On board QE Jan. 30-Feb. 13

[kinshasa]

A note of caution to those with non UK mobile phones.  We were supposed to be texted with results before boarding and waited 40 minutes but no texts.  We had been getting texts from the US and UK while in London so obviously the procedure broke down.  We had told the clerk we had US phones and the code was +1.   Finally I spoke to a rep who checked and gave us the OK.  Outside of that glitch boarding was smooth.

 

Dancers must be masked in the ballroom and club and this is enforced .  Bouncers told a few unmasked couples to sit down or don masks.

 

Food and service has been stupendous so far.   Sea was rough this morning but seems it is calming.

Edited January 31, 2022 by kinshasa

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for posting, have a great trip.

[BestGuessed]

Hello Kinshasa.    Thank you for posting about the present ballroom and club mask protocols  … It is of special interest to us as dancers.  
Please would you keep posting and give us as much information as possible with regard to all present protocols on board as every detail is helpful.

We won’t be cruising until April but we would appreciate whatever you have time to share. Have a great cruise.

Thank you in advance. 👍🏻BG.

[Camgirl]

29 minutes ago, BestGuessed said:

Hello Kinshasa.    Thank you for posting about the present ballroom and club mask protocols  … It is of special interest to us as dancers.  
Please would you keep posting and give us as much information as possible with regard to all present protocols on board as every detail is helpful.

We won’t be cruising until April but we would appreciate whatever you have time to share. Have a great cruise.

Thank you in advance. 👍🏻BG.

Here, here! We are cruising in 6 weeks, so we are really interested to hear what it will be like compared to pre covid. Interesting to hear dancers must be masked, I thought I had read previously that no masks were needed when dancing. Not sure what it will be like to dance with a mask on, but I guess we will find out. 

I'm also interested to hear how the lido works at the moment. And are you able to form teams for quizzes or is it couples only? 

Thank you for any information you can pass on. I have gathered a lot from other threads but there are still things that I am unsure about.

Have a wonderful cruise.

[kinshasa]

Have not eaten at the Lido but we did a quick walk through at breakfast one day.   It's not difficult to dance with a mask, really.  Trivia teams are encouraged.  Elevators are limited to 4 persons.  No signing for drinks, the servers use iPads and either take a photo of your card or ask your room number.  Everything is as contactless as possible.  Passengers adhere to the mask rule on board,  I have sat in the cafe a few mornings though and about 90% are unmasked because they are sitting with a book or in a small familiar group.

[Camgirl]

Thank you for your answers, Kinshasa, that is really helpful information. 

 

One more question about dancing. Have you noticed if there is any sequence dancing happening at the moment? It used to start around 5.45 in the Queens Room, I seem to remember.

 

Thank you for your help. Enjoy your holiday.

[LadyL1]

On the previous cruise, there was definitely sequence dancing.

[indiana123]

We had a brilliant cruise on  QE in December.  At that time it wasn't compulsory to wear a mask on the dance floor if dancing with your travelling companion/family etc.  Perhaps it has changed now.

Edited February 2, 2022 by indiana123

[barriedavis]

Just found a Daily Programme from the January 18-30 on the QE.  To quote from an entry:

 

"8.00pm   Sequence Dancing - Hosted by a member of the Entertainment Team.  Face coverings must be worn at all times whilst on the dance floor.  Queens Room, Deck 2 Mdships - until 8.45"

 

Hope this helps.

[bluemarble]

After what looked like a mostly rainy morning whenever I checked in earlier, it looks somewhat better in Funchal, Madeira this afternoon. Here is a webcam image showing Marella Explorer and Queen Elizabeth at the port of Funchal today. This image is from the Funchal Marina Live Webcam 1 at "www.madeira-web.com" which is hosted and copyrighted by Webcamtaxi ("www.webcamtaxi.com"). I am posting this image here with the kind permission of Webcamtaxi.

 

[Camgirl]

Thanks to those who replied regarding sequence dancing. I'm very glad to know we should be able to do both sequence and ballroom, albeit with masks on, when we are on board.

[BestGuessed]

Camgirl please can I ask which cruise you will be on and when it is?  

Would you report back to us please about all things “dancing” as my husband and I are also dancers and would like to know what is happening on board.  
We love to dance to live music whether it is the orchestra or a singer and band but I believe The Yacht Club only has recorded music at present.  

 

Any information would be very gratefully received !!

[Camgirl]

8 minutes ago, BestGuessed said:

Camgirl please can I ask which cruise you will be on and when it is?  

Would you report back to us please about all things “dancing” as my husband and I are also dancers and would like to know what is happening on board.  
We love to dance to live music whether it is the orchestra or a singer and band but I believe The Yacht Club only has recorded music at present.  

 

Any information would be very gratefully received !!

Hi BestGuessed, we will hopefully be on the march 18th cruise to Norway. After 5 cruises cancelled in the past 2 years, I am still half expecting this one to go the same way. However, I am getting more hopeful the nearer it gets. I will do my best to report back when we return.

[BestGuessed]

Thank you Camgirl. 
It is looking quite likely that your cruise will go ahead I think🤞.  
Ours isn’t until April and we are fairly hopeful that this omicron variant will be waning by then and we might start edging back towards some sort of normality.  What has happened in Denmark is interesting ……!!

[kinshasa]

Last night we skipped the ventriloquist for the Royal Court Theater orchestra Dixieland Jazz show. Wow!!! Best live music we've heard so far. The female pianist is excellent too.  She plays and sings standards and jazz ballads.

This morning we were off the ship at 8:45.  Light rain but we were prepared.   Strolled along the marina which has some interesting statues.  Checked out the farmer's market which has unusual flowers.  We bought some gorgeous tomatoes but the other fruit was overpriced.   Took the cable car to the Monte Palace.  Because of the rain we decided against the botanical gardens further up and didn't take the toboggans down.

The museum had a fabulous exhibit of modern stone sculptures from Zimbabwe.  We didn't see the rest due to the rain.

By the time we  returned to town the rain had stopped, and sun was out.  We bought some guavas priced for locals at a store.  Best handicraft shopping overall is the Story Center.   Rows of cork handbags, shoes and other items.

It's just a 25 minute walk from the ship to downtown.

[bluemarble]

Is there an itinerary change for this cruise? After departing Arrecife this afternoon, QE is currently reporting her next destination as Gibraltar on Feb 9th (with an ETA of 07:00). The original itinerary has QE calling at Cadiz on Feb 9th.

[Rocky of London]

Hi.....anyone know how many passengers onboard ?

[bluemarble]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:47 AM, bluemarble said:

Is there an itinerary change for this cruise? After departing Arrecife this afternoon, QE is currently reporting her next destination as Gibraltar on Feb 9th (with an ETA of 07:00). The original itinerary has QE calling at Cadiz on Feb 9th.

 

Whatever the reason, QE is indeed in Gibraltar today instead of Cadiz. You can catch a glimpse of her on this "Top of the Rock" webcam live stream when it pans to the right of the observation platform (after a short introductory advertisement you should be able to short-circuit after five seconds).

 

WEBCAM GIBRALTAR CABLE CAR, TOP OF THE ROCK LIVE STREAM

[Crofters]

Hi Bluemarble

We received notice the day before sailing that Cadiz was changed to Gibraltar, apparently due to issues in Cadiz.

The ship has sailed with 1200 passengers keeping the 60% limit.

Has been a great voyage with some relaxation of covid protocols during the voyage. At the start there was no line dancing or Zumba, then it was held on outside deck, followed by inside with masks, and then the last few days masks have been optional. Still making sure distance is maintained on the dance floor.

night time dancing in the Queens room no longer requires mask wearing if dancing with your partner.

The crew are tested weekly and this has led to some disappearing during the voyage, presumably to isolate. The Top Hat show was cancelled after the Manhattan Nights show went ahead with only one male singer instead of two, and one dancer less. The crew have been great at keeping the experience as near to normal as possible and has been wonderful to be back after two years of not being able to cruise.