"Live from" Queen Elizabeth to the Mediterannean! My First Cunard Experience

[lovely_serenity]

After the hair seminar, Sis & I headed straight back to the room to meet Mum & Dad for lunch. After gathering up, we headed downstairs together to the Britannia.

 

Today’s lunch menu:

 

 

 

As an appetizer, Mom chose to have the Honeydew Melon and Papaya Tartare with Ginger Syrup:

 

 

We actually didn’t really care for it. It was weird and spicy, and when I say spicy, I mean really spicy!! o_o (I mean seriously, spicy fruit? No thank you!)

 

Sis opted for the Mixed Melon Fruit Plate:

 

 

Pretty good, nice and sweet!

 

Dad got the Crab Devilled Eggs:

 

 

This was absolutely delicious! He enjoyed it very much.

 

Lastly, I got some Chilled Berry and Peach Soup:

 

 

This was just okay.

 

At this time, some waves were beginning to sway the ship and I was starting to feel a little sick, but I tried to ignore it. We chatted for a bit and I tried to distract myself with conversation.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The chilled berry and peach soup sounds interesting.

[Hobie]

Sarah,

 

Let me join all the others who have thanked you for your great report and pictures. I just found your report yesterday and have now finished reading all of the pages (like a good thriller, I couldn't stop reading!).

 

I board the Queen Elizabeth 11 days from today on Feb. 6 in San Francisco. I didn't think that I could get more excited, but your report and pictures has really hyped up the level of excitement and anticipation!

 

Thanks again, Glenn

[alibabacruisers]

Yes, I agree with you Hobie. We are going, for the second cruise, on QE next year and blogs like Sarah's with pictures sure make you excited! I just wish it did not take so long for the pictures to download! Everytime someone quotes a post with pictures then you have to wait even longer.

[lovely_serenity]

After a little while, the entrées started to arrive. Sis got the Slow Baked Aubergine with Roasted Tomato and Parmesan:

 

 

(A fancy word for eggplant LOL. It was good.)

 

Mom went for the Navarin of Lamb with Root Vegetables:

 

 

Which she found quite delicious, and Dad & I got the Steamed Mussels with Saffron Curry Sauce and Garlic Bread:

 

 

Just looking at this picture makes me depressed. .____. IT WAS SO GOOD (although there were too many dead ones I couldn’t open), BUT I WAS FEELING NAUSEOUS. I COULD NO LONGER ENJOY THEM WITHOUT WANTING TO VOMIT. *sob* I WANTED TO EAT THEM SO VERY MUCH BUT MY STOMACH WOULD NOT PERMIT IT. I tasted a few and THEY WERE DELICIOUS. THE CURRY SAUCE WAS SO GOOD. (A little pool at the bottom).

 

After sitting there motionless for a while, Mom & Dad caught on that I was probably feeling sick again. I sat there until dessert showed up (for the picture), before getting up and leaving (Sis accompanied me). Here were the pictures of dessert I managed to get. Mom & Dad ate all the desserts by themselves.

 

Pistachio and Chocolate Ice Creams with Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt and Kiwi Sauce:

 

 

Apparently, they weren’t impressed at all. When I asked Dad how it was, he just scrunched his face LOL.

 

Coconut Crème Caramel with Fresh Berries:

 

 

They said that they liked this one, and that it was quite tasty & well made.

 

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Caramel Sauce:

 

 

Dad said he hated this one. He said it tasted like wet bread and that it was gross.

 

As they enjoyed(?) their dessert, I teetered through the dining room, up to deck 8 to return to my room. This was probably one of the most difficult times I had on board during the day time. I literally almost threw up 3 times on the way to the room, which made greeting & smiling at staff difficult. o_o Once we got to room, I changed into my pajamas and lied down. I was going to sleep, but something stopped me. I was feeling extremely perplexed, as I had seriously wanted to go to afternoon tea (which from henceforth shall now be known as “ahfuta”. This was the term I created to describe afternoon tea. “After” -> “Ah-fu-ter” -> “Ah-fu-ta” and thereby, “ahfuta”. :-D), but I also had to sleep. I was seriously looking forward to it, as I had watched many videos about how fancy and pretty afternoon tea was on Cunard. Today was the first time they were serving afternoon tea in the Queen’s Room (as the day before had been embarkation day). After whining sadly that I wanted to go to ahfuta, Sis told me that I could not go if I did not feel better. I lied there for a little while before Mom & Dad showed up in our room, full from lunch. In their arms were ginger & lemon teas, and Bonine. I whimper to Mom & Dad about ahfuta as well (literally, I was SO looking forward to it since I heard we were going on this cruise). Eventually, it is decided that I will not be going today, and I would be sleeping until dinner time. I drink the tea sadly, and take my pills (just as sadly). Sis looks over to me sympathetically, but puts on her pajamas and stays with me. She plays with her iPad as I sleep.

Edited January 27, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[ereves]

Well, I didn't actually really notice before LOL. I did see however, that Cunard seemed to have a problem with following through with what the menu presents, but more on that later ^^. I actually found the portions to be alright. I sometimes had trouble finishing all of my food! I quite liked the small portions, this meant I could try more things!

 

 

 

I agree! And oddly enough, this was actually the best looking bacon during the whole trip -_-. They were usually much harder. LOL

 

 

 

Exactly! I never double up, I always order something else :D, I'd much rather eat two different things as opposed to two of the same.

 

 

 

:P Today at least LOL, the next days were so very hard and crunchy!

 

 

 

To be honest Harvey, our family actually found that the food was not up to par with our standards :/ We actually were a little bit disappointed. There were really only a small handful of dishes that we tried, and loved! We have a relatively large family, so we would usually order different things and try each others food, so it wasn't really a personal opinion issue, it was the collective whole. Not saying that they were bad, just, not impressed.

 

 

 

Oh, really? Did you see me? :D You couldn't have possibly missed me, my sister & I were literally the ONLY kids on board. ^^~

 

Oh no! D: That's terrible! I would be absolutely devastated if anything happened to my pictures after returning home from my trip! I'm so glad that we went on the same trip so that you would still be able to see pictures from it! && Nice photos! ^^

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Yay :D! I quite liked the variety! Glad you're enjoying!

 

 

 

Thank you! :P We actually do go to church every Sunday (unless everyone in the house is working and my sister and I are left at home)! Haha that's wonderful. (:

We're getting on in San Francisco, is the coffee any good?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sarah

Sorry that the sea sickness was getting to you.

Those desserts didn't look too appealing to me either.

[Rally]

Sara, this is the most refreshing blog I have read in a long time. (Sorry, Keith :)

 

You write and comport yourself beautifully. Never lose your contagiously enthusiastic spirit. You bring hope into the world.

[lovely_serenity]

I’m going to assume that Mum & Dad shared whatever they got, so here it is!

 

Fruit tart:

 

 

As well as Dad’s plate of goodies:

 

 

This is was today’s live musical accompaniment to their tea time:

 

 

(I believe her name was Rebecca?)

 

Anyways, here are the pictures Dad took from his seat of the Queen’s Room:

 

 

 

 

As you can see, their seat was in the far corner of the room.

 

After sitting a while, they realized that they were incredibly full, and would already have some trouble eating dinner if they kept it up. They got ready to leave and the servers still trying to give them other things to eat LOL. (I’m pretty sure they were scones).

[Rally]

Waiting and wanting more! :)

[lovely_serenity]

After sleeping for about 2 and a half hours, I woke up 4 minutes before the Captain's Cocktail Reception. (what a nice way to wake up .___.) We scrambled to get ready and considering the fact that it was formal night, I thought we did pretty well for such a short time’s notice. We were ready in a few minutes, but I recall Sis & I were done even before Mom and Dad! We waited and waited, as Mom kept calling us over and stabbing my eyeball with some make up brush.

 

Here’s the dress I wore that night:

 

 

Here’s Sis’s gown (I picked it for her at the store :D I also told her how to pose LOL *notpossessiveatall*):

 

 

Here’s Mom’s gown & Dad’s tuxedo:

 

 

We showed up at Captain's toast 15 minutes before it was over (which was actually a good thing, all the interesting things happened after that).

 

 

At the aft entrance of the Queen’s Room, the Captain stood in front of a wall to greet guests with one of the ship’s photographers. We came from the forward entrance, so we didn’t a picture. It was fine since we didn’t mind not getting one (no big deal).

 

There’s my family walking toward the centre area:

 

 

Since the lighting was dark, it was absolutely terrible for photography. I tried my best nonetheless:

 

[Rally]

 

You all looked fabulous!

[lovely_serenity]

 

 

 

From my observations, 90% men wore bow ties, but only 30% wore tuxedos. 70% of them wore normal dress shirts with a suit jacket to pretend they were wearing tuxedos. I was wearing a gown and I was in the majority. About 60% of women wore gowns, and the other 40% wore cocktail dresses / pant suit. I would suggest for ladies to wear dresses that reached the floor. Most women were dressed like that, and those who didn’t looked like they felt out of place. o_o. If your cocktail dress or pant suit was fancy, you’d still fit in. It was the people who wore a blouse and dress pants that stood out, so heed my warnings. There were also some Japanese people decked out in completely formal traditional Japanese kimonos! They looked amazing!

 

Here’s when things get interesting. Captain Christopher Wells starts announcing the nationalities of our entire cruise ship, as well as how many people from each and from where! (Below is a video I shot of it, I uploaded it onto Youtube just for you guys! :D)

 

 

After that, he introduced some of the staff, we toasted (LOL I almost wrote cheers-ed) to the Captain and for a safe voyage, and we were all on our way to the Britannia. We arrived at the restaurant, were seated and noticed the slightly new layout of the table for formal night:

 

 

Pretty candles too!

 

 

Here was tonight’s menu:

 

Edited February 7, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

 

We chatted for a bit and took some pictures before our appetizers started to arrive. First was Mom’s Rillette of Duck Confit with Brioche and Spiced Orange Chili Chutney:

 

 

Now here’s a warning for you all. Since some of the words on the menu are in French, not everyone is going to know that “rillette” means pâté in French. That basically means, pâté of duck leg. Did not expect that. Anyhow, Mom thought it was “eh”.

 

Next to arrive was Dad’s, Sis’s and my Hot Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Tartare:

 

 

We were quite let down by this, as the description did not match the product at all. First of all, there was nothing “Hot” about it. Not its temperature (it was cold) nor its taste (it tasted like salmon spread, no spice either), so I have no clue why they included it. It wasn’t smoked either. You could clearly tell the meat had not been smoked, at best boiled, steamed, canned or something of the sort, but definitely not the “smoked salmon” I was used to. I felt somewhat mislead by the name. I was expecting some hot smoked samon, with cucumber tartare. Not the salmon spread cake with cucumbers diced up and stuck into it. (I kind of expected salmon and a tartare made of cucumbers). Anyways, it didn’t have must taste at all.

 

Next was Dad’s French Onion Soup:

 

 

He thought it was “eh” as well. He didn’t finish it either, he said it was way too salty.

 

Mom then received her Cheddar Cheese Soup:

 

 

This one, I actually found very delicious. It was creamy and not too bland nor salty. Everyone else though it was okay, I liked it the most.

 

Then came our entrées.

 

Dad ordered the Scallops with Mashed Artichokes and Tomato Confit from the Royal Spa Selections:

 

 

This was actually supposed to be an entrée sized dish, but Dad begged to differ. He thought it was too small and should’ve probably had something else on the plate. He still thought they were delicious and wonderfully large scallops.

Edited February 7, 2014 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

Sis had the Roast Rack of Pork with Aged Apple Cider, Lavender Jus and Mashed Potato:

 

 

Sis thought it was pretty good. Quite tender.

 

Then came Mom’s Baked Salmon Fillet and Wild Mushroom Wellington with Artichoke and Tarragon Beurre Blanc:

 

 

Which we all agreed was delicious. It was quite well made.

 

Last but not least was my Beef Fillet Medallion with Mushroom Ragoût and Vintage Port Wine Glaze:

 

 

It was perfectly medium rare and tasted wonderful. The mushrooms were a nice touch on top (not the image I had of what ragoût was btw) and I liked the random fried potato on the side! (:

 

After that, it was time for dessert.

 

Mom and Sis ordered the Ice Grand Marnier Parfait:

 

 

Here’s a heads up, all things with “parfait” it the name basically means a variation of this pyramid right here. They’re all squishy and they are all triangular. They are all also pretty good. Light flavour, not too overwhelming.

 

Dad ordered the Chocolate Croquant Royale:

 

 

which he found okay. I on the other hand found it way too bitter for my taste. I didn’t even want to finish the tiny chunk on my spoon. (That said, I don’t drink coffee very much either LOL).

 

I got the Vanilla Lemon Soufflé with Limoncello Sauce:

 

 

I really liked it! It was warm and the server came over, jabbed a hole into it with his spoon and scooped some sauce into it.

 

I actually forgot to take pic of petit fours today, sorry! ^^’ Anyways, they were a squishy melted white chocolate fondant piece & a chunk of bitter chocolate thing.

 

At this point in my log on my iPad, I started talking about random things we had noticed during dinner about our serving team:

 

Note 1: We have an assistant server? I don’t even know his name. HE'S NEVER SERVING US. Oh my goodness, he didn't even introduce himself to us.

Note 2: Why are all the suits for our head server too big for him. (And according to Dad) He's probably 5 ft 4 in, yet his suits look like they’re for a 6 ft man.

Note 3: Our head server is an efficient, introverted type that is not very talkative.

Note 4: According to our head server, Cunard cooks their food upon order, no pre-made stuff on a hot plate. (All other lines do that pre-made method.) That's why it may take longer for food to come out of the kitchen.

[lovely_serenity]

The chilled berry and peach soup sounds interesting.

 

It wasn't bad, but I found that most of the fruit based soups on board were often "just okay". :/

 

Sarah,

 

Let me join all the others who have thanked you for your great report and pictures. I just found your report yesterday and have now finished reading all of the pages (like a good thriller, I couldn't stop reading!).

 

I board the Queen Elizabeth 11 days from today on Feb. 6 in San Francisco. I didn't think that I could get more excited, but your report and pictures has really hyped up the level of excitement and anticipation!

 

Thanks again, Glenn

 

Hi Genn!

 

Aw haha, thank you for reading it! (Wow you read fast LOL). I'm sorry for taking so long to post! (I have a lot of schoolwork D:) I hope you're having a great time on your cruise right now, tell me all about it when you get back! && Yay! I love that it helped get you more excited! :)

 

Yes, I agree with you Hobie. We are going, for the second cruise, on QE next year and blogs like Sarah's with pictures sure make you excited! I just wish it did not take so long for the pictures to download! Everytime someone quotes a post with pictures then you have to wait even longer.

 

Haha that's awesome. Sorry, my picture files are quite large D: 4 pictures usually take over 25MB!

 

We're getting on in San Francisco, is the coffee any good?

 

LOL so random, but I hope you have fun on your cruise! && I don't drink coffee, sorry, no clue ^^ The last time I was there, I was like 9 years old haha. Didn't 'drink coffee then either :P

 

Sarah

Sorry that the sea sickness was getting to you.

Those desserts didn't look too appealing to me either.

 

Aw it's fine ^^~ It actually happened a few times on the ship, so I was used to it. It was a shame about those mussels, though. :( I agree, I thought the bread thing looked very odd.

 

Sarah, this is the most refreshing blog I have read in a long time. (Sorry, Keith :)

 

You write and comport yourself beautifully. Never lose your contagiously enthusiastic spirit. You bring hope into the world.

 

Haha thank you! (sorry Keith :D) Awh, you're so sweet! Thank you! You've made my day. (:

 

Waiting and wanting more! :)

 

It's coming! ^^~

 

You all looked fabulous!

 

Thank you! (: I will let them know!

[PSR]

go to "user CP" at the top title for Cruise Critic on first page, then go to Edit Options, then go to "Thread display options", then uncheck "show images". The pictures will not download when you view the thread. Instead, there will be a link to each picture which you can simply click and quickly see the picture that was posted. This really helped me a lot. I assume this will also prevent pictures from downloading on all threads, but sometimes they don't anyway, and you have to click on a link. I am not computer savvy, so not sure why some pictures download and others don't, but for this thread it really helps the viewing time.

 

Penny :)

 

P.S. Sarah: I enjoy your posts, especially the one about the HAL Volendam!

Edited February 7, 2014 by PSR

[buchhalm]

RE your comments about "hot smoked" salmon.

This has nothing to do with the spiciness of the food or even the serving temperature, but relates to the way in which the meat / fish is prepared / smoked.

 

Hot smoking cooks food for immediate consumption. Shelf-life can be prolonged by vacuum packing or freezing and many hot smoked foods such as chicken and salmon will work wonderfully well in cold dishes and salads, but hot smoked food is best eaten as soon as it's ready! Hot smoking will involve a heat source of one type or another, either charcoal as for a barbecue/smoker combination or gas hob for the indoor smokers, or heated element for the Bradleys range. Cooking temperatures are generally lower than those which can be achieved in a conventional oven and this ensures that hot smoking is always a slow cooking process to enable the wood smoke to fully infuse. The wood product used to create the wood smoke flavour is gently heated to promote smouldering rather than burning and the wood is often soaked to prevent any flames taking hold. Many hot smokers are also known as water smokers and this means that they include a water bowl which not only acts as a buffer between the heat source and the food to be smoked keeping the temperature down, but also adds moisture to the smoking process. Because the entire hot smoking process is enclosed, there are little if any drying effects from the slow cooking approach and a water pan just adds to the succulence of the food being cooked. Use for a liquid marinade of your choice with any combination of wine, beer, fresh and dry herbs and you also add yet more juicy flavour!

 

Cold smoking is not technically a means of cooking but one of preserving. Using as little heat as possible and just the effects of wood smoke, the food is firstly cured for several hours in salt/sugar combinations to draw out moisture and promote the absorption of the wood smoke. The smoke penetrates the surface of the food creating a barrier to pests and bacteria and, if kept in cool conditions, will last for many months. Of the two processes, cold smoking is possibly more tricky as you need to ensure that the smoking temperature is under 20 degrees centigrade, this means that any heat used to get the wood product to smoulder must be well away from the smoking chamber. Get the temperatures wrong and your food will start to cook and the preserving qualities will be lost.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You all look great for formal night.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Food looks good especially the vanilla lemon soufflé with the limoncello sauce.

[lovely_serenity]

go to "user CP" at the top title for Cruise Critic on first page, then go to Edit Options, then go to "Thread display options", then uncheck "show images". The pictures will not download when you view the thread. Instead, there will be a link to each picture which you can simply click and quickly see the picture that was posted. This really helped me a lot. I assume this will also prevent pictures from downloading on all threads, but sometimes they don't anyway, and you have to click on a link. I am not computer savvy, so not sure why some pictures download and others don't, but for this thread it really helps the viewing time.

 

Penny :)

 

P.S. Sarah: I enjoy your posts, especially the one about the HAL Volendam!

 

Hi Penny! (:

 

Interesting method, I had never thought of that! Good idea! && thank you :D I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[Host Hattie]

I've never been on a Cunard cruise where only 30% of the men wore dinner jackets on a formal night.

We were on QE a few weeks before you and I would have said it was closer to 90% on our trip.

Edited February 8, 2014 by hattie the cattie

[Jules 1970]

Splendid photos Sarah, lovin it so far :)

The photo below is of a meal I had on the QE that contained snails :confused:.

It was recommended by our waiter on the guarantee that if I didn't

like it I could change it.

 

 

[lovely_serenity]

RE your comments about "hot smoked" salmon.

This has nothing to do with the spiciness of the food or even the serving temperature, but relates to the way in which the meat / fish is prepared / smoked.

 

Hot smoking cooks food for immediate consumption. Shelf-life can be prolonged by vacuum packing or freezing and many hot smoked foods such as chicken and salmon will work wonderfully well in cold dishes and salads, but hot smoked food is best eaten as soon as it's ready! Hot smoking will involve a heat source of one type or another, either charcoal as for a barbecue/smoker combination or gas hob for the indoor smokers, or heated element for the Bradleys range. Cooking temperatures are generally lower than those which can be achieved in a conventional oven and this ensures that hot smoking is always a slow cooking process to enable the wood smoke to fully infuse. The wood product used to create the wood smoke flavour is gently heated to promote smouldering rather than burning and the wood is often soaked to prevent any flames taking hold. Many hot smokers are also known as water smokers and this means that they include a water bowl which not only acts as a buffer between the heat source and the food to be smoked keeping the temperature down, but also adds moisture to the smoking process. Because the entire hot smoking process is enclosed, there are little if any drying effects from the slow cooking approach and a water pan just adds to the succulence of the food being cooked. Use for a liquid marinade of your choice with any combination of wine, beer, fresh and dry herbs and you also add yet more juicy flavour!

 

Cold smoking is not technically a means of cooking but one of preserving. Using as little heat as possible and just the effects of wood smoke, the food is firstly cured for several hours in salt/sugar combinations to draw out moisture and promote the absorption of the wood smoke. The smoke penetrates the surface of the food creating a barrier to pests and bacteria and, if kept in cool conditions, will last for many months. Of the two processes, cold smoking is possibly more tricky as you need to ensure that the smoking temperature is under 20 degrees centigrade, this means that any heat used to get the wood product to smoulder must be well away from the smoking chamber. Get the temperatures wrong and your food will start to cook and the preserving qualities will be lost.

 

Ahhh, I see! Thank you for clarifying that! It seems I have misunderstood what the menu was implying, and was confused by the dish served to me. Wow, you are very well-informed haha!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi Sarah

Loving everything.

Trying to catch up.

Will be doing a lot of catching up in the middle of March IF our flights aren't cancelled on Friday due to major ice/snow storms.