I will be aboard the QE2 on January 92006

[Jerry Nuovo]

This Monday January 9,2006 which is the day after tomorrow I will be aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 for the first segment of her world cruise which does last for two weeks from New York to Los Angeles.At the time the QE2 arrives in Los Angeles on January 23,2006,I will then disembark off the QE2 to spend a night aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach.During the 2 weeks aboard the QE2 I will post some messages about my time aboard the QE2 and if any of you have any questions to ask about the QE2 or myself please feel free to ask.

 

[Andrew Pascale]

Lucky you! Maybe you could take some photos of both ships and post them here? Happy travelling!

Andy

 

[Jim Kalafus]

Was in NYC to research my latest project, and met up with my friend Tim who was in on the QE2 on the morning of the 9th. Arrival was prefaced with a 45 minute cab ride from 3rd and 42nd to the piers (35 minutes longer than usual) but after arriving late got to watch the lifeboats lowered and retrieved, which is always interesting.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

 

[Jim Kalafus]

 

[Jim Kalafus]

 

[Jim Kalafus]

 

[Jim Kalafus]

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Today the QE2 docked in Willemstad,Curacao.Curacao is a beautiful Caribbean island and I am writing this message at a internet cafe in town because when I tried to get onto the Other Ships and Shipwrecks page of this website with the computers aboard the QE2 all I got was a message that stated this page cannot be posted.The QE2 is still a beautiful ship and I am enjoying the cruise.Jim those are good pictures of the QE2 docked in New York.Last Monday the QE2 was delayed about an hour from leaving New York because refueling the ship took a little longer than expected so the QE2 departed at 6 PM instead of 5 PM.As it turns out I am assigned to the captain's table in the Mauretania Restaurant but this particular captain who is Captain Christopher Rynd is a big disappointment because he excused himself from the table even before us passengers finished our dinners last night and he did not even stay for deserts.Later last night in the Yacht Club another woman passenger told me that she knows some British passengers who were aboard the QE2 for the Christmas cruise and they too were assigned to the captain's table and on the night that Captain Rynd was to be the host he does not even have the courtesy to appear.So instead he sends his teenaged daughters to substitute for him and in my honest opinion this was very rude.Remember that Captain Rynd himself is not really a Cunard captain he is really nothing but a transfer from Princess,also remember that the real Cunard captains Paul Wright and Ian McNaught were so unfairly transfered from Cunard to Princess because Princess operates the Cunard Line for the Carnival Corporation whichs owns both Cunard and Princess.This same woman also told me that Captain Wright did not even want to be transfered from the QE2 to the QM2 when the QM2 entered service in 2004.He would have been more happy to be the Number 1 captain aboard the QE2.But the Cunard/Carnival bosses forced Captain Wright to transfer to the QM2 and then a little over a year later when Princess takes over operation of Cunard for the Carnival Corporation they the Princess bosses then again transfer Captain Wright from the QM2 to a Princess cruise ship which in my opinion it kind of feels like a demotion and both Captains Wright and McNaught would not have behaved the way Captain Rynd did last night and not be rude to these British passengers during the Christmas cruise.One last thing about Captain Rynd is that he is not even British,he is a native of New Zealand.Well on Monday the QE2 will be transiting the Panama Canal and I am looking forward to that and on Tuesday I will post a report on this website if I can find a internet cafe when the QE2 is in port in Panama on Tuesday.

 

[Kyle Johnstone]

Hi Jerry,
I was just on the crossing from Southampton-NYC-Ft. Lauderdale. Possibly you saw me, as I was the only passenger with his arm in a cast and sling.

What a big change in on board ambience, when most "crossers" disembarked and were replaced by cruisers. Another Rynd disappointment on the crossing was when he announced that we would be crossing much farther south than usual, to avoid heavy seas. Well, the heavy seas are a reason many of us enjoy the winter crossing, and this announcement was met with audible jeers. At one point we were only about 250 miles north of the Azores, that's how far south we sailed. I found the captain pleasant enough, but he's definately not "Cunard". I greatly miss my favorite, Ian McNaught.

Next year I am booked Southampton-Los Angeles. I will be greatly interested in your thoughts on this leg of the world cruise. I found many of the world cruisers to be cliqueish, and somewhat boring, as all they talked about was past world cruises and other world cruisers.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
PS: our departure from NY was quite enjoyable, don't you think?

Kyle

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

I just got off the train yesterday,Yes I took the train from Los Angeles to Chicago,Where the other train I had to take to get to New York from Chicago was 1 hour late leaving Chicago and arrived 2 hours late in New York and once in New York I walked luggage in hand the several blocks up 8th Avenue between Penn Station to the Port Authority Bus Terminal to board the commuter bus that would take me home to Northern New Jersey.The Los Angeles to New York train trip including the 5 hours in Chicago where I had to leave the train from Los Angeles to wait for the train to New York took about 66 hours.The train that took me to Chicago left Los Angeles on time at 6:45 PM on Tuesday,January 24th.One question I would like to ask Amtrak is why can't they run a direct train from Los Angeles to New York without having have to change trains in Chicago? The bus trip from New York City to Northern New Jersey only took about 1 hour and the town in Northern New Jersey where I live is a suburb of New York City and I did disembark off the QE2 on Monday January 23rd and arrived at the Queen Mary and spent the night aboard the Queen Mary before boarding the train in Los Angeles Tuesday evening January 24th.So on Monday,January 9th I boarded the QE2 in the Port of New York and Kyle you are right the departure of Pier 88 was very enjoyable including the Manhattan skyline was lit-up because the QE2 left the pier at 6 PM and it was already dark at that time.But it is also sad that the Cunard Ships will no longer dock at the West Side Piers which are Piers 88,90 and 92.Starting on April 15th which is the next date that the QM2 arrives in the Port of New York,which is less than 3 months from now,On that date of April 15th,The QM2 will then dock about several miles away at Pier 12 in Brooklyn every time she is in the Port of New York and the same for the few times a year that the QE2 calls on the Port of New York,That the QE2 when she is next time in the Port of New York which is in September the QE2 will dock at Pier 12 in Brooklyn.So I am very sad that the tradition of docking the Cunard Ships at the West Side Piers 88,90 and 92 has ended,and Remember that Piers 90 and 92 were built in the 1930s for the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth,Pier 88 was built for the French Ship the Normandy and I have seen pictures from the early 1940s with the Cunard Queens and the Normandy all docked next to each other.I did talk to Thomas who is a cruise host aboard the QE2 last week on January 20th,and he also said that he was unhappy about the move to Brooklyn.Thomas did say that it is going to be a big nightmare to arrange for excursion buses to transport the passengers for tours in Manhattan and also I am hoping that Cunard will arrange for buses to take passengers who are either embarking or disembarking off the ship to or from the Port Authority Bus Terminal,Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal and all 3 of these transportation hubs are located in Midtown Manhattan and I do know that Cunard will still provide bus service for the passengers going to or coming from the 3 New York area airports.This would not be a nightmare if Cunard stayed at the West Side Piers which are located in Midtown Manhattan themselves.So on January 16th the QE2 did sail through the Panama Canal and I did see the locomotives which are called mules guide the ship into each of the locks and at each of the locks there was a large containership next to the QE2 going through the locks also.I did notice when the QE2 was at the Atlantic side of the canal,the ship would rise at each level with water being poured into the locks and when the water level was even with the next lock the doors would open and the QE2 would sail into the next section which would be either another lock or through a part of the canal called Gatun Lake.At the Pacific side of the canal the process would be in reverse remember that the QE2 is going from the Atlantic side of the canal to the Pacific side of the canal.The next day the QE2 dropped anchor because she could not dock in Panama City.I did take one of the ship's tender to this dock and I walked around dock area but I did not go on any Cunard excursions because my reason to want to go on this cruise is to go aboard the QE2 again,sail through the Panama Canal and to visit and spend the night aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach,California.After leaving Panama City the QE2 was at sea for 2 days enroute to Acalpulco,Mexico where we arrived at on Jan.20th.In Acalpulco me and 2 other QE2 passengers chipped in our money to hire a taxi to drive us around the city,This is not a Cunard sponsered excursion,we did this on our own and the taxi driver did take us to the various bars in the city and driver did also took us to see the famous cliff divers who climb up to various heights on the cliff and then dive into the water.This cliff diving thing must be a big tourist attraction because there were a lot of people there watching this.The cliff divers start doing their diving at around the age of 14 and then retire from diving at the age of 35.The divers were all men and I guess there are not any women divers.After the QE2 left Acapulco the ship had 2 days at sea before she arrives in Los Angeles.The night before the QE2 arrived in Acapulco,since I am a Cunard Platinum World Club member I did get a invitation to attend the a reception in the Captain's quarters which is his office.Myself and the other people at the dinner table which is the Captain's Table in the Mauretania Restaurant along with passengers assigned to the other QE2 restaurants.One of these passengers was a former QE2 captain himself,his name is Captain Woodall.I did ask Captain Woodall if he would ever consider taking a crossing or a cruise aboard the QM2.He said no because even though he is retired captain he still considers the QE2 to be his ship.I guess Captain Woodall is loyal to the QE2 because he did serve aboard her until he retired in 1994 and he probably does not have the same feelings for the QM2 which did not enter service until 2004, 10 years after he retired so I can understand his loyalty to ships he has served on.Later that night Captain Rynd was to be the host but instead he sent his 2 daughters to be the hostesses.Nothing against his daughters but I still think Captain Rynd still should have been there if Captain Rynd does like hosting passengers maybe he should instead of being Captain of the QE2,he should be a captain of a tanker or a containership instead.The 2 other QE2 officers who were at the table for other nights one being a staff captain his first name is Hamish I can't remember his last name and the Security Officer James Jewell were so much different from Captain Rynd.They always showed up talked to us passengers,stayed with us until desserts were finished and it was a pleasure to meet them.I now have to leave for work and I can't post a report tommorrow which is Sunday because of work so on Monday I will post a report about leaving the QE2 and arriving at the Queen Mary and about meeting John Clifford at the Queen Mary.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

Welvome back, Jerry!

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Here is Part 2 of my QE2/Panama Canal/Queen Mary vacation.One more thing I want to say about the Captain's reception is that one of the QE2's officers I met there told me that it was the Titanic movie A Night to Remember that inspired him to want to have a career aboard a passenger ship as a ship's officer and I think that even though the Titanic's story has a tragic ending,It is good that a film like that did inspire a man to want to pursue a career at sea aboard a passenger ship as a ship's officer.When the QE2 arrived at the Port of Los Angeles there was a delay for the disembarking passengers because we were told that the Department of Homeland Security was taking a long time to check things out concerning the disembarking passengers.Once off the QE2,I headed right over to the Queen Mary in Long Beach and one thing I have to say about the Queen Mary is that she is very beautiful ship.The corridors of the ship has very beautiful woodwork and all over the ship's interiors are beautiful art deco styled light fixtures.I was able to go up to the Bridge of the ship and into the wheelhouse.In the wheelhouse there were about 3 or 4 wheels I think they are called helms that were used to steer the ship.In back of the wheelhouse are where the Captain's and Officers quarters are located and you do see the bed the Captain slept in and even a desk and you would see the same things in the quarters of the ship's officers.About 3 or 4 times a day the Queen Mary's whistles are sounded and they are loud.The whistles are located near the top of the forward funnel and there are 2 of them.There used to be just one whistle located near the top of the second funnel and this whistle is on a permanent loan to Cunard when the QM2 was being built and now the voice of the QM1 is now located near the top of the only funnel aboard the QM2 I think on the starboard side of the funnel,there are only 2 whistles on the QM2's funnel the other one is a working replica manufactured to look like and sound like the original from the QM1.I did go look down in the engine room and I did see the among all the machinery the propeller shafts and the turbines.It is also a little dark and gloomy in the engine room.That evening John Clifford who does contribute reports on the Encyclopedia Titanica message boards and you must have read his reports and also lives in Southern California in the Los Angeles area did come over to the Queen Mary to see me and we had dinner and talked about the Titanic and one question I thought of and John did not know the answer to this question and of course neither do I is concerning Titanic's 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall.Of all the 4 surviving Titanic officers Officer Boxhall stayed the longest at sea when the other 3 had retired and Officer Boxhall stayed with the White Star Line right through and past the year of 1934 when the Cunard Line and the White Star Line merged and Officer Boxhall stayed with the newly merged Cunard-White Star Line company until 1940 when he retired.Sinced he retired in 1940 and the Queen Mary entered service in 1936 is it possible that Officer Boxhall served aboard the Queen Mary at any time between 1936 to 1940? Does anyone reading this message know the answer to this question? I do think that this question is interesting food for thought and if anyone does know the answer to this question please reply because I would really like to know.After dinner John and I went to the cabin aboard the Queen Mary I was staying in and on this trip I did bring a portable DVD player along with the DVDs of A Night to Remember and James Cameron's Titanic the new special edition.John said that he would like to see the deleted scenes from Cameron's film and we did see about several of them.And we both agreed that one deleted scene that should have remained in the movie is the scene of Bruce Ismay's walk of shame of after Ismay boarded the rescue ship the Carpathia and he has to walk past the widows of husbands that went down with the Titanic and the widows are angrily staring at Bruce Ismay I think makes very dramatic cinema.The next day I then board the train for the journey home to New Jersey.I am booked to go back abaord the QE2 next January for another N.Y. to L.A. cruise but now I have changed my mind and now what I want to do is a transatlantic crossing aboard the QM2 next October so I will change the booking from the QE2 to the QM2.I would still like to go back to the Queen Mary so I can still book to go back aboard the QE2 in January,2008 for a N.Y. to L.A. cruise and visit the Queen Mary in January,2008 again.The reasons why I want to do a N.Y. to Southampton transatlantic crossing this October is that I want to see the Southampton berth that the Titanic was docked at,the maritime museum in Southampton and other Titanic related sites in Southampton.

 

[Brian Ahern]

Jerry - what a trip! Just wanted to register my envy. I WILL travel on the QE2 before that ship leaves service.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Well Brian from what I have heard and these are rumors that the QE2 will remain in service for about another 10-12 years and hopefully these rumors are true.A friend of mine who does know maritime historian Bill Miller told me that Bill Miller who does know the bosses at Cunard,told him about a week ago that the rumor is still going on that Cunard will spend the millions of dollars to keep the QE2 in service past 2010 when the new SOLAS regulations start and of course I do hope that this happens.I told my friend that as I have stated in my last post yesterday that I wanted to change my next vacation from doing another N.Y. to L.A. aboard the QE2 next January to doing a transatlantic next October aboard the QM2.My friend said don't change it because the QM2 will always be around at least for the next 38 to 40 years and you always do a transatlantic crossing aboard her.The more I thought of it I realized that he was right and now I will keep the QE2 booking for next January and instead of a 14 night N.Y. to L.A. cruise I will only slightly change it to a 16 night N.Y. to San Francisco cruise.Next January when the QE2 leaves L.A. she will instead of sailing towards Hawaii,she will sail up the California coast to San Francisco and I can disembark there and I still hope that later in 2007 I will do that long awaited transatlantic crossing that I have never done before.

 

[rob scott]

it's so nice to see those photos, one like me who could never sail in her..... but I did stand beside her once, once upon a time far far away and long ago .............
what?????
this: in 1978 we heard that Queen Elizabeth II would be at dock at Yokohama, so on this beautiful sunny day we went on down there (from Negishi Heights, daddy was a commander on Midway but off just then between IO cruises so he took us this day), and I'll say from standing in that gorgeous green park along the dock looking up at the majestic and, from that angle, truely huge liner, well it was awesome in a way not overusing that word as they do nowdays! Truely Awesome Ship, is no lie. And that colour scheme was significant!
We went up and spoke with a purser officer who was handing out menus for suvenirs, so I stood right next to one of the biggest wonders of the world; it's really weird standing twenty feet from such a humongous thing.
That night, right about supper time, impressions from that menu, which those around the world tourists got to enjoy, danced around more than just me head: me tummy was gurglin too! menu's packed away in a box, but I remember listings on there I was not likely to get even in the fancy French restaurant we liked there in Yokohama.

Needless to say anyone who gets that sailing is lucky dogs.

 

[Kyle Johnstone]

Hi Jerry,
Too bad we didn't (or did we?) meet on QE2 NYC-FLL. For 2007 I have booked Southampton - L.A. I wish I would have known you were disembarking in LA, as I live here in L.A., and love any excuse to get down to the Queen Mary. Later this month I'll be staying aboard her the night prior to boarding QM2.

I have a friend from Edinburgh, who, after disembarking from the crossing in NY, we (he, I, and his suitcase) walked from the pier to Penn Station. From there he took Amtrak to D.C., and then Amtrak to Chicago, Whitefish Montana, Seattle, and then on down to L.A. He can now brag that he travelled from England to L.A. without flying, and on top of that saw more of the USA than most Americans ever do.
Of course, on his last night here in L.A. we stayed on the Queen Mary, did a lot of exploring including a lot of things not allowed!

The reason there is no direct Amtrak service between L.A. and NYC is simple, actually.
You may have noticed that the Amtrak trains west of Chicago are the double-decked super-liners, while the trains east of Chicago are the single-level ones. This is because, the east coast infrastructure being older than out west, many of the bridges crossing over the tracks are too low to accommodate a double-deck train. One can go LA-Florida or LA-Chicago on a double-deck train. But Florida to NY and Chicago-NY would be single. I have done cross-country on Amtrak several times and very much enjoyed it. Amtrak is better IMHO than it gets credit for.
See you in Southampton Jan. 2007?

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Kyle, I think you mean that you'll see me in New York or actually Brooklyn,New York on January 8,2007 when I'll be boarding the QE2 for the first segment of the 2007 World Cruise which is Southampton/Brooklyn,N.Y. to L.A./S.F.,California and instead of disembarking in L.A. why not disembark in San Francisco and take the train down to L.A.? It is only 2 extra nights aboard the QE2 to San Francisco. As I wrote in my last post I will change the QE2 booking from Brooklyn,N.Y. to L.A. to Brooklyn,N.Y. to San Francisco.The reason I am writing Brooklyn,N.Y. instead of New York,N.Y. is because starting in a few months time on April 15,2006 when the QM2 arrives back in N.Y. she won't be docking at the Midtown Manhattan Piers 88,90 and 92 on the West Side of Manhattan on the Hudson River anymore.She'll be docking about several miles away at Pier 12 in Brooklyn which is located across the channel from Governors Island and I do think that Pier 12 in Brooklyn is also located above the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel which cars,buses and trucks travel through between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.I do think that the move to Brooklyn is a big mistake the Cunard Queens deserve to be docked on the West Side of Manhattan not in Brooklyn.This move to Brooklyn will also include the few times a year that the QE2 calls on N.Y. The reasons for the move to Brooklyn is that Carnival Corp. is unhappy that the City of New York did not keep the West Side Piers in good condition and that the QM2 is too long for all of the 3 piers on the West Side.But it is strange that in spite of Carnival Corp. which owns Cunard and Cunard is moving to Brooklyn,Another Carnival Corp. owned cruise line which is the Holland-America Line will continue to use the West Side Piers.I have heard radio commercials advertising to take Holland-America's newest cruise ship called the Noordam from Pier 90 for Caribbean cruises starting this Spring.So if Carnival Corp. is unhappy with those Piers 88,90 and 92 why is Holland-America which is owned by Carnival Corp. still docking at those piers? And since the QM2 is too long for those piers,the QM2 is 1,132 feet long,the piers are about 1,100 feet long and the QE2 is 963 feet long,Why not at least for the few times a year the QE2 calls on N.Y. why not let the QE2 continue to dock at the West Side of Manhattan Piers 88,90 and 92? Kyle you are right that the cars on the L.A. to Chicago train are double-decked while on the Chicago to N.Y. train the cars are single-decked.So Kyle I'll stay in touch with you and I'll see you aboard the QE2 next January 8th and enjoy your cruise aboard the QM2 later this month.

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Kyle, In the last post I forgot to write that I did not meet you aboard the QE2 last month so let's meet aboard the QE2 next January 8th and enjoy your stay aboard the Queen Mary later month before your cruise aboard the QM2 and enjoy your cruise aboard the QM2.Is your QM2 cruise the cruise to Hawaii?

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Kyle, I also forgot to write in my last 2 posts that after the QE2 sails out of N.Y. next January 8th it will be a day at sea and then on next January 10th when the QE2 arrives in Fort Lauderdale,Florida the QM2 will also arrive in Fort Lauderdale the same day and it will be great the see the 2 Cunard Queens docked next to each other.I will want to take pictures of the 2 Cunard Queens docked next to each other.This does make me think of April 25,2004 when both Queens were docked on the West Side of Manhattan on the same day.But sadly just last month on January 15th was the last time a Cunard Ship docked on the West Side of Manhattan when the QM2 docked there and so ends a tradition for the Cunard Line which is docking on the West Side of Manhattan that goes back to the early 1900s.The West Side of Manhattan Piers 88,90 and 92 are much closer to my house in Northern New Jersey (if there is no traffic I can get drive to those piers in less than an hour and I've even done it in 40 minutes)than Pier 12 in Brooklyn is.For Pier 12 in Brooklyn I would have to add about another 30-40 minutes to get there.