Sunday 11th Oct 2015
We crawled back to the apartment at gone 1.00am having imbibed several G&T's at the production company's expense and were treated to the cacophony of Times Square on a Saturday night. New York is not the place for quiet!
Our home in New York
Today is the big day when we transfer from Midtown to the Queen Mary 2 in Brooklyn, a journey which took us over the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge from which we achieved a first view of the ship which will carry us home to England. The sight from the bridge cried out for a photo but this was hampered by the speed of the taxi and the metalwork of the structure. I resorted to simply lining up the shot and taking lots of images till I got one clear view!
QM2 from the Brooklyn Bridge
Embarkation was quick and easy and within about 40 mins we found ourselves entering the central stairway on one of the world's most impressive liners. She may be 10 years old but QM2 is one stylish lady, carrying over 2,400 passengers and 1,200 crew is sumptuous style. Well, maybe the crew don't get the full style treatment but from a guest perspective its attentive service all the way with nothing being too much trouble.
Our home for the next week
Our balcony state room mid ships on deck 11 and a half bottle of champagne awaited our arrival which was soon quaffed and followed by a buffet in the Kings Court.
It's important to appreciate that this isn't really a cruise. This is a trans Atlantic crossing and is used by many who have the time (and money) to undertake the passage in the style of years gone bye. There is something very timeless about an ocean crossing, leisurely movement across a vast ocean at a very human pace.
New York Harbour at dusk
As we will be out of sight of land for the next six days it seemed important to witness our departure from New York Harbour from the observation deck, just in from of the huge red funnel. The problem were the missing passengers who became stranded on a broken down tour bus which delayed our departure for over an hour. But this had an upside in that the Statue of Liberty was illuminated as we passed by and there was a great view of Manhattan just after sunset. I did see us pass under the suspension bridge, but only in the darkness from our balcony as we prepared for our 8.30 pm dinner.
And so we end our first day aboard with six more stretching out ahead. Cunard put on lots of entertainment but I am not sure how much we will engage with but there is a fine library and I can see me devouring several books in the next few days.
The sun sets on our New York experience
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