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

[Rob Lightbody]

QE2 Departs on final world cruise - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7173887.stm

[Rob Lightbody]

Here are some AWESOME photos of QE2 (and 1 of qV) tackling the swells.

http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/news/2008/qe2_qv_tandem_pics.htm

How I would have given ANYTHING to be there to see that...  even if it meant beiing on board qV!

[Malcolm]

QE2 Departs on final world cruise

"The new £300m Queen Victoria was named by the Duchess of Cornwall in December and will eventually replace the QE2 on regular transatlantic crossings."

I didn't know when that was published the QE2 was still on the regular transatlantic route, let alone that Vicky has replaced her on it! I'll bet it makes for some very unstable crossings

[Malcolm]

(and 1 of qV)

That picture of Vicky shows her just as I remember her!

[Malcolm]

Yet another day at sea! Since the 29th December when we left Barbados we've only called at Madeira and Southampton. That's nine days at sea and only two ashore. There's another four sea days before New York. I'm just starting to wonder if there can be too much of a good thing. I haven't finally decided but I don't think so.

There were only three things of note today - 2 lectures and a CC meeting (or actually two).

The first lecture was in the theatre and was hosted by Peter Crimes, the Destination Lecturer for the world cruise. It was interesting in that it provided some ideas for sightseeing in NY but as we intend to meet some friends of Paul's it probably won't be that much use this visit. Never mind - there's always April! I think that his talks on the more exotic destinations that I haven't been to will be far more exciting.

The second lecture, also in the theatre was given by Theodore Scull and was entitled "From RMS Britannia to MV Queen Victoria" and gave a brief history of Cunard. It was another lecture that didn't tell anything new but did have some very nice pictures of the insides of past ships.

There were two CC meetings: one planned and the other not. The first one was in the Champagne Bar. It was the first (and probably only) time I've gone into that bar when it has been open. It is one of the original rooms on the ship and as such is worth seeing but I found the bar crowded, dark and not a particularly comfortable place to be. I've described it as a CC meeting - we did meet with other CCers and chat (the usual pleasantries) but my overriding memory is that the bar is not that nice. Perhaps it is nicer when there is less of a crowd there.

The second meeting was nor planned and in many respects was not actually a meeting; jut some of us that happened to bump into each other in the Chart Room. Paul and I had gone with my mother to see the show and had then taken her back to the cabin. After that we decided to return to the Chart Room for final lemonade before retiring to bed.

[At this get-together we must have met other CCers and discussed a Cabin Cavalcade although I don’t make this clear – I suspect that I was interrupted mid report when originally writing and missed this point out. The next paragraph makes no sense without knowing that a cavalcade was planned!]

I have said I want to go and Paul has said he's resigned to having a vast number of strangers traipsing through the cabin.

After a second lemonade it was off to the cabin for a nightcap before retiring for the night.

[cunardqueen]

Going into the QEII terminal was very odd. You're first greeted by the woman giving out Norovirus forms who didn't like it when we refuse to fill one in; then the woman who sorts out priority and non-priority embarkation. She didn’t like the fact that we want to go straight onto the ship! In fact the only place we didn't have trouble was leaving the departure lounge and walking up to the gangway - nobody tried to stop us!

Malcolm
 I must confess l love the "intransit" perks.The times its happened to me Once a woman asked me if l was in the Grills, l just looked at her and said No Im in Mauretania!! then she tried to usher me through the regular checkin line, well lm not sure what was worse,so l produced my (then) platinum card and got somebody to escort me through, well the baying mob may just have attacked me, and of course then you can walk on straight away whispering the magic words "Im intransit "  to all that can hear, l was practically singing it when l boarded
 Then l  discovered if you do pop ashore and come back before checkin opens your guided to the crew entrance, and thats an experience (well any crew entrance is an experience) only trouble with that is you miss the embarkation photo, but it does give a new insight (and great photos ) of QE2

[Malcolm]

Then l  discovered if you do pop ashore and come back before checkin opens your guided to the crew entrance, and thats an experience

We only got to use the crew entrance when we finally disembarked. It was an experience all right but not one I'd want to repeat again in a hurry!

[Malcolm]

Yet another day at sea! I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. It allows plenty of time for doing nothing!

The lecture this morning was on the monuments of New York. Again vaguely interesting and it helped to pass an hour before pre lunch drinks before lunch in the Chart Room. We went for lunch in the restaurant today - we just had one course but it was more than sufficient to put us on till dinner. It also gave me the opportunity to have a chat with the Maitre D'. He is very disappointed that the cat hasn't turned up yet. He was hoping to get a pair of gloves lined with orange fur and had told the violinist that he would help her secure new strings.

After lunch it was a quick visit to the cabin to tidy up before I went off on the Cabin Cavalcade. (Paul stayed in the cabin and, once we'd visited our cabin, went to sleep).

The CC group met in the Midships Lobby where Doug did a great job of organising everybody into cabin order whilst Jon took a group picture.

We started the tour on Deck Five and worked our way up the ship to Deck One. We saw a wide range of passenger cabins from M6 through to a Q3.

The smallest cabin we saw was an M6. About half of the floor space of the cabin was occupied by the bed and upper bunk whilst the other half contained a small wardrobe and chest of draws.

We saw a C3 that was a very strange layout. It was basically two square cabins linked by a narrow corridor. The first contained the beds and the TV, whilst the second contained the porthole, a settee and chest of draws. Had I been in that cabin I wonder how much time I'd have spent sitting on that settee looking at the chest!

There was one M4 (I think it was on Five Deck) that was accessed by a corridor that went around four or five corners and ended with an emergency exit door.

As we passed through my cabin I collected Pip [my toy squirrel] to finish off the rest of the tour with us. As we passed through various cabins we met other mascots including Evangaline [the mascot of a friend] and Gwen [another mascot] (and many others too numerous to mention). In Matthew and Kirsten's cabin Matthew collected Bluey [A teddy bear and another mascot] so I'm pleased to report that the Animal branch of Cruise Critic was represented on this Cavalcade. I am sure that there will be some pictures of this momentous event posted on the web soon.

The best passenger cabin we saw was Beth's. A Q3 that was vast. It still had all its original fittings although the ceiling had been replaced at some point in the past.

After another P1 Gavin had arranged for the tour to finish up in the Captain's cabin. This was a delightful ending - not only to finish up in a different cabin, but also one not seen by most of the public. Unfortunately I must report that Captain McNaught publicly hit Bluey and refused to shake Pips paw. They were both highly unamused.

[highlander0108]

8 January 2008

From a C1 cabin porthole


9 January 2008


Our Captain at work

[Malcolm]

We are at sea again today. I understand what Captain McNaught means when he says that this crossing is "like driving a car full of children saying are we there yet?" It is not important that we get to New York quickly, but it is important that we get there with the best of our ability. We are travelling along at 19 knots and are strolling; the QV is alongside and is going flat out. It is such a pity that we can't leave the QV behind and arrive in NY a couple of days early.

Last night at dinner the bottom of Paul's pudding plate was covered with chocolate. Paul didn't see this and ended up with chocolate all down the front of his shirt. The restaurant manager said to leave the shirt on the bed this morning. As my shirt needed laundering as well we put them both in a bag and filled in a laundry list. When we went back to the cabin later in the day the shirts had gone but the list was lying on the bed. Our steward said that the Britannia Grill had arranged for our laundry to be processed at no charge. This is the level of communication and service I used to expect from Cunard. It is such a pity that it does not occur that often now.

This morning's activity was a lecture by Theodore Scull entitled "Queen Elizabeth 2 1969 - 2008 - Reigning Monarch of the North Atlantic". By the time the lecture started there was standing room only in the Theatre. In typical QE2 fashion it began on time with an introduction by David Pepper. Theodore Scull was greeted with tremendous applause when he got to the stage. Unfortunately the projector wouldn't work so he spent the first 20 minutes adlibbing until it was fixed. He made a marvellous job of this and I'm sure that some people didn't realise he was extemporising until he finally gave up on the crew and went to fix the projector himself.

I think it only right to point out that he had a very receptive audience. As long as he was talking favourably about their ship most of the audience were more than happy to listen.
.
I must offer an apology to David Pepper - when he said the QE2 used to carry 88 cars I did not believe him, at the lecture this morning Theodore Scull confirmed that when she was first built she had a capacity of 80 (ish) cars that was gradually reduced to the final capacity of 14. I do not offer an apology for his misinformation about Liverpool however!

The bad news is that the pool at the gym is getting busier. This morning I counted 14 people in it; more like a rather lumpy soup than a pool full of water! This evening was a lot better with only four people. The problem is that the pool on One Deck has been closed since before we left Southampton; all the people who would have splashed about in it and have, until now, been sitting in the bars are starting to get bored and are exploring the ship. There is now a steady stream of people taking pictures of the gym and many seem to be returning just for a splash about. Roll on New York.

Paul and I went for afternoon tea in the Queens Grill Lounge. We got there about 4-10pm and there were several empty pairs of seats; by 4-30pm there were several empty tables and by 4-40pm the lounge was half empty. I don't think the tea was any different from the Queens Room - it was just easier to get a table! [That opinion changed over the course of the trip. I now feel that the QGL has the edge of the offerings in the Queens Room]

I can't remember if I said or not but when we first came aboard on 16th December all the rear decks were very springy. So springy that walking was difficult across them as you felt in danger of being bounced off. As we approached the Caribbean that movement subsided until it could not be felt. As we returned to Southampton it was just detectable and now it's gone again. What was causing it?

Dinner this evening was a disaster. The service was so slow. It took over an hour from entering the room to getting our main course. Paul and I gave up at that point and left.

One other difference we've noticed between the Caronia and Britannia is that the grills offer a fifth entrée that is not on the menus of the two main restaurants. This is addition to the a la carte menu.

[Malcolm]

Today's report came in two parts. The first was a few short (for me ) paragraphs about the Vicky. The gossip was that the bad weather had caused a major delay and that we would have to leave her if we were to arrive in New York on time. Looking back I can see that would never have been an option for the Carnival PR department but it did seem a very likely option at the time.

The second part is the normal day-to-day report when nothing much happened! 

[Malcolm]

The new about QV! (or at least a supplemental update about her progress)

Gossip aboard ship spreads like wildfire. I suppose that it's something to do with not having much else to do!

The gossip last night was that we would need to do upwards of 30 knots to make NY on time. This morning was that we had sped off and left her in the night, that she had moved ahead of us in the night, that she was heading off in a totally different direction (a kind of  "I'm going out - I may be some time"!) or that everything was fine and we would arrive together.

The channel on TV that gives the ship's speed and position was turned off by 11-00pm yesterday; it is still not working this morning. It looks as if the authorities want to prevent us knowing where we are.

The QE2 does feel as if she's running faster. I have no information to prove this, it is very much a feeling shared by both Paul and myself. The vibrations on the ship do seem to have increased again implying that we are either going faster or getting ready to.

I can confirm that it's now 10-45am and the QV is still off our port side. The only official comment we have heard is that WE will make New York on time.

[Interestingly enough Vicky did manage to keep up with us and managed a top speed greater than had been advertised. That said she was still incredibly slow!]

[Malcolm]

I've got a cold! I expect sympathy! It started with a sore throat a couple of days ago and has now developed into a blocked yet runny nose a cough and the sneezes. I took a Lemsip this morning before going down to the gym; another mid morning and a third after lunch before going to bed for the afternoon. I've been in bed since then and haven't got much more to add to my earlier "news" about the Vicky.

Except ? She's still with us. Our speed has gone up to over 22 knots and the Victoria is managing to keep up. Why do I suspect that Cunard weren't being entirely truthful when they said her maximum speed was only 19 knots? I suppose a top speed of 23 knots is slightly faster but it's still slow!

The time is now 5-30pm; we've reached 23 knots (!) and the Vicky is starting to drop behind. I wonder how much later she'll be arriving in New York than us.

It's now 6-30pm and our speed's dropped to 19 knots. Vicky is now noticeably behind us although not for long as, whilst I've been typing this paragraph our speed's dropped to 18.8 knots and is still falling ?

6-40pm and we're back at 23 knots again! The Vicky is by our side. Our speed is still increasing - you can feel the added vibrations and hear the extra creaking as more engines come online?.

Service at dinner was fast; very fast. Almost, but not quite, too fast. The food was good and hot exactly what it should have been. Matthew was asking if the service improved since the earlier days. The answer would have to be "in parts". We still waited 25 minutes to get a drink in the Chart Room today; a sheet from the pursers still came out with the deadline of Saturday 11th January 2007; today's Daily Programme still gives details about passing through US Immigration if you are getting a Cunard bus to either Gatwick or Heathrow! However David Pepper has been much quieter (we've stopped watching him on TV in the morning and there haven't been any ports for him to make announcements about); Service in the restaurant has, on the whole been better and we've been able to get a table for afternoon tea.

As we head off to bed the Vicky is still alongside and still doing 22 knots. When we get up we can look forward to another day on this slow crossing to New York!

[Malcolm]

The 12^th is another very short report so I've included the 13^th as well. On the 12^th I was still recovering from my cold and didn't write very much

[Malcolm]

Oh dear. Was I Saying that I thought service had improved? At breakfast we got our fruit juice and starter very quickly then everything stopped, for about 15 minutes. When the main breakfast did arrive the pancakes and bacon were cold and the poached eggs overcooked.

On the first couple of days of this crossing our cabin was serviced first thing. Yesterday it wasn't touched until after lunch. It's 11-45am and it still hasn't been serviced. Consistency certainly isn't something this ship goes in for!

Just before lunch we bumped into a friend in the Chart Room. We invited her back to try a drop of malt whisky. The party broke up at 7-00pm when it was time to go for dinner. Kathy - I got your email and decided to follow your advice, except I didn't bother about the tea, honey or lemon!

I feel full of cold. As tomorrow is an early start we were in bed with the lights out by 10-00pm (and remember the clocks go back an hour as well)!