England 2005 Photo Gallery #5

We were not at all sure how this day was going to go! We knew that we had to drive into Southampton, find the dock for the Queen Mary 2, return the car, and get ourselves and our luggage on board QM2. Our boarding materials gave us a very specific time to check-in but at the docks we found that they actually welcomed early arrivals so as to reduce the numbers of passengers that needed to be processed late in the day. So we essentially returned the car and boarded the ship. Probably saved us a few bucks not spent shopping

It would be way too much to do a day by day of this portion of the trip. Not so much because of the number of days but because this was the most laid back part of the trip and we really did not do a lot - intentionally. The food was good, the weather was good, the seas were good. And the QM2 is huge. Thank goodness for the maps and wall signs. For one of the liners that Anne’s grandmother crossed on in the early 1900’s it took 14 laps around the deck to equal a mile; on QM2, 3 laps around is 1.1 miles

But we did do a few things and have a tale to tell. Anne dragged Jeff to the beginner’s bridge class and he probably saw just enough to never want to play again. For breakfasts and lunches we ate in a variety of places, all good, but each night we ate at our assigned dinner table. The first night it was ourselves and another woman who seemed very aloof and upper crust. She was not at the table again. Most other nights it was a couple celebrating his 70th birthday and a woman from Manchester, England traveling alone who had been on too many cruises. Then the "small world syndrome" struck.

A couple of days into the crossing Carol attended a kid’s club activity and from then on had friends of her own age to do things with. She attended several acting workshops taught by members of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Our room was basically very satisfactory. We did have one small quibble. We knew that we were getting a reduced rate on a cabin with a balcony because the view was 65% obstructed by the life boats. It turned out that the 65% included just about anything that you would want to see and the 35% was the sky. Admittedly though, when at sea there is not really a lot to see. Also, we did have a fairly large cabin for not much more cost than a smaller cabin with a porthole.