Notes from Queen Anne to the Mediterranean

[Poole Boy]

40 minutes ago, MylesS said:

Lots of people trying to get the large Queen Anne gin bottles, but they’re completely gone! 

Are they still $49 from the Bars ?

[Oren]

2 hours ago, NE John said:

I’ve seen some reports of messy disembarkations because of lifts shared with both luggage and pax. I would be interested to read your report of disembarkation. 

Also real curious what the latest departure time is available since we have to reserve a car pick up at the port. So any disembarkation handout or suggestions would be appreciated. Can everyone stay in their room until 9am?

Edited September 21 by Oren

[Winifred 22]

28 minutes ago, Oren said:

Also real curious what the latest departure time is available since we have to reserve a car pick up at the port. So any disembarkation handout or suggestions would be appreciated. Can everyone stay in their room until 9am?

It will depend on what you have been allocated for a disembarkation slot. Everyone has to be off by 10 unless they are on b2b’s 

[Host Hattie]

4 hours ago, NE John said:

I’ve seen some reports of messy disembarkations because of lifts shared with both luggage and pax. I would be interested to read your report of disembarkation. 

Some lifts have been out of order this evening as they are being used for luggage collection but we had no problems getting to dinner, the theatre and back.

We can probably use the stairs tomorrow. 

[Host Hattie]

The afternoon was spent napping and packing. We went for a fairly early dinner (all off the a la carte for me) & said our goodbyes to our waiters and sommelier who have been excellent. We haven't experienced any of the difficulties with incorrect orders reported by others. Mr HH might make breakfast tomorrow but it's unlikely I will. 

Our table sharers had been to the first show at 6pm and we made it for the end of the violinist. It was busy from the Deck 3 entrance so we had to sit separately. 

We went for a drink at the Casino bar and just missed saying hello to @MylesS !

Our lift lobby is full of cases and 2 of the 4 lifts are "out of service". 

 

[Host Hattie]

2 hours ago, Oren said:

Also real curious what the latest departure time is available since we have to reserve a car pick up at the port. So any disembarkation handout or suggestions would be appreciated. Can everyone stay in their room until 9am?

I'd say so, the letter only shows our time so wouldn't really help unless you’re on Deck 5.

[MylesS]

Can’t sleep unfortunately, but here’s the disembarkation information and times on the TV for those interested: 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Did they not do a Platinum/Diamond priority dismbarkation? (Or was it so exclusive that they didn't show it on the list?)

 

They didn't do it when I was on QA in May, but there were too many high level WC members to do it. On QE in July, there were so few high-level repeaters that they did a lounge (I think there was coffee)  and priority disembarkation for gold as well as platinum and diamond. 

Edited September 22 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Did they not do a Platinum/Diamond priority dismbarkation? (Or was it so exclusive that they didn't show it on the list?)

 

They didn't do it when I was on QA in May, but there were too many high level WC members to do it. On QE in July, there were so few high-level repeaters that they did a lounge (I think there was coffee)  and priority disembarkation for gold as well as platinum and diamond. 

They didn’t have WC priority in August either on QA. I don’t think I have ever had priority disembarkation. I like a late time slot anyway so would change it if I was too early. 

Edited September 22 by Winifred 22

[MylesS]

58 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Did they not do a Platinum/Diamond priority dismbarkation? (Or was it so exclusive that they didn't show it on the list?)

Each time I've been on and given disembarkation tags, they've always been purple, so in this case meaning you'd be off the ship by 9am at the latest. Given the latest is 10:20, I'd say its pretty priority.

That being said, it would be nice to have a dedicated lounge with refreshments again like they did in the past. However, with the large amount of Diamond members on the ships now, I can see how this might be difficult.

Edited September 22 by MylesS

[Host Hattie]

Mr HH went for an early breakfast, he had no problems with the lifts. We've just arrived at the theatre, again no problem with the lift. They seem to be running on time so far.

[Kynance]

9 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Mr HH went for an early breakfast, he had no problems with the lifts. We've just arrived at the theatre, again no problem with the lift. They seem to be running on time so far.

 
Safe trip home Host Hattie & Mr HH. Thank you for all your posts - I’ve enjoyed travelling vicariously along with you both!

[exlondoner]

32 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Mr HH went for an early breakfast, he had no problems with the lifts. We've just arrived at the theatre, again no problem with the lift. They seem to be running on time so far.

And such depressing weather to come back to. Poor HH. I have enjoyed your holiday very much. Thank you.

[Host Hattie]

Disembarkation was fine, apart from the woman in front of us who insisted on joining the queue before their colour was called 🤦‍♀️. Our taxi arrived in 2 minutes and we're on our way to collect our car from the Hilton.

Thanks for all the comments, I'll do a final thoughts post when we're home.

[SwankPooch]

Your posts are immensely appreciated, as I will be embarking as a tyro in a few weeks.

[MylesS]

Thank you for your posts @Host Hattie - sorry I missed you last night! Safe trip home. 

[Jonem2001]

Safe trip home, Hattie! I’ve much enjoyed following along (and playing ‘what would we have for dinner if we were on board’!).

 

I hope you’re on another trip before too long! 

[Host Hattie]

Thanks all, after an orderly disembarkation, swift pick up and easy transfer and car collection, the actual journey was a nightmare of terrible weather and a closed bridge across the Severn. There are 2 so it shouldn't have been as disruptive as it was.

We were greeted at the front door by our cat who had plenty to say about being abandoned!

[*Miss G*]

Glad you made it home safely and love the cat chatter. 😂 Thank you for your trip report! I enjoyed following along. (And maybe a bit sad that you didn’t do a Myles lol)

[exlondoner]

10 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Thanks all, after an orderly disembarkation, swift pick up and easy transfer and car collection, the actual journey was a nightmare of terrible weather and a closed bridge across the Severn. There are 2 so it shouldn't have been as disruptive as it was.

We were greeted at the front door by our cat who had plenty to say about being abandoned!

We need something to press that means aah or sweet. Surprising about the bridge, because it doesn’t seem that windy here. My best friend grew up in Llanelli, and we were at school in Gloucestershire. You can imagine how pleased her family were when the first bridge opened. Before then they had to use the ferry to visit her.

[Host Hattie]

Not wind, emergency resurfacing apparently. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Welcome home, HH! And welcome to what I call the "penalty phase" of a holiday--unpacking, laundry, sorting the mail, etc.

 

At least your cat looked at you. One of ours would shun us when we got home. Meals were accepted, of course, but other than that, she would turn her back on us. The dog, OTOH, would become velcro puppy, following Mom around--you're home, you're home, please don't leave me again, I missed you so much, you're my human and I want you with me...

[Planning to cruise]

Not a million miles from you Hattie.  Yep, welcome back to the usual weather.

[DukeBeetle24]

Sorry to hear of the dreadful drive home HH. Thanks for all of the posts and pictures, very much enjoyed following along - certainly keeping us giddy and excited for our own trip!

[Host Hattie]

This was our 3rd cruise since 2022 with the previous 2 both being 14 days to the Med, the first on Queen Victoria, 2nd on QM2. This was the first one not to be affected by illness and/or dining problems so it’s perhaps an unfair comparison but it was my favourite of the 3.

We enjoyed Britannia Club and had more meals in the dining room than usual. Apart from the Golden Lion on Embarkation Day, our Diamond Lunch and one afternoon tea on a port day we didn’t try any of the alternative options, not even Room service breakfast which is very unusual for us.

I probably only had a couple of disappointing dishes, unfortunately both the same lunchtime ! A Goats Cheese tart which was a couple of small pieces of cheese dropped onto a circle of dry pastry and Spaghetti Carbonara which was probably authentic but had very little sauce. Our waiter had previously worked in an Italian restaurant in India and didn’t recommend the pasta ! In general food and service was better than we’ve experienced on our post-covid cruises, I miss lobster on formal nights but it was good to have souffles back. The beef was much better than on our last cruise. The Britannia Club dining room is big but split into small sections and we were happy with our table location and service. Sometimes it was a bit too fast, main courses were arriving as soon as starters had been cleared

There are different drinks menus in most of the bars with some of the old favourites gone. I tried some of the new cocktails and mostly enjoyed them.

Dress Code, I didn’t detect any significant change, there was the occasional man in jeans and a t shirt in the corridors but I didn’t see anyone ignoring the dress code in the main restaurants or formal bars. There were one or two polo shirts, lots of collared shirts with and without jackets on Smart Attire nights. Our section of the restaurant was quite cold so anyone going in with bare arms probably only tried it once ! Lots of people dressed for the themes, there were a few hats on Roaring Twenties Night but I didn’t see any blow up guns this time.

I don’t know how many passengers were on board but the ship didn’t feel particularly crowded, on our last QM2 cruise we couldn’t get into the Commodore Club on a couple of occasions so it was good that the room is bigger. We even managed to get seats in the Queens Room on a couple of occasions, there were always plenty of dancers and the dance lessons seemed well attended when we passed. Those extra chairs they put out look terrible though, I hope they’ve got some better ones on order.

I didn’t mind the layout, our cabin was 5080 almost midway between the A and B stairs/lifts. It was a good location for us and we’ve booked a cabin in the same area for our next cruise. We didn’t use the promenade deck much but it’s fine for walking, it’s a shame that there is nowhere for steamer chairs but I enjoyed the variety of outside seating areas and comfortable outdoor chairs and sofas. Indoor bars and lounges had a good variety of seating as well, some of it a bit too low but we always found somewhere comfortable.

Our cabin was very quiet, we had occasional television noise from our neighbours but we didn’t hear them unless we were on the balcony. Storage wasn’t as bad as expected, we got extra hangers and I kept some things in packing cubes on the open shelves in the wardrobe. We had expected that we might have to keep some things in our suitcases but there was no need. Mr HH complained that he could have taken more clothes !

There was lots of live music around the ship, 3 duos, 2 pianists (one who sang as well) and a string trio as well as 2 vocalists with the Queens Room orchestra.