Druke I Posted September 21, 2009 #3026 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Welcome back. I'm a tad surprised about the "uncongenial" fellow passengers - I guess I'm lucky - I've almost always found lots of happy "fellow travellers". Great photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapricorn Posted September 22, 2009 #3027 Share Posted September 22, 2009 (edited) Welcome back. I'm a tad surprised about the "uncongenial" fellow passengers - I guess I'm lucky - I've almost always found lots of happy "fellow travellers". Great photo. Yeah, I usually find convivial others on cruise ships, but not this time. Glad that you liked the photograph. Here are two taken in Glacier Bay. Margerie Glacier Johns Hopkins Glacier I am never bored with Alaska, and will keep a-cruisin' there. Donald. Edited September 22, 2009 by Kapricorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 22, 2009 #3028 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Great photos Donald. Just my kind of scenery :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 22, 2009 #3029 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Arghhhhhh! P&O have just announced they have sold Artemis! Another favourite ship lost to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druke I Posted September 22, 2009 #3030 Share Posted September 22, 2009 (edited) That has been subject of many rumors. Royal Princess was one of my favorites - and quite a trend setter in her early years. We had four great trips on her. Edited September 22, 2009 by Druke I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thames_side Posted September 22, 2009 #3031 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Arghhhhhh! P&O have just announced they have sold Artemis! Another favourite ship lost to me. Not lost altogether. The word is that she is going to Saga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 22, 2009 #3032 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Not lost altogether. The word is that she is going to Saga. I could live with that then, although my pocket might suffer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conte Di Savoia Posted September 23, 2009 #3033 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Can someone tell me about the atmosphere onboard the Queens? Is it slightly upscale with a willingness to enjoy eveningwear and a slightly more formal societal atmosphere? Do pax occasionally show up at a Grill in shorts and flipflops for dinner and get turned away? On the NYC to UK crossings, are most folks in transit or do some of the pax make round trips without disembarking? Ruby The passengers who travel on board Queen Mary 2 are aware of the more "dignified" ambiance that is expected and they largely adhere to the dress code which has been proscribed for the evening. One could argue that the interior decor of the ship, what I call Faux Deco, inspires the traveler to play along with the illusion that they are traveling in the grand style of the past. It's sort of like a costume party that lasts for the entire cruise or crossing. Cunard promotes this image in its advertising. It's all in good fun and includes special events like the Black and White Ball in a proper ballroom, a facility which is absent on other modern ships outside of the Cunard fleet. However, Cunard has made some concessions for those who feel garroted by a neck tie. The King's Court allows more casual dress albeit not sloppy dress. On our recent four night Labor Day cruise we actually saw a bar steward ask an inappropriately dressed couple to leave the Champagne Bar when their outfits did not conform to the evening dress code. One other transgression I witnessed did slip by the authorities. Two gentlemen attended the evening show in shorts and T shirts. They couldn't have engendered more stares if they had shown up in their underwear. Yes, Ruby, people do come on board just for the transatlantic ride, sometimes remaining on the ship, other times combining it with a cruise that might leave from New York or Southampton. They are in the minority, however. The transatlantic crossings routinely garner a more international crowd and IMHO a sophisticated well traveled one at that. We are swearing off megaships, but Queen Mary 2 is the exception. She is a unique vessel, not one that has identical or fraternal twins plying the seven seas. There is no getting around that she is a large vessel and getting around may be an issue for some. Every departure from one's cabin needs to be well planned because if any necessary item is forgotten it is a long hike to go back and retrieve it. Although the ship is over a thousand feet long, its beam isn't so wide! See the image below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapricorn Posted September 25, 2009 #3034 Share Posted September 25, 2009 My parents’ favourite story about the original QE was the widow who appeared at every meal wearing a different hat. Eventually someone asked her where she stored her hatboxes. Her famous reply, “In the penthouse next to mine!” This made me think of Mrs. Charlotte Drake Cardeza, who occupied the starboard three-room suite with private promenade on Titanic. She was accompanied by her 38-year-old son whom she booked in a separate cabin. Why? Because she used the second bedroom of the suite to store some of her 14 trunks, four suitcases and three crates of baggage. I believe that I read somewhere that this son was the one who donned a woman's overcoat and large hat in order to get into a lifeboat. Although the ship is over a thousand feet long, its beam isn't so wide! See the image below. Very clever, Conte! LOL! Did you have to carry a balance pole to make your way on the narrow beam from stern to bow? Donald. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conte Di Savoia Posted September 25, 2009 #3035 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Very clever, Conte! LOL! Did you have to carry a balance pole to make your way on the narrow beam from stern to bow? Donald. Yes I do, as a matter of fact. It's part of by Cirque du Soleil act which I currently perform whenever I'm aboard QM2. It's a real crowd pleaser! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 26, 2009 #3036 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Just home after a delightful three night break on board Aurora to Honfleur and Ypres. The weather was fabulous and the ports some of the best I have ever visited. This in Honfleur in Northern France, where Monet and Boudin had studios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 28, 2009 #3037 Share Posted September 28, 2009 More photos here for anyone interested. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sharonp40/CruiseOnAuroraToZeebruggeLeHavre# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druke I Posted September 28, 2009 #3038 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Nice photos. Thanks for the share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapricorn Posted September 28, 2009 #3039 Share Posted September 28, 2009 More photos here for anyone interested. You certainly was blessed with great weather in most of these photographs. Thanks for sharing with us. Donald. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 28, 2009 #3040 Share Posted September 28, 2009 You certainly was blessed with great weather in most of these photographs. Thanks for sharing with us. Donald. It was lovely weather, but then we never really had a summer here so we sure needed some sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saga Ruby Posted September 29, 2009 Author #3041 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Ships Cat - I enjoyed your trip photos. In looking at the Flanders Field museum and the other memorials, I realized that I have only a vague recall of the historical events of this epoch. These pix have stirred an interest in brushing up on my WWI history. Was your interest for this cruise to visit the area of the gas attacks during WWI or a simple desire to get away for a few days that turned into a memorable historical tour? You have a lovely photo of a wooden row boat. That photograph sent me down Memory Lane to the age of 14 at a girls' summer camp. I learned to paddle a mahogany canoe with the J-stroke and other handy strokes to guide a very heavy "boat." We were required to swamp the canoe then paddle it to shore - quite a hard task! Ruby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seabourndt Posted September 29, 2009 #3042 Share Posted September 29, 2009 i mentioned a while ago that i did my 1st ever cruise to greenland on M.S disko, saga does disko bay but thewy are way too expensive saw a lovely cruise on voyages of discovery next year. they go to illisiat(jakobhaven) is thjis far from from diski bay you know? thought i had a map of greenland but cannot find it dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saga Ruby Posted September 29, 2009 Author #3043 Share Posted September 29, 2009 i mentioned a while ago that i did my 1st ever cruise to greenland on M.S disko, saga does disko bay but thewy are way too expensive saw a lovely cruise on voyages of discovery next year. they go to illisiat(jakobhaven) is thjis far from from diski bay you know? thought i had a map of greenland but cannot find it. dave As you probablyl know, Jakobshavn Glacier is located in Disko Bay - that mother of all glaciers is the nursery for all icebergs in the North Atlantic. Just east across from the Bay, on the mainland of Greenland, is Ilulissat, an inland town, and any cruise going to Disko Bay should visit that area. I tried to arrange a personal trip with an air charter service in that town to take a Jeep safari to the musk ox herds but, due to global warming, the herds have moved too far north. To find any map of any country on the Web, you can use your web browser like Yahoo, Internet Explorer, or Firefox (my personal favourite) to find any map - just type in "Greenland map" and you'll have it in front of you. You will quickly learn how to manipulate the map to your convenience. Ruby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapricorn Posted September 29, 2009 #3044 Share Posted September 29, 2009 Do any of you retain your cruise passcards? Here is a photograph of the 39 passcards which I've amassed since 1997. These are nice mementos, and makes it easy for me to keep track of my cruises. Donald. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 29, 2009 #3045 Share Posted September 29, 2009 (edited) Donald - you are lucky indeed to have such a fine collection of passcards. I have all my earlier ones but they no longer let you keep them, despite putting up a fine argument at disembarkation of QM2 :(. I managed to get one of my last voyage on QE2, by losing my first one. It later turned up in my luggage when I unpacked ! :D Ruby, I had just intended a few days away, but the cruise did indeed turn into a memorable one, for all the right reasons. I lost a great uncle in that war, and had always wanted to visit the battlefields. I didn't get to the Somme where he died, but at least made it to Ypres. The Indian summer was a bonus. Edited September 29, 2009 by ships cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druke I Posted September 29, 2009 #3046 Share Posted September 29, 2009 My dad was in the British Army, Manchester Regiment, in the Great War, and was both wounded and gassed (chlorine gas, not mustard). He went into the lines as a junior Subaltern (2nd Lt.), and when they came out of the lines, he had been Brevetted to Major, as he was the only officer still capable of leading! I do have his original "dog tags (identity discs), Service Book, and the French auto-load pistol he acquired to replace his issue Webley revolver. He of course is gone now, but did live a good life after he was demobbed. Donald - I have some of the passcards, but certainly not as complete a collection as yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druke I Posted September 29, 2009 #3047 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I failed to include the word "battalion" when describing my dad's going into combat and being brevetted to major. Regimental staff were still ensconced in the rear (Vietnam veterans refer to those types as REMFs!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 30, 2009 #3048 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I failed to include the word "battalion" when describing my dad's going into combat and being brevetted to major. Regimental staff were still ensconced in the rear (Vietnam veterans refer to those types as REMFs!). I think I have a good idea of what the initials mean! :D The area looks so beautiful and pretty now it is hard to imagine what happened not that long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conte Di Savoia Posted September 30, 2009 #3049 Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) Do any of you retain your cruise passcards? Here is a photograph of the 39 passcards which I've amassed since 1997. These are nice mementos, and makes it easy for me to keep track of my cruises. Donald. Donald, I save these as well, but like Ship's Cat we had to return ours upon disembarking QM2 three weeks ago but I do have the ones from my previous voyages on that vessel. Seeing your collection made me think of the days when no such cards were necessary. I remember one year vacationing on Sint Maarten and seeing Angelina Lauro at anchor in Phillipsburg harbor. I decided it would be great fun to visit the ship and so I and my traveling companions piled into their tender and boarded the ship. No questions were asked, no ID required to go aboard. We just blended in with the crowd, toured the ship and then took the tender back to town. Those were the days! Donald, how did you manage to insert the picture into the body of your posting without having to put in a clickable link? I think that is the first time I've seen that done on this site. P.S. The picture disappeared again. I guess I must have to select something to have these pictures automatically appear, but what and where do I find that? Edited September 30, 2009 by Conte Di Savoia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 30, 2009 #3050 Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) Conte - you need to click on "go advanced" and then to "manage attachments" to insert pictures into this site. I have done it quite a few times. Alternatively, if the picture is on a web hosting site such as picasa, you can type in et voila Edited September 30, 2009 by ships cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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