In early July, Jacques Olivier sailed on QE2 for a 13-day cruise to Iceland and Norway.  It took place from/ to Southampton, from 3rd to 16th July 2006.

Here is an account of his cruise.  All photos are copyright Jacques Olivier and can be clicked on to enlarge

INTRODUCTION

I had the chance to see QE2 from an excursion ship in Southampton Harbour on 1st May 2004, when she together with QM2 had returned from their (first) tandem North Atlantic crossings. More precisely, I saw QE 2 leave in the early afternoon. I hadn’t seen her for many years, and I was impressed – well, moved – at how “nautical” she looked. Seems I had forgotten she boasted such proper lines. She looked slender and very beautiful – And yet she did not show her age. I was also aware that she wouldn’t be around with us for ever, and that one day she would go (and this idea made me very sad). So I told myself that a cruise on her would not be too bad an idea. The idea dawned on me, and in mid April, I noticed a cruise to Iceland and Norway, which itinerary looked interesting, like the price. It did not take me more that 48 hours to work things out and to book the cruise.

TRAVELLING TO SOUTHAMPTON AND CHECKING-IN

We travelled by train – as we usually do now since this was our third cruises out of Southampton within the last 13 months: from Paris Gare du Nord to London- Waterloo and Waterloo to Southampton. I greatly appreciate not to have to fly to get the port of departure.

We arrived at about 13h15 at the train station in Southampton. Weather was gorgeous: warm and sunny. As we took a taxi, I asked the driver to take me to King George V basin, which I had never seen from land. Its doors have been removed, as they needed repairs (that have been deemed too costly). So, the dock will probably not be used any more. It’s only a wet dock now.

When we got to the QE II Passenger Terminal, it was quite busy. We waited about 30 min (but we found ourselves into the “Grills” lane!) before checking in. At the counter, the computer did not seem to like our French passports! Anyway, the check-in process over, and after the security check, we ended up into large the hall - waiting room – one level up, where we were given tickets. It was very busy – and hot – almost stifling! While waiting, I had a beer - which was very expensive -, and walked on the outdoor balcony of this hall, to get good views of the ship. She looked just magnificent! I couldn’t wait to board! After a little less than an hour of wait, our colour was called. We were asked to sanitized our hands as we joined the queue to board the ship!

We boarded QE2 via the mid-ship lobby, at about 15h15. We then were escorted to our cabin by a young steward from Romania.

OUR CABIN

We were accommodated in cabin 4184 – an M1 category-, located port side, in the second part aft of the hull, forward of G staircase.

It was a small cabin in comparison to the ones we are now used on “floating resorts”! My mother noted that there was only one armchair, no desk and no table! But she was surprised when I showed her the writing “shelf” that you draw out from the drawers-set between the beds. She remarked too, that in addition to a rather small porthole, the cabin was smaller than the one we had in July 1999, when I first took her on a cruise, which was a Caronia cabin (a C3 grade, in fact, the highest tourist class cabin category when QE2 still had that distinction). The bathroom was ridiculously small. Just the depth of the wardrobe! Honestly, oversized people wouldn’t feel at ease in there. I hit myself in the toilet paper dispenser very often while sitting on the toilets! And when using the sink my back would hit the door! The shower was fine, but the water too hot – there wasn’t much lukewarm water! Beds were not too good – mattresses would need replacing. There was also no bath robe. Storing was satisfactory for this 2-berth cabin.

Some times, there was a weird and rather loud noise in the cabin: what I would describe as an “hydraulic” or “chain-like” noise. It was as if somebody was banging rapidly on a running pipe over the deck-head, just above the sea wall. It did not occur often, but once, it lasted a good hour during one night. I have no idea what it was! But it was quite unpleasant.

People next door smoked a lot and occasionally left their cabin door open! Guess they didn’t want to choke! Therefore, the small corridor smelt badly! But fortunately, not our cabin.

Our Cabin steward was Jojo from the Philippines – he did a satisfactory job.

SHIP’S INTERIORS

Deck 4 was fine –and it’s was why I chose that deck over deck 5 - because when the sea got choppy, portholes were covered on the lowest deck by the dead lights. Our table companions had such a cabin, and a few times, in the evening, the deadlight was on, and so was it during one day at sea! It was like an inside cabin, they reported!

Companionways are quite wide in comparison to modern cruise ships, and certainly wider that those on QM2. Taken into account that some corridors are very long, this help provide an even more impressive effect.

Now, what made me laugh were the new corridor walls on the lowest decks! Together with the small side corridors that service the clusters of cabins, off the main companion way! The first consists of light wood placage (rose-wood like I guess), intending to provide I would say, a rétro feel. To me, this type of veneer is the wrong one and such a “feel” is out of place in those corridors! The overall effect is rather poor. The second consists of a layer of grey paint – or was it placage too? It looked like a special paint (granite-like, to give you a rough idea)– the effect is ghastly in those small corridors; they don’t look welcoming at all! I was struck by this modification (I do not say ‘improvement’) because I don’t think there was wood placage in 1999 and before in the lowest decks, but instead just white painted walls. That may not have looked plush, but at least it wasn’t tacky nor cheap! I noticed this change within seconds of when we first made our way to our cabin!

The corridors servicing first class cabins still have their original (dark-ish) wood panels that looks nice and show ‘patina”. The type of wood imitation for the recent placage was certainly the wrong one!

I think that the ship, overall, was in sound shape. Externally, QE2 is particularly well maintained. There was no spot of rust, and there were always crew members applying varnish or paint here or there. Nevertheless, the hull would have looked nicer had it had a recent paint of coat! A guy I spoke to said that he had sailed on her a year ago, and that she looked better this time.

Internally, I think QE2 is better now that in 1999. Then the overall decoration and fittings lacked homogeneity, and did not look of good quality in certain area. This time, although uniformity is still not the interiors’ key element, the fittings and decoration looked nicer, warmer and of better quality.

Now, let’s survey a few rooms.

The new décor of the Caronia restaurant looks pleasant, though rather restrain and minimal, owing to its dark wood panelling and lightning fixtures.

The Queen’s Room has had its forward and aft bulkhead redesigned to minimal, by being covered by a dark wood panelling (similar to the one used in the Caronia restaurant). I well remember the after bulkhead that displayed an attractive 3-dimention brick-like pattern in brown tones. It is now gone, being replaced by the new flush wood panelling. Today, the yellow toned carpet together with the yellow and blue seating help convey a warm touch

All in all, It’s a very attractive room – a grand room –, well proportioned – spacious and airy. I really like the trumpet-like columns and the “perforated” ceiling. At least these two haven’t been removed during the numerous refits!

The Mauretania restaurant hasn’t changed much over the recent years I would say. We were seated in the after section, starboard side, in the second area after the maitre d’ desk. It looked somewhat crammed, although we were not far from the windows. (one of which was damaged and should need replacement, as there was damp and mould between the glass panels!)

I also noticed that the bulkhead, that is to say the after one, I was looking at when seated during meals was covered with a sand colour wall paper, featuring a few large mirrors. But these mirrors were just hung! There was no frame! It’s as if they were just “glued”! Similarly, I noticed when we had lunch in that restaurant (the only one time actually), in the forward section, portside, there was a similar wall (same paper and same mirrors), but they were framed…. By blonde wood frame, with no varnish - and you could spot the nails! That looked cheap, really! I was kind of appalled!

What was on those walls before? I am thinking of the stylish framed pictures of the Mauretania (the ship) that were key elements in the decor, before the 1994 refit (was it in 1994 that this restaurant was reconditioned?)

The room central section was welcoming, although a bit crammed - feel of low ceiling ? tables too close to another? I was nevertheless pleased to notice that the fine reduced model of the 1907-Mauretania was still there, and I enjoyed carefully looking at it many times .

The Queens Grill looked attractive, though a bit heavy in brown colour scheme and décor. Appears quite rétro - a bit Edwardian! A far cry from what it looked like originally!

The Britannia Grill is quite appealing too, although a bit bland – there is nothing much to report about it. It certainly doesn’t appear crammed.

The Princess grill, on the other hand, is probably the best room on board, in my view, not only because it looks much as it was when the ship was commissioned. I find it a very elegant and stylish room, thanks to the red colour scheme, the slender statues and the seating. I’d love to have the chance to dine there one day…

SERVICE AT THE MAURETANIA

Well, it went according to my expectations. We were assigned to second sitting – according to our request. Our waiter service was not the best I had on a cruise….

The head waiter was from Mauritius. He spoke very good English, and of course, French (I would speak with him in both languages). His assistant was a very reserved young guy from Romania, who hardly spoke French, and was professional. I believed that they tried to assign French speaking passengers to an area serviced by waiters fluent in French -that was appreciated. Unless it was that it just happened that way… The first night, though, we were seated with a French couple (nice people in their late thirties who spoke good English) and an English one (the only Brits in the area - but they didn’t show up the other nights, as they found a table with fellow country men)

One evening, I noticed that the chairs had not been wiped…- there were still bread crumbs on the seats. Twice the head waiter forgot (or did not bother) to give us the details regarding the meals arrangement for the following day… Not that we cared about this information!

Another evening, our French table companions did not have dinner with us, as they were watching a world cup football match on television. Once the match over, they joined us to have dessert. I guess we hadn’t ordered it ourselves by then. When they told the waiter they would like a dessert, he kind of pulled a face! We had the impression they were bothering him…. I was quite shocked. I would have expected something like “certainly, I would be delighted to get you a dessert”!

We don’t like having ice with our water – it took a while for the waiter to remember this habit, although his assistant grasped this detail within a couple of days. However, it was no trouble to get our glass of water refilled or an extra cup of coffee.

Meat was served in hot plates. That’s great. But once, the plate for my steak was placed in from of me was very very hot – the waiter didn’t bother to warn me! And when he put the steak on it, it went like sizzling….and continued to cook! I could have burnt my fingers.

Other tables in our section were also waited on by another guy from Mauritius who was much more professional.

Now, what was a joke (no, it was not, really, it was rather pathetic) is that we never had the visit of the maître d’h, nor that of the section maître d’h, although our table was located near the entrance of the restaurant, and of their desk! I thought that was quite mean! Perhaps they behaved like this because we had chosen to pay the tips via our on-board account? They didn’t bother to make the effort.

ENTERTAINMENT

Shows and entertainment were good. It ranged from the traditional varieties shows – although not “too” traditional in the way that we were not offered the almost unavoidable “musicals” like Grease, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, etc., which I’ve seen too many times now, and have became tired of! -, to piano or string concertos, a comedian a juggler, and cabaret singers. I enjoyed the majority of the performances I attended. Most of the entertainment took place in the show lounge, that is to say the Grand Lounge, which seating has some time poor sight line, because of pillars. This room is not a show lounge like on modern cruise lines, which offers good tier- seating. That “detail” reminds us that QE2 is not a “floating resort”! Ball dancing took place one deck down, at the Queen’s Room.

Entertainment included talks given by several lecturers. To me, those I enjoyed the most were by Stephen Payne. The first evening, at show time, the cruise director (by the way, Martyn Moss – a rather young and very distinguished CR, who did a very good and professional job), mentioned that one of the lecturers would be Stephen Payne! I was thrilled to bits! I just couldn’t wait to attend the first lecture! The day after, in late afternoon, I spotted Stephen strolling on the promenade deck. I did not dare to approach him... The following day (we had two days at see before our first port of call – Reykjavik), before Stephen’s lecture, I introduced myself. I greatly enjoyed his presentations (4 of them; and that included a questions and answers one with an emphasis on the new Queen Victoria). I also had the chance to chat a little bit with him at times – I just didn’t want to be intrusive. But I can certainly say that he is a very polite and approachable man.

FELLOW PASSENGERS

Atmosphere on board was friendly and laid back. Obviously, many people were repeaters, which added to the on board feel.

I have to mention that we noticed that there were a lot of elderly people. I think this is the first time I sail with so many old folks! There were nevertheless a few young couples and a few young kids, but not many teens.

The majority of passengers – guests- were Brits, and the second nationality most represented was Americans. The ship carried 1725 passengers, which is near full capacity. The breakdown presented the second day in the daily programme stated that there were 1198 people from the UK – 70%, 189 from the US -11%, 56 Germans -3.2% and 29 French -1.70%.

In spite of this rather large complement of passengers, things worked out well. There was no room that was too crowed, nor bottle necks. Elevator service was satisfactory. The ship was busy, and so were of course the interiors –lounges, galleries, bars-, specially when the weather was not too kind. In that case, it meant that people had to stay inside, but you could always find a quiet seat at the Yacht Club for instance. However, the lido was sometimes very busy and it was hard to find a seat – but that was at “peak hour”, which we tried to avoid whenever possible.

People behaved fine. There were a few grumpy ones, but generally folks behaved with propriety. Even during show time. One evening, though, there were a bunch of people behind me that were chatting… I wasn’t happy and got so annoyed that I turned back to tell them that their chatting was preventing me from enjoying the show… They stopped (and left after a short while). They were from a “latin” country… I just can’t understand why people chat during a show. That shows so much arrogance and disrespect towards other fellow viewers and performers – this attitude drives me crazy. If people want to chat, they can go to another room, can’t they? But I know now by experience that on certain cruise companies, show time can also be chat time…. And there’s nothing you can do about that!

Dress code was respected and generally enforced (at least at the beginning of the cruise!). One informal night, I witnessed one of the Maitre d’h at the Caronia entrance turn down a gentleman because he didn’t wear a tie. At the Mauretania, men just got a remark when not wearing a tie. But towards the end, there was no restriction any more….

FOOD

The menu choice was more than adequate, although not extravagant – that goes for both the lido and the restaurant.

Food was very good. Specially fish, which didn’t look and taste like plastic! It was tasty and properly cooked. Portions were quite generous too. Desserts – including ice creams - were fine. Meat was good too (beef was OK – I’ve eaten better one on other cruises).

I usually have two entrées (fish and meat), but I must admit that towards the end of the cruise, I just couldn’t cope with that rhythm… I had eaten too much and didn’t feel like eating anything! I have to say this had an influence on my morale… Occasionally I would turn up at the midnight buffet, to have a few nibbles….food looked nice there! The catering staff was very welcoming, and wanted you to try what they were cooking or just serving!

I must say that staff at the cafeteria was very friendly and helpful. Most of them were from Asia (Filipinos, Indians for instance). There were pleased to help you – you didn’t have the impression that you were “bothering” them – quite a contrast with some of the staff at the Mauretania! It was no problem to get an extra cup of tea, or a glass of juice for instance: they would just bring it to you.

Tea-time was a pleasant moment at both the lido or the Queen’s Room. And tea tasted like proper tea – after all, it was brewed in a pot; English tea that was, I would say!. The small gateaux and cakes (such as scones) were very tasty (the scones were nicer than last year in October on QM2!). And you could even have proper tea at the lido for breakfast – I like this. On the mainstream cruise lines, the only tea you get as a rule is from a sachet and hot water (this is not real tea to me). Coffee tasted fine.

Regarding food at the cafeteria, you couldn’t help yourself to any! Each food station was protected by a glass-like screen. Therefore you would always need to ask to get something, but really, it wasn’t a problem because there was plenty of staff behind the counters. At the beginning of the cruise, they insisted that you sanitized your hands before being given a tray. In the second part of it, they were not so strict…

We enjoyed wine most nights at the restaurant. Price was not too bad (well, taking into account the fact that we paid US dollars with strong Euros…). I tried a few different bottles until I came across the QE2/ QM2 special vintage: Sauvignon for the white one, and Cabernet Sauvignon for the red. Once tried, I was satisfied and I stuck to it. Price was 32.20 USD (including the 15% service charge).

WEATHER AND EXCURSIONS

WEATHER – When you sail on those northern latitudes, you can’t expect constant good weather. Well, it was not too bad during the cruise.

It was really cold in Akureyri, but nice during the call at Reykjavik and even very sunny in Bergen. We had bouts of choppy sea – nothing dramatic really-. But one night, you could feel the moderate pitching and rolling, together with the creaking of the ship – that was very pleasant.

Although we were supposed to sail near the region the of Midnight Sun, we had rarely the chance to see the sun set late – because it was too overcast. Still, one evening, we had the chance to enjoy the sun setting well after midnight, behind a clear horizon. I must admit that I had never experienced such a moment, and I was very impressed and moved! That evening, it was very cold outside, I can tell you. Another evening, although the weather was very overcast, and we didn’t see the sun set, it was still clear well after thirty minutes past midnight! That was truly amazing.

Near the end of the cruise, weather had became very pleasant. The last day, spent at sea, was a bright, smooth, warm and sunny day. Many people, including me, enjoyed spending a few hours out on deck!

We knew two of the places we called at, from a cruise taken on Celebrity’s Constellation in July 2003: Bergen and Geiranger.

EXCURSIONS -

Reykjavik – Iceland (6th July)

We were pleased (and relieved!) that morning. Weather was good: bright and sunny. We were therefore looking forward to our day out.

Before the cruise, I had “met” on the internet people on “cruisecritic.com”. The first day at sea, we had a gathering on board, at the Yacht Club, to know each other “physically”!

So, that day, with our “Cruise Critic” little group –8 of us- , we joined a local guy (contacted by a fellow member), who would be our guide, and hired a car. We set up on a tour of the area.

We enjoyed nice weather throughout the day (not a drop or rain, and it was even about 15° Celsius at times , which is excellent for the place).

We drove in the country side, and enjoyed truly dramatic landscapes – it’s lunar over there sometimes! Saw or stopped at a geothermal power station (there was a pungent smell of sulphur!), geysers (amazing!), waterfalls (the Gullffos ones – very impressive), volcanoes craters, lava fields, etc….

In fact, we travelled in both the American and the European continents! Yes, because Iceland is at the junction of the two continental plaques! We stopped at Thingvellir national Park, Iceland most important historical site, set in a rift valley. It’s also where the Icelandic Althing, one of the first European lawmaking assembly, met in 930 (A.D.)!

We formed a very good team, which had a fantastic day. In retrospect, it’s surely one of the most interesting, most un-usual (scenery wise) excursion we ever took during a cruise! I’ll have vivid memories of this day for many years to come I guess.

Akureyri – Iceland (7th July).

We had meant to book an excursion to Myvatn Lake and the Godafoss falls. Unfortunately, the excursion was sold out by the time we made up our mind! We were disappointed. But in the event, we would see the countryside and wonderful land marks around Reykjavik. Instead we would stay in Akureyri.

It was cold that day, 7° C and overcast – temperature would not vary a degree! The tendering process to go ashore took ages.

From the deck, the scenery was dramatic, despite a thick and very grey sky! Still, there was no mist, so you could see far ahead. You could spot the top of the mountains (when not shrouded in clouds!), covered by glaciers… Yet, under those conditions, it looked pretty bleak to be honest!

We took a tender at noon. We just pottered into town – it’s a small town by “western” criteria! We visited the main church, commissioned in the early 40’s, which interestingly hosts some of the stain glasses from the cathedral of Coventry. We visited a very neat and attractive botanical garden, and the local museum.

We got back to the ship at about 4 pm – departure (at 18 h 50 to be precise) was delayed because of people coming late from their excursions.

As we sailed along the North East coast of Iceland to Norway, at around 9:30 pm we crossed the Artic Circle (66° 33’ North). So, we, like QE2 were awarded the “blue nose” certificate! And QE2 was even fitted with a blue stripe at the very tip of the bow!

Flaam – Norway (9th July).

I got up early to see QE2 sail to the end of the Sognefjord, the longest and deepest fjord of Norway. Weather was not too good… grey and misty! But the sailing was spectacular in this steep fjord – I was on deck before 6 am.

Got off the ship slightly after clearance, to get the 8:35 Flaam Bahn. This is the train that goes up to Myrdal, 845 m. high, distant by 20 km. It connects to the major rail link Oslo-Bergen. The main aim of this line was to open up Flaam (and the fjord) to the main land-based system of communication. Construction began in 1923, and it took 20 years to complete; it is regarded as a masterpiece of Norwegian engineering. It’s one of the world’s steepest railways in the world on normal gauge; the gradient is 1 in 18.
It is nevertheless a major tourist attraction (the train carriages are attractive and comfortable; there is even a commentary being broadcast). The journey, in tunnels and alongside the mountain in quasi wilderness was spectacular.

We, with a couple from the “cruisecritic” group and the French couple at our table, got off at the last but one stop. We set on what would be a wonderful and very pleasant hike down hill! The scenery was truly dramatic. We never saw so many waterfalls in our lives! I tried to imagine it in bright and crispy weather….Must truly be unforgettable Unfortunately, we did not benefit from such weather conditions! It was quite outcast, and we even had bouts of rain, but it was not cold at all. We walked about 9km! We took back the train for the second half our descent.

Back to Flam, we quickly visited the local museum, and pottered around the shores, where we got superb views of QE2.

It was raining when we left –at about 4:30 pm, but I remained on deck for a while to see the navigation.

Geiranger – Norway (11th July)

Must have been about 6:30 am when I reached the outdoor deck. Weather was quite dull…. It was nevertheless enjoyable to see QE2 sail into the steep and winding Geiranger fjord…At one stage, Costa Magica could be seen in the distance…. After a while, she overtook us! How did such a big floating box dare to sail past the most famous passenger ship in the world! She was nevertheless a handsome sight to behold despite her big size!

Before 8 am, she, like QE2, made a quick call at Hellesylt to drop passengers off, booked on the whole day excursion. We were among them. Tendering went OK – in fact, it was a small local ferry that took care of us! The Magica used its own big tenders. There were hundreds of people from each ship boarding dozen of coaches…

A scenic journey took us through various valleys – passing waterfalls, scattered farms, lakes, snow or ice capped mountains (when visible…) - to the site of the Briksdalen Glacier. There were a couple of quick stops to enjoy the scenery… Weather was so dull that the horizon was grey and showed no contrast. I wasn’t too happy!

Once at the glacier site, there was quite a long, but very pleasant walk to get to its foot. By now, luckily, visibility was getting much better! Once there, I was in awe! (had never been to a glacier in my life!). Its shape, its size where breathtaking and its colour tones just amazing!

We took photos, and as I asked a young fellow to take a picture of the two of us, the camera fell to the ground and opened…. Ruining the film! Argh!

The second part of the excursion took us to mount Dalsnibba. The road that goes to its top is very winding… it’s amazing…. Coach drivers have to be concentrated and well trained to drive on that road with so many hair pin bends. Needless to say that the scenery, though dramatic, is quite bleak: barren mountains, lakes, ice or snow capped peaks, etc… At 1500 meter above the sea, the summit of Dalsniba offers panoramic outstanding views of Geirganger fjord. QE2 looked as big as a needle’s head! Three were hundreds of excursion-goers there. Within a few minutes, weather changed completely…. We got shrouded in mist and rain. Suddenly, temperature dropped as well! Most amazing!

Once back at Geiranger, we had to wait a lot before being able to get a into a tender…and at that time, I discovered that I could not get hold of my digital camera memory card! Contained all the photos I had taken from the late afternoon of the previous day to about noon today! I looked everywhere, to no avail; I had lost it. I was gutted; I got very upset with myself. So much for being feckless and scatterbrained! So many memories gone! And my mother’s photos ruined too! What a day!

QE2 left at about 6:30 pm. Costa Magica followed us in the distance. Although the weather wasn’t great, there was little sunshine, I remained on deck till it was time to get ready for dinner, to enjoy the scenery. QE2 sailing into the winding gorges of the Geiranger fjord and past the famous “Seven Sisters Waterfalls”, it’s a thing one can’t get tired with!

Alesund – Norway (12th July).

The evening before, the Captain informed us that the harbour authorities had warned him of heavy wind, and as a consequence docking would not be allowed, but that he would try to organise tendering. Good, I said. There would be another occasion to enjoy QE2’s lines from a small boat.

I was looking forward to the call, because I had made some research about this town; the Art Nouveau architecture had particularly drawn my attention.

In the morning an attempt to organise a tendering operation took place. But soon the Captain explained that he had decided to suspend it, although we would wait to see how the weather would evolve. So, we waited off Aalesund all morning! The scenery of inlets and small islands in the distance was quite pretty. But the wind was slightly picking up, and at about lunchtime, the Captain addressed us to say that the tender operation was definitely cancelled. There would be no call, then. We were quite disappointed.
Later on, QE2 made it way to the high sea.

In the afternoon, the sea became quite rough, and I enjoyed watching the waves from our cabin’s porthole! Dinner that evening was not as popular as the other nights! The sea conditions lasted all night.

Trondheim – Norway (13th July)

When we got up, I had a peek through the cabin porthole: we were greeted by sunshine! We would in fact enjoyed good weather all day.

We got off the ship at 9 am and took the shuttle bus to town. Once there, we walked towards the old fortress, built atop a hill. On our way, we crossed the river, which banks were graced with colourful well preserved old buildings –former warehouses- built on piles. The view from the top of the hill, over the town and the coast was excellent. By the way, when walking there, my mother lost her camera. Seems we had been plagued with camera mishaps during that cruise….

We later visited the museums around Nidaros cathedral, such as the archbishop's palace and the cathedral itself. We had the chance to get an organ concerto, as well as a guided visit in French with a girl who spoke excellent French. The cathedral is a must visit! Its foundation dates back from the 11th century. It was erected where Saint Olav (king of Norway, and responsible for much of the conversion of the country to Christianity) was buried. It is the finest surviving medieval structure in Scandinavia. Although rebuilt several times, the present building is made out of stone, and has been designed like the cathedrals of Europe – which is quite unique as most churches are stave churches in Scandinavia.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped at the colourful market, which is noted for its strawberries stalls! They are expensive, but they look very nice and tasty – they are locally produced. We also quickly called at Stiftrsgarden, the royal residence – the larger wood palace in all the Nordic countries. We had no time to visit it, but it’s on the agenda for the next time we get there! It shows baroque architecture with neo-classical elements, as well as a pretty pastel yellow facade.

We – QE2- left at about 5 pm…so she tried… A strong wind that made the departure very difficult was blowing! There were three tugs to help out QE2! It took a while and a great deal of effort for the ship to get under way!

During the night, the sea was quite rough… We felt QE2 rolling and pitching moderately, creaking and doors slamming! What a lovely feel!

Bergen – Norway (14th July)

Weather was exceptional good! It was warm and the sun shone all day – not a drop of rain!

We enjoyed scenic coastal navigation in the morning. We docked at about 11 am. We got off at 11:30, and headed to town on foot.

Took a city bus to visit a nearby stave church, Fantoft, recently built in site of the one from the 12th century. The place was teeming with tourists (including folks on excursion from the QE2)! But it was worth a visit all the more so as the guide there provided us with very relevant facts.

Back to town, we pottered around the famous fish market –Fisketorget- and enjoyed the stalls of sea food – they are amazing! There were all sorts of fish, shrimps as well as whale!

Then, we walked into Bryggen, the old Hanseatic town, which has been carefully preserved over the decades. It is now part of the Unesco World Heritage. Colourful buildings built in wood grace the waterfront. They are now boutiques, museums, restaurants or cafés, museums. We visited St Mary’s Church –Mariakirken-, one of the oldest in the region, as it dates back from the 12th century. It survived all the fires through history! It boasts a typical Norman architecture and fine inside features, such as a gilded triptych, painted wooden frescos and pulpit.

We also made our way to the ferry terminal, at the tip of Bryggen. HAL’s Prinsendam was docked there! Regrettably, there was no way I could approach her from the quay side because of security enforcement (and the guards didn’t want to hear any thing!)

We walked back to the market, where we bought some very tasty fresh shrimps (I ate too many of them…). Unfortunately we couldn’t visit any museum because they were closed by the time we were ready.

Departure took place at about 8 pm. I stayed on deck to enjoy the scenery and in particular the sailing under a suspended bridge – which is quite a spectacular moment. Reminded me to a large extent of sailing beneath the Verrazano bridge before entering NYC harbour!

Cruise Ships encountered (or spotted in the distance)

Not many…

• Maxim Gorkiy in Reykjavik and akureiry (docked or at anchor away from our spot)
• Prinsendam in Bergen (docked at the ferry terminal, that is to say at the tip of Bryggen) and not in the main harbour where QE2 was.
• Costa Magica in Geiranger.
• Princess Danae in Trondheim (docked at a different spot of town).
• Arcadia in Southampton, together with Amadea.
• And Calypso in Southampton too. (being lay up or repaired – because of the fire that took place a few months ago).

VARIOUS

Sanitizing one’s hands was quite an issue during the cruise. They are dealing with preventing any outbreak of Noro virus efficiently.

For the Captain’s party, there was a sanitizer dispenser ready, and it was requested that you made use of it before greeting the Captain, with a handshake. By the way, the Captain was David Perkins (a big man) – a Cunard Captain, who had been Master of Caronia for some time.

I said that at the Lido/ cafeteria, you couldn’t help yourself to any food at all. At the library, it was requested to make use of the dispensers. Same thing at the computer centre.

Nothing was done in any other language than English. Some French people who spoke to were not too impressed! – at least that was the case for one girl, travelling on her own.
The international hostess, supposedly here to look after ‘foreign’ guests, we never saw her! She remained invisible! She could have been introduced to us, passengers at the Captain’s welcome party! The French girl I’ve just mentioned, had to chance to talk with her, and apparently, she couldn’t put two words together of French properly! She was clearly not impressed!

Even the daily programmes were in English – there was no translation (not that I requested one – but I guess that had it been available, we would have got it). Likewise, menus at the Mauretania were in English.

About the English couple at our table the first night…. It was their first time with Cunard (and I’m afraid the last one…). They had cruised with Princess and P&O before. They didn’t like having to queue for a while before checking-in, waiting in a hot and boring waiting hall before boarding in Southampton. Besides, they got downgraded… they got an inside cabin, whereas they had booked an outside one (the cabin number was even mentioned on their tickets!). Honestly, I doubted their request would be met… I spoke to them a few days afterwards, and the gentleman told me he was hopeful…. And in the event, they got an outside cabin!

Regarding the ship’s speed, well, I’m glad to say that QE2 does not linger about: her speed was steady, and sometimes well over 26 knots.

Air conditioning was all right, although it needed time to adapt: the first day out at sea, it was quite cool inside the ship, whereas the day before, temperature was high in Southampton. So much so that we both caught cold! In our cabin, though, we had no problem with adjusting the AC correctly. The last day at sea, it was warm inside, as we were sailing in very friendly temperature to England – we had just been sailing from cooler weather. The last night, I remember literally baking whilst watching the show! Tendering operations were just OK. In Akureyri, (north of Iceland) it took ages in the morning to go ashore. They explained the delay was due to the wind, which hampered the tender process (their intention was two have to tender stations ready - that’s what I gathered).

In Geiranger, there were two ships in the afternoon: Costa Magica, just a few hundred yards off the landing stage, and QE2 further downstream in the fjord (I would say a mile). In late afternoon, when people were returning from their excursions, the tender process was well organised for the Costa ship, whereas it was quite slow for QE2 – fewer boats were used, and they didn’t have the capacity of the big tenders like those of the Magica. There were a few hundreds of people queuing for both ships! But I guess that waiting in line is all part of the cruise experience with Cunard! British influence… Still, QE2 passengers were offered (warm) soup, whereas there was nothing for the others.

Back to Southampton, on Sunday 16th, disembarkation process was fine. I must admit that I was feeling a bit stressed and not too well that morning. Once we had breakfast at the dining room –the lido was not offering breakfast -, we went back to our cabin to get ready to leave. Afterwards, we waited a bit outdoor, but soon, they called us, and we got off the ship. I took only one photo that morning, from the after deck: P&O’s Arcadia berthed in the distance at the Mayflower terminal. We should have stayed a bit more on deck, all the more so as the weather was very pleasant.

Once ashore and our luggage collected, we didn’t wait too much to get a taxi for the train station. We took a slow –but new- train for London Waterloo station. Incidentally, there was no room for the luggage at the end of our carriage, but only space for cycles…but there was nowhere else where we could put our bulky luggage, and there was also another couple from the QE2 with us…. We got a nasty remark from the guy that checked the tickets! At Waterloo, we waited about 2 hours at the Eurostar terminal for our train to Paris, where we arrived about 4:30 pm local time.

CONCLUSION

It was a great cruise. In spite of a few glitches. I was so pleased to be back on QE2, after 7 years of absence. I promise not to wait that long before my next time on her! I was pleased too, to see that she was in excellent condition! Enjoyed great excursions, and meeting great people.