QM2 Nov 2013 RT Trans-Atlantic & Europe Travelogue

[PeaSea8ch]

Today was cold with blustery winds rain all day and swells. At the noon time navigation weather report, the wind was between 30 and 32 kn (35 statute miles per hour), swell height was 4 m (13 feet) and essentially continuous rain all day long. On the bright side, tomorrow's forecast for Southampton is sunny skies. So I hope the travel weather gods smile upon those of us who are either disembarking the Queen Mary 2 or taking the 3 hour Southampton Titanic Trail walking tour.

 

Today, I attended a flurry of 3 lectures. The first was naval architect and historian Dr. Stephen Payne' s fourth and final lecture her Majesty's yacht Britannia-a celebration of her Majesty the Queen's former floating palace. This presentation had many photos of the yachts interior and exterior's including photos of the royal apartments of the Queen and Prince Philip as well as other rooms including the state dining room the crew and officers quarters and finally the engine room. This was another interesting presentation and well liked by the audience.

 

The second lecture, presented by historian Dr. Peter Durrans covered Victorian travel and tourism. The 19th century saw a revolution in travel with the birth of the railways in the ocean liner and how these developments later became the foundations of modern tourism. It was an interesting progression from travel in the rural areas via horse-drawn open carriages. As a guy who likes to travel, I am very glad that the art of travel has evolved much since the 19th century. Dr. Durrans will present one more lecture on the sea day after leaving Southampton before we arrive in Hamburg.

 

I had my complementary lunch in Todd English Restaurant and it was absolutely wonderful. Food and service were both impeccable.

 

The third lecture was presented by Professor Derek Fraser on the Welfare State: the first half-century and discusses how well did the welfare state cope with the changes of a rapidly changing Britain in the second half of the 20th century. Quite interesting.

 

Dinner in the Britannia Restaurant was subdued due to many passengers disembarking tomorrow in Southampton. I enjoyed my dinner of beef barley consommé, salad and orange roughy fish. After saying my goodbyes, I came back to my cabin to get ready for my three-hour Southampton

Titanic Trail walking tour tomorrow morning. The weather is expected to be sunny in Southampton which is a relief; however, I will be prepared for rain or cold weather should the need arise.

 

Today’s Freeze Frames:

 

 

Blustery, Wet and Overcast Sea 1 of 3

 

 

Blustery, Wet and Overcast Sea 2 of 3

 

 

Blustery, Wet and Overcast Sea 3 of 3

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great

[PeaSea8ch]

The rain finally abated sometime during the night. It was cold in Southampton when we disembarked under partly cloudy skies. During the day there were long periods of bright sunlight. I loved the three-hour Southampton Titanic Trail walking tour.

 

We saw the building that used to be the train station and the luxury hotel next door (now condominiums) where the first class passengers stayed prior to boarding the Titanic.

 

Next, we saw the location of the tailor shop that provided all uniforms to the Titanic officers and crew. Our guide told us a true story: there was a titanic officer who did not have the money to purchase his uniform (White Star Line required all officers and crew members to pay for their own uniforms), so he signed an IOU to White Star Line to get his uniform. This officer perished in the disaster and five days after the sinking White Star line was demanding the balance due on the IOU from his widow (in today's world, I do not think that would happen).

 

Then we visited the Grapes pub where the crew imbibed their last swigs of alcohol prior to boarding the Titanic (White Star Line forbade the crew from drinking any alcohol whilst serving on their ships). Our guide told us another true story: a group of crew members were at the pub drinking prior to embarking on the Titanic. They had been told beforehand that the gangway would be removed at noon and if they were not aboard at that time they would not be allowed to embark and hence, they would not be paid (White Star line only paid the crew after they had completed their contract). As noon approached the guys were drinking much faster to consume as much alcohol as possible since it would be a long time until they returned home.

 

When they finally left the pub, they realized it would have to run to get to the ship and had to cross the main railway line in and out of Southampton. Since these men were essentially plastered their ability to run effectively was severely compromised. When they arrived at the train tracks some of them managed to get across safely just as a very long freight train was approaching. After the train had passed the remaining men raced as fast as they could to get to the gangway to the Titanic. However they were too late arriving and the gangway had been removed so they could not board the Titanic. They were so ashamed because their families were counting on them to bring home a paycheck at the end of their contract that they went and hid themselves in the New Forest, which was King Henry VIII's hunting ground. Then, about five days after the disaster when the loss of life was better quantified, these men "came out of hiding" and returned home. Although their binge drinking caused them and their families a much-needed paycheck, it actually saved their lives.

 

Next we visited the sailors home where some of the surviving Titanic crew members resided and other sailors in need after that. The final story our guide told us was about the only Stoker that survived the sinking. The way the Titanic was designed, all boiler compartments except for the aft boiler compartment was totally isolated when the watertight doors were closed. The aft boiler compartment had a ladder and/or stairs that went to the topmost decks of the ship, and when the situation became hopeless "every man for himself" the Stoker climbed the stairs/ladder and walked into one of the first class lounges or bars which was completely empty and he found a bottle of expensive wine or liquor

 

He opened the bottle and started to drink; he thought, this tastes really good so I will drink some more and didn't stop until the bottle was empty. He then meandered out to the open decks were as pandemonium amongst the first-class passengers. Although his face and hands were dirty and his clothes covered in coal dust, no one seemed to mind he was up there because of the panic. Then everything for this Stoker, "faded to black” and when he woke up he was on board the rescue ship Carpathia. He somehow ended up in the water and was rescued by one of Titanic's lifeboats and taken to the Carpathia.

 

Our tour guide, several months before our visit, was conducting a tour for Southampton cab drivers to familiarize themselves with how to get to the main tourist attractions. Our guide noticed that one of the cab drivers had the same surname as are lucky Stoker and asked him if they were related. To which he replied, “Yes he is my grandfather.” It's a small, small world.

 

Then we visited the Holyrood church where a memorial to the Titanic crew stands (there are separate memorials to the engineers [all were lost]who kept the power on for lighting and running the pumps to pump out water to keep the ship afloat as long as humanly possible and to the musicians who played while the lifeboats were being loaded and lowered to the sea in separate locations in Southampton).

 

As we wandered past the ancient Southampton walls and through the main shopping precinct we arrived at the highlight of the tour, the SeaCity Museum. This interactive Museum is filled with information and interesting memorabilia of the fateful disaster and illustrates the impact the liner had on the city of Southampton. Since the museum was the last stop on the tour, I lingered for a while at the Museum to enjoy the exhibits and audiovisual depictions of the formal inquiry into the disaster. I then walked back to the Cunard furnished complimentary shuttle bus stop and returned to the ship for lunch.

 

Many new passengers have embarked here in Southampton today. Departure was delayed about an hour because the tide was too low and Commodore Christopher Rynd did not want Queen Mary 2 running aground in Southampton waters.

 

Southampton Freeze Frames:

 

 

Former White Star Line Headquarters 1 of 3

 

 

Former White Star Line Headquarters 2 of 3

 

 

Former White Star Line Headquarters 3 of 3 — Commemorative Plaque

 

 

Former Railway Station

 

 

Former Hotel Where Titanic First Class Passengers Stayed Prior to Embarkation (Condominiums today)

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great.

[PeaSea8ch]

 

Former Tailor Shop for White Star Line Uniforms

 

 

Grapes Pub 1 of 2

 

 

Grapes Pub 2 of 2

 

 

Sailors Home 1 of 2

 

Sailors Home 2 of 2

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2

[Slow Foxtrot]

Reference the Titanic information above by PeaSea8ch; on QM2's September crossing to New York and Quebec we passed close to the position where the Titanic lay on the seabed far below. As some of you may know, many of the crew and passengers who lost their life in this disaster are buried at Fairlawns Cemetery in Halifax so, upon arrival, we paid a visit to the cemetery.

The epitaphs and inscriptions on some of the headstones made very poignant reading and our Canadian taxi driver told us that many a tear was shed by visitors who were suddenly overcome with emotion.

Enclosed are a couple of photos which need no further explanation.

[Paul NH]

Thanks for the posts, Paul. Great pictures as well.

[Cats2010]

Reference the Titanic information above by PeaSea8ch; on QM2's September crossing to New York and Quebec we passed close to the position where the Titanic lay on the seabed far below. As some of you may know, many of the crew and passengers who lost their life in this disaster are buried at Fairlawns Cemetery in Halifax so, upon arrival, we paid a visit to the cemetery.

The epitaphs and inscriptions on some of the headstones made very poignant reading and our Canadian taxi driver told us that many a tear was shed by visitors who were suddenly overcome with emotion.

Enclosed are a couple of photos which need no further explanation.

 

It was shocking to gather from a Halifax tourism rep that only those were buried who belonged to the upper class; the other bodies were abandoned.

[BlueRiband]

The only other tour offered on both visits to Soton is the "Southampton Titanic Trail" a 3-hour walking tour. I have signed up for this tour and will provide a full report (and photos, weather permitting).

 

I am a little upset with Cunard about the lack of tour options. When I did my last QM2 RT crossing in 2010, there were about 6 different tour options for each port. This time there were only two for Sotoon. On Cunard's website there were at least four tour options for Hamburg but, upon arrival onboard QM2, there was only one tour offered, the Snapshot of Hamburg which I booked.

 

I know that the tours have a minimum participation level, in 2010 my tour to Windsor Castle was cancelled and I booked the tour to Bath which was lovely. Maybe it is too late in the season to offer more tours; I just think Cunard could do better in this area.

 

Since the tours are only offered to in transit passengers the offerings will fluctuate with the numbers doing just that. I can remember only two being offered in 2011 probably because most of the ship was turning over in Southampton. Southampton Titanic Trail was to be offered last July and for weeks it read "limited availability" in my voyage personalizer. Once on board I found it was cancelled for insufficient participation. (????)

Edited November 6, 2013 by BlueRiband

[Slow Foxtrot]

It was shocking to gather from a Halifax tourism rep that only those were buried who belonged to the upper class; the other bodies were abandoned.

 

Your 'Halifax tourism rep' needs to resign if he thinks that only upper class passengers were buried in Halifax.

In fact very few first-class passengers were buried in Fairlawns Cemetery. Those buried there included a butcher, a boot polisher, a clothes presser, a steward, to name but a few. John Law Hume, the hero violinist is also buried in Fairlawns. Christopher Ward's recent best-seller 'And the Band Played On' gives a brilliantly authorative account as to what happened after the sinking of the Titanic.

It's true that some were evidently buried in caskets and some in body-bags but passengers both rich and poor are buried together in Fairlawns Cemetery. Incidentally, for Titanic enthusiasts and for those interested in seafaring history the cemetery is well worth a visit.

[Cats2010]

Thank you for your precisions, Slow Foxtrot. I should to add that the guide, as an explanation, attributed this way of handling as common practice during the 'gilded age'. Also it seems probable that people were hardly prepared for incidents of that kind, they had to react fast and were under enormous stress. Anyway, be it right or wrong what he said, his explanations were quite emotional and the whole atmosphere was very moving.

[KitKatK]

Your 'Halifax tourism rep' needs to resign if he thinks that only upper class passengers were buried in Halifax.

In fact very few first-class passengers were buried in Fairlawns Cemetery. Those buried there included a butcher, a boot polisher, a clothes presser, a steward, to name but a few. John Law Hume, the hero violinist is also buried in Fairlawns. Christopher Ward's recent best-seller 'And the Band Played On' gives a brilliantly authorative account as to what happened after the sinking of the Titanic.

It's true that some were evidently buried in caskets and some in body-bags but passengers both rich and poor are buried together in Fairlawns Cemetery. Incidentally, for Titanic enthusiasts and for those interested in seafaring history the cemetery is well worth a visit.

 

During the tour I had of the cemetery last spring, we were told that because they could afford it, the families of many of the first-class passengers whose bodies were identified had them shipped home for burial.

 

KK

[Slow Foxtrot]

During the tour I had of the cemetery last spring, we were told that because they could afford it, the families of many of the first-class passengers whose bodies were identified had them shipped home for burial.

 

KK

 

That's quite correct KK. That's why there are so few first-class passengers

buried in Halifax.

[PeaSea8ch]

Sea day 8 was just like sea day 7 before arriving in Southampton: cold, blustery winds, rain all day and the sea awash with whitecaps.

 

I attended two lectures today. The first lecture was presented by historian Dr. Peter Durand's, the only lecturer remaining from the crossing, titled “Britain as a Great Power” where he examines the establishment of Britain's global dominance in the 19th century and considers its decline in the 20th with a postscript on Britain's role today. This was a lot of ground to cover in 45 minutes and he did so quite well by focusing on the top-level events and not going into too much detail.

 

The second lecture was presented by Singapore Airlines Capt. David Henderson, brought on board in Southampton for today's lecture only, titled “Come Fly with Me”: after telling us how we learned how to fly and how he got into aviation as a career he then talked about flying the 747 jumbo jet and gave us an overview of what happens behind the scenes to get the whole show put together and actually fly you from London to Hong Kong. He also spent some time talking about landing 747 jets at the old Hong Kong airport at Kai Tak which quite often have strong crosswinds that blow your plane to a diagonal course to the runway at low altitudes where the wheels often toucheddown with the planes longitudinal axis not parallel to the runway's longitudinal axis which is hard on the tires and possibly the landing gear.

 

I enjoyed both lecturers immensely.

 

After dinner was, the Kev Orkian's unique show. The show starts with the stowaway found in the basement of the ship, trying to enter Germany after being caught and sent back to his country of Armenia. He now tries to return as a foreign exchange student. Weaving humor and his brilliant piano playing he takes us through his improbable journey. The show was hilarious.

 

Hamburg: the rain subsided some time during the early-morning and we arrived amidst cloudy and overcast skies.

 

Hamburg is the second-largest city (behind Berlin) in Germany and with Hamburg harbor, its principal port. Hamburg is also the second largest port city in the European Union. The city of Hamburg lies at the junction of the river Elbe with the rivers Alster and Bille in the city center is beautifully set around Lake Binnenalster and Lake Auβenalster. The city takes its name from the first permanent building on the site, a Castle order to be built by Emperor Charlemagne in 808 AD. The castle was named Hammaburg, where "burg" means "Castle". The meaning of “Hamma” remains uncertain. Hamburg grew to be an important state and Port, and in 1241 became one of the original members of the Hanseatic League, along with Bremen, Cologne and Lübeck. The league protected its merchants by controlling the trade routes from the Baltic region to the Atlantic.

 

I took the only shore excursion offered “snapshot of Hamburg”. With a 30% chance of rain and high temperatures predicted to be in the upper 40s, I arrived at the coach prepared for any weather situation.

 

After leaving the port, the tour began by driving through the old warehouse district in the harbor promenade. Next, we drove by the shallow (8 feet maximum depth) lake Binnenalster & Lake Auβenalster and the mansions dotting their circumference. We then stopped for a photo op of the lake views.

 

Next, we stopped at the City Hall to take photographs. This was an impressive edifice whose architecture included interesting details. Then we visited the merchant’s widow’s homes. This was a place where each merchant widow had her own home, similar to an apartment or flat, and were paid for by the Merchants Association. This, and other areas of Hamburg, had narrow stairways and no elevators or lifts. Hence, to bring furniture and other bulky items into these homes, a large hook that was bolted to the roof structure when initially built and using pulleys and rope, the items were hoisted up to the level desired and brought into the home through a window. This reminded me of Amsterdam.

 

Then we visited the grand church St. Michael's and attended a short midday service. The church has four organs, three of which are visible. The “invisible” Oregon is in the church attic and the music comes out a hole in the center dome of the church. For musical selections were played from the church's organs. All four organs are somehow interconnected such that the organist can control all four organs from the large main organ. The acoustics inside the church are excellent. One of the musical selections utilized all four organs with sections with two or more of the organs playing simultaneously. I had to listen very carefully to determine which organs were playing simultaneously.

 

After visiting the church, we returned to the ship while the check-in process of the embarking passengers was in full swing and, even though we were in-transit passengers, we had to have all our carry-on items including belts and jackets removed and x-rayed. Upon arrival at the Grand Lobby, the German Shanty Choir was singing. They alternated with the Sunrise String Quartet during the embarkation of the Hamburg passengers.

 

We were all grateful that the travel Gods smiled upon us as we had party cloudy skies with periods of bright sunlight. We experienced intermittent sprinkles of short duration at our photo ops at the lake, City Hall and when leaving St. Michaels Church. Temperatures ranged from 46 to 48°F (8 to 9°C). I really enjoyed the tour. Our guide was great – knew all the facts and history while displaying a good sense of humor and our coach driver was adept at safely maneuvering the coach on the narrow streets around town.

 

For the Hamburg-to-Hamburg segment, I was assigned to a different table with English-speaking passengers for dinner. This is a circular table for seven passengers. Seated at my table was a lovely couple from Wales, a lady from New Jersey and myself. The remaining three passengers were no-shows and perhaps they flew in the day the ship sailed after a long journey. Tonight was the first night that a dinner menu was repeated.

 

Sea Day 8 and Hamburg Freeze Frames:

 

 

Typical Sea Conditions

 

 

New Architecture Seen from Port

 

 

“Old City” Church

 

 

Television Tower Seen From Across the Lake Auβenalster

 

 

Hamburg City Hall

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great

[PeaSea8ch]

 

Merchant Widow Home Chimney Design — Because they burned peat, the smoke tended to stay within the house, chimney design causes the wind to swirl around to form a vortex (low pressure or vacuum similar to a hurricane) remove the smoke through the chimney.

 

 

Large Article Lifting System

 

 

St. Michael’s Church Altar

 

 

St. Michael’s Church 17th Century Organ

 

St. Michael’s Church “Concert” Organ — in addition to church duties, this organ is used for concerts in the church.

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great. *

[candhu18]

Paul,

 

I am very much looking forward to reading the next part of your travelogue. Photos of some of the entertainment on offer would be much welcome.

[fantasy51]

I loved the photo with the twisty chimney - and the explanation for it. I've never seen one like that before.

[fg_hb]

Hello,

I hope you are still enjoying your trip, even with the other mood on the trip from Hamburg to Oslo and back. I hope you share your opinion about this part of the trip with us.

I'm now in Hamburg to watch the sail away. It's good that the turn around is today evening.

Have a nice return trip to New York.

Frank

[PeaSea8ch]

Weather and sea conditions were the same as sea day 8. Today was an easy day for me and didn't really do much except enjoy the ship. This 4 night themed Stars At Sea sailing with German rockstar Peter Maffay has resulted in a relaxation of the dress code after 6 PM within the ship. Jacket optional and smart jeans are acceptable for the gentlemen. Stylish separates and smart jeans are acceptable for the ladies. The only dress that was verboten after 6 PM were sleeveless tops (for men) and shorts, sandals and jeans containing holes, rips, tears or mis-sized (men and women).

 

Peter Maffay is performing three, 2-hour concerts on successive nights in order to include everyone. Each was a ticketed invitation event where your tickets specified the date of the concert. This is due to the fact that all passengers could not be seated in the Royal Court Theatre at one time.

 

The evening we sailed from Hamburg, the German rock group Ruldolph Rock & Die Shocker performed in the Royal Court, Theatre. Then on the subsequent three nights, they perform from 10 PM to midnight in the Queens Room to entertain the passengers not at the Peter Maffay concert.

 

With the vast majority of passengers German-speaking, all the lectures and aforementioned evening entertainment was in German. This gave me time to focus on my reports and handpicking my freeze-frame photos.

 

Oslo is the capital of and largest city in Norway. The city was founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway. In 1624 the town was largely destroyed by a fire. The Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV rebuilt and changed the city's name to Christiania. Oslo is the cultural, scientific, economic and government center of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking industry and shipping. It is the second largest port in Europe. Until recently, Oslo was also listed as the most expensive city in the world; however, partly due to a week in Norwegian krone, it was surpassed by cities such as Tokyo, Copenhagen and Paris. It is estimated that 25% – or around 145,000 of Oslo's core population are immigrants, reflecting its cultural diversity.

 

Since our scheduled arrival time in Oslo was 10 AM, there was not an opportunity to take a morning and afternoon tour, I decided to take the "Norwegian Explorers" 3 hour excursion and discovered the spirit of Norwegian explorers throughout the ages have been preserved in three of Norway's interesting museums. As we traveled to Bygdøy, we drove past City Hall National Theater and the Royal Residence. Bygdøy, once the king's private property, is now partly laid out as a museum area, or we stopped for a guided visit to the three seafarer’s museums: Viking Ships, Kon-Tiki and Fram.

 

The Viking Ship Museum Contains three well preserved Norweigan Viking ships (note: there are also Swedish and Danish Vikings as well), These ships are an excellent example of the Viking period's daring initiative and shipbuilding craftsmanship. Also on display, are human skeletal remains found in the ships when they were excavated. The museum also houses a collection of household implements found during the excavations of the ships and a Viking Age display that includes sledges, beds, a horse cart, woodcarvings, buckets and other artifacts.

 

What I found most interesting (and stunned by the reason why), that while we were there, one of the ships was being analyzed by modern 3-dimensional non-destructive examination techniques to evaluate & identify defects in the wood, quantify defect size over time to assess the ability of these wooden hull structures to support their own weight. The reason for this examination regimen is because certain raw materials used in coatings applied to these wooden structures to preserve them for the last 100 years are actually causing their degradation. In fact, this nondestructive examination has determined that the wood in these hulls has significantly deteriorated. The museum is working hard to minimize the situation. In the smaller boats in the museum (about the size of a large canoe or smaller) aluminum frames have been installed with brackets to assist in holding them together. On the larger boats, there is a solid support in full intimate contact with the boat's keel along its entire length. To further ease the stress on the hull, additional supports from the museum floor up to the hull surface have been placed to minimize strain caused by any deflection of the hull.

 

The Con Tiki Museum houses original boats and exhibits from Thor Heyerdahl's world-famous expeditions to Ra, Tigris, Fatu-Hiva, Kon-Tiki, and Easter Island. It also has a 100-foot cave tour, cinema and underwater exhibition containing a life-size 33 foot whale shark, sea turtle and other marine life.

 

The Fram Museum shows the history of the polar explorers, including Nansen's journey across the Polar ocean, Sveredrup's expedition to Greenland and Amundsen's journey to the South Pole. There are exhibits displaying animals from the polar region in the world's most famous polar ship, the Fram built in 1892. The Fram was an original condition with its interior and objects perfectly preserved.

 

While heading back to the ship, I noticed that the streets were clean, no graffiti and well maintained. After a burger and fries at the Chef's Galley I left the ship and walked to the other side of the marina to take a broadside picture of QM2. After finding my vantage point, I snapped my photos and started to head back to the ship for tea time and my scone at 3:35 PM and took a few photos of the sunset in progress and wanted to get back to the ship before sunset at 4:03 today. I arrived at the ship, checked in dropped off my camera bag and went for tea and scone at 3:45pm. After collecting my tea and scone, I put everything down on a window table and noticed the sunset was getting interesting so I went outside on deck, photographed it , came inside, drank my tea, and ate my scone and went aback out on deck and took a few snaps of the twilight over Oslofjord.

 

The marina area has stores, shopping, restaurants, apartments & condos and even a museum and was alive and bustling. I: took a nap and then it was time for sail away and I wet up ink deck to watch that. We eased away from the wharf, turned around 180 degrees and slowly left the harbor and continued down Oslofjord towards the Baltic Sea.

 

My last visit to Oslo was 27 years ago, and I was looking forward to seeing how it had changed. To my surprise, I hardly recognized the city and only recognized the Viking Ships Museum when we pulled into the parking lot. Oslo is one of those cities that you want to come back to again. I felt that way 27 years ago, and still feel that way today.

 

Oslo Freeze Frames:

 

 

Typical Sea Day 9 Conditions

 

 

Sunrise Over Oslofjord

 

 

Viking Ship Museum 1 of 3 (Note technician performing non-destructive examination in area where blue/purple light is reflected off ship)

 

 

Viking Ship Museum 2 of 3

 

 

Viking Ship Museum 3 of 3

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great.

[PeaSea8ch]

 

Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki 1 of 2

 

 

Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki 2 of 2

 

 

Thor Heyerdahl's Ra 1 of 2

 

 

Thor Heyerdahl's Ra 2 of 2

 

 

Amundsen's Wooden Fram 1 of 3 Went to South Pole in 1911 (continued in next post)

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great.

[PeaSea8ch]

 

Amundsen's Wooden Fram 2 of 3

 

 

Amundsen's Wooden Fram 3 of 3

 

 

Queen Mary 2 Alongside Oslo Dock

 

 

Queen Mary 2 From Across the Marina

 

 

Queen Mary 2 Frames the Beginning of a Beautiful Sunset

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great.

[fantasy51]

Very interesting!

 

I remember reading about the Kon-Tiki and Ra expeditions when I was a teenager. Great to see the boats.

 

I loved your sunrise photo.

[Cats2010]

Yes, I also remember these fascinating documentaries. Thanks for the interesting, wunderful photos!

[PeaSea8ch]

Sea day 10 was cold, windy, with intermittent rain and swells that generated mild vessel motion. This was the last day of the four night, stars and sea sailing featuring German rockstar Peter Maffay and Harley Davidson-Germany. With the entertainment program dedicated to the predominantly German passengers, I spent most of the day enjoying the ship, sorting through my photos and taking a couple of naps.

 

Some passengers were really upset that they were not notified by Cunard of the Stars at Sea themed cruise and dress code relaxation status of the four night Hamburg to Hamburg segment. Others were upset about the dress code relaxation, even though they were informed of this prior to embarkation. While still other passengers, did not like the German announcements, menus and signage around the ship.

 

In my case, Cunard informed my travel agent of the Stars at Sea themed cruise status when the final cruise payment was made. She emailed the information to me and after thinking about it for about a half a second, I emailed her back and said "there is no way I am canceling this 4 night segment, Germans are not." I did not find out about the dress code relaxation several weeks later when the pre-voyage documentation booklet arrived in my mailbox. Although I was not happy, especially because a formal night was also dropped, I decided my definition of informal would be slacks, jacket and tie and just "go with the flow" in the Britannia Restaurant. The announcements in German, bilingual printed material & German and English tour buses did not bother me as I have sailed on Cunard’s Vistafjord (before she was renamed Caronia and subsequently sold to Saga Holidays) for 70 to 80 days where the ship was officially bilingual (English & German) so I was used to all of that.

 

Sea Day 10 Freeze Frames:

 

 

En Route to Hamburg Second Visit 1 of 33 — This looks Like the Car Carrier in Hamburg first visit

 

 

En Route to Hamburg Second Visit 2 of 3

 

 

En Route to Hamburg Second Visit 3 of 3 — Note the small container freighters traveling in tandem

 

 

The Sunset That Never Was 1 of 2

 

 

The Sunset That Never Was 2 of 2

 

Oh those lazy, hazy & crazy crossing sea days! As Always, life aboard Queen Mary 2 is great.

[Yoshikitty]

Hello Paul,

 

Thanks for your reports and all the beautiful pictures.

I was traveling at the same time with you from NYC to Hamburg.

I found that some of the sea pictures I took were more or less the same as yours! Maybe we were standing next to each others to take the pics :D

 

Do you have any idea how many German were on board for the 4 days segment? As far as I know, there were around 300+ German from NYC to Hamburg. Around 1000+ boarded from Southampton for the 2 nights to Hamburg.

 

I don't think you went to the concert, right? :rolleyes:

[Oahucruiser]

We are still really enjoying your reports and fabulous photos. As I mentioned before we are doing a very similar trip to yours at the end of July but, after leaving Hamburg for the first time, we continue to Oslo and then ten days in Norway (not the fjords this time), and we are a bit concerned that we might have continuous German entertainment and tours all the way as well as a very relaxed dress code. I think we'll have to contact Cunard and find out if this will be the case as it's too late to do anything after the final payment is made. I'm so glad we read your latest post. We, too, traveled on the Vistafjord but it's been a long time and we favor and enjoy the present dress code on all Cunard ships.

[Cats2010]

and we are a bit concerned that we might have continuous German entertainment and tours all the way as well as a very relaxed dress code. I think we'll have to contact Cunard and find out if this will be the case as it's too late to do anything after the final payment is made.

 

Well, I hope you don't think that this kind of entertainment is 'typical' German entertainment. It is not, and I think this applies to any other country in this world as well. By the way, it was first 'Stars at Sea' event of that kind and I hope it will be the only one. As far as I know, there will be no similar events on your cruise, but it might be better to ask Cunard. A while ago I had proposed - with the support of many others - to invite Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester, a real 'star' with a repertoire that fits perfectly well with Cunard's interior art déco style. However, there was no reaction so far. :mad: