Live from the queen mary 2 eastbound transatlantic crossing

Hello

I arrived in \\New |York by train yesterday so to be very relaxed and serene before boarding the ship. If you live more than a little bit away this is a practice I would recommend. \You do not want to miss the ship or feel harried and in a state of upset because you fear you may miss the ship. As always |I stayed at the Nu Hotel, a small boutique hotel in the heart of Brooklyn and close to many cafes such as Bar Tabac right up the street from the hotel.

It has been incredibly hot and humid these last few days so I pretty much stayed iinside from going out for lunch and dinner.

This day of sailing I retained a car service to take me to the pier which is about 15 minutes away in moderate traffic. Driving up to the pier and seeing the ship again always makes my heart skip a bit. The Queen Mary is such an elegant beautiful vessel that never fails to impress.

I arrived at 11:30, checked in and was soon on the ship. Very quick. So quick there was no time to hang out in the special but lacking lounge reserved for |Grills, Platinum and Diamond members of CWC.

I found my cabin 4122 on the portside, a sheltered balcony cabin just perfect for crossings. My card for table 56 second sitting was in place. I love table 56 for 8 as is it on deck 2 in a corner next to windows overlooking the sea. I am looking forward to all the fun people I will.l meet at this table. My bags had not yet been delivered so I went up to deck 7 to have lunch meeting and greeting many crew members from past voyages. It is so great to be back on board for this 28th voyage for me on this incredible ship.

Following lunch I wanted to sit out and read but it is too hot and humid. Too uncomfortable for me anyway so instead went down to the internet room to sign up for service so I can write about my experiences for the benefit of my fellow Cunarders.

I do hope you will follow me along and if you happen to be on board for this sailing do come up and say hello. I look like a lighthouse on the coast of Maine. Until next time.

Deck Chair

Wonderful. Have a fabulous crossing.

Excellent! I'll be following along and look forward to your reports. I'll also be sure to watch your departure later this afternoon on the NY Harbor Webcam. We've heard a few details about the new Verandah menu so far, but any additional details you can provide about that will be welcome. Have a great crossing!

Looking forward to your posts, thanks for taking the time to do this.

Welcome back on board. I look forward to following along with you on your crossing :)

...I'll also be sure to watch your departure later this afternoon on the NY Harbor Webcam...

Thank you, Bluemarble for mentioning it! New York Harbor Webcam rocks.

Looking forward to your postings, Deck Chair. Bon Voyage!

Have a great crossing, I'm looking forward to reading all about it.

Thank you for taking us with you on the wonderful crossing. I think you will have a good time. Will you disembark in Southampton or will you stay until Hamburg or further?

Frank

Thank you Deck Chair for the experience of sailing along with you on your QM2 TA crossing. I am so looking forward to my sailing on August 26th. This is a great preview!! Hope your weather is sunny, seas the way you like them and may there always be a deck chair available in you favorite location on deck. Bon voyage...

Thanks for taking us along Deck Chair, I'll be checking in every morning with a mug of coffee to get my daily Cunard fix.:cool:

Good show! Here's a screen grab from the NY Harbor Webcam taken during your departure showing QM2 with the Statue of Liberty in the background, to offer a contribution of mine to your narrative, deck chair. Bon voyage!

Have a wonderful trip! We'll be aboard in 37 days.

Could you report on the evening piano music in the Commodore Club?

Is it primarily classical, or more standard nightclub music (like Cole Porter, Gershwin, golden age show tunes, jazzy standards)

Also any other changes or advice. (including reports from cruisers about the revised Veranda menu)

Deck chair - Looking forward to reading your reports.

You are on the way to pick us up in Southampton for a short trip to Hamburg. The 3 Queens will be in Southampton when you arrive at City Terminal (which is a change to the originally planned Ocean terminal where QV will be (QE at QEII terminal).

If you are staying on board until Hamburg, we will have to meet up.

Hello from the ocean:

DO WE NEED THE LIFE JACKET POLICE?

We had a fabulous lifeboat drill. I am in section J which is an awesome gathering point. I sat at a table next to a window overlooking the promenade deck. I spent much time prior to the actual drill writing in my trip diary. There must be a great number of German passengers on this crossing as the Captain's safety instructions were repeated in German. The ship is going on to Hamburg after Southampton. No worries for me because I think German is a beautiful language and one of my sister-in-laws is German! And I love |Hamburg!!

I want to throw this out to the readers. One very elderly American woman showed up in my little portion of Section J without her life preserver. She claimed that she was unable to get to her cabin to fetch it. In a true emergency what should come of this person.? Should she be left to her own devices? Just throwing this out. for comment. I can tell you that she wore a very pretty diamond ring no doubt given to her decades ago by her devine gentleman caller...I wonder if we need a life jacket police to make sure passengers come to the safety drills with a life preserver.

I noticed this evening most passengers conformed to the dress code. I listened to the String quartet in he Chart Room. Of course,it is embarkation day so one must allow for some slack in the dress code department.. Tomorrow is a formal night so lets see how it goes, shall we?

We sailed at about 5 on a really beautiful late afternoon. Very breezy and balmy. I sat on the promenade deck and watched the scenery go by. I watched the coast slip away. The pilot was off at 6:50 with a wave to the bridge. And off we were!! On to |England!! It was a very lovely sunset. I LOVE BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS!!

One thingI love about sailing on this ship is all the great people you meet. So far I have met a couple from New Zealand. I couple from Arizona. A man from Montreal. A couple from outside Washington D.C. Fun! And this is only the first day!!!

My table 56 on deck 2 is just fabulous with a lot of fun people who know how to laugh and engage. You may be like me: If I am not enjoying a table I change the table but that is rarely required on this ship. Life is too short to endure a poor table with no chemistry within the group. How do you deal with a table where there is little chemistry?

Our waiters at table 56 are all very hard working and terrific. Dennis and Martin are great and very attentive. Out wine waiter, from Serbia is excellent.. The food is good and the service on top perfect.

I should report to my faithful readers that the Verandah is now being called the Steak house at the Verandah. I hope it is successful with a lot of buzz. we will see,

I went to the Welcome Aboard show at 10:30. Okay., Nothing special. So I am going to my bed chamber (cabin) now. BTW, my cabin steward Larry is really brilliant. If my sister wasn't already married |I would want her to marry Larry. They would have the cutest kids!!!

So good night and please let me know if we need the life preserver police. Be well and stay tuned. This is going to be a wonderful amazing crossing!!! I can see it in the stars!!!!

Deck Chair

Deck Chair,

Thank you for your great first hand experience from another Cunarder.

Knowing the experience well, I feel like I am on board and walking with you thru your day.

I hope that lady does know where her vest is in case. I am surprise one of the crew on the staircases/stations did ask her where her's was. Oh well.

So happy you verified the new name of the Verandah which is a current topic on the CC Forum.

One special reason we love the QM2 is the dedicated staff that serves you from cabin to the restaurant. How lucky we are.

Looking forward to your posting each day and Day 2 - Formal Evening..

We disembarked QM2 yesterday - never a good thing!! Cuba d arranged our transfers to JFK and we were grateful to them for organising a luggage store at Hilton Midtown for a few hours so that we could have a quick visit to Times Square before our evening flight. The transfers were excellent. As we took off and turned slightly to head back to England I managed to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous QM2 as she sailed off. Stunning! Happy sailing - we loved our week. Cabin 4074 was perfect for the crossing

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for enlightening us of this summer TA. I will enjoy reading your posts, especially as my family are returning to the UK on this crossing.

Hello from the high but calm seas:

MY FAVORITE WINE STEWARDESS ZELENA!

At dinner last night I am happy to report that our wine stewardess for table 56 is Zelena from Serbia. She is totally taking care of me and our table generally. I first met her last winter when I was in Britannia Club. She is knowledgeable, personable, efficient, and very pretty. If she is your wine stewardess you will be very fortunate indeed.

I just love seeing and greeting crew members from past voyages. They all work so hard.

I awoke this morning to calm seas and an overcast sky. Not unusual for an Atlantic crossing. At least it is on the warm side so it will be easy to sit outside on the promenade deck and read under a huge lifeboat and people watch. I personally like to pull my deck chair back away from the railing for a much broader view of the passing scene.

I had breakfast in the Britannia Dining Room. I really don't get people who have breakfast in Kings Court with all that crowding and chaos. Why not be served in the dining room by fabulous waiters?? Each to his own as we say in America.

For breakfast I always arrange to sit by myself at either table 95 or 145 which are small tables next to windows with beautiful views of the ocean. I love the flowers that accent each table. It is a private time for me to write in my diary which will no doubt bring millions at auction after I die.

Although I do pay attention to the ships daily program I am not one to participate in the various shipboard activities preferring to read out on deck weather permitting.

Tonight is the first formal night and the Captain's reception. I always get in line early because the room quickly fills up and seating becomes scarce if it can be found at all. To all solo travelers this piece of advice:: If you want to attend the reception please get there early so you can find seating so as to meet and engage with other exciting passengers. If you are late to the affair you will most likely be stranded without a seat which can be awkward. You will be standing alone in a crowd of hundreds of people. No fun and I have witnessed this many times.

Now on the second day of the voyage I met a new person in line at the pursers desk. Her name is Katherine from Toronto. That is one thing about a crossing. You meet the most awesome people. I wonder if she is an innocent escaped convict. If she is I will help her find justice!!!!

Well, I am off to the promenade deck to read under a hug lifeboat. My current book:A WICKED WAR about t he 1846 Mexican American war....until next time....be well.

BTW, in the chart room last night before dinner no one came up to me to discuss my observations. I now realize that perhaps i really don't look like a lighthouse on the coast of Maine. Please look for the person who looks like a new kitten playing with string. Okay?

Deck Chair

Thank you for the great report and Bon Voyage Deck Chair! Still three months before I will be onboard but thanks to you it feels like a part of me already is:D

I'm especially looking forward to hearing your opinion about the Verandah, although I assume that it will have reverted back to it's normal menu by November.

Hello from the ocean:

 

...I wonder if we need a life jacket police to make sure passengers come to the safety drills with a life preserver.

 

Deck Chair

That is exactly the role of the crew who are responsible for the care and control (in emergency scenarios) of the passengers. Of course, the pax themselves have a responsibility to follow instructions with regard to mustering. Unfortunately it sounds as if few take it seriously.

a) I'm sure she received guidance from the officer/crew member assigned to her muster station

b) I'm sure there are additional lifejackets in the vicinity of the muster station for just such occurrences.

Keep em coming Deck Chair. It's 6pm here in the uk, perhaps a little too early for you to join me in glass of wine.

I agree with you , an integral part of a successful cruise/voyage, ( on any cruise line) is to interact well with those hard working crew members who are directly responsible for looking after us.

I remember once when sitting at the Bar top in the Commodore Bar , a guest leaned over to me and commented " You're a little too familiar with these crew members.".......Mmmm I thought:confused: so that's why my regular pre dinner drink is 'almost delivered on the counter top as soon as I walked into the venue without asking '. ;)

Hi deck chair, I'm hoping you'll answer a question . We'll be going down by train next year ourselves...did you use a car service from Penn station or a taxi

Did you have any problems getting from Manhattan to Brooklyn

Thanks .

Hello

I have been on countless Transatlantics on such ship as the FRANCE and the |Leonardo DaVinci, QE2 and of course the Queen Mary 2.

The day began with a dreary sky and calm seas, typical of an transatlantic crossing. But to my great surprise, the sky opened up and we were fortunate to have a drop dead gorgeous day. I spent most of it outside on the promenade deck reading under a lifeboat watching the sea go by. The sea is very blue on such days. You want t o jump into the sea!! I understand tomorrow will be just as nice.

After a lunch, I took a well deserved nap in my cabin and then went out again to read.

I want to make sure everyone knows RADA is still on the ship.

Tonight as the first formal night and just about everyone was dressed well according to the dress code. The captain's reception was well attended. My cabin steward Larry was so helpful getting me together.

Dinner was great and so was the service. A sparkling night.

It is a beautiful night out tonight.. There are so many stars to catch and fall in love with. Please meet me out on deck and lets hold hands and make up poems.

Deck Chair

Hi deck chair, I'm hoping you'll answer a question . We'll be going down by train next year ourselves...did you use a car service from Penn station or a taxi

 

Did you have any problems getting from Manhattan to Brooklyn

 

Thanks .

Hi

I took a cab from the station to the hotel in Brooklyn. Easy! I really hope you are coming in the day before....be well.

Deck Chair

Hello

We have really lucked out with the weather. Yesterday was great and today is going to be great too!!! So plenty of time to read out on deck!

I neglected to mention the top nations on this crossing: According to the captain there are 2,536 passengers on board. The top nations represented are as follows:

Brits: 754

US: 750

Australia: 479

Germans:279

Fortunately, there are a good number of families on this crossing. The kids seem to be having a wonderful time. They bring more life to the ship and are very well behaved. And they are future Cunarders!!

Well, I am off to read. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer. Stay tuned.

Deck Chair