Back on QV

[exlondoner]

Having had Covid on our round GB voyage in May, I feel very lucky that we are on this week long trip to Spain, and I thought I would post a few comments as we go along.

 

Despite the weather forecast not being very promising, we had a gorgeous afternoon for sailaway from Southampton yesterday. We arrived at the Terminal at about 12.20, after a tedious journey from Bournemouth, went straight to check in, and, as we were finishing, boarding for QG was announced, so we couldn’t have timed it better. And the rest of the day was lovely, with sunny balmy weather as we followed Anthem of the Seas down Southampton Water. We are usually on the port side, but this time are on starboard, and I think the view is more interesting from there, if heading to the Western approaches. Today we have just entered the Bay of Biscay. It has been raining and is quite windy, but the ship is very steady.

 

The Wi-Fi at present seems to be working well enough. Will this last? Who knows?

[exlondoner]

The ship is full, probably more than full, for there are a lot of children on board. All the ones I have encountered so far have been impeccably behaved. 

[Petulia]

Pleased to hear you’ve had a good start to your cruise and hope that you enjoy it as much as we did on the same itinerary in June, when we had perfect weather and sea conditions. Have a great cruise. 

[exlondoner]

35 minutes ago, Petulia said:

Pleased to hear you’ve had a good start to your cruise and hope that you enjoy it as much as we did on the same itinerary in June, when we had perfect weather and sea conditions. Have a great cruise. 

Already I am wishing it were going to be a bit longer, with more sea days.

[Victoria2]

24 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Already I am wishing it were going to be a bit longer, with more sea days.

It took me two days to wish we were on a b2b so you've beaten me.

 

I hope you have a fantastic time.  If anyone deserves one, it's you.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for posting, have a wonderful time. 

[foodsvcmgr]

Enjoy your trip, looking forward to any observations as we will be boarding Sunday as you depart.

[MrsPeel55]

so glad to hear!!! eco everyone's words, have a wonderful time, looking forward to more posts! 

[Kynance]

Have a great time! We’ve only just opened the hazelnut chocolate I bought in Gijón in June - a nice reminder of an enjoyable itinerary. The biscuits from Bilbao went an awful lot quicker though… 😁

[aaaaa]

I look forward to your impressions.

[DaisyUK]

So looking forward to reading about your time onboard QV and wishing you a wonderful sailing in good health!

[LibertyBella]

We are not cruising her until next Summer (Rome to Barcelona in August), but I was so happy to have two sea days just to enjoy the beauty of the ship.

 

Have a fantastic cruise!

[exlondoner]

So now I will come to the topic that exercises so many who post here: dress. My experience is mainly confined to the QG restaurant, but over the years I have not noticed that the inhabitants dress much differently from those in other restaurants. The first night almost all the men were wearing jackets and a surprising number of them ties - and this on a cruise where the average age of passengers is lower than often. Last night was Gala Black and White night, and everyone I saw was dressed smartly and appropriately. Hope that pleases everybody.

 

Now two niggles about lighting. The Q4 cabin has lights everywhere, good enough to read by, which is brilliant. But there is none over the bath, making one of life’s pleasures quite difficult. Also, the bedside light ares fixed in such a position that there is no room for anything else, either a book or my glasses, unless I fold them up.

 

Having got that off my chest, I look forward to a beautiful day in Coruña.

[Victoria2]

Hey exlondoner  , just be smug you can get in AND out of the bath!!!!

 

Look forward to reading about your QV experiences.

 

Enjoy.

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Hey exlondoner  , just be smug you can get in AND out of the bath!!!!

 

Look forward to reading about your QV experiences.

 

Enjoy.

Yes, it is best that the outs equal the ins, like takeoffs and landings with airliners!

[NE John]

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

But there is none over the bath, making one of life’s pleasures quite difficult.

Cunard assumes everyone is reading from their devices these days…reading on paper, hah- - how 20th century!  Assuming you’ve talking about reading. 

Edited August 15, 2023 by NE John

[seasickphil]

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

So now I will come to the topic that exercises so many who post here: dress. My experience is mainly confined to the QG restaurant, but over the years I have not noticed that the inhabitants dress much differently from those in other restaurants. The first night almost all the men were wearing jackets and a surprising number of them ties - and this on a cruise where the average age of passengers is lower than often. Last night was Gala Black and White night, and everyone I saw was dressed smartly and appropriately. Hope that pleases everybody.

 

Now two niggles about lighting. The Q4 cabin has lights everywhere, good enough to read by, which is brilliant. But there is none over the bath, making one of life’s pleasures quite difficult. Also, the bedside light ares fixed in such a position that there is no room for anything else, either a book or my glasses, unless I fold them up.

 

Having got that off my chest, I look forward to a beautiful day in Coruña.

@exlondoner

 

The first night almost all the men were wearing jackets and a surprising number of them ties - and this on a cruise where the average age of passengers is lower than often.

 

I always wear a jacket for dinner, it was after all a requirement after 6.00pm not that long ago. Occasionally i will also wear a tie, its nice to know that i will not be alone.

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, NE John said:

Cunard assumes everyone is reading from their devices these days…reading on paper, hah- - how 20th century!  Assuming you’ve talking about reading. 

Actually, they don’t, as they have extensive libraries on all their ships. In fact that may be the reason, they don’t want you dropping their books in the water.

[NE John]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Actually, they don’t, as they have extensive libraries on all their ships. In fact that may be the reason, they don’t want you dropping their books in the water.

I was being cheeky. I have taken advantage of the awesome Cunard libraries. 

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, NE John said:

I was being cheeky. I have taken advantage of the awesome Cunard libraries. 

But they would probably prefer it if their books didn’t get soggy. I speak as someone who dropped Volume 4 of my school’s copy of the Cambridge Ancient History into a hot bath. Neither the book nor I ever completely recovered.

[rmsEtruria]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

But they would probably prefer it if their books didn’t get soggy. I speak as someone who dropped Volume 4 of my school’s copy of the Cambridge Ancient History into a hot bath. Neither the book nor I ever completely recovered.

Hmm . . . Yes, that would make quite a splash. CAH vol. 4 (Persia and archaic Greece) . . . enough exciting stuff there to lose one’s grip!

[Victoria2]

10 minutes ago, rmsEtruria said:

Hmm . . . Yes, that would make quite a splash. CAH vol. 4 (Persia and archaic Greece) . . . enough exciting stuff there to lose one’s grip!

I guess it would beat sleeping tablets for some though! 😄

[Bell Boy]

Ok ! now we/you have covered the evening Dress code, I have a little mission for you 😅

Can you clarify if  on your cruise you have Gentlemen Hosts. I'm sure many on here would be interested if you could give us the low down on 'The Couple' who are responsible for the midday dance lessons and in the evenings now offer to dance with solo guests .

 

I/we'd be grateful  ( in your own time) if you could drop by the Ballroom and perhaps have a conversation with 'the dance couple' and report back on how this new concept ( in the Ballroom) has been received .     

 

 

[exlondoner]

16 hours ago, rmsEtruria said:

Hmm . . . Yes, that would make quite a splash. CAH vol. 4 (Persia and archaic Greece) . . . enough exciting stuff there to lose one’s grip!

That is the very one. I whipped it out so quickly that only an inch round the edge of every page was soggy. They dried out crinkled, but the text was untouched. And, when I  returned to it a year later, nobody had read it since its adventure.

[exlondoner]

15 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

Ok ! now we/you have covered the evening Dress code, I have a little mission for you 😅

Can you clarify if  on your cruise you have Gentlemen Hosts. I'm sure many on here would be interested if you could give us the low down on 'The Couple' who are responsible for the midday dance lessons and in the evenings now offer to dance with solo guests .

 

I/we'd be grateful  ( in your own time) if you could drop by the Ballroom and perhaps have a conversation with 'the dance couple' and report back on how this new concept ( in the Ballroom) has been received .     

 

 

I haven’t been to the QR in the evenings yet. I will try to see if there are hosts, if I pass through, but would find the whole milieu far too intimidating to engage the dance couple in conversation, even if I could identify them, which I doubt. Sorry.