QV/QM2 Kiel to New York with a Holland America Prelude

[erewhon]

Roy,

Thank you for your report.

Agree about the life vests, it's easy to practice  putting on the life vest in the stateroom.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great start for this part of your journey.

 

Food looks great -- especially the cake.

 

Your cabin looks very nice.

 

Thanks for the pictures.

[Happily@Sea]

Roy,

 

On the riverboats - you get your life vest as you enter the top/sundeck where the drill takes place and it is collected as you leave that deck. Of course they are only dealing with 100-200 passengers, maybe Cunard could have a fair number at each muster station - if people would like to learn how to use/wear them - there.

 

I hope you enjoy your short intermediate cruise.

 

Carole

[DeeniEncinitas]

Good morning Roy!!

As usual had my morning coffee and fix with your writings!! You have a nice room on Cunard. Wonderful pictures to start your journey!! Looking forward to your morning walks and sun rise pics!

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day QV1, Friday, May 10, Skagen Denmark

Nieuw Statendam is in Oslo.  QM2 is at sea from New York to Southampton.

A quick correction from yesterday’s post.  The Winter Garden is between the pool and the buffet, not between the pool and the spa.  My morning walk (5 laps, 1 2/3 miles) was more pleasant than expected with little wind and mild temperatures.  It was cloudy and there was only a brief glimpse of something that looked like an appearance of the sun.  Also, unfortunately, the best weather of the day was on my morning walk.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dawn0510.jpg

This was my first official visit to Skagen (pronounced 'Skane' bu the locals) although I was reminded by the geography that I have claimed the area before.  In 2003 I attempted a trip around the world, crossing the Atlantic on a freighter, a series of train/ferry connections to Helsinki, and the trans-Siberian railroad on to Beijing.  As I was crossing the border from Russia to Mongolia I encountered a group of young backpackers.  One, a Dane, ask "Have you been to Denmark?"  "Not exactly, but my ferry from Newcastle to Gothenburg came very close to Skagen, possibly into Danish waters".  He accepted that and I claim it as my first visit to Denmark.  In any case, the town itself is new to me.

Cunard seemed confused about what we were doing here.  The port guide called it a tender port while the Daily Programme talked about a shuttle from the dock to the town.  We docked.  It's a half mile to the center of town straight line distance but probably closer to a mile by road.  We docked somewhat after 9 (delayed from 8:30 by our late departure from Kiel).  I had booked a walking tour of Skagen.

There are 2 cruise berths in the port in industrial areas but each has a small building they call a terminal with rest rooms and wifi.  I think you can walk into town but I saw nobody doing it.  Our tour left about 9:40 and we diverted one of the shuttle buses to take us to our walk starting point, the "White lighthouse".  Our guide explained that the area is a very busy shipping lane but also very tricky sailing.  The spit Skagen sits on is eroding on one side and growing on the other, giving a light house a useful life of about 100 years.  While the White house was our starting point it was not the most interesting one. It was drizzling a bit when we left the ship but it had almost stopped by the time we disembarked the shuttle.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/whitelight.jpg

Our real destination was a few hundred yards away on a little knoll.  It was not the original light but a recreation from the mid 1950's.  At first I thought I was looking at something like a catapult but it was in fact a lighthouse.  A big bucket is mounted on a cable and pulley.  At night it was filled with red hot coals and raised to the top of the structure.  It is said that the glow from the coals could be seen from 20 miles out to sea.  Ingenious.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/bascule.jpg

Heading into town our guide talked about the town's heritage as an artist colony.  Several artists were attracted to the town in the late 19th century and the colony continued roughly to the time of WW1.  The city museum is devoted to the art heritage with a statue of the artists in front and a 2-story gallery inside.  When we left the museum we stopped in front of, but did not enter, the home of painters Michael and Anna Archer.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/artheritage.jpg

Our final stop was the "New Church (Lutheran)"  The old church was about 3 miles away, situated between the towns in use then.  Tho old church was closed by royal decree due to sand storms (that problem now solved by the planting of grasses and hardy trees).  The new church dates to about 1840 with an addition in the late 19th century.  It is currently under renovation and covered with scaffolding.  An unusual feature is that the pulpit is at the center of the alter rather than to one side or the other.  It has a real seafaring atmosphere with ship models hanging from the ceiling.  There appears to be a nice organ although the pipes are now covered in plastic to protect them from construction dust.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/newchurch.jpg

Our return to the shuttle stop was via a nice pedestrian street that covers much of the center of town.  I was back at the ship about 1 for lunch and in the afternoon relaxed as well as preparing for the gala night.  Since I only have one pair of shoes with me and was walking on sand as well as cobblestones cleaning and polishing them was a priority.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/pedstskagen.jpg

It had been a pretty raw day.  The actual temperature was about 10/50 but between dampness and wind felt pretty chilly, especially when we stopped walking.  As sailaway approached I stepped on deck briefly as a band was alongside to send us off.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/sendoff.jpg

All aboard was 5:00 and we sailed not much after that.  We have sailed 238 miles since Kiel and have another 649 miles remaining to Southampton.  I watched from my window as we went past the breakwater.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/byeskagen

We had 2 additional people at table 584.  Both spoke primarily German and there tended to be 2 parallel conversations although we did speak together a little bit.  I chose a watermelon salad, the poached pineapple plus ice cream.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes10.jpg

The featured entertainment in the stunning Royal Court Theater was the Royal Court Theater Company with a show called Hollywood Rocks.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/theater.jpg

After the show there was a Roaring 20's ball in the Queens Room.  Our north sea passage started out pretty stormy with winds in the 50kt range and a lot of movement on the ship.  

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/roaring.jpg

My parting shot will be brief, fitting with the fact that my time on Victoria is also very brief.

Roy

 

[erewhon]

Roy,

Thank you for your Friday report.

Was that chicken with the pineapple at dinner?

[rafinmd]

5 hours ago, erewhon said:

Roy,

Thank you for your Friday report.

Was that chicken with the pineapple at dinner?

The pineapple was the desert (lower right panel).  That was chicken breast in the entree, but the slice on the top was caramelized apple.  Denise, have a look at cabin 1078 on the Westerdam on halfacts.  It should be extremely similar to my cabin.

 

Roy

[Host Hattie]

How is the wifi ? We've had recent reports that Holland America have upgraded theirs and it's much better than Cunard's.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk

[rafinmd]

2 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

How is the wifi ? We've had recent reports that Holland America have upgraded theirs and it's much better than Cunard's.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk
 

I would say it is about the same as I experienced on the Nieuw Statendam.  Recently, their wifi has seemed to be about the same total band width regardless of the size of the ship but I think it has improved somewhat.  I really boarded the Nieuw Statendam expecting a dreadful wifi performance and it really wasn't too bad.  Take my experience with a bit of a grain of salt.  While most companies are now doing unlimited wifi I grew up in an environment where every minute used had a cost and became very diligent about minimizing file sizes, preparing everything in advance, and trying to be very frugal and efficient with the time spent on line so others may not agree with me.  I think I heard Cunard is also upgrading their wifi and heard somewhere a date of May 12 when the improvements would come to QM2.  I hope so.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Something I have come to expect on Holland America but never saw before is a voyage log at the end of the cruise.  The one I got is for the entire 14-day voyage and I just scanned and posted it:

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/qvlog.pdf

 

I have also scanned and posted all the Daily Programmes for my slice of the voyage:

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/programs/cunard-2019-daily-programmes/

 

I am thinking about menus but won't do anything final until I see if we get a packed of menus at dinner tonight.

 

Roy

[Host Hattie]

Thank you

[rafinmd]

 QV3, Sunday, May 12, Transfer from QV to QM2.

Nieuw Statendam is in Amsterdam.

 

Nieuw Statendam is at sea from Oslo to Amsterdam.  QM2 is at sea from New York to Southampton.

As mentioned in my previous report it was a pretty stormy evening as we started into the North Sea.  The winds in particular died down a lot overnight but when I went up to start my walk the promenade deck was still roped off on both sides, at least at midship.  I headed up to the lido where the sun was just coming up behind the ship.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dawn0511.jpg

I walked 30 minutes on interior corridors before returning to my room.  I wanted to do one final load of laundry before leaving the ship and I stationed myself outside the deck 5 launderette at 7:15.  The official opening is 7:30 but a steward came in from the other side and opened the door at 7:20 (they generally do open up a bit early).  Then it was up to lido for an omelet and back to the laundry.  I had expected the wash cycle to be about 30 minutes but it was actually 45.  The load was small and the drying only took about 30 minutes.

I know I have some readers from the Holland America forum and I want to make a few comparisons.  Most of my comparisons will be with the Westerdam since I have that deck plan on my laptop.  In my first post I mentioned a Winter Garden which is between the pool and the buffet but at the time I did not include a photo.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/wintergarden.jpg

I know when I was on the Nieuw Statendam I posted a photo of the library on that ship.  Libraries seem much more important today than they do on Holland America and the libraries on the ships equivalent to QV are somewhat better than the Nieuw Statendam but not really an order of magnitude better.  Compare that to the 2-deck library on Queen Victoria.  It's on decks 2 and 3 roughly in the same area where the port scenic elevators are on the Westerdam.  HAL library fans, eat your heart out.  Cunarders, I feel pretty confident that space for a nice library will be found on the new ship.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/libraryqv.jpg

The other misconception is that Cunard has a reputation for a class system while today that distinction is pretty minimal.  There are really only 2 places where a person in a basic stateroom cannot go.  The biggest one is the Grills Restaurants and Lounge.  They are in created space above the kids club (which is precisely in the same location as Club HAL).  The other is a dining room in roughly the same space as the Explorers Lounge which is for Britannia Club (think of it as the sea going equivalent or premium economy).  Aside from these 2 places the whole ship is open to everybody.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/grillspace.jpg

This is also my first time on QV since the refit.  The former rakish stern of QV has been squared off, adding more cabins in the upper decks.  To create additional dining space a Britannia Club restaurant has been created in the former chart room.  I'm adding a photo of the new chart room just forward of the old one.  Apparently, the Care Carinthia is now just a footnote in history.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/chartroom.jpg

The next thing I noticed is that the aft pool deck looks a bit odd.  They lengthened the deck quite a bit (I'm pretty sure the old deck ended where the last of the big chairs is) leaving a smallish pool jammed into the far forward section of the deck with a very wide space aft of the pool.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/aft9.jpg

The final thing I noticed that apparently happened during the refit is that the "Quote Quest" signs have all been taken down from the promenade deck.  I miss those more than anything else about the old QV.

It was a busy early part of the day with 3 Cunard Insights lectures scheduled relatively early.  We had Correspondent Derrick Tedder at 10 with "The Death of a Princess:Part 2, the Conspiracies" (I'm sure part 1 was before Kiel).  His basic conclusion was that it is hard for people to grasp the death of such an extraordinary person in a very ordinary way.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/tedder.jpg

He was followed at 11 by former Kennedy Space Center Director Jim Kennedy with "The Future of NASA and why we should care".

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/kennedy.jpg

The day's final talk was at 12:15, former UK Border Crime Investigator Jim Jarvie on the challenges of protecting the UK border.  I missed that one for lunch.  In his noon update Captain Connery indicated we would have a pleasant day in Southampton with a high of 16/61.

Several cruise lines seem to be discontinuing or seriously reducing chilled fruit soups but they are alive and well on Cunard, particularly in the lunch menus.  Today's caught my eye and I chose 2 appetizers but no entree, the tropical fruit soup, the fruit salad, and the carrot cup cake.  Very satisfying.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/lunch11.jpg

For the afternoon I did walk about 3 laps on the promenade deck, wrapped up all the packing I could do until after dinner and spent some time on the computer.

 

There were again 5 at our final dinner at table 584.  Everybody is going home, although I will take longer than any of the others to get there (and love every minute of it).  My final choices were the Parsnip and Pear soup (hot, not chilled, and I wasn't impressed), pork medallions, and raspberry tart a la mode.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes11.jpg

The featured entertainment was singing group West End Gents on their first Cunard gig.  The shows were 7 and 8:30 and I walked in a bit late on the 7:00 show.  I thought they seemed out to demonstrate their vocal prowess more than to be faithful to the music.

We gain an hour tonight but I have not reset my alarm so I hope to be on deck for our arrival into Southampton.  My big bag went out to the hallway about 8:40.  I continued working on my blog and stepped outside about 9:15 for the sunset.

I'll take my parting shot from Derek Tedder.  His last slide was a quote from Thomas Campbell, "To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die".  Long live Princess Diana, you will live on in many of us and especially your two sons.

Roy

[Happily@Sea]

Roy,

 

When I was on the QM2 - just after the refit, The area around the buffet/King's Court was always busy. The Cafe Carinthia hardly ever had anyone in it - or maybe I was there the wrong time of day [I was there at mealtimes]. Not knowing the ships like you do, I am probably the wrong person to base any opinion on the usage of a venue.

 

Have a enjoyable time on QM2 and continue to keep us informed. No port stops make it easier to focus on the ship itself.

 

Carole.

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Happily@Sea

[naturelovergirl]

I have really enjoyed your posts... your picture of the sun peeking behind the ship in the morning made me smile!

[erewhon]

Roy,

Thank you for your reply.

The library looks wonderful, is there a librarian on duty?

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have gotten behind.

 

Skagen looks like a wonderful place to visit for a few hours.

 

The Library on the QV looks wonderful.

 

Love all the pictures.

 

Looks wonderful.

[Host Hattie]

Bon Voyage for the QM2 part of your trip.
Hopefully you'll have a beautiful afternoon for the sailaway from Southampton.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk

[rafinmd]

Erewhon, there is at least a librarian on board.  Not sure about QV but 2 on QM2.  

 

Checked in , had dinner, and running behind again.  Nice exchange of horns as we passed QV on a picture perfect afternoon.

 

Roy

[DeeniEncinitas]

Roy finally I am able to catch up today!!

With Mother’s Day it’s a busy day.

I enjoyed the sunrise picture and seeing some of the ship. Skagen looked alittle cold, but a nice place to see. I enjoyed your pictures.

Denise😊

[erewhon]

Roy,

Thanks for your reply.

Winter is rapidly arriving here.

[rafinmd]

Day QV3, Sunday, May 12, Transfer from QV to QM2.

A quick technical note.  I post my photos to my blog and links to them here.  When I have unlimited internet I make sure the blog post is up before posting the links to Cruise Critic.  When working with internet by the minute I get everything ready, log onto the wifi, and post everything at once.  Occasionally the Cruise Critic post may happen BEFORE the pictures are in place for the links to work.  If that happens, the situation should resolve itself in a few minutes.

Nieuw Statendam is in Amsterdam.  My Nieuw Statendam voyage was marketed both as a basic 14-day transatlantic as well as an extended 21-day cruise.  Many of my former shipmates disembarked Sunday.  Welcome to Amsterdam.

We gained an hour overnight moving to UK time.  I did not reset my clock and was up at what was then 4AM and we were approaching the Isle of Wight as I headed out on deck.  My final night on Victoria we had both a very nice sunset and then a pretty sunrise.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/lastnightqv.jpg

It was a busy Sunday for the port of Southampton with 3 non-Cunard ships in port.  When I went out on deck QM2 was approaching the dock followed by a P&O ship (I think Azura), Mein Schiff 5 and finally us.  I think the MSC Orchestra was the first in.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/companysou.jpg

We docked at the QE2 terminal about 6:30.  QM2 and QV were facing each other but there was a car carrier in between.  My departure letter had me leaving at 10:15 on a transfer to QM2 but there was an option to leave bags with a truck starting at 8:30.  At the departure lounge (Queens Room) did not want to let me leave before 10:15 and time was passing.  I checked with the front desk and they agreed with me and I walked off the ship just before 9.  I found a trolley and my bag and it took a couple of inquiries to find the luggage vehicle but it was there and then found a taxi.  

I was at St. James Road Methodist Church just a few minutes before the 9:30 service where communion was served on this Sunday.  It was about 2 1/2 miles directly to Ocean terminal but I wandered, visited an ATM, and did a bit of shopping.  Lunch was very simple, starting with milk from McDonalds.  I also knew that Walkers Crisps was a British favorite and I added a bag of those to complete lunch.  I don't really find them that special but they are nice once in a while.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/stjames.jpg

I know there is a memorial to Titanic somewhere in the yard at Southampton and thought I knew where it was.  I found something that looked like about the right place but thought I remembered more of an inscription so I might have been mistaken.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/titanic.jpg

There was a fairly long checkin line at Ocean Terminal but as a Diamond World Club member I was able to skip it.  I was through security and at room 5054 about 2.  It's called a "sheltered balcony".  Essentially, it's at a level where rough seas could present a problem for a conventional balcony but they've cut holes in the hull about 6 feet wide and 5 feet high which is my opening to the sea.  It's the first time I've had such a cabin.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/5054.jpg

I had shipped a bag via Luggage Forward from the Nieuw Statendam to meet me on QM2.  I was told it could not be delivered until the 17th but the tracking data showed it in Southampton by Thursday and I emailed them about an early delivery.  When I arrived at my room all my bags, the one from Luggage Forward, the one I left on the truck, and of course my carryon were all ready to be unpacked.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/bagsallhere.jpg

I went to the lido for coffee, and also took a lap around the promenade deck.  In addition to my QM2 photos from QM's aft deck 10 and bow cam I got nice views of QV from the QM2 bow area and from my balcony.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/meeting.jpg

The muster drill was at 4:30; my station is Carinthia Lounge.  I suspect this short break is sailing quite full as I saw quite a few children at the muster meaning many cabins have more than 2 people.  We were underway soon after 5.  I watched from my balcony as we sailed past Queen Victoria.  On upper right panel of the collage I've circled the Grills area; virtually everything else on the ship is open to everybody.  

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/farewelqv.jpg

I was also able to pick out my QV cabin.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/myqvroom.jpg

Dinner is at 6 on the lower level of th Britannia Dining Room.  I am at a 10-top.  2 of the others boarded in New York and will return to New York.  I think most if not all the rest are only on for the 5-day quick break.  For my first dinner I chose the grilled peach, lamb loin, and pineaple upside down carrot cake with ice cream.  

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dishes12.jpg

When I returned from dinner there was an unwelcome surprise.  Our very first night we moved the clocks forward an hour.  I had been hoping it would be handled like a transatlantic with an adjustment at noon Monday but unfortunately that did not happen.  The good news is that from now on all the changes will give me an hour back.  I did get out on deck for a few minutes to catch an (almost) sunset.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/dusk0512.jpg

The entertainment started off with a performance by the Royal Court Theater Company in a show called "Be Our Guest".  The Entertainment Director is Catherine Kennedy; I'm pretty sure I haven't sailed with her before.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/kennedy.jpg

As a parting shot I'm a bit sad that this journey is starting to wind down but it feels good to have a home for a few days instead of living out of a suitcase.  3 days is just too short.

Roy

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad to hear that you are now on the QM2 and all of your luggage made it to the ship especially the one from the Nieuw Statendam.

 

Food looks good.

 

Love the sun rises and sun sets.

 

Southampton sure looks busy with cruise ships compared to when we sailed in and out of there many years ago.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Hi Roy!!

First the sunrise and sunset on Queen Victoria was wonderful!! Your first sunset on Cunard was also great!!!

Your room on board looks really nice Roy! 

DH likes it too! Glad all your bags made it, but knowing me I’d be so stressed waiting for my bag or not from NS!!!🙄

Im really looking forward to more pics of Cunard! How do you like the  promenade on Cunard?? 

Have a very wonderful cruise looking forward to more!

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day QM1, Monday, May 13, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

Nieuw Statendam is at sea from Amsterdam to Copenhagen.  QV is at sea from Southampton to Stravenger.

I will start with an update to my earlier reply to Host Hattie.  I find the wifi on QM2 much slower than on QV.  It works, but if it works this way on the World Cruise next year I will need to budget more than 30 minutes a day internet time.

While Sunday had seen picture perfect weather it was less so today.  The temperature had been 68(20C) in Southampton, a day later it topped out at 54(12C) with blustery winds.  It was clear and actually pretty comfortable if out of the wind but staying out of the wind was difficult.  I walked just 1 lap around the promenade deck before deciding the fleece was not enough and returning to my room to add my gortex rain jacket.  It is only a couple hundred miles from Southampton to Zeebrugge and going directly would have been an awfully slow speed.  Instead we headed away from Zeebrugge towards Bishop Rock.  I have mentioned before that crews generally do something to clean the promenade deck in the morning, and it is quite different in all my ships this voyage.  The Nieuw Statendam has a composite deck but HAL clings to the traditional method of flooding the deck each morning with large quantities of water.  At times they use a squeegee to clean up excess water but in places it just lays there.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/nsdeck.jpg

QV's deck is similar to Nieuw Statendam's but they do the cleaning with a mop and bucket.  They do some excess water removal with squeegees but mostly with straw brooms.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/qvdeck.jpg

QM2 has a genuine teak deck and mops apparently have no use there.  They use a heavy duty pressure washer and start water removal with squeegees but dry it off pretty thoroughly with a large water-vac.  Three different ships, 3 very different systems.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/qm2deck.jpg

I walked 10 laps around the promenade deck before coming back to my cabin for a break.  The sun came up over our port side about 6:30.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/dawn0513.jpg

While all my bags are with me, I still had a fair amount of laundry that hadn't been done on the Nieuw Statendam and I wanted to get it done.  The deck 5 launderette is at the far end of my deck.  It officially is open 7:30 to 9 and I went town to be in line for a machine when it opened.  At 7:15 it was already unlocked and I started a machine.  I walked another 3 1/2 laps to bring me just to 5 miles for the day and then moved the wash to a dryer.  It was ready to go back to the cabin just after 8:30.  I was a bit surprised that I never saw anybody else in the laundry.  I suspect most of the people on this voyage are only on for 5 days and the rooms might not be very busy.  

It was a day of me being first.  I was first in line when the Voyage Sales office opened at 9.  I am on a Crystal Serenity transatlantic Barcelona to Quebec 30 August 2020.  It makes 2 stops in Newfoundland (sadly not near Gander) and I have not been to Newfoundland since 9-11 so I booked this cruise as soon as I became aware of it.  I am now booked on QM2 21-Aug-20 to Southampton, leaving just a short flight to Barcelona.  I have booked one of the solo cabins, 3002.

There were 3 Cunard Insights presentations and I attended most of 2 of them.  British diplomat Keith Muras started things off at 10 in Illuminations speaking about his time in Moscow in the early 1980's and the presence he felt from the KGB.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/muras.jpg

At 11 journalist John McCarthy presented the first part of his talk on his 1943 day captivity as a hostage in Lebanon, a most hair-raising tale.  The Royal Court Theater was packed.  I left a few minutes early to go on deck for the noon horn test.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/mccarthy.jpg

On sea days Cunard ships blow their horns at noon each day.  I went up to deck 14 with a view of the funnel.  There was only one blast, but it was on the horn that came from the original Queen Mary.  Most impressive.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/horntest.jpg

The final talk was at 12:15, Russell Parry on "Safe Food Production from the Space Race".  I skipped it in favor of lunch.  Cunard seems to offer chilled fruit soups mostly in the dining room for lunch.  I dropped in for the tropical fruit soup and a chicken salad.   I was in my cabin most of the afternoon, unpacking and working on the computer.

We once again had a full table 66.  I opted for the beef consume, rump of lamb, and ice cream (rum raisin, ginger, and basil sorbet).

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/dishes13.jpg

The shows were at 7 and 8:45.  I went in late on the early show, comedian John Martin.  He was very good.  I had gotten pretty drowsy and was not really alert when the second show started.  I did watch the sun go down from my balcony about 9:30.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/dusk0513.jpg

There was a Big Band night in the Queens Room featuring the combined Queens Room and Royal Court orchestras.  I stopped by briefly but the room was packed and I did not find a seat and only stayed briefly.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/bigband.jpg

My parting shot comes from Keith Muras.  He started with a quotation,  "Anyone who does not regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart.  Anyone who wants it restored has no brains".  He did not identify the author until the end of the talk but it was Vladimir Putin.  It strikes me that this is strange, he seems to have a real longing for the return of the old Soviet Union.

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/5/soviet.jpg

 

Roy

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by rafinmd

[rafinmd]

3 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Hi Roy!!

First the sunrise and sunset on Queen Victoria was wonderful!! Your first sunset on Cunard was also great!!!

Your room on board looks really nice Roy! 

DH likes it too! Glad all your bags made it, but knowing me I’d be so stressed waiting for my bag or not from NS!!!🙄

Im really looking forward to more pics of Cunard! How do you like the  promenade on Cunard?? 

Have a very wonderful cruise looking forward to more!

Denise😊

I think QM2 has the finest promenade deck at sea.  It has great views and is relatively protected from the wind.  This looks like one of the times where my blog post has not processed completely and the photo links on my last post may not work for a while.

 

Roy