First time QE2 cruiser with a few ?'s

[cunarderqm2]

Hi all,

 

My wife and I are booked on the QE2 Los Angeles to New York leg of the world cruise and we had a few questions. Keep in mind we have sailed twice the QM2.

 

1. We are in a M4 category in cabin 42 something aft on deck 4 not attached to the hull. How much noise/vibration are we expected to notice? On the QM2 it was practically silent. On the other hand we both worked for the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA who makes noises and moves while permanently docked. I'm hoping for some movement and maybe even some rough weather, but my wife tends to get sick with the movement. She will be on medication though.

 

2. I've searched cunard's website for a policy on photography and the only mention is that crew will be taking some photos. I'm a hobbyist photographer with some serious gear and I'm thrilled to shoot the ship inside and out. Has anyone heard or had any issues of taking photos of the ship itself? I have a great gallery of the Queen Mary if anyone is interested in taking a look. Take a look here.

 

 

3. What is the general condition of the ship? I know the last fitting out was in 99, but I've heard some concerns with Cunard letting her go since her completed agreement with Dubai.

 

Thanks for the help and hopefully we will meet you aboard. :D

 

Tim

[NomDePlume]

Great pictures Tim!!!

Very nice to see you will be joining us in LA--why don't you check in on our roll call at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=601403 for the Panama Canal segment of the World Cruise?

I'm not aware of any restrictions regarding photography on board any of the ships--most likely what was referred to was that the ship's photographers have the exclusive use of some pictorial backdrops for "official" pics, but you can most likely snap away at will--although others may give you more info for areas such as the Bridge...

If you would like more information on the whole World Cruise, the roll call is readily available at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=383022 and you will be encouraged to have your name on the "official CCers" list--quite a few activities planned by an enthusiastic group...

 

Welcome Aboard!

 

M-L

[songanddance]

Welcome aboard tim (and wife). Please do come over to he 2008 QE2 world cruise roll call and sign in. I will put you into the list for the voyage and also sign up for the other roll call. We have a great group of folks coming along. We will have a CC meet and greet on the Monday after sailing out of LA in the Yacht Club at 3 pm plus an informal meeting on sail away night at 10 pm again in the Yacht Club

[Wadadli1]

Well goodness gracious. How were you able to wait so long to sail on QE2?!

 

I really like your pictures, the black and white most of all. I don't think you would have a bit of trouble taking pictures onboard--your QM pictures really seem to show a love of the ship, and interesting and different angles and points of view.

 

My husband and I will be sleeping over on QM before we board with you all and M-L on QE2. Song is doing the World Cruise. Join the Roll Calls and see you there. :)

[SSL]

cunarderQM2 says:

I'm hoping for some movement and maybe even some rough weather

 

I know what you mean, I love the 'feeling' of being on a ship! There was a series of huge storms during the maiden T/A on the QM2; half the ship's passengers were stuck in their staterooms sick, while the rest of us crazy 'Ocean Liner Geeks' were simply loving it, braving the weather out on deck!!! The QE2 is smaller and older than the QM2, and as such, you may feel the 'motion of the ocean' a little bit more. Not so much that your wife will be sick, though - weather permitting. I think it'll be a happy medium for you both.

 

Has anyone heard or had any issues of taking photos of the ship itself?

 

When I was on QE2, I took all of my camera and video equipment, including my tripod. I set it up and took about 12 rolls of film, and about 8 DV tapes throughout the week, out on deck, and in every public room, including the Grills, despite my being in an M1 cabin. I never once had a problem with taking photos. Granted, this was back in 2000, but I can't imagine there would be any difference now.

 

I loved your photos of the QM. Some beautiful night shots, and I loved your perspectives. Stunning pics of a stunning ship.

 

 

 

Steve L.

 

QM2 -- Maiden T/A -- April '04

QE2 -- Eastbound T/A -- August '00

Queen Mary, Long Beach -- week-long stay twice a year since '98

Countless Royal Caribbean cruises

 

Upcoming:

QE2 -- Eastbound T/A -- April '08

QE2 -- Final T/A -- October '08

[Bramcruiser]

Tim:

 

In answer to you questions:

 

1. It sounds like your M4 is an inside cabin. The noise factor is dependent on where its located as there are some rooms that are considered to be noisier than others in terms of hearing machinery. Without specifics its hard to make a guess. Cabins on the QE2 are far more individual in nature than any other ship. Some people find the noise unbearable while others just look at it as background noise and don't think twice about it.

 

There is a wonderful website that shows the cabins and the ones marked in red are the ones known to be the noise cabins. The link is:

 

http://www.deluxecruises.com/cunard/cunard_information/qe2_deck_plans_and_categories_queens_grill.htm

 

As for motion? Its known that cabins at the bow and aft on the lower decks will feel the motion of the ocean more so that in the centre. Some people pray for wild weather so they can enjoy the ride. Its a matter of taste if this is for you. I've never had the experience myself.

 

2. I don't know of any restrictions on photography other than we're not allowed in the bridge or engine room. I think you can relax on this one and take pictures to your heart's content.

 

3. To those who say the ship is being let go I say they are smoking something funny! I was on the ship for the first time this summer. Sure she has tons of coats of paint on her and her decks are well-trodden. Yet she is still a beauty and has been constantly cared for. The public rooms have no signs of wear and tear and have been kept immaculate. There is noticeable scratches on the cabin furniture and bathrooms but nothing that would make one think they never kept the ship up. For a 40 year old gal, the QE2 is in wonderful shape. The QM2 is far more modern for sure (I have the honour of being on her too) and the QE2 has quirks left over from the era she was built in but letting her go is about the last thing I've noticed. Funny that some people continue to say that but I just don't see it and I think that now that there is only one year left for the icon people will likely treat her with respect more.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

David

[pnhmrk]

My husband and I will be sleeping over on QM before we board with you all and M-L on QE2. Song is doing the World Cruise. Join the Roll Calls and see you there. :)

 

We're on the full WC - Southampton to Southampton! We're planning to visit the QM when in Los Angeles. :) I would encourage you to join the various roll calls but other people have beaten me to it!

 

BTW I've never had problems photographing the ship. To add to David's (Bramcruiser's) list of places you can't photograph there's the casino (although it's not that interesting) - you can take pictures form outside the rooom and include the casino in them though;)

[Wadadli1]

We're on the full WC - Southampton to Southampton! We're planning to visit the QM when in Los Angeles. :) I would encourage you to join the various roll calls but other people have beaten me to it!

 

BTW I've never had problems photographing the ship. To add to David's (Bramcruiser's) list of places you can't photograph there's the casino (although it's not that interesting) - you can take pictures form outside the rooom and include the casino in them though;)

 

Malcolm, I know that! You're going with Paul and your parents, you're both quitting your jobs to be at sea for 4 months, both cabins already got an upgrade to P1 and it made your mother weep with joy. Wonder who paid attention and who spent his elsewhere.....:rolleyes:

 

Why do you think we want you to give us a ride to QE2 when you go back from QM? :p

 

Uh oh. Just realised you meant to write to Tim and wrote to me instead. You can still give us a ride, yes?

[pnhmrk]

Why do you think we want you to give us a ride to QE2 when you go back from QM? :p

 

Angela - we'd love to:) If we get the taxi to tow mothers invalid scooter behind it both you and Paul can ride on that:) You can use one hand to hold on and the other to carry your overnight bag:) (Before you decide to accept this offer I'd just consider the scooter. It's light enough to fold up and go in the boot of a car; its maximum speed is 4 mph and its range is about 10 miles!)

[Wadadli1]

Angela - we'd love to:) If we get the taxi to tow mothers invalid scooter behind it both you and Paul can ride on that:) You can use one hand to hold on and the other to carry your overnight bag:) (Before you decide to accept this offer I'd just consider the scooter. It's light enough to fold up and go in the boot of a car; its maximum speed is 4 mph and its range is about 10 miles!)

 

Just get a bigger taxi, Malcolm. Room for everyone and everything!:p

[cunarderqm2]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm getting more excited as the minutes count down. I will join the roll calls although I'm not sure how.

 

As a former employee on the Queen Mary I can tell you a small secret. Go to the hotel main desk (originally 1st class purser's office) on main deck and ask to see a first class suite. They will make you provide a form of identification, but will give you a key to see a 1st class suite if any are available. I'm sure they will at least give you a key to see a 1st class cabin. Make sure to have a drink in the observation bar which was the 1st class bar at prom deck forward.

 

Looking forward to meeting everyone and waiting patiently for a upgrade from the elusive upgrade fairy.

[songanddance]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm getting more excited as the minutes count down. I will join the roll calls although I'm not sure how.

quote]

 

Very simple procedure. Go to the CC section called roll calls then click down to cunard then look for 2008 QE2 world cruise and come on board. I will add your names to the list. We are a happy band of nuts numbering about 35 at this point so there is plenty of room for more.

[SSNORWAY]

We were on for the 40th Anniversary in September, believe me there is no sign of neglect, every deck chair outside the funnel club was replaced for that cruise, we saw stacks of them having their delivery plastic film being removed, the teak steamer chairs on the boat deck were new last year and there is no sign of well trodden decking as someone else remarked, much of it has been recenty replaced, it looks like new (except there is one humorous bit where it has gone a bit springy outside the yacht club, you will see people trampolining on it)

 

The staff are more attentive than I have ever seen before so don't let anyone tell you they are disenfranchised with the sale of the ship either.

 

You can take pictures and videos to your hearts content, and there is a lot more to take pics of than on her newer sister.... you will love her, and be sad to think that she has not got too long left.

 

On the bright side she will not be going to Alang like my beloved SS France:mad:

 

I'm still hoping that my place on the waitlist for her final journey moves up the list and I can say goodbye for the last time, I was about 30 away last time I enquired so all fingers and toes are crossed.

 

By the way I would like to visit the Queen Mary sometime, we went a few years ago before I had the interest in ships I have now and we didn't even go on board! I can't imagine why :(

Anyway how is she looking these days? I often hear that she is a bit jaded inside, would you recommend a stay on board having worked on her?

 

And how haunted is she? have you any ghosty stories for us?

 

Regards Mark, Manchester UK

[cunarderqm2]

By the way I would like to visit the Queen Mary sometime, we went a few years ago before I had the interest in ships I have now and we didn't even go on board! I can't imagine why :(

Anyway how is she looking these days? I often hear that she is a bit jaded inside, would you recommend a stay on board having worked on her?

 

And how haunted is she? have you any ghosty stories for us?

 

Regards Mark, Manchester UK

 

Sadly, she is not looking so good, but the good news is the city has just sold her lease who is willing to drop about $6 million in the old girl. We are all really excited about the buyout. I'm told that there are spots on the QE2 that you will swear you are on the Queen Mary.

 

No ghost stories from me. I think it was a Disney story when they ran the ship, but I do know a lot of stories that have circulated. I will be more than happy to share any tales about the ship I can. I was a tour guide for them so I know a lot of weird trivia. I would still stay on board, just make sure to ask for a outside cabin on the starboard side so you can see the harbor not the parking lot. :)

 

Tim

[Bramcruiser]

What a small world Tim. When we did the QE2 this past summer one of our dinner mates at our table was an employee at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. He definitely loved working there and it was interesting hearing all the tales of the ship. It was fun being on an icon hearing stories about another icon. :)

 

David

[travel-to-go]

Hi all,

 

My wife and I are booked on the QE2 Los Angeles to New York leg of the world cruise and we had a few questions. Keep in mind we have sailed twice the QM2.

2. I've searched cunard's website for a policy on photography and the only mention is that crew will be taking some photos. I'm a hobbyist photographer with some serious gear and I'm thrilled to shoot the ship inside and out. Has anyone heard or had any issues of taking photos of the ship itself? I have a great gallery of the Queen Mary if anyone is interested in taking a look. Take a look here.

Tim

Tim,

I'm sorry you won't be continuing on to Southampton. You will be getting off as we are getting on!

My Significant other, Marc is a bit of a camera buff. Even more so since his latest acquisition, A Nikon D40 SLR. We just disembarked QM2 last Saturday. I would guess he probably took 1000 pictures on board (I did the videoing, with an occasional shot on my little Olympus digital) The places that I know of that generally prohibit picture taking are for safety reasons, such as the Bridge, where I am sure, the Captain in charge doesn't want to be distracted by flashes going off all of the time, not to mention any sensitive equipment, or that which would be hard to read with flashes going on. I am sure there are places they don't want you taking pictures for security reasons, but we have pictures of the sonic security system (Such as was used on, I think one of the Seabourn yachts when pirates tried to board 2 years ago in the area of Indonesia and the Malacca straits) We have shots of the officer of the watch, well, watching <G> out the bridge wings. He could clearly see us and did not seem to mind. last week, while re-boarding from a tender operation, someone was going down a staircase marked crew only. He asked if he could take a shot and a crew member held the door open for him! I am sure the policies are similar on the QE2. at any rate, we certainly hope to find out in April, when I expect Marc to be our official room photographer for the Cabin Cavalcade! We even took tons of shots of other passengers, rushed up to our cabin to our small portable picture printer, printed them and rushed back down to hand them out. Even the ship's photographers didn't seem to object. We even had conversations with them about the camera, and other shared interests.

 

I look forward to seeing your photos and sharing ours!

 

Karie

[cunarderqm2]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't expecting to photograph the bridge or any crew areas, but I have heard of tours on the ship. Are there such tours that will take you to these areas like the kitchens, engine room, bridge, and other crew areas? Thanks for the insight.

 

Tim

[travel-to-go]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't expecting to photograph the bridge or any crew areas, but I have heard of tours on the ship. Are there such tours that will take you to these areas like the kitchens, engine room, bridge, and other crew areas? Thanks for the insight.

 

Tim

 

Tim,

 

They pretty much say that no longer happens. However, several people on here have recently related tales of sending a private note to the Captain while on board requesting permission, and that sometimes it is granted.

 

I would explain how much you love photography, and how you are so excited about this trip. Be sure to tell them you worked on the original QM. I suspect that will hold some weight with them! They may even have questions for you about her!

 

BTW, if possible be sure to take the Heritage Tour with Thomas Quinones, if he is on board. I will be doing so in April. One of our members here has already arranged it for us. He does them regularly and I believe it will be noted in the daily program.

 

 

Good luck. Writing a note to the Captain couldn't hurt, and the reply will be a nifty souvenir, even if he has to say no! He might be able to let you in some places but not others, depending. With the lady retiring soon, I would be willing to bet the answer is more likely to be yes than no, if at all possible!

and btw, I would certainly offer to send copies, via a disk or thumb drive or whatever, if at all possible. Believe it or not, when we offered copies of pictures to retired Commodore Warwick last year, and Marc said, "you probably get offered pictures from passengers all the time", He said, no, it was rare that they did, and he was actually pleased as punch! I am sure they are very sentimental over their commands and would be delighted to have remembrances, just as we are. Despite the fact they are on board so much, they are busy working! When was the last time any of us took pictures of our workplaces, especially if it was due to be shut down in a year!

 

Give it a whirl, and post the pics if you do manage any of it!

 

Karie

[Mixed Up]

Tim,

 

Last year at the port for Florence, Italy, when returning to the QM2 I asked the police if I could walk a few yards along the dock side to get a photograph of the stern of the ship. As I took the photograph a security officer from the QM2 started yelling at me and ran at me like he was crazy shouting that I must not photograph the bow or the stern of the ship and demanding to see any photograph I had taken. Suddenly I didn't much feel like I was a paying passenger!

 

I have never understood the logic of what he was saying and I have certainly never understood why he was so aggressive. It has tarnished my opnion of Cunard line. I'm all for security, but this was something else!

 

Your quesiton is valid - be careful!

 

Mixed Up.:mad:

[cunarderqm2]

When I shot the QM2 before my camera was still deemed consumer, but since I have upgraded my equipment I'm afraid I will get a lot more attention. I photographed the bow too many times to count, but it was from the tender. Never really got a good shot of the stern though. I did walk dock side to get one, but the port authority policy were watching me and I could tell if I didn't do it quick I would be stopped.

 

As a hobbyist photographer I'm used to the harassment, but I'm not sure if I want to get talked to by a Cunard representative. This is a vacation for me and I certainly don't want to get talked to. If I remember correctly I never saw the ship security officers except at port.

 

Thanks for the input,

 

Tim

[travel-to-go]

 

As a hobbyist photographer I'm used to the harassment, but I'm not sure if I want to get talked to by a Cunard representative. This is a vacation for me and I certainly don't want to get talked to. If I remember correctly I never saw the ship security officers except at port.

 

Thanks for the input,

 

Tim

 

Tim,

I think the reason you only saw the ships' security was in port is that the ones in port are actually (I believe) part of the port agents. Marc and I had the opportunity to speak with one of these people while we were waiting for our turn to disembark a few weeks ago. The people who do most of the "herding" and checking and security while in port work for the port agent. That include the people working to get you both on and off the ship. They actually come onto the ship to do these things. Ships security, OTOH, blend in like they always do on the ship. You might recognize them by their shoulder insignia (they have a discreet S on their epaulets, but most people don't really notice. At least I usually don't!) And of course every officer's and crew member's job is security, I am certain. So I am guessing that the folks you see in port are different, and have a more obvious presences (In part as a deterrent) Perhaps it would help to talk to someone on board to see if you might be escorted or get permission to do photos in port. Not sure who that would be. I hesitate to say start with the purser's office. The photography staff are actually employees of a company called Images Inc. Still, some of them have been around, and know the ropes. It wouldn't hurt to chat one up if you see them when they aren't busy. Marc and I have gotten to know a few of them, and they may well have already broached this subject if they are also photography aficionados as well as professionals!

It's worth a try!

 

Good luck!

 

Karie