A Quick Crossing of the Atlantic

Off again. We are headed to England but not flying and certainly not crossing in a small sailboat!

One would think from our past history and from the title of this post that we would be onboard some hi-tech fast sailing trimaran for a crossing over to England. But no, we have taken the easy route onboard the Queen Mary 2!

It’s an amazing ship. Unlike other cruise ships, which this isn’t, the Queen Mary 2 is made specifically for the Atlantic crossing. I think this is the last of the regualr scheduled trans oceanic ships left in the world. She makes the trip from New York to Southampton to Hamburg. She’s specifically purpose build and is a wonder to behold.

As a child I have done numerous trans atlantic voyages but never in such style. In the past cabins with bunk beds were de rigeur but todays staterooms have their own private bathrooms, televisions, climate control, bathrobes and all supported, in our case, by John our steward.

It’s a 7 day voyage from NY to Southampton and is accompanied by lectures by university professors, musical entertainment by accomplished musicians, marathon bridge games, shuffleboard and pickleball!! Yes, pickleball – as I write Connie is out there having collected a bevy of beginners and she’s going through the steps on scoring and how to play!

No complaints – we’re luxuriating in the attention to detail and will have a hard time switching over to life in an RV cruisng through the English/Scottish countryside.

The weather is another matter – 8C air temperature and 5C water temperature accompanied by dense fog makes for quick dashes from the warmth of the ship’s interior and out into the swimming pool and hot tub on the aft deck. That’s OK though as the water in the pool and hot tubs is much warmer and way less salty than the ocean!

We’re soon to pass by the location of the Titanic but we haven’t seen any icebergs at this point. Perhpas they just float by only at night; I’m not sure.