A confirmed Britannia Cruiser tastes the Princess Grill

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-0, Friday, September 29, 2023, Board QM2, Brooklyn, NY(Part 1, embarkation).

 

Crystal Serenity is in Boston.

 

Despite my intentions to be in bed early it did not happen until about 10:30 and I slept until 6AMm, waking to a rainy morning.

 

I did make a quick run to McDonalds (Hash Browns and coffee) with a moderate rain.  

It’s amazing how much I unpacked and needed to repack but I had plenty of time and was ready somewhat before I needed to be.

 

When I went out to meet Arecibo about 10:15 it was pouring down.  Traffic was very slow and as we approached the port several streets were closed.  The driver pretty much gave up on getting me actually to the port and left me off at Bowne (I think) street by the gate leading to the ship.  Fortunately at that time there was just a drizzle.   It’s a good thing as my walk was quite slow.

The terminal was an absolute zoo as it looked like very few of the disembarking passengers and after passing the ferry terminal the covered area up to the terminal entrance was wall to wall people waiting to get away from the port and quite a few people had walked towards the B61 bus or other rides.

 

I entered the terminal about 11:15 and the guy told me checkin would start at 11:30.  It didn't.  It did start about 11:45 but by then there were a lot of people waiting and there was quite a wait for security.  The checkin line for Grills Passengers was getting a bit long also and moved very slowly.  When I got to the desk the actual checkin was quite quick and I was given a priority boarding number 4 ticket.  I thought it would be a bit more of a wait in a nicer space than Britannia passengers get but it proceeded directly to the ship.  I crossed the gangway about 12:45.

 

There were actually 2 gangways, one ramp led up to deck 3 while the other one led down to deck 2.  I chose to go down to 2, both because it was easier pulling the bag down hill than up the grade, and the elevators from deck 2 were empty.  Somewhere along the way I realized that I had left my cane in the taxi.

 

I am in Suite 10080 which I think is the best of the Princess Grill cabins (But Queens Grill has some awesome options.  It is probably the nicest cabin I have ever been in, even outpacing my cabin on Seabourn.  Whether viewed from the window looking in or the door looking out it is very impressive. 

 

 

Next to the bathroom (with full tub) there’s a nice walkin closet in addition to other storage by the door.  

There is a big desk space

David, EVERY Princess Grill cabin has a balcony.  However there are 4 Queens Grill cabins at the front of my deck that have forward facing windows but no balcony.

There are just 2 things I don’t like about the cabin.  With the beds separated, as I have them, the space between the bed and the desk is pretty tight.  The other thing is that the wifi is pretty flaky.  I can get a somewhat passable signal if I prop the door open with a shoe but otherwise it’s pretty much hopeless.

 

I’m attaching the first 2 daily programmes to this post.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/programme0929.pdf

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/programme0930.pdf

 

Roy

 

[exlondoner]

I think two of those front QG cabins do in fact have balconies at the side. It is only the two Q3s in the middle that are without.

[North West Newbie]

30 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I think two of those front QG cabins do in fact have balconies at the side. It is only the two Q3s in the middle that are without.

 

Correct.

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Day QM2-0, Friday, September 29, 2023, Board QM2, Brooklyn, NY(Part 1, embarkation).

 

Crystal Serenity is in Boston.

 

Despite my intentions to be in bed early it did not happen until about 10:30 and I slept until 6AMm, waking to a rainy morning.

 

I did make a quick run to McDonalds (Hash Browns and coffee) with a moderate rain.  

It’s amazing how much I unpacked and needed to repack but I had plenty of time and was ready somewhat before I needed to be.

 

When I went out to meet Arecibo about 10:15 it was pouring down.  Traffic was very slow and as we approached the port several streets were closed.  The driver pretty much gave up on getting me actually to the port and left me off at Bowne (I think) street by the gate leading to the ship.  Fortunately at that time there was just a drizzle.   It’s a good thing as my walk was quite slow.

The terminal was an absolute zoo as it looked like very few of the disembarking passengers and after passing the ferry terminal the covered area up to the terminal entrance was wall to wall people waiting to get away from the port and quite a few people had walked towards the B61 bus or other rides.

 

I entered the terminal about 11:15 and the guy told me checkin would start at 11:30.  It didn't.  It did start about 11:45 but by then there were a lot of people waiting and there was quite a wait for security.  The checkin line for Grills Passengers was getting a bit long also and moved very slowly.  When I got to the desk the actual checkin was quite quick and I was given a priority boarding number 4 ticket.  I thought it would be a bit more of a wait in a nicer space than Britannia passengers get but it proceeded directly to the ship.  I crossed the gangway about 12:45.

 

There were actually 2 gangways, one ramp led up to deck 3 while the other one led down to deck 2.  I chose to go down to 2, both because it was easier pulling the bag down hill than up the grade, and the elevators from deck 2 were empty.  Somewhere along the way I realized that I had left my cane in the taxi.

 

I am in Suite 10080 which I think is the best of the Princess Grill cabins (But Queens Grill has some awesome options.  It is probably the nicest cabin I have ever been in, even outpacing my cabin on Seabourn.  Whether viewed from the window looking in or the door looking out it is very impressive. 

 

 

Next to the bathroom (with full tub) there’s a nice walkin closet in addition to other storage by the door.  

There is a big desk space

David, EVERY Princess Grill cabin has a balcony.  However there are 4 Queens Grill cabins at the front of my deck that have forward facing windows but no balcony.

There are just 2 things I don’t like about the cabin.  With the beds separated, as I have them, the space between the bed and the desk is pretty tight.  The other thing is that the wifi is pretty flaky.  I can get a somewhat passable signal if I prop the door open with a shoe but otherwise it’s pretty much hopeless.

 

I’m attaching the first 2 daily programmes to this post.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/programme0929.pdf

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/programme0930.pdf

 

Roy

 

Thank you for sharing the programmes. Bought back happy memories. 

[Marion B]

Roy,

   Sorry to hear about the missing cane.  Hope an upcoming port shortly will provide a replacement.

   Really appreciate the photos and programs.  Like Winifred 22, both bring back happy memories.

   Hope your upcoming days onboard and off will be great ones.

Marion

[david,Mississauga]

8 minutes ago, Marion B said:

Roy,

   Sorry to hear about the missing cane.  Hope an upcoming port shortly will provide a replacement.

   Really appreciate the photos and programs.  Like Winifred 22, both bring back happy memories.

   Hope your upcoming days onboard and off will be great ones.

Marion

 

My wife forgot her cane once on a Québec-NY-Southampton voyage. There was a dealer in wood products on the pier in Halifax. We bought a charming wooden walking stick which worked well. On another voyage I had a temporary injury so I bought one at the same shop. If a metal cane is preferred there might be some at the Atlantic Superstore which is very close to Pier 22 where the QM2 is docking.  If not, there will be other sources in Halifax.

[rafinmd]

20 hours ago, Pushpit said:

He has had a difficult fortnight, one thing and another.

Nothing like March 2020, the last time I saw him.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-0, Friday, September 29, 2023, Board QM2, Brooklyn, NY(Part 2, onboard)

 

While the report is still for Friday I will mention that by the end of the day Serenity should be in Halifax and I will get a peek at her as we enter the port.

 

Lunch started at 1:30 but after watching the safety video and stashing a few things I made my way down to Kings Court to get my card scanned.  They weren't scanning cards yet but I stopped at the Princess Grill about 1:20.  They weren't open yet but he escorted me to my table to wait in comfort.

 

I am not a foodie and have pretty basic tastes so I’m a bit of a mismatch for the grills.  In addition to the regular menu there is an a la cart section of things that are always available,  I was aware of the possibility of putting in a special request and mine was probably a bit unusual.  In the past, a number of cruise lines have featured chilled fruit soups but they are out of fashion now.  I miss them, and made the request at lunch.  I don’t think the Maitre’d had ever heard of them but he said he could see what he could do.

 

I am at table 118, a 6-top.  At lunch there were just 2 others and fortunately they had somewhat smoother embarkations than me.  For my first meal I chose a pasta dish.  It was a bit spicy for my taste and much more than I could eat but I finished somewhat over half,

 

Captain Hashmi came on the PA in the middle of lunch with an update.  Due to the weather our departure is delayed until about 11PM.  Cards will be scanned at our muster station 5 to 9 PM, and his safety message will be at 9PM.

 

After lunch I continued unloading my carry-ons.  My steward Bert delivered my big bag from Luggage Forward about 3:30, and even put it up on the bed for me.  I pretty well emptied it in the next 90 minutes and put a lot of stuff away although some packing cubes remain to open.

 

I went down and got my card scanned at Muster Station J shortly after 5 and resumed putting things away from my big bag.  Station J is in Kings Court just forward of the Princess Grill.

 

I was down at the Princess Grill shortly after 6:30 and the table eventually filled up.  There were 2 British couples and one single lady.  All embarked yesterday.  My starter was a chilled banana soup followed by Lamb chops and a lemon tart.  All was excellent.

 

After dinner until 9 was a combination of organizing files and goods followed by Captain Hashmi’s safety message.  I thought I would be finished and ready for bed early but it was another 90 minutes until the lights went out.  We also lost an hour overnight so it was actually 11:30 Halifax time when I got to bed.

 

As my parting shot for Friday it was another challenging day but I got through it.  As I finish this post about 3:30PM we have had some rough seas but I’ve been managing much better than I expected even without the cane.  I think I’ve found a bit more resilience than I realized I had.

 

Roy

[seasickphil]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Nothing like March 2020, the last time I saw him.

 

Roy

Nor indeed in Feb 2020 when we had 15 straight sea days and ended up in Perth Australia instead of Hong Kong,  There were quite a number of passengers, who shall we say were a bit miffed by this, one of those, was a lady from the tv series Benidorm, who took to the tv/press about it.

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-1, Saturday, September 30, 2023, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

 

Crystal Serenity has arrived in Halifax.  She is where I expected us to be and I think there’s actually a possibility we could be docked right at her stern.

 

While it was a stormy night I had no difficulty sleeping and in fact slept until almost 6.  It turned out not to be a day where I was inspired to take a lot of pictures.

 

I stepped out on the Promenade deck about 6 to check my GPS.  It was not officially closed but the wind was howling, not fit for man nor beast.

 

Sunrise was supposed to be about 7:20.  It would have been ahead of us and there was no way I was going forward to look for the sun.  One of the perks of the Grills is a deck aft of the ship on deck 11.  I did go out there (wind was coming from the bow so it was sheltered) and it was obvious that even if I could see forward there would be no visible sun.  I did notice a bit of lightness among the clouds which will need to suffice as my sunrise.

Breakfast in the Grills was 8 to 9:30 and I arrived shortly after 8 for primarily an omelet, done to perfection.  I tend to snack my way through breakfast so I stopped later at Kings Court to make a slice of toast.

 

I also stopped at the Concierge for a few things, and then headed down to the spa since I am way overdue for a haircut.  To my surprise, there was an opening just later so I got that done.  Not perfect but it was done well and without the constant sales pitches I’ve heard about at some ship salons so I was quite satisfied with the results.  

 

It was then getting kind of close to noon so I headed up to the Pavilion pool to check our location and catch Captain Hashmi’s noon update.  He indicated we had 912 guests continuing from Southampton (or Hamburg) and our location was North 40:27 and West 69:08, crossing Georges Bank.  Outer decks are closed the wind across the deck exceeds 50kt.  The temperature is 15C and still raining.  He still expects we will arrive on time in Halifax at 8AM Sunday.  All Aboard will be 5:30.   His nautical term for the day was “Toe the Line” although with the wind noise I did not catch the full explanation.

 

Lunch also started at noon so I headed down to leave my jacket in the room and headed down to the restaurant.  I chose an unhealthy lunch of skim milk, some melon, and a cherry cobbler.  I did not see any of my tablemates either at lunch or dinner.  

 

I spent most of the afternoon in my suite although I did make a brief visit to the shops but did not buy anything.  Sadly, I completely missed a Classical Piano recital at 2PM.

This is the first of 2 Gala nights of the voyage, the Red and Gold Gala.  Things started off a bit early with the World Club party for regular Cunard cruisers.  The top cruiser was recognized for 1851 days aboard.

 

Table 118 was full again for the Gala Night Dinner.  I’m not sure exactly what the starter was, my best guess was a melon bisque but it was great.  I supplemented that with Chateaubriand and Cherries Jubilee for what was a great dinner.  

According to the Daily Programme we should still be docked at 8AM and I had a church picked out I would like to attend but that’s unlikely if rain materializes, so we shall see what a new day brings.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/programme1001.pdf

 

As today’s parting shot I feel blessed to now be retired but wish the best to those affected by the apparent US Federal Shutdown whether they be furloughed employees, essential workers forced to work without pay (especially our armed forces) and those whose government services will be delayed or denied.  There has to be a better way.

 

Roy

 

[cruising sister]

Roy, I am so glad you went on the cruise. Have a wonderful time and I will be following along. 

[rafinmd]

Looks chilly but a MUCH nicer day in Halifax.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Serenity today in foggy Halifax.

 

 

Roy

[rakkor]

Hi Roy - How did you download the Daily Program PDF ?  I've just looked at myvoyage on QV and can't see the option on any of my devices to download, even though I managed to download one on our last cruise only the other week also on QV?

 

[rafinmd]

5 hours ago, rakkor said:

Hi Roy - How did you download the Daily Program PDF ?  I've just looked at myvoyage on QV and can't see the option on any of my devices to download, even though I managed to download one on our last cruise only the other week also on QV?

 

Unfortunately, I'm old school and I don't.  I use a laptop and a very compact ScanSnap ix100 portable scanner on the paper copies.

 

Roy

[Pushpit]

5 hours ago, rakkor said:

Hi Roy - How did you download the Daily Program PDF ?  I've just looked at myvoyage on QV and can't see the option on any of my devices to download, even though I managed to download one on our last cruise only the other week also on QV?

 

What I am able to do is to use the myvoyage version, right click, "save as..." and I'm able to save a PNG (so image) version of that page only. So one would need some further manipulation to link the pages into one file and save as a single PDF.

[rakkor]

It's really weird, I'm sure on our recent "booze cruise" I had a download icon in the pdf viewer for the Daily Programme, and downloaded one of the pdf's to my laptop. Today, for the life of me, I cannot see how to do it and I've searched for the pdf on my laptop and can't find that anywhere. I'm either losing the plot or I've dreamt it all! I've noticed I can grab the image for each page - 6 in total, but that seems like a proper faff to do - Anyway Roy's portable scanner doesn't sound very "old school" to me, just wish I had one to hand.

[rafinmd]

The Scanner:

 

 

Roy

[rakkor]

If I thought I could get away with it, I buy one In a heartbeat, but Jane would only roll her eyes at me if I did

[D&N]

I looked up "android scan and combine to pdf" for future use.

On Android it can be done through Google Drive

https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9308884?hl=en

 

I tried it with 3 pages of a wine catalogue. You need to tap bulk add before each additional page.

I've not figured out if you can choose to have pages portrait rather than landscape yet.

Might simply be a case of turning phone round.

Scanned_20231002-1205.pdf

[Pushpit]

I was going to say, the dedication to technology is remarkable! Two laptops and a scanner, plus cables etc. I guess that what works for you. Personally I manage with a laptop and Android phone, which goes to Google Photos, and then on my laptop I can either use Android Drive, as above, or use laptop photo software to combine images, then export as PDF. 

 

Adobe online also has a really easy (and free) JPG (etc) to PDF converter, as well as a PDF merger, so you can just use online tools there.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Pushpit

[North West Newbie]

Adobe scan is also available as a free download from the Android Play Store. It uses the phone’s camera and can auto detect a document to save as a PDF. Multiple pages are possible and there are useful tools to crop, rotate and more.

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-2, Sunday, October 1, 2023, Halifax NS

 

Crystal Serenity is also in Halifax.

 

I seem to have slept a bit late but was on deck just in time (about 6:30) to catch the pilot boat approaching Queen Mary 2.  I stepped on deck once again about 7:15 looking for a sunrise that never came but realized we had almost arrived and we passed Serenity draped in fog at Pier 27, the least favorable of the docking positions.  

 

We were free to leave the ship at 8, just as I headed down to breakfast, but I was in no rush to go ashore.  It turned out that I did not see any of my table mates in the dining room on Sunday.

 

I had 2 plans for the day.  The primary one was to get to a church and I had picked out St. Matthews Church (United Church of Canada) on Barrington Street.  The walk appeared to be about a kilometer which I thought on the edge of my ability.  It was a little later than I had planned to leave but still before 10, and I asked a taxi driver how much it would be to get there.  He said “Oh, no, it’s just a short  walk and go this way.  It wasn’t really a long walk but mostly uphill and I ended up stopping to rest at least twice per block.  I ended up arriving 10 minutes late for the 10:30 but they were very gracious in welcoming me anyway.

 

It is a very old church dating back to 1814 and the building is very traditional with gated pews and a lovely organ.  The service was excellent.

I had also hoped to get to the Atlantic Superstore in search of a cane but decided it would be too difficult an addition to the day’s activities and I could do without the cane for a while more.  Despite being mostly down hill I was still very exhausted and the trip back was not a lot quicker than the trip to the church.  On the way back I did find the statue of Samuel Cunard in front of the terminal where NCL Pearl was docked.

It was about 12:30 when I got to lunch, mostly a chicken pasta dish.  I asked for a small portion but it was still a little more than I could finish.

 

My afternoon was pretty quiet, in my room except for occasional jaunts to Kings Court for coffee.  It was chilly, but the first time I could use my balcony, and I had hoped for a better photo of Serenity.  Not really, but I did get a shot of at least parts of the 5 ships in port with some superstructure of QM2, the top of Serenity in the distance, and The World sitting in between.

Those who know me know I have been obsessed with “Come From Away”.  There was a documentary put out by a Canadian agency on the same subject, called “You Are Here: A Come From Away Story” that has rarely been available in the US but I did find it in Canada so much of my time was spent watching the video.  Awesome!

 

I have a cousin in the Halifax suburbs who is no longer very mobile and we were not up to a meeting but I did call him from the verandah and had a nice chat.

 

Sailaway was scheduled for 6, and I watched on the bow cam until NCL Pearl started moving and then went up to the Grills Deck, a nice deck on the aft, one of the few places on the ship not open to everybody.

I watched as we followed Pearl around Georges Island and headed out to sea.

 

I wanted to be early to dinner and did not quite catch the sunrise which was still a bit away but I did get the sun passing below QM2 superstructure.

It was just me at Table 108 although I understand others arrived shortly after I left.  My choices for the evening were Cherry Bisque, Fillet of Lamb, and Mango Sorbet.

Dining was early because I have a regular fellowship time with my home church which is usually Sunday evening at 7 but was 8 Halifax time.  Access to Zoom was difficult at the desk but a little bet better after I moved to the couch.

 

My parting shot today will be a followup to Saturday’s.  I am delighted with the 11th (or was it 12th) hour resolution to keep the US Government running.  I just hope Ukraine can get by under these tough circumstances.

 

Roy

 

programme1002.pdf

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for the reports and the programmes. 

[rafinmd]

Day QM2-3, Monday, October 2, 2023, At Sea, Queen Mary 2

 

Crystal Serenity is in Sydney, her last port before Quebec.

 

I rose about 5:15 after gaining an hour overnight to return to Eastern time.  I stepped out on the Grill’s deck just before 6 which was to be sunrise.  It was quite cloudy but there was a bit of color in the sky.  While it was not stormy there was still a 35kt wind across the deck.  

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/dawn1002.jpg

 

Between the temperature (15C) and wind I stayed mostly in the ship.  One of the unique features of QM2 is a book shop with quite a large selection along with a very elegant and well stocked library, among the best at sea.

 

The book shop:

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/store1.jpg

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/store2.jpg

 

And the Library:

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/library1.jpg

 

 

There was a Senior Officers Cocktail Party for World Club Diamond members in the Queens Room at 11:15.  I’m not a Cocktail Party type but I stopped briefly for a Diet Coke.

I headed up to the Pavilion Pool about 11:50 for the midday briefing.  The wind across the deck had significantly diminished and I climbed the stairs up to deck 13 for the test of the horns. 

 

Captain Hashmi reported that we had sailed 360 miles since leaving Halifax and had 300 miles remaining to Sept Isles.  We were essentially crossing the ferry route between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland with Nova Scotia 23 miles to our port and Newfoundland 35 miles to starboard.  We also were passing Crystal Serenity docked in Sydney.  

 

We are due to be at our berth at Sept Isles about 8 in the morning and all aboard is 4:30PM.  The nautical term of the day was “Above Board”.   It relates to the time when legal cargo was carried on the top decks of ships where it could be seen for inspection while contraband was hidden below decks.

 

Lunch was a bit of an experiment.  One of my favorites on Crystal Serenity has been the Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich served at their burger bar, the Trident Grill.  Yesterday I asked the Maitre’d for a Grilled Ham and Cheese for lunch today.  Well we have a similar Reuben so the chef can tweak it a bit.  That was the centerpiece of lunch today.  For this, I must say the Trident Grill beats the Princess Grille hands down.

 

 

James Brown presented a classical piano recital in the Queens Room at 2 with dance music through the years.

I went down to afternoon tea in the Grills Lounge at 3:30 enjoying a scone, a small apple tart and of course tea.

 

After the very cloudy morning I noticed bright sunlight at noon and it stayed clear throughout the day.  I got my first really nice sun rise/set of the voyage from my balcony about 5:45.

I was very early to dinner arriving right at 6:30.  The menu didn’t really inspire me so I improvised a bit.  There was a lamb dish and the lamb looked ok but the other components not so much so I got the lamb by itself supplemented by Chilled Peach Soup and Chicken Consume.  Desert was Apple Caramel Goldrush.  It worked out ok.

I pretty much retired to my room after dinner.

 

I guess today’s parting shot is that it’s great to be back in the Province of Quebec.  My parents grew up just South of Montreal and Ihttps://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/programme1003.pdf still have a lot of family there.  It’s a bit sad that I will be as close as Quebec City but not actually there but I still feel an affinity to the area.

 

And the latest 2 Daily Programmes as posted to the blog:

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2023/10/programme1002.pdf

 

Roy