I promised you a trip report on my recent short voyage on the Queen Mary 2 (QM2 for the sake of convenience), and with a champagne bottle cracked over the side of my laptop, I'm ready to launch....
What a magnificent lady, this sea-faring QM2! I drove to a cruise terminal in Brooklyn early on a Thursday morning and saw this gorgeous creature lingering in the harbor.... Out past her bow and a confluence of ropes holding her to shore, was the Statue of Liberty, appearing to wave her torch as a welcome to this wandering soul.
I have never been on such a ship before.... In my explorations I discovered her library that rivalled my own Lower Providence Library; a theater with a stage that elevated, turned, and allowed for pyrotechnic and laser effects during nightly shows; a complete planetarium; a mini shopping mall; a pampering spa; pools indoors, outdoors, on top and down below; basketball court; golf simulator; kennels; hot tubs; 10 restaurants ; jazz clubs, pubs, discos and everything in between.
And F-O-O-D.
Good lord, there was enough food on that vessel to feed a small nation. Deck 7 was a perpetual buffet: Asian, Italian, British and American stations offered all manner of fare from morning until... well, I'm not really sure when. But I can tell you I was there having a little repast one morning at 3 a.m.
I have only brushed the surface of amenities on board. I am saving the best for last... In runner-up position: The Queen's Room. It is a veritable ballroom with what is touted to be the largest dance floor afloat on the seven seas. This is where unaccompanied women (such as I was) were entreated to dance by a cadre of willing, fleet-footed "gentleman dance hosts." Now that's just wrong in my book!! Oh, I suppose that some women were happy to feel an arm slip around their waists as a temperamental tango began.... But somehow I think the whole point of dancing is to make a human connection through rhythm and feelings and intensity of the moment. The dance hosts weren't quite my idea of "Love Boat" material....
The real enchantment in the Queen's Room came in late afternoon when her tables were layered with fresh white linens, and an army 0f waiters in trim white cutaways ceremoniously "waltzed" about the room with porcelain pots full of delicious English tea. Then came the dainty sandwiches (ah yes, cucumber of course... among others..), then scones with clotted cream and lemon curd, and a multiplicity of pastries. All of this was choreographed to the music of a live string quartet. The best of civilization in the light of day!
And in the final spot reserved for the Queen's crown: Wooden decks lined with wooden deck chairs, all equipped with tartan plaid woolen blankets. Just the place to get cozy against the wind, to cast your eyes to the unpolluted skies and to count the gazillions of stars to make wishes upon... to contemplate the vastness of the sea and the shorelines it caresses. And just the place to realize that dreams, however unreasonable or unlikely they may seem, really can come true....
Oh, yes, there were stops along the way. Halifax -- charming, Boston --- fascinating. But in the end, the most memorable moment was found in simply meeting The Queen. I bow before her utter majesty....