The LeBeaus are back in the U.S. of A.! We left Florida on September 10, 2025, so it has been almost 4.5 months of continuous travel. Are we ready to be back? Of course not! But it WILL be great to see family and friends again. And maybe to have a place with separate bathrooms… that also wouldn’t suck. 😂

When we arrived in NYC this morning on our ship, I got up early to take some photos from the deck. I had done the same thing when we arrived in Sydney, so it felt very “full circle” to me to do this again at the end of the trip.

Our final day onboard the Queen Mary 2 yesterday got off to a fantastic start when Team USUK won the morning trivia contest! We were all pretty excited that Rob and I could leave on a high note. 😃. When you win or complete activities onboard, they give you stickers to put in a “passport” book. The passport is then redeemable for cheesy Cunard prizes at the activities desk. We had enough stickers to acquire a very exciting new wine opener, which is full circle since our last one was confiscated by TSA. The rest of the day we spent seeing shows, repacking, and I got a facial in the spa, which was really nice. The last day of a cruise for me always has a melancholy feel to it, and yesterday was no exception. Knowing at least half the ship was continuing on and going around the world actually made it worse 😭, but I don’t think anyone is playing the sad violin for us as we return from this much travel- ha ha.

Welcome to NY!

As we arrived today, the snow from yesterday was turning into ice and slush, and NYC was sunny and cold. I felt a little thrill of excitement when we got off the ship and saw the “Welcome to the United States” signs. So while I may have mixed feelings, it is still definitely GOOD to be back in our country that we love. I love exploring the world, but it also always makes me appreciate what I have even more. Some small comfort item examples: I am delighted to be back in the land of full showers with doors that go all the way across, top sheets (not just a duvet), wash cloths, grits (at least once we get back South), and double sided toilet paper holders, to name a few things.

Day 1 in the City

We took a cab from the Brooklyn Terminal to our hotel near Times Square since we didn’t want to brave the slush and ice with our suitcases today, which was definitely a good call. The hotel stored our bags for us so we could explore the city while we waited for our room to be ready. Our hotel is in a fantastic location near Times Square, so luckily there are lots of walkable activities from here (even in the cold). We took care of our first order of business right away: a New York Sabrett hot dog! We’ve had a few hotdogs elsewhere during our travels, but these are always the OG.

With that checked off ✅, we headed to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), which we had never made it to before on previous NYC visits. It was AMAZEBALLS. This place reads like a “Who’s Who” of all the most famous artists you ever read about or studied… you name them, they have art in the MoMA. What a collection! We saw pieces by Picasso, Degas, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Frank Lloyd Wright, and so many more. Can’t say enough about what a gem the MoMa is (although not free like the Aussie art museums). 😊

After the MoMA we had a late dim sum lunch (another thing I have been craving), and walked back to check in at our hotel. We passed some great NY landmarks on the way!

Six: the Musical

Of course one of my favorite things about NYC is the availability of so many incredible Broadway (and off Broadway!) shows! Tonight we went to the Lena Horne Theatre to see Six: the Musical, which tells the story of the six wives of Henry VIII as a modern girl group, competing to see who had the worst time in their marriage to determine who gets to be the lead singer. It was a 90 minute, no intermission show. I really loved the music and the story, and loved that it was an all female cast and musicians. I don’t think it would be one of my top five favorite Broadway shows, but it was good fun and absolutely worth seeing. After the show we got a good ol’ NY pizza at John’s Pizza, which was pretty tasty.

It’s been a great day here in this fabulous city. Tomorrow will be our last full day of adventures for this trip, so you can probably expect one more blog post and a recap of the highlights from the second half of our trip. Thanks for adventuring with us!!