Where in the world ?

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Port E

 

 

Edited March 2 by sfred

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Port F

 

 

Edited March 2 by sfred

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Here is a bonus photo for Port F, taken at dawn from the stern of the ship about an hour before arrival.  Can you name the body of water in the photo?  It was a stunning sunrise!

 

Edited March 2 by sfred

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, sfred said:

Here is a bonus photo for Port F, taken at dawn from the stern of the ship about an hour before arrival.  Can you name the body of water in the photo?  It was a stunning sunrise!

 

 

I'll give this bonus photo a try. I think it's recent enough that I can calculate your sunrise position on your past track. Is this Canal Woodin, New Caledonia?

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1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

I'll give this bonus photo a try. I think it's recent enough that I can calculate your sunrise position on your past track. Is this Canal Woodin, New Caledonia?

 

Absolutely correct!  A wonderful sunrise from QE this morning.   The "Canal" in the name is French, meaning waterway or channel, rather than the English meaning of man-made.  Canal Woodin separates the main island of New Caledonia on the left in the photo from Ile Ouen on the right. 

 

I don't think the bonus photo qualifies as a cruise-by as it wasn't a named destination in our itinerary or a place that was particularly noted in our route.  But it was extraordinarily beautiful this morning in the dawn light.  We had an ideal temperature of about 26c and a light tropical breeze over the deck.  Plus a cup of coffee! ☕️  

Edited March 2 by sfred

[NE John]

My guess for Port E based on seeing containers is Lautoka, Fiji. 
 

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6 hours ago, NE John said:

My guess for Port E based on seeing containers is Lautoka, Fiji. 

 

That's right!  QE's maiden call to Lautoka on 28 February.   Nicknamed "sugar city" for the surrounding cane fields and the largest sugar mill in the southern hemisphere.  

[NE John]

10 minutes ago, sfred said:

 

That's right!  QE's maiden call to Lautoka on 28 February.   Nicknamed "sugar city" for the surrounding cane fields and the largest sugar mill in the southern hemisphere.  

What an exciting voyage to be onboard and visit all these beautiful spots and making QE maiden calls. Great call in booking this one!!
Is there any recent history of Cunard visiting these South Pacific islands? Maybe past world voyages? 

Edited March 2 by NE John

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39 minutes ago, NE John said:

What an exciting voyage to be onboard and visit all these beautiful spots and making QE maiden calls. Great call in booking this one!!
Is there any recent history of Cunard visiting these South Pacific islands? Maybe past world voyages? 

 

It has been an excellent voyage.  We've been lucky with weather.   This time of year there's the rainy season and usual cyclone risk.

 

Cunard is planning more of these voyages before QE leaves for the Caribbean.   There is a 2025 itinerary the same as ours plus a call into Brisbane.   And some of the cancelled New Zealand trips have been rescheduled to these islands. 

 

I don't know Cunard’s history in these waters.   Although all ports are maiden calls for QE, several of the unseen ports were on our list indicating that one or more of other Cunard ships have been before.   @bluemarble or @Colin_Cameron will perhaps know and comment once ports D and F are identified?

[bluemarble]

I'll go ahead and complete the identification of Port F after having identified the bonus photo for port F yesterday. I suppose many of you have already figured out Port F is Noumea, New Caledonia where QE was yesterday. This is the port we've seen once before on this thread, but not from a Cunard ship. That was in @ExArkie's post #3576.

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1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

I'll go ahead and complete the identification of Port F after having identified the bonus photo for port F yesterday. I suppose many of you have already figured out Port F is Noumea, New Caledonia where QE was yesterday. This is the port we've seen once before on this thread, but not from a Cunard ship. That was in @ExArkie's post #3576.

 

Noumea is correct.  @ExArkie's post 3576 on 13 July 2021 was quite a milestone for this game --  port number 500.  Excellent that we're still going in 2024.

 

Mrs sfred and I had a very nice day in Noumea.   As usual we walked all around the city, and went to lunch at a French restaurant on the waterfront.   Here's a photo from our outdoor table on the terrace.  We also brought back a bottle of bubbly for evening sailaway on our QE balcony.

 

I even managed to use some of my school days French with the locals.  Amazingly we seemed to understand each other!  🇫🇷  🙂

 

Edited March 3 by sfred

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A reminder to all the Where in the World participants that Port D is not yet identified.   Photos are at the bottom of the previous page 211.

[D&N]

5 hours ago, sfred said:

A reminder to all the Where in the World participants that Port D is not yet identified.   Photos are at the bottom of the previous page 211.

Google Lens provides a match for Suva, FIJI.

There's a photo of a HAL ship that is almost identical to that of QE, not such a nice day though. And one of QV in March 2015. Building and cranes are same.

[NE John]

8 hours ago, sfred said:

even managed to use some of my school days French with the locals.

When I was in northern Quebec, I used my seven years of French to end up telling the hotel clerk in French “Yesterday I am a telephone”…

[bluemarble]

19 hours ago, NE John said:

What an exciting voyage to be onboard and visit all these beautiful spots and making QE maiden calls. Great call in booking this one!!
Is there any recent history of Cunard visiting these South Pacific islands? Maybe past world voyages? 

 

Here's what I have for Cunard's past history for the six South Pacific ports on QE's current voyage.

 

Lautoka, Fiji: Previously visited by QV during her 2008 and 2010 world voyages. Also a frequent call for QE2.

 

Lifou, New Caledonia: As far as I know, this was a first time call for Cunard. It wasn't in our unseen ports list.

 

Luganville, Vanuatu: Again, as far as I know, this was a first time call for Cunard. It wasn't in our unseen ports list.

 

Noumea, New Caledonia: Previously visited by QV during her 2014 world voyage. Also visited by QE2 in 2004 and 2006.

 

Port Vila, Vanuatu: Previously visited by QV during her 2015 world voyage.

 

Suva, Fiji: Previously visited by QV during her 2014 and 2015 world voyages as well as last month on her current 2024 world voyage. Also a frequent call for QE2.

[NE John]

Thank you for the historical update. I thought that with the grand voyages of the original QM/QE, Coronia, along with the vast history of Cunard liners that we’d see more stops in these South Pacific islands. 

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6 hours ago, D&N said:

Google Lens provides a match for Suva, FIJI.

There's a photo of a HAL ship that is almost identical to that of QE, not such a nice day though. And one of QV in March 2015. Building and cranes are same.

 

Correct!  QE's maiden call to Suva on leap day 29 February.

 

These two Fiji ports Lautoka and Suva are 648 and 649 in our game.  Here are the daily program guides for Fiji and Noumea. 

 

Unfortunately that brings to an end my new port photos from this voyage.   We disembark back in Sydney tomorrow.   

 

 

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5 hours ago, NE John said:

When I was in northern Quebec, I used my seven years of French to end up telling the hotel clerk in French “Yesterday I am a telephone”…

 

I'm sure that would enable you to blend easily in New Caledonia!  😀

[NE John]

I listed this on the “How are things?” topic from this weekend. Photo taken from the top of the Whitney Museum. 
We played tourist in NYC yesterday and visited Pier 54, the Cunard Pier. Amazing transformation. The pier is a park now.
This pier is where RMS Lusitania left for its ill-fated voyage and RMS Carpathia arrived with Titanic survivors. Pictures include the original arch of the terminal in front of the park. 

[rog747]

That's NYC  westside highway
The old Cunard piers I think with the metal sign 

[bluemarble]

Here's a webcam image showing a Cunard ship arriving at a port we haven't seen yet. It's unfortunate the image is so small, but you might just be able to make out the peak of a famous mountain in the background to help with the identification of this port.

 

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Well done @bluemarble to have gotten this webcam shot entering port.  I had made a diary note to look this morning, but was both too early and too late and I missed seeing the ship.

 

I'll let others have a try, but for an additional hint the weather at this port has cleared just a little, and the view of the famous mountain is slightly better (or perhaps slightly worse without the benefit of the Cunard ship in the foreground).

 

[NE John]

Shimizu, Japan

[bluemarble]

12 minutes ago, NE John said:

Shimizu, Japan

 

That's correct. QE arrived at Shimizu this morning as the last port of call on her current Japan Circumnavigation cruise. I believe this is the first time any of the current Cunard fleet have called at Shimizu. It made our unseen ports list by virtue of QE2 calling there once in back in 1990.

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And of course the "famous mountain" is Mt. Fuji, or Fujisan as it is called in Japan.

 

Unfortunate that it was so overcast and hazy for QE's arrival this morning.  But that's not too unusual.  Clear sitings of Fujisan are rare.