"John & Pam's Big Adventure on the Queen Mary 2" April/May 2004

OCEAN LINER MAIDEN VOYAGE

Cunard's RMS QUEEN MARY 2

Trans-Atlantic, 25 April - 01 May 2004

New York to Southampton

Note to readers: in the text "I" means John, and "Pam" means Pam.

The ship is called Queen Mary 2, or QM2, in honour of her famous transatlantic predecessor Queen Mary which came into service in 1936 and is now a hotel in California. She carries the Arabic 2 (two) rather than the Roman numeral II (second) because it refers to a second ship rather than the monarch.

23 April 2004, Friday

We got up at 03:15 to catch our 04:15 cab to Ottawa International Airport. Long security procedures made necessary by US pressure, but having little impact on the actual security of air travel, have added much unpleasant time to short journeys. Air Canada staff were a half hour late opening the check-in counter. US immigration & customs is at the Ottawa airport, and that was fast. We flew on a Canadair CRJ to New York City's LaGuardia Airport on AC308 (06:00 - 07:15) in 70 minutes. The flight was free as Aeroplan points paid for both tickets.

LaGuardia, although already busy with departures, was easy for arrivals. Our luggage was returned swiftly, and we called for a SuperShuttle. It arrived in less than 15 minutes, and we were off to the hotel.

The rush hour traffic was not bad at all, and we were at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (301 Park Avenue, New York, New York, 10022, USA, 212-355-3000) by 08:00. Of course, being fully booked then, our room was not yet available. As our luggage was already with the porter, we simply checked in with Wayne and got a safe deposit box. Then we set out for breakfast and a short walking tour. When we finally wandered back, Wayne had arranged a corner suite on the fifth floor overlooking Park and the side street to the south.

Our suite is wonderful. It is a corner suite with several windows facing two directions. There is a large bedroom, a dressing room with various mirrors and several closets, and a massive bathroom done in marble and granite. It is even down a private hallway off the main hallway, and we can turn off the light so that it does not seep under our door at night.

In the afternoon was ventured out to Queens on the subway. The subway in New York does not seem as bad as popular opinion would have us believe. Although badly marked in terms of train names and destinations, it is rather efficient and relatively cheap. We bought tickets for the day, but would buy a day pass on Saturday.

Our destination was Marty's Fashions (3112 Steinway St. Astoria NY, 11103, 718-726-1356 718-726-9156). Marty had sold us two tuxedos in 2001 for only $100 each, and his advert was ?why rent when you can buy? We easily reached the shop in only a few minutes, and although Marty was not there, we did try on a few things. Eventually Marty actually showed up to deliver a hundred tuxes. We briefly chatted and shook hands. Marty is a big sweaty man with a thick NY accent, and he runs what may be the largest internet/phone/mail order tuxedo business in the US. This is strange given the tiny size of the shop.

We walked through Time Square and Pam found a penny squish machine into which she pressed several quarters and three pennies.

On our way back to the hotel came the obligatory stop at Bloomingdales Department store to search for brassieres. Fortunately, there was a professional bra fitter in the store that day, and two specially fitted items were procured for the one of us needing more support than the other of us.

24 April

After breakfast in a local diner, we ventured forth by tube to the far south end of Manhattan Island to visit the South Street Seaport Museum. They have wonderful sailing ships and the original Ambrose lighthouse ship.

We walked back to the massive bookstore passed on the walk from the tube station, then off north to Chinatown for lunch. After lunch and a failed bubbletea, we took the tube to 50th street and walked west to the port. There were thousands of people looking at the QM2. The sidewalks and biking areas were jammed with sightseers, and traffic cops were threatening to write tickets just to keep a semi-clear path through the throngs.

That night the QM2 was hosting a massive celebrity fundraiser for colorectal cancer, and tickets were about $10 000 each, or $50 000 for a table. This included the show, party, dinner, and a bed for the night. One celebrity became so out of control with liquor that the staff had to replace the entire mattress in his or her cabin the next morning. We hope it was not our cabin.

We walked to the next pier which holds the Intrepid Air Sea Museum, and a Concorde. All we wanted was to visit the gift shop and search for squished penny machines. There was a massive line for security, but we slipped around it, into the gift shop, then right into the secure museum area. Two machines were found, but only one worked. This was better than the previous visit when none worked.

On our way back to the Waldorf-Astoria, we bought foodstuffs for a meal in. The evening was spent watching the telly. Telly watching is a rare treat for us.

25 April 2004, Sunday

The day started out wonderfully with a bonk and a visit from Rose Q. Rose works for Continental Airlines in Newark, and met John in the spring of 2000. She brought along her daughter, and we ventured out to have breakfast on this beautiful morning. The March of Dimes was on, so we walked along until we found a diner. Rose's daughter brought flowers for Pam, and these were taken to our suite on the QM2.

Today is the day we have awaited since the summer of 2000. It was while visiting the original Queen Mary in California in August 2000 that we learned QM2 would be built. In 2001 we did our first crossing on the QE2 in order to be able to buy a ticket on the inaugural voyage. Tickets went on sale Canada Day (01 July) 2002, and we got ours as soon as the ticket office opened for business. (QM2 booking # 1000943)

Cunard wrote: "Queen Mary 2 will spend her inaugural year in Europe, the Americas and crossing the Atlantic. Following her maiden voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, she'll winter in the Caribbean and visit Rio during Carnival. In April, QM2 will make her maiden 6-day eastbound Transatlantic crossing in tandem with her royal sister Queen Elizabeth 2. It will be an historic occasion, the first time two Queens have greeted each other in the North Atlantic since Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary in 1967."

QM2 was available for boarding at noon, but was not scheduled to depart until 19:30.

We went strait to the Grill-class check-in desks and were seen to immediately. Pam still did not know about the Queen's Grill room, thinking we were still only in Princess Grill. It was instant boarding for us. The ship was impossible to see as it was up against the pier building, so it looked like a great black wall.

Immediately upon entering we were met by staff, and recognized Caroline, a tea-service girl from Ireland. She showed us to our suite, #9027.

Pam writes: It was great to see people I knew on the voyage, even if they are the crew. I loved being shown to my cabin by Caroline whom we knew from Queen's room tea.

Only once we are in our massive suite do I tell Pam that this is actually Queen's Grill and not Princess. There is a great deal of jumping up and down. She bounces. I am very pleased. I do not know how I managed to keep this a secret for nearly two years. Amazing.

Our room is fantastic, and we play in and with everything. The room is already stocked with three bottles of champagne, including Moet & Chandon.

To quote Cunard: "QM2's most lavish Grill accommodations are unrivaled at sea. Here your concierge and a personal butler anticipate your needs and comply with the utmost speed and efficiency. Lavish amenities include marble baths with whirlpool tubs, walk-in closets, en-suite bars stocked with selected spirits or wine and soft drinks, fresh flowers and pre-dinner canap?s. Standard amenities include interactive TV with multi-language film and music channels, data port outlet, refrigerator, hair dryer, bathrobe and slippers, a safe and 110/220-volt outlets. You can expect to find rich furnishings, exquisite traditional d?cor and premium amenities such as a fluffy bathrobe and slippers in your accommodations aboard QM2. You can receive and send e-mails, chose from dozens of movies, review a seminar you might have missed or sign up for shore excursions - right from the comfort of your stateroom through the interactive television. QM2's blend of grand elegance and innovative technology is re-interpreted on a quieter, more personal scale in these beautiful sanctuaries by the sea. Guests in Queens Grill accommodations dine in the renowned Queens Grill. The elegant Queens Grill Lounge and a private sun terrace are also reserved exclusively for their use. Queens Grill Restaurant: If you're staying in a Q suite, savor the sublime creations of the Queens Grill. Cunard's Grill restaurants have been long acclaimed by food critics as the finest dining experience at sea. Watch the world go by from the balcony of these luxurious Q5 suites. Spacious living area, dressing room and bath with separate shower and whirlpool tub. 47 sq. metres." (This is more than half the size of the first house in which lived.)

Once the immediate novelty of a first class stateroom and a butler and sub-butler and concierge wore off, we ventured down to deck 4 in search of our old stewardess, Stine. She cared for our room and needs when we were in the Caribbean in March, and we had a photograph of her. She was still working the same rooms, and was most pleased to be sought out, and to be given the photograph.

We then went to check out our table in the Queen's Grill private dining room, and discovered they were serving a late lunch for any starving first class passengers. We were starving, having not eaten since 10:30 that morning. The best part of first class service was immediately demonstrated when one of our three waiters placed a plate of wheat-free bread beside Pam without being asked. They were ready for her.

Pam writes: The food in the grill was better, can you believe it? There was a second menu that was there every night behind the first one. It listed the escargot and the caviar and chateau briand and duck a'l'orange and all the other snooty food you could want. We had the duck one night by ordering it before lunch, and it was divine. Patrick the maitre'd prepares the sauce in front of you. You can't beat that.

It is now 17:15, and we must all attend the obligatory pre-sailing lifeboat drill. 2500 people are moving about wearing bright red-orange life jackets on seven deck.

What strikes us again and again is that this is really a massive ship, with more than enough room for everyone. There are about 2500 passengers aboard for this historic crossing. But even with this vast number (not the largest passenger compliment at sea, but the largest passenger space ratio for a large ship: 57.25) there is always room to be alone. Hallways are not the widest on earth, but they are certainly the longest. There are some passageways which extend a quarter kilometre. There are said to be more than 5000 steps in public areas.

Since it can hardly be appreciated how truly vast this ship is, I shall give some data and comparisons. QM2 is 345m in length, and 41.2m wide, making the ship too long and too wide to pass through the Panama Canal locks. It is 72m high from keel to funnel, and a draft of 10m. QM2 has a gross tonnage (volume) of 151 400 tons, making it the largest passenger vessel in the world. The ship is propelled by four diesels and two jet turbine engines which generate electric power to drive four Mermaid Pod motors hung outside the hull. The QM2 will plough through the seas at 30 knots, or 55 km/h. In fact, it can go as fast backwards as many cruise ships can steam forwards. If all berths are used, it has a passenger capacity of 2620, and a crew of 1253.

The Titanic was only 46 328 gross tons, and had a length of 269m. It could make 22.5 knots, carrying 2603 passengers and 944 crew.

And it is off to dinner at 18:00: early so that we can eat and get outside for the sail away and the fireworks. QM2 pushes back from the pier at 19:30 with mighty blasts from the giant horns. QE2 remains at her pier until we have moved down the Hudson River.

Dusk has begun as we move backwards into the Hudson, and the city is starting to light up. We make out way ever so slowly down the river, and see what must be hundreds of thousands of tiny flashes from cameras on both sides of the river, and from other boats.

The police and airborne security forces are keeping boaters away from us, but the shores are lined with people by the thousands. Flashes are continuous for two hours. There is no time as we move to a position off Ellis Island and the French statue (Statue of Liberty) that Kodak stock prices are not rising due to the film being used up on shore. We are hardly better, taking pictures of people taking pictures of us. QE2 is following us down river, and stops near us to await the fireworks.

The air is abuzz with police helicopters and news helicopters and aircraft. The water is full of guard vessels and sightseeing boats.

The problem is that the weather has turned unseasonably cold. It was a warm sunny morning, but it is a windy and slightly drizzling evening and night. The cold is ripping at us, but there are probably 2000 people on deck to see the fireworks. We are not disappointed. From barges in the river are set off a beautifully choreographed display at 20:30.

QE2 now passes us, and we head out under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and into the Atlantic Ocean. The historic tandem crossing is now underway. The journey is between 5650 and 5920 km depending on route.

It has been an exciting day, and it will be a short night, as the clocks have to move ahead one hour.

26 April, Monday

We are up at 7:30 and met our concierge. Jacqueline is from the former East Germany, having been 14 when the wall came down. Breakfast was served to us at 8:15 in the elegant Queen's Grill dining room. This is our third meal here, and we have yet to see our table-mates. We are not yet certain they are aboard.

QE2 is off our port-bow. It is cloudy and very windy. Very very windy. Pam went to play deck quoits as a way to win tickets for prizes. It was so windy over the upper decks that one of her quoits, thrown outside the target, was blown across the teak deck into the target, thus scoring her an unintentional point, and winning for her an initial ticket.

We think that we went to clear UK Immigration in the G32 nightclub. The inspectors were wearing civilian clothes: unlike the overly militarized US officials. Our passports are stamped as of 01 May in Southampton even though that is still five days and thousands of km away.

John went to the art auction, which droned on an on at a very slow pace. What was interesting was that the auctioneer sold nine prints of Gordon Bauwen's Queen leaving New York painting for $300 each ($406 total price). The 295 numbered prints are valued at $1500 each, but are only signed by the artist. Bauwen has sent John two copies of his own print run of 50, and each is signed by himself, and by both captains. The ones on the ship are not signed by the captains. This was the first time the prints were offered for sale, and it was interesting that he moved nine in less than a minute.

Bauwen had also sent to John an email which he wished to be passed on to Commodore Warwick. John passed it on through our concierge. Bauwen was pleased to have been commissioned to do the commemorative painting, but wished he could have been on the voyage.

At the cheaper end of the spectrum, many people spent their morning lining up in the grand lobby to buy commemorative t-shirts. Thousands of t-shirts were sold in two hours.

The noon report indicates it is 8 degrees outside, and that we are at 40 20N, 67 04W, and traveling at 28 knots. We have traveled 311 nautical miles at an average speed of 26.8 knots. There are 2844 nautical miles to go to Southampton water.

In the afternoon we both play shuffleboard, on the theory that it is windy and we can pick up easy tickets. We are the only players, and get four tickets for winning, coming in second, and being insane enough to try to play a deck game in a wind storm at 8 degrees.

We went for our first afternoon tea in the Queen's Grill Lounge near our dining room. This is the only private tea venue on board. After a delightful tea and treats, we retreated to our suite, and John had a bathe and enjoyed our private Jacuzzi.

Pam writes: They even made me some wheat free scones one day at tea, now I must have them again. At tea, you come in and tell them what kind of tea you want. We mostly had earl grey and then they come around with sandwiches and sweets. You can ask for scones any day but we didn't actually know this and mine had to be made special anyway. Patrick asked if I would like them one day and of course the answer was yes.

We had a wonderful surprise when Thomas Stirling, our favourite ship's officer, telephone our suite. He was indeed on board, and we would see him soon.

One of our staff delivered canapes at 17:30 as we were dressing for a reception, We had both been invited to the captain's reception for Grill passengers. This was a great opportunity to get autographs. John brought along a colour image of the Bauwen painting of the two ships leaving New York, and was able to get it signed by every senior officer, and by Pamela Conover, the CEO of Cunard. It is a most wonderful memento.

Dinner in the Grill is appallingly slow. But at this fifth meal we do actually get to see our table- mates. We entered the dining room at 20:00, and managed to get out at 22:25, just in time for the late theatre stage show. My goodness, I am so disappointed with the dining room service. What is the point of charging first class prices, or of paying them, if the service is shoddy and inattentive? This may be the biggest waste of money of my entire life, provided you do not count graduate school. I should probably have bought Britannia class tickets instead of Grill. Service has been appalling. Water is a scarce item. Plates sit uncollected for long periods, so much so that food becomes crusty. Water glasses are NEVER refilled without a request. In fact, the ice totally melted in our glasses. Bread rolls are also a scarce commodity a second time round. Waiters bring or suggest wheat foods for Pam. I wonder if it is because we do not drink alcohol? It is so slow that we almost did not make it for the show. This has to be corrected, and I shall act in the morning.

The show this evening is Appassionata, which we had seen in March. It is the best show aboard, and we would not miss seeing even a repeat. It is great. Amazing dance performances astound us.

Now to bed, and the clocks move ahead one more hour. This makes our sleep a bit shorter than desirable. John does not sleep well.

27 April, Tuesday

We awoke early and looked out the plate glass window beside our bed to see the QE2 directly abreast on the starboard side. It is a wonderful sight. There is a great beauty to the massive and stately beast surging though the North Atlantic swells. The waves are breaking high up the black hull.

The tap dance instructor did not show up for the class, so John left after waiting thirty minutes. Pam and John played ring toss, a deck game held inside, and John won the game with 75 points. This gained more tickets for Pam's quest to collect as many tickets as possible. She was saving them to get a QM2 travel alarm clock and thermometre.

At 11:00, right after ring toss, John visited our deputy concierge to complain about the appalling service to which we were treated in Grill. Marie-Pierre went a bit white, and said it would be fixed. It was fixed by lunch, and from then on just about everything was nearly perfect. A good complaint about a real problem, done in the correct way, can change things in one's favour and for the better.

We immediately went off to crazy golf, a deck game, and lost so badly there were no tickets for either of us, so it was off to lunch.

The noon report indicates it is 6 degrees outside and 9 degrees in the sea, and that we are at 43 20N, 53 20W, and traveling at 29 knots. In the past 24 hours we have traveled 657 nautical miles at an average speed of 27.3 knots, for a total of 969 since leaving the pier. There are 2227 nautical miles to go to Southampton water. There is 3767m of water under the hull. Wind is 12 knots, force 3, and our course is 063 degrees.

The surprise guest lecturer aboard is Terry Waite, the former hostage negotiator for the Archbishop of Canterbury. John first met him in Blackheath station in June 1996 while on his way to defend his thesis. He gave a wonderful talk about hostage negotiation, and admitted that he was an "ostrich" (according to a four year old child) for five years.

QE2 pulled ahead and is now directly off the bow. This was done for photographic reasons. Speaking of photos, the on board photo shop gave John his pick of ten prints for his photo album which was pre-ordered but had not arrived in the suite. Cunard said they would send it along when it has arrived. There are even photos of QM2 and QE2 leaving New York pier two days ago. This is rather amazing, as we have not stopped, and film was not dropped on our decks. It must all go by email and be printed in the on board darkroom.

While QE2 is ahead, there are whales astern. Pam spotted at least six water spouts from whales off our stern, and John saw three of four spouts. Sadly, it was the only sea life we would see. Even shipping was rare: with only a couple of fishing boats and a few cargo vessels in sight. One of the cargo vessels took a photo of the QM2 and QE2 passing, and emailed it to the crew of the QE2. The crew of the fishing boats must have been surprised to see these two giants steam over the horizon and pass very close to their net area.

Our waiters, Simon, Tamryn, and Rosslyn, are getting ever so good. Raul, head of Queen's Grill, came to see us, and asked if everything had improved. All is well. We feel great.

Pam played wipe-out trivia and lost. It is now tea-time, and Queen's Grill Lounge has wheat-free treats for Pam. After wrestling with wheat-free deserts, Pam had a rest in the suite while John went to the bookshop and chatted with Terry Waite. He also bought postcards of the ship in addition to the endless supply of postcards in our suite.

The ship has rubber stamps saying "Posted aboard Queen Mary 2", and John has this stamped on a massive number of cards. Even our officer Thomas asked him to stamp a few cards. John got another ten cards stamped for Thomas. Even better, we later learned that anything posted on board was stamped with a special commemorative note as to the tandem crossing and the date.

Pam was feeling slightly ill, so John got her a package of motion sickness pills from the purser's office ($5). She immediately feels much better. There are swells, but no breaking crests on the waves. QM2 is pitching, with only slight roll.

This dinner is the best yet! Superb food and service combined into a perfect dining experience.

We went back to the suite instead of to the show, and discovered that our suite had been stripped. Everything was missing. There was a note on the bed from our butler, Jeffery, informing us that bad weather was expected, and that he had put away all breakables. We found the flowers in vases behind the chesterfield, and the champagne wedged between pillows in the cupboards.

I think the clocks moved ahead once again.

28 April, Wednesday

We both had a wonderful sleep. Pam said the ship was rocking, but John felt none of it. It is a beautiful morning, and the sun is shining upon us.

Together we went to play both deck quoits and shuffleboard, winning a grand total of seven tickets. Since Pam only needs nine tickets for her clock, she already has more than enough. But there is no such thing as enough.

Today we have breakfast with new people. Breakfast is not an assigned seating meal, and we are pleased with our new companions, Harry and Jean. Our most important task is to arrange with the head of the dining room to host Thomas, our guest. This is done, and we are most pleased.

The noon report indicates it is 12 degrees outside and 16 degrees in the sea, and that we are at 47 25N, 39 07W, and traveling a course of 072 degrees at 27.5 knots. In the past 24 hours we have traveled 649 nautical miles at an average speed of 27.0 knots; for a total of 1616 at an average speed of 27.1 since leaving the pier. There are 1520 nautical miles to go to Southampton water. There is 4389m of water under the hull. Wind is NW 10 knots.

After a very nice lunch we attend an Oxford university lecture on the history and structure of the periodic table.. There is a large series of classrooms aboard, and five profs are giving talks on a broad range of subjects. Talks are very well attended.

We almost had a nap, but had to rush off to high tea in the lounge. One simply cannot survive without an infusion of Earl Grey tea and cucumber sandwiches and the usual host of desserts. So sad. Very tough life. There are of course special wheat-free sandwiches for Pam.

It is a very sunny afternoon, and there are more than a hundred people in deck chairs trying to catch sun while wearing coats.

We met our officer, Thomas Stirling, outside the lounge of the Queen's Grill right on time at 19:00. Although we had arranged to all meet in the lounge, our table mates, Ken and Barbie Boynton (really their names!) Had gone directly into the dining room. So in we went. Officers, with the exception of the commodore, cannot eat in the Queen's Grill dining room. They must be invited by a grill passenger, and since no grill passenger gets to know an officer, none are ever invited. Thomas's problem was that the head of food and beverage, who is responsible for the dining room, refused to let him accept our invitation, He howled about it, and eventually was allowed to join us. Being a cook himself, he delighted in the two offered menus. There is a changing daily menu, and a fixed a la carte menu.

Pam writes: I think the rules about the Queen's Grill make sense. The only way the officers can get there is to be invited, I believe that includes the Captain. Most people never meet the officers because they are busy working, so of course they don't get invited to eat in the Queen's Grill. We met some nice people there. Okay, many of the people were real snobs but Jennifer and Ian were great.

We had a wonderful, long, relaxed dinner of several courses and many wonderful things. After it was off to the Chart Room for drinks and photographs. After that it was back to our suite for more drinks and chatting in a quieter atmosphere. All in all a great evening, and perhaps the best of the crossing.

The clocks moved ahead once more, and our night was not long enough.

29 April, Thursday

Today started perfectly with breakfast in bed. Jeffery brought in our cold and hot meals, laid out the table settings, and left us in peace and our bath robes. The salmon omelet was superb. In fact, all the smoked salmon each morning has been so fresh and wild tasting. It tastes too good to have been farmed salmon.

Now for the ultimate relaxation: we are off to the Canyon Ranch spa. Our goal is to relax in the thalasotherapy spa pool and ancillary spa places until lunch. There are great changing rooms with a myriad of facilities: a Finnish sauna, reflexology foot baths, aromatherapy sauna, steam room, ice scrub, Jacuzzi, and full body shower and mist chamber. In the Turkish style aromatherapy sauna, there is a choice of music styles. After the heat of the saunas, John frequently rubs himself with the grated ice which continually falls into a bowl. Pam feels that this is a sign of insanity, yet tries it herself. She now knows it is a sign of insanity.

We are now boneless. Our bones have melted away in the pleasure of the spa. We need wheelchairs to make it to lunch (not really).

The noon report indicates it is 10 degrees outside and 11 degrees in the sea, and that we are at 49 41N, 23 21W, and traveling a course of 084 degrees at 28.1 knots. In the past 24 hours we have traveled 641 nautical miles at an average speed of 26.7 knots; for a total of 2257 at an average speed of 27.1 since leaving the pier. There are 882 nautical miles to go to Southampton water. There is 4296m of water under the hull. Wind is N 14 knots.

Pam finally won a game of Wipe Out Trivia with 2000 points, getting 10 of twelve correct, and betting everything (and winning) on Michelangelo as the first name of the artist. I think this is a bit of a dark dealing, as we had heard these questions on our previous voyage. However, we still got two wrong, but added two more tickets to the stack growing inside our personal combination vault in the suite. There were also free drinks for the winning team.

t is high tea time again, and wheat-free goodies are on the platter just for Pam. Patrick, our maitre d', had promised wheat-free scones, and his staff delivered. It was the first time Pam had eaten scones, and these came with the required Devon clotted cream. The pianist, who in the evenings performs in the Commodore (CommoDorothy) Club, is playing happy birthday in various styles of classical, including as a dirge.

We walked twice around the promenade deck (#7). It is wet starboard amidships, but dry on portside. Even more strange is the fact that it is only windy in the enclosed bow portion of the prom deck walkaround.

This afternoon we met Michael Binkley, the Vancouver sculptor. He carved the marble shells in the spa, and was teaching soapstone carving classes. People were doing fantastic things in only a short time. Cunard had approaching him about doing a class, and I think it was such a success that it will be repeated. I mentioned it to the cruise director as a must-repeat activity.

Thomas came to visit us in our suite. The sweet man brought a present: an original maiden voyage copy of the John Maxtone-Graham book on the QM2. We are both most pleased and thank him ever so much. He also brought along a Cunard name tag he had made for Pam's grandmother, saying "Jeanne, Super Pax."

Thomas explained "shoogle" to us land types. It so happens that there is a design fault with the stabilizers on QM2. Specifically, the rear stabilizers do not so much stabilize the ship when deployed, as cause it to shake in a violent manner. It is as though the bow is moving in small circles on a horizontal plane. This take only minutes to develop after deployment, and is so extreme that the rear stabilizers are no longer deployed.

When this became apparent, Thomas emailed Rolls Royce engineers that they now had a shoogle, RR replied "how big a shoogle?", and it has now entered the lexicon as describing this specific motion. This shoogle is so powerful that it could do real damage, and if all four stabilizers are deployed at full speed, it would threaten to tear apart the ship. If only the rear are used, it is an unbearable shoogle. It forms a pivot point and the bow takes on the dreaded circular horizontal shoogle.

Our problem this afternoon and evening is that we are invited to too many parties. This is not a problem causing us any anxiety, however. We totally skipped the first cocktail party, and only glanced in on the second. The first was for past Cunard passengers, and we did not want to hear the almost inevitable sales pitch. The second was more interesting, and was hosted by Theo Fennel jewelers.

It was the final party which interested us. We had been nominated by a staff member to be invited to the senior staff reception. Thomas told us later that he had put our names on the list. People who are noticed by senior staff as interacting, fun, conversational, or have a duplex suite are invited to the party. Not all Grill passengers are invited. Many are fun Britannia passengers.

Dinner was a great affair this evening as it was the fortieth wedding anniversary our the people of the next table, Filipe and Olga. They are a talkative couple who's families left Cuba in 1960 and 1959 respectively. They now live in Miami, and have six children and 16 grandchildren. We think of their table as an extension of our table.

We both watch most of the Des O'Connor show from the back of the Royal Court Theatre, then went to the Queen's Room for the Royal Ascot Ball. We danced and were awful in the Gay Gordons. Then it was off to the G32 nightclub, where John apologized to Pamela Conover for pointing her out to Ian at a reception. Ian wanted to whinge at her about the service, but John did not know this. She forgave him. We chatted with Helga "Hurricane Helga" Reiss, the Queen's Room singer from Montreal.

The seas are rough, and the ship was shaking. Extra pillows were stuffed around Pam so that she would not fall our of bed. The clocks probably moved ahead this night for the last time.

30 April, Friday

Although it was a night of shaking, there were no big rolls or pitches.

John has to agree with the sentiment of Des O'Connor. He has always done it with Elizabeth, and now he is doing it with Mary. He thinks that Elizabeth knows. Every morning he looks outside, and there she is accusing him of being with Mary!

In a last ditch attempt to win more tickets, Pam convinces John to join her at the basketball court for a free-throw competition. There are four of us huddled on the open deck as a disbelieving sports director makes his way towards us in a force 5 or 6 wind. We each get a ticket for being insane enough to try this, and the winning score (not from us) is only two. Pam scored one.

The noon report indicates we are at 49 38N, 06 35W, and traveling a course of 097.5 degrees at 28.2 knots.

At 14:00 the RAF Nimrod anti-submarine jet roars overhead. We have just passed Land's End and can clearly see the English coast. We are just south of the Scilly Isles when the helicopters, Hawk training jet, and Nimrod arrive. The Nimrod did several passes: each one closer than the previous. QE2 has moved up very close, and is directly off our starboard stern. The Nimrod flies between us at funnel top level. We stood on the private deck reserved for Grill passengers and watched the Nimrod fly very very close. Bullion was served, and because of the wind and cold, I got a rug for Pam's shoulders. We packed much of our stuff, as it all had to be in the hallway for pickup by midnight.

This is the afternoon when Pam claimed her prizes based on the number of tickets won at the various competitions. Pam got a QM2 digital travel alarm clock which displays the time, date, calendar, and temperature. She also got a black Cunard/QM2 t-shirt, and John got a rosewood photo album with an embossed cover and 100 photo sleeves. As Pam had twenty-one tickets, and we only used 18, she gave away the rest to people who needed an extra to get a better item.

Pam writes: It was great to go play games with Jason and Kim, the activities directors. We had 21 vouchers by the end of the trip. Brent gave us info on how to get them in the Carribbean. He said that everyone thinks they are good at trivia but few people go for deck sports. I went and played quoits in a wind so strong it blew one of the quoits into the ring after it was fully stopped on the deck. John and I showed up for the first day of shuffleboard and played against each other in the cold. Later on other people showed up for the games when it was warmer. We got the "rosewood photo album", "the Queen Mary 2 alarm clock with thermometer", and "the I didn't get many vouchers T-shirt". I also gave away some vouchers to people we had played games with that hadn't won enough to get good prizes.

Pam paid off the remaining bill, which was just for the daily gratuities, in cash, and we would leave the ship with absolutely no debt at all.

After dinner John spoke with Pamela Conover, the Cunard CEO. Pamela had approached him after dinner and asked if the overall experience was good. They had a short exchange, and Pamela said she hoped we would both be back. John thanked her for the ship. Ray, her husband, said it was great to be on such an historic voyage.

But nothing is faultless. We found out that over night the spa pool flooded and sent water into passenger accommodations on decks five and six.

We are now moving rather slowly. Our great speed and calm seas on the crossing have placed us too far along. We are expected at the pilot boat station at 03:00 in the morning, and at the Southampton docks at 06:00 tomorrow morning.

01 May 2004, Saturday

Happy May Day.

The ships pulled into the Solent far too early for crowds to have gathered, or even for passengers to see the arrival.

John got up at 05:00 expecting to see us sail up the Solent, but discovered we were already nearing the QEII ocean liner terminal in Southampton. The QE2 had gone ahead and was already docked far along the water nearer the container terminal.

Southampton water was full of tour boats packed to the gills, and all kept away from our ship by a single police boat. There was not the overarching or menacing sense of police and paramilitary presence felt in New York. An old steam cargo vessel loaded with sightseers whistled at us after getting up a head of steam. The steam came pouring out of the whistle, and after about five second, the ?thweeee' grew in power, but never to the point of being a very serious sound.

It is our last meal in the Queen's Grill dining room, and we have a lovely breakfast. There is of course wheat-free toast for Pam and smoked salmon for John. We chatted with many passengers and staff. Crew were in a bit of a frenzy, as the ship would be emptied, cleaned, and reloaded with provisions, baggage and passengers for the return crossing in less than ten hours. Pam got more autographs in our passenger list booklet given to all passengers. Ian took a photo of John using his mobile telephone. Perhaps he will email it to us.

As Grill passengers can leave whenever they wish, we are off the ship by 09:00. There is no immigration, and customs is self-declaration. We simply pick up our bags in the Grill section and hop into a waiting cab for the start of our next journey to the rail station and the 500 year-old B&B in Sydling St. Nicholas, Dorset, south- west England.