Queen Mary 2 Eastbound Transatlantic

Having found our cabin, with a sheltered balcony on deck 4 midships (good position if we were to have rough weather) and been impressed with the luxury of it, within 30 mins we had our suitcases so immediately unpacked. Then it was a quick walk round (that’s stupid as the ship is enormous) and a bite to eat in

Kings Court

, the buffet area which is situated on the Promenade deck 7. Emergency drills followed at 4pm-why is it people always put their lifejackets on when told not to?

As we wandered around it soon became apparent how large and spacious the QM2 is. Having just sailed on Crown Princess we thought she was big but QM2 is bigger! The figures for the 2 ships are:

                                          QM2                                    Crown Princess

Gross Tons                        148,528                                   113,561

Length Overall                     1,132ft                                     948ft

Breadth                                    148ft                                     118ft

Passengers                               2,800                                     3,300

Departure from New York was delayed slightly to allow bunkering to be completed but it was a beautiful evening and lots of passengers were on deck sipping champagne. The departure from Brooklyn was not as spectacular as leaving from the Hudson River terminal as The Statue of Liberty and Manhattan are in the distance but it was nevertheless a wonderful sight. After we passed under the Verrazano Bridge the sun was setting and the sky was lit up in the most spectacular fashion as the sun sank in the west-a truly unforgettable sight.

The weather on the 7 day crossing was amazing, not sunny necessarily but any wind was on the beam or abaft it and the sea was so calm. For a couple of days the swell built up but the stabilizers coped well even at 23kts.

How did we fill our 7 days on board? We were always late up in the morning because the clocks were advanced 1 hour on 5 occasions and we always partied till at least 2am! We visited the gym several times, we walked miles around the deck, we watched films in the cinema (which is also the first Planetarium at sea, we watched the shows (which surprisingly were mediocre), we ate (the food really was excellent) and we visited several of the bars and the night club called G32 of course.

Our favourite bar was the Commodore Club on deck 9 forward, a small version of a Crows Nest. At 4pm everyday there the Friends of Dorothy Meeting became a must as we met and chatted to so many guys from around the world. At the first meeting there was going on 100 people turning  up. We made quite a few friends and that resulted in the week being so enjoyable.

Overall view of the ship is that she truly is magnificent in her own way but is a lttle difficult to find your way around sometimes. The Queens Room is a magnificent Ballroom for those who love to dance. There are massive amounts of deck space so she must be a good hot weather ship. But  all that dressing up is stressful. We had 4 black tie nights in 7 which excluding first and last night (casual but with jacket)) means one day in the middle wearing jacket and tie. Quite a lot of people ate at the evening buffet and didn´t dress but at no time did the ambiance spoil because people were underdressed.

By Monday evening it was time to pack and say goodbye to the friends we had met. Very sad but we all agreed that the week had been fantastic.

Tuesday morning and we awoke already alongside the Ocean Terminal in Southampton and were ashore soon after 0830. Quick taxi ride to the Coach Terminal and our 0945 bus to Heathrow and a long wait for our 1615 flight to Malaga. There was a bit of a delay but thanks to Bob and Trish we were home by 2230 to reflect on a most magnificent holiday.