Never a Dull Moment on the Queen Mary 2

You might wonder what you would do if you were on a seven-day transatlantic cruise from New York to Southampton. After all, there are no port stops on the way. Surprisingly enough, days speed by as there is plenty to do on the Queen Mary 2 including films in the Planetarium; the Cunard Insights Lecture Enrichment Program; Bridge classes; performances by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; the Canyon Ranch Spa & Fitness Center; computer classes; afternoon tea; dancing classes; wine tastings; and darts competitions.

Even in seven days, there isn’t enough time to do everything. After breakfast, I would typically walk a brisk nine laps (3.3 miles) around the teak deck (Deck 7) to get my blood flowing and walk off the over-indulgence of the day before.

I particularly enjoyed the two presentations in the planetarium: Passport to the Universe and Cosmic Collisions. I used to go to the planetarium in San Francisco frequently as a child and didn’t realize how much I had missed it until I went to the presentations on board the Queen Mary 2. After watching galaxies collide, the problems I’ve been wrestling with seem small in comparison. We humans are but a small part of an enormous universe. I think it’s important to cherish what we have but let’s not take ourselves too seriously in the process.

I also heard an interesting art talk about artistic inspiration in the Clarendon Fine Art Gallery. I didn’t realize that Vincent Van Gogh wanted to be a preacher but was expelled from preacher school because he was too enthusiastic. Van Gogh apparently had incredible mood swings that were over the top and repelled people, including his dear friend Paul Gauguin. After living with Van Gogh in the south of France for a period of time, Gauguin left because he could no longer take Van Gogh’s intensity. Van Gogh cut off his ear in the hope that Gauguin would come back.

The biggest surprise for me was how much I enjoyed Carmen in 3D. I’ve never been an opera fan but watching a performance in London’s Royal Opera House on screen at the Illuminations Theatre on the Queen Mary 2 while wearing 3D glasses was entertaining. It was nice to have the opera, which was sung in French, translated at the bottom of the screen.

About the food – it was good in the Britannia Restaurant (main dining room) but not great. On the Queen Mary 2, where you dine depends on the stateroom you’ve booked and there are four different dining rooms: Britannia Restaurant; Britannia Club; Princess Grill; and Queens Grill. I don’t know for sure but I would imagine that the food is better in The Grills. If you don’t happen to be staying in the Queens/Princess Grill stateroom categories and want to have an exquisite dining experience, go to Todd English, the alternative restaurant on board. I had the Love Letters truffled potato appetizer, which was delicious.

More photos of the Queen Mary 2.

The Queen Mary 2

 I’m now enroute across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2 and there are days on this classic ship that I feel like a member of British high society during the 1930s when an ocean voyage was the only way to get from New York to Southampton. I’ve been spending some of my leisure time enjoying scones and clotted cream served by white-gloved waiters at afternoon tea, dancing at the Black & White Ball in the Queens Room, and taking power walks on the teak deck around the ship on Deck 7 with the wind rushing through my hair.

Sailing away from New York Harbor past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with the New York skyline in the distance was truly my most moving sail away experience. I thought about my father who arrived in New York Harbor from Genoa on the SS Dulio in 1927.

Before getting on this cruise, I had made it a point to upgrade my wardrobe because I had heard that the Queen Mary 2 was very dressy compared to most other cruise ships. On this seven day cruise, there are four formal nights. Although ladies need to wear a dress on these evenings, it isn’t necessary to invest in an expensive beaded gown that would feel like an anchor in your suitcase. And the vast majority of people were dressed very casually in the morning and afternoon. If you don’t feel like dressing up for dinner, you can always go to the King’s Court, the Queen Mary 2’s rendition of the Lido Deck. I’m going to have to convince my fellow Northwesterners, most of whom don’t like to dress up, that this cruise isn’t as stuffy as they might think. It is a distinctively British experience but it isn’t outrageously stiff and formal.

Half of the passengers on the ship are British, and although I haven’t met all 1,200 of them, the ones who I have met are warm, friendly and witty. Most are retired but I’ve met some traveling with children. Many have done the transatlantic crossing more than once.

On day 1 of our voyage, the weather was beautiful. It got progressively worse on day 2 and on day 3, the outside decks were closed due to strong winds. Instead of taking my daily walk around the deck, I had to resort to the gym for my exercise. According to the Captain’s Log, the waves were from 7.5 to 12 feet and although we all could certainly feel the rocking motion of the ship, it wasn’t rough enough to knock anything off shelves or tables. In fact, the rocking motion must have put a lot of people to sleep because as I was taking a tour of the ship, I could see that many had found cozy spaces in front of the windows and had apparently dozed off while reading a book. The Commodore Club on Deck 9 is a particularly good place to watch the waves crashing against the ship because it is located forward on an upper deck. At any rate, the Queen Mary 2 is an ocean liner that was built to handle conditions in the North Atlantic so it has been pretty much a smooth up and down ride.

I’ve been really impressed by the speed of the satellite Internet connection in the middle of the ocean. The bandwidth is even good enough for me to check my voicemail using Skype. So if you’re concerned that you will be cut off from the world while taking a transatlantic voyage, you don’t have anything to worry about.

More photos of the Queen Mary 2.