Live from the 2015 QE World Voyage

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Looks like a great day in the Bay of Islands..

 

[MicCanberra]

Lovely day in a lovely place.:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

 

The ship has turned with the tide and has come into view on the Russell cam

[MicCanberra]

Nice:D

[Kiwi Kruzer]

There was a news item on the radio this afternoon about Queen Elizabeth as she made her way out of Auckland last night. A private boat had got into trouble and needed rescuing. QE picked up the message and as they were nearby , made an offer to go to the rscue . The Coastgaurd thanked them for the offer but they were not far away and were able to take care of the situation.

Its good to know a large cruise would be prepared to go out its way to make a rescue.

Good one Cunard.

 

[Janix]

Fri 27th Feb, Auckland

 

Today was our third visit to Auckland and the City of Sails as it is commonly known. The ship arrived somewhere around 7am but we didn’t see the arrival as we didn’t wake until 8am. The weather at this time was good, a fine sunny day and preparations were well underway for the Anzac Service on board at 0930 am. However it was time for us to meet up with my brother Chris who had lived in Auckland for the past 20 years. So after a quick breakfast we left the ship at 9am whilst the dignitaries were headed in the opposite direction.

 

We met up as scheduled outside the new cruise terminal and turned left to visit the Volvo Ocean race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) headquarters which were being officially opened this morning, and we were there to catch the speeches by the Auckland Mayor and the New Zealand Prime minister. The yachts themselves were at this time just off the very northern tip of New Zealand. We had hoped we might have caught a glimpse of them, but I guess they passed us during the night as we headed north on Friday Night.

 

We then had a little walk around this newly developing area, which has been massively tidied up since our last visit 2 years ago. Our plans for the day were to once again visit Waiheke Island and sample the wines over lunch at the Cable Bay Vineyard. To this end, after being joined by my sister in law, we caught the 11am ferry across to the island and took a taxi to the vineyard, which is not far from the ferry and we were there at lunchtime! The weather was wonderful, a beautiful sunny day with a magnificent view over to Auckland in the distance and it was here we sampled some of their wines and tapas style dishes from the kitchen. A very popular place this, and it was soon quite full of people !

 

A little later the skies started to darken over Auckland and we watched as thunder, lightning and rain obscured our view - it was still fine on the island. The rain did come our way, but we only had a few spots and it was gone, whilst we did here there was a bit of a downpour in Auckland itself. However this soon passed and the sun returned. We took a little trip to one of the sandy beaches on the island and ten caught the bus for our 1645 ferry back to the city and arrived around 1730. Then it was to our next favourite spot, the Northern Steamship Co building which has been converted into a public bar, with upside down table lamps decorating the ceiling. As it was a summer evening, on a Friday evening this was quite busy, but we found a table and awaited the arrival of our nephew who works in the city and said he would join us after work. So a happy family reunion for an hour or so before we had to return to the ship for 1930, to sail at 2000 for the Bay of Islands. It was curry night in the Lido restaurant, so that solved our eating dilemma 

 

Saturday 28th Feb, Bay of Islands

 

This was new to us and it was also a tender port. Many moons ago we had booked a Cunard trip to Waitangi and the Countryside, so we assembled at 9am in the Royal Court Theatre to be assigned to a tender, and the trip ashore. The tender trip was somewhat longer than I expected, but we were met at the quayside and shown to our coach. Our first stop was to the Haruru falls which some described as the Niagara falls of the area ! A bit of over exaggeration there I think ? However Maori legend has it that a taniwha (water monster) lives in the lagoon below. Haruru falls was also NZ’s first river port. Next we drove through the countryside which was very pretty, very green and well cultivated, and saw many orchards growing all types of fruit, including the ubiquitous Kiwi fruit. We then visited the Rewas Village for a view of the stone store, small church built by the Rev Henry Williams around 1823 and the Kemp house, reputed to be NZ’s oldest buildings. The stone built store was used by the early missionaries and no doubt its structure has provided its longevity.

 

We were due to have some time to spend in Kerikeri, but owing to a Bikers meet, custom and restored car show including hot-rods, and a food and wine festival it really was too busy and by the time we parked we were allocated only 15 minutes there, which really made it somewhat worthless as it takes several minutes to empty and refill the bus ? The reason for cutting short the time was because we were apparently late at the pier for pickup, and we were due at the Waitangi treaty grounds at 11am. We did not arrive there until 1130, so even that was a quick trip.

 

The Waitangi treaty Grounds are probably NZ’s most historic site, as here was where in 1840 the Treaty between the Maori Chiefs and the British Crown was signed, and became the basis for life in NZ as we know it today. The treaty House is located amongst a peaceful estate overlooking the Waitangi River, which includes a fully carved Maori meeting house, one of the largest Maori war canoes, and a visitors centre. There is also a large flagpole which flies the 3 New Zealand flags used from 1840 to the present, and a large grassy area from which there are wonderful bay views. A fleeting visit to the Treaty grounds perhaps, but it was a wonderful sight in the sunshine.

 

From here we took the local shuttle bus into Paihia and had a wander around this small village, viewing the local craft market, and taking lunch on one of the piers at a place called 37 degrees, or something similar. We did have nice fish and chips and some exceptional salt and pepper squid ! We took the shuttle bus back to the tender pier at Waitangi Wharf, crossing the bridge over the river which is one lane with a passing point towards the middle. We had planned to take the short ferry ride across to Russell, but time had prevented that. Maybe next time ?

 

We sailed from The Bay at 5pm and are now heading in a north westerly direction at around 19 knots toward the tip of New Zealand Te Totipo from which we shall transit due west towards Sydney, for our arrival on the 3rd day of March, and our 2 days there and the end of this our third sector. Here we hope to meet up with another of our friends from last years cruise – Dreamflight Pat. (Pat we are nearly there, see you soon !).

 

Time is now beginning to progress a little more rapidly, it will be 51 days when we arrive there – approaching the half way mark ! OMG

 

John

[alibabacruisers]

Saturday, 28 Feb

 

Up and at it at 5:00 today after a very restful sleep. We were to anchor at

8:00 this morning, but now at 7:25 they are lowering the tenders already. The

day is supposed to be sunny and 23C today and already it looks like that will

be the case if not warmer. On the balcony it is a bit chilly, but I am sure

that now that the sun is shining, that chill will disappear.

 

Last year we did the Waitangi and Countryside tour with Cunard so this year

we want to walk (there is a free shuttle though) the 30 minutes to Paihia and

take the ferry to Russell. It sounds like a nice way to spend part of the day.

 

About 8:00 we went down to the Queens Room to get our tender tickets and there

were only about 4 or 5 prople there. We got the number 1 for the first tender.

At around 8:15 we were sent down to get on the tender and the water next to the

ship was pretty bumpy. It took about 10-15 minutes to get to the Waitangi

Wharf. At the wharf you walk towards the coaches and follow the sidewalk

around towards the left. As I said above, the walk to Paihia is about 25-30

minutes and is 3 km away.

 

Once in Paihia we headed for the ferry to Russell. A RT ticket was $12 NZD

and was good all day for several types of ferry. We took the FastFerry which

made the trip a quick 5-10 minutes. There were only about 8 people on our

ferry and we were at Russell before lots of people got there. Armed with the

map given to us at the Waitangi Wharf, we headed off the pier and took a left

on The Strand, which is the main shoreside street. We had intentions of

walking towards the Flagstaff Historic Reserve but it was up a very steep hill.

We then thought we'd walk to the other side of Russell via Long Beach Road,

but once we got half way or so to Long Beach the sidewalk disappeared, and the

road started an uphill climb so that nixed that idea too. The idea of no

sidewalk, uphill and curves with cars travelling on the same smallish road

sounded like trouble to us.

 

So the we just walked the main streets in the city centre which is a small

rectangular shaped grid. The city centre is made up of 3 streets back (Strand,

York and Church) with 3 connecting streets up the sides and in the middle

(Wellington, Cass/Chapel and Pitt). There were plenty of souvenir shops,

a variety of regular shops, a few grocery stores, and plenty of restaurants.

We walked around and checked the menus of the restaurants and finally decided

on the York Street Cafe. We had a delicious hamburger with fries as we are

not seafood eaters, which is too bad as there are a lot of options here for

that.

 

After soaking up the nice atmosphere on Russell, we took the ferry back to

Paihia. There were lots of stalls at the market area set up with crafts and

souvenirs. A lot more people were walking around at this time of day and

everyone seemed to be enjoying the day. After walking around Paihia and

checking out the shops we had a refreshing ice cream that just hit the spot

on this warm sunny day.

 

Now it was time for the 3 km walk back to Waitangi Wharf and we just enjoyed

the beautiful views as we walked. There were people out and about in the yards,

and on the beach. We got some pretty good pictures of QE off in the distance

at several points along the way. As we arrived back to the Wharf, a tender

was just disembarking people and ready to start embarking us. What great

timing!

 

Back on board we dropped our things off and I worked on the blog for awhile.

Soon it was time to ge ready for dinner and we opted for the DR where we saw

lots of new people with their table assignment cards in hand. We had the rib

eye steak tonight and we always order it well done, but it arrived slightly

more than medium with pink areas. It was not too bad and we decided to just

eat it, but did let our waiter know. Next time we will have to be even more

specific...well done with no pink. The accompanying vegetables were pretty

tasty though and the dessert was good (Mexican Chocolate Banana Cake with a

scoop of vanilla ice cream for me, while DH had the Orange Tian with ice

cream).

 

We received Australian Immigration cards to be filled out and presented to the

officials, who are already onboard, tomorrow morning. The schedule for us says

we are to present ourselves between 11:30-1:00 to the upper level of the

Britannia Restaurant Starboard side. We also received another Confidential

Cruise Passenger Survey for Auckland conducted by CLIA (Cruise Lines International

Association) and the cruise destinations of NZ. With that bit of homework done,

it is time for a nice glass of wine on the balcony.

 

Until next time...

[soc1965]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time trouble & no doubt expense to post on this thread. It has been so informative on many levels and with so many contrasting activities going on ~ one can really get a feel for the many ways days can be spent during a world cruise & this daily read has become my guilty pleasure with a nice cuppa of a morning!

Thank you Roscoe for the poppy pictures; so very wonderful to see how quickly the memorial was built up ~ I saw our ceramic poppy exhibition at The Tower of London many times during it's installation & it's growth brought it home to me just what was sacrificed by so many when you saw it gather pace one by one. Safe travels onto Gallipoli.

Wishing continuing enjoyment to those on board for the rest of their trip & also wishing a great time to those yet to embark on their adventure.

Keep the postings coming please for us poor souls stuck at home!

[dancourt]

I totally agree with soc1965 and thank everyone for the blogs and pictures.

 

I always look forward to reading the daily blogs and wish I was there, one day I will be.

 

Happy cruising to you all.

 

Susan

[MicCanberra]

There was a news item on the radio this afternoon about Queen Elizabeth as she made her way out of Auckland last night. A private boat had got into trouble and needed rescuing. QE picked up the message and as they were nearby , made an offer to go to the rscue . The Coastgaurd thanked them for the offer but they were not far away and were able to take care of the situation.

Its good to know a large cruise would be prepared to go out its way to make a rescue.

Good one Cunard.

 

 

It is good to know but on the other hand, I would expect any ship or boat to respond to a rescue call.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks John and Barbara for the updates.:D

[alibabacruisers]

There may be a day without an update as my time is near the end at least until the second day in Sydney when I can get the next allotment of my CWC internet time.

 

Sunday, 1 March

 

We turned clocks back an hour last night so it was light when we woke up this

morning at 6:15...late for us. The Lido was already opened when we got there

so ate our breakfast and came back to the room. Then reading for me and gym

for DH. After a couple of hours I decided that since there was no line for

Immigration, we'd go get ours done (an hour early). There was a line of about

50 people, but it did not take long to get thru it. With that done we sat

outside in the lounges on the Promenade for awhile until lunch.

 

We had lunch in the Lido and took our dessert, ice cream, to the upper deck

near the Pavilion Pool. I hadn't really explored this area too much and it

was very empty. I have to remember that for future reference when I would

like to sit in the sun but want a different location that the aft pool area.

As we sat here we tried to decide between the afternoon concert by the Isomura

Brothers or the movie, The Fault in Our Stars. I have been wanting to see both

but chose the movie. We had a bit of time before the movie started so stopped

by the sales table again to check out if there were any different items from

this morning. Everything was the same. We played a quick game of Quoits, I

think it is called then came back to the room.

 

I turned on the TV to channel 53 that was showing previews of the Voyage DVD.

I did not realize that they also had a DVD for the Panama Canal Passage, as

well as the Crossing the Line Ceremony. I cannot believe that they want you

to purchase these DVD's separately! I will have to remember to ask them if

that is the case.

 

We got to the Theatre a few minutes early to find a good seat. Quite a few

people had also decided to see it as well. The movie was a good choice and

I am glad we picked it. There were quite a few moments for tears as well as

moments to really make you think.

 

When we got back to the room we decided to make it the Lido for dinner tonight.

It was a quick dinner so I just observed the people for awhile. I noticed that

tonight there were a lot more than usual people wearing inappropriate clothes.

I will leave it at that and not bore you to death but will say it must be hard

to draw the line of what is appropriate, make sure people understand and then

enforce it.

 

Now back at the cabin and trying to find something to watch on TV before going

to sleep. I will take this moment to say that I think Cunard needs to do

something with their TV channels.

 

I would like to see that they have an online library of movies and TV shows

kind of like airlines have, so you could scan the menu and choose what you want

to watch. The choice is so limited and is repeated. Another of the frustrating

things is that there are times when there is no movie/show and they fill the

space with a rotating bunch of scenes with this irritating music, that include

a lady dancing in a ball room with a white formal dress on (she is shown only

from the waist to the knees....strange); a Cunard menu with a restaurant in

the background; a lady in a spa waist up running her had through her hair...);

and a scene of white gloved waiter's hand pouring a cup of tea. These play

over and over again until a movie or show starts and can last quite a long time.

Sometimes those are on 4 or 5 channels at the same time. Then there are a

couple of channels where they are in a foreign language (to us) with no option

to have subtitles, so you miss out on those movies. There is a couple of sport

channels and quite a few news channels and to round it all out there are the

channels with ship info, excursion and port presentations, repeats of lectures,

CWC info, and future cruise deals.

 

Now all that may sound like a lot, but I like to watch movies and shows, yes

even on the ship, for a variety of reasons. So, as I said in the beginning,

I would like to see them have a selection of movies that people can choose from

whenever they want. You choose also be able to choose to see subtitles if a

movie or show is in a different langauage than your own.

 

Ok...rant over....

 

Time for bed after all that. Until next time...

[MicCanberra]

Cheers, from your post I take it the dress standard for the DR have become less informal as they approach Australia from NZ. Is it lack of enforcement or a relaxing of the rule?

I only ask, as I was going to bring a Tux, a dark suit and a extra jacket, but may not need the extra jacket now.:D

[figgy1978]

Their dinner was in the Lido. Dress code isn't the same.

[MicCanberra]

Their dinner was in the Lido. Dress code isn't the same.

 

Sorry, I thought there was a dress code for the whole ship after 6pm. I am going to have to read the guidelines again.:o

[bazzaw]

Sorry, I thought there was a dress code for the whole ship after 6pm. I am going to have to read the guidelines again.:o

 

Have just got off QE in Auckland -- the dress code may be "relaxed" in the Lido and the Garden Court bar area.

 

There was a strong adherence to the dress code from San Francisco to Auckland - with "most" men wearing Tuxedo ( some with dark business suits only ) in the MDR , Theatre and most bars. Coats are also worn on informal nights in those areas -- didn't have an evening meal in the Lido so don't know what was being worn there. I also did notice that on informal nights that most men were wearing jackets WITHOUT ties.

[MicCanberra]

Have just got off QE in Auckland -- the dress code may be "relaxed" in the Lido and the Garden Court bar area.

 

There was a strong adherence to the dress code from San Francisco to Auckland - with "most" men wearing Tuxedo ( some with dark business suits only ) in the MDR , Theatre and most bars. Coats are also worn on informal nights in those areas -- didn't have an evening meal in the Lido so don't know what was being worn there. I also did notice that on informal nights that most men were wearing jackets WITHOUT ties.

 

Cheers, hope you enjoyed the cruise. Will you be doing a review?:D

[Scrapnana]

Sorry, I thought there was a dress code for the whole ship after 6pm. I am going to have to read the guidelines again.:o

 

Basically, you are OK on deck 9 and the outdoor areas of deck 10. You can eat at the Lido, sit in the Garden Lounge (and at the bar in the lounge) and around the pool areas. If you want to go to the show, the Golden Lion Pub, Yacht Club, Commodore Club, Queens Room, etc. you are expected to follow the dress code for the evening. Not sure what the protocol is in Churchill's but you should be able to sit in the smoking area outside of it without worrying about the dress code.

[bazzaw]

Cheers, hope you enjoyed the cruise. Will you be doing a review?:D

 

No - I don't think so. I have now been on too many cruises for that and it is obvious that what one person thinks, another will be the opposite.

 

I did think that the ship was in immaculate condition internally.

 

Cunard has a definite style about it - quite unlike any other cruiseline we have been with - some will like it and some won't. One of the biggest problems Cunard faces is the elevated expectations of first time Cunarders! :)

 

Barry

Edited March 2, 2015 by bazzaw

[MicCanberra]

No - I don't think so. I have now been on too many cruises for that and it is obvious that what one person thinks, another will be the opposite.

 

I did think that the ship was in immaculate condition internally.

 

Cunard has a definite style about it - quite unlike any other cruiseline we have been with - some will like it and some won't. One of the biggest problems Cunard faces is the elevated expectations of first time Cunarders! :)

 

Barry

 

Cheers, I know what you mean about review interpretations but I can still get some use out of them. I will try not to inflate my expectations of Cunard too much by deeming them to be somewhere between a canoe and a private luxury yacht.:D

[Janix]

Monday 2nd March

 

Very little to report on our passage across the Tasman Sea, it has been a lot kinder than our last crossing in 2013, it can be a bouncy stretch of Ocean ! However the weather has been fine with sunshine and clouds, and the sea pretty smooth for most of the trip across up to now. A following wind and following sea tend to make for a smoother ride.

 

Clocks were advanced one hour again early this morning to GMT -11 with another change tonight prior to our arrival in Sydney. Also everyone had to attend a compulsory Australian Immigration Inspection yesterday morning, which was well organised and didn’t take too many minutes.

 

Last night was our last formal night for this sector, and despite a lot of new faces who boarded in Auckland the dress code appeared to be very well observed. There is a rumour that a lot of passengers have taken advantage of last minute cut-price fares for a 2 or 4 day trip to Sydney and Brisbane and return through Groupon and several travel agents, at bargain prices. I cannot confirm this one way or the other, and of course the grapevine (or laundrette telephone) is always full of such suggestions. We did have a superb show by a group of 3 girls called the Spinettes last night, of whom the daily programme states:

‘The Spinettes joined forces in 2010 through friendship and their love of the Glamorous era of the 1940’s. They are formed of London West end and International Performers who will dazzle your eyes and bring a sparkle to your hearts. Re-visit the 1940’s and watch The Spinettes perform those toe tapping and heart warming numbers that we all know so well. You will be smiling in your soul and dancing in the aisles’

 

Also yesterday afternoon the was a classical concert in the Queen’s Room by two young New Zealand brother entitled the Isomura Brothers, playing violin and piano, who were very well received.

 

Captain Clark said in his noon announcement today that we should be alongside our berth underneath the bridge and opposite the Sydney Opera House at around 6am tomorrow morning and he expects temps around 26C tomorrow. He is due to leave the ship in Sydney and is due to be replaced by Captain Inge Thorhauge for the remainder of our trip. We will soon be reaching the halfway point around Brisbane, it is amazing how time flies !

 

John

[roscoe39]

Monday 2nd March

 

 

 

There is a rumour that a lot of passengers have taken advantage of last minute cut-price fares for a 2 or 4 day trip to Sydney and Brisbane and return through Groupon and several travel agents, at bargain prices. I cannot confirm this one way or the other, and of course the grapevine (or laundrette telephone) is always full of such suggestions.

John

 

yes there was a great deal offered a couple of weeks before your arriving in Auckland....$NZ950 pp (about US$714) for the 4 nights to Sydney....a bargain, there were about 42 cabins that I saw on sale and they sold out in a few days.

 

For once the rumour mill was correct, but how many times have you heard the rumour about the lady having her dress stolen in the laundry and seeing someone wearing it later????

 

Hope you enjoy Sydney, we are looking forward to pics of the Poppy "100".

regards Roscoe

Edited March 2, 2015 by roscoe39
grammar

[MicCanberra]

yes there was a great deal offered a couple of weeks before your arriving in Auckland....$NZ950 pp (about US$714) for the 4 nights to Sydney....a bargain, there were about 42 cabins that I saw on sale and they sold out in a few days.

 

For once the rumour mill was correct, but how many times have you heard the rumour about the lady having her dress stolen in the laundry and seeing someone wearing it later????

 

Hope you enjoy Sydney, we are looking forward to pics of the Poppy "100".

regards Roscoe

 

Bargains galore, wish i could have taken advantage.

BTW, I haven't heard that one about the dress for while.;)

[babs135]

For once the rumour mill was correct, but how many times have you heard the rumour about the lady having her dress stolen in the laundry and seeing someone wearing it later????

 

You mean it isn't true? I'm gutted :D

[Summergee]

It feels very odd reading what people have done today when I am only halfway through the day. Thanks to all bloggers for the updates.