Is cruising on the QM2 for me?

[BklynBoy8]

6 hours ago, Mickb said:

Deimos

The QM2 Transatlantic is quite different to the normal cruiseship experience. It’s a classic ‘travel’ experience which is well worth experiencing if you get the chance. The ship is big enough to offer many different types of activity and if dressing up is not your thing - there are places you can have a very good meal on formal nights.

I have been lucky enough to travel both east and west bound and out of 16 crossings & cruises, QM2 is by far my favourite ship. Try it - even if you don’t like all of it, I am sure you will find many aspects which will make it a special holiday. Of course you  will meet some people who you might not wish to befriend but I bet there will be many with whom you will be able to identify.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Very Well Said...But QM2 is our very top choice many times over...

[baldercash]

 We are cruising QM2 with 2 other couples end of may, it will be our first time on Cunard and we are looking forward to the formal nights. We will be touring England and Scotland for a month after disembarking and flying back to Canada from Glasgow at trips end.

 

  We are seasoned travelers, both as cruisers and land tourists. We are just purchasing our train tickets this evening as the fares have finally dropped.

Our plan is to disembark in Southampton and training to Oxford spending the afternoon touring the sites and then the following day training in the afternoon to London, Victoria Station. We will stay there for a week in an AirBnB in Kensington and then travel by train to Edinburgh. After 4 days there we will rent a car and tour the Highlands and the Islands, ending our trip in Glasgow and flying back to Canada

 

So to the chase, we travel light and I plan on undertaking the trip with only a carry on.

I have already done a pre-pack and was able  to pack.

1 - Tux shirt, bow tie, Tux jacket - I pulled it from our clothing donation bag, I have a new tux but will take the old one and leave it on the ship. I am taking black dress golf plants to wear with the tux jacket. The wife says they are passable as a match for colour and texture. I will wear the slacks during the trip as they are wrinkle proof, durable and comfortable.

2 - Black Clarke leather shoes with rubber soles,  not patent  leather but have a shine and are passable with the tux and are comfortable walking shoes.

3 - Casual blue suit, can be worn complete or just as a jacket ( I plan on wearing it on our flight to NY ) and the pants can be worn on their own as semi-casual.

4 - White dress shirt and 2 ties.

5 - Grey dress golf pants.

6 - Blue casual dockers style cotton pants.

7 - Tilley rain pants, we are hiking about Scotland for 3 weeks. The pants are light, casual, plus wind proof and are not identifiable as rain wear.

8 - Four long sleeved casual wrinkle free shirts.

9 - Black turtle neck sweater, it can be worn by itself or under a shirt to layer if chilly.

10 - Merino wool tee shirt, can be worn  by itself or used as a layer.

11- Set of pajamas.

12 - 4 pairs of underwear., 2 undershirts.

13 - 4 pairs of socks.

14 - Bathing suit. We understand the ship has a heated and covered pool area similar to the Celebrity ships.

15 - Tee shirt, light work out shorts and sport underwear - for the gym while on board. I can hand wash these and they are dry in the morning.

16 - Foam flip flops for pool, gym shower and about the cabin.

17 - Light shoulder sling bag to carry water bottles, books, snacks / sandwich, whatever while out and about.

It is our understanding they have washing facilities on the QM2.

 

Traveling by plane to NY I will wear a semi casual rain proof jacket, hat, black denim pants, long sleeve casual shirt, casual suit jacket, water proof gortex running shoes ( I will use them in the gym and on the moors.) and of course a fifth pair of socks and underwear.

I will carry a computer bag with 11" Macbook air, my phone is my camera.The bag holds my shaving gear, tooth brush, deodorant, meds and other sundries. We also pick up what we need as we go at the £ stores while in Britain.

 

We are spending 3 day in Brooklyn pre cruise. Been to NY city  a few times but doing Coney Island this time having a Nathans hotdog and they have a Brighton Beach as well!

 

For those wondering how can it all fit, I am 5"8", 150 pounds, 32 inch waist with a 9.5 shoe size. The above listed clothes easily fit in a 20" carry on that weighed 5.6 lb when empty. Packed weight was 17.8 lb.

Feel free to mention anything I may have missed packing, Thinking of packing a light cardigan sweater.

 

I am trying to get the wife to do a carry on as well and that will be a real challenge with the formal nights as she wants to pack 3 different dresses. She is a petite 5' and likes silk so may be possible.

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by baldercash

[exlondoner]

Trains from Oxford usually go to Paddington or Marylebone.

[exlondoner]

Baldercash, I would pack the extra sweater if you can, so you have an extra layer if it's cold.

[baldercash]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Trains from Oxford usually go to Paddington or Marylebone.

Seems that if booking on LOCO2 we can get a train to Victoria Cross but Paddington does seem to be the standard station, it is a 6 minute cab ride from there to our lodgings.

Yes I think I will pack the extra sweater I can wear it about the ship and to meals.

 

The anticipation is rising for this cruise, we have done trans Atlantic's even did the Oasis to and from Europe a few years ago. Two years ago we flew over and spent 2 weeks in London and a week on a narrow boat in Leicester, Loughborough district. Then flew to Copenhagen for a few days before boarding Vision of the Sea's. We did Norway, Shetlands, 4 days Iceland, St. John NFLD ending in NY City.

 

We have become a little jaded with cruising the past few years it is difficult to find routes we have not already done even in Asia.

We tend to mainly cruise Celebrity and Royal a few Princess, Oceania, Azamara and others even MSC. My wife does not believe it is worth the effort of packing for less then a two week cruise.

So we are pleasantly surprised at how excited we are to be cruising Queen Mary 2, all are friends want feed back on the ship, they want to know if the dress code is really enforced like it used to be years ago on Celebrity.

.

This cruise is all about the ship and the culture of the cruise line for us.

Not deterred by the food comments, years ago we did our first trans Atlantic on a small British ship named the Sea Bird from Barbados  to Southampton, I still remember the brown gravy that came with every meal.

The Americans on board could not understand the comedians or their humor. One of our favourite cruises the crossing was so rough that when we walked up the hill from the dock in Tenerife we could not stay on the sidewalk as we were swaying so much.

 

Our first cruise was on the SS Norway the converted SS France we had an inside with a window that looked across a service corridor through a port hole window into the pool. We would have parties in the cabin and everyone would laugh watching the swimmers adjust their swimwear under the water. We had to be tendered into every Caribbean island as she drew so much water.

 

Cheers

Edited April 21, 2019 by baldercash

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, baldercash said:

Seems that if booking on LOCO2 we can get a train to Victoria Cross but Paddington does seem to be the standard station, it is a 6 minute cab ride from there to our lodgings.

Yes I think I will pack the extra sweater I can wear it about the ship and to meals.

 

The anticipation is rising for this cruise, we have done trans Atlantic's even did the Oasis to and from Europe a few years ago. Two years ago we flew over and spent 2 weeks in London and a week on a narrow boat in Leicester, Loughborough district. Then flew to Copenhagen for a few days before boarding Vision of the Sea's. We did Norway, Shetlands, 4 days Iceland, St. John NFLD ending in NY City.

 

We have become a little jaded with cruising the past few years it is difficult to find routes we have not already done even in Asia.

We tend to mainly cruise Celebrity and Royal a few Princess, Oceania, Azamara and others even MSC. My wife does not believe it is worth the effort of packing for less then a two week cruise.

So we are pleasantly surprised at how excited we are to be cruising Queen Mary 2, all are friends want feed back on the ship, they want to know if the dress code is really enforced like it used to be years ago on Celebrity.

.

This cruise is all about the ship and the culture of the cruise line for us.

Not deterred by the food comments, years ago we did our first trans Atlantic on a small British ship named the Sea Bird from Barbados  to Southampton, I still remember the brown gravy that came with every meal.

The Americans on board could not understand the comedians or their humor. One of our favourite cruises the crossing was so rough that when we walked up the hill from the dock in Tenerife we could not stay on the sidewalk as we were swaying so much.

 

Our first cruise was on the SS Norway the converted SS France we had an inside with a window that looked across a service corridor through a port hole window into the pool. We would have parties in the cabin and everyone would laugh watching the swimmers adjust their swimwear under the water. We had to be tendered into every Caribbean island as she drew so much water.

 

Cheers

 

Do you know the history of those cabins on Norway? NCL added that pool, dropping it into what had been a courtyard. Even though those cabins were small, the sheltered courtyard made them highly desirable on  transatlantics when she was the France.

 

[Underwatr]

23 hours ago, baldercash said:

The Americans on board could not understand the comedians or their humor.

That hasn't changed much! 😄

[baldercash]

On 4/21/2019 at 11:34 AM, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Do you know the history of those cabins on Norway? NCL added that pool, dropping it into what had been a courtyard. Even though those cabins were small, the sheltered courtyard made them highly desirable on  transatlantics when she was the France.

 

Thank you, that is interesting information it explains that oddity for me. I have pondered that for a long time.

[3rdGenCunarder]

59 minutes ago, baldercash said:

Thank you, that is interesting information it explains that oddity for me. I have pondered that for a long time.

 

In Norway's last few years, a member of the cruise director's staff was the ship's historian. He was passionate about that ship, and did lectures and led tours. NCL used her for cruises rather than crossings, so they made some changes, adding a few balcony cabins and dropping that pool into the courtyard. They also put a floor over an indoor pool to make the disco. Some of the floor tiles were glass, and if you knew it was there, you could see the old pool underneath. 

 

His talks were very good, except for the time he said QE2 had an ugly superstructure. HOW DARE HE?!?!? He didn't say that when, a few years after Norway was gone, he was on QE2 to give some lectures about the France. 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2019 by 3rdGenCunarder