This was our first cruise...I loved it...my husband enjoyed it. We drove to Long Beach and spent Saturday night at the Coast Long Beach Hotel. We paid for their Park & Sail room. Nice room with a great view of the Queen Mary. We left the car at the hotel and were shuttled to the pier by a very friendly and informative driver. We did the early check-in and toured the Queen Mary until it was time to embark. The lines seemed to be soooo long but it wasn't as bad as it could have been considering the number of people they have to process.

The ship was beautiful...our balcony stateroom was great...but not quite ready when we boarded so we toured the ship and had some lunch in the Mermaid Grill. By the time we got back to our cabin it was ready and our luggage was there. We unpacked (lots of closet and drawer space)...and relaxed until it was time to go to dinner. We had late seating as we are accustomed to eating late at home. We met our dinner companions, a couple from California the first night and enjoyed every dinner with them in the Dining Room. Our servers were fantastic...after only a couple of meals they correctly anticipated what each of us would enjoy. I had read on Cruise Critic that you could order more than one entree if you were so inclined...and on many occasions my table mates did just that with no problems. The food and service were always fantastic.

Most evenings we attended the shows in the Taj Mahal Lounge and always enjoyed them. We are not big drinkers or gamblers but we did on occasion try our luck at the slots. There was always something going on that one could enjoy...but what I liked the most was that I could do lots or do nothing at all....the best kind of vacation! Read more