Imperial Palace

Location: 136-13 37th Ave., Flushing, NY 11354
Cuisine: Chinese, Seafood
Hours: SUN-SAT (11:30am-12am)
Phone: (718) 939-3501, (718) 939-3502
Prices: About $10 per person
Credit Cards: Cash only

Food: 7
Service: 7
Value: 7
Environment: 7

Frequency: Frequent


I was exhausted from taking notes and planning out these blog posts in my head, so I took a day off with this one. Maybe I'll do a full review of this restaurant in the future, but this time around, I just ate without paying attention to what the dishes were!

Queen Mary 2

On the last day, we just had breakfast at King's Court. It was more crowded than usual because everyone was scrambling for their last meal, but not as disorganized as the first day. This being my first cruise, it felt a little odd when we were disembarking. I'm used to flying away on vacations, so the whole process felt like we were checking out of a hotel. But we skipped the flight and went immediately to baggage check.


I really enjoyed every part of the trip. My favorite days were the 2 days at sea though. I wouldn't have minded if there were no stops. Cruise stops tend to be rushed as we only saw a little part of Halifax and Boston. Each of those cities could easily be a 5-7 day vacation. I preferred life at sea with all of the activities. There are cruises to "nowhere," but unfortunately those tend to be 1-2 night trips only. I would certainly love to come back to Queen Mary 2 as everything else is going to feel small (except Freedom of the Seas), but it'll take a while to save up money again!

Thanks to...
Kenneth for making our rooms look nice and neat
Arnold & Devendra for the great service at Britannia
Trish for the great morning workout
Brandan for setting up custom gym equipment

Please check out my Picasa Web album for a gallery of general Queen Mary 2 shots.

King's Court

Location: Queen Mary 2 (stern)
Cuisine: International
Phone: (800) 7-CUNARD
Website: www.cunard.com
Prices: included w/ cruise

Food:
American: 9
Chinese: 5
Japanese: n/a
Italian: 4
Desserts: 8
Drinks: 6

Service: 8
Value: 5
Environment: 9

Frequency: Common

King's Court was probably the one place we visited the most on the ship. We would go here for some meals, second meals and snacks. Located right by the Canyon Ranch Spa, it would also be a refueling station after workouts. The food wasn't anything spectacular, but they just had a lot of the basic items that were good. After going here so many times, I noticed the pattern and adjusted my visits. The food during normal meal hours (noon & 6pm) wasn't as good. The kitchen would try to make fancy stuff, but most of it didn't taste that good. They would try to get exotic and make Asian dishes. I'm probably a tough critic since I'm spoiled with living in NYC. During the off-hours (3pm & 11pm), they would go back to the basics (salad, burgers, hot dogs, pizza, etc.) and it would be great.

The service was pretty good. The staff would work almost around the clock and were constantly cleaning the place and clearing tables. Despite being a general dining area, being open almost all the time and taking up over half the length of the ship, King's Court was always very presentable.

Burgers & Ice Cream
"Burgers & Ice Cream" was the name I gave to our late night supper because that's what I would go for. I would ask everyone, "who wants burgers & ice cream @ 11?" None of us were really full, but this meal had to do with... "we already paid a boatload for this cruise and have to eat our money's worth." I4 had no intention of going for a late night burger, but went for them when he saw me enjoying mine.

Britannia Club

Location: Queen Mary 2 (stern)
Cuisine: International
Phone: (800) 7-CUNARD
Website: www.cunard.com
Prices: included w/ cruise

Food: 7
Service: 9
Value: 5
Environment: 10

Frequency: Common

I thought I'd give Britannia it's own entry and today was appropriate because we ate here for all 3 meals. Other than the lecture and meals, I just had 3 workout sessions mixed into the day. For breakfast, it was just Dad, Mom, Emily and I for breakfast. Dad was telling us how breakfast was better in here because you can have the eggs cooked in any way... egg whites and benedict. Those were 2 options not available at King's Court.


For lunch, we got everyone together. It was the only time all 17 of us ate at the same time and place. It's something my parents try to do once on each cruise. They've been on 2 other cruises, both with large groups. Britannia was especially packed as everyone was trying to get in for the final lunch.

Dinner was another elegant casual night. I managed to bypass the 2 formal nights and never wore my suit with white shirt & black tie. Tonight's dinner service was especially fast as all employees were vying for a good rating. Passengers get to fill out a survey at the end of the trip and employee recognition is based on those.

Overall Impression: The food was above average, but not as good as the names given to the dishes. Service by the wait staff was good overall. The kitchen was a bit slow. The environment was unparalleled. Every square inch of this place was clean and shiny and nothing beats a view of the Atlantic.

Be sure to click on the slideshow to access the Picasa Web album as I have written comments for individual photos. This particular album contains images starting from dinner of the previous night + lunch & dinner from today.

Bermuda Triangle

By Dr. Joseph M. Bishop

This 40-min lecture was a continuation of Secrets of the Sea. Here are some quick facts:

• Reports of lights were actually meteor showers
• Reports of planes burning fuel too quickly can be explained by hi-speed jetstream winds
• Jetstream winds were used in WWII by the Japanese to speed up bomb delivery
• QE2 went on emergency power as it disappeared from radar for a short while
• The Gulf Stream has 50x the flow of all Earth's rivers combined
• Methane hydrate (burning ice) is half ice & half gas, is a form of natural energy and also decreases water's density by 20-30%, taking away its buoyancy


• Other "triangles" are located in the Great Lakes & Devil's Sea (Kuroshio Current)
• Not all incidents can be 100% dispelled
• Oceanography is considered to be in its infancy

Paddy O's

"Yankee" Dining

Location: 33 Union St., Boston, MA, 02108
Cuisine: Pub, Seafood
Phone: (617) 263-7771
Website: www.somerspubs.com
Prices: About $18 per person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 8
Service: 6
Value: 7
Environment: 7

Frequency: Unique


Finding a lobster place was a lot easier in Boston than Halifax, as there were many more to choose from. We had a group of 11, so Paddy O's seemed more realistic as far as price. Most of us went for the lobster, which was just $13.99. We started out with appetizers. The table ordered 2 plates of fried oysters. There were 5 on each plate for $6. I ordered my own fresh oyster for $1.25, which was really good. Most of the table didn't like the fried version. When it came time for the entrees, the staff counted wrong. There were supposed to be 8 lobsters, but they only brought out 7. It wasn't a hard order to take... 3 lobster rolls + 8 lobsters. Once everyone got their meals, we all enjoyed the experience... digging in, lobster juice flying all over, etc.

Be sure to click on the slideshow to access the Picasa Web album as I have written comments for individual photos.

Enemy Territory

I got up early to head to the gym again. No one else made it this time. According to Edwin's rules (he's a pro body builder), I should only be working out 4x a week, but I'll start following that after the cruise. My legs are still killing me from the the jogging and cardiobox class, but I was trying to keep weight gain to a minimum while enjoying all the food.


Queen Mary 2 docked in Boston at about 8am, but there were some slight delays. The port had some problems getting the gangway setup. There were also reports of traffic jams on the way to the city. So instead of waiting on long lines, we decided to have a relaxing breakfast first. When we finally got past immigration and made it outdoors, Emily, Edwin, I4 & I split away from the rest of the group so that we could head out more quickly. The aunts & uncles were all standing around deciding what to do. Both groups ended up going to the Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall first. A bunch of them went shopping at Crocs for the longest time because those clown shoes are nearly twice the price in Philippines. Emily & I caught up on email with the free city wi-fi.

We all met up for lunch at Paddy O's, which I will cover in a separate post as a full review. Then we split up again. Uncle Mike's family went for the major sites in the area. Us cousins headed off to the New England Aquarium. Everyone else went shopping and then back to the ship. The aquarium was kind of disappointing to me. It seems like it's a big deal in the city. It was crowded and the line was long, but there was nothing spectacular inside. Just about every other aquarium I've been to was better than this one. Also, they had no mammals other than the seals on the outside.

Even though we weren't hungry, we made it a point to get some New England clam chowder (chowda) while we were there. So we headed back to Quincy and got some at a stand in the food court. I4 & Edwin went around a few more shops. Emily did some more work on the Internet and I checked out the Cheers restaurant/replica.

Be sure to click on the slideshow to access the Picasa Web album as I have written comments for individual photos.

Related: Cheers: Boston, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, New England Aquarium, Paddy O's

QM2 Dress Code

QM2 has 3 dress code categories for the sit-in dinners:

• Formal = tux or suit w/ white shirt & black tie; evening dress; military awards
• Semi-formal = jacket & tie; cocktail dress; no jeans
• Elegant Casual = jacket; dress or skirt; no shorts or jeans

I think these were just presented as a general guideline as they were not really strictly enforced. I saw many passengers that didn't follow the dress codes. I actually broke the code slightly tonight because I didn't have a collared shirt under my jacket. My parents mentioned that the rules were more strict on NCL and they actually turned passengers down who didn't follow the dress code. I was surprised by that because QM2 is classified as an "ultra-luxury line." I guess they just wanted passengers to be comfortable and didn't want to embarrass anyone.

Some people took it too far though. I saw people in King's Court wearing pajamas & bathrobes for breakfast. There was an 8-year old boy running around naked in the pool area... not cool!

McKelvie's

Delishes Fishes Dishes

Your fish is our command!

Location: 1680 Lower Water St., Halifax, Nova Scotia
Cuisine: Seafood
Phone: (902) 421-6161
Website: www.mckelvies.ca
Prices: About $20 per person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 8
Service: 8
Value: 6
Environment: 8

Frequency: Unique

After passing by several pubs in search of Halifax lobster, we asked two local women on the street for the answer and they directed us to McKelvie's. Ironically, they were both employees of a Mongolian restaurant we passed by. Shhh.


We ordered 5 dishes and ate family style... fresh lobster (of course), crunchy haddock, potato crusted haddock, poached salmon & lobster roll. I'll leave the details to the Picasa Web album, but the food was great overall. My only complaint would be the pricing. Shouldn't a city that's abundant with lobster charge lower for it? Maine & Massachusetts have the best lobster, yet they also charge the lowest for it.

Halifax

Based on the map of Halifax, many of the historical sites were within walking distance, so we didn't need to hail a cab or sign up for a tour. We did things at our own pace. Things started out slowly because there was a sign saying "FREE gift," pointing Del Sol. Our group was made up mostly of shoppers, so they were magnetically pulled into the store. After that, our first stop was the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. We were just passing by, but they had some pretty nice sculptures on the outside and in the lobby area. Our next stop was Scotia Square Mall where everyone went shopping for souvenirs and sale items. The mall was empty... like much of the downtown area and it was a Saturday! Halifax must really depend on tourism to make profits.


After the mall, we visited the Town Clock of Halifax for scenic picture taking. We parted ways from there. My parents, aunts & uncles headed back to the boardwalk for shopping and planned to have a late lunch back at the ship. They're not as into the vacation for the 5 senses as the younger generation. Emily, Edwin, I4 & I headed off in search of local cuisine... lobsters & haddock. We settled on McKelvie's, which I will review in a separate post following this one.

After lunch, we went souvenir shopping at the boardwalk & the port shops. I couldn't really find the right items to buy. I always look for something that represents the city, but isn't cheesey. I stay away from t-shirts and shot glasses and tend to look for local crafts. I ended up getting a DVD & book about Nova Scotia. Since a 1-day stopover is a bit of a rush for a major city, I wanted to get more info.

The rest of the afternoon was free was we got back around 3:30pm. I went to the gym for a workout and jogged a mile immediately after. We had dinner at King's Court again. With about an hour 'til the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Game 3, a bunch of us walked around QM2, looking for nice spots to take pictures. During halftime, we had a late night supper.

Be sure to click on the slideshow to access the Picasa Web album as I have written comments for individual photos.