world Cruise 99 days QM2 from Southampton to Southampton First few days LISBON
9th Jan 2020
Drive down to Southampton through the full deck of cards of weather. Starting with blizzards going across the hills, into bright sunshine, with the sun so low it blinded you as you attempted to manoeuvre around the traffic.
Then horrendous rain that flooded the roads turning them into rivers. Then before we new it, it was pitch black, with spray making it increasingly difficult to locate the route. Thank god for satnav.
Then it’s panic stations. Judith stated reading the boarding details and ascertained we didn’t have the appropriate paperwork to be allowed on the cruise. The emotions in the car were pumping out of control. She had read that we needed to have certificates to prove that we had had all the inoculations. She was off the scale. We were going to be turned away, loose all our money and have to return home.
She was inconsolable. And it became worse once we got into the hotel. She started doubting that she had all the visas and began trying to check, double check. Then in fear started the process again, finding she needed birth certificates and other information that she didn’t have.
It took a long time to calm her down, although by this point l had started to believe we were going to refused entry onto the ship.
Checked all the paperwork, and came to the decision that we didn’t need any certificates as the only one necessary was Yellow fever, but only if you visit a country that has the disease. And we were definitely not going anywhere that was infected, according to the WHO website. But the web site was quite ambiguous, as it recommended masses of other inoculations. Did not bode well for a restful nights sleep.
Friday 10th Jan
Awoke, after a poor nights sleep, which wasn’t surprising, considering what was going around in our heads. But we had decided that we could always manage to find a clinic to have the inoculations if necessary. And we were OK with visas. When you read the small print, most countries offer a cruise visa on arrival.
The journey into Southampton was uneventful, smooth and not overly busy. Stopped and filled up at Tesco’s before drifting down to the port, ensuring we didn’t get drawn to the inbound road system that takes you over the fee paying bridge. We seem to never have right change.
Into the port and find we are at the QE2 terminal instead of the Ocean Terminal. As we get closer to the terminal, we didn’t see any ship. It materialised that it had been delayed. Two separate medical emergencies had made it return to port. And it would now not be arriving until the afternoon, which would entail boarding to be around 4 or 5pm. We were there ready to board at 10.30am. Not a real problem.
They had organised coffee and biscuits, free newspapers and magazines along with shuttle buses to take you into the town. Only downside, was that you needed to take your hand luggage with you. So we hunkered down and relaxed, and enjoyed the time to read the news, send off emails and generally chill. At lunchtime they brought us a delicious array of sandwiches, and at 3pm they said that they had organised an area to leave your hand luggage to enable you to slip into the town. We were happy chatting with people around us, interesting Americans, ladies who were going out to Dubai to stay in the QE2 that had been turned into a hotel and a wonderful old boy who was 99 and still enjoying the cruising.
Managed to get on board by 5pm and unpacked our cases before rushing to the emergency procedure lecture. Dinner in the kings court, that was busier than normal. Possibly due to the non arrival of cases and the inability for people to dress into smart gear. At 9.30 we watched the fireworks before heading to bed.
Initially they were going to have a large display for the The two Queens, the Victoria and QM2, but the Victoria departed on time at 6pm. We eventually sailed away at midnight. Goes without saying that we were already tucked up in bed by then. No one asked to see any certificates or visas, and we had not been turned away.
Saturday 11th Jan
Up at 7.30 and breakfast, light and refreshing, walked the deck for twenty minutes, then it was into the theatre for our first lecture , Exploring the universe. Followed immediately with another lecture on the ocean, singular. Fascinating. Didn’t close my eyes once.
Then a light lunch followed by a very windy walk around the deck. It was so strong it virtually lifted you off your feet. But it certainly cleared out the sinuses. Then another lecture on seeking out and watching whales and dolphins, and what to look for as we cruise through the Mediterranean.
Managed to finish my book afterwards, and reluctantly steered myself and Judith away from the afternoon tea. All those beautiful scones, thick cream and raspberry jam.
At least for a week to try and reduce the girth around the midriff due to the Christmas indulgence. Self will and determination disappeared as soon as we saw the puffed up succulent scones with their clotted cream, butter and jam.But we only shared one, so we halved the calories.
Needed some food in our stomach before we went to the captains party and consumed the odd glass of champagne or two, or even three.
Dressed up to the nines, we joined the queue for the party, and watched as the non Brits inched their way forward through to front of the line. Our ability to queue is one thing that didn’t get passed onto the rest of the world during our spread to colonise the world.
Met a nice couple as we occupied our usual spot to observe the revellers in all their finery. They share there time between Canada and Tunbridge Wells, although they have to get away from both during the winter months. Hence the cruising.
As we were still on the late sitting, we headed for the buffet before heading into the cinema to view Downtown Abbey. Brilliant. Could imagine another series in the making. Something to look forward to.
To bed, to sleep whilst being rocked by the ship as it rides the turbulent seas in the Bay of Biscay.
Sunday 12th January
Up for a light breakfast and twenty minutes round the deck. Warmer 14C, calmer although overcast. Feels good to stretch the limbs prior to sitting through two hours of lectures. Today we have chosen The Dwellings of turtles, The assent of Everest and an hour of The Slow Waltz. After a an hour of tuition on a packed floor, we came away with a reasonable idea of what we were doing. Now all we have to do is practice.
Managed to get in two lots of walking, although it was raining on our second tour of the deck. Nevertheless, we still managed around 8 miles.
Dinner in the Kings Court, as the early sitting was still well overbooked by 700 people. Although they did say they will fit us in if we turn up at 6,20. So we will wait and see. The food is excellent in the buffet, but you have a tendency to graze, which results in over eating.
Visited the cinema to watch a star is born, followed by the theatre, and a quick practice waltz in the ballroom before heading to bed.
Tomorrow we are in Lisbon, Portugal.
QM2 moors alongside the city of Lisbon. Rather cold and the mist is down.
Monday 13th January
Arrived in Lisbon at 8am and were on the shuttle by 9am. Walked throughout the hilly streets near the railway station, eventually climbing quite high before descending. Found an amazing museum of fossils. Truly outstanding, part of the University of geology and archaeology. Spent hours going around it. Fortunately the thick fog had burned off by the time we came out, although it was still rather cool. Still needed hat and gloves, and of course the thermals.
Spiralled through the narrow streets with their hidden shops and street restaurants, whilst the old trams rumbled by, filled with a mixture of residents and tourists.
Back on board for a late lunch of roast lamb.
Then we hunkered down in the lounge and read before heading up to the world club lounge. We found it on deck seven, plenty on comfy seats, guide books, nibbles and superb coffee. Only to realise that it was the private lounge for suite guests. Eventually found the world club lounge on eleven. A rather more modest affair, although with better views.
At 5pm we climbed up to deck 13 to watch the sail away. Tremendous views of the bridge , which we just scraped under, and the monument of Christ, similar to the one in Rio.
Early dinner of squid in the Kings Court followed by more reading, then it was the theatre for the comedian. Superb. Very hilarious.
Drive down to Southampton through the full deck of cards of weather. Starting with blizzards going across the hills, into bright sunshine, with the sun so low it blinded you as you attempted to manoeuvre around the traffic.
Then horrendous rain that flooded the roads turning them into rivers. Then before we new it, it was pitch black, with spray making it increasingly difficult to locate the route. Thank god for satnav.
Then it’s panic stations. Judith stated reading the boarding details and ascertained we didn’t have the appropriate paperwork to be allowed on the cruise. The emotions in the car were pumping out of control. She had read that we needed to have certificates to prove that we had had all the inoculations. She was off the scale. We were going to be turned away, loose all our money and have to return home.
She was inconsolable. And it became worse once we got into the hotel. She started doubting that she had all the visas and began trying to check, double check. Then in fear started the process again, finding she needed birth certificates and other information that she didn’t have.
It took a long time to calm her down, although by this point l had started to believe we were going to refused entry onto the ship.
Checked all the paperwork, and came to the decision that we didn’t need any certificates as the only one necessary was Yellow fever, but only if you visit a country that has the disease. And we were definitely not going anywhere that was infected, according to the WHO website. But the web site was quite ambiguous, as it recommended masses of other inoculations. Did not bode well for a restful nights sleep.
Friday 10th Jan
Awoke, after a poor nights sleep, which wasn’t surprising, considering what was going around in our heads. But we had decided that we could always manage to find a clinic to have the inoculations if necessary. And we were OK with visas. When you read the small print, most countries offer a cruise visa on arrival.
The journey into Southampton was uneventful, smooth and not overly busy. Stopped and filled up at Tesco’s before drifting down to the port, ensuring we didn’t get drawn to the inbound road system that takes you over the fee paying bridge. We seem to never have right change.
Into the port and find we are at the QE2 terminal instead of the Ocean Terminal. As we get closer to the terminal, we didn’t see any ship. It materialised that it had been delayed. Two separate medical emergencies had made it return to port. And it would now not be arriving until the afternoon, which would entail boarding to be around 4 or 5pm. We were there ready to board at 10.30am. Not a real problem.
They had organised coffee and biscuits, free newspapers and magazines along with shuttle buses to take you into the town. Only downside, was that you needed to take your hand luggage with you. So we hunkered down and relaxed, and enjoyed the time to read the news, send off emails and generally chill. At lunchtime they brought us a delicious array of sandwiches, and at 3pm they said that they had organised an area to leave your hand luggage to enable you to slip into the town. We were happy chatting with people around us, interesting Americans, ladies who were going out to Dubai to stay in the QE2 that had been turned into a hotel and a wonderful old boy who was 99 and still enjoying the cruising.
Managed to get on board by 5pm and unpacked our cases before rushing to the emergency procedure lecture. Dinner in the kings court, that was busier than normal. Possibly due to the non arrival of cases and the inability for people to dress into smart gear. At 9.30 we watched the fireworks before heading to bed.
Initially they were going to have a large display for the The two Queens, the Victoria and QM2, but the Victoria departed on time at 6pm. We eventually sailed away at midnight. Goes without saying that we were already tucked up in bed by then. No one asked to see any certificates or visas, and we had not been turned away.
Saturday 11th Jan
Up at 7.30 and breakfast, light and refreshing, walked the deck for twenty minutes, then it was into the theatre for our first lecture , Exploring the universe. Followed immediately with another lecture on the ocean, singular. Fascinating. Didn’t close my eyes once.
Then a light lunch followed by a very windy walk around the deck. It was so strong it virtually lifted you off your feet. But it certainly cleared out the sinuses. Then another lecture on seeking out and watching whales and dolphins, and what to look for as we cruise through the Mediterranean.
Managed to finish my book afterwards, and reluctantly steered myself and Judith away from the afternoon tea. All those beautiful scones, thick cream and raspberry jam.
At least for a week to try and reduce the girth around the midriff due to the Christmas indulgence. Self will and determination disappeared as soon as we saw the puffed up succulent scones with their clotted cream, butter and jam.But we only shared one, so we halved the calories.
Needed some food in our stomach before we went to the captains party and consumed the odd glass of champagne or two, or even three.
Dressed up to the nines, we joined the queue for the party, and watched as the non Brits inched their way forward through to front of the line. Our ability to queue is one thing that didn’t get passed onto the rest of the world during our spread to colonise the world.
Met a nice couple as we occupied our usual spot to observe the revellers in all their finery. They share there time between Canada and Tunbridge Wells, although they have to get away from both during the winter months. Hence the cruising.
As we were still on the late sitting, we headed for the buffet before heading into the cinema to view Downtown Abbey. Brilliant. Could imagine another series in the making. Something to look forward to.
To bed, to sleep whilst being rocked by the ship as it rides the turbulent seas in the Bay of Biscay.
Sunday 12th January
Up for a light breakfast and twenty minutes round the deck. Warmer 14C, calmer although overcast. Feels good to stretch the limbs prior to sitting through two hours of lectures. Today we have chosen The Dwellings of turtles, The assent of Everest and an hour of The Slow Waltz. After a an hour of tuition on a packed floor, we came away with a reasonable idea of what we were doing. Now all we have to do is practice.
Managed to get in two lots of walking, although it was raining on our second tour of the deck. Nevertheless, we still managed around 8 miles.
Dinner in the Kings Court, as the early sitting was still well overbooked by 700 people. Although they did say they will fit us in if we turn up at 6,20. So we will wait and see. The food is excellent in the buffet, but you have a tendency to graze, which results in over eating.
Visited the cinema to watch a star is born, followed by the theatre, and a quick practice waltz in the ballroom before heading to bed.
Tomorrow we are in Lisbon, Portugal.
QM2 moors alongside the city of Lisbon. Rather cold and the mist is down.
Cold damp misty morning
Monday 13th January
Arrived in Lisbon at 8am and were on the shuttle by 9am. Walked throughout the hilly streets near the railway station, eventually climbing quite high before descending. Found an amazing museum of fossils. Truly outstanding, part of the University of geology and archaeology. Spent hours going around it. Fortunately the thick fog had burned off by the time we came out, although it was still rather cool. Still needed hat and gloves, and of course the thermals.
Spiralled through the narrow streets with their hidden shops and street restaurants, whilst the old trams rumbled by, filled with a mixture of residents and tourists.
Back on board for a late lunch of roast lamb.
Then we hunkered down in the lounge and read before heading up to the world club lounge. We found it on deck seven, plenty on comfy seats, guide books, nibbles and superb coffee. Only to realise that it was the private lounge for suite guests. Eventually found the world club lounge on eleven. A rather more modest affair, although with better views.
At 5pm we climbed up to deck 13 to watch the sail away. Tremendous views of the bridge , which we just scraped under, and the monument of Christ, similar to the one in Rio.
Early dinner of squid in the Kings Court followed by more reading, then it was the theatre for the comedian. Superb. Very hilarious.
So tempting
Not quite the right style for a Gala evening on the QM2
Delicious cheeses and slabs of ribeye
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