At Sea 9: On Board Queen Mary 2

On Board QM2 – April 19, 2010

This was the fifth day of our seven days at sea. We went to breakfast in the Britannia Restaurant at eight o’clock. We sat at a table for two and enjoyed being served. Jerry had blueberry pancakes and I had finnan haddock. The difference between the Britannia and the various breakfast buffet venues in the Kings Court is that all of the buffets are self-serve.


We then went to the library to use the computers. We used the computers every day to read the newspapers. The news was mostly concerned with the problems being created by the volcanic ash blowing from Iceland across England and the Continent. This was to become a major story as airports were shut down and travelers stranded.

We enjoyed some Stellas in the Chart Room later in the afternoon. Stella Artois is a Belgian beer dating back to 1366 and is called by the shortened name of Stella. It was the best lager served on the ship.


About 6 o'clock we went to the buffet dinner at Lotus. Lotus had the usual diverse menu with a good variety of food to choose from. We both particularly liked the spicy soup.

At a table near us was a woman from the Southampton area who had been on Queen Mary 2 since the start of the World Cruise. She had been on this ship before and compared her earlier pleasant experience with that of the present World Cruise voyage. Her complaints were many: the food was not as good, there were long queues to stand in, there had been poor management of shore excursions and maintenance problems had not been resolved. Thankfully, our crossing did not have the same problems.

I did not walk on deck today due to the strong wind. I stepped outside once and felt the force of the wind pushing and lifting me. When I attempted to open the door to get back inside, the wind was holding it closed. Another passenger had to help me open the door and I was very grateful for his assistance.

Click here to see what the bow of a Cunard ship encounters on a transatlantic crossing.

At Sea 8: On Board Queen Mary 2

On Board QM2 – April 18, 2010

We went to the Kings Court breakfast buffet at seven o’clock. We were surprised to see so few people there but we had some idea why. Some passengers could be tired because the ship’s clocks had been set ahead during the night on Sunday and also last night. That meant a loss of two hours of sleep time since leaving New York. Some passengers could be uncomfortable with the rolling motion of the ship throughout the night and into this morning. Rolling means the ship moves up and down from side to side. That movement can cause difficulty walking and a loss of appetite.

On Monday we had gone to the Tour Office to arrange our transport from Southampton to London. Today we received a call from the Tour Office that Cunard no longer has a contract with Jeeves. The Tour Office person had neglected to tell us that when we booked. For the past eleven years we used the “Jeeves of Hampshire Travel Service” recommended by Cunard. We were always very satisfied with the service. Chris, the owner, of Jeeves always personally greeted us. He then introduced us to the chauffeur he had waiting quayside to load our luggage and drive us to our destination. We will both miss his warm welcome to England. We understand that things change but we also know the change is not always for the best. We decided to accept the car service they now provide.

Later in the day, we met Nick Bates (the captain for this voyage), in an elevator. He is in his fifties, balding and about my height. He was very friendly. I called him “Sir” when I spoke to him and he thanked me for being so polite. I then jokingly asked if I could steer the ship. He said “yes” and then proceeded to tell me how to do it. I listened and watched carefully. He pointed to a horizontal metal bar that was on the elevator wall just beneath the floor number buttons. He said that whenever I wanted to steer the ship that I should twist the bar in the direction I wanted the ship to turn!


At 11:30 we went to a lecture “My Fair Lady – a musical adaptation from Greek myth to Hollywood legend” by actor/writer/producer Robert Neal Marshall. We had comfortable seats near the stage in Illuminations, one of the two theatres on board. When Illuminations is not being used as a theatre it is converts to a sea-going planetarium. We looked forward to the lecture. We had seen the play on Broadway starring Julie Andrews about fifty years ago. The presentation was disappointing. Mr. Marshall had interesting information but he spoke much too quickly and rarely paused while speaking.


Throughout the day the ship continued rolling and sometimes began pitching. Rolling is a side to side movement but pitching is an up and down movement bow to stern. I put my motion sickness relief bands on my wrists this morning. No official studies prove or disprove their use but they seem to help me.

At Sea 7: On Board Queen Mary 2

On Board QM2 – April 17, 2010

The ship was rolling during the night and moving side to side. I remembered what a young ship's waiter had told us years ago - that it was better to lie flat and move with the ship than to lie on your side and have the ship move you back and forth. Good advice. I did and it helped.

I had two breakfasts, took a walk on deck (another sunny 50’s day) and then had a hamburger in the Chef's Galley. Jerry and I had a quiet peaceful afternoon visiting the Commodore Club, walking around the ship, using the computers in the Library. Click here to see a view from the scenic elevator at the Library.

We met a couple from Wales while sitting at the bar in the Commodore Club. She was English and her husband was Welsh. She told of going to Wales to meet her in-laws for the first time. Her father–in-law asked her if she spoke Welsh. She told him no, that she did not speak Welsh, but -- that she could understand it.
The man looked at her and said – “I have a dog that can do that!”

To the Carvery Buffet at 5:30 and sat at a table by the windows. We were off the Grand Banks today and as usual there was fog and mist on the horizon.The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here and often causes fog in the area. It is also known for its proximity to where Titanic went down 98 years ago. Tonight around 9 we passed about 95 miles north of the site.


Note: The view from one of the tables in the Carvery. The entire deck (on one side of the ship) can be seen from the windows.