HeinBloed Blog from QUEEN MARY 2, Southampton - Hamburg in February 2022: An Energy Boost!

[HeinBloed]

The short trip on the QUEEN MARY 2 was so beautiful. Somehow I wanted to start blogging right away.

 

Let's see if my work allows me to continue writing promptly. My new company car is in Hamburg, and I take the opportunity to travel via London and Southampton to be picked up and, as befits my status, to arrive on the QUEEN MARY 2.

 

This time we have Rüdiger with us: we live in the same place in the Odenwald, and the three of us all work in the same part of Frankfurt.

 

We're lucky: the barriers come down at 4:00 a.m. If we had arrived earlier, we would have had more problems. But this way we can move freely to Great Britain later.

 

Ulla - our guide, whom we know before, takes us to Southampton. We see a lot on the way to Southampton, and we hear a lot about life after Brexit.

 

Cunard is also boiling with water: the others communicated better about the Covid-19 test before embarkation and later that many areas of the ship were closed: lay quarantine areas and carpeting!

 

But otherwise, I'm at home. A few minutes after I'm on board, I'm already saying "Welcome back!" and greeted by name. I'm home.

 

Happy to see Gerhalt, Raj, Jane, Roderick, Luis again. But we also get to know lovely new crew members. I'm looking forward to participating in a Friends of

Dorothy meeting again. I am happy about the White Star Service and a great food offer again.

 

Day 1 in one chapter.

 

https://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2022/02/tagday-1-auf-deron-queen-mary-2-in.html

 

The "positive stress" continues the day at sea on  QUEEN MARY 2! In contrast to many others, good lectures are offered onboard. My day consists of regretting everything I've missed. Despite the cold, we are lucky with our metal-clad cabin and can enjoy some sun with our south-facing balcony. As usual, we let ourselves be "fattened": breakfast, lunch at The Verandah, tea time, cocktail hour at the Commodore Club with the other gay fellow travelers, and dinner. This is our excuse for not having much time for anything else. Someone quarantined onboard creates the biggest surprise: we are cured of the taste of a lousy eclair again.

 

As usual, we enjoy the lovely service we already know and with whom we celebrate again: Shafiek, Stojan, Elvis.

 

We are always happy to meet new crew members with whom we then hold reunions on further trips: Von, Romulo, Jerome, Roy, Arnel, Mark, Marc, Jugal, Gaylord, Gusti, John Marck, Food and Beverage Manager Anton, and Sous Chef Suraj.

 

We are happy to meet old friends again and just say hello: Sojan and Marco.

 

We also think of friends we miss on board and hope to see again soon: Attila, Joy, Rachel, Petra.

 

This trip was just like an energy booster: we could take a deep breath and recharge our batteries in between. It felt good.

 

I'm already looking forward to twelve days of pampering in autumn on the QUEEN VICTORIA with the Northern Lights. I decide that I need energy boosters for another week and to book another transatlantic. Seven days in a row is like a fountain of youth.

 

I would like to formulate it carefully: Rüdiger might have liked it a little under certain circumstances... - right???

 

This day is divided into two chapters.

 

https://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2022/02/seetagday-at-sea-21-auf-deron-queen.html

https://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2022/02/seetagday-at-sea-22-auf-deron-queen.html



 

We arrive in Hamburg at the correct hour: dawn and everything onboard is illuminated. The MSC MAGNIFICA passes me, and I think of the lovely crew members we met there in November 2021: Neruda and Agus. Unfortunately, they are still not allowed to leave the ship to take them out to eat. But they are lucky: they drive past the Elbphilharmonie because we are in Steinwerder and are blocking their space.

 

According to my special requests, one last breakfast: thanks to Sojan, Suresh, and Edward. You make it difficult for me to say goodbye! Later in the evening, they all pass us again on the QUEEN MARY 2, and we wave to them as they leave Hamburg. The same a little later with the MSC MAGNIFICA.

 

At lunchtime, we go out for delicious Chinese dim sum, and in the evening, I also eat fish: it's evident at the fish club.

 

The primary purpose of this trip is to pick up my new company car, and we'll go back with it the next day.

 

We're having a good time in Göttingen, Germany, and we're looking forward to being able to drive together again someday.

 

Next time Cunard in autumn on QUEEN VICTORIA on the trail of the Northern Lights.

 

The following cruise takes us back to the Mediterranean on REGAL PRINCESS to celebrate my birthday on board.

 

Days 3 and 4 in two chapters.

 

https://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2022/02/tagday-3-auf-deron-queen-mary-2-in.html

https://heinbloed-cunard.blogspot.com/2022/02/tagday-4-nach-derafter-queen-mary-2-in.html

 

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by HeinBloed