Impressions of two crossings, July 14 and August 11

Several weeks ago, I mentioned in passing that I hoped to post a report on our crossings this summer. At first, I thought that I would offer a day-by-day account of the sort that others have done so well. But when I reviewed my journal, I discovered that it lacked the details I would need for such an undertaking. And I wondered what anyone could possibly gain from reading about my humdrum routine at sea. What follows instead is simply a set of impressions of our journeys that I've assembled as best I can.

Boarding: (July 14) Although this was our seventh crossing, we were almost as excited as when we first set off on the transatlantic four years earlier. We spent a few days in New York with our son who lives in Williamsburg and had lunch with him in one of his Brooklyn haunts before calling for car service, so we left a bit later than we had planned. We ran into very heavy traffic on the BQE which might otherwise have made us very nervous. Fortunately, because QM2 would be making an eight-day crossing by way of Halifax, we would not be leaving port until night fell, so there was no need to rush. Our driver baled out before traffic came to a standstill and navigated his way deftly through a warren of back streets to Red Hook. Because we arrived as late as we did, the terminal was almost deserted and we were whisked on board. Our bags arrived soon after, and since we wouldn’t be setting sail until 9:30 pm, we had plenty of time to unpack, relax, and enjoy a delightful dinner with two friends whom we had bamboozled to come along with us.

The sail away featured a light show that was far more beautiful for those who watched from the shore than it was for us. What we enjoyed was watching the passage under the Verrazano Bridge. As the big moment approached, a young boy who was gazing up at the funnel shouted, “No way!” No one could have captured the excitement more eloquently.

(August 11) We had spent the two days previous with friends in the Cotswolds village of Kelmscott. Worried that we might arrive too late in Southampton, they drove us in Swindon in time to catch a train that allowed us to get to the terminal a little after 1 pm, two hours before we were scheduled to board. The building was crowded, and having just been elevated to Platinum status, it took us a while to figure out how to take advantage of priority boarding. The priority desk seemed short of staff, but still we did get on the ship more quickly than would otherwise have been the case. Our bags were all there, including the formal bag we had stored with Cunard in July, about which more later.

I’m always a bit melancholy when we head home, and the departure from Southampton lacks the drama of leaving New York, so we stayed in our cabin. Although some may find it hard to believe, we drank most of our Pol Acker. If you expect champagne, as we did on our first crossing, you will find the stuff a dreadful and almost undrinkable disappointment. If you expect Pol Acker, on the other hand, for better or for worse it will meet your expectations.

Cabin and Public Areas: We were in a sheltered balcony stateroom traveling east and west; on deck 6 in July, on deck 5 in August. I was a bit uneasy because both cabins were well forward, but they served us very well even in rough seas. There was some noise from above when we were in our deck 6 cabin, but it did not disturb us. On the first day of our return sailing, we had to contend with the loud voice of a woman in the adjoining cabin who was obviously irritated about something. But by the next day, she had calmed down and we heard not a peep from her thereafter.

Our cabin furniture showed some signs of wear and tear, but everything was still eminently presentable. As usual, we found our bed extraordinarily comfortable. We did have a few problems. On both our east and westbound crossings the water in our bathroom was shut off one night for a few hours. And on our journey home, because the thermostat was unresponsive our stateroom was very chilly. But we called the purser and it was repaired in short order.

As for the rest of the ship, we encountered, as others have reported, toilets occasionally out of order. Here and there we stepped into the familiar potholes, and the carpeting just outside our door on deck 5 had clearly seen better days. We also noticed that some of the lift doors were scuffed. But these small defects did little to spoil our enjoyment of the ship.

Food and Service: We were a party of four going east and we had a wonderful table by the windows on deck 2. Our waiters were delightful as well. Coming back, we were given a table for two on deck 3 that at first felt very much like restaurant Siberia. Fortunately, our waiters were wonderfully accommodating and also entertaining, and we soon felt very comfortable. We thought that the food and the service in Britannia at all our meals were consistently very good. The only exception was the service at lunch on August 15 which was rushed at the beginning and painfully slow at the end (it took twenty minutes for dessert to arrive). But this was the day that a sous chef was lost at sea and the staff may well have been preoccupied.

Here let me say, for there is no other place to say it, that we thought that Captain Oprey handled this tragedy admirably. And we were impressed and deeply moved by the way our fellow passengers crowded the open decks to join the search. When, at the ecumenical service on Sunday, we sang the old Navy Hymn with its prayer “for those in peril on the sea, we felt that we were more than ever part of the community that is Queen Mary 2.

Kings Court proved to be a useful, if not particularly atmospheric, alternative to Britannia on the few days that the Britannia lunch menu didn’t appeal to us, or when we were in a rush to catch an afternoon event. I had tea there many days after walking around the promenade, but of course this paled in comparison to tea in the Queens Room. Needless to say, like almost everyone else, I hope that the upcoming refit does something to make Kings Court more pleasant.

My wife settled in to Sir Samuel’s a few times. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but she assures me, as have others on this forum, that the coffee there is far better than it is in the dining room.

The staff at the Purser’s office was pleasant and helpful, as indeed was everyone on the staff whom we encountered. On our way east, we missed the notice in the daily programme about making arrangements to store luggage in Southampton. Since we were already heavy laden with the bags we would need for our three weeks vacation on land, we very much wanted to leave the bag with our formal wear behind. When we discovered our oversight we went to the Purser’s desk. The person we first spoke to thought that there was nothing we could do, but her supervisor said that she would try to remedy the problem. She stayed in touch with us over the course of the following day and then shared the good news that Cunard would take the bag off our hands.

Special Thanks to My Good Samaritan: Speaking of service, there is no one to whom I am more grateful than I am to a fellow passenger on our August 11 crossing. When we were in Halifax, I left my camera and binoculars in the lavatory in the Public Gardens. I soon realized what I had done and ran back, but the camera and binoculars were gone. I asked someone at the Tea House next door what I should do. She told me that someone had brought the items to her and had decided to look at the pictures on the camera to see if he could figure out who had lost it. He recognized QM2, explained that he was a passenger, and said that he would bring the items to the Purser’s office. So he did, and when we got back on board there they were. Talk about gracious service! Many thanks to you, whoever you are.

Lectures and Entertainment: The Insights lectures are a Cunard hallmark. Since I earn my living as a university lecturer, I know only too well that even the most brilliant presentations (such as my own) won’t appeal to everyone, so I know that follows is not infallible. That said, traveling east I thought that Nigel West and a retired US general, whose name I have alas forgotten, were very interesting. Robin Oakley, on the other hand, seemed to me to offer more gossip than substance. I think that most of our fellow passengers would agree that the best lectures on the August voyage were those given by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Although I did not always agree with him, what he had to say was always honest and challenging. Paul O’Laughlin deserves credit for conducting an excellent interview with him. Ambassador Charles Untermeyer’s lecture on Anglo-American relations was interesting as well, although being a historian, I detected some questionable remarks that I attributed, in part, to political bias.

Among the lectures, I should also mention the “Virtual Bridge” presentation by the Chief Safety Officer. It was not part of the Insights series, of course, but it was insightful, informative, and well done to boot.

We were disappointed, although not surprised, to find that “Appassionata” and “Viva Italia” were once again on the bill at the Royal Court Theatre. They are very long in the tooth indeed. The good news is that when I asked Paul O’Laughlin about them, he assured me that new shows were on the way. So we may have something to look forward to. I’m reluctant to say anything about the headline performers since we weren't all that fond of their sort of popular music. The headliners we saw seemed talented enough, but their voices and instruments were over-amplified, especially for a space as intimate as the Royal Court. We did enjoy Hilary O’Neil on both voyages, especially on the way back to New York, by which time her comedy seemed to us to have improved considerably. As for the movies offered in Illuminations, all I can say is that we hope for better the next time around.

The classical music concerts were very good. The guitarist we heard in July (whose name I forgot to write down) gave a superb performance, and we were very impressed in August by the pianist, Daniel Hill. His program was more sophisticated than we had expected, and my wife, a Juilliard-trained pianist, was enthusiastic in her praise. We ourselves wish that there could be more classical music on crossings, but, as the Romans would say, vox populi vox dei.

The RADA shows that we saw—we missed their abridged Shakespeare productions this time—were delightful: poetry and jazz, Pride and Prejudice, and the new for us, anyway) “Cunard Street” which celebrated the line’s 175th anniversary. The one planetarium show we saw in Illuminations was emjoyable, and we were relieved not to encounter any of the oft-mentioned malfunctioning seats. Our only complaint was that the show was too brief.

As always, we enjoyed listening to the Mark Hodgson Trio in the Chart Room, and we invariably ended our days with piano, quiet conversation, and luscious libations in the Commodore Club.

Disembarking: Apart from a 45-minute delay, disembarking in Southampton was easy and uneventful, save for the usual dreary wait in Illuminations. By the time of our return voyage, having been elevated to Platinum status, we were able to wait to disembark in Todd English, which was far more pleasant. The coffee, tea, and pastries were a nice touch and eased the pain of leaving, if only a little bit.

Final Musings: It would be tempting to add up the delights and disappointments of a trip such as this, assign them a numerical value, and then give the voyage a grade. But this, I think, would miss the point of spending a week at sea. A transatlantic crossing encompasses the excitement of preparation, the gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle movement of the ship, walks around the promenade deck, reading a mystery while gazing out at the sea from the library, meeting new people, lying half asleep on a deck chair, afternoon tea, the surprise when dolphins and whales appear, dressing up on formal nights, dancing at balls, and so much more. It is an opportunity to find parts of oneself that too often are lost in the workaday world. With all her imperfections (and who among us is without them), QM2 is a marvel and we are very fortunate to have been able to sail on her.

May we all have many happy days at sea and a safe homecoming at journey’s end.

Lovely post - thank you.

We're on the QM2 in December. Posts like yours just make me more and more eager for the day to arrive.

Hello

Thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences. Queen Mary is really a fabulous ship with a great crew.

Deck Chair

So beautifully written, I enjoyed reading your reports. Thank you!

Hi Thaxted,

Thank you for posting an honest report, and such a good read. I esp. enjoyed, and agreed with, your peroration:

" ... A transatlantic crossing encompasses the excitement of preparation, the gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle movement of the ship, walks around the promenade deck, reading a mystery while gazing out at the sea from the library, meeting new people, lying half asleep on a deck chair, afternoon tea, the surprise when dolphins and whales appear, dressing up on formal nights, dancing at balls, and so much more. It is an opportunity to find parts of oneself that too often are lost in the workaday world. With all her imperfections (and who among us is without them), QM2 is a marvel and we are very fortunate to have been able to sail on her".

Thank you again.

A pleasure :)

Thank you so much, and I agree with Pepper, the peroration sums up just what I hope for in my upcoming first crossing in December.

Scarlet

Enjoyed reading your report about both sailings.

Keith

I enjoyed reading your thoughts of the sailing. We were on the July 14th sailing and the return immediately following. We will be back on the QM2 in 4 weeks, can't wait!

Thanks so much for your excellent report :)

Thanks so much for reporting back.

We were on the same two crossings (with 2 weeks on the QE in between) and agree with everything that Thaxted has written. Wonderful crossings only marred by the loss of a young crew member. A highlight for us was the insight lecture by Dr. Robert Baker and his interview by Paul O'Laughlin.

Thanks for taking the time to write such thoughtful comments. Well done.

Lovely review. Thank you.

We will be on the eastbound crossing in November (7 weeks to go, but I'm not really counting :D) and reviews like this certainly add to the air of 'it can't come soon enough'.

Thaxted

you certainly have been bitten by the 'bug'. :D I remember you when you were nervous to do a crossing 'way back when'.

Glad you had such a lovely vacation!

Thaxted

you certainly have been bitten by the 'bug'. :D I remember you when you were nervous to do a crossing 'way back when'.

 

Glad you had such a lovely vacation!

All too true, Sauer-kraut. Once bitten, there's no turning back. Of course, if it weren't for the encouragement I received people like you and Pepper, I might be a bit richer in things than I am now that I've paid Cunard, but I'd be much poorer in soul!