Happy Anniversary!

Last night we celebrated our 14th Anniversary even though it is officially the 12th of August. They let you pick what day to celebrate if it falls within 60 days of your voyage. They announced it on the QM2 TV station, gave us a card, and sang to us when they presented us with a special dessert for dinner. Today we went to the second lecture by
John Maxtone-Graham about his book “Titanic Survivor”. He told gripping stories from people he knew that were Titanic survivors and details about Titanic’s fateful night.
This presentation has been a highlight for Ed, so we met the author, purchased the book and got it autographed. Our next lecture was by International Royal Journalist Nicholas Owen who told us a lot of behind the scene gossip about the monarchy and royal family. Our afternoon talk was by Broadway/West End Producer Steven Rivellino who told. behind the scenes stories about plays and musicals. I don’t think I want to walk the decks tonight with Ed – I don’t want to end up in a segment on Dateline NBC. Today is an art auction with paintings by Peter Max, Picasso, Dali, Chagall, and Erte to name a few. Maybe I will get a bargain! The weather has been great, and the food venues are amazing. We have been eating very responsibly! Tonight – eating & reading. I will probably Blog again Monday.

QM2 – History & Lectures

Friday we spent time exploring the ship and food and entertainment venues. I signed up for the internet to BLOG, but it is a dollar a minute. I am finding it impossible to check my e-mail because it keeps kicking me off the site. I probably won’t be able check e-mail until I reach the UK. In case of emergency – family members can reach me at my AOL e-mail. We went to a lecture on Archaeoastronomy with Charles Barklay about cultural beliefs and their relations with astronomy. Our second lecture was an amazing lecture about the history of luxury liners including the Titanic by maritime historian and author John Maxtone-Graham. During the lecture Ed leaned over to me and stated he had a copy of this book (“The Only way to Cross”) at home. (Surprise!) It was clear Ed hadn’t read the pre-cruise literature about who was going to be our guest lecturers.
We went to a show with a tribute to “Sting” music and a performance by famous soprano
Isobel Cooper – AKA “Izzy”. We enjoyed talking to her after the performance – Notice Ed’s favorite picture of the trip so far! He claims his breakfast buddies will hold him in high esteem when they see this! The evening ended with the “Black and White Ball” in the Queen’s ballroom.

Queen Mary 2 Embarkation

The drive to New York was dreadful with many traffic jams and road construction.
After a 4 ½ hour drive we arrived at the port, and it was easy to park directly next to the customs check in. Security screening only took us 10 minutes and we were walking on board with someone greeting us at every corner! There are 2 ½ staff members for each guest on board. There are 2,591 travelers on board – 719 from US – 827 from UK – 726 from Germany – and the rest from all over the world.. There are a number of families and MANY older people on the boat. For the first time in many years – I feel young! Our room in steerage turned out to be lovely, with a bottle of Champagne awaiting us. It looks like Ed has already set the tone for the trip – he only brought one piece of luggage and hung his clothes up in the larger closet. We had our first emergency drill and they explained to us how to put on our life preserver and step off the boat. I feel safer knowing there is a pen light and whistle on the life preserver! We are seated at dinner with the same two couples from Long Island for the entire trip. We are really enjoying their company - they are retired educators from NYC and very entertaining. They also shared their wine.