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Queen Mary 2

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Monday morning took a taxi from Islington to Waterloo station
And from there the 10.35-train to Southampton.
The journey lasted app. 1h 10mins and cost £30
.
Something about Southampton:
It is a city and major port situated on the south coast of England.
It is the closest city to the New Forest,
King Henry VIII's hunting ground,
situated app. halfway between Portsmouth and Bournemouth.
Southampton has always been strongly connected
with maritime history and developments.
In particular, it is a primary port for cruise ships,
its heyday being the first half of the 20th century.
Today it remains home to many luxury liners,
as well as being a very important container port.
.
From the railway station took a taxi to Queen Elizabeth II Terminal, £10
Queued a while for check-in,
where got a credit card which was the key to the state room
and also the way of payment if would like to buy something extra onboard
- very handy!
and after that entered the Queen Mary 2
on her Westbound Voyage to New York
.
Hall way to the lifts
.
Nice cabin = state room on the 12th deck with a spacious balcony – 12081
.
There was a plastic blanket on the bed to put the suitcase on it
- very thoughtful!
The bedspread didn't get dirty of the possibly dusty luggage
.
Sparkling wine & strawberries were ready there

.
All the necessary toileteries by Gilchrist & Soames
were found in the bathroom
.
Britannia Deluxe Staterooms:
- 24-hour room service
- Interactive TV with multi-language (not in Finnish!)
film & music channels
- Direct-dial telephone
- Refrigerator, safe, hair-dryer
- Bathrobe & slippers
- Nightly turndown service with pillow chocolate
(really good chocolate: milk, dark & mint ones)
- Daily shipboard newspaper
- 220V British 3-pin & 110V 2-pin sockets
...
Before the ship embarked had a tour onboard,
booked some beauty treatments
- the treatments could have been booked
by e-mail minimum 3 weeks before
- didn't do that because didn't know
which nights would be the formal ones
.
and at 4pm there was an emergency drill for all passengers
at General Emergency Stations.
This exercise is a requirement of law and
everyone must attend.
Basically it was only to show the correct method of wearing a life jacket.
.

The entrance to the Beauty & Hair Salon
.
The main staircase
.
At 5pm it was time to say farewell to Southampton with a glass of Veuve Clicquot,
which, by the way, is the official champagne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Mary 2 sails for New York, a distance of 3.076 nautical miles
1 nautical mile equals 1,15 statute miles
.

Champagne buffet outside on deck 7
.
Caribbean Band Vibz - sailaway tunes
.
Time to visit the Canyon Ranch Spa’s
Aqua Therapy Centre
that includes:
Whirlpool
Aqua therapy pool with
chaise lounge, neck and back jet massage, cascading waterfall shower
Reflexology basins
Sensory showers
Finnish sauna
Aromatic steam room
Herbal sauna
Ice fountain

- the aromatic steam room with eucalyptus scent was marvelous!
Met there the Austrian flautist Bettine Clemen
– she also thought that the aromatic steam room was the best place on board!
Bettine’s show will be on Tuesday night.
.
Bought Spa Club Passport for 5 days $95
(1 day would have been $40, 3 days $75)
.

View to the sea from the balcony just before dark
.
Around 8pm went to Britannia Club for dinner.
Deck 2, D stairway, port side
Maitre d' Ralph Carvalho
(not Pepe... as the private investigator in M.V. Montalban's books)
.
Dress code: Elegant Casual
Black trousers by Hugo Boss
Black short-sleeve top by Victor & Rolf for HM
Black wedge sandals by Prada
Silver amethyst earrings and necklace by Kalevala Koru
Black evening bag Pochette in Epi leather by Louis Vuitton
Hair open

People were dressed very casually!

Table 160 was reserved for us
with an English couple, Norma & Bernard from Manchester
and an American couple, Lizie & Gerry from Florida.
The Americans had booked an 80-day- cruise around the world!
Now heading back home.
Waiter Paul from Romania and
waitress Maia from Serbia took care of us
and will do so also every time at Britannia Club.
.
Chose Canyon Ranch Spa Selections:
.
Spinach & roasted beet salad with vanilla balsamic
- a glass of pinot grigio
.

Canyon Ranch 7 spice chicken with pear jus and sesame rice
.
- glass of Amarone
.
.
Orange pound cake
.

- nicely set, quite simple, light meal – exactly what wanted!

Ratings:4/5
...
The time was changed 1 hour backwards at midnight
Didn’t help to stay awake though!
.
Lots of paintings on the walls of lobbies
.

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