first cruise southampton to new york 20/11/05

[hansol1966]

Wow its a big ship,was my first impression when my wife Sian and i passed dock gate 4 at Southampton feeling very nervous(Sian was seasick arriving at Calais harbour from Dover on a calm day!).Our luggage(first timers:a lot of it)remained on the coach and was quickly delivered to our room.Boarding was 5-10 mins,once on the ship we were warmly greeted and shown to our room(cabin).What a nice surprise that was,the cabin was very fresh and clean,a king size bed with a sitting area,large shower and bathroom space and to cap it all a glass balcony on deck 11,the height above the docks and sea was slightly unnerving.A bottle of champagne was on ice and set the mood nicely.

Booked Todd English for our last night and then explored the ship which took a while(the whole trip).

Our first meal in the Brittania restaurant was like all of our others simply excellent,the service could not have been any better(kind ,atttentive,friendly).We had wine with 2 evening meals but were never pressured to buy wine from the sommelier which was nice.Breakfast in the Brittania restaurant was also superb,the eggs benidict,english breakfast(recommended),smoked haddock and kippers.I did look at the Kings Court buffet breakfasts which did not have the same appeal as a freshly cooked breakfast brought to your own table enjoying the company of new found shipmates.

Went that evening to the first show(welcome show)which i thought was weak,the later shows were good and the scottish male singer was fantastic.Apart from the first night the shows were very watchable.

Ballroom dancing is not our thing but we looked in a few times and everyone was enjoying themselves.

The planetarium shows were excellent and very informative.

The Oxford lectures were equally excellent with diverse topics, i especially enjoyed Dr.Floods series of lectures on Isaac Newton(well done Oxford university)

The sea days unfolded with sunshine,minimal movement and time (on one day it was so warm i snoozed and sun bathed for four hours on my balcony in my boxers).By the fourth day i think we had a heavy sea day which was more pronounced when i persuaded Sian to go to the library for postcards (up front) she was not a well bunny.Apart from this choppy day and enough seasick patches to make a bed quilt everything was fine.

As we crossed the Grand Banks fishing area (of Perfect Storm film fame) it was just as i had imagined thick fog with the ships horn blowing every 5 minutes (we went upstairs to be near to the horn when it went off,wow awesome,something i will never forget)after a while the ship slowed to a stop followed by an announcement from the captain that we were to stop for a while to check on the engines(thank god we were not on a plane)

and not to worry it was only a precaution.Full stop on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in total fog i think it was the last place the captain would have wanted to stop unless it was absolutely essential.Our waiter slightly nervously said he had never known the ship to stop mid cruise before.

I was prowling the ship at 3:30am on the final morning watching the coastline get closer,freezing cold,not wanting to miss anything it was a wonderful stroll.I took my wife a hot chocolate to encourage her to get up which to my surprise worked.

At 4:30am on a bitterly cold early morning we went upstairs ready for the entrance to NewYork ,moving from viewpoint to viewpoint,we ended at the high point by the funnel in what was a great atmosphere,as we passed under the Verrazano narrows bridge lorries barked their horns with cameras flashing all round.The top of the ship was packed with early risers moving position to get the best glimpses of the new york skyline which did not disappoint.

We berthed at about 6:30 and headed for our last breakfast in the Brittania which was superb ,we talked to 2 lovely american ladies from minnesota and a charming german man who sails the Atlantic to the Azores

in his sailboat.This epitomized this journey to me for in everyday life it is hard to talk to other people on this ship it was very easy and friendly

So thankyou for reading this and not to bore you any further i would just like to list a few plus points and a few minuses.

PLUS

The journey

Brittania restaurant all meals(very good service)

Golden lion fish and chips ,steak&kidney pie and chips

Planetarium

Oxford lectures

Xtsea g32 nightclub

Time to think

Extra hour per night

Happy crew

Dress formality

Todd English

Deck 7 strolling any hour day or night

 

 

 

 

minus

weak opening night show when it should be setting the tone

Photographs too expensive 25$ each (15$would be better and sell more)

[hansol1966]

Any help i can be to first time QM2 travellers please write

[NBCNewsGuy]

Did they have the option for a Soda card?

[guernseyguy]

Hansol1966,

 

Thankyou for posting your thoughts and delighted you enjoyed your voyage! I a agree that the first night's show is a bit of a let down - a rather rag bag collection of bits and pieces - did you sign the Cruise Critic visitor's log in the Library?

 

Peter

[hansol1966]

Yes they did from any beverage outlet about 27$ i think. In the Kings Court tea,coffee,hot chocolate,various juices and minerals were free and plentiful.

[Paul NH]

Thanks for the review hansol1966. Sounds like you had a little a good sampling of various weather. I am curious. Were the breakfasts in Britannia consistently good every day? My family and I found breakfast there to be hit-or-miss and I read a number of other reviews that had the same spotty service/food in the morning. Did you dine there every morning?

 

Paul

[hansol1966]

Thankyou for your questions Paul,the first morning we had a room service breakfast(tea ,toast&jam,honey)at 7:00am then went later to the brittania at 9:30am for eggs bennedict & omelette,we arrived late and shared a table with an english and german couple.The german couple did have trouble making the waiter understand what a hard boiled egg was but other than that the food was lovely and served promptly.The next two mornings we got up early for breakfast at the Brittania and had a table for two, service and food again very good(english breakfast very well cooked,presented and tasty).Next two mornings we again had early room service and late breakfast.

I thought the food was very good, my wife(who preferred kippers,haddock) also enjoyed her meals.Juices,pastries and tea or coffee were offered as soon as we sat down and the orders taken not much later.The only slightly slower day was the last morning after the ship had docked at New York (only by a couple of minutes and i am really looking for something to pick on.We tried the Kings Court for lunch which was average and you had to find a seat, once it was quite time consuming and my food was luke warm hence i did not try it for breakfast when the Brittania offered much better.

Also the crew were fresh back from 2 weeks refit holiday so this could have helped the good service,but i do not think so,just pleasantly efficient. Hope this helps Hansol

[Wendell]

My wife an I will be making our first crossing Southampton to New York on May 17th. We would be very interested in seeing the Ship's Programme for the crossing - we're interested in finding out when the promenade deck is open for jogging and the hours that the workout room are open.

[hansol1966]

Guernsey Guy: No i did not sign the visitors log on ship as i am new to this sight idid not know about it but i will in the future,godwilling.Hansol

[hansol1966]

Wendell:

Good luck on your trip,the workroom (i hope thats gymnasium) is open from 6:00am till 8:00pm.The promenade deck (7th deck) has brass plaques on the wall asking people not to jog before 9:00am in respect of the passengers rooms on deck 6 but i did see joggers 8:00am plus,i can also remember the cruise director mentioning not to jog before 8:00am which contradicted the plaques.What time jogging was supposed to finish i did not notice as it got dark at 5:00pm but i am pretty sure you can jog well into the evening.The workroom is very well equipped and always looked underused.The distance around the promenade deck was 3 laps to 1.1 miles.

The ships programme on our crossing was similar on all days with 3 Oxford lectures per day on 3 themes, planetarium films repeated daily at 1:00pm,1:30pm,2:00pm,2:30pm. During the day various quizzes, (bingo),golf simulator competitions,casino competitions,hobbies computers and lots besides.

Finally dont forget the GREAT pleasure of going westbound (apart from getting up at 4:00am on the last morning to see the ship going under the Verrazano narrows bridge and seeing the Manhattan skyline) is the extra hour at night you get. 25 HOUR DAYS!