We had never been on a ship larger than a ferry and we had never dreamt of going on a cruise. However, the idea of sailing from Southampton to New York seemed like a unique experience, with no land in sight for almost a week. The Cunard Line stresses in its communications that this journey is a “crossing” not a cruise.
In Southampton, we chose a hotel close to the Cunard Cruise Terminal in the hope of watching the liner enter the harbour just after dawn. We saw the Queen Mary 2 arrive and our level of excitement went through the roof. Before we boarded around dinner time, we had to go through a multi-step process of dropping bags, registering, and getting all our vouchers and identification tags. The Cunard check-in was a very efficient operation.
Once on board, our cabin was our first stop. Our bags were waiting for us and we were met by a very friendly gentlemen, who would be our Steward for the whole trip. He told us we could call him at any time of the day or night if we needed any assistance or service. We had chosen a cabin with a balcony that had an unrestricted view of the ocean. We couldn’t have been better set-up for a glorious crossing.
There is so much going on all day and all night on the Queen Mary 2, that one would have to be really lacking imagination to be bored. While there were set meal times and assigned seating in restaurants on the ship, there was a buffet restaurant open 24 hours. We came to prefer the variety of the buffet over the formality of the restaurant.
Early each morning, we watched the program on the ship’s TV channel where all the activities of the coming day were outlined. Throughout the day, there were lectures, demonstrations, concerts, fitness activities, organized games, dances, comedy shows and theatrical events. The ship’s Royal Court Theatre is reputed to be the largest performance space at sea. We estimated that there were over 70 performers entertaining passengers during the voyage.
We felt pampered at all times, enjoying the company of fellow travelers and the quieter moments. While gazing out over the ocean, we couldn’t help but think of our ancestors who had crossed in preceding centuries – albeit in far less comfortable conditions.
We both walked around the ship’s open decks daily and we experienced all weathers from bright sun on a mirror-like ocean, through persistent fog to quite bumpy squalls. In the latter conditions, it could be quite a challenge to make headway on deck. What better time for touring the liner’s impressive kitchen.
On the morning of the seventh day, we sailed into New York under the Verrezano Narrows bridge and glided by the mist-shrouded Statue of Liberty to dock in overcast Brooklyn. Having enjoyed this crossing so much, we hope to do the reverse journey in the not too distant future.
(This is a revised version of a post originally published on John’s old blog.)