2 Old Dames on the best Dame in the World - Queen Mary 2

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Pushka

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Well, I've been inspired by the recent Trip Reports and figured I should organise my own. I can't guarantee it will be real time like Erk's and Jessica_Tam but will try.

So, where am I going? Well, there is two of us AFF'rs going, and yes, we are both Old Dames. Travelling on our own - sans Husbands. :D

We are venturing on a cruise on the Queen Mary 2, up the Eastern Coast of Australia, up to Malaysia, Shanghai, and then Hong Kong.

The planning:
Started 2 years ago with a 4 night taster on a World Cruise Australian sector. Just enough to make me sure I needed to experience a proper voyage on the QM2. When the World Cruises are released, at a later time they release the sectors. An original Adelaide-Hong Kong booking was made but soon cancelled and rebooked when Cunard had a ridiculous sale in June last year, and even though I lost the deposit I still saved a lot of money.

I'm travelling solo - Mr P enjoys Med Cruises, where his idea is that a ship is merely a portal to get from one place to the next. This cruise has multiple sea days in a row, and I know from a previous Pacific Cruise that this would not be a good idea for everyone's mental health. he was going to meet me at the end in Hong Kong but that seems to have slipped through. I think he's looking forward to unfettered work opportunities (we have our own business so he's the boss)

I am travelling with another AFF'er, I'll see if I can flush her out. :shock:

The itinerary is excellent as follows:

Monday 10th March Adelaide - embarkation
Wednesday 12th March Melbourne - no specific plans, been to Melbourne heaps.
Friday 14th March Sydney - meeting up with a random person on facebook as she is desperate for a Cunard Bear and I've agreed to buy one for her and give it to her in Sydney; a Bridge Climb at lunchtime; meeting No 1 son who lives in Sydney for after work drinks
Sunday 16th March Brisbane - docks at a Container wharf so probably just a shuttle into the city and look around.
Wednesday 19th March Cairns - doing a ship excusrion of a snorkelling trip on the reef. I LOVE snorkelling and have snorkelled throughout the Pacific, Hawaii, and Maldives. Thinking of maybe doing a Scuba trip?
Tuesday 25th March Kota Kinabalu - Malaysia - I've spent a couple of weeks in Kota Kinabalu so will just get off the ship after so many sea days and touch base with land again
Saturday 29th March - Shanghai. Maglev experience in the morning, organised Shopping tour in the afternoon, and then dinner. (Think - cashmere, silks, leather)
Tuesday 1st April - 2 April - overnight in Hong Kong then disembark.

Then 3 nights at my Favourite Hotel in Hong Kong - The Langham Place in Mongkok. Club room.

Direct flight CX Classic J Award to Adelaide on 5th (after CX cancelled my original flight on 4th). Thanks to Cove and the credit card ATO thread, and the Woolies EDR thread I quickly accumulated points to pay for this so this was just a $130 fare for a lovely J flight on CX to end the dream trip.

The QM2 is very formal at night times and have strict dress codes after 6pm. My luggage - I am taking so much, that Mr P will have a conniption when he sees it. But I dont handle it from the departure wharf in Adelaide until I disembark in Hong Kong by which time I will be floating with nary a concern in the world.

The last time I ventured onboard, the QM2 passed the Endeavour which was also doing a Circumnavigation of Australia. QM2 passed the Endeavour near Portland Victoria. It was a well planned event with QM2 hiring a helicopter to take photos and videos.

This is a video of it I posted ages ago on youtube. At 36 seconds in, The Endeavour fired a cannon blast at us - we had no idea that was about to happen and you can tell that with what happens to the filming:

[video=youtube;9BYG10_EtkM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BYG10_EtkM[/video]

(That wasn't me you can hear btw)

OK, that's enough report for someone who hasn't even left yet. I hope to post throughout Australia, and then a break with all the sea days but we'll see how the internet budget stretches. I will need to take the laptop for work so its only fair, isn't it, that work will pay for the Internet at sea?
 
I am back already as I can only post one video at a time.

By chance, the crew of The Endeavour was filming the QM2.

[video=youtube;7zhJNEfim1M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zhJNEfim1M[/video]

You can play "Wheres The Pushka". Just look for someone in white pants and dark blue top at about the 2.21 mark. My mum is sitting down, she is in a blue dress and angled to her left. She's looking out for me (I'd escaped :p) and am standing 4 people to her left, filming.

I'll be back.....
 
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Open a couple of work emails - totally legitimate work expense for internet costs ;)

Looking forward to reading your adventures.
 
Open a couple of work emails - totally legitimate work expense for internet costs ;)

Looking forward to reading your adventures.

Yes, I'll be checking the emails, the bank account etc etc. not to mention um, AFF. :D
 
This is looking good already, and you haven't even departed. Thanks for the background
 
Looking good.Dont worry about Erk and Jessica.Young ones rush into rverything.With age you learn to take things slower and enjoy more.;)
 
A RTW cruise is on my bucket list at some point. Having never set foot inside a cruise ship I'm eagerly looking forward to your TR :)
 
I'm sure you'll have a great time!

I've often thought of a domestic cruise as something different but haven't got around to it .... yet.

Looking forward to the TR!
 
There's a WP1 lunch aboard her in Mel on the 12th, we will be easy to spot as the people who clearly shouldn't be on board :)

I'll look out for you giving the secret AFF meeting up signal. ;)
 
There's a WP1 lunch aboard her in Mel on the 12th, we will be easy to spot as the people who clearly shouldn't be on board :)

I'll look out for you giving the secret AFF meeting up signal. ;)

Ooh. Do tell. I don't know what it is.

Last time in Melb there was a celebrity lunch. Passengers get priority boarding and lunch guests have to queue. I took great delight in passing (a coupla times, on and off, just because I could ;) ), Red Symonds et al.
 
What constitutes a ridiculous sale price wise, out of curiousity?
 
I would be having second thoughts about a SCUBA dive off the queensland coast in the next week or so (Cyclones) - keep an eye out on the visibility at the dive sites. I am going to Cairns Friday and I am hopeful it clears as I want to get a few dives in but not worth it if you can't see your hand in front of your face.
 
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I'm the other "Old Dame" and let me tell you, Pushka has been a bit free with her description of us. We are not that old (well Pushka is younger than me so she's not an OD!). Looking forward to relaxing on board. I do like the Commodore Club. It has a great range of vodkas and gins not usually available here!
I am solo as well. Mr L-t_L prefers adventure cruising where you are on and off zodiacs to explore exciting places so he declined the offer to accompany me (probably a wise move on his part).
In my case I am am meeting the ship in Brisbane on 16th so Pushka will probably have posted about the cruise long before I board. Like her I am staying at the Langham and flying back CX from HK in J using a classic award. I am really interested to see how CX stacks. The offerings of QF seem to be getting thinner and thinner so I am looking around at other carriers. Need to fly to NRT later in the year and wondering what will give the best product for the money. Enough already!
I have sorted the evening frocks, the shoes (8 pairs - gulp), the casual clothes, the dinner clothes, the electrical adapters and cables so probably ready to go, except I haven't put anything in a case yet but I am an eternal optimist and I'm sure it will fit! I have an interior guarantee cabin on a high deck and have not been allocated yet which is very slow I think as I have had a guarantee before and was allocated weeks out. Not a fan of the interior and only the second time I have been in one but for the price it was a bargain and hey, it's only 17 nights. I like to be able to go out on a balcony and feel the sea air and last time I found it really hard to wake up in the dark room. Puskha has a sheletered balcony and I think I may be hanging out there a bit (though it might stretch the friendship a bit :mrgreen:).
I'm looking forward to adding my 2 cents worth to Pushka's excellent report.
 
I'm the other "Old Dame" and let me tell you, Pushka has been a bit free with her description of us. We are not that old (well Pushka is younger than me so she's not an OD!).

Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story.:D Have a great trip.

Would be interested to know what % single supplement Cunard was charging on this cruise.
 
I'm a bit hazy on it as I booked months ago - but it is usually 200% and I think it was pretty close from memory of what the deal was at the time (about $1700 pp twin). It was part of a week long super sale and even after cancelling my original booking and losing the deposit I was still well in front - not just a couple of hundred dollars.
 
Thanks love_the_life, glad to hear that you were able to come out ahead, even after rebooking. The single supplement certainly bites though.
 
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