Englishmum

Oh my goodness, I've just had the most wonderful experience - a total surprise - on the Queen Mary 2!

Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago I posted a new thread in this forum; out of the blue I'd received an e-mail from Cunard (I think I'd sent off for a brochure a few years ago) with information about a special sale they were having to celebrate HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee with a choice of crossings through to January 2013.

I know that at least three families/couples who post here on BE subsequently booked their one-way journeys home to reside in the UK on the Queen Mary 2 on the 3rd of August departure and were able to take advantage of the promotion (which included a double upgrade to a balcony suite and onboard credit etc.).

Well....I also forwarded the e-mail to my spouse who is on an expat posting in Switzerland. Right now I'm undergoing the process to get US citizenship and will hopefully get it in the Autumn and will then move to Switzerland, and mentioned to him that it might be a nice way to leave the US later this year.

Our wedding anniversary is on 4th of July and he flew over to our home in New Jersey a few days before, and we spent the afternoon and evening with our Aussie friends. However....this year we are also celebrating our Silver Wedding anniversary. My spouse brought me breakfast in bed and had gift-wrapped an envelope. When I opened it up, there was an itinerary for the transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 from Brooklyn, NY to Southampton just two days later on Friday 6th July! My husband is such a

What's more.....he had also arranged for us to renew our marriage vows with the Captain. What a lovely, romantic guy he is, I love him to bits! (The QM2 recently changed its registration from Southampton to Hamilton, Bermuda for tax reasons and also to be able to perform onboard weddings, renewal of vows etc.)

It was a *wonderful* experience! What's more, we picked up a rental car in Southampton and drove to west London to collect our daughter and baby granddaughter and spent a few days with them in various hotels.

I'm back in New Jersey now.....it was weird to think that it took 7 nights to cross the Atlantic by ship and just 7 hours to fly back across the same stretch of water.

I'm happy to answer any questions about the crossing (they like to re-iterate that it's a "crossing, not a cruise") lol

Mummy in the foothills

What a guy, you should clone him.
You lucky lady

Pombat

How wonderful! I'd love to hear any tips/suggestions/recommendations for the crossing. We're in the final stages of chaos right now, getting ready to depart California on July 31st. i am so looking forward to 7 days of relative peace and tranquility!!

coastieexpat

I would also like any information/tips you may have about the " crossing ", I would love to do this one day.

tonrob

Mrs tonrob and I just saw the QM2 and the QE together in the harbour in Hamburg the other day. Very impressive sight.

lf1

Englishmum, thanks for the update. Glad you had a great voyage

feelbritish

Wonderful experience and what a guy! Thanks for sharing it is definitely a nice way to go back home!

Back2UK

Englishmum I am so glad you had a wonderful time.

Sarah

I'm so jealous! Sounds wonderful, would love to hear more about it

robin1234

Sounds great, glad you had such a good holiday!

I'd love to do the Queen Mary crossing but unfortunately my wife won't go on a ship.. She's had a few instances of seasickness. We crossed one way to the US on the QE2 in 1976, it was a very rough crossing, in November, and she was seasick for several days. Then in the late 80s we went Plymouth to Santander on the car ferry and again she was seasick. Going back even earlier, in the early seventies we had a few voyages in the Med in Greek ferries, the kind where you don't even have a cabin, and the entire complement of passengers is either getting drunk or spewing up for the whole voyage.. So she has a jaundiced view of sea voyages. I don't know if this is still a concern, with the QM..?

rebs

It could still be an issue for some people - although these large, modern ships are fitted with all sorts of stabilisers minimise the movement. If you read on the cruise forums there's plenty of talk about where on the ship it is best to have your cabin to be as stable as possible.

On the crossing that I was on, our table in the restaurant was next to a couple of ladies who were on the return leg of their cruise and one of them was suffering a bit from sea sickness. She had been fine on the outbound part of the journey, but for the return trip they had been upgraded and found that she felt a bit off which may have been due to the new cabin - who knows

The ship's medical centre is well equipped to deal with sea sickness and by about the 3rd day the lady was feeling much better - certainly well enough to tuck into the delicious lobster for dinner

Englishmum

He does have a twin brother lol!

Englishmum

My worst experience at sea was on a SeaCat (catamaran) between Calais and Dover in a Force 12 gale...it was touch and go whether or not they were going to cancel the sailing but it went ahead. There were people all around throwing up (which our young kids found to be a great source of amusement) as the catamarans sail on top of the water rather than being in it and the journey was pretty alarming as we had to sit tight and wondered if the cars on the car deck would stay in one place!


This topic came up on the QM2 when the Captain did a Q&A (albeit on the last full day of the journey) as someone said that she was surprised that the crossing was so smooth. He explained about the stabilisers on the QM2 (and the other Queen ships) with how they compared with ships from the past which didn't have them. He said that this ship was built specifically for ocean crossings in all weather conditions and has a stronger, toughened hull and linings compared to other kinds of cruise ships which primarily sail in the Caribbean, Med etc.


We certainly found the crossing to be very smooth indeed; one day we were going to the theatre on board (at the hull) and some of the windows in the corridor are only a little higher than sea-level. The waves were quite high - it was a great sight - but there was no pitching at all - totally smooth because of the stabilisers (there is an article and diagram on a wall in the corridor explaining their function). We didn't notice anyone being seasick or mentioning feeling queasy and felt totally safe at all times.

It's nowhere near as uncomfortable as going through turbulence on a plane.

We did hear the foghorn going off at times though!

Englishmum

When we got to Southampton the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth were also in port, they'd just arrived ahead of the QM2...all three Queens...

robin1234

I remember the passage from Piraeus to Haifa, I think it took five days or so.. I did it a couple of times in the seventies. Can't remember the name of the ship, but it was built in the 1940s and was pretty small. When the sea was rough, it just pitched.. Up, up, up, then down down down, very slow and rhythmic for several day with no respite. Very different from airline turbulence. That's what seems to lead to seasickness in most people..