Malcolm's diary of QE2's final world cruise.

[Malcolm]

Today we were in St Kitts; another of those ports where we should have docked but it was changed at the last minute to an anchor port.

St Kitts is a lovely island. It is another island that tourism hasn't spoilt and has one of the safest and friendliest atmospheres I could imagine. Although some of the islanders appear to live in a great degree of poverty that isn't allowed to affect their attitude to non islanders.

We had booked for the second of the day's scenic railway tours - because 10-30am meant that we'd time for breakfast and a leisurely start where 8-30am was just too early! We therefore got the train that ran from the North East to the South West of the island. This meant that we got the buildings part of the tour first and the very scenic part last - what we'd have chosen had we known.

David and everybody else who recommended the railway thank you - you were right that it shouldn't be missed; having done it once though I doubt the views would appear so exciting next time. One comment I would make about the train is that it only goes slowly but it is a very rough ride! My advice would be to go to the loo before you get on the train - I went near the start of the ride (I hadn't even had one of the free drinks) and fell on the way there.

Once we were off the coach back from the train Paul and I walked through the modern (and only partially open) cruise port and into the town proper. There are no great sights there but the atmosphere when walking through the town is wonderful. It is so relaxed and friendly.

Once back on board we had to pay another call to the purser. Today's daily programme had asked all guests who would be "in-transit" at the end of this cruise to hand their tickets in to the purser. The office didn't know what to do with them (!) so they made a photocopy and gave us them back. I wonder if it means more excitement later on this cruise?

Opera Interludes were performing again in the Grand Lounge. As usual their show was good but over amplified. I was falling asleep during the show so once it was over it was off to bed.

[Malcolm]

Today hasn't started well! I overslept (by that  mean that I didn't wake up until the alarm call came at 6-30am, I couldn't cancel it before it rang so it ended up waking Paul. He couldn't sleep last night and had been at the Pavilion until 2-00am drinking tea.

I went down to the gym as usual for 7-00am; I was there slightly early and was chatting with the other people waiting. At ten past, when nobody had turned up to open the gym someone went and called the purser - someone would be down immediately. A further ten minutes passed and I called - someone would be down immediately to open the gym. By this time the people with 7-30am bookings were turning up and it was a further five minutes had passed before anyone actually arrived and then it was the staff due to start at 7-30am. I ended up being able to exercise for about 4 minutes before someone turned up wanting their 7-30am appointment on the machine.

Because we plan on having a fairly large lunch and dinner we only wanted a light breakfast. We forwent the restaurant this morning and, for the first time in many years, tried the Lido. It wasn't quite as bad as I remembered - the quantity was better than a motorway service station, the quality was about the same and the atmosphere far worse! It did serve its purpose of giving us tea and toast (and in my case muesli) this morning but it's not somewhere I'd rush back to.

We sat on One Deck, by the pool, for several hours whilst I compiled my previous post. We then wrote some postcards whilst the shade lasted (and until we got to the point of not being able to stomach the sight of so many very overweight and nearly naked bodies).

Then we got our books and I found a letter from the gym apologizing for the "inconvenience" suffered this morning and offering a complimentary "Relaxation Capsule Session". [I never did claim that session. I suppose I felt I had better things to do with my time than lie in the dark for an hour!] We then went to find a lounger on Boat Deck and read. We had a very relaxing morning reading and went for a preprandial lemonade in the Chart Room.

Lunch was the worst meal we've had on this ship. The service went from slow to very slow throughout although: the starter was some kind of meat filled pasta with a tomato sauce; the pasta seemed to be the dried stuff you can buy at Tesco, the tomato sauce tasted as if it came straight from a can. The main course was roast beef; it was very overcooked - medium rare came very well done - we sent it back. The new meat was much closer to being properly cooked however the Yorkshire Pudding and vegetables were those that had come with the first meat 20 minutes previously. The puddings were leathery and the vegetables almost cold. The pudding was ice cream with a coffee topping. Paul summed it up best when he said that "there was definitely ice cream in there somewhere!) The coffee arrived after another long wait and tasted as if it had been boiled for several hours before being allowed to go cold. The meal took so long that was probably the case.

Dinner was decidedly better although still not even approaching the standard of food offered last year (or even on the trip so far). There appeared to be far more of the food being bought in readymade rather than being prepared on the ship. It's OK for the odd item occasionally but it is several things at each meal.

One thing a lot of people have commented on is the standard and number of decorations. It was a Gala buffet yesterday evening. There was a Christmas Tree in the Lido that we had been told about and had thought that the people who told us (Andrew and Jayne) had been exaggerating. They hadn't! It had a short length of tinsel and about five decorations haphazardly drapped on it. It looked as if a five year old had done it in about five minutes with no outside help.

[cunardqueen]

Malcolm
In general how did you enjoy Christmas with Cunard? or was it just like any normal sea day except for the fact it was Christmas? Did they pull out all the stops for the very last QE2 Christmas? Could you see the Queens speech and did santa come along and fill your stocking, did they even give you a Xmas card?
 With this cruise now  under way what were your thoughts on the next one....  The food does seem to be an issue on this cruise. Did you ever have doubts that the World cruise might (god forbid) be too much?

[Malcolm]

In general how did you enjoy Christmas with Cunard?

Thoroughly enjoyable. Not Christmas with Cunard though Christmas on the QE2. I am sure that Christmas on either the QM2 or Vicky would be OK but nothing really fantastic. If the QE2 hadn't finished her service life we'd have been there last Christmas and would be booked for next.

was it just like any normal sea day except for the fact it was Christmas?

Yes, just like any other day at sea. Of course there were Christmas themed events such as carol concerts but you didn't have to attend them. If you wanted you could have ignored the fact that it was Christmas Day completely.

Did they pull out all the stops for the very last QE2 Christmas?

I don't think so The decorations were the poorest we'd seen in four Christmases aboard; There were major problems with the food (something that just wouldn't have happened on our first Christmas trip in 1992); one of the many problems with Ted Bovis David Pepper was, that at the New Year celebrations, he wasn't there to welcome in the New Year until turned midnight - the whole evening turned into a flop!

I think the last Christmas was actually the worst Christmas I've had on the ship It was a great pity but the feeling of it being her final time didn't really start until we reached New Zealand.

Could you see the Queens speech

Latterly yes. They were able to get it via a satellite feed. It was shown on a large screen in the Grand Lounge. My first Christmas onboard was the first time I've missed the Queen's Speech being broadcast live (I think they did get the audio from the radio and broadcast it at a later hour).

did santa come along and fill your stocking

Not my stocking

did they even give you a Xmas card?

Yes, and a Christmas present. One of the advantages of being a gay couple it that we both received one; my parents only received one between them!
 

With this cruise now  under way what were your thoughts on the next one

This trip seemed very much like the precursor to the big trip although we still managed to enjoy ourselves

The food does seem to be an issue on this cruise. Did you ever have doubts that the World cruise might (god forbid) be too much?

Typically for Cunard there was no consistency in the standards of the food. At times it was unbelievably good, more often it was unbelievably bad. A lot of the time it was simply average. I don't think we (I'm sure I didn't) worried about what the food would be like for the WC - there was too much else to be thinking about.

[Malcolm]

Today was a rescheduled port. It should have been Bonnaire but was changed to Dominica at the last minute. This did not bother us as we have never been to either island although people who had visited Dominica were annoyed at having to go back!

We started with breakfast in the Lido again (That Christmas Tree has disappeared). It is not as good as breakfast in the restaurant however it more than suffices and means that breakfast does not take over an hour. I think that when we get back to sea days and we cannot go ashore and time is therefore not so important we'll go back to our restaurant.

Rouseau (the capital) is not much. Being Boxing Day it was also shut with the exception of souvenir stalls and one "duty free" shop that had a very limited stock and very low stock levels. After about half an hour wandering around the town we felt that we had seen everything that the place had to offer.

We had continually been asked by taxi drivers if we wanted a tour of the island. We had thought that we might have done but wanted to have a look at Rouseau first. Now that we had seen Rousseau when a driver offered a tour at 20.00 USD each we accepted. It was quite pleasant - we got a two hour run around the island and saw three of the major sites: a waterfall, hot springs and the Botanical Gardens. The only site we didn't get to was the Caribe Indian reservation. I suspect that would have been very touristy.

We returned to the boat for lunch - a sandwich from the Lido. Not fantastic - one slice of ham and a lettuce leaf in a baguette; a little more ham and some garnish would have been nice. After lunch we took our books and went to sit on Boat Deck to read. Our drinks cards paid for themselves whilst we were there in getting free lemonades from the wandering deck stewards.

I went for my usual swim before dinner and then it was down to the cabin to get dressed, the Chart Room for a drink and the restaurant. Again the food was acceptable but not wonderful. Why do their cream soups always taste the same? Whatever kind of soup it is the colour might change but the flavour remains the same. The Yorkshire Puddings were better than Christmas Day but after they've been left to stand on the dumb waiter for five minutes they are still tough. My pudding came with Custard Powder Sauce that was called "Vanilla Sauce". Custard Powder .sauce is not something I'd expect on the QE2 (and certainly not for dinner).

Before retiring we visited the Midnight Buffet. Although nothing like as lavish as in the past it still provided more than enough for anything from a pre-bed snack to a full five-course meal.

[Malcolm]

We had breakfast again in the Lido. There is nothing like the choice offered by the restaurant nor is the ambiance as nice but at least the tea is hot, the toast is fresh and the service prompt (self service!). It was not a fantastic breakfast but it was more suited to our day then the restaurant would have been.

Today was another anchor port. We arrived at St Vincent before 8-00am and the first tender left shortly afterwards. We didn't leave until almost 10-00am by which time there was almost no wait for tenders. We had planned to get a taxi to Fort Charlotte first and then onto The Botanical Gardens; however when the couple in front of us were discussing getting a taxi to the gardens we changed our plans and offered to share. They were quite happy to accept but the four of us squeezed into a small car, with no air conditioning, made it rather hot!

As the other couple needed to be back at the ship in about two hours the driver said he would return for us in three quarters of an hour as that was all the time that was really needed. We felt that we could have spent slightly longer there but no more than another ten to fifteen minutes. We met up with the other couple inside the park and went back to the car park together. The taxi wasn't there and he didn't arrive within five minutes. We all caught new taxis; the other couple back to the ship and us to Fort Charlotte.

Our driver to FC was pleasant and friendly and made the ride to the fort enjoyable. He told us that there would be guides there who would show us around. When we arrived at the fort our driver found a guide and got him to show us around. We expected to tip the guide for this "free" tour, he told us at the start that he wouldn't charge but that we should "pay him what he was worth at the end of the tour". We did tip - a reasonable amount for a ten minute tour, and he asked for more. We gave him some more and were told that it wasn't much. We declined to give him any more after that.

The guide put us in what I believed was a normal taxi (although it did strike me as odd that he couldn't give change for 50.00 USD). The driver had difficulty starting the car and, when it moved off, went with several bangs and a loud screeching sound. Paul immediately told him to stop and we got out. He was an unlicensed taxi driver and we suspected that we were safer not travelling in his car. We made sure that we got a proper taxi back to the ship.

We sat on boat deck for about half an hour before deciding that we would go for afternoon tea - only our second time this voyage. The Queens Room was half empty so the service was very good. I must admit to only managing six sandwiches and five cakes!

They (I suspect that means David Pepper) have amended the programme so that everyone can attend a sailaway party he's hosting this evening. He has put the show for those people on the late sitting for the Mauritania Restaurant before dinner. He has also made three announcements about this change (with the emphasis on the sailaway party) today. The first during breakfast, the second at 9-30am and the last one at 4-30pm. There could have been others however we weren't there to hear them if there were.

This is not the first time that David Pepper has made announcements to the entire ship about social events. He has made similar announcements twice before. I realise that two or three times a week is not as often as the announcements on some ships however I do not like being disturbed by someone telling me that the sailaway party is about to start regardless of where I am on the ship.

Dinner was again acceptable but not outstanding. It was certainly not the 5* affair that the ship used to offer. I like a hot soufflé for dinner. It is not something that I make at home because it is far too much bother; when we are out I will normally have one if it's on the menu. So far this trip it has been on the menu six times! Soufflés occur with astonishing regularity. Likewise we have had some variant of steak for four nights in succession; it is not that there is no alternative, just that beef is our choice. I don't think that there should be similar dishes on the menu four nights in a row.

After dinner we went to sit at one of the tables outside the Yacht Club. Now that the Crystal Bar has become non-smoking this is now one of our favourite haunts in warm weather. We met some friends there and sat up talking until 1-00am. I suspect that I won't get to the gym in the morning.

[Malcolm]

I didn't make the gym! I'd set my alarm for 6-30am; woke at 5-30am and realised I'd another hour. The alarm woke me again at 6-30am and I just turned it off. I'll go swimming later to make up for it!

Paul and I took breakfast in the Lido again. We found a table that was slightly more central but the atmosphere there is still that of a transport Cafe! The menu is much more limited than the restaurant but the speed of the (self) service and the fact that the food is actually hot when you get to eat is does make it bearable.

Grenada is another typical island; in as much as there is such a thing - every island that we've visited so far has been quite different. We took a taxi again - 100USD to take the four of us to a spice seller, Grand Etang Lake (why is it so famous?), Annerdale falls and a fort. The taxi took my parents back to the ship whilst Paul and I were dropped in St Georges and wandered back through the town. There was quite a big market taking place but all it seemed to sell was some fruit and vegetables and lots and lots of packs of spices. As the entire economy seems to be based on the trading of these spices you've got to wonder how on earth they manage to survive!

Once back on the ship we returned to our cabin and I fell straight to sleep whilst Paul went off in search of lunch. When I woke up Paul was asleep so I went swimming and let him rest. Swimming in the Deck 7 pool was wonderful (a word I'm going to use quite a lot in the next few paragraphs) the water was nicely warm and I had the entire pool to myself for most of the time. There were only two occasions when someone else came in for five minutes.

We met for drinks in The Chart Room. I have developed the habit of getting there early to secure a table although it also means that I'm there to be offered an extra set of canapés. The waiter seems to have worked this out as, wherever I sit he always seems to come to our table last! One negative point I would add was that there was a dirty ashtray on the table I sat at; that same ashtray was still there and still dirty an hour later when we went in to dinner despite the stewards having served several rounds of drinks to the table.

Dinner was very good. Despite the menu being of the kind where you think what would I dislike least and choose that the food arrived promptly, was hot and freshly cooked. In fact the service was wonderful.

It didn't stop there. After dinner Paul and I went to our regular spot outside the Yacht Club. For the first time they had little imitation candles of the table (not tacky - you couldn't tell that they ran on batteries unless you picked them up and removed the "night light”). There was a waiter stationed by the outside tables. Up till now we've had to go in to get a drink form the less than friendly bar staff this evening we had unlimited drinks brought to us by a smiling waiter. The service was (guess what?) wonderful!

At all the bars with deck access there is a notice saying that glassware must not be taken onto the deck. They never seem to have never bothered about that in the Yacht Club. Occasionally you would get a drink served in a plastic glass but not very often. Then, last night, all our drinks arrived in plastic glasses. Why?

One of the problems we've found is that the service onboard is not consistent. At their best the service is out of this world although, for a fair amount of time it is horrendous; most of the time though it is simply mediocre. Another example of this is the deck service. In St Kitts we sat on deck and received a prompt and frequent service of cold drinks yes in St Vincent there was nobody at all serving drinks on deck.

[Malcolm]

The Christmas trip was odd. Although we were away for three weeks we only actually spent one of those weeks in the Caribbean; the other two were spent getting there and back.

[Malcolm]

I've just realised that I didn't say which island we were on - Barbados)

Today is our last day in the Caribbean for a while. Normally we'd be feeling sorry that a holiday was coming to an end (it's still over a week until we arrive back in Southampton so my use of the word "end" is relative) however the return to Southampton signals the start of our next sector ?

We went back to the restaurant for breakfast again today hoping things might have improved. They had: our order was taken quickly and our fruit juice was brought quickly. That was as far as the improvement went though. After that things slowed down and breakfast ended up taking over 40 minutes.

After breakfast the four of us went ashore looking for a taxi to take us for a ride around some of the main sights. A new cruise terminal has been built since we were last here and the distance to walk from ship to taxi is vast. The terminal bares more resemblance to an airport departure lounge than it does to a Caribbean Island. There's nothing much in the shops here unless you want to buy booze, cheap touristy souvenirs or expensive jewellery. It was quite easy to walk past, just such a long way. Our taxi took us around part of the coastline to see some beaches and then onto The Flower Forest and Gun Hill Signal Station. It was adequate but no more than that.

We got back to the ship at about 2-00pm. We were too late for lunch in the restaurant (besides, we didn't want a three course meal) so Paul and I ordered a sandwich from room service. That is one area where the quality and the service remain consistently high.

Mid afternoon there was a "Folkloric Show" in the Grand Lounge. It was interesting enough but not unmissable (when we're back next month I won't be rushing to see it again) although it didn't stop David Pepper raving about how good the act had been when he'd seen it on the QM2. (Have I mentioned that David Pepper keeps on referring to his time on the QM2?) [And have I mentioned that I don’t like David Pepper?] After that it was onto a seat on Boat Deck with our books until we sailed. We had no problem getting drinks from the deck steward while we were sitting there.

I had to make yet another call to the pursers about our shower. I am not complaining that the pursers are not doing anything about getting the shower fixed but that the ship's plumbers are not able to fix it. They have promised they will fix it in time for the morning.

Dinner was again very good. The only complaint I might have had was that the main course wasn't as hot as it should have been; that is until Paul commented that it was beef again!

It was raining heavily this evening so we couldn't sit outside the Yacht Club and had to make do with the Chart Room. We commented how quiet it was when we got there. It didn't last and soon got very busy. It seems that the best time to arrive in the Chart Room for a preprandial drink is 7-00pm when there are still plenty of tables; by 7-15pm it's full. Likewise if you make the Chart Room by 10-00pm - before the early show finishes and before the late sitting of Mauritania turns out - there are plenty of tables whilst after 10-30 there's nothing! I wonder if the same principle is true of the launderette. I must try at lunchtime tomorrow and see if it's quiet.

[Malcolm]

We're definitely on our way back to the UK. The clocks went on an hour last night so everything this morning seems just too early! That included getting up time for the girl who was due to open the gym. I was there along with half a dozen other people) at a couple of minutes to seven. When nobody had arrived by five past I went to the hospital to call the pursers. The assistant arrived several minutes after that! Once she had got settled in she went round the gym taking our names and cabin numbers so that she could send us all "something" by way of apology even though she was only "one minute late". I commented that she was more than one minute late by my watch - I've just checked against the satellite signal and my watch is spot on! [We never did receive anything this time]

We're still having problems with our shower. It is still changing from freezing cold to scalding hot in a couple of seconds without us changing the temperature control. It was off to the pursers again to complain about the problem - that makes five complaints so far! They definitely took some action as we've had a plumber here for about half an hour trying to fix it. We'll see this evening if it's worked or not.

We went for breakfast in the Lido again this morning. What a disappointment; I had decided to start with muesli and follow that with a waffle with American bacon and Link sausage. I finished off with a couple of toasted English muffins. I had to get the muesli from one place; then the sausages and bacon (only two rashers) from a second, the Muffins from a third (and wait while they were toasted). It was then onto a fourth place (and another wait) while someone cooked my waffle.  By the time I got to a table to eat it the lot was cold.

At check-in, at Southampton, they kept out passports. We got notification to go and collect them between 9-00am and midday. As the pursers were handling the passports we expected a long queue. Not so, there was one person being served and two assistants on. We were seen straight away.

I then went onto the Computer Centre to see what was happening on Cruise Critic. I spent about half an hour leafing through the roll calls but the internet was so slow I didn't get very far. I have had almost no problem in sending emails and have found that the system is very good. Whereas everyone else who uses the internet has said how slow and hard to use it is.

Now might be a time to mention how we are managing with emails. Paul has a wireless enabled laptop and I am using a wireless enabled Palm TX PDA. Paul cannot access his emails by using the pop3/SMTP servers for his accounts yet they work for me with no problem. I think that it is something to do with the way that the laptop and the PDA configure the internet connection

On the PDA I must first open the web browser (Blazer) and sign into my internet account. I can then go onto the email program (Versamail) and work as normal. When I have finished I need to restart the PDA, open Blazer again and then log off. If I don't it charges as if I were still connected. I have tried a similar process on Paul's laptop without success. I think that it must be somewhere in the configuration and will have e to look further if I can find the time.

Mag sent me an email asking about gym equipment and commenting on the drudgery onboard. She is right - it is so boring doing nothing at all for days on end!

Mag-to answer your question the gym does have "free weights" (at least that's what they told me). The gym is open from 7-00am until 8-00pm and you can go in at any time between those hours. There is a booking system for the cardiovascular machines but that only operates 24 hours in advance. The machines are usually all booked for the first few slots in a morning but usually have good availability after that.

When the time came to get dresses for dinner we tried our shower again. It's not been fixed. We've got a new shower head, the control needs tuning much further before it will start to run warm and the temperature range might be slightly less but, basically, it still isn't working properly. The pursers sent someone up immediately this time - we'll have to see if it works in the morning.

Dinner was beef again. We have stopped wondering what's for dinner and now just ask how they will cook the beef. Other than that dinner wasn't bad.

[Malcolm]

This was the New Year's Eve party that David Pepper turned into a non-event. The whole event was far flatter than I have made it sound in my journal. With hindsight I would class the party as one of the lowlights of this part of the cruise.

[Malcolm]

I forgot to mention the World Club cocktail party last night. What a shambles! They claimed there were over 700 people in attendance in the Queens Room, we think it must have been less as we saw no other Cruise Critic people there although we know many who were entitled to attend. It took about 15 minutes to order and be served with the first drink - well the others in our party were served, they forgot mine and it took a further ten minutes for me to get a drink. There was no shortage of canapés; in fact waiters were walking around with trays full desperate for someone to eat them. This makes me suspect that there was a shortage on the other side of the room again. Once we'd all got our first drinks the waiter was dispatched to get a second round; he came back, five minutes later, with three drinks that were wring - wrong mixers, ice when not wanted, wrong spirit, etc. The problem was that there were far too many people at the party. Had they found some was of splitting the group into two it would have been a lot better.

Paul was feeling a little "over full" this morning so I went for breakfast on my own. . Apart from ordering American bacon and getting normal bacon everything went smoothly and the entire repast took less than half an hour.

The shower is still varying in temperature. As we were leaving the cabin this morning our steward was there so we mentioned it to him. I wonder if he'll manage to get it fixed.

Then it was back to the Pavilion to send and check emails before collecting my book and sitting on Boat Deck. Today service there was nonexistent. I finished my current book and headed down to the library to get another. It also gave me the chance to check on audio books for Grace: there are between 20 and 40 books on cassette tape and 50 to 70 on CD. If you are not particular to what books you listen to there should be sufficient to occupy you for the entire World Cruise; if you want something specific then I'd bring it with me.

We'd arranged to take my mother to the laundry today (she was looking a bit scuffed and in need of something to freshen her up ) and had guessed that lunchtime should be an off peak time. It was - the laundry gets quiet from about 1-20pm until 2-00pm. There are not a lot of free machines though as people tend to put their washing in and then go to lunch. It is necessary to empty a machine that has completed its cycle.

Although there was none of the excitement of last week there was one man who annoyed us all. He had first visited the laundry before we got there and put his things in two machines (not a problem). He was then away from the room for well over half an hour (we had arrived in the laundry, run a wash cycle and transferred our things to a dryer before he reappeared). When he returned to the launderette he removed about six things from each machine and put them into two dryers, set them both on maximum for an hour and left again. As we were finishing our ironing he came in to iron a couple of shirts - he was a very loud Yank (judging by his accent) and, whilst in the ironing room, held a shouted conversation with someone in the laundry room. From his conversation it transpired that he was an entertainer (ie staff) and was being unpleasant about passengers on board.  Is it any wonder that people from North America, excluding Canada, get such a bad reputation?

After that it was back on deck to continue reading. First on Boat Deck where it is windy but warm (one advantage of the wind is that there are plenty of free deck chairs) and then to the Funnel Bar (just in time for afternoon tea).

The beef tonight was served with a lobster tail and was followed by yet another soufflé! As there was also duck on offer I had that instead.

The ship's daily programme has been very reticent about what was to happen this evening. Even David Pepper would only say that there would be a Jazz band in the Yacht Club, a masquerade ball in the Queens Room, the Caribbean band in the Grand Lounge and something in the Golden Lion. After dinner Paul and I reconnoitred the venues to see which had the ship's bell and should therefore be the main venue. It turned out to be the Grand Lounge so we arranged to meet my parents there at about ten to midnight.

Paul and I got a drink and went to sit on the seats outside the Lido for an hour before going inside to have a look at the buffet. We took some photographs and then, once the buffet opened, collected a few tasty morsels and took them back to our cabin for later. It was then time to join my parents in the Grand Lounge.

What a disappointment it was. The band seemed very loud and continued playing right up until a couple of seconds before New Year. A countdown was started from nine, the band stopped at one, a net of balloons was released and the band started again at two seconds past.

A few minutes later the band got quieter again. With no introduction David Pepper said that one crew member would ring out the old year and another would ring in the new one. The bell was rung by two people and the crowd sang Auld Lang Syne. The band got louder again. The captain was there but didn't say anything. It wasn’t much of a New Year celebration.

We then all went back to our cabins. Paul and I enjoyed our snack that we had with a rather nice glass of whisky.

[cunardqueen]

The New Year party sounds like a big non event?
Isnt the bell rung by the youngest serving crew member for New Year?

I remember on one of my recent med trips 2006 Captain Bates claimed it was the largest World club party they had so far and the next cruise would be even larger so they were going to hold it over 2 nights. The Queens room was mobbed and much to busy, l always maintained they should hold a separate party for the  Diamond members and make it less of a crush.

The following cruise would see the biggest change over of crew.   
 Dare we ask, did you ever get fed up onboard at anytime, or does that come later?

Oh by the way Happy New Year !!!

[Malcolm]

The New Year party sounds like a big non event?

I put all the blame for that onto the social staff. In fairness to them it wasn't a general arse and elbow situation it was poor leadership (and who was the Social Director? David Pepper It really does show that I don't like him doesn't it?)

Isnt the bell rung by the youngest serving crew member for New Year?

Yes, the oldest rings the old year out and the youngest the new year in (or vice versa, I can never remember who rings which!   ). Or at least that's how it's happened in the past. The only time that hasn't happened was when the ship was in Madeira and there NYE is slightly different.

l always maintained they should hold a separate party for the  Diamond members and make it less of a crush.

And perhaps slightly more exclusive? There were so many Diamond members on the WC that I don't think it would have made much difference.

Dare we ask, did you ever get fed up onboard at anytime, or does that come later?

Later

Oh by the way Happy New Year !!!

Happy New Year to you and everyone on this board as well

[Rob Lightbody]

Re David Pepper.  He was just awful.  An embarassment.  He made it quite clear that being on board QE2, you were on the 2nd best ship, and that he couldn't wait to get back on QM2 where he belonged.  The bad taste, crass jokes etc. were completely inappropriate to QE2, and re-confirmed for me that QE2 would have been better off without a 'show lounge' altogether, as originally designed - leave that to the cruise ships too.