In less than a week I will be comfortably on Queen Mary. No, not Queen Mary 2, she comes later, but the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, CA. I couldn’t think of a more fitting place to stay for my layover in Los Angeles before I catch my plane to Dubai, and embark on my favorite ocean liner.

I can’t wait to be on a Cunard ship again. My love for Cunard started with a transatlantic crossing on Queen Mary’s sister ship, the Queen Elizabeth, in 1962. My parents and I had spent the year traveling around the world on planes, trains, buses, and cruise ships. The previous 3 months had been spent traversing the US on a $90 for 90 days Greyhound bus ticket, where we would decide where to go next based on the song we heard on the radio when we woke up in the morning. We were running out of money, and frequently took overnight buses so we would have somewhere to spend the night. We dragged along 2 suitcases, a small one filled with everything we needed for the year, and a large one containing the designer gowns my mother had borrowed from a friend.

Finally we arrived in New York, and spent the last of our money on buying me 5 exquisite party dresses from the stores on 5th Avenue.  There was no money for a taxi, so we dragged the suitcases from our seedy hotel to the dock in Manhattan, where we finally boarded the magnificent Queen Elizabeth.

We were berthed next to the SS France.  The longest and the largest ocean liners in the world side by side.  I was entranced.

Every night was a formal night, and I have such wonderful memories of watching our steward and stewardess help Dad and Mum get all dressed up for dinner. Mum got to wear those designer dresses, and looked like the epitome of a beautiful model. Dad looked very dashing in his dinner jacket. I thought they were the best looking people in the whole world. I got to get dressed up too, and felt that even a fairy tale princess could not be having more fun.

Those 5 days convinced me that this was the only way to travel. No more Greyhound buses for me. It was magical. I imagined that I was destined for an elegant life on the ocean wave. It was not to be. We arrived in Southampton, and as if it was midnight and the fairy tale ended, l was all of a sudden sitting in front of a coal fire in an aunt’s house in cold, damp, wintry Scotland. However, I knew that someday I would have to do this once more.

I never got to sail on Queen Elizabeth again, and now sadly she lies somewhere underwater in Hong Kong harbor. However, traveling on the Cunard Queens is the next best thing as far as I am concerned – so I am starting with Queen Mary! Yay!

So it’s time to pack and get ready to set off on another voyage of discovery. I am sooooo excited!