Notes from a cruise to Iceland

[Host Hattie]

18 hours ago, plod1 said:

Thanks 

Thanks so much Hattie for your interesting account of your trip so far.  To help with planning a similar future cruise on QV,  would you say it has felt cool ashore most days in Iceland at this time of year?

Thanks.

-- 

plod

Yes, the wind can be brutal.

[bluemarble]

On 9/14/2019 at 11:38 AM, Host Hattie said:

Our invitation to the World Club party was in our cabin when we got back. Dress code is shown as Gala Evening attire, nothing unusual about that, except it's on Monday which is a Smart Attire evening !

 

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

DAY 10 Part 2
This evening was originally shown as a Gala Evening but when the Daily Programme arrived it had been changed to Smart Attire. ...

 

Have they switched this evening (Monday, day 11) to a Gala Evening to match what your World Club party invitation said? It would be a shame to have no gala evenings at all for the second week of your cruise.

[Host Hattie]

43 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

 

Have they switched this evening (Monday, day 11) to a Gala Evening to match what your World Club party invitation said? It would be a shame to have no gala evenings at all for the second week of your cruise.

Yes, the Gala Evening is now tonight.

[Host Hattie]

DAY 11 Part 2
We went back to the cabin to relax/read for a while. Mr HH went to the Roulette tournament and to check out the Chess players meeting. I found a deck chair in the sun, after the cold of the last week, it felt more like the Mediterranean than the sea off Scotland. We had booked our Diamond Veranda lunch for 1pm. Unfortunately so had everyone else ! We declined the offer to share a table. Our evening Sommelier was there and he helped us make a start on a bottle of English Sparkling wine while we waited for a table.
We were rewarded with a window seat and had a very filling lunch. Chowder and Sirloin steak for me, Salt beef hash and Lemon Sole for Mr HH. We both had the pavlova.
I managed to stagger into another deckchair and enjoyed the sun.

[Host Hattie]

DAY 11Part 3

Mr HH was due to play chess with one of our dinner companions at 4 but his afternoon nap overran so he joined me on the Promenade Deck for the last of the sun. We got ready for our 3rd formal night, we went down to the Golden Lion, the queue for the World Club cocktail party was already forming 20 minutes before the start time !

We stood around on the dance floor for a while and then found 2 spare chairs on the opposite side of the room. The presentations were to passengers with around 900 days each. The Captain said that work would start on the new ship very soon and that her name would be announced between December 1st and January 31st.

It was another good dinner menu, we chose different starters but the whole table went for Surf and Turf followed by Baked Alaska. We were the last to leave.

We went up to the Commodore Club where I tried the Punch Romaine.

[Host Hattie]

DAY 12 Greenock

Another late morning ! Even the Lido had stopped serving breakfast by the time we got there. It was nearly 12 by the time we got ashore, the free tours provided by the Inverclyde tourist group were full so Plan B was to get the bus to Largs. It was a lovely day for a trip along the coast and lunch in the sun. We stocked up on cold remedies and a bottle of bubbly and got the bus back. All aboard time was 4.30. The pipe band came to see us off.

[cruiseluvva]

I am enjoying your postings Hattie. Thank you.

[Tonopah]

7 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

DAY 12 Greenock

 Plan B was to get the bus to Largs. It was a lovely day for a trip along the coast and lunch in the sun. 

 

 

 

Hattie, thank you for all your posts (you really should take a few dance lessons for “next time”!) When you have a moment could you please answer a couple of questions for me?

 

Where does one catch the bus to Largs? How much does it cost? Is exact change required? How long is the ride?

 

We are trying to decide what to do when we are in Greenock next year so any info is appreciated. 

[Host Hattie]

8 hours ago, Tonopah said:

Hattie, thank you for all your posts (you really should take a few dance lessons for “next time”!) When you have a moment could you please answer a couple of questions for me?

 

Where does one catch the bus to Largs? How much does it cost? Is exact change required? How long is the ride?

 

We are trying to decide what to do when we are in Greenock next year so any info is appreciated. 

We walked to the Bus Station although once we were on the bus it stopped nearer the Cruise Terminal. It was full by then so we probably made the right choice. We used McGills 901 service as it travelled via the coast road.

We paid £5.70 return using a contactless credit card. 

ClydeFlyer901904906 Summer 2019 March.pdf

[Tonopah]

5 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

We walked to the Bus Station although once we were on the bus it stopped nearer the Cruise Terminal. It was full by then so we probably made the right choice. We used McGills 901 service as it travelled via the coast road.

We paid £5.70 return using a contactless credit card. 

ClydeFlyer901904906 Summer 2019 March.pdf 2.94 MB · 5 downloads

Thank you!

[Host Hattie]

DAY 12 Part 2
We left just after 5 and enjoyed the view from our port side balcony of the coast we'd travelled along earlier by bus and the Isle of Bute. We finally made it to the Cafe Carinthia for pre-dinner drinks, cold canapes, music drifting in and quality people watching. I was first to the table tonight, followed very quickly by our Sommelier. Most evenings he manages to get wine in my glass before the waiters arrive with water ! It helps that we usually have a bottle already open. At first glance the menu looked a little dull but the Escargots were very good, the best I've had for a long time. The beef, pheasant and cod were also well received. For once we wanted to see the show, the ship's second performance of Top Hat, so we didn't linger at the table tonight. We both enjoyed it. I ordered breakfast for 8.30-9.00 and remembered to hang it outside this time !

 

[Host Hattie]

DAY 13 Dublin

We had our tea and pastries on the balcony in the morning sun. The shuttle bus is charged for today but we decided to take it as we're docked quite a long way into the port. Traffic was fairly slow so travel time was around 30 minutes on double decker buses. As part of our habit of avoiding the main attraction for a train or bus ride to the seaside (see previously Civitavecchia, Livorno, Greenock), we walked to Pearse Station got the DART to Malahide. A nice stroll through the village and by the sea (unlike Largs a noticeable lack of benches) followed by a pub lunch in Gibney's (originally The Golden Lion). We got back into Dublin at just after 2, mildly confused by coming out of a different station exit) and were back onboard enjoying the sun by 3.

[Host Hattie]

After a couple of hours in the sun on the Promenade Deck we went up to the Lido pool area for sailaway. It's our first time there this trip.

We watched a bit of "Red Joan" getting ready, the problem with the newer films on the TV is that they are just shown in a loop so it's just luck whether you get the last 10 minutes as we did today.

I packed a case to save time tomorrow.

We just had time for a quick drink in the almost empty Golden Lion, Mr HH has finally started asking for room temperature bottled beer after days of muttering that it's served too cold. Another menu which turned out to be better than it looked at first glance. The Salmon and wild mushroom Wellington was particularly good. We were given the menus to date, I will post them when I'm home.

We went to see Mike Doyle in the theatre, it wasn't very full but he was entertaining and was on stage for an hour.

We've had a notice that the bulbs in our cabin will be replaced with LEDs between 8am and noon tomorrow so we put the Privacy please sign out.

[Host Hattie]

DAY 14 At sea

We'd ordered juice and milk to make sure we were up in time for breakfast. It was the first time we had to wait for a table for 2. I have Peppermint tea in the morning so I get a tea pot, the English Breakfast tea is served by the cup from a big coffee type pot. I'm sure that's not how it used to be done.

I went to buy Future Cruise Deposits and Mr HH went to the Duty Free shop and to get a Cunard teddy for our soon to arrive Great nephew. 

I made the most of the sun and connection to Vodafone UK on our balcony. It's the Senior Officers Cocktail party at 11am. That's a bit early even for me !

[turnip eater]

Really enjoyed your blog, Hattie. 

 

Just putting the last bits bits and pieces together before we set off tomorrow to join the Elizabeth on her way to the Baltics. Sooooooo excited 🥳🥂🍷🍹

Safe journey home everyone. 

Edited September 19, 2019 by turnip eater

[Host Hattie]

Thank you, have a wonderful trip.

[Host Hattie]

DAY 14 Part 2
Apparently 11am wasn't too early after all ! It was nice to be able to have a drink and a chat without having to rush off to dinner after 40 minutes. We didn't go to any of today's lectures, took some time to do a bit more packing and then went for lunch just after 1. The Maitre d' was trying to explain to the couple in front of us that he might have difficulty filling a shared table but he had a very nice table for 2 they could have. They declined the offer so I volunteered to take it. 

 

 

[Host Hattie]

DAY 14 Part 3

We went for an afternoon read on the Promenade Deck, it was a little cool and breezy. We toughed it out for an hour or so and went back to the cabin to pack and watch "Hitchcock".

Once it was done we went to the Commodore Club for a last drink, it was well after 6 by then but 2 of the Dance Hosts were in there wearing not particularly smart polo shirts without jackets. 

This evening's show was before dinner at 7pm, a short slot from "The Knights", we'd missed their first show, if this was anything to go by we had a lucky escape. Not our cup of tea at all, Mike Doyle's second set was similar to his first.

We had time for a glass of champagne in the Midships Bar, the string trio were playing.

Another menu which didn't seem that inspiring at first glance but everyone seemed to find something they liked. The chocolate souffle was a particular hit. We were the last table out again, no reflection on the service, we just stayed chatting. Our suitcases were still outside the cabin when we got back so we packed our last night outfits and set the alarm for the morning.

[Host Hattie]

DAY 15 Southampton

It was a beautiful sunny morning, we packed the last of our things and made our way to the Britannia restaurant just as the doors closed at 8 ! I'd completely forgotten the early finish, fortunately there were drinks and pastries upstairs which was the Diamond disembarkation lounge. There was a rumour that the luggage had been delayed but we were called off on time at 8.30.

I called West Quay Cars, we collected our car and were home in Wales for lunch.

[Host Hattie]

A few final thoughts -

 

I wasn't particularly looking forward to this cruise, I love the sun so we often go away in early September but South not North ! As I was checking the weather in our ports and reading reports on the Holland America board about snow in August, Mr HH was getting the blame for making me book such a ridiculous itinerary !
As it was, we were very lucky,  the ports were great, Iceland was mostly dry and the weather on our return leg was glorious. I'm not sure I'll rush back but I can understand why people do. The landscapes are gorgeous and I wasn't expecting all the colours of Autumn.
The ship was everything we've come to expect, good food, smiling friendly but fairly formal service, lots of activities.
We booked an obstructed balcony on an Early Saver and were allocated unobstructed 5016, some noise from the bow thrusters but nothing to wake me up. Very handy for the Commodore Club, theatre and Golden Lion.
We requested and got a table for 6 on late sitting, we were all there every night which seems unusual these days.
This was our first cruise as Diamond and we enjoyed the lunch and used almost all of our additional internet minutes. We both use Android phones and didn't have any problems connecting.
Dress code compliance was occasionally eccentric but generally the Gala nights still brought out people in their finery. 

[exlondoner]

Thank you for your reports, but, honestly, Hattie, if you wanted warm weather you should have been on the QV cruise to the Med. which also got back today. We had universally glorious weather until the penultimate day, and even the Bay of Biscay was pretty flat.

[Kynance]

Thanks very much for posting all of your updates, Hattie. Great to read them. Glad to hear that you enjoyed your Diamond lunch in the Veranda. We haven’t tried the Veranda since the steakhouse concept was introduced but think we will give it a go on QV next month. (My Diamond voucher normally gets used in one of the Lido evening alternatives - my other half is still on Platinum so he has to pay!)

[Aspidestra99]

Thanks Hattie for taking the time to share your trip on QE. It's been a really enjoyable and informative read.

[amfc_lenny]

Thanks Hattie, as a newbie to Cunard I've found your blog really helpful.

[Host Hattie]

13 hours ago, Kynance said:

Thanks very much for posting all of your updates, Hattie. Great to read them. Glad to hear that you enjoyed your Diamond lunch in the Veranda. We haven’t tried the Veranda since the steakhouse concept was introduced but think we will give it a go on QV next month. (My Diamond voucher normally gets used in one of the Lido evening alternatives - my other half is still on Platinum so he has to pay!)

 

We had considered doing that but we were enjoying our evenings in the Britannia restaurant too much to miss one.