In June 2010, we embarked on a 12-day cruise on Disney Magic to the Northern European capitals (see another review for this experience). As the time approached for our cruise, Europe was experiencing periodic airport closures due to the pesky unpronounceable volcano on Iceland. We weren't too concerned about not making it over there to begin with, but did not relish the thought of getting stuck on the way back due to jobs and other commitments. A little research determined that the QM2 embarked on a 6-day westbound transatlantic voyage on the day after our Disney cruise (disembarking in Dover) was completed. I contacted Cunard and booked a low-price inside cabin on a guarantee, with the hopes that we would get an upgrade. We had already planned to rent a car for a day and stay overnight at Heathrow after leaving our other cruise, so we changed the car rental, booked a Hilton in Southampton on Hilton Honors points and decided to end our vacation with our first transatlantic voyage. We are veteran cruisers and world travelers (QM2 was cruise number 17), mid-fifties, no children. I have some disability issues, walking with a cane or occasionally using a travel wheelchair.

Pre-cruise booking experience: The agent at Cunard was very helpful and courteous. He did not guarantee that we would have an upgrade, but was optimistic. Our fare seemed very reasonable as insurance to get us home ($2200 total) in case of airport problems. By comparison, we had originally booked a shore excursion to Berlin on the Disney Cruise when we were in Warnemunde that was going to cost us almost half this amount! Needless to say, we canceled out of the Berlin trip and took a much cheaper excursion, now that we were adding on to our trip expenses.

Embarkation in Southampton: We were told to arrive at the ship by 3:00 pm, for staggered embarkation based on our cabin level. We got there a little early, thank goodness. The ship was docked at the Mayflower docks, which are apparently inferior to the docks that are normally used (occupied by a P&O ship). The lines were horrendous, even in the disabled line. We were not upgraded, unfortunately, and proceeded on board after over an hour in line. A nice attendant helped us find our room (4198 - very far aft, inside cabin, port side) just in time for us to grab the life jackets for the safety drill. Read more