Notes from a QV cruise - Rome to Southampton

[Host Hattie]

I am at a Heathrow hotel for an early flight to Rome to join Queen Victoria for her return to Southampton after her Mediterranean summer.

I'll try and post a few notes as we sail.

If anyone has any questions, let me know and I will try to find the answer.

[Oahucruiser]

It will be fun to sail along with you, Hattie. Enjoy every minute as you always do.

[Lynnewob]

Have a lovely time. Thinking of you when you board tomorrow.

 

I'm ahead of the game and have already packed for Monday's departure as have a busy weekend beforehand.

 

Looking forward to reading your notes.

 

Get that free wifi when you can :D

 

Lynne x

Edited November 4, 2016 by Lynnewob

[Host Hattie]

Thanks both

[roscoe39]

I am at a Heathrow hotel for an early flight to Rome to join Queen Victoria for her return to Southampton after her Mediterranean summer.

I'll try and post a few notes as we sail.

If anyone has any questions, let me know and I will try to find the answer.

 

have a great trip Hattie.

[Alibobs]

I am at a Heathrow hotel for an early flight to Rome to join Queen Victoria for her return to Southampton after her Mediterranean summer.

I'll try and post a few notes as we sail.

If anyone has any questions, let me know and I will try to find the answer.

 

 

Looking forward to joining you tomorrow!

[Jules.]

Have a wonderful voyage x

[Host Hattie]

Thanks everyone, we're just waiting for our air bridge in Rome.

[Host Hattie]

Initial impressions aren't great, we arrived on a BA scheduled flight which was on time. We collected our luggage and survived the chaotic drop off. Now we've been told to come back in 30 minutes for the coach!

[maggiemou]

Have a wonderful cruise Hattie. I nearly booked this but it was a few days too early for me as I finish work next week afer 54 years. Prices were so cheap on this cruise, so next year will look out for it again. Last year QE repsositioned for very low prices.

Enjoy and I look forward to your reports. I am going on QE for month later this month. Have fun. :)

[rafinmd]

Hopefully the wait for the coach will be a minor hiccup. Have a wonderful cruise. By the time you get off I will be on my way across the pond.

 

Roy

[Host Hattie]

Thanks Maggie and Roy, in the end it was 3 hours from landing to cabin, actual embarkation was very speedy.

Celebrity Silhouette is here with us, together with 3 Costa ships and 2 Seabourn.

[cruiseluvva]

Have a great time. I'll look forward to your notes.

[Host Hattie]

 

Seabourn sisters under stormy skies

[gentlemancruiser]

Initial impressions aren't great, we arrived on a BA scheduled flight which was on time. We collected our luggage and survived the chaotic drop off. Now we've been told to come back in 30 minutes for the coach!

 

You may have had to wait other passengers from different flights. On Oct 15th our LH flight into FCO was delayed by 40minutes and the other guests flying on BA arrived on time and they were not happy about waiting for us. One man made a point of being very vocal about it. I was happy Cunard waited for us, however the others on the bus made us fell like we were an inconvenience.

[DDBINK1]

Sky looks a bit gray in your picture. Hope you have a great time!

[Host Hattie]

We were onboard by 1.30, just in time to dump our bags and head off for lunch in the Queen's Grill. There was no dining card in our cabin but we presented ourselves and were given a table for 6 as requested. After a couple of glasses of rose and some good food the frustrations of the morning were forgotten and we returned to our cabin to unpack (!) and relax for a while before muster.

That didn't work out as muster was at 5 and our luggage didn't arrive until 5.50, talking to other guests it seems as if ours arrived early compared to some. The infomal/casual dress code made sense this evening although most guests in QG seemed to be wearing jackets.

We had time for a cocktail in the Queens Grill Lounge before dinner and met another 2 of our dinner companions. No a la carte this evening but the menu was full of good choices – I had the Beef tenderloin rossini and Mr HH had the scallops with Prosciutto.

We sailed at 8.30 whilst we were still at dinner and we started rocking a little. We went to the Golden Lion where Mr HH appreciated the draught Marstons Pedigree and the expanded selection of bottled beer. We listened to the trivia and called it a night – it had been a very early start.

 

 

Sun 6th November

 

 

We'd both been rocked to sleep and slept very well. We made it in time for breakfast, still just 4 of us. I had been tempted by the talk on the Red Arrows but our sunny balcony was more tempting so we gave it a miss and caught up later on the TV.

We were sailing between Corsica and Elba, I hadn't really expected scenery on both sides – perhaps I should have checked the map more carefully. Our roll call had arranged to meet in the Commodore Club just before noon and it was lovely to meet up and put names to faces. Thanks to Colin for the sign and the list – much more organised than I was !

I left to meet Mr HH for lunch, I didn't really fancy any of the main courses so I had a double portion of smoked mackeral mousse and chocolate tart. We were going to give the World Club wine tasting a miss but we checked with our Sommelier and it was South African wines, very nice they were too. We had started to move around again so moving between tasting stations was quite interesting.

[cruiseluvva]

Initial impressions aren't great, we arrived on a BA scheduled flight which was on time. We collected our luggage and survived the chaotic drop off. Now we've been told to come back in 30 minutes for the coach!

 

I am very surprised at your experience given you are in QG. In September, we were met by a Cunard rep holding a QG card, taken to a Mercedes six seater along with another couple from QG and all our luggage and taken speedily to the port. We were on board less than an hour after touch down. This was in Athens and was a new service being offered to QG passengers.

Edited November 6, 2016 by cruiseluvva

[Host Hattie]

Interesting, there was no evidence of any special treatment, I wasn't expecting any but those who left Heathrow on the Cunard charter 3 hours after us were on the ship only an hour later.

[ToadOfToadHall]

Initial impressions aren't great, we arrived on a BA scheduled flight which was on time. We collected our luggage and survived the chaotic drop off. Now we've been told to come back in 30 minutes for the coach!

 

Our first cruise on Cunard (and indeed out first cruise at all) was a flight to Rome and it was a disaster. No one knew what was happening with our bags when we landed. So we were told to wait, then told to get on the coach, then wait again. It was as if it was the first time anyone had arrived at the airport for a cruise. And to make it worse the heavens had opened. Some poor lady got off the coach and slipped and you heard her head smack on the concrete. I felt quite unwell. Thankfully she got up, but it did upset me.

[gentlemancruiser]

I am very surprised at your experience given you are in QG. In September, we were met by a Cunard rep holding a QG card, taken to a Mercedes six seater along with another couple from QG and all our luggage and taken speedily to the port. We were on board less than an hour after touch down. This was in Athens and was a new service being offered to QG passengers.

 

The Cunard transfers in Rome for these fly cruises are by bus/coach and the luggage is loaded into a separate truck/lorry and then when it was it full taken to the ships.

We boarded at 1:45 and were in PG. We waited just over 4 hours for our luggage to arrive at our cabin.

It was collected at the Rome airport then taken and loaded into a truck/lorry. It was quite a few hours and a many bus/coach loads of passengers before the luggage arrived and was unloaded. We watched this process from our cabin.

I saw guests were embarking until around 6:30pm and a 2nd muster drill took place at 7:30. We also watched a couple groups of guests disembarking around 3:30pm.

 

Very different from most of our past cruises when guests arrive in a relatively short time frame.

[cruiseluvva]

The Cunard transfers in Rome for these fly cruises are by bus/coach and the luggage is loaded into a separate truck/lorry and then when it was it full taken to the ships.

We boarded at 1:45 and were in PG. We waited just over 4 hours for our luggage to arrive at our cabin.

It was collected at the Rome airport then taken and loaded into a truck/lorry. It was quite a few hours and a many bus/coach loads of passengers before the luggage arrived and was unloaded. We watched this process from our cabin.

I saw guests were embarking until around 6:30pm and a 2nd muster drill took place at 7:30. We also watched a couple groups of guests disembarking around 3:30pm.

 

Very different from most of our past cruises when guests arrive in a relatively short time frame.

Yes that is exactly what happened in Athens, apart from for QG guests, who were transferred by induvidual cars as I mentioned. As HH is travelling QG, I am surprised the same service wasn't provided, as we were told was the case at all embarkation ports.

[Host Hattie]

 

Our sea day view

[cruiseluvva]

Looks lovely and much warmer than it is here, where we have thick frost!

[Host Hattie]

It was lovely although it clouded over later and we had rather a bumpy night. We are docked in Livorno this morning and the clouds are clearing.

I have a painful knee, I am having enough trouble getting around the ship, so we don't have anything energetic planned for today.

Last night was the Cocktail party, in Hemispheres for the Grills, followed by surf and turf dinner and a full table for the first time.

We enjoyed the pianists in both the Commodore Club and the Golden Lion and called it a night.

 

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