended a Mass today (my third of the trip). Crystal and Cunard both provide interdenominational services at sea on Sundays, but I have not yet had a Sunday at sea.

 

Sailaway from Cherbourg came promptly at 6, and I had a great view of the proceedings from my verandah. The service was excellent for my final dinner at the Britannia Club although I was the only one at my table. The two who wanted their own table were given their wish. My evening concluded with Crazy in Love by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers followed by some packing.

 

My parting shot will be one of the things that went really well. Tomorrow I move to a new room but Cunard promises to make the process quite painless for me. I need only package up my stuff and the staff will move everything (even my clothes hanging in the closet) while I tour Stonehenge tomorrow. All my account balance and internet time will be transferred to the new room. How easy can it get?

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

We were already docked at Ocean terminal when I went out on deck. After a final breakfast in Britannia Club I went to the Royal Court Theater where out tour was meeting. The 42 of us went out and boarded our coach about 8AM. We took the back roads to Stonehenge, passing through Salisbury and another small town or two. One stretch of our journey took us across an open range area where cattle, horses, and pigs were gracing unfettered, except for a grated barrier in the road at each end of the district. Our guide noted that there had been heavy rains Tuesday but today the sun was out.

 

A “henge” is a form of monument. We know a lot about the dating and construction of Stonehenge but still have no idea of the meaning or purpose. It was actually created in several stages starting 5100 years ago with a big ditch, and then several additional stages of stone formations were added over a period of nearly 2000 years. The site was abandoned about 3500 years ago, and is a UNESCO World Heritage, my second of this trip after Masada in Israel. Stonehenge is also quite a cold windy place. I regretted not bringing the tuque and gloves that were back on the trip but was glad it was at least a reasonably decent day.

 

We spent a couple of hours in Salisbury after our visit to Stonehenge. It is a reasonably small city but has a very impressive Cathedral with one of only 5 surviving copies of the Magna Carta. The site of the Cathedral was enclosed by a wall on 3 sides plus the Avon River. The city itself was an eclectic mix of modern city streets, narrow alleys, and quiet pedestrian passages.

 

We returned to the ship about 3PM. I boarded quickly, got my new room key from the Purser, and started unpacking. My inside room is significantly smaller than my Britannia Club room but much is similar. The major difference is that my old room had a love seat that is not part of my new arrangements. There are 2 retractable upper bunks but the room would be very tight for more than 2 people. I chose to attend the muster drill since I am now assigned to a different muster station.

 

Dinner was a bit confused and a bit of a surprise. I had not received a table assignment and after a check with the maitre’d was told I was still in Britannia Club. I am quite sure that is not right and everybody seemed a bit confused by it but I’m not going to complain. I am at a different table with Christopher and Victoria as my waiters. When I entered I was the only one at a table for 7 but during dinner 4 others came in, a couple from London on their first Cunard voyage and some Cunard veterans from York. The dinner turned out to be very pleasant and was followed by a fairly brief welcome aboard show.

 

As today’s parting shot it’s really amazing how much modern scholars can learn about ancient events but at the same time some questions are totally beyond our understanding. What better example than Stonehenge.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Gale force winds blew in overnight and it is a grey, pretty unpleasant day on the North Atlantic. Despite challenging conditions, I did get in my 5-mile morning walk. I doubt it would have been possible on any other ship. Cunard and the UK appear to put more emphasis on Veterans or Remembrance day than is customary in the US. Poppies were distributed at the front desk and there was a moment of silence at 11:00am. There will be another special observance at the Sunday worship service.

 

There were 3 presentations today in the Cunard Insights Enrichment Program. Bill Miller spoke on “Floating Palaces: The Great Atlantic Liners”. One specific I found quite interesting. He spoke of a 30,000 ton liner which carried 2000 passengers, 500 First Class, 500 Second Class, and 1000 steerage. By contrast, the 151,000 ton QM2 carries 2620 passengers, about 170 each in Queens and Princess Grills, 100 in Britannia Club, and 2,280 in Britannia. With so little space life in steerage on early liners must have been quite miserable. Mr. Miller also spoke of the rugged conditions endured by soldiers on QM and QE in war service with 15,000 plus aboard, a fitting mention on Remembrance Day.

 

Later in the morning Political Commentator Robin Oakley spoke on “Who Rules the World: Politicians or Journalists”, and Astronomer Francisco Diego gave an afternoon lecture “In the Beginning”.

 

We had a Cruise Critic Meet and Greet at 2PM in the Commodore Club. There were probably 25 people attending, the most successful I have experienced on Cunard. Hcrane did an excellent job of organizing the event. We have scheduled our Cabin Cavalcade for 3:30 Saturday.

 

Robin Hill gave an afternoon classical guitar concert. I caught only the tail end of it after the Meet and Greet, and rushed off afterwards for a visit to afternoon tea, a great success in contrast to the one in Cherbourg. All in all, an extremely busy afternoon.

 

During the Francisco Diego talk there had been an announcement but it did not carry into Illuminations. The scheduled evening entertainment was “Crazy In Love”. I planned to skip it and check in on the ship’s other venues since I had seen the show Tuesday evening. After stopping by the Chart Room where Geraldine McMahon was playing the Harp and Winter Garden for a bit of Russell Holmes at the Piano I stopped by my room. Looking at the next Daily Programme, I discovered that the show had been rescheduled due to the weather and got down to the Royal Court Theater just in time for Peter Fischer’s violin performance. He was a great showman playing mostly classical selections.

 

Today’s parting shot starts with Bill Miller’s opening remarks. He talked of making a visit to France in 2003. He reported being there to cover the construction of the Crystal Serenity but the big buzz being on the new Queen Mary 2. Two very different ships. Crystal Serenity remains one of my favorite ships. Queen Mary 2 is a marvelous extension of a great maritime tradition, and it’s performance in today’s gale winds and rough seas shows how perfectly suited it is to it’s unique role. How wonderful it is to be able to combine these 2 great ships in one holiday.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

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[rafinmd]

The sea started out even rougher than usual, with most of my walk on the inner corridors, although I did eventually get in 1 mile on the Promenade deck. There were again 3 speakers in the Cunard Insights program. Francisco Diego started things off with “What Stars Have Done For Us”. Later in the morning Robin Oakley spoke on “The Special Relationship–from Churchill to Cameron and Roosevelt to Obama”. Both my British tablemates and I agreed that this was a superb presentation.

 

The afternoon started with a performance by Classical Pianist David Neil Jones featuring music by Mozart, Debussy, Paderewski, Brahms, Liadov, and Chopin, followed by a presentation by James Griffiths on Navigation at Sea from sextants to satellites.

 

I dined a bit later today and had the pleasure of all 6 of my tablemates present. The show was “Crazy in Love” which I had seen just Tuesday evening. Instead, I visited the other various venues on the ship. We had Campbell Simpson at the piano in Winter Garden and later the Grand Lobby. Greg Sampson was at the piano in the Golden Lion Pub and the Eos String Quartet in the Chart room before dinner and the Simon Galfe Trio was there later. DJ Darren was mixing in G32 while the Big Band Ball was in swing in the Queens Room with the combined Royal Court and Queens Room Orchestras.

 

Today’s parting shot comes from a remark by David Neil Jones. In introducing the Paderewski piece, he noted that the composer, born in 1840, retired from composing and went into politics before WWI. As Poland’s foreign affairs chief, he was the architect of the WWI armistice. What a fitting tribute to the man for the time between Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Waking up to rough seas is becoming a bit tedious, but it is finally starting to ease. My first 2 miles of walking were on the interior hallways but I was able to get out after breakfast for my final 3 miles.

 

The Cunard Insights program continued with Bill Miller speaking in the morning on “The Last Atlantic Liners”, followed by Robin Oakley on “Personality and Politics: How Politics has gone presidential in Britain Too”.

 

In the afternoon the Eos String Quartet gave a classical concert while the first ever live Planetarium show was in progress. I opted for the concert but those attending the Planetarium show loved it and it will be repeated Monday. Later Francisco Diego spoke on “Ghost Universe: The Greatest challenge to modern science” which I also missed due to the Cruise Critic cabin cavalcade. We got a look at cabins from insides to hcrane’s Q2 penthouse: WOW!

 

The evening entertainment was a short show by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers in a tribute to Sting combined with a vocal performance by Claude-Eric Brunelle. On a 6-night crossing we gain an hour every day but one. Today was the day we did not adjust our clocks. I opted to go to the early show and have dinner afterwards.

 

As today’s parting shot, the conventional wisdom seems to be that Cunard operates on a “caste” system, and that those not in the grills are second class citizens. Like all conventional wisdom this has some grain of truth, but I consider it vastly overblown in this case. With most cruise lines, people who pay more get more and this is no more or less true with Cunard. Yes, with Cunard where you eat is a function of your cabin category. But HAL has Pinnacle Grill and Celebrity has Blu, both of which I believe are assigned to certain grades of cabins, and these lines do not seem to get the same rap. At the closing of tonight’s show Entertainment Director Paul O’Loughlin looked ahead to Sunday’s schedule and said “Apassionata will be shown at 10:30pm”. When I saw the Daily Programme there were actually 8:30 and 10:30 shows. It doesn’t truly prove anything, but it seems to me Mr. O’Loughlin was clearly speaking from the point of view of those in the main restaurant late seating, and the 5/6 of the passengers who are in the main restaurant are fully recognized as the backbone of Cunards business.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

For a change a very nice morning. I had a great walk on QM2's wonderful Promenade deck.

 

The day’s activities program began with a talk by Francisco Diego on “Aliens”, contrasting the incredibly unlikely combinations of conditions it takes to make intelligent life possible with the infinite number of galaxies in the universe and the limitless potential for other places where life could exist.

 

As is traditional for Cunard on Sundays at sea, Captain Paul Wright conducted an interdenominational service in the Royal Court theater but it was special being Remembrance Sunday. The Security Officer read a passage recognizing the “other” heros, the stokers, stewards, and others who toiled on troop ships not fighting but still putting themselves in harms way, and many losing their lives.

 

In the afternoon there was a repeat performance on the Classical Guitar by Robin Hill and a virtual bridge tour in Illuminations. Just before the bridge tour the navigation chart was auctioned, raising $750 for the Prince’s Trust.

 

The World Club reception was held this evening, and I attended the early performance of Apassionata. This had me going to dinner very early, leaving for the World Reception before any of my tablemates arrived. This is one of the disadvantages of having flexible dining in a culture where nearly everyone is on a fixed early or late seating.

 

Francisco Deigo conducted a stargazing session up on deck 12 at 9:30PM. I had intended to go but completely forgot about it. I am told the event was very successful.

 

Today’s parting shot comes from the closing ceremony at the Remembrance Sunday Service: “They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them”.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

The final sea day started out with the best weather of the voyage about 150 miles South of Halifax. My 5 miles on the Promenade deck was very easy. The final day of the Cunard Insights enrichment program started with Bill Miller speaking on “Gateway to the World: the Great Port of New York”. As the concluding lecture, Political Commentator Robin Oakley took on a change of pace with “Horseracing–the Best Fun You Can Have With Your Clothes On”.

 

In the afternoon, Pianist David Neil Jones gave a concert featurning works of Hummel, Debussy, Beethoven, and Chopin. This was followed by a screening of Mr. Ocean Liner, a biography of Bill Miller, but I had purchased the CD and opted to go to the final afternoon tea instead.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent packing. The evening entertainment was a salute to Neil Diamond by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers along with performances by Violinist Peter Fisher and Vocalist Claude-Eric Brunelle, followed by our farewell dinner and a sad goodbye Christopher, Victoria, and my 6 British tablemates, all of whom will be leaving the ship early Tuesday.

 

As today’s parting shot, I am concluding a voyage on 3 very diverse ships. Each ship has been well suited to a different set of ports and style of cruising, with a great role for each.

 

Roy

[Love Cruises]

Thank you Roy for sharing your journey with your CC friends. As always, I have thoroughly enjoyed your commentary of another amazing cruise adventure. Have a safe trip home!

[rafinmd]

It was a dreary, drizzly morning when we passed under the Verizzano Narrows bridge about 5AM. I looked forward at the funnel from the door to Boardwalk Café and it seemed to be the perfect vantage point for the small gap between the top of the funnel and the bridge. The early weather was quite awful and I didn’t linger on the outer decks after passing the bridge. Fireflt reported docking at 5:45 but the first line I saw went off at 6:05, with the self help disembarkation about 7. After a breakfast today in Kings Court, disembarkation for my transfer was called at 8:40, and I passed through border formalities and arrived at Penn Station about 10. I spent the morning at pier 86 and the carrier Intrepid. The museum places a lot of emphasis on air and space craft, with an opportunity to walk through a Concorde, and a lot of exhibits on our early space program, very appropriate since the ship was a (if not the) primary recovery ship for returning Mercury, Gemini, and Appolo capsules. From my perch on the deck of the Intrepid the Manhattan Cruise Terminal looked quite deserted today.

 

In the afternoon I took the subway south to Battery Park and took a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, getting one last look at QM2. After returning to Manhattan I walked through Ground Zero before catching the subway back to Penn Station. The site is finally beginning to show some signs of new life.

 

My train just passed Philadelphia and I will soon be back home.

 

For today’s final parting shot, the Intrepid museum gave two great examples of what can be accomplished when we follow our dreams, in the cases of the Concorde and the space program. What great examples to follow.

 

Roy