On July 28th my husband and I had
the pleasure of escorting an alumnae group from Lake Erie College (Ohio)
on Cunard’s much-anticipated and elegant ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2.
We sailed for 6 nights from New York to Southampton…a “Transatlantic
Crossing.”
Most members of our group had already crossed the Atlantic once as
college students in the 1960’s, some on the first Queen Mary. This
crossing, then, was to be a sentimental journey for some of us, a first
Transatlantic experience for others. The Queen Mary 2 was filled with
many families and individuals who were on this new ship for reasons
other than just taking a “cruise.” Some people were moving overseas,
some wanted to experience going across the Atlantic in the newest,
largest and most deluxe ocean liner ever built, and others, like some of
our group, had done it before and wanted to do it again. The thing all
the passengers had in common was excitement for this special adventure!
My husband and I had anticipated the trip knowing
that with 5 full days at sea, there would be plenty of time to fully
take advantage of everything we wanted to do on this beautiful ship. No
ports of call to distract us! I would use this opportunity to be
pampered at the renowned and wonderful Canyon Ranch SpaClub®. We would
catch up on movies we’d missed. My husband wanted to take the daily
watercolor classes. We would go to numerous lectures set up by the
enriching Oxford Discovery Programme (ODP). (The ODP “celebrity” on
board was the British mystery writer, P.D. James. Her talks were
wonderful, but the real treat was seeing her on deck one day. Was she
contemplating where to put “the body” in a future mystery?) We would
dance into the wee hours in the lively G32 Nightclub. We’d have tea
every afternoon and read our books on deck. We’d walk the Promenade Deck
everyday, all the while contemplating how in the world our ancestors
ever had the courage to get in small vessels and sail away into this
vast ocean we were now crossing.
The reality of our 5 days at sea was even without ports, there were more
interesting activities and diversions than time in which to do them.
I’ve mentioned only a few. We left the ship wishing that it took 10
nights to cross the Atlantic rather than 6 nights.
Our fun didn’t end in Southampton. When we
disembarked, we took advantage of Cunard’s day trip to Salisbury and
environs, optional dinner/transfer to London on the Venice Simplon-Orient
Express, followed by 3 nights in a London hotel. The hotel package
included all transfers, a London city tour, theater tickets and
breakfast at the hotel. The flight home was included in the cruise fare.
I know that I can speak for the wonderful group
with whom we traveled: London was a destination to anticipate, but
“getting there” on the Queen Mary 2 was a highlight of our lives.
By Connie Dix
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