Grande Dame of the Seas
Beatrice Muller is the only resident of the QE2. Pamela Spencer discovers
how she has forged a new life on the ocean wave.
(Filed: 15/03/2006)
Taken from the
Travel section of the Telegraph -
Click here for the link
Many travellers would testify that long ocean cruises can have a mesmeric,
almost addictive quality. The sense of living in an elegant, self-enclosed
world, surrounded by illimitable sea, far from the jarring rhythms and pressures
of ordinary life, is soothing and profoundly therapeutic. But there are few who
take this love of sailing to quite the same extreme as Beatrice Muller.
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Beatrice Muller: ‘Why should I go
back on land, go home to my vacuum cleaner to keep house?’ |
Beatrice, known as Bea, has lived aboard the QE2 since January 2000. A
youthful octogenarian, and the ship's sole resident, Bea is a good sailor
("touch wood"), and the life clearly suits her - she could pass for
sixtysomething. "I'm quite proud of being 86," says Bea, "I don't believe it,
but that's what it says on my passport."
Bea, an American (her Huguenot family escaped from France to America in 1630)
first "reluctantly" boarded the QE2 in 1995 for a round-the-world cruise with
husband Bob, a retired architect. Unimpressed by what she'd heard from her
mother-in-law, a "cruise aficionado", she was not looking forward to the social
life on board. "It sounded snobbish and pushy, with lots of furs and fancy
jewellery. I thought it would be boring and no fun at all."
But within a week, she and Bob had fallen in love with the ship. For the next
four years, they joined the large group of passengers who return year after year
for the three-and-a-half-month world cruise.
They always went ashore at each of the 40 ports of call - "one must keep one's
land legs" - and Bea especially enjoyed shopping in Hong Kong's Stanley Market.
Other favourite destinations include Cape Town, Durban and the Isle of St
Helena.
When Bob died in 1999, aboard the QE2, and Bea returned home to her two married
sons in the States, they suggested that as all her friends were on the QE2, why
didn't she live on the ship?
"At my age, I hadn't many family left," she reflects, "and most of my friends in
New Jersey, where I grew up and raised my family, had either died, or gone to
the South of France."
So she spent the next eight months selling everything she could get her hands
on, including three houses, four cars and unwanted family treasures, and in
January 2000 joined "this caring, welcoming ship".
"It's a wonderful place to live," she declares. "It's like home to me. My sons
are delighted that I'm safe and happy - if I run out of money, I think they'll
keep me here just to stay out of their hair!"
E-mail keeps Bea in touch with family and friends on land. Passengers frequently
ask Bea: "Are you the lady who lives here? How can I do it?" She replies that
unless you are extremely wealthy ("which I am not"), it's not as easy as it
seems.
"The greatest difficulty is giving up one life and starting another, but as I
don't have grandchildren, and my sight is not good enough for me to drive, I
feel I'm at the age where I need to live here. But I'm learning to drive the
ship: they've taught me how to blow the whistle."
Every two years, the ship goes into dry dock, usually in Germany. So what does
Bea do then? "I either go to friends, or stay with my sons, in Boston or just
outside New York. I especially appreciate seeing trees - there are so few trees
on the ocean!"
Two years ago, Bea returned to the US for a hip replacement. The operation was a
success, and she's now teaching her new hip to dance each night after dinner in
the Queen's Room.
"My priorities on this ship are ballroom dancing, playing duplicate bridge, and
trying not to eat - not necessarily in that order. I like all kinds of dancing,
but right now I'm not dancing sambas or the cha cha - I don't want to jump on my
new hip just yet." After dancing until 11.30pm each night, Bea reads in her
cabin, and sometimes doesn't get up for breakfast.
"I've read all the Harry Potter books - twice. J K Rowling is a fantastic
writer. If I'm down in the dumps, I read Harry Potter, then I can laugh again."
With a passenger complement of 1,600, plus 1,000 crew, Bea doesn't lack for
company. "So many wonderful people travel on this ship," she says. "Six years
ago, I met Nelson Mandela. He sailed with us from Southampton to Cape Town. What
an incredibly sainted man to have put up with so much of what he did."
During the next dry-docking, this spring, Bea will visit her literary editor in
the States to discuss the book she is writing about her shipboard experiences.
She's been greatly encouraged by the president of Cunard, who told her: "Write
your book - I'll sell it on my ship."
Bea cannot see herself living on land again. She would only leave the QE2 if it
was put out of service. "Why should I go back on land, go home to my vacuum
cleaner to keep house? After all, houses don't go anywhere, and nobody puts
chocolate on your pillow each night."
- 109 nights, Southampton to Southampton, via (among other destinations, Cape
Town, Sydney, Dubai, Hong Kong). Lead-in price £10,449 up to £73,149. World
Cruise Reservation booking line: 0845 071 0302. To check availability or book
online, go to www.cunard.co.uk
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