Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Silver_Shiney
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Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Silver_Shiney »

My mum paid for this as a combined Christmas/birthday present for us both, bless her little cottons. As she was spending Christmas first with us, then with my sister, we took her back home to Hedge End on Tuesday night, parked up and got our usual taxito the docks on Wednesday. Gino is a hoot and, with the number of times we've now used him, he's becoming a family friend.

Check-in was for 1430 but we got there at 1330. I apologised for being early but was assured by the chaps at the bottom of the escalator to the departure lounge that it wasn't a problem. We were ushered straight to a check-in desk, where I apologised again for being early and was again told it wasn't a problem. We were given our cruise cards very quickly and, after going straight through security (I was asked to remove my belt and watch), we dropped our bags off in the cabinstateroom and went off to the Lido for lunch.

We had a full bottle of bubbly in our room, mum had a half-bottle in hers. I couldn't get our safe to close, so the steward had to come and reset it. The rooms (free upgrade to a balcony) were surprisingly big, with a 2-seat settee. Drawer space initially seemed sparse until the Lady C found two large drawers underneath the bed. There was only one UK power point above the dressing table, but 3-4 US points. The one charger I'd brought wouldn't fit in the socket as the sockets are too close to the tabletop (our room on the QM2 last October had one socket "upside down" so it wasn't a problem then) so make sure any plugs or adapters have the lead coming out of the top or the back of the plug. Also, the shaver socket in the bathroom won't accept standard UK 2-pin plugs. The beds are very comfortable but we found the quilt made us very hot, even with the air conditioning turned down.

We sat on out balcony, bubbly in hand, for the sail-away. And sat. And sat. Getting colder and colder... We then heard a public announcement echoing all over the place (why is it that the Yanks can do crystal-clear public address systems yet ours are abysmal?). By the time we'd rushed through the room to the corridor, we'd missed the explanation of the problem but heard that departure would be delayed for several hours. It turned out that the ship's "black box" had packed up and there were no spares to be found, so they'd have to wait for Maplins to open in the morning.... In the event, they did manage to obtain a replacement from somewhere and so we set sail at 2030. The captain said that, if she opened the throttles, she could actually get to Hamburg in half a day, so we still had plenty of time.

The ship was captained by Cunard's first lady to the post - Inger Klein Thornhauge. We were pleasantly surprised to find that both our table stewards were ladies and, indeed, several members of the MDR serving team were female - we've not seen this before. We had a table for 6 at the first sitting (at 1800) and found our companions to be very friendly.

The food throughout at dinner was excellent, with good-sized portions. Only last night did I have a problem as none of the vegetables on offer were to my liking. I asked if I could have the pork without any of the veggies, and was asked if I would like her to see what else she could get me. I said that I would like peas if available, she suggested carrots or broccoli - she brought me a good-size pie dish with carrots, peas, broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus - excellent! We had a large glass of house wine each on the formal night - this was extremely expensive at around USD24 between us. Bar prices for beers, spirits, cocktails etc were much more reasonable (I can post a "menu" if anyone's interested) with a bacardi and coke coming in at $7.95. Cunard don't offer a cheeseboard - instead you get a small side plate with three small pieces of different cheeses and a bit of chutney and dried fruit, and offered a choice of crackers.

We had breakfast a couple of times in the Lido. Although there are tea and coffee dispensers for use during the day, at breakfast they bring a trolley round and pour tea and coffee out for you. In the evening, after 2230, there is a table with flasks of Ovaltine, Horlicks and hot chocolate in addition to the usual drinks dispensers. Also, at lunchtime, there is a milk jug on each table.

"Adult colouring" seems to be gaining popularity these days and Cunard have realised this, with a free sheet (of a butterfly) available in the bookshop. If this floats your boat, remember to take your pencils/felt tips/crayons!

The ship is well laid out with a sort of main corridor along the starboard side on decks 2 and 3, where most of the public amenities are. I'll post a walk-through of these decks on Youtube later.

The first night's entertainment was a four-piece band called The Overtures, who play a wide range of music from the '60s. They are absolutely amazing, and their second "set" last night was packed out. The main event on the formal night was the ship's troupe doing "Hollywood Nights" - a song and dance spectacular. My ladies went to this and pronounced it excellent. Friday's main entertainment was the comedian John Martin. I say "comedian" - I didn't find him at all funny. Last night was the return of The Overtures.

Two lecturers were on board, one giving talks on customs and excise, the other was a former Cunard hostess who gave a talk on her life on the Queen Mary and Elizabeth. I found her to be very imperious and didn't enjoy her manner of presentation so didn't go to the second talk. I didn't go to the second customs talk although he was very interesting as I was too tired and didn't want to insult the guy by falling asleep.

The crossing to Hamburg encountered a Force 10 wind, so the outside decks were closed for the duration (although we did see some folk on the promenade deck - presumably the "Deck Closed" barriers didn't apply to them...)

Hamburg was very cold, and there was a lot of snow on the ground. The Germans have obviously realised that the Schengen Agreement is a failure as we had to show our passports at immigration control in the terminal. We had booked an excursion to see the centre of the city, which was very good, taking in the Warehouse District, St Pauli and the Reeperbahn, the main shopping area and a couple of outlying areas before returning for an organ recital in St Michaels Church. We were allowed to get off the coach at the Rathaus if we wanted, and were shown where to board the shuttle bus, which was free to passengers who'd paid full fare, but chargeable to those who'd bought a saver fare.

The Queen Victoria was also in Hamburg and we both left just after 2030, Vickie leading the procession down the Elbe. A local factory a few minutes north of the port put on a firework display in honour of the two Queens being in port together.

One highlight (well, we think it's a highlight) that we particularly wanted my mum to experience was afternoon tea in the Queen's Lounge. On the QM2, you just turn up and get shown to a table, however although we arrived on time, we had to stand and wait for a good 20 minutes before a table became free. The trick is to park yourself at a table an hour or so beforehand - providing there isn't a "must do" activity happening elsewhere!!

We did find bar service to be very slow - in fact, when in the Commodore Club, I was so fed up waiting I went to the bar myself to get the drinks. It wasn't as if the places were overly busy, I just think they didn't have sufficient stewards out. Last night in the Midships Bar, which wasn't busy by any manner of means, there was just one steward doing the rounds, and he seemed to be propping up the bar for the most part, with another steward behind the bar processing the orders.

Again, the wind meant that the promenade deck was closed for the return crossing. We tried to go outside on Deck 10, but it was far too strong for my mum to be able to cope.

Our case had to be outside by 2300, which meant a quick turn-around before bed as our "semi formal" gear couldn't go in our hand baggage, so the Lady C quickly got ready for bed so we could meet the deadline. About 10 minutes after we turned the light out last night, she turned hers back on and started rummaging around. It transpired that, in her hurry to get the case packed, she hadn't left out a pair of trousers for disembarkation! Fortunately, she forgot to pack my spare pair so with a bit of ingenuity, she came home wearing my trousers. Now, why is it that a lady can wear a bloke's clothing without comment, but if we are found wearing theirs, serious conversations, usually involving professional people, ensue? Then, when she got up this morning, her back went and she's now in a great deal of pain. To cap it all, on the way back from breakfast this morning, she realised that her cruise card was in her handbag. Which was in the suitcase. Which was in the terminal.

When we got back to mum's, the car wouldn't start and I had to call out the AA. Oh well, the time on board and away from home was great!

Some of you will be aware how much I love the Oceana. We've done one trip on the Oriana and three on the QM2. If I was offered one cruise itinerary and could choose either Oceana or QE, I'd have to go for the Cunarder. She just seems a lovelier ship. Nothing I can put my finger on, but she's the best of all the ships (to my mind) that we've had the pleasure of going on so far.
Alan

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GillD46
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

#2

Post by GillD46 »

A great read; thank you for posting it. I do like QE, though personally like QV more and like QM2 best of all. But there's really little to choose between them.

Hope your wife's back improves.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Silver_Shiney »

If anyone's interested, here's a walk round the ship
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sunseeker16
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by sunseeker16 »

Thanks - I enjoyed reading that

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Jan Rosser
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Jan Rosser »

What a special Mum you have Shiney boy treating you to such a lovely gift - interesting reading - I have never cruised with Cunard - may be I should try a short one like your trip - thanks for telling us all about it :thumbup:
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The Tinker
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by The Tinker »

Interesting read as we have been debating trying the Queens. Hope your dear wife is fully recovered.

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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

#7

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Thanks, Tinks, she's still in a lot of pain but, after two days off, is going back to work tomorrow.

Jan, as a known lady of taste and elegance, you would love the Queens. They are more formal than P&O, but that suits us down to the ground.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

#8

Post by Onelife »

Thanks Mr Shiney....really enjoyed your review and the guided tour of the QE....really impressed with the beautiful theatre.

Regards

Keith :wave:


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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

#9

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Thanks SS, very interesting.

About Germany and the Schengen. We are not party to the Schengen agreement so passports may be requested although we have never needed them when driving into there on our many visits. It may be because the ship could have brought a big variety of nationals.

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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by towny44 »

Interesting walk round the ship, not a bit like Arcadia considering its the same basic HAL Vista platform, the atrium totally outshines Arcadia's, but I'm not sure I like all that wood panelling.
The 2 smaller Queens do appear to have much bigger accessible cabins staterooms according to the deck plans so perhaps we should put them on our list for Southampton round trip cruises.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Raybosailor »

Thanks for the review and walk through video Alan, I was amazed to hear that the power points are biased towards the the American market as I thought the Queens were British ships. Then you go on to say that the currency onboard is U.S. dollars so is your onboard account bill presented in dollars or stirling ?.

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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by GillD46 »

It's US$ which your bank then converts. Samuel Cunard was Canadian but the brand is British/American.

Regarding the power sockets, remember they originally used to just do transatlantics between New York and Southampton, so have always catered for the US market. There are both US and UK though.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Raybosailor »

Thanks for clarifying that Gill, so when your credit card company convert from U.S. to stirling there will be a currency conversion charge then ?

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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by towny44 »

Raybosailor wrote:
Thanks for clarifying that Gill, so when your credit card company convert from U.S. to stirling there will be a currency conversion charge then ?
Depends on your card issuer, Visa and Mastercard do cover their costs through the exchange rate conversion they use, but its generally better than you get buying currency even from on line sources, our Nationwide card has no other fees for foreign currency transactions.
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Silver_Shiney
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Silver_Shiney »

GillD46 wrote:
It's US$ which your bank then converts. Samuel Cunard was Canadian but the brand is British/American.

Regarding the power sockets, remember they originally used to just do transatlantics between New York and Southampton, so have always catered for the US market. There are both US and UK though.
You would have thought, though, that as Vicky and Liz are cruise ships, they would be more geared to the UK market. It was disappointing, though, that there was only one UK socket against at least three foreign ones (one looked different from the other two...). I did also find two foreign sockets behind the bedside cabinets, which the bedside lights were plugged into. It was just very disappointing that the sockets were so close to the dressing table top that it would be difficult to plug in most UK leads. Oh, and another thing, the electricity supply (well, for the lights and TV at least) is activated by putting your cruise card into a slot by the door. Not come across that one on a ship before.
towny44 wrote:
Interesting walk round the ship, not a bit like Arcadia considering its the same basic HAL Vista platform, the atrium totally outshines Arcadia's, but I'm not sure I like all that wood panelling.
The 2 smaller Queens do appear to have much bigger accessible cabins staterooms according to the deck plans so perhaps we should put them on our list for Southampton round trip cruises.
The wood panelling certainly makes it very different from Oceana, but we didn't find it all claustrophobic as some dark woods can appear, but rather it made the public areas feel cosy and intimate.

I took a couple of pictures of staterooms on our ship's visit, I'll try to post them over the weekend. Certainly, we felt our balcony cabin was a generous size and the balcony itself much bigger than the ones at the Pioneer Beach hotel in Paphos.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by GillD46 »

I hadn't realised there was only one UK socket, as the cabins we have had, have always had more than that. I always travel with a universal adapter anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem for us. Also reception will usually provide one on request. On the odd occasion our electric toothbrushes wouldn't fit into the shaver socket, we have just charged it in the cabin itself.

I am not normally a fan of wood panelling, but I must admit on the Queens, it seems to look classyo
Last edited by GillD46 on 14 Jan 2016, 10:02, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Raybosailor »

I suppose the wood panelling would be more appreciated on a Baltic cruise than a Caribbean in that wood gives that warm cosy feeling which is one thing you don't need in a hot climate.

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Jan Rosser
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Jan Rosser »

" Oh, and another thing, the electricity supply (well, for the lights and TV at least) is activated by putting your cruise card into a slot by the door. Not come across that one on a ship before."
Britannia has this feature although my granddaughters used to stick the "I am resting/please make up my room" card in the slot too !!!
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Silver_Shiney »

GillD46 wrote:
I hadn't realised there was only one UK socket, as the cabins we have had, have always had more than that. I always travel with a universal adapter anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem for us. Also reception will usually provide one on request.On the odd occasion our electric toothbrushes wouldn't fit into the shaver socket, we have just charged it in the cabin itself.

I am not normally a fan of wood panelling, but I must admit on the Queens, it seems to look classyo

Now she tells me..... :(
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Raybosailor »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
GillD46 wrote:
I hadn't realised there was only one UK socket, as the cabins we have had, have always had more than that. I always travel with a universal adapter anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem for us. Also reception will usually provide one on request.On the odd occasion our electric toothbrushes wouldn't fit into the shaver socket, we have just charged it in the cabin itself.

I am not normally a fan of wood panelling, but I must admit on the Queens, it seems to look classyo

Now she tells me..... :(
Alan if you go to the reception of any ship or hotel they will probably have what you want if you ask, my daughter used to work in hospitality and apart from phone chargers power adapters are one of the main things guests leave behind so they always have a good supply.

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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by towny44 »

Some good general advice over the last 4 posts, additionally most room electricity slots will work with any plastic card similar to a credit card, I use my bus pass normally.
As regards obtaining help from reception this should be a first port of call (pun intended) for requests of any kind, as others have said they are normally only too happy to provide assistance and as well as a genuine thank you, a positive comment in the end of cruise satisfaction survey will also be welcomed by them.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Silver_Shiney »

Oops - forgot that I'd promised to upload a couple of pictures of our balcony cabin:
inside cabin 6143.jpg
cabin 6143.jpg
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Mervyn and Trish »

towny44 wrote:
Some good general advice over the last 4 posts, additionally most room electricity slots will work with any plastic card similar to a credit card, I use my bus pass normally.
As regards obtaining help from reception this should be a first port of call (pun intended) for requests of any kind, as others have said they are normally only too happy to provide assistance and as well as a genuine thank you, a positive comment in the end of cruise satisfaction survey will also be welcomed by them.
Of course the idea of these slots is to save electricity by turning off the power when you're out. The fridge stays on and there is usually one 'always on' socket for chargers etc. Remember every time you use your bus pass to defeat the system another polar bear dies! :sarcasm:

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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by GillD46 »

They repeatedly request you don't leave chargers on charge when out of the cabin, or at night these days.
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Re: Girl Power - Queen Elizabeth to Hamburg

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Post by Silver_Shiney »

Other sticking your spouse's wet fingers in the sockets to see how brightly their eyes light up, how would you know which is the "always on" socket?

As Gill said, leaving chargers on overnight or when out is not allowed anymore.
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