Holiday review - QM2 from New York to Southampton

[Silver_Shiney]

Preparation

This holiday is costing us an arm and a leg so we’ve spent a lot of time researching the activities we can visit using the New York Pass and working out a schedule with rough timings and instructions on how to get to each attraction, including a small map of the area. This has proved invaluable.

We had previously purchased a 5-day pass each, at a cost of £310.51 or £105.25 each. The pass costs $269, including a 3-day Ho-Ho pass. Having worked out our itinerary (using NYP’s handy, free, app) we would have spent $380 each on admission to our chosen attractions had we not bought the passes. I was also fortunate in that I had an email from a New Yorker wanting to visit the museum and I asked him if he could bring me a map of the subway system, as the one I downloaded was difficult to read, which he kindly did.

Saturday

What a start. I completed the online check-in with Virgin and was told the boarding passes would be emailed to me. Nothing happened so I managed to get back in and print them from the screen (I eventually found them in the Junk folder online). We left the house at 1415 to drive the 100 miles to the Premier Inn at J4 of the M4, expecting to arrive by 1600, taking it steadily. We soon saw warning signs that there was a 60 minute delay between J13/J12. About a mile before J13, we joined the back of a queue, but it was moving slowly. However, the police had actually closed the motorway, as there had been a fuel spillage, and everyone had to leave the motorway at J13. We opted to head north towards Oxford, intending to turn onto the A40. There were roadworks around the ring road at Oxford, which slowed us down, and we eventually arrived at the hotel just after 1800.

We had thought of going into West Drayton to have dinner at the Go Sing, a Chinese restaurant that I used to frequent in 74-75, when I was based at the RAF base in the town, but we decided to just stay at the hotel and eat there.

[Silver_Shiney]

Sunday

The deal we had with Premier included 14 nights parking at Terminal 3, and free parking at the hotel on the “sleep-over” night. We were up at “crack of sparrows” to get to the terminal for 0600 and handed the car over the Purple Parking before making our way to the luggage drop. After clearing security, we had breakfast in Pret a Manger and then settled down to await the flight. We boarded one of Sir Richard’s A340-600 aircraft just before 0900 and sat right at the back (whoever heard of an aircraft reversing into a mountain…?). There was a gang of ultra-orthodox Jews in the two rows opposite us and what a nightmare they were – up and down, refusing the obey the cabin staffs’ instructions the whole flight. We arrived at JFK shortly before the advertised time and found that we were able to go to some self-service immigration screens, which speeded up the process considerably. We had told the Best Western Prospect Heights hotel in Brooklyn that we would probably arrive between 1400-1500 – as it turned out, the taxi got us there just before 1300. The taxi from JFK cost $64.80 – with optional tip (rate set by the meter) $77.76. Of course, the room wasn’t ready but the desk clerk offered to put our bags in storage, so we got a receipt and headed off to Manhattan to get our New York Passes. The subway station is practically outside the hotel door on the R line, which takes about 40 minutes to get to Times Square.

One thing worth knowing is that the subway ticket machines only accept credit cards from US residents – you have to punch in your zip code. As we don’t have a zip code, we had to pay cash. It was $35 for a 7-day pass, which gives you unlimited travel on the subway and the buses.

A couple of stops later, a couple got on, the man carrying an electric guitar and amplifier, which he then proceed to use to do a bit of busking, the girl holding the bag to collect cash. Nearly everyone studiously ignored them. After they got off a couple of stops later, a group of well-dressed, elderly men got on, and started singing and looking for “donations”. Again, they were largely ignored.

We found our way to the Port Authority Bus station on 42nd Street and collected our 5-day passes and complimentary 3-day HoHo ticket. The next stop was the Central Library, which has some amazing architecture and art work, and offers a free self-guide audio tour. There was a lot of noise outside and we discovered a parade honouring the Polish community in New York. We then headed for the Dallas BBQ on 42nd Street, where you can buy large, cheap meals. A quarter chicken, chips and corn bread, baby rack of ribs, corn bread and salad, and a beer, plus tip, came to $30. Then we headed back to the hotel for an earlyish night(!) – around 0100 UK time.

The weather was bright and warm.

The subway journey on the way back saw, on two occasions, a guy come on just asking for money “for a hot meal”. I couldn’t help thinking that if he hadn’t paid $2.50 for the fare, he could have gone to the pizza joint on 41st Street, where he could have got two slices and a drink for slightly more… One of the passengers just smiled and gave each a few dollars.

[Silver_Shiney]

Monday

This was the day for getting up early – although, still being mentally on UK time, we were awake anyway. We had a good breakfast and left at 0730 for Union Square. We found yesterday that the subway station outside the hotel only serves the southbound service, and the platform for the Manhattan-bound trains is on the other side of the street. We had to go south one stop to 36th Street and change over. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Union Square hosts a farmers’ market, and we wandered around for a while looking at an amazing selection of fruits and vegetables, also honeys and maple syrups (maple syrup butter goes extremely well with tomato!!).

We were due to get to Pier 83 for 1115 to get the Best of New York tour, a boat ride that circumnavigates the island of Manhattan. Although I’d planned out how to get there by bus, we decided to walk instead. We came out on the west coast right by the USS Intrepid, which wasn’t on our to-do list but, as we had plenty of time, we decided to go onboard and pay the $7 each to look at the space shuttle Enterprise and the Hubble telescope exhibition. While the Lady C browsed the shop, I went out onto the flight deck to photograph the aircraft, which I forgot to do 6 years ago when we last came.

That done, we walked on down 12th Avenue to Pier 83 and, after queuing for a while, and avoiding the dreaded embarkation photographer, boarded a small ship for the circumnavigation tour, which also took us close up to Liberty Island for a look at the famous statue. We had an excellent commentary, giving us the history of New York and how it has developed over the years.

[Silver_Shiney]

When we returned to the pier some three hours later, we headed off to Grand Central Terminus for another self-guided audio tour around this vast complex of shops and restaurants – and trains! We decided to have our meal here as well, which was quite reasonably priced for a burger, chicken salad and one portion of fries between us.

Tour over, we walked over to the Empire State Building. We first wanted to do the Sky Ride. We thought it would be along the lines of Soar, a ride at the Epcot Centre, but it was more style over substance. It would probably be great for kids but the sound balance was wrong, Kevin Bacon’s narration was difficult to hear over the music and the noise of the hydraulic jacks moving the seating platform around and as for the sequence where he “lost control” and we crashed into the river and hit a shark…. Waste of money and time, and very disappointing. We then went up to the observation platform on the 86th floor, by which time it was dark, and enjoyed a spectacular view over the city with all its lights on.

The weather was bright and warm, to the extent that the Lady C got sunburnt.

I was a bit twitchy about travelling back on the subway after 2000, but we got back to the hotel without incident.

Disaster: while sorting out the paperwork for tomorrow’s activities, I found that the tour we’d booked for the cruise round the harbour on an old clipper was actually booked for last Sunday. How the blazes did I manage that? Tickets are non-refundable and no-shows are charged to the customer’s credit card. That’s $78 down the pan. I wrote them an email to apologise for the inconvenience I’d caused them. We now had to find something else to do instead.

[Silver_Shiney]

Tuesday

Today’s first trip with a walking tour along the High Line. These tours were booked, via the New York Pass, with a company called New York Tours 1 , who employ actors as tour guides. We headed off to Chelsea Market to rendezvous with the tour guide. As we got there early, we had a mooch around the market – a fascinating collection of shops in an old arcade. They had free wifi in there so, being a sad so-and-so, I logged in while the Lady C was powdering her nose or something. There was an email from the clipper company, saying they’d found my ticket for last Sunday and had rescheduled it for this afternoon!! Wasn’t that good of them?

The High Line tour was very good, and the guide, a young lady called Rachel McKinney took us for a walk along the abandoned elevated railway line that has been converted by volunteers into a public garden. Rachel was very entertaining and informative, and explained the history of the area. Afterwards, we returned to the market and had lunch in a little eatery called Amy’s Breads. Then we headed off to Battery Park to find the clipper but, having time in hand after checking in, walked up Broadway to find a pharmacy where we could buy some sunblock lotion, as today’s weather was even hotter and sunnier than yesterday.

This was great – an old sail ship which, although the sails were hoisted after we undocked, went around the harbour under engine power. We particularly liked that the crew didn’t give us a running commentary, we just sailed round enjoying the fantastic views.

We decided to use the HoHo ticket to ride up towards Central Park and then get another HoHo service around the park, with the intention of maybe getting off at one of the stops alongside the park and walking through to another stop to rejoin. However, by the time we reached the top of 6th Avenue, the light was fading and Simon & Garfunkel insist that it is not safe in the park after dark, so we stayed on board to 42nd Street, where we boarded the subway and returned to the hotel. We thought there were a load of restaurants along the road from the hotel so went to explore. Actually, they are all little more than “greasy spoons”, takeaways with possibly a couple of tables and chairs inside. We chose a pseudo-Chinese (they did chop suey and chow mein) and had a cheap (but tasty) meal out of Styrofoam boxes sitting next to a couple of delivery bicycles. Ah well, we’ll be having classier meals next week!!

[Silver_Shiney]

Wednesday

Today we went to the 9/11 memorial and museum. We expected to be there for maybe an hour. In the event, we were there for over three hours and didn’t study everything, as it was becoming “information overload”. The displays were very sensitively laid out, and it was very sobering. To see a girder made of 2” thick steel folded in half like a sheet of paper gave a striking example of the forces exerted in the collapse of the towers. Recordings of voicemails from victims to their loved ones, and from family and friends trying to contact those who lost their lives were very poignant. A couple of displays were in blocked off alcoves, with warnings that the contents could be particularly upsetting. Thoughtfully, they provided boxes of tissues at these points.

We then walked back down to Battery Park, stopping off at a little café on the way for a bite to eat, to catch the Ellis Island ferry to visit the Immigration Museum. We weren’t bothered about visiting the Statue of Liberty, reasoning that we’d get a better view from the water. Apparently you have to pay extra just to climb the pedestal, and the viewing platform in the crown was shut anyway (friends who have done this activity say it is a waste of time). The Immigration Museum was fascinating but, again, visitors were in danger of receiving ”information overload”.

Again, the weather was sunny and very warm.

The next stop on the schedule was the Century 21 department store, where the Lady C wanted to buy some baby clothes for our daughter’s first child. We also picked up some nice tablecloths at a good price. Duran Duran were there for a record/book signing or signing, and security were blocking some of the aisles.

Again, it was getting late and we had to eat. We found a strange place next door to the store, which had a large buffet servery with what appeared to be a selection of Chinese and pasta dishes, salad stuffs and fresh fruit, which they sold by weight in your chosen size of Styrofoam box. There were some tables and chairs, so we ate there and then returned to the hotel. It couldn’t have been too bad a place – one of New York’s finest was in there eating her dinner.

Thursday

Today we went up to the top of Central Park and walked just over half-way down this 2.5 mile man-made recreation area. We didn’t have long enough to explore fully, and thus didn’t see any of the iconic sites, because we had a reservation on a walking tour around Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown. Today’s guide was a young man called Charles Barksdale, who was great fun and a mine of information.

We then trekked up to the Rockefeller Centre, where we had a tour round the complex with an explanation of the history and artwork of the buildings. Apparently, it was the original World Trade Centre! The guide then took those of us who’d paid extra up to the very roof of the building to view Manhattan. The views are amazing.

We had dinner in Bill’s Bar & Burger restaurant in the Rockefeller Centre, as we fancied having a proper American burger. It did not disappoint.

[Silver_Shiney]

Friday

Our walking tour for today wasn’t until midday, so we went for a walk from the Rockefeller Centre down 6th Avenue to the tour rendezvous point for a walk around Greenwich Village. We had two guides today, a chap named Brandon, and a lass called Ashley Masula. Again, a considerable amount of information was given about the history of the area, as well as some interesting facts about the sitcom Friends. We saw the outside of the building that the apartment was supposed to be in, and told that, on the characters’ salaries, there’s no way they could afford to live there. Also, the shopping bags with their groceries indicated that they shopped at a place many miles away, whereas common sense would dictate that they shop locally.

The weather up to this point was overcast, but still quite warm, and we could see the clouds thickening as the day went on.

The Lady C wanted to go back to Century 21, a department store near the Freedom Tower, so I had a couple of coffees in their café, before we wandered back to Little Italy, in torrential rain, to have dinner in Umberto’s Clam House, where a notorious gangster, Joe Gallo, was murdered a few years ago.

When we got back to the hotel, we asked the front desk for the number of a taxi company, so we could arrange transport to the Cruise Terminal on the Sunday. The staff asked what time we planned leaving and said they’d arrange it for us.

What we found with a lot of the main attractions was that they had airport-style security with x-ray scanners and metal detector walk-throughs.

Saturday

Our intention today was go visit the shops in Brooklyn’s 5th Avenue and then take in a flea market and shopping mall at the top end of the avenue. However, due to maintenance work on the subway, we were unable to get off at the bottom of the shopping strip and had to go to the top. We decided to just go halfway down and then turn back to the other areas we’d planned to visit. Unfortunately, most of the shops didn’t open until 11.00 and what shops we did see (albeit closed) were so interesting I can’t even remember what they were… We found the flea market, which sold mostly furniture and junk, then walked back to the mall. By 11.30 we’d had enough – a very poor selection of retail outlets indeed. We decided to return to the hotel, pick up a few bits and then go and explore the other side of Central Park. We got the subway up to the top of Manhattan’s 5th Avenue, entered the park and walked up to the north-east corner, before crossing over to the north-west corner. On the way, we found a small castle, some lovely gardens and a couple of street-performers doing their stuff underneath a bridge. To say that what they were doing was beyond weird would be putting it mildly. A young woman in a short, sticking-out pink skirt with strange lines painted on her face and an older man with a largely shaved head and pony tail, wearing a skirt. Both had a violin on which they seemed to be playing just one note initially, standing stock-still on either side of what appeared to be a small shrine, the air was thick with incense. Occasionally the lass opened her mouth emitted a tone, for want of a better description. As I got my video camera ready, they suddenly started moving and the man started some sort of vocal sound, the girl chipping in occasionally with the tone. It actually made me feel uncomfortable. I’ll post the footage on YouTube – don’t see why I should suffer the discomfort alone!

We discussed what to do about dinner and plumped for returning to the Dallas BBQ. We walked in the door and were asked to join a queue at the bottom of the escalator to the first floor. When it was our turn to go up, we were asked to join a queue for a desk where they took your name, then asked to wait in a holding area until our names were called. The portions of food here are huge but good value – with drinks and a tip, we paid $50. On leaving, we passed the full waiting area, the queue for the desk and went down the stairs, past the queue for the escalator and out the door to see a queue of at least 100 people waiting just to get inside! And so back to the hotel to start packing.

Another warm and sunny day.

Sunday

We had asked for the taxi to pick us up at 1130, as Cunard opened the check-in at 12.00. Having had a bit of a lie-in, and a decent breakfast, we decided against going out to see a local park and opted to wait in the reception area. Claire went outside to stretch her legs and came back in a few minutes clutching her head. She’d tripped over an uneven paving slab and her temple broke her fall. Fortunately, she just had a slight grazing by her eye, and the hotel staff quickly produced a bag of ice to contain the swelling and bruising. Her glasses, however, didn’t fare quite as well – one of the lenses was chipped and the frame bent. At 1030, a taxi driver came in and asked if we wanted transport. I thanked him and declined, saying that we’d booked a taxi for later. He hung around for a few minutes and I asked him if he’d been given a name that he could ask for at reception. He said all he’d been given was a room number – ours! Another guest at the hotel saw our luggage labels and said she was on the same voyage and asked if she could share our taxi, to which we readily agreed. The fare was $40 for the couple of miles to the cruise terminal.

We got to the terminal very quickly after and, to our amazement, got checked in straight away. There’s been a lot of discussion on the forum about check-in times and believe that Southampton could learn a thing or two from their Brooklyn colleagues. Passengers are not given a boarding/check-in time, you turn up as and when. However, you are given a numbered card on entering the departure lounge. We had to sit there for over an hour until a member of staff announced that, at 12.00, she would be calling out the numbers and NO-ONE was to move from their seat until the number was called. Of course, there were several people to whom this “did not apply” and she got quite ratty with them. We were No 68 and, starting the admission from 20, then missing out 30-49, we got on quite quickly.

Staterooms are ready by the time the first passenger embarks, so Claire went straight there to drop off our bags, while I went to the Pursers’ Desk to book a place on the “behind the scenes” tour, only to be told we had to go to the Tours desk at 0900 tomorrow. I went back to the stateroom to meet up with Claire and then we went off to have some lunch in the King’s Court. By the time we got back to the stateroom, two of our cases had been delivered so Claire unpacked these while I got in the way. On our first voyage, we found a half-bottle of champagne in the stateroom. Last time, it was a half-bottle of sparkling wine. This time, it was a full bottle of Brut. We decided to have a glass each before going out to watch the sail-away. Getting to the rear of deck 9, we found Vibz, a Carribean band who played us out 6 years, once more on the platform by the pool on deck 8 playing to their usual high standard. A little while later, Captain Christopher Wells, who we last encountered on Oceana a few years ago, announced that departure would be delayed because a tour bus had broken down in Manhattan and they had to wait for the cruise passengers to return from their excursion. We decided that, as tempus was fugiting, we’d better get back to the stateroom to change for dinner and, as we sat at table by a window in the Britannia restaurant, we could see the ship slowly pulling away from the quayside as we waited for our appetizers. We’d asked for a table for 6 and, as happened last time, we were allocated a table for 8, with a couple from Manchester, another from Australia and a German couple who have lived in the US for many years. We all got on very well as the week progressed.

We walked around the ship to try and reorient ourselves (failing miserably) and noted that the Kings Court area had changed somewhat. Instead of having four separate areas in the evening, they now had just a buffet for those who didn’t want to use the MDR, and a select dining area, which alternated between an oriental taster menu, Indian and Italian – now with a $15 pp cover charge. We retired to our “cubby hole” alongside the main theatre to do some reading and cross-stitch.

And so started the second week of our holiday.

[Silver_Shiney]

Monday

We turned up at 0900 at the Tours deck to book the ship tour, to find a queue. We were amazed that, despite not being advertised anywhere, the tour seemed to be full already and we were placed on a wait list and would be advised later in the week when it would happen. We then went to the spa to purchase a one-day pass to use later in the week.

Looking through the day’s programme, the only thing that appealed was a lecture from retired policeman Simon Dinsdale, talking about how to solve a murder. That was extremely interesting, although he did emphasis that it was not a tutorial on how to get away with it!

The clocks went forward an hour at noon. The sea was like a millpond and only one degree below air temperature at 15C.

The Lady C went off to “knit and natter” in the Chart Room, while I went to a classical guitar recital.

Tonight was the first of four formal nights, After dinner, Claire went off to see the show, while I returned to the mezzanine corridor alongside the theatre, meaning I could hear most of the entertainment in both the theatre and Illuminations – the competing sounds turning into a bit of a cacophony!

Unlike P&O, where the “café” opens at 22.30 for a last cuppa, the main buffet doesn’t open on Deck 7 until 11.00. Coffee seemed to be a big problem throughout the week, with decaf often unavailable, and the machines were also unreliable. Later in the week Claire spoke about this to one of the managers, who, unfortunately with her facial features and way of combing her fringe over her forehead only needed a toothbrush moustache to become a dead ringer for that nice Uncle Adolph….

Tuesday

After another breakfast in the MDR, we found that another passenger had booked the Board Room on Deck 9 for a Christian Fellowship meeting at 0900, so we went up there to join in, as we would be away from our home church for three weeks.

Mr Dinsdale was back on 11.00, talking about cold cases – again, very interesting.

The weather was still quite good, although now grey, and we did a mile round the promenade deck.

Claire went back to her knitting circle in the afternoon while I started a small cross-stitch project and checked a few emails, using the 2-hour allowance we were both granted for being “gold” members.

Another formal night tonight, preceded by the Captain’s Cocktail Party – chance to grab a couple of free glasses of wine!

Wednesday

Although we like having breakfast served to us, we do find that, having a wide choice on the menu, it is easy to pig out, and we find it awkward sitting there between courses while others at the table eat a course that we’re not having. So, today, we decided to go to the Chef’s Galley and avail ourselves of their “healthy option”, each choosing a smoothie and some cereal, fruit juice and coffee.

There being nothing in the programme that took our fancy, we opted to spend most of the day in the spa. At $40 each, it could be considered a bit expensive but comparing it to the cost for two hours in Bath Spa, it’s a bargain. Claire has been going on for months about sitting with her feet in the special foot spas – both units were out of order!!

It was thick fog today followed by strong winds – so strong that they closed the outside decks off.

After dinner, she went to see Julian Webber and his wife, while I returned to our little cubbyhole to continue stitching.

Thursday

We enjoyed yesterday’s breakfast so much that we decided to go again. The Christian Fellowship was back on today, so we went to that.

Mr Dinsdale was back speaking today, this time on his experiences as a bodyguard. If ever you come across him, I do thoroughly recommend his talks.

We opted to have a pub lunch today and I chose the beef and mushroom pie. It was actually a suet pudding but, unlike the large pie they served in 2004, this one actually had more than a small cube of meat and sliver of mushroom in it. On food portions generally, they are much more generous than on our previous two voyages.

This afternoon Claire went to the knitting circle while I was very busy doing nothing.

After the formal dinner, we were invited to the Queen’s Room for an exclusive cocktail party for Gold, Platinum and Diamond members. To mind, this was very badly managed. We were crammed in to a bench seat on the main floor and, if something had happened, no way could we have got out quickly. The entertainments manager read out some facts and figures, including the fact that there were 500+ Gold members, 300 Platinum and 100 Diamond members. That means that, with crew and stewards, there were over 900 people crammed in there, and it was standing room only. I really felt that they should have had two events, one for Gold and another for the two higher tiers. Not only would that have reduced the elf’n’safety issue, it would have made it seem a bit more special for the platinum and diamond members. Still, it gave us another couple of free drinks! Nearly everyone left when it was time for the second dinner service to start, and we were able to move to another table where we had more space. We sat and listened to the recorded music and watched the dancing for a little while (not my thing at all but Claire enjoys it), before returning to the cabin to collect our cross-stitch projects and tablets for a quick email check.

Tonight’s entertainment was a choice of a female comedienne or a film about Amy Winehouse, neither of which appealed. We decided to go for a drink in the Commodore Club, which has a very pleasant ambience.

Friday

After another breakfast in the Chef’s Galley, we joined our fellowship meeting before going back to the cubbyhole to continue our cross-stitch projects until lunch time.

This afternoon was the day of the ship’s tour, which cost $120. We had decided to do it regardless of the cost as we’d been given a lot of OBC, so effectively, it wasn’t costing us anything as we’d be paying for tips etc whether we had credit or not. It actually turned out to be very good value. Although we had been told that we were being placed on a wait list, everyone on the group had been told the same thing – yet this was the only tour being run during the entire voyage! We started off with a short briefing in one of the Connexions rooms and were then shepherded to the very front of the ship into the mooring deck, for an explanation of what happens when the ship docks. We were then taken down to the main corridor, past crew accommodations (some had signs saying the occupant was sleeping and not to be disturbed during room inspections – it turns out that, just like in the military, the crew have regular “bull” nights and accommodation inspections!) and allowed to peek through the doors into the officers’ ward room, crew bar and restaurant, before being taken in to the compactor room, where all the rubbish is dealt with, for an explanation of how that side of the house is dealt with. The Lady C found this particularly interesting as it is closely aligned to her job. We were also taken to the Engine Control Room, and I was surprised to see that the computers still run Windows XP!

After a tour of the medical centre, where they have a small ICU, we were taken to the galley. On previoius galley tours, we’ve been ushered straight through past a sea of stainless steel, but on this occasion, the galley was in full production and we were able to get right up to the food being prepped. After this, we were led into the Britannia restaurant for sandwiches, cakes and champagne or cocktails. The cocktails were normally sold for $8 apiece. Before moving on, we were each presented with a paper chef’s hat and an apron with the Cunard logo, which was on sale in the shop for $15. The next stop was the theatre, where we got to stand on the stage and have a group photo taken after an explanation of how the they worked. I was surprised, having done a “behind the stage” tour in 2009, that we weren’t taken backstage for a look round there, but were ushered out through the stage door and then, for the highlight, taken up to the bridge, After an explanation of some of the procedures by a junior office, Captain Wells joined us for a chat and a group photograph, before presenting each one of us with a commemorative badge.

As it was our last formal night, we decided to have a glass of wine with our meal, and I asked for two large glasses of house red and white. I was stunned later to find that the red was dearer than the white and we were being charged $32.

Saturday

We decided to have breakfast in the MDR again but asked for a table for two.

We had our final Christian Fellowship meeting and swapped addresses with a couple of folks before moving on to Simon Dinsdale’s final lecture, this one being about the Ipswich murders.

After lunch, I was sent packing to the “cubbyhole” to be out of the way while Claire started packing the cases. After dinner, we went to the Chart Room for a drink.

It seems that we didn’t do a great deal on the voyage. This was as expected – we’d had such a “full-on” week in New York that we just wanted to relax completely, and this is exactly what we did.

Overall, the ship was as lovely as before, although some of the carpets were rather stained and worn, but she's going into dry dock for 25 days in May so should emerge from that looking as fresh as a daisy.

Sunday

We were up early so we could leave our hand baggage in the room during breakfast but then get clear of the room so as not to get in the way of Camilla, the lovely lass who looked after our stateroom. We were scheduled to disembark at 1015 but were actually off half an hour early. We found our pre-booked taxi and phoned the carpark at Heathrow to advise them that we’d be there in about 90 minutes. When we got there, we found that the receptionist had done nothing about it, and we had to wait another half an hour while they fetched our car. We’re getting a £20 rebate for the inconvenience.

We returned home to find that one of the bath taps hadn’t been closed off properly and leaking water had brought part of the lounge ceiling down.

[The Tinker]

Sounds amazing Shiney (apart from the bath tap!!). We did 2 days in New York on Arcadia and then cruised North England. I so want to do this cruise again as it is so relaxing sailing over and back - our legs were killing us after New York as we tried to cram everything in but there is so much more to see!

[Meg 50]

how's the specs.

did you know you can charge the repairs to your insurance ( holiday, or household)

[Silver_Shiney]

Hi Meg

I hadn't thought of that, but as the cost of replacement is almost the same as the policy excesses, there's no point. She's long overdue an eye test anyway.

[nikkipink64+]

Sounds like a great holiday, thanks for posting. I have been on QM2 a few times and have also visited New York a few times but have not done the combination you did yet - but it is on my to do list.

I would want to do the trip the way you did it so you can have a bit of a rest on the way home and you can also go a bit mad with the shopping if that takes your fancy.

I had friends sail over and fly back after their New York stay and even though they enjoyed it they decided they had done it "the wrong way round".

[Meg 50]

..... She's long overdue an eye test anyway.

In that case it might be a blessing in disguise

[Silver_Shiney]

..... She's long overdue an eye test anyway.

In that case it might be a blessing in disguise

uhu

[GillD46]

Thanks for your interesting review. I have thoroughly enjoyed all our Cunard crossings and look forward to the next.

[Silver_Shiney]

Sounds like a great holiday, thanks for posting. I have been on QM2 a few times and have also visited New York a few times but have not done the combination you did yet - but it is on my to do list.

I would want to do the trip the way you did it so you can have a bit of a rest on the way home and you can also go a bit mad with the shopping if that takes your fancy.

I had friends sail over and fly back after their New York stay and even though they enjoyed it they decided they had done it "the wrong way round".

Thank you, Nikki, and welcome to the forum

[ITWA Travel Writer]

Alan, a great review. This should be very interesting to anyone contemplating a similar holiday.

Thank you.

[Jan Rosser]

Enjoyed your review Alan - I have sailed into New York a few times on a Princess cruise, spent a few days sightseeing then flown home but I really fancy sailing home - one for the "to do" list

[Dark Knight]

Nice one, shiney bloke

I loved new York and Ellis island and the empire state building were real standouts for me

[Silver_Shiney]

Thanks to all for your kind comments.

If you're really bored, I've posted the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plcjlmFB3vY

[towny44]

Great review Alan makes me wish we had done New York when we could, don't think we will make it now.
I am also, slowly, making my way through your You Tube video which is very interesting but quite long.

[Silver_Shiney]

Thanks, John - I hadn't realised until this morning how long it was

[Mervyn and Trish]

Thanks Shiney for the comprehensive review. It's given us some thoughts for when we do it all in reverse next year. We're flying back into Manchester with a regional Man-Soton flight at the beginning and of course New York after the cruise. We have friends in New Jersey so we don't have to be self sufficient when we're there. We're on the last Westbound before she comes back for the refit, so I'm not looking forward to the carpets if they're tatty now. The behind the scenes tour sounds pretty similar to the one we did on Aurora so may skip that. Does QM2 still have the gallery behind the bridge where you could go pretty much any time at sea to see what was going on, albeit from behind a glass window?

[Silver_Shiney]

Hi Merv, yes the viewing area is still there.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Thanks. Reckon I can save $120 then!