What's not to be missed on the QE2?

[pnhmrk]

We've had a thread asking about the Mary, this one is about the Lizzy. I feel that QM2 is overrepresented on this board and (my favourite:o ) QE2 is underrepresented. Let's redress the balance - I know that I'm not the only person who has been befriended by that grand old lady.

[Mayor Kathie]

So many things not to miss,the history as you just look around ,you see so much.I love the quiet corners,where you can just watch the world go by,but still be on your own!The hotel staff,who just want you to have a wonderful time.The wardroom party if you are very lucky,not just for the drinks and nibbles,but for the remarkable history on the walls!

We should cherish every time we are able to sail on such a great lady!We cant wait untill October!:)

Kathie

[Anteeta]

We've had a thread asking about the Mary, this one is about the Lizzy. I feel that QM2 is overrepresented on this board and (my favourite:o ) QE2 is underrepresented. Let's redress the balance - I know that I'm not the only person who has been befriended by that grand old lady.

 

Nice one Malcolm. I agree. We love the QE2 and if we had the money, I'm sure could become dangerously obsessed. For me the QE2 experience is all about decent and proper standards and values. It's elegant, refined, a bit careworn in places, but a lot of fun. No we can't abseil down the funnel and the waiters don't conga the cocktails to the table, but there are so many things to do, crew are happy to do whatever they can to make your trip what you want it to be.

 

And it's not a question of living in the past. I'm a very now kind of person, active and outgoing and we met so many wonderful people with stories to tell. There was never a dull moment. And one thing's for sure, she won't pass this way again and this style of travel will largely disappear when she goes. We're looking forward to doing some of the things we didn't get round to last time. A month wasn't enough!

[bobby1119]

We've had a thread asking about the Mary, this one is about the Lizzy. I feel that QM2 is overrepresented on this board and (my favourite:o ) QE2 is underrepresented. Let's redress the balance - I know that I'm not the only person who has been befriended by that grand old lady.

 

One word sums QE2 up for me:

AUTHENTICITY

As close to Cunard orange as I could get!

[sfo-john]

Having a cocktail before dinner in the small and mostly original Princess Grill Bar/Champagne Bar in the middle of the North Atlantic, dressed formally, with some nice new friends with a little bit of motion thrown in for some extra atmosphere. There's nothing like it in the world.

[pnhmrk]

Having a cocktail before dinner in the small and mostly original Princess Grill Bar/Champagne Bar in the middle of the North Atlantic, dressed formally, with some nice new friends with a little bit of motion thrown in for some extra atmosphere. There's nothing like it in the world.

 

That's the one public bar I've never had a drink in - I've looked into it but there's always been a reason for me to head on elsewhere. I always think it is a great pity it's got no windows and therefore no view.

[carlmm]

That's the one public bar I've never had a drink in

 

Well, one more reason to go back! I second not only sfo-john's view about the Princess Grill bar (meet there with some friends, order a bottle of champagne, ask the steward to serve the hors d'ouevres when you like, enjoy ...) but the other so far mentioned points, too.

 

What's not to be missed on the QE2?

(With the caveat of downgradings having taken place.)

The real wood all around the ship.

The orchestration of tea in Queen's Room as well as tea on deck.

To wander around in the bars and lounges when everybody is dressed up all night.

A classical pre-dinner concert.

The orchesta.

The comfort of having your table and stewards every day for all meals.

The companionship of so many well-traveled and sophisticated passeners.

The service by stewards that have been with Cunard for decades.

...

 

In short: To enjoy the way ocean travelling should be.

[sfo-john]

Well, when I've been in the the Princess Grill/Champagne Bar it's been winter on the North Atlantic so it's dark anyway. There's a great sort of hidden away and cozy feeling about being in that bar. That said, I also love to have a pre dinner cocktails in the Chart Room, the Crystal Bar, the Yacht Club.. Maybe I just like to have pre dinner cocktails! I also love to sit in the Yacht Club at a window table sometime after 4pm and write postcards or read while sipping a glass of wine, though it can be hard to concentrate because it's so mesmerizing to look out at the roiling grey seas while classical music is playing over the sound system in said Yacht Club.

[Mayor Kathie]

I AM DISSAPOINTED THAT NO ONE HAS ANSWERED TO THE WARDROOM PARTY, SPECIAL OCCASION.aLSO IS ANYONE BOOKED ON THE 16TH OCTOBER CANARIES CRUISE,LOVE TO MEET UP.

KATHIE.:)

[pnhmrk]

I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT NO ONE HAS ANSWERED TO THE WARDROOM PARTY, SPECIAL OCCASION.

 

Is that party a special occasion? It's not that different to any of the other onboard parties - except the canapés come round more frequently!:D

 

ALSO IS ANYONE BOOKED ON THE 16TH OCTOBER CANARIES CRUISE,LOVE TO MEET UP.

 

Why not start a thread in the Roll Call forum?

[mtbny7]

Kathy-

 

I must say that every Wardroom party I've ever been to (about 4) has been hot, and over-crowded. yuck.

 

Also, if you are sensitive to motion the Wardroom is a fright in rough seas - I'm not (I love a good sea!) but it is unpleasant to see others suffering.

 

But it is nice to be asked; and if you've never been then by all means GO and see all the goodies on the walls; and meet/mingle with your fellow passengers! That's always fun.

 

-Michael

[Transatlantic Tom]

One of the things my wife and I enjoy on QE2 is every morning - about 9:30 or 10 AM - after breakfast in the Mauretania Restuarant, sitting on that skinny little deck outside The Lido, overlooking the outside pool and the QE2's stern, sipping coffee. It's become a morning ritual...the smell of that wonderful sea air, and the gentle (or sometimes not-so-gentle) feeling of the stern rising and falling. No cares in the world at a moment like that. I think we ran into "Sfo-John" a few times at that spot, that time of the day, during our recently-completed January crossing, eh John ??

 

Tom:)

[pnhmrk]

Sitting on that skinny little deck outside The Lido, overlooking the outside pool and the QE2's stern, sipping coffee.

 

I like that as an idea:) One problem we've always found on the ship is that there's nowhere decent to get coffee in the morning - the Lido is just too crowded and canteen like; the coffee at the one deck pool is horrible, as is that at the funnel bar; the QG lounge is like a waiting room for a cemetery!; most of the bars don't start serving until 11-00am. Isn't that deck always crowded? Is it easy to get a table?

[Coolgran]

From the first sight of that Funnel to the last sight of her as we 'wave' her goodbye (until the next time) just about EVERYTHING. Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room,The Library. The Food. The Service. the Lectures. Reading in a quiet corner. Pina Colado's. The Parties. The Shows.The classical concerts etc. etc. and so on & so forth.

[sfo-john]

Yes Tom, I can picture you and Jan quite clearly sitting there sipping your coffee! That's a wonderful little space there and I don't remember there being much of a line at all for coffee or tea. Plus it's pretty well sheltered from the wind, so it's possible to doze off...

[sfo-john]

Tom, is that little deck outside the Lido or outside of the Pavilion? I kind of get those two spaces mixed up..

[Transatlantic Tom]

Tom, is that little deck outside the Lido or outside of the Pavilion? I kind of get those two spaces mixed up..

 

John:

 

It's outside of the Lido overlooking the pool. It's the deck below -One Deck- which has the pool and the Pavilion.

 

Yes, it is nice and sheltered. Occasionally, on those rougher days when there's a bit of a breeze blowing, you do get some sea mist whipping aroung at that spot we're talking about...

 

While we're at it - the evening meetings for pre-dinner drinks with you (and Mike, Richard, Chris, Rebecca & Tom, et al) in the Champagne Bar were one of the things we loved most about our January crossing. We certainly kept that dear bartender busy, didn't we ?? Kudos to you for contributing that to this list of "What's Not to Be Missed on QE2" offerings.

 

John: April, April, April....

 

Tom;)

[Transatlantic Tom]

I like that as an idea:) One problem we've always found on the ship is that there's nowhere decent to get coffee in the morning - the Lido is just too crowded and canteen like; the coffee at the one deck pool is horrible, as is that at the funnel bar; the QG lounge is like a waiting room for a cemetery!; most of the bars don't start serving until 11-00am. Isn't that deck always crowded? Is it easy to get a table?

 

Malcolm:

 

By about 10 AM the crowds thin out a bit, and if you're like us (having already eaten breakfast in Mauretania, and just getting a cup of coffee), you can quickly grab your beverage at that coffee/tea station -over on the starboard side of The Lido - and then quickly slip out to the skinny little deck !

 

If you're sailing on the April 2007 crossing, we'll look for you out there some morning !!

 

Tom

[pnhmrk]

By about 10 AM the crowds thin out a bit, and if you're like us (having already eaten breakfast in Mauretania, and just getting a cup of coffee), you can quickly grab your beverage at that coffee/tea station -over on the starboard side of The Lido - and then quickly slip out to the skinny little deck !

 

Thanks for the tip - I enjoy my breakfast so much that I have a pre-breakfast breakfast in the cabin and then a proper breakfast in the restaurant. That keeps me going until i can get my coffee and pastry mid morning!

 

If you're sailing on the April 2007 crossing, we'll look for you out there some morning !!

 

Unfortunately we don't expect to be on board then - we might be on the crossings at the end of 2007.

[Bramcruiser]

Well, I have a year to wait to find out what the QE2 is really all about. I sprung the August 2007 trip I am planning on my partner yesterday as a birthday surprise.

 

I can't tell you what I like or don't like about the ship but I can tell you why I selected a cruise on it before it eventually gets retired - it's an original. The last of a kind and a throwback to the ocean liners of days gone by but with a slight 60's twist that makes it an oddball in the industry for sure.

 

We're already planning our first QM2 trip in December of this year but I don't even begin to think that I should be expecting the same from either of the two ships. To me the QM2 is the arrival of the 21st century while the QE2 represents tradition. Cunard is lucky to have both and this is what makes Cunard somewhat special to me than the average party line or the other so-called premium lines.

 

I hope to get out of the 40 year old queen what you all seem to enjoy about it. Will definitely keep an eye out for what to see and avoid on the ship.

[pnhmrk]

I sprung the August 2007 trip I am planning on my partner yesterday as a birthday surprise.

 

His birthday was yesterday? Wish him a happy birthday from everyone here:)

[Bramcruiser]

Thanks, I will pass on the birthday wishes. Not only will it be our first QE2 voyage but also our first time visiting the UK and Europe.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Nobody has mentioned Thomas' "Heritage Trail" tour yet.

 

The theatrics alone are worth it!

[pnhmrk]

Nobody has mentioned Thomas' "Heritage Trail" tour yet.

 

The theatrics alone are worth it!

 

I gave up doing the Heritage Tours quite a few years ago, once I'd been on three or four. Do you think I'd benefit from doing another one? (And who's Thomas?)

[Kindlychap]

(And who's Thomas?)

 

 

:eek:

 

 

Thomas is one of the senior cruise staff. Very funny, and completely unique.

 

Better than the rest of them combined in my opinion!