Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 00:13:59 EDT
From: Jilyons@aol.com
Subject: [Liners] A week on QE2

This came out longer than I meant it to be, but that seems to happen frequently. Oh well. By now, everyone should feel like they were on the QE2 trip, having read so many descriptions!

QE2 Trip- July 03-10, 1999

A truly great cruise is a mysterious and often unattainable combination of a magnificent ship, fantastic food and service and wonderful friends, both new and old. No ship, by itself, can provide a truly great cruise, but some ships have a special ability to foster new friendships and re-acquaint old friends. It is without any doubt or hyperbole that I can call the recent maritime
enthusiasts cruise onboard Queen Elizabeth 2 a truly great cruise. For this one week, all elements were in place and we lived in splendid isolation from the real world, utterly content and relaxed far out to sea.

The ship itself did not disappoint. Her interiors are thankfully restrained and dignified- there is no need to create a faux culture or for garish rooms. From her solid decks, her massive size and her sense of history, QE2 strikes me as being simply genuine- there is tradition and history and its all the subtle cornerstone of the entire experience.

I was in an M5 all the way down on 5 deck. Despite complaints from others, which I'm sure were well founded, I had no problems with the air-conditioning in my cabin at all. In fact, with a new bathroom, the cabin was well maintained, clean and perfectly adequate, despite its small size.  Again, I have nothing but good things to say about our cabin steward, whom we hardly every saw (and that's a compliment) and who always managed to somehow bring order to our cabin, despite mountains of cocktail party invitations and ship books strewn throughout.

Mauretania dining was also very pleasant, with food ranging from good to excellent. Our waiter, whom we initially found to be slightly cold, grew on us and by the end of the week I was very impressed with the service provided for us in Mauretania. They went out of their way to accommodate special requests or rectify any problems or complaints. They were eager to please and
they did a fabulous job. While service I'm sure is better in Caronia and the Grills, I was extremely pleased with my dining experience and can't say enough good things about it- especially for only $530 for a week.

It did not take long to succumb to shipboard life, where one quickly forgets what day it is and life onboard settles into a comfortable and familiar rhythm. In fact, I was enjoying myself so much that ports became simply a nasty distraction that disrupted our happy oceangoing community. Apart from 4 hours at the beach in Bermuda and 6 hours Scuba diving in Nassau, I stayed on the ship- when you are on the QE2, why get off? This trip also convinced me more and more how little desire I have to go on a typical 7 day Caribbean cruise, no matter what ship it is. The appeal of cruising for me lies in the ship and the shipboard ambiance- the talking with friends, the time spent on deck watching the waves dancing and playing on the ocean, the lovely ritual
of tea. Ports take away what I most like about cruising- that is, being on the ship and away from everything else!

I have always felt that shipboard communities are a bit perplexing and bit of a paradox- at times, life at sea can be intensely personal, such as standing at the rail by yourself watching the sunset. Other times, it is extremely communal, as 1,800 passengers live and dine on this tiny island in the ocean - it is a very open and friendly community from the start. We were lucky enough
to have onboard this trip one of the best communities gone to sea that one could hope for. As Alan has already pointed out, we had a tremendous collection of the "legends" as well as many other "not quite legends". This trip you had to be careful what fact spouted from your mouth, as there was always someone around the corner that knew more than you did and would be ever so willing to correct you.

Of course, its always great to sail with old friends, including Alan Zamchick (always a good source of fun and a laugh), and daughter Alexis, and Hans and Karen Segboer (wonderful companions for a post dinner talk in the Chart Room, with whom I look forward to December). David Sykes and Doug Frielander are always great to talk to, and they are always pleasant and always seem happy, and I truly enjoyed getting the chance to sail again with Bruce Vancil along with his wife and niece. I met Paul Edwards for the first time onboard, and along with wife Diane, they were perfect shipmates- intelligent, kind, well versed in many areas and simply fun to talk to. (Truly, the people listed above are really special and made for excellent conversation- both ship talk and non ship talk. We have quite a group on Liners and I'm amazed every day at how many generous and fun people I've met on line all around the globe.

The list above is only a partial list of the 100 plus people I know onboard- I apologize for any omissions!)    Also onboard were a group of three young women, with whom Alan, Howard W., Paul T and I spent a large majority of our time onboard. While
not liner fans beforehand, they came to appreciate what makes QE2 unique and all three had a marvelous time. Every night we gathered in the Yacht Club around 11PM and we wouldn't leave until 330 AM at the earliest. With our friendly relationship with QE2's stellar "DJ Ian" to the waiters and the waitresses in the room, we had found a late night home- I still don't know how those nights passed so quickly. From a relatively small faction the first night out, the Yacht Club groupies expanded into an impressive group that stretched halfway across the room on the last night out. Only on a ship could all of us have met so easily and become such close friends so quickly. Their presence onboard did much to make this one of the best trips I've ever taken and I would love to sail with the same group again.

Because of my late night antics in the Yacht Club, the trip was very different from most of my cruises, in that I am normally in bed by midnight at the latest. On other ships I always awake relatively early in the morning and am always on deck for a port arrival. I am not a 'nightclub' type of person and usually avoid them at all costs. However, on this trip I never was awake for coming into port and missed all but three of the scheduled activities or lectures during the entire trip. This is not a reflection of the quality of the events scheduled but rather the great fun that we had. 

After a late wake up, I would generally walk around deck once or twice and find various friends- one didn't have to go far to find someone you knew. Whether it be at the rail overlooking the massive bow leading the way or back aft wistfully watching the wake bubbling and frothing to the horizon, it was always easy to strike up some conversation. After a little more lounging, it was time for lunch in the Lido, which usually stretched into an hour or hour and a half of eating and talking. After a few more turns around deck, all the time stopping and talking to people, it was time for the required ritual of afternoon tea in the Queen's Room. (Once, I spotted a few of the John Brown crew members under my charge heading for tea in the Lido. I admonished them properly and promptly, informing them that when on the QE2 they are to have tea in the Queen's Room- it's the best place at sea for tea.  They acquiesced the next day and never again left the Queen's Room for tea.)

Also new to me was the nightly ritual of cocktail parties. Every night there was a different cocktail party to go to, including one hosted by Hans, Karen and Dick Faber for Stephen Payne. I felt like Lauren Kirk on her most recent trip as I went from one party to the next- sometimes even trying to be in two different parties at the same time! I was fortunate to be invited to the Chief Engineer's cocktail party in his cabin and then the following day to the cocktail party in the Officer's Wardroom. With only two
hours from the end of tea to the start of some of these cocktail parties, there was only time to, again, take a few turns around deck and stop and talk to friends before it was time to go get ready for dinner. It was, as you see, a rough life.

Certain highlights of the trip: Being on the bridge for an 11 PM departure from Nassau. The ship made quite a sight from the wing, with all her lights ablaze from the funnel to the waterline, as we slipped quietly into the darkness away from the lights of Nassau. Having tea in the Queen's Grill Lounge through an invite from Paul Edwards- a truly cultured place for tea. (We could only reciprocate the favor by inviting him to the Yacht Club that night at 11PM. Thankfully, he and Diane showed up and they enjoyed
themselves so much they spent almost two entire nights in there!) Then there were the intense rounds of deck tennis on Boat Deck aft between several members of the Yacht Club group, including Alan playing for 3 straight hours under a very hot sun. Alan and I also led nightly excursions to the base of the funnel, where we stood in awe with its lit mass towering over us, smoke
overhead flying aft as we listened to the rumbling from below. The greatest ship pleasure though was simply walking the Boat Deck while traveling at speeds ranging from 25 to 28 knots on a true superliner- an immense feeling of power and majesty that no other ship has. I would love to stand all the way aft on Boat Deck and look forward- the huge funnel dominating the scene,
the tremendous length of deck stretching forward, with an intricate mix of shadows from the boat davits, and the sea being pushed away from the side as this combination of steel and luxury drove through the water at such high speeds. This was the essence of being on QE2- it was a real ship, built with power and strength, and you must feel in awe.

The overall highlight, however, was simply spending so much time with so many wonderful and fun people. Shipboard ambiance promotes quick friendships and allows for greater familiarity in a far quicker time than on shore, and it was amazing to think at the end of the week that I had met some of these people only a week before.

I was also impressed to see how well the QE2 accommodates all sorts of tastes and age groups. The kids and teens seemed well entertained. The three young women with whom I spent much of my time all came away enchanted by the entire experience and understood what made QE2 special. A middle aged wife from the John Brown crew had been on an RCCL cruise before and was very reluctant to go again on another cruise- it hadn't appealed to her at all. I convinced her QE2 was different and she came away wanting to know how soon she could come again. The entire John Brown group that I was leader of came away simply thrilled and in love with the QE2. From those in the Queen's Grill to those of us in Mauretania, QE2 provided a quality experience for everyone and for all tastes.

It amazed me to see, upon my return, a post to rec.travel.cruises from someone who read a review of QE2 and wrote, "This only confirms my opinion- QE2 is all talk and no show." After having worked on the Independence, I understand now that some passengers can never be pleased, no matter how good a job you do or how hard you try. Some people are never satisfied and
continuously complain. I can assure you that QE2 is much more show than talk- everything was done in an understated and civilized tone- things are simply done right onboard. There is no need to toot her own horn- those who understand her appreciate her unique ambiance and the quality of service onboard. She is elegant and refined, and there is no ship like her anymore.

Because she is the QE2, some go onboard looking for anything to complain about and they always find something, whether real or imagined. Its true that you don't get 6 star luxury (whatever that is) in the Mauretania, but if you don't go onboard expecting that, you won't be disappointed. QE2 truly provided a magnificent experience to everyone onboard this week and it was with great sadness that I disembarked- but with great excitement that its now less than 6 more months till I go back onboard.

As I caught the bus on the lower level of Pier 90, QE2's bow loomed above me. Perfectly poised and balanced, her lines revealed her heritage. For a moment, it was easy enough to pretend that it was the Mary or Lizzie docked in New York again, ready to sail again that afternoon, bound for the Atlantic and eventually Southampton. But there is little reason to wish for the past while QE2 is still around. There is enough of the old liners left in her to understand the appeal and pleasures of a crossing. There is something about this ship that impresses people- its not a contrived ambiance, and the ship doesn't try hard to be something its not- but again, it's the fact that the ship is a genuine piece of history, a thoroughbred, which has so much appeal for so many. Her appeal lies deep, in her engines and in her past, and is far more than simply the sum of her interiors and food.

The QE2 is a special ship, indeed.

Ben Lyons