My first voyage on Queen Elizabeth

[Lady Hudson]

Thank you for your reports. I so appreciate my fellow Cunarders who help me get through the months when I can't be on board. Katherine

[rafinmd]

Thank you Lady Hudson

 

My alarm was packed away, and the wake up call required me to get up. It was a nice but chilly morning as we sailed into the harbor past P&O Ventura and pulled into the Mayflower pier. My transfer was listed for an 8:30 departure and we actually left the Queens room a little early. Once on the coach (about 8:45) we were left waiting for 2 people who seemed oblivious to the situation and finally showed up about 9:45. Fortunately, nobody seemed to have an early flight. We arrived in Heathrow Terminal 4 about 11:15 and I got lunch (actually a second breakfast) before my noon checkin at the Yotel.where I’ve relaxed, caught up on some internet things and just checked in for my LONG flight to Seoul and Angkor Wat.

 

As today’s parting shot, Bon Voyage to all the people just starting their time on the Queen Elizabeth today. Have a wonder voyage.

 

Unless questions come up, this will conclude my stay here. I'll be reporting on the continuation of the journey here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1812723

 

or

 

http://angkorwatmyway.wordpress.com

 

Roy

[fincasblick]

Hi Roy

Great to meet you at dinner. Have a safe flight and enjoy the next part of your trip.

Lesley and Paul

[Whitemarsh]

I'm afraid it didn't turn out very well. You're going to have to see for yourself someday:

 

 

Roy

 

Oh God... :(

 

Cunard's curse of the inappropriately located Caribbean bands strikes again.

[Rotterdam]

Please shoot me - after I finish my Manhattan!!!!

 

Oh God... :(

 

Cunard's curse of the inappropriately located Caribbean bands strikes again.

[Thaxted]

Thank you, Roy, for your delightful reports. Elizabeth and I be following the rest of your journey and wish you many wonderful adventures.

[rafinmd]

Thank you John and Elizabeth. Now that I'm back home my review is up on cruise critic:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=219686

 

Background:I consider myself an experienced cruiser, and have sailed most of the world. While my favorite line is Crystal, I like to cruise more than I can afford with them and have also sailed with Windstar, Silversea, RCI, Cunard, HAL, Celebrity and Carnival. I have now sailed all recent Cunard ships, QM2,QE2,QV, and now QE.

 

Hotel Info:

 

Pre-cruise:I stayed at the Gem Hotel at 449 W 36th Street. The location was superb and the hotel was fine, but I was a bit surprised that as a member of the Choice group they don't provide a breakfast.

 

Post-cruise:I had a same evening (19:35) flight out of Heathrow and arrived at the airport just after 11. I booked a cabin at the Yotel Heathrow. It was well equipped but tiny. It was a good option for a few hours, but I don't think it would be either very comfortable or a great value for an overnight stay.

 

Ship: At 90,000 tons and somewhat over 2,000 passengers the ship to me is big but is small to medium size in today's market. It is a very modern ship, as would be expected having been built in 2010. Everything is well laid out and there are ample open spaces.

 

Service: Very Good. My waiters and room steward did an excellent job and service was generally good around the ship.

 

Port & Shore Excursions: This was a direct transatlantic crossing with no ports. There were 2 things that might have come under the heading of "tours".

 

1. I booked the behind the scenes tour on the ship. We saw pretty nearly everything on the ship, backstage, mooring deck, medical center, engine control room, a fire locker, trash area, print shop, food storage area and galley, bridge, and perhaps some things I have overlooked. At $120 it covered a lot and I believe was somewhat less expensive than similar tours on other ships.

 

2. At the end I had a transfer to Heathrow. We were moved up in the departure sequence and our bus was pretty uncrowded. Our arrival was delayed by close to an hour for one party that couldn't be located. I don't believe anyone had tight flight connections but it could have been a problem.

 

Summary: While Cunard talks about ocean liners, QE is a cruise ship through and through. QM2 handles a crossing much better than QE does. As a cruise ship, it is very nice.

 

Travel To Port of Embarkation: I used Amtrak the day before for about the 2 1/2 hour journey from BWI to New York. For me the hotel was within walking distance and an updown bus took me within walking distance of the dock.

 

Stateroom: My inside stateroom was a bit small but more than ample for one. It was very well appointed with US(2), UK, and european electrical outlets and a mini-fridge. One thing to be careful about is the electricity. The lights are controlled by inserting your room key in a slot by the door. If the key is removed one or perhaps 2 of the outlets will be active but the rest will lose power. The bath was quite tiny with only a small shower. Leaving the TV on the bridge channel gave a good idea of what conditions were outside.

 

Dining: As is traditional with Cunard, your cabin category determines your dining arrangements. The 3 upper categories (about 15% of passengers) have a reserved table for all 21 meals per week with about a 3-hour flexible time period. I was with the 85% of passengers who dine in Britannia and the food and service were very good, at least in line with other mainstream cruise lines. The cold fruit soups were one of my favorites.

 

The lido was set up cafeteria style and lines occurred but were generally pretty short. There are stations for custom omlets, pancakes, waffles, and pizza. It does have a cafeteria feeling but all the food I had was good. I had lunch in the extra cost Verandah restaurant. For me, it wasn't worth the price for regular use but it was an excellent meal.

 

Entertainment:The Royal Cunard singers and dancers were excellent. I thought the guest entertainers on board were of variable quality. There were a number of bands, pianists, and small musical groups in various places around the ship with a wide variety of entertainment choices.

 

Disembarkation:There is one nice thing about Cunard crossings that happen before we even get to our destination. UK immigration officials sail with the ship so there is no need for the traditional checks as we disembark the ship. Disembarkation times are mostly by deck. Since I had a transfer I was fairly early in the process, but things seemed to be moving fairly smoothly up to that time.

[Whitemarsh]

Great review, and thanks for the video of the Yacht Club.

[Thaxted]

Thanks for the wonderful review, Roy. Where are you off to next?

[Rotterdam]

for your review.

 

What do you think of what it would be like doing a World Cruise on QE rather than QM2????

 

 

Thank you John and Elizabeth. Now that I'm back home my review is up on cruise critic:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=219686

 

Background:I consider myself an experienced cruiser, and have sailed most of the world. While my favorite line is Crystal, I like to cruise more than I can afford with them and have also sailed with Windstar, Silversea, RCI, Cunard, HAL, Celebrity and Carnival. I have now sailed all recent Cunard ships, QM2,QE2,QV, and now QE.

 

Hotel Info:

 

Pre-cruise:I stayed at the Gem Hotel at 449 W 36th Street. The location was superb and the hotel was fine, but I was a bit surprised that as a member of the Choice group they don't provide a breakfast.

 

Post-cruise:I had a same evening (19:35) flight out of Heathrow and arrived at the airport just after 11. I booked a cabin at the Yotel Heathrow. It was well equipped but tiny. It was a good option for a few hours, but I don't think it would be either very comfortable or a great value for an overnight stay.

 

Ship: At 90,000 tons and somewhat over 2,000 passengers the ship to me is big but is small to medium size in today's market. It is a very modern ship, as would be expected having been built in 2010. Everything is well laid out and there are ample open spaces.

 

Service: Very Good. My waiters and room steward did an excellent job and service was generally good around the ship.

 

Port & Shore Excursions: This was a direct transatlantic crossing with no ports. There were 2 things that might have come under the heading of "tours".

 

1. I booked the behind the scenes tour on the ship. We saw pretty nearly everything on the ship, backstage, mooring deck, medical center, engine control room, a fire locker, trash area, print shop, food storage area and galley, bridge, and perhaps some things I have overlooked. At $120 it covered a lot and I believe was somewhat less expensive than similar tours on other ships.

 

2. At the end I had a transfer to Heathrow. We were moved up in the departure sequence and our bus was pretty uncrowded. Our arrival was delayed by close to an hour for one party that couldn't be located. I don't believe anyone had tight flight connections but it could have been a problem.

 

Summary: While Cunard talks about ocean liners, QE is a cruise ship through and through. QM2 handles a crossing much better than QE does. As a cruise ship, it is very nice.

 

Travel To Port of Embarkation: I used Amtrak the day before for about the 2 1/2 hour journey from BWI to New York. For me the hotel was within walking distance and an updown bus took me within walking distance of the dock.

 

Stateroom: My inside stateroom was a bit small but more than ample for one. It was very well appointed with US(2), UK, and european electrical outlets and a mini-fridge. One thing to be careful about is the electricity. The lights are controlled by inserting your room key in a slot by the door. If the key is removed one or perhaps 2 of the outlets will be active but the rest will lose power. The bath was quite tiny with only a small shower. Leaving the TV on the bridge channel gave a good idea of what conditions were outside.

 

Dining: As is traditional with Cunard, your cabin category determines your dining arrangements. The 3 upper categories (about 15% of passengers) have a reserved table for all 21 meals per week with about a 3-hour flexible time period. I was with the 85% of passengers who dine in Britannia and the food and service were very good, at least in line with other mainstream cruise lines. The cold fruit soups were one of my favorites.

 

The lido was set up cafeteria style and lines occurred but were generally pretty short. There are stations for custom omlets, pancakes, waffles, and pizza. It does have a cafeteria feeling but all the food I had was good. I had lunch in the extra cost Verandah restaurant. For me, it wasn't worth the price for regular use but it was an excellent meal.

 

Entertainment:The Royal Cunard singers and dancers were excellent. I thought the guest entertainers on board were of variable quality. There were a number of bands, pianists, and small musical groups in various places around the ship with a wide variety of entertainment choices.

 

Disembarkation:There is one nice thing about Cunard crossings that happen before we even get to our destination. UK immigration officials sail with the ship so there is no need for the traditional checks as we disembark the ship. Disembarkation times are mostly by deck. Since I had a transfer I was fairly early in the process, but things seemed to be moving fairly smoothly up to that time.

[rafinmd]

Rotterdam, I'm not sure how reliable my answer will be but I'll try anyway. I have very limited "cruising" experience on QM2, only 2 port calls on a SH-Cherbourg-SH-NY B2B. I did do a WC segment on QV in 2010 and it was a great experience, and I'd expect the same from QE. I see QM2 as ideally suited to the transatlantic run and a bit of a compromise for cruises, and my hunch is that I'd rather do a WC on the smaller queens than on QM2.

 

Both ships have their strong points for a WC. There are certainly long sea segments to traverse and QM2 has no parallel there. I think though that the greater intimacy of the smaller ships and ability to at least occasionally get into closer ports more than make up for that advantage.

 

All of my WC experience has been as a segmenter. My experience is that those on segments and I assume those on the full WC have a great experience on Cunard. Those on the full WC do get a small dedicated lounge area (Garden Lounge on QE, Commodore Club on QV), but the size of the areas does not impact the experience of those on segments.

 

Roy

[turquoise 6]

Much like yesterday I said a minute more when the alarm went off, but today it was just past 6 when I actually arose. The wind had picked up over night and it was blowing cold, but the clouds were not quite as dense, and a slight trace of sun appeared on the horizon at dawn. I broke my walk at the 3-mile mark to be ready for the laundry room's 7:30 opening. I got breakfast and watched Amanda Reid interview tonight's performer on my wash cycle and went on line over the dry cycle.

 

There were again 2 Cunard Insights morning presentations. At 10 Paul Covell spoke on legends of the sea, covering explorers like Captain Cook, Shackleton, and Hyerdal and mysteries like the Bermuda Triangle. At 11 Olympian Derek Redmond spoke on the highs and lows leading up to the 1992 Olympics and his promising qualification rounds ending with a hamstring pull and hobbling the last 250 meters to the finish line.

 

At noon (AKA 1PM), we learned we had completed 2028 miles from New York and had 1117 remaining. The depression we are following is moving south, and we expect our current weather to continue.

 

After lunch I finally was able to complete the remaining 2 miles of my walk, with an actual occasional appearance of the sun. The EOS String Quartet was back in the Queens Room for Afternoon Tea.

 

All 6 of us were again present at Table 19 for our formal dinner, followed by the World Club Cocktail Party in the Queens Room. Of our 1965 passengers, about half are on their first or second Cunard voyage, a quarter are World Club Gold, and an eighth each Platinum and Diamond. Several cruisers were recognized for records of 1500 to 2200 nights.

 

This evening's Royal Court Theater presentation was violinist Jacqueline Roche with a variety of music from swing to classical, preceded by a few selections of pop music by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers.

 

Today's parting shot comes from the World Club party. Cunard has a long tradition of honoring it's history, and Captain Clark unveiled a new addition to that tradition, The original Queen Elizabeth had a Royal standard that had gone on to QE2 and is now on QE. There had been a plaque commemorating that standard that had been lost. It was recently located and donated to Cunard by a loyal passenger. The plaque and standard will soon be displayed together again. Congratulations to the donor and the ship's staff on this new addition.

 

Roy

Yes, it was very generous of the donor. He had the plaque for many years and in return he was given a Cunard Ensign Flag. He is a travel agent from Ft.Lauderdale,Florida

[Underwatr]

I think you mean the Atlantic Room, not the Commodore Club as the full WC lounge on QM2.

[rafinmd]

I think you mean the Atlantic Room, not the Commodore Club as the full WC lounge on QM2.

 

Not quite. I said Commodere Club (a small segment on the starboard side) on QV, not QM2. I've never had any interaction with the QM2 WC, but the Atlantic Room sounds like a good choice.

 

Roy

[Scrapnana]

Roy,

 

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed reading about your time on QE as well as reading your blog as you circumnavigated the world. Great pictures and appreciated you posting the menus and daily programmes. Great job!

 

Kathi

[Whitemarsh]

Rotterdam, I'm not sure how reliable my answer will be but I'll try anyway. I have very limited "cruising" experience on QM2, only 2 port calls on a SH-Cherbourg-SH-NY B2B. I did do a WC segment on QV in 2010 and it was a great experience, and I'd expect the same from QE. I see QM2 as ideally suited to the transatlantic run and a bit of a compromise for cruises, and my hunch is that I'd rather do a WC on the smaller queens than on QM2.

 

Both ships have their strong points for a WC. There are certainly long sea segments to traverse and QM2 has no parallel there. I think though that the greater intimacy of the smaller ships and ability to at least occasionally get into closer ports more than make up for that advantage.

 

All of my WC experience has been as a segmenter. My experience is that those on segments and I assume those on the full WC have a great experience on Cunard. Those on the full WC do get a small dedicated lounge area (Garden Lounge on QE, Commodore Club on QV), but the size of the areas does not impact the experience of those on segments.

 

Roy

 

You should give a WC segment on QM2 a go, she cops a bit of stick around here from people that have:

 

1. Never been on her.
   
2. Or never done a WC segment on her.
   

 

I've done two WC segments so far and have not been able to identify any issues in terms of being on her, and being on a WC. Everything went swimmingly.

[seasidegal]

I'm afraid it didn't turn out very well. You're going to have to see for yourself someday:

 

 

Roy

 

rafinmd:

 

Just want to thank you so very much for your live blog as we were on this crossing and now I have an excellent day to day history to use for a reference of our time on board. Sorry you feel the video wasn't great, however, your blog missed nothing that I can detect and is great.

 

It was our first time on Queen Elizabeth, too, and I enjoyed the ship so very much and hope to sail on her again in the not too distant future. Lovely ship. Excellent crew.

 

Thank you,

seasidegal

[Rotterdam]

I did a 13 day carib cruise on QM2 and really enjoyed the ship - The QE would have the advantage as you said about getting into smaller ports.

 

I did a NYC - LA portion of the QE2 world cruise several years a go & loved it - it was my 3rd time on QE2 & loved everything about her - its true the WC passengers really change the atmosphere onboard. The only downside to doing a segment is disembarking....

 

I would like to do a WC - and actually I am not that interested in the ports per say - I just want to circumnavigate the globe completely NYC to NYC.

 

Either way you both certainly have made being back onboard a Cunard ship more enticing - thanks again....

 

Full moon, smooth seas to you both!

 

 

 

You should give a WC segment on QM2 a go, she cops a bit of stick around here from people that have:

 

1. Never been on her.
   
2. Or never done a WC segment on her.
   

 

I've done two WC segments so far and have not been able to identify any issues in terms of being on her, and being on a WC. Everything went swimmingly.

[rafinmd]

Thank you whitemarsh, seasidegal, and rotterdam. Whitemarsh, did you say WC segment specifically as opposed to a regular cruise on QM2. I'm sure I would enjoy either on QM2 but they don't fit into my plans right now.

 

I am looking at a 2014 TA on the Wind Star that I'd like to combine with QM2's October 28 crossing. In between I'd like to combine it with either the following 8-day QM2 cruise or the 7-day Wind Star before their crossing. I'll make a decision one way or the other later.

 

Roy

[Cape Cod Sally]

Hi all,

Am thinking of a QM2 world cruise. What is the dedicated lounge area?

 

Thanks

Sally

[Whitemarsh]

Thank you whitemarsh, seasidegal, and rotterdam. Whitemarsh, did you say WC segment specifically as opposed to a regular cruise on QM2. I'm sure I would enjoy either on QM2 but they don't fit into my plans right now.

 

I am looking at a 2014 TA on the Wind Star that I'd like to combine with QM2's October 28 crossing. In between I'd like to combine it with either the following 8-day QM2 cruise or the 7-day Wind Star before their crossing. I'll make a decision one way or the other later.

 

Roy

 

I was referring to a world cruise sector on QM2. I've done a transatlantic and a couple of world cruise sectors on QM2 and enjoyed them all. She's great for all types of cruises (admittedly not river cruises, she is too big for them) and I wanted to encourage you to try a world cruise sector on her if you haven't done one.

 

Hi all,

Am thinking of a QM2 world cruise. What is the dedicated lounge area?

 

Thanks

Sally

 

The Atlantic Room on deck 11 (well it has been for the last two years).

[seasidegal]

I've requested a table for six so it's good to hear that they're scattered throughout the restaurant - better odds of getting something near a window. I am concerned about the table location being near the courtyard, so I may investigate what I need to do to avoid being stuck there. To me, sitting at a table with a view of the courtyard would be the same as being placed near the entry to the PG & QG restaurants on Mary - not exactly the 'place to be seen' or where the cool kids sit.

 

How wonderful that those two guys invited you to join their table. It's always more enjoyable when you're dining with friends.

 

 

 

You know, I too had a less than positive opinion about TE (after a lacklustre lunch there in 2012) but I have to say that the two TE dinners I had recently were both excellent (despite the irritating sommelier on the final night).

 

 

 

I did promise not to slag off the QE2 anymore, and I will try to stick to that. :D

 

 

 

So glad you asked. :D

 

 

Regards,

Peter

 

Whitemarsh,

 

I am green with envy:D - what a great schedule of ports. Looking forward to another Live Blog and selfishly hoping you are planning to do one as the itintrary is one I would love to do.

 

Four of my places to visit on my bucket list before I kick the bucket are on your sailing.

 

Happy Sails Ahead.;)

 

best regards,

seasidegal

[Whitemarsh]

Whitemarsh,

 

I am green with envy:D - what a great schedule of ports. Looking forward to another Live Blog and selfishly hoping you are planning to do one as the itintrary is one I would love to do.

 

Four of my places to visit on my bucket list before I kick the bucket are on your sailing.

 

Happy Sails Ahead.;)

 

best regards,

seasidegal

 

Thanks seasidegal,

 

It is a fantastic itinerary and I can't wait. However, at this stage, I have no plans to do another blog. They do take quite a bit of time and I don't think I could do one for 42 nights.

[rafinmd]

Whitemarsh, is that on QE?

 

Roy

[Whitemarsh]

Whitemarsh, is that on QE?

 

Roy

 

Yes it will be.