Queen Mary II, July 2-8, NYC/NYC
Jun 3, 2008, 7:33 pm
#1
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Queen Mary II, July 2-8, NYC/NYC
We are so excited. We just booked a 6 day trip on the Queen Mary II. ^
We have dreamed of sailing her, but always thought it would be too complicated (one-way transcon) and too expensive. This is so easy--just from New York to New York as follows:
NYC
Sea Day
Boston Harbor for the 4th of July Fireworks.
Bar Harbor
Halifax
Sea Day
NYC
Here is the best part, we only paid $1,265 pp, and have already been upgraded to an unobstructed view balcony.
Anybody want to join us?
We have dreamed of sailing her, but always thought it would be too complicated (one-way transcon) and too expensive. This is so easy--just from New York to New York as follows:
NYC
Sea Day
Boston Harbor for the 4th of July Fireworks.
Bar Harbor
Halifax
Sea Day
NYC
Here is the best part, we only paid $1,265 pp, and have already been upgraded to an unobstructed view balcony.
Anybody want to join us?
Jun 3, 2008, 7:41 pm
#2
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That giant boat is going to Bar Harbor? Yikes..... I recommend when you dock that you rent a pair of bicycles and see the real MDI (Mount Desert Island) and get as far away from the cruising set as you can. How much time will you spend on MDI?
Jun 3, 2008, 8:03 pm
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Here is the itinerary
Seeing as how we will be up late watching the fireworks and dancing 'til we drop the night before, I suspect we will take it very easy Saturday morning--all of it.
Typically on cruises, we dance until the band quits playing and then sleep in and have brekfast in bed, enjoying being very lazy and luxurious while we have the opportunity.
I believe that there will be three formal nights and dancing to a 10 piece ban every night on the six day cruise. How fun is that?
Seeing as how we will be up late watching the fireworks and dancing 'til we drop the night before, I suspect we will take it very easy Saturday morning--all of it.
Typically on cruises, we dance until the band quits playing and then sleep in and have brekfast in bed, enjoying being very lazy and luxurious while we have the opportunity.I believe that there will be three formal nights and dancing to a 10 piece ban every night on the six day cruise. How fun is that?
Jun 3, 2008, 8:53 pm
#4
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also an interesting comparison >
http://cunard.com/CruiseItinerary_Tab.asp?CruiseID=2972
this 6 day RT cruise on cunard's QM2 would start at $1365/nt for a queens grill suite. (all-inclusive except for alcohol and tipping) the QM2 has a 20K ft2 canyon ranch spaclub onboard.
http://cunard.com/CruiseItinerary_Tab.asp?CruiseID=2972
this 6 day RT cruise on cunard's QM2 would start at $1365/nt for a queens grill suite. (all-inclusive except for alcohol and tipping) the QM2 has a 20K ft2 canyon ranch spaclub onboard.
the only 2 cruises im really considering at the moment though are seadream and regent to alaska.
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Jun 3, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Jun 5, 2008, 4:34 pm
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It's cheap to get people to go. I can't imagine too many people rushing to Bar Harbor and Halifax.
Jun 5, 2008, 7:09 pm
#7
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For us, wasting money on the Queens Grill at $1,000 per night would be just plain silly, when we can get a balcony for $200 per night.
We go on cruises to be together, see new ports, get away from responsibility, and to dance. All we need is a good bed, a shower, healthy food, a balcony (cause we love them), and lots of dancing.
We have never been to Bar Harbor or Halifax, so they will be fun to see, and there is always plenty of running around to do and friends and family to see in Boston, if we decide to leave the ship, but we are also totally happy at sea.
Let's see, would we rather enjoy 30 nights in a balcony dashing around the world, or 6 night in a Queens Grill suite? No contest.
I suspect we will have so much fun in steerage that we will do it every chance we get.
We go on cruises to be together, see new ports, get away from responsibility, and to dance. All we need is a good bed, a shower, healthy food, a balcony (cause we love them), and lots of dancing.
We have never been to Bar Harbor or Halifax, so they will be fun to see, and there is always plenty of running around to do and friends and family to see in Boston, if we decide to leave the ship, but we are also totally happy at sea.
Let's see, would we rather enjoy 30 nights in a balcony dashing around the world, or 6 night in a Queens Grill suite? No contest.
I suspect we will have so much fun in steerage that we will do it every chance we get.
Jun 5, 2008, 9:18 pm
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QG serves the same food as Britannia. I found the QM2 to be underwhelming. I had mediocre service all around. As a comparison, I find the Disney Magic a more glamorius ship. It has better staff, service, and the food is way better.
Still, Punki, do experience the QM2. Have an old Calvados at the Cigar Bar. Use the hydrotherapy pool (for a fee!).
I'm glad I did it!
Still, Punki, do experience the QM2. Have an old Calvados at the Cigar Bar. Use the hydrotherapy pool (for a fee!).
I'm glad I did it!
Jun 6, 2008, 5:36 pm
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We have been on ten cruises--nine Princess and one Holland America. We loved them all. The food on HAL was marginally better, but we are not really big food people, and the room was marginally nicer, which we enjoyed.
We liked the people we met better on Princess. The people on HAL seemed really, really old, but that may have been because it was the beginning of a really long cruise.
The only way we will know for sure about Cunard is to give it a go. We are pretty confident that we will love the dance floor and the music, and that is the most important thing for us.
If we love it madly, we will try to put together a group of our dance friends to join us next year for the 5-day Independence Day cruise. I will write a full report.
We liked the people we met better on Princess. The people on HAL seemed really, really old, but that may have been because it was the beginning of a really long cruise.
The only way we will know for sure about Cunard is to give it a go. We are pretty confident that we will love the dance floor and the music, and that is the most important thing for us.
If we love it madly, we will try to put together a group of our dance friends to join us next year for the 5-day Independence Day cruise. I will write a full report.
Jun 6, 2008, 11:51 pm
#12
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Our crossing on the QE2 was the height of pampering. Margaret and Albert unpacked our clothes, served us breakfast in bed, mended our clothes and dining in the
Queen's Grill was a lovely experience. As we were on a winter crossing and encountered stormy seas, going outdoors was not an option.
We loved every minute of the crossing...the cabin...walk-in closet...Queen's Grill and we did manage to dance, despite the stormy seas. This was one time that a balcony would not have served us well, as the Captain ordered everyone to stay indoors. We had snowdrifts on deck. Guess it all depends where you are sailing. We found the entire experience quite romantic.
Queen's Grill was a lovely experience. As we were on a winter crossing and encountered stormy seas, going outdoors was not an option.
We loved every minute of the crossing...the cabin...walk-in closet...Queen's Grill and we did manage to dance, despite the stormy seas. This was one time that a balcony would not have served us well, as the Captain ordered everyone to stay indoors. We had snowdrifts on deck. Guess it all depends where you are sailing. We found the entire experience quite romantic.
Jun 7, 2008, 6:52 am
#13
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We enjoyed our sail on QM2 and we were not Queen's Grill. I was addressed as Madame everywhere and the service was excellent. Spa is very underwhelming as it is coed (steam room as well). One fun thing is watching everyone else watch the ship. It is sooo huge that I felt just walking from one end to the other was a pretty good exercise
Jun 7, 2008, 6:23 pm
#14
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Just looked at the Cunard website. That little 4-day cruise, NYC-NYC looks kind of appealing for a Labor Day weekend getaway. Moreover, it mostly consists of days at sea, which we love. I'm going to contact my Virtuoso TA next week to see what she can do for us. Thanks for the heads-up, Punki. Your itinerary looks very nice. BTW, as a Los Angeles native, the only time I ever got to Catalina Island was on the Sea Goddess (now "Sea Dream"), when it did a short cruise out of Los Angeles. Also gave us the opportunity to visit our son in Santa Barbara, who was an undergraduate at UCSB at the time. Those short cruises can really be fun. Even better, is when you can drive home from the arriving port of call.
Our itinerary was Los Angeles to Los Angeles. I believe we made a short stop in Ensenada in the middle of the night in order to not violate the "Jones Act."
Our itinerary was Los Angeles to Los Angeles. I believe we made a short stop in Ensenada in the middle of the night in order to not violate the "Jones Act."
Jun 8, 2008, 9:25 am
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The QM2 has HUGE windows in the casino (I know very strange but neat). One day at sea we were sitting at a 3 card poker table (full) and several other tables were full too when someone set up the cry "look dolphins" - everything in the casino stopped while we gaped. Then the cry went up "look flying fish" and again all stopped. Casino pit boss and crew are all wonderful and finally, with a laugh the pit boss said "what are we doing, gambling or sightseeing"? We all laughed but kept our eyes peeled.