It is strange how our perceptions change over time. I well remember my first ever sighting of QM2. It was 2004, not that long after her launch. I was on P&O Cruises' Aurora and we had just arrived at Corner Brook, Newfoundland. As we arrived we were told that QM2 was still in our berth and we would therefore have to land passengers on excursions, me among them, by tender at the yacht club marina while Aurora waited to go alongside.
As we drove through the beautiful countryside in its autumn reds and burnt oranges, I caught my first glimpse of this new liner - and I have to say I thought her hideous, especially compared with the traditional lines of Aurora.
So - to come back to my earlier statement on how our perceptions change over time. For a start, on that first sighting, I never expected to ever sail on her. That came in 2009 - a transatlantic crossing and back with a short Independence Day cruise to Boston and Halifax in between. And that was when I fell in love with this beautiful ship. I love the vast expanse of teak-surfaced decks, the elegant interiors, stunning Grand Lobby and huge Queen's Room. I love the fact that you can get away from everyone and sit and watch the ocean or join friends in the bars and lounges. Further adventures on her followed, the last being a short Christmas Market's cruise to Le Havre and Zeebrugge last December.
But if I have to single out one abiding memory of this great ship it has to be one wet morning in Rotterdam, when I sat and chatted with Commodore Warner about the book I was co-writing about Artemis (ex. Royal Princess). We sat in a corner of the bridge of the world's newest transatlantic liner, with a view of the 1959 Holland America Line liner, SS Rotterdam ahead of us. Total magic!
Happy Birthday Queen Mary 2
No comments:
Post a Comment