OK, so let’s see if this works better as a featured image.
Another wonderful day making our way across the Atlantic Ocean in style. Captain Hashmi said that there were storms in the area, but we are trying to outrun them. I love that we can do that, but I would love it even more if we were in a really good storm. I love to feel what this liner can do when the weather shows us its worse.
I had some more thoughts on what is different
Around the ship
Yay! They have not had any of those sales of junk outside of the shops on deck 3. I suppose they don’t want people to be poring through the merchandise. I always thought that the sales detracted from the beauty of the deck 3 lobby area. Hopefully they will not return.
The librarians seem to have gone the way of the internet help staff. The shop employees are helping out. I was trying to track down the Cruise Critic Logbook, which many of us have added to over the years, but the assistant didn’t have a clue what I was talking about and did a very superficial search of the area around his chair, and declared it missing. I declared this unsatisfactory, but of course I was not allowed to do a thorough search of the area – COVID you know.
No more self-serve beverages in Connexions or the Kings Court. Waiters will supply you with fluids in the Kings Court on request, but there is no one in Connexions.
No games or jigsaw puzzles on the tables on Deck 2, but you can check games and cards out of the library if you promise to return them on time. There are crossword puzzles in the library, but no quizzes, and no magazines in the library.
Emergency Drill
I have vivid memories of the lifeboat drill the first time I sailed out of New York. It was in 1962 and we were on the Queen Elizabeth headed to Southampton towards the end of our round the world trip. It was a cold rainy October afternoon, and my parents and I were freezing standing there in our bulky life jackets on the boat deck on the port side of the liner. My mother pointed out that we had to do the lifeboat drill so soon after leaving port in case we went the way of the Andrea Doria. Very reassuring. The officer in charge of our group was going on and on about what we needed to do if the ship was sinking. Suddenly we noticed that Dad wasn’t with us anymore. The officer noticed as well and made all of us continue to stand in the rain while he went in search of him. Dad, who always had a habit of not listening to those around him and wandering off, had gone over to the other side of the ship so he could see the Statue of Liberty. This got him into a lot of trouble, and he never wandered off from lifeboat drill again.
Luckily, we no longer have to stand out in the rain on the boat deck, and I don’t think it is called a lifeboat drill anymore. However, once on board, before we sailed, we used to have to carry our life vests to our muster station, hear the safety briefing, wait until the briefing was over to learn how to put the life vest on. Bet on how many people were going to put their life vests on before instructed to do so. Watch everyone taking selfies wearing their life vests. Trip over someone’s straps to their life vest as they were letting them trail on the floor, and finally retreat to the safety of our stateroom to finish off the Pol Acker.
Fast forward to May 2022. Now all you have to do is watch a short safety video in the comfort of your stateroom (this can be done drinking Pol Acker) and then go to your muster station where they check your key card, and you are done. This is way better, and although some may miss the spectacle of the previous drills, this is definitely a keeper as far as I am concerned.
Hosted Tables
Well, our invitation to the captain’s table on a gala night still has not arrived. Could this be because they do not have any hosted tables anymore? That seems to be the logical reason rather than the fact that we have not been deemed suitable yet again.
Homer Simpson
We always like to say hi to him after leaving the Golden Lion, but we could not find him today. Horrors! Was he another casualty of COVID? While we were searching the nearby friezes in case he had moved to another continent, a couple came by and pointed out that with everyone touching him over the years, he was gradually fading into the background. And sure enough, there he was. Much less visible, but still there. Phew!
So, life goes on onboard Queen Mary 2. She is still so grand and so beautiful. COVID has impacted everyone’s experience on board, but it does not detract from the sheer joy of just being on this grand lady surrounded by the deep Atlantic Ocean. Crossings are great, but too short.
Hi Lesley
My son and his new wife have been on board since Southampton. They’re in Club. Room 12014.
Say hello if you see them. Graham has ginger hair and Mary is smaller.
Enjoying the blog. Thanks.
Hope you enjoy the last couple of days.
Stewart
I will look out for them! I hope they are having as good a time as we are 🙂
Thanks for your usual excellent narrative. Your information will be so useful when we board on Sunday. Do you know if they are doing art classes, fencing or dance classes? Was there a CC meet and great? Thanks
Yes the art classes and dance classes are going on as usual. No fencing. We didn’t have a CC meet and greet. I imagine folks wanted to stay socially distant or something. Social distancing is hard for me, but I am doing my best 🙂 Have a wonderful time on your crossing. I have failed miserably at locating the CC log book, maybe you will have better luck, but I fear it may have been discarded.
I will do my best to locate the CC Log Book
Jack
Looking forward for the next post!
How is the weather?
Thanks! We seem to be stuck in a fog bank – No visibility outside the window, but I do love the sound of the fog horn, so all is well!
Is the temperature okay for the pool or too cold?
The outdoor pools are closed, but the Pavilion pool was open. The water temperature was fine, I like it a bit warmer, but everyone else was happy. The Pavilion and outdoor hot tubs were open, and quite warm enough!
Hi Lesley –
Love your blog! We sailed on QM2 TA in December 2021, and they had the frustrating practice of sanitizing table int eh Commodore Club between guests and then waiting a mandatory 15 min or so before allowing the next people to sit there. Is that still going on? We are due to sail again (hooray!) in 3 week’s time. Happy landings tomorrow in SOU!
Access to the Commodore Club was much easier thank goodness. They would wipe down the tables in between guests, but you could sit down right away. Bon voyage for your trip. Restrictions are being lifted all the time, so we will see if this has any effect on COVID infections on board. We have tested negative twice since disembarking, yay! Have a wonderful time on board 🙂
Is there anything you have encountered so far that would cause you to reconsider doing a World Cruise in 2023?
No, we are booked on the Queen Mary 2 world voyage and are still planning on going, but bearing in mind it may have its restrictions. I had thought of switching to 2024 instead, but that’s a long way away, and who know what might happen health wise in that time, so we are sticking to 2023. One thing I must admit I did is I upgraded our stateroom. We were booked in a sheltered balcony stateroom as we are very rarely in the room during thee day, but I thought that if we were still going to be isolating from the crowds, and going to be spending a lot of time in the stateroom, a glass fronted balcony would be preferable.
I’m enjoying your posts–getting a feel for what life is like onboard–and I appreciate the humorous touches. I’m scheduled for 2 segments of the 2023 wv–Sydney to Southampton–and am prepared for necessary changes but hopeful it all with happen. I was scheduled for the full 2022 wv but of course that didn’t happen. I was following your blog on the 2020 interrupted adventure. Hope to meet you in 2023!
We disembarked today, and for those embarking on Queen Mary 2 today some of the restrictions have been lifted, such as the wearing of masks. I really hope that by the time we board QM2 for the 2023 WV things will be closer to normal. The restrictions were not too bad under present circumstances – and I would rather have been on board with the restrictions than not on board at all! The good news is that our COVID tests we had to do before boarding the Hebridean Princess on Tuesday are negative. Yay! Hope to see you on board for the 2023 WV 🙂