Live from the 2015 QE World Voyage

[figgy1978]

Compensated for being looked after?

[Janix]

Here is the remainder of the Captain's announcement for those who are travelling to Yokohama.

 

'Let me first start by addressing the concerns of those of you in transit through Japan. All Tours go Yokohama and Nagasaki will be cancelled and the cost of those tours will be automatically credited to your onboard account. (insert - this does not appear to be the case with trips pre-booked before sailing, as refunds have been sent to the original card used). Our Tour Office has a full Programme arranged for Kobe and a brochure will be sent to your staterooms shortly. We have also included a night tour which may be of interest to you helping you maximise you time to best advantage.

 

Now for the most complicated part concerning the arrangements for those of you that are disembarking on Wednesday. The pursers office will be sending you a letter detailing the arrangements more precisely. You will also be receiving a questionnaire asking you to detail your travel arrangements so that we are sure to capture the needs of everyone. we will be offering the following :

 

1) We will offer a Bullet train transfer from Shin Kobe Station to Shin Yokohama station and then on to Tokyo Station. Luggage will have to b taken separately by truck to the Passenger terminal in Yokohama where it will be laid out for your collection.

 

2) A bullet train transfer to Narita Airport and complimentary overnight Hotel Accommodation if required.

 

3) For our Japanese Guests our Tokyo office has arranged for SG Moving to attend in Kobe and they will be available to on forward your luggage directly to your home address. The cost of this service is around 3000 yen or $28 US per piece of luggage.

 

4) For guests who have Cunard Flights and/or hotel stays, these will automatically be changed for you and revised details will follow. For our independent guests, complimentary phone calls and internet access from the will be made available for you to make the necessary changes to your own arrangements.

 

I am sure from my announcement that you understand the complexity of the arrangements that need to be made to facilitate this operation. My staff are working hard to minimise the disruption and to keep you fully informed throughout.

 

Once again please accept my sincere apologies for this unavoidable disruption I stress that this has not been an easy decision to make but for obvious reasons I am not prepared to undertake manoeuvre that would put the ship and more importantly yourselves at any risk a point which I know you will fully appreciate.'

[MicCanberra]

Compensated for being looked after?

 

Yes, and any costs (if any) associated with the changes (hotels, transport etc) being taken care of by Cunard.:D

Edited March 16, 2015 by MicCanberra

[maggiemou]

Yes, and any costs (if any) associated with the changes (hotels, transport etc) being taken care of by Cunard.:D

 

Well, if they get a glass of free wine it will be more then P&O offered us world cruise passengers when they remove a whole country from the itinerary in 2013 at very short notice. Not even an apology This is another good reason to stay cruising Cunard. ;)

To passengers on board QE.

I feel sorry that passengers are missing a couple of ports but Japan is fascinating, and whatever port you arrive in the people are wonderful and you will have a memorable time. On the 2011 maiden world on QE we missed part of Japan because of the earthquake. Terrible events for the people of these countries so we have to be thankful we are able to travel.

Here is what Yokohama looks like going under the bridge at almost midnight with thousands of locals cheering us on. Please do not think I am wanting to make you feel worse for missing out , I just wanted you to see how little head room there is and in bad weather it is impossible to get under the bridge.

 

Will she make it?

 

Trolly dollies on the Bullet train.

 

More photos here.

https://www.cruise.co.uk/forum/109-cruise-news/40549-maggiemou-s-adventures-turning-japanese-i-really-think-so.html?highlight=maggiemou%27s+adventures+turning+japanese

[MicCanberra]

Very cool.:D

[alibabacruisers]

Monday, 16 Mar

 

At breakfast this morning, I decided to try and have a healthy breakfast of

muesli, and fruit. Let's see how long it is until I feel hungry..lol.

 

I looked through the DP to see what was on offer for today. There is the

port presentation for Kobe and that is first on the list. We will definitely

get there early as I anticipate the RCT will be packed with all the people

wanting more info regarding Kobe excursions to make the most informed

decision quickly. As I figured, the place was packed to the rafters. We

left a few minutes early and went straight to the Tours Desk to book a tour

for the first day. We will think more about what is available for day 2.

 

As we were walking back toward our room we saw a friend we met the other day

and stopped to chat for a bit. He offered his advice on what to see in Kobe

and surrounding area. Then it was almost time for lunch so needed to clean

up a bit. I must say that the food in the Lido at lunch has been very good,

for the most part, and is why we continue to go there day after day. We

also spoke to another CC friend, Karen, for a bit during lunch and it was good

to talk to her as it as been awhile.

 

I went to read a bit until dinner time, with breaks checking the wave action

outside our balcony. Still a bit rough but the wave size has shrunk to 3.5

meters which is down from 4.5 meters. This latest book seems to be taking

longer than the rest and I figure it must be linked to my resistance to the

cruise winding down. I am determined to finish this book though!

 

Dinner for tonight was formal but because we felt like having a movie night

opted for casual in our room with pizza and popcorn....so healthy!

 

In with tomorrow's DP was the Japan arrival cards, departure cards and

customs declaration cards, that need to be filled out for our arrival in Kobe

in 2 days time. We also were told we would need to pick up our passports

tomorrow from 9am-1pm.

 

Off to bed for now...see you later!

Edited March 16, 2015 by alibabacruisers

[laktex]

Well, it must be disappointing for many to miss out on the Yokohama arrival but Osaka affords opportunities for tourists and Kyoto is a lot nearer and very interesting.

[MicCanberra]

I am glad the seas are settling a little as well.:D

Edited March 16, 2015 by MicCanberra

[Janix]

Very smooth seas now as we head up towards Kobe, as it should be ! There are still long queues at the Pursers office and tour office with some tours sold out very quickly - tend to be the longer ones. They have had to do masses of work on board to arrange everything in time.

 

Last night was the World cruise party for those travelling on the full world cruise. It seemed very busy, but we have not been given any figures about numbers or nationalities, unlike last year.

 

We also have sunshine but can detect the fall in temperature as we head north.

 

Maggie hope you are both well and now suitably rested ? Thanks for the input, it is always useful and the 'guide book' from last year continues to be very helpful !

 

John

[maggiemou]

Thank you John. JT and I were worried about you missing Japan as we know how you so wanted to go there. Enjoy Kobe. We did a tour on QM2 three years ago to Osaka and Kyoto. Osaka is not as nice as Kyoto but at least you get a flavour of the place and you can't miss the Ferris wheel in Osaka. It is huge on the side of the quay. :D Pity Nagasaki is out as for me that is the most lovely port in Japan. Never mind stay safe and enjoy. Busan is coming up and the tour we did was fantastic it is in the book for your reference, so check it out as it was a good tour. I loved the doggies in the window. No they are not for eating. :)

Please take me home.

Edited March 17, 2015 by maggiemou

[MicCanberra]

Very cute and fits in a water bowl.;)

[Janix]

Thank you John. JT and I were worried about you missing Japan as we know how you so wanted to go there. Enjoy Kobe. We did a tour on QM2 three years ago to Osaka and Kyoto. Osaka is not as nice as Kyoto but at least you get a flavour of the place and you can't miss the Ferris wheel in Osaka. It is huge on the side of the quay. :D Pity Nagasaki is out as for me that is the most lovely port in Japan. Never mind stay safe and enjoy. Busan is coming up and the tour we did was fantastic it is in the book for your reference, so check it out as it was a good tour. I loved the doggies in the window. No they are not for eating. :)

Please take me home.

 

For Busan we have booked the Haedong Yonggnsa Temple and City, I think that's the same one ?

 

John

[alibabacruisers]

Hi John, we opted for the Haedong Temple tour in Busan as well, so we hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Tuesday, 17 Mar

 

Good morning and Happy Patrick's Day! We had a good night's sleep and after

looking out from the balcony we see that the waves have subsided quite a bit.

The seas look flat and the air is notably cooler than the past week, but the

sun is out enticing us to venture outside early today.

 

I have decided that I will pull out one suitcase and get an early start on

that sad task. So DH will head for his daily swim and then I can get

started. That task took about 30 minutes, so that is one down and 2 more to

go plus the carry ons which will be the last things to pack. We have used

quite a few toiletries so that will make a bit of room for the souvenirs we

have bought, but may need one of my collapsible bags for the overflow. An

idea from a fellow CC friend has been planted in our head for future cruises

and I still cannot figure out how we did not come up with it. The idea is

when we get to Australia at one port we can use that day to fly a case or two

home and then come back to the ship. If we had had a clue much earlier, we

could have made things a LOT easier by doing that in Sydney. NOTED FOR NEXT

TIME. :)

 

I thought I would try and get our passports a bit early and went to the

Purser's Desk but was told he pickup point was on Deck 2 next to the ship's

shop. Climbing the stairs to Deck Two and arriving on the landing I could

see plenty of signage directing you to the pickup point with a note that the

times were 9-1. I thought, I will just peek around the corner to try my

luck. There were 4 crew members there and they said to come on thru so I

did. I was only able to get mine as I did not have DH's key card with me.

With a quick trip to the Lido Pool to pick up my DH key card, I returned for

his passport. Glad that job is done.

 

Afterwards I wanted to read so I tried the Cafe Carinthia, which was too

noisy both because of the music and because that is the area where you pick

up your passport. So I wandered around and it was so nice and quiet and I

enjoyed that! Finally I settled down at the Midships Bar area next to a

window to read. While I was reading I heard an overhead announcement about

some island we were seeing on the port side, but it was not clear so I stayed

put. Next thing I knew my DH found me and was so excited. He said there was

a volcano erupting off the port side, so I grabbed my camera and flew to the

Promenade port side. I kept saying, "where? where?" He said, "can't you see

it? it is over there" and he was pointing to the very far distance. With the

hazy horizon you could BARELY make out a faint shape of a volcano and then

you could see what looked like smoke emanating from the top of it. I tried

to get a picture but doubt it will show up because it was soooo far away. It

was interesting to see, but I would have loved to be closer to see that!

With that excitement over, DH set out to play a bit of shuffleboard and then

ping pong, or as the ship calls it, table tennis. I returned to reading.

 

Around 11:30 we were supposed to meet for lunch but DH was involved in his

game of ping pong, so we ate a a bit later. When we got back to our room I

put a call through to the steward because we always have water pooled on our

balcony and I wanted them to check it out. I thought maybe the drain on the

balcony next door was blocked. They came after about 15 minutes armed with

a wet/dry vac and a squeegee. The also had to plunge the toilets in our area

because apparently there was an issue somewhere down our passageway. With

the combination of the two, the problem was fixed and our balcony was finally

dry! Hurray!

 

Then it was around 3:30 so we thou

Edited March 17, 2015 by alibabacruisers

[alibabacruisers]

Wednesday, 18 Mar

 

Woke up early this morning to see if the TV channel showing our location was

working and it wasn't so I closed my eyes for a few minutes. We went ahead

and got up to go to the Lido for breakfast thinking it would open at 6am

because it is a port day. Well that was wrong....I just cannot seem to get

it right. We had been told that if it was a port day they opened a 6, but we

have found that was not the case. The DP has always stated 6:30.

 

Anyway, with breakfast out of the way, we popped out to the aft Lido deck to

check the view and temperature. The view on the starboard side showed it was

foggy with faint outlines of mountains. The temperature was quite chilly and breezy.

The view from our balcony showed mostly fog with a few fishing boats around.

 

We had gotten Yen before leaving home and the denominations were larger so I

went to the Purser's Desk to check to see if they had smaller notes, which they

said they had no Yen left. Earlier in this cruise there had been a discussion of

whether you got new cards in between ports when you elevated to the next CWC

level; i.e., Platinum to Diamond for us. I had heard several different stories so

while I was at the Purser's Desk I asked. We just got to Diamond level two days

ago, while at sea and according to the PD, we would get a new card and benefits

from HK and since we disembark in HK, we would not get anything until the next

cruise. Oh well, at least now I heard it straight from one horse's mouth, so to speak.

 

In the DP, as is usual for a new segment, there is the Internet Special. I

will probably need to purchase the smallest/cheapest time plan so I can

finish with this blog before I get off as I only have about 40 minutes left.

I have until 10pm tonight to purchase so that chore will be done when we

return from our Cunard excursion.

 

As I let you know in yesterday's blog, we will be doing the Osaka

Introduction today. We have never been to Japan and are looking forward to

seeing it. Before Yokohama and Nagasaki were cancelled due to weather,

tides, and other issues, we had booked the Mt. Fuji Cunard excursion for

Yokohama and planned on doing it ourselves in Nagasaki. I hope we will be

able to come back in the future to do those places as well as Tokyo.

 

We docked at Shinko Pier around 11:30 and needed to be in the RCT by 12 so

we had a very quick bite to eat in the Lido. We arrived earlier than most people

and found a seat and then people watched for awhile. Gavin, the port

presenter gave frequent announcements about which tours and which color

badges, as well as just general instructions. At 11:50, after many people

had been waiting for awhile, he announced that Japanese officials had a

strict regimen and it was taking awhile for the disembarking passengers to be

cleared. So he told everyone that they could leave the RCT but to be back at

1:30pm. Most people left to grab a bite or visit the toilet, or stretch

their legs, we stayed put. Once 1:30 came he then announced that he would

be sending a few tour groups mixed in with the disembarking passengers that

were already in the terminal, and at 1:45 he started that process with #1. We

were #3 and were called about 10 minutes later. We left the RCT via Deck one

and followed the Deck 1 passageway until we got to the B stairwell where we

went up to Deck 2 and out the portside gangway.

 

We entered the Kobe terminal and it looked brand new with bright shiny silver

trim and spotless walls, ceilings and floors. The line starting building in

the terminal as we waited our turn to go through Immigration. They took our

passports, arrival/departure cards and took our index fingerprints and photo.

The Immigration officials were very nice! Once through that part we went

around a partitioned wall where we then went through Customs. There we

handed in our Customs Form along with our passports. Once that step was

complete, we were instructed to head out of the terminal but not before

having our passports manually checked by one more set of eyes. Then it was

off to our coach. I have to say that this was a very organized process and

probably one of the best I have seen. They have people and signage at all

the right places to help us find our way. Thank you Japan!

 

At the coach we handed in our tour tickets to the guide Ken. He told us his

full name but said to just call him Ken. Once we were all on board we were

ready to go. At that point the weather was probably around 18 or so and

overcast. It was actually a nice temperature and not at all what I was

expecting. Ken spoke English but he was hard to understand at times. He

told us a little bit about Kobe and then Osaka. The drive was nice as we

watched interesting buildings go by and saw that water was a big part of this

area. On our left as we headed to Osaka was Mt. Rokko and it looked so

beautiful with man houses at its base. On the right was water and lots of

industrial buildings, golf driving nets or two or three, along with some

sections of houses. At one point we saw these two blue minaret-looking

buildings and wondered what they were. Ken laughed as he told us they were

the trash incinerators. That is what I call t

Edited March 18, 2015 by alibabacruisers

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for the update but the suspense is killing me, what with the blog stopping mid sentence.

[alibabacruisers]

LOL, sorry Mic, thanks for letting me know....looks like I missed copying the rest....I kept having trouble with EDIT on CC and it was acting weird. Here is the rest......

 

That is what I call turning an ugly sounding thing into a very statuesque site.

 

The drive into Osaka City went by faster than I thought it would, even with the traffic. We arrived at the Osaka Castle Park and the coach was parked. Ken gave instructions that if we wanted to do it on our on we would need to meet back at he coach no later than 5pm. That gave us almost 2 hours to see what this place was about. The weather was still a pretty nice temperature of about 20C or so, and still overcast. Ken got his Blue Cunard flag with #3 and led the way for a pack of us. We walked about 5 minutes and came upon this incredible site. A wall made of huge stones that was the wall of the castle. There was a moat filled with water and a building which at first we thought was the castle. It turned out to be the Ichiban Turret according to the maps we were given. There were cherry blossom trees all around but they were just starting to bud and Ken said they would be blooming near the end of March and beginning of April. We saw a few prior to parking the coach and they were so pretty, but I bet when they are ll in full bloom the site would be to die for!

 

Next we continued our walk a further 10-15 minutes until we reached the Aroya Gate which is the gate for the area surrounding the castle. Once through that we followed a sidewalk around to the front entrance where we crossed a bridge over the dry moat. Outside this entrance were other buildings scattered around with little green areas between. Ken said the huge stones that formed the wall around this castle were shipped to the area and then brought here and constructed on the site. I did not hear how in the world they did that as these stones were huge like the ones used to build the pyramids in Egypt.

 

Once inside the main castle complex there was an even more huge stone that people were standing in front of and taking pictures. I looked for a sign to tell what was the significance but saw none and I could not find Ken. We walked a little bit and turned left and immediately on the right was a very pretty building that was the Castle Park Museum. The architecture was stunning. Then we arrived at the entrance where, if you weren't on an organized tour, you would pay admission. But Ken got there first and talked with the gate keeper who was told to look for the Blue #3. So as we went thru that gate, Ken gave us a castle complex map, and told us to meet back here at 4:30, while the gate keeper clicked her customer counting device adding our tour numbers to the total.

 

We had quite a few steps to get inside the complex and more inside as there were a total of 8 floors to check out. It was a museum and NOT a castle! (This is the first part of a bone of contention that we and other passengers had) Each floor had a bit of history, some models of the "castle" throughout history, facts and figures, etc.,mostly in Japanese, although some had little cards next to them with the English version. We saw a couple of armor and helmets, but the majority was stuff you read. I have to say that although I like a bit of history, this was the worst museum I have seen. It was small, hard to follow, and crowded because of other tourists and large groups of students here for the day. You could wait in line for the elevator on level 1 on the quicker way was to use the stairs. From level to level involved taking about 20 or so steps and after awhile the stairwells, were hot, crowded and I thought dangerous. We made it to the 7th floor (we thought that was the top because of the way it looked) and then took the stairs back down. On each floor, at the elevator, it had a wheelchair sign next to the down button. Many people, including us, thought that meant for mobility impaired people only because we never saw anyone brave enough to take it with the exception of one lady with a cane.

 

As we exited the museum/castle, we saw Ken who was holding his clipboard over his head because it started raining. We asked him if we could go back to the us and he said yes. At this point, it was almost 4pm. We would have liked to walk around but were getting soaked. Of course, we did not even think about bringing an umbrella so that was something we won't forget next time. We were the first to get back to the bus and most of the others were not too far behind us. Everyone was back on the bus by 4:55pm and they were all shaking their head saying that that was the worst tour ever. Supposedly we still had one more place to go, and it was not looking too good outside at rush hour.

 

We drove around Osaka on the Main road that runs north to south and kind of reminded me of the area around Times Square in New York with buildings with signs on them and high end shopping all around. Then we turned onto another road that Ken said was another main road in the city center. Next thing we knew we were headed back toward Kobe. We noticed a few people getting stirred up and referring to the tour description they had brought along. It seemed that we had not been to the other site we were supposed to have gone to, which was Sumiyashi Taisha Shrine. They brought it to the attention of Ken, who said he apologized but the tour started late and we did not have time. Our tour started over an hour late and ended on time, but Gavin had stated prior to us leaving the RCT, that if we were late beginning the tour, the tour would be late ending; meaning if our tour was 5.5 hours, then it would still be 5.5 hours even though we started late.

 

As we neared the ship, more and more people at the front of the bus were getting upset and I knew we had not heard the last of this. I had already decided to give feedback about this tour before this latest development so I guess I won't be the only one.

 

As we went through the terminal and got back on the ship we saw lots of people waiting to board the ship. On the ship, lots of new faces were scoping at their new digs (don't know where the phrase comes from in case you ask). We dropped our bags off in the room, too tired to even think, and went straight to the Lido for food. If they asked us to change we would just go back and order room service, but everyone was a mishmash of dress codes.

But no one said anything to anyone because of the circumstances, I guess. We ate quickly and then went back to the room so I could work on this blog.

 

Just got the DP as well as an Important Notice regarding Japanese Departure Immigration Inspection. It seems that today when we went thru Immigration, they separated the arrival card from the departure card and stapled the departure card into our passports. Tomorrow between 2-6:15 everyone must present themselves for a mandatory face-to-face inspection where you take your passport that has the departure card stapled in it and your ship key card

with you. Once thru Immigration crew from the Purser's Office will be positioned at the Immigration Exit/Cunard gangway to collect our passports to keep for our call in Korea and China. I had never heard of this process before and it seems strange, but we will do as instructed of course.

 

Until tomorrow...

[MicCanberra]

No worries, thanks, I understand how the internet minutes can be draining away fast.

[Lakesregion]

Not to be a total downer but after reading the world news of the past few weeks I am thinking that the world cruises currently afloat may be the last ones for many a year. Sort of like the last time the world blew up, no one was thinking about sailing the oceans blue for pleasure.

 

Wow. Several weeks ago I was just musing about world conditions and world cruises but after today's horrific tragedy, maybe we are running out of time for that world cruise to so many divergent ports.

[MicCanberra]

Wow. Several weeks ago I was just musing about world conditions and world cruises but after today's horrific tragedy, maybe we are running out of time for that world cruise to so many divergent ports.

 

Sad news for sure.:(

[roscoe39]

Sad news for sure.:(

 

Ive said for a few years that (with all due respect to those that have come before me) my generation is one of the luckiest generations, we didn't have the Korean war, vietnamn, ww1..or 2! and now not afghanistan let alone Syria. We had free travel through Europe with little passport control and I have had many many trips to the middle east with only happy and wonderful experiences, Ive been in some hair raising situations but generally have always felt safe and know that help would be at hand should I need it.

 

Ive also appreciated that that window of opportunity that gives us, almost free reign too travel is closing and albeit it with greater speed. One of the reasons I am doing my WC which I have always dreamed to do a few years early.

 

I can see it becoming more difficult and within a few short years we will look back on these days and think how lucky we were.

 

Appreciate it while we have it guys.

Edited March 19, 2015 by roscoe39

[Salacia]

Wow. Several weeks ago I was just musing about world conditions and world cruises but after today's horrific tragedy, maybe we are running out of time for that world cruise to so many divergent ports.

 

Lakesregion, Yes, for cruise ships to go to ports that have a clear and present danger to passengers or the ship would be foolhardy - so those ports will necessarily disappear from the itinerary.

 

I've my life in NY. After the 9/11 attack, New Yorkers - well, we got up and went about our business; we didn't have a choice really - life must go on. But deaths were mourned, and memorialized. I never expected to see so many people coming to NY as a show of support (thanks for those who did that, it meant more than you know.)

 

Just my expression of solidarity with the good people of Tunisia, and my sincere sympathy for the families of the Tunis massacre. -S.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Salacia

[DreamflightPat]

Thursday 19th March

 

Well the weather turned quite rough and we had to do a 500 mile diversion round the back of a cyclone. We were then told that due to the bad weather we would not be able to sail under the bridge at Yokohama. Therefore another day at sea making 5 days in all and we carried on to Kobe. In the middle of all this I got the most horrendous cough and spent two of the days in bed. Mind you, if you have to be ill you might as well be lying in a nice comfy bed watching a 32” screen TV and able to pick up the phone and order room service!!!

 

We have been rescheduled again as it was decided to overnight in Kobe and then miss out Nagasaki. A shame in a way as I had booked a tour there, but when Mother Nature intervenes there is nothing one can do.

 

Our arrival in to Kobe was lovely. A big brass band to welcome us and hundreds of Japanese waving flags. It was lovely and sunny when we arrived but turned to torrential rain in the afternoon.

 

Last evening saw the local Mayor and lots of dignatories come on board as they are so thrilled the iconic Queen Elizabeth is in their city. Exchanges of gifts and flowers to the Captain and crew and then some entertainment. Entertainment was a lovely guy with what I can only describe as a Japanese guitar but played lovely music. And then four guys playing drums. Terrible energetic and all great fun and lovely.

 

Will post some pictures next. There is free WiFi in the cruise terminal here so will spend some time their this afternoon doing all my updates. We leave tonight for Pusan which is South Korea. We have a day at sea tomorrow.

 

I do wish we could keep this blog to" Live on the World Voyage" and not keep adding items of what is happening around the world. As you all know the internet is not cheap and to have to wade through all this is a little annoying when it could come under it's own heading. Hope you don't mind me saying this. It doesn't mean that I am mean and heartless about what is happening in other ports. xx

[Salacia]

Partial quote

Thursday 19th March...

 

 

I do wish we could keep this blog to" Live on the World Voyage" and not keep adding items of what is happening around the world. As you all know the internet is not cheap and to have to wade through all this is a little annoying when it could come under it's own heading. Hope you don't mind me saying this. It doesn't mean that I am mean and heartless about what is happening in other ports. xx

 

Duly noted! Having nothing to offer on this thread, I will simply await your posts. Enjoy your voyage. Without further adieu, -Salacia

[bazzaw]

I am very interested to hear further about the full World Cruisers special night ( can't remember the correct term for it) .

 

We met two delightful young French Canadian "boys" (in their 20's) from Montreal onboard QE between San Francisco and Auckland. When they arrived in Brisbane , we picked them up at the port and took them down to the Queensland Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise) - to throw them in the surf (which they had never done before) . I asked them what they were most looking forward to for the rest of their trip - and they replied " the World Cruise special dinner!! " :) They have not been updating their Facebook page since we last saw them so don't know how their cruise is going.

 

Mostly we asked them - WHAT are you doing on this cruise ????? - totally unsuitable for two young'ens like you -- but they were enjoying themselves!! :)

 

Anybody onboard - please say hello to them - I am sure you know who they are!! :) They are unmistakable !! :)

 

Barry

[roscoe39]

I am very interested to hear further about the full World Cruisers special night ( can't remember the correct term for it) .

 

We met two delightful young French Canadian "boys" (in their 20's) from Montreal onboard QE between San Francisco and Auckland. When they arrived in Brisbane , we picked them up at the port and took them down to the Queensland Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise) - to throw them in the surf (which they had never done before) . I asked them what they were most looking forward to for the rest of their trip - and they replied " the World Cruise special dinner!! " :) They have not been updating their Facebook page since we last saw them so don't know how their cruise is going.

 

Mostly we asked them - WHAT are you doing on this cruise ????? - totally unsuitable for two young'ens like you -- but they were enjoying themselves!! :)

 

Anybody onboard - please say hello to them - I am sure you know who they are!! :) They are unmistakable !! :)

 

Barry

 

 

I think it has been reported already here but in case not, the QE world cruise dinner this year is at the Burg Kalif in Dubai, it will be a pretty special night if previous dinners in Dubai have anything to go by.

 

The QVs is going on as we speak. It is at the War memorial museum here in Auckland, started with cocktails and a view through the Pacifica exhibitions of the museum followed by a dinner on the roof. The view form up there is spectacular, right down the harbour. They have a show band and dancing.

 

The Qm2s dinner is at the same venue tomorrow night.

 

They tend to go all out for these nights and they are usually a real highlight....

 

sigh......wish i was there...

Edited March 19, 2015 by roscoe39