QM2 Transatlantic Crossing

[Kolo]

We again receive priority disembarkation (after the Queens Grill Suite guests) but there is a delay as there is a fault in one of the gangways. Soon we are off the liner and into a long, dreary queue for Immigration, but by 11am we have arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton New York Times Square. Like with Accor, I am a newly minted SPG Gold member, thanks to a benefit available through my Mastercard. The Sheraton has won our business as we were looking for access to an Executive Lounge, and there are not many hotels that provide this in Manhattan (Hilton and Marriott were the only others, I think, and even then only at selected properties). The clincher is that as an SPG Gold, we get a late, 4pm check out.

The Club (Executive) Room is a little larger than the standard rooms and comes with access to the Club Lounge. The room is a reasonable size by New York standards and we are on the 47[SUP]th[/SUP] floor. The Lounge, on the 44[SUP]th[/SUP] floor, provides a continental breakfast, and hors d’oeuvres in the evening. It also has desktops and a printer, and coffee, bottled water and fruit all day. The breakfast is basic but OK, but the hors d’oeuvres are just cheese and crudités, not even any hot snacks. And in common with US Lounges, drinks are for purchase. We have breakfast there most mornings, but only bother once for pre-dinner drinks. The Lounge was always busy. Whilst it was convenient to have breakfast in the hotel, I don’t think the Club Room provides value, although it’s always nice to have a larger room, which comes with this benefit. Whilst our room view was mostly to the building over the road, the view from the Lounge (photo below) was spectacular.

 

[Kolo]

New York was a blast, of course. It my fourth time there and only now am I getting to know the place. Another thread discusses at length the best options for a stay in New York, but our highlights were:
· Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge for spectacular views of Manhattan;
· A walking tour of Greenwich Village and a bike tour of Central Park; both run by freetoursbyfoot.com, where you pay what you want at the end of the tour;
· The Museum of the City of New York; where a great 20 minute film charts the history of the city;
· The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where by a quirk of city laws in the 30s, a tenement has been frozen in time and you see the living conditions of immigrants from that time;
· And of course Broadway, where I was lucky to get a seat at a sold out new musical called Hamilton, which tells a story of pre and post-revolutionary New York, but performed mostly by Black and Hispanic performers (playing Washington, Jefferson, etc) in rap, hip hop and R&B. A stunner from start to finish.

 

[Kolo]

Overall, the Sheraton was a good choice and I would happily stay there again. But with so much choice in Manhattan, it gets down to price and location. The late check out enables us to shower after another hot New York day before being collected by the Etihad Chauffer and being whisked to JFK. EY will start flying the A380 to NYC in December, and is building its First and Business Lounge to coincide with it. So for now, we are in the Wingtips Lounge, which is shared by others including Priority Pass. Its fine, not huge, and it has the usual range of hot and cold food and drinks on offer.

The flight from JFK to AUH is on a Jet Airways configured plane. It’s a bit odd – its not a code share; its livery is Jet Airways, although written on the side of the fuselage, under the coughpit, it states “operated by Etihad”; the crew are from Jet Airways; the IFE and amenity kits are from EY; the menu and the PJs are from Jet. Anyway, it’s a winner. The J seating is herringbone, like NZ, VS, DL etc., and a quilt is provided as a mattress, which provides a good night’s sleep. The staff are terrific, and the menu, with its Indian influences, is great. Overall and enjoyable flight, and I would happily fly J with Jet Airways in the future.

 

[Kolo]

After the change at AUH, we are back on EY metal and onto MEL. This itinerary was chosen as it allowed us to buy a return flight into EDI and out of NYC (my partner’s ticket is on Velocity points) but the second, 14 hour leg, following the 12+ hour leg, is certainly a strain, and not one that I would want to do again. And then we have the short hop to HBA. So by the time we arrive home, it’s been something like 36 hours since we left the hotel in NYC. We are lucky to have been able to do the trip in J, with access to lounges and chauffer transfers; I imagine such a journey would be horrific in whY.

That’s all for this trip! Hope you enjoyed the report.

 

[Kolo]

That's terrible for everyone. Were the staff sombre after that? I wonder how often they 'jump'.

Yes, there was a bit of a pall over the ship for a day or so. But everything went on as usual. Our dining staff were joking about it the next day. They said that they have had passengers jump not not staff. Towards the end of the crossing, at a forum about the bridge and ship operations, one of the officers declined to answer questions about the incident and it was clearly still raw for him.

When we got back to the location of the jump, the captain invited guests, if they wished, to join the lookout. And in a great show of humanity, the public decks and many balconies were full of people scouring the waters. But time and the elements were against any chance; I think everyone knew it had to be done but there was no hope.

Also, a box was placed at the Purser's office to collect donations for the chap's family.

 

[Kolo]

I wonder which is better - an East or West TA?

We wanted to sail into New York, to glimpse Liberty as many millions had done before us, but I imagine there's still a thrill sailing out past her. One benefit of the westbound journey is that on about five of the nights, the clocks go back an hour, so you get more time to party/sleep/enjoy. The other way you'd be out late and up early too much!

 

[amaroo]

Nice TR ... your suite looks nice.

Terrible news on the crew member

 

[JohnPhelan]

With going back to search for the crew member, how much later did you arrive in New York than was scheduled?

 

[Kolo]

We had a port stop in Halifax first, and we arrived there about three hours late. I presume the liner just went faster to make up time. We left Halifax an hour later than scheduled.