Well, the big day has arrived. The neighbour has been asked to keep an eye on the OLND, water turned-off, fridge & freezer emptied and defrosted, bit of oil poured down the sink traps to stop the water evaporating, backpack with passport & paperwork collected, off I go.
You may recall that my heavy suitcase was couriered in advance and a quick check on the AirTag stuck inside it confirmed that it had already made its way to a warehouse close to Southampton docks, which was a relief.
A tube, a local train and an express train from Clapham Junction later, I had arrived at Southampton Central, a few minutes’ walk from my hotel. The staff were obviously well versed in dealing with departing or arriving cruise passengers (adjusting their prices accordingly) and booked me a taxi to the Mayflower Terminal the following morning due to a forecast of rain. Checking the arrivals and departures on the Port of Southampton website, the QM2 was scheduled to arrive at about 04h30 – an event that I wanted to capture on film (or SD card) – so it was to be an early night in advance of an early start the following morning, the ever-helpful hotel concierge having advised me of a good location from which to get a nice shot.
After breakfast, a further check of the AirTag showed that my case had now been moved into the terminal building. The embarkation process was remarkably fast and efficient. Minimal queueing, security hadn’t the slightest interest in anything inside my bag full of gadgets & cables and everyone was much more friendly and polite than those we’ve all experienced when transiting an airport. With “OK to board” now stamped onto my boarding card it was time to walk up the gangway to be greeted by a row of cheerful-looking crew members, mostly Filipino and Malaysian.
Rather than queueing for the lifts, I made my way up the stairs to deck 6 for a first look at my floating home for the next week, to find my suitcase already waiting for me outside the door. The “Stateroom” (Cunard don’t call them cabins) was pretty much as expected, not huge but plenty big enough with a king-sized bed, sofa, desk and a small coffee table. As a British-themed cruise line there was, of course, a kettle with a container full of Twinings tea bags, sugar & milk. The en-suite bathroom was a bit old-fashioned but functional – hopefully the mid-life refit scheduled for 2027 will modernise things. Outside through a glass door was a large balcony with a pair of very heavy recliners and a similarly sturdy table.
Here’s a 360° shot of the cabin taken before I’d had time to make a mess:
Just before 17h00 the captain announced that we would shortly be departing, so up to the observation deck I ran, camera in hand, to record the event which you can view here:
You get a good view of the bow thrusters in action and tug fans will notice that we got a bit of assistance from a Svitzer or two. I have fast-forwarded through the less interesting bits, but for those who don’t want to sit through the whole 15 minutes, the first set of honks are at the 7:40 mark and we pass P&O Ventura (which most agreed looks hideous in comparison) around 9:29. We certainly won the honking competition against the Isle of Wight ferry!
With lots of new things to explore and having spent too much time filming it was a bit late to arrange a meal in the main restaurant, so a quick snack in the King’s Court buffet was in order. It was nice food in a very relaxed self-service environment (although waiters were on-hand to take drinks orders) and, while not up to the standard of the “posher” restaurants on board, it was a good place to go for a quick bite to eat without any fuss or formality.
When I got back I did a quick test of the on-board internet package, purchased about a week previously for a not-inconsiderable sum, and was very pleased with the results. Web browsing, video streaming and VoIP calls all performed just as well as they do at home. Would it work so well once we were out in the open sea rather than sailing down the Solent? Only time would tell.
John, the cabin attendant had knocked on the door earlier to introduce himself and handed me a Daily Schedule for the following day along with a “Breakfast In Bed” room service card. It was included in the price and sounded like a good thing to try, so I ticked most of the boxes and hung it over the door handle before retiring to bed
The following morning, Day 1 proper, my breakfast arrived right on time. It was piping hot and tasted very nice, but there wasn’t nearly enough of it. Lesson learned and I shan’t be doing that again! Thankfully, the buffet was still open and it was possible to wander up there, pick up a fresh plate and gather enough of the same to satiate my appetite.
The Daily Schedule delivered the night before had two pages listing the numerous events taking place during the day, plus a weather/sea forecast and a note from the navigator explaining where we would be going and what would be underneath us. There was also a reminder that the clocks would be going back an hour at 02h00 the following morning, the first of five 25-hour days which would gradually get us onto New York time, avoiding the jetlag that occurs when flying long-haul. The first interesting-sounding “Cunard Insight” taking place in the combined Planetarium & Lecture theatre was by an American Professor talking about the history of Manhattan. No pre-booking required for that one – it was just a case of turn up, sit down and enjoy. She was very knowledgeable, interesting and entertaining. I shall be looking out for more of her lectures later in the week
Every day, all day and for most of the evening there were multiple events taking place on board the ship, ranging from piano recitals in the Commodore’s Club to line dancing lessons in the Carinthia Lounge, darts competitions in the Golden Lion Pub and various outdoor sports on the upper decks when the weather permitted. There was certainly no shortage of entertainment to suit every taste and age group.
That evening was the first of two formal nights during the voyage where smart attire is required to eat in the main restaurants. As those who have met me will attest, that is most definitely not my cup of tea and any spare space in my suitcase had been filled with fleeces, waterproofs and hiking boots rather than wasted on a whistle & Peckham, which would not be of any use on my extended onward travels. Not a problem, though, as there were numerous other venues where one could dine without getting dressed up. My choice was the Golden Lion which served perfectly good food, similar to that which you could buy in any quality pub on dry land. Complemented with three of Cunard’s own Red, Black & Gold beers and a good chat with a couple of chaps from Merseyside it made for a very pleasant evening.
And so the week rolled on. Early mornings were spent doing a few laps of the Promenade Deck (about 3 laps to a mile, although my exercise tracker got very confused since the platform I was walking on was itself moving at 20 knots) followed by breakfast, usually in the main dining room, a bit of GP-browsing and YouTube-watching during the day followed by lunch at whichever venue took my fancy and a film, documentary, lecture or show in the afternoon. To answer my own question from earlier, yes, the internet worked perfectly while out at sea.
During my exploration I discovered it is not just humans that can cross the Atlantic in style. Canine and Feline companions can travel as well, with kennels on the top deck and facilities for both British and American dogs to feel at home while relieving themselves.
The Queen Mary has two large entertainment spaces with tiered seating, Illuminations and the Royal Court Theatre. The former of these is particularly impressive and apparently unique on a cruise ship as it boasts not only a 3D projector but also a planetarium, projecting onto the domed roof. I watched a few 3D documentaries in there and a couple of planetarium shows. The nature films were invariably spoiled at the end by the usual global warming / climate catastrophe propaganda but, encouragingly, I was not the only member of the audience tutting and “FFS”-ing at this.
By Saturday we were approximately mid-Atlantic and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The TV had a channel showing the current position & speed of the ship, along with a report of the current weather and sea state. It was showing a Force 9 gale and “very rough” seas, although moving around the public areas inside it was difficult to sense any movement other than a slight roll from side-to-side. There was no danger of falling over and I didn’t see anyone turning green, it just looked & felt like everyone had consumed a few too many glasses of wine as they zig-zagged along the passageways
The outside deck spaces had been briefly closed while the crew lashed down anything that was likely to slide around, but we were permitted outside shortly afterwards and the hardier among us donned our waterproofs and continued our daily laps. There was definitely a roller coaster sensation at the fore & aft extremities, which highlighted one of the differences between the QM2 and other cruise ships – the main restaurants and public spaces are all concentrated low down in the hull and towards midships, greatly reducing the sense of motion for those occupying them.
Overnight the winds had subsided and we found ourselves in calmer and quite warm weather. Over lunch, one of my dining companions said that the previous day’s weather was the worst he had experienced in all nine of his return voyages. As a result, we had apparently taken a slightly more northerly course than usual so didn’t pass over the site of the Titanic disaster, but the Captain announced when we were at the closest point to it.
By late evening we had a “Land Ho!” moment as the Cape Race lighthouse in Newfoundland came into view in the distance. For the remainder of the trip, still with two days at sea, there were occasional sightings of other vessels as they headed towards the busy ports along the St. Lawrence and the north-eastern US, the density increasing the closer we got to land.
The final Daily Schedule delivered on the Tuesday night detailed the disembarkation process and told us what time (very early) we would need to be up on deck to watch our arrival under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge linking Staten Island to Brooklyn. Another early night was called-for to secure my place on the observation deck the following morning.
And here’s what it looked like:
The disembarkation process was far less efficient than the embarkation a week before, mostly due to US immigration not having enough officers on duty in Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. On the plus side, it was a lovely day, the sun loungers were out on the decks and the disembarkation was managed in groups so I was able to stay on the Promenade Deck watching the world go by as the sun came up over the Manhattan skyline, until my group (Yellow 2) was called.
As many of you seasoned travellers will know, Brooklyn is on the opposite side of the river to Manhattan, but there is a short NYC ferry service from there to Pier 11/Wall Street which is free-of-charge for arriving cruise passengers. It seemed like a fitting way of ending the voyage and reduced the time that I’d have to spend sitting in a taxi to my hotel.
What would I be doing in New York and where would I be going next? Tune in next week!
© text & images Snotsicle 2025
