By Rob and Betsy

Rob:

We are enjoying sailing on the Queen Mary 2 for our “crossing” and not a “cruise”. The QM2 is the only active ocean liner in service today. Apparently an ocean liner and cruise ship are technically different. An ocean liner is designed primarily for transportation across seas or oceans on a regular, scheduled service, unlike a cruise ship where the voyage itself is the main purpose primarily along coastlines with multiple ports. Ocean liners are built with stronger hulls, deeper drafts, and more powerful engines to withstand rough open ocean conditions and maintain high speeds and schedules. This makes sense once you’ve been on the QM2 compared to other ships. The QM2 is beautiful and elegant, but not as large and with fewer amenities than the newer cruise ships. And while it has been rough in the North Atlantic, it has been quite manageable on board.

Yesterday, we passed 40 nautical miles north of the Titanic’s final resting place. We’ve been intrigued by the focus on the Titanic during this sailing. Come to find out, there are two significant connections and Cunard: 1) a Cunard ship responded to the distress signal and saved 700 Titanic passengers; and 2) Cunard eventually acquired the parent company of the Titanic (White Star). The Cunard Line still raises the White Star flag on its ships every April 15th to commemorate the Titanic.

Betsy:

So we have frittered away our days with books, puzzles, eating, another scavenger hunt, fighting old people for laundry machines, watching old people sleep in public spaces, watching shows, high tea, team USUK trivia, making old people angry by existing or taking a seat they might have had if they came earlier, silent disco, art talks, and other entirely useless and highly entertaining pursuits.

I wanted to do a whole montage of people sleeping in public spaces on this boat, but I think our fellow passengers can probably afford better lawyers than me, and since this is a public blog, I rethought that idea. So, to protect the innocent, or- in this case- the sleepy, I have a few anonymous snoozer photos below so you get the idea. I mean, they’re everywhere. Except in their cabins. Why would they want to sleep there?!

It’s probably good that we exit this ship in two days, because I think I’m only going to be able to leave the ship in my bathrobe at the rate we are eating. The food is really good for the most part, and we are taking full advantage.

We spent a lot of today working on the next visual scavenger hunt. Same format as last time- they give you a sheet with 10 pictures of things on the ship, and you have 24 hours to find them all. Now that people have learned the “prize” is just a sticker (redeemable for other prizes later), they seem a lot more forthcoming in sharing answers, so some very nice people helped us finish. Here are a few of my favorites. When you have Rob for a partner, he makes taking the picture proof even more fun than the scavenger hunt itself.

If you’ve seen our social media accounts, then you know it has been crazy windy up on the decks. When we tried to take deck pictures, these were the results:

I’m including this video of the pool sloshing around (wish we had got it the day before when we had REALLY big waves) because it reminds me of a wonderful memory. When Jenna was a little girl, she loved to splash about and try to create BIG waves in the bathtub by sliding back and forth in the tub on her tush or her knees. For some reason, as she slid around she’d yell with glee “Donkey Dohhhhhh!” We have no idea what prompted her to create the “Donkey Doh” game, but the weirdness of it made us crack up too hard to stop her from making a wet mess, so we usually just let her slide around. Anyway, when we saw this pool rockin’, all Rob and I could think was “Donkey Doh!”

And speaking of pictures, a friend sparked the idea of us recreating the iconic Titanic picture up on the deck, and of course we couldn’t resist. I think the Titanic movie neglected a few of the more realistic elements of a winter Atlantic crossing, such as CRAZY WINDS, but don’t worry… we are happy to share what it REALLY looks like with you. Enjoy!

We disembark in NYC on Monday, January 19th, so look for another post from us then with details from the end of our cruise, our first day in NYC, and our review of the musical “Six”!! Thanks for adventuring with us!