Tag Archives: Cruise

A Crossing Like No Other

What on earth possessed me to take a transatlantic crossing?!

Secretly, I think it was on my bucket list and curiosity got the better of me because I had never in my life even taken a cruise. But I wanted to try it out. Early January probably was not the best time of the year to do the crossing but this was the last crossing for quite a few months. Unfortunately, it happened to coincide with the blizzard of blizzards that possessed New York and ended up holding the boat up for 12 hours.

The Queen Mary 2 is an impressive sight. Approaching it as we did through the Brooklyn Navy Yard, it suggests a time that has passed. Transatlantic travel aboard one of the great ocean liners of the world. The boarding was a piece of cake. Warning – hold on to your bags. Imagine you are wheeling your bag onto an airplane. This is no different. If you give your bag up to the porterage system, you won’t get it for a while and it will cost you a hefty tip at the end of its journey. We wheeled our bags through immigration control, the check-in counter, and we boarded the boat. We were sitting in our “stateroom” in no time at all. This modest but ample room with a balcony (not great in a blizzard) was to be our home for the next eight days.

It took me pretty much three days to figure out where everything was on the ship but for full time cruisers, this ship is not even that big. It holds 2,700 passengers, 1,200 crew members, has 14 decks, has 12 lounges, restaurants, and bars, and the kitchen makes 5,500 meals per day. For me it was an incredible site to behold. Walking through the labyrinth of decks and walking out onto the promenade was something I could have not imagined. The evening in New York was balmy and beautiful.

Then the blizzard hit.

Two days of stormy seas and blizzard conditions meant that we were on lockdown inside of the boat before we even left the harbor. Not to worry, there were things to do. Even though I suffered some sea sickness, I pushed ahead. I joined the health spa, I had acupuncture and a massage, I went to several wonderful cabaret shows, I ate decent food, and eventually we steered our way across the Atlantic storm and into calmer waters. Once we left behind the raging sea, the decks were open, the promenade was full of runners, and it was surprisingly temperate in the middle of the ocean.

Of course, there was nothing to see – no whale, no boat, no perilous iceberg lurking on the horizon, and not even stars at night because of the cloud cover. But the boat had its own rhythm. We visited the art gallery, took in more shows, hung out in the Commodore’s Bar which was a very cool bar, and each day I gradually slipped into a transatlantic crossing rhythm that became almost intoxicating. It is amazing what you do with your time when there is nothing to see and nowhere to go. It was a surprisingly fit holiday – I walked around the promenade three miles per day, went to the gym two hours per day, and enjoyed the steam and sauna rooms at the Canyon Ranch Spa in between intermittent naps along with everybody else whose books had fallen to their side during their tea breaks. It is an older crew on the crossing for sure.

Frankly, it is a nice way to travel if your schedule permits and you simply cannot take those cramped economy seats on a transatlantic flight. The ease of boarding and deboarding were a pleasure compared to the tension and stress of airline security and check in. Time does not really fly…it is the sea after all…but if you travel from west to east, after day three, the captain announces an hour a day will be added to your time clock. It is a fun way to deal with jetlag. The price is not particularly crazy – around $2,000 per person for all meals, inclusions, and a hotel room for seven nights is not that bad.

So, what’s the downside?

First of all, the internet was a joke and extremely expensive. It cost me $500 to maintain bad internet coverage for the entire duration of the cruise. More often than not, the internet dropped out, and the only way I could really work was through WhatsApp. When I talked to crew members about this, they told me the same story. It seems like an easy thing to fix but it was shocking how bad it was.

Second, the movies on board were dreadful. We were a captive audience. How come two bad movies per day are all we get when we have all day and all night? Why in God’s name can we not have the same kind of movie selection that you now get on planes? On a plane you are stuck for seven hours, here we were stuck for 192 hours. The TV scene piped into our rooms was awful too. It had a distinct English bent which would not have been bad had we seen a variety of great Brit shows. But this was terrible. In the end, I watched the QM2 channel because it was more exciting than the regular TV! Here is a solution – if we know the TV is bad and the movies are going to be duds, at least warn us ahead of time. This way we can download video content from Amazon or Netflix so that we have something on our iPads. Given the lack of streaming potential, this would be a smart piece of advice. I am not sure who is responsible for movie and TV selection, but honestly it was simply laughable.

Then there was the shopping. Why can I not buy anything useful when I am stuck on board for 192 hours? We don’t land anywhere and I’ve probably forgotten some important thing that I would love to buy and probably wouldn’t mind paying twice as much for. I’m older and we forget things! The shops were pure tacky Duty-Free shops tragically lined up around the beautiful ornate double staircase. Gaudy colored clothes, bottles of alcohol, perfume, all of the things that are the absolutely useless. Forgot your swimming costume? Too bad. Need a pair of tights? Not going to happen. How about a pair of running shoes for the onboard gym? No way. Absolutely shocking that they did not cater for the needs of someone like me or most people who might need to buy something functional or something they had forgotten at home.

The gym was like a bad gym at the Holiday Inn. Why have a gym where four machines do not work? The gym should be state-of-the-art. For $100 you could use the Canyon Ranch Spa though which offered steam, sauna, and had a huge jacuzzi pool. It was definitely worth it. It was free if you took a massage but then you could only use it for that day. The space for the gym could have been absolutely put to more efficient use. There was also a tiny, paddling pool and an unappealing jacuzzi on the 12th floor. I stuck to the Canyon Ranch alternative. And here is a gripe. Why do they not make a swimming pool for swimmers on board when they have the room? A 17-meter pool would be fine!

But still there were a lot of good things on board. The wine selection was top notch and not expensive. The bars were fun, the food was pretty good, and the service throughout the boat was fabulous.

When we arrived in Southampton, I was distinctly not jetlagged and it was a breeze to take the train from the Southampton station to London. Would it have been fun to hit an iceberg? Maybe. It would have broken up the trip a little, as it were. But I can now say that I have joined the club of transatlantic crossers. While I will never be a cruise addict, with some adjustments on QM2’s part, I might be tempted to go back again. But certainly not in the winter.

Day 7 on the Queen Mary 2

Day 7

We started off the day with a morning breakfast disaster.  They had run out of brown sauce!  Now, to most people outside of the UK and Ireland, this means nothing, but to a Brit it is a major problem with an English or Irish breakfast., They said that the blizzard disrupted the supply in New York. The blizzard wreaks havoc again…

Today I went to an acupuncture session with a really nice lady, Ana, from Portugal.  She was very spiritual, very cool, and stuck lots of needles in me.  I️ felt great after!  She was amazing.  Went to the promenade for a circuit and the English tea sandwiches before I️ headed to gym. After the gym, I went to spa and then headed to a beautiful exhibition in the art gallery. Delightful.

Then to formal dinner where I got dressed up in bow tie and white shirt.  The food and service has been pretty good all the way through but tonight it was exceptional.  Tonight was the walk of the chefs as well. There are 236 chefs on board and they serve 15,000 meals a day.  Bloody hell!

After dinner we walked to a concert where there was an amazing pianist with a band performing classical and show tunes.  Afterwards, we stopped at the very cool art deco Commodore Bar for a nightcap.  What a way to spend the day.

The Weekend on the QM2 (Days 4, 5, and 6)

DAY 4

Last night a little rough out on the high seas.  Want to be armed with Dramamine.  Today we woke up to calmer waters and rain. The QM2 has 1,292 crew members and the capacity is 2,691.  The maiden voyage was in January 2004 – just about 14 years ago.

Today, people are strolling around the deck, mainly for exercise.  The sights out to sea are unrelenting rolling grayness interrupted by white caps.  Alas no whales nor dolphins nor passing boats to break up the dull vista.  There is no sky to peer through as cloud cover is intense.  Today I am off to gym again but yesterday five machines were out of order.  I’ll be heading to a lecture at the theater here that i wanted to go to.

Also today we will move another hour forward as we gobble up the time difference between the US and the UK. The captain came on to announce very causally that there had been a fire somewhere overnight and that various stairways were shut down. Nothing to worry about he said so life continues.  Breakfast ends early (9:30 am) at the waited seating and after that it all goes down to self serve.  It is a little messier and less comfortable.  The internet continues to be relatively hopeless and expensive.  Minutes disappear faster than the setting sun.  Off to connect and take some photos.  A giant whale would be handy.

DAY 5

Saturday showed much calmer seas after a rough night.  It was a night of Dramamine and deep breathing for me.  The secret to sea sickness is to be in center of boat down low.  We are at the top in the front.  The forecast ahead is smooth sailing.

We saw Maria Friedman today.  She did a one woman show on Sondheim and Bernstein. We actually saw Merrily We Roll Along at the Huntington Theater in Boston recently. She directed it! She did a wonderful condensed show of Sondheim songs primarily. What a lovely lady with an extraordinary career and a fabulous voice.  So fortunate to have her pass the week on the crossing with us. Chatted with her by the elevators and she is moving Merrily We Roll Along to New York City soon. It was such an amazing coincidence to see her!

Took to the open promenade for a long walk. We are slowly adjusting to life without internet connection and lots of time on our hands. The walks along the outer perimeter of the boat are quite amazing. The temperature outside is balmy and miles away from the freeze on the eastern shore. Here we are soaking up warmer temperatures and Atlantic rain. Still nothing has been sighted except white caps.  But I am slowly getting used to the nothing vista and the beat of the crossing. Gym and spa every day to ward off temptation of endless mounds of food. Dance routine after dinner plus disco.  Late night ahead.

DAY 6

I have been slowly adjusting and as of Sunday I am starting to evolve into a crossing type! I see the allure. It’s just a nice way to pass the time and it forces you to disconnect from everything.

Announcement from deck this morning called for us moving another hour forward.  We slowly make our way to the British time zone. After a morning of not much at all, we drifted into a lecture on Jack Vetrianno and Fabian Perez.  A really interesting talk about two painters, one Scottish and the other Argentinian. The art gallery on QM2 is stacked up with good stuff. It’s all stocked somewhere below and the collections change every day. The setting is just a dream for the collections too as the waves splash across the porthole windows. Perez is a really cool painter and Vetrianno is the bad boy of modern painting!  Actually loved his stuff but Perez was a great guy to pair him with.

After an interesting chat with the two curators we moved on. For me it was the gym and the spa which I have grown to love.  I like the availability of it and the knowledge that I know how to work everything.  Every day becomes part of my routine.  It’s a good investment for the week. Tonight we went to another curated nighttime show on Broadway and the 1960’s.  We snuck into the front row on the side and what a great show it was. Everyone spills out of dinner and drifts into shows at the end of the day.

The casino was humming, the nightclub noisy and fun, and everything is going full belt.  I am loving the rhythm of the crossing.  Can’t believe I just said that!  The internet is still hopeless.

Day 3 on the Queen Mary 2

It was formal night last night and everyone had to dress up. You sit at the same table as usual but you have to wear a tux. There was a captain soirée earlier for certain sections but I took a massage and enjoyed the spa instead.

The boat is still rocking around fiercely.  It’s a little unpleasant and the decks are still closed. There was an early morning wake up by the captain to announce that all water in the cabins is not working. No toilet or shower. Great wake up news. After breakfast the cold water is back at least but the hot was still out.  Just in time!

We went to watch a dance class which reminded me of my holiday camp days.  The internet connectivity is dreadful and they charge you even though it barely works. So far I have spent 200 dollars and the speed is worse than dial up! The boat is rocking and rolling around. I’m going to try the gym but it could be tricky as it is probably impossible to stand straight. It’s either that or playing bridge. It’s a huge boat. I still get lost. That makes every walk an adventure.

Day 1 and 2 on the Queen Mary 2

Day 1

First, a confession.  I have never been on a cruise ship. So to board a ship with another 3,000 passengers was strange. To understand that this ship had been in the Caribbean and was on its last voyage across the Atlantic before setting off on a round the world cruise was amazing.  There were people on board who were going for the whole thing.

But we were the cruise virgins.

While we were going through the safety procedures on board, as we were looking out on a beautiful Manhattan skyline, we discovered that the boat was stuck. Blizzard! And so we got used to the skyline (which was amazing), had some great food, and waited until the morning.

Day 2

Today we had a morning blizzard.  There were high seas but the tug boats pulled us out of the harbor.  Under zero visibility and raging seas with huge waves and snow lashing the decks, we sailed in a loop passing the Statue of Liberty through the narrows and rocked our way along the coastline of Long Island.  All this before breakfast!

The outer decks were shut down but I sneaked out for a quick photo.  After all, I don’t want to get swept away in these conditions.  Just took a Dramamine, then off to the gym, then a massage later in day plus watercolor class.  Very cruisy.  So far it’s all a bit of an adventure.  The Wifi is expensive and TV is not great unless you want Premiership soccer all day and outdated movies.  But the blizzard is a trip.