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Mo Green
 United Kingdom
1225 Posts
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Status: offline |  Posted - 10 Oct 2004 : 11:38:37  
| I was woken at 5.30 am by the sound of a ship’s siren which I later discovered was the QE2 arriving - needless to say I did not get much sleep after that. We had been allocated a boarding time of 2pm but the concierge on duty the previous evening had suggested we leave at least one and a half hours for the short journey to the terminal. About 4,000 people were due to board the QE2 and QM2 that afternoon and they all had to use the same approach road.
Not quite knowing when we would get our next meal we opted for a late leisurely breakfast and returned to our room to finish packing. There was a great deal of TV coverage that morning as this was the first time two ‘Queens’ had visited New York for 60 years and they were predicting that thousands would come out to watch the ships sail.
We left the Roosevelt Hotel at 12.30pm only to arrive at the boarding terminal twenty minutes later! There were hundreds of police and security people around – until we got to New York I had not thought about the two ships being a ‘soft’ target but once we stepped out of the taxi I did not have time to worry about it.
As a band played, our luggage was whisked away and we passed through the various boarding stages similar to when boarding a plane. There was a real party atmosphere amongst the passengers so I was surprised to find it was 2.30 before we actually boarded – up to that time we had only had a brief glimpse of the QE2 through a window!
A small army of staff were waiting to escort passengers to their cabins. We had been lucky enough to be up-graded from an inside to an outside cabin. The cabin was more spacious than I imagined, ensuite of course, two wardrobes and plenty of storage space under the beds for our suitcases. As ‘first- timers’ we found champagne, flowers, chocolates and a certificate to say we had sailed on the QE2 waiting for us.
As our luggage had not arrived we set off to find afternoon tea armed with a map of the QE2. With 6 or 7 flights of stairs/lifts which did not all go to every deck it was a few days before we ventured out without our map! This was quickly followed by boat drill where we all had to assemble wearing our life-jackets. Very soon it was time to go up on deck to watch the departure of QM2 followed by QE2. It was a little disconcerting that half of our luggage was still missing.
On deck we found an unforgettable sight. Kept at a distance by the police boats were all the water taxis, tour boats, fire-boats, tugs while overhead several helicopters circled around. As dusk fell the QM2 was ablaze with lights as were all the buildings on Manhattan Island and New Jersey. Thousands of people were lining the harbor both on Manhattan and New Jersey side.
View of New York from the decks of the QE2
At 7.30 there were huge cheers as both liners and all the boats in the harbor sounded their sirens. Slowly QM2 reversed out of the dock – the start of her maiden voyage across the Atlantic – to the cheers of the QE2 passengers and the waiting crowds and of course coloured water from the fire boats.
QM2 leaving New York
Fifteen minutes later it was our turn. Music blared out the QE2 slowly edged out and followed the QM2. Both ships stopped near the Statue of Liberty then suddenly a fantastic firework display started accompanied by music such as New York, New York.
Slowly the QE2 passed the QM2, to the cheers of both passengers, as she prepared to lead her younger sister across the Atlantic. We had waited so long for this day and the departure had far exceeded our expectations – definitely one of those moments in life when you wish you could press rewind and experience it all again.It was very cold out on the water but, determined not to miss anything, we stayed up on deck until the QE2 slipped under the Verrazano Bridge which we had crossed over at the start of our trip. We knew we were missing our allocated dining time but decided we could eat any day and there was always the midnight buffet.
Shivering from cold and excitement we returned to our cabin where we were pleased to see our luggage had finally arrived. We quickly changed into something slightly smarter and decided to see if we could join the people on our set table for coffee. From the card left in our cabin we discovered we were on a table for 10. Breakfast and lunch could be taken anywhere but dinner was to be with the same people every night. Only four people had shown up on our table but they were all very nice.
As we had barely eaten since breakfast we felt justified in going to the midnight buffet before returning to our cabin. Underneath our cabin door we found the programme for the next day. Before leaving home people had asked us if we would get bored taking a week to cross the Atlantic. Having had a particularly hectic time before we left England, the idea of being on deck in a steamer chair with a good book and someone to bring me drinks whenever I needed them followed by excellent food each evening seemed like heaven. After reading the programme, our first thoughts were how can we fit it all in?.
As the ship was going east we had to loose an hour each night for the next five nights. I lay in my bed suddenly aware of the ‘creaking’ of the ship but, with the gentle movement of the ship we were both quickly asleep.
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New York-Florida-QE2 Day 25
