This was our third trip on the QM2. Westbound October 2010, New England Canada last year and Eastbound September 2014. The first two trips we traveled Princess Grill and the last Queens. Because of a large number of vessels sailing out of New York September 27, QM2 was scheduled out of the Manhattan pier. I thought it was thrilling to be one of four ships waiting their turn for the trip down the Hudson. The only negative was that traffic was a bit of a problem getting from JFK to the pier. I used the Arecibo car service, which is very reasonable and convenient. They were at the airport terminal within 5 minutes of my call.

Boarding was delayed because of a late arrival of the ship that morning. There was some confusion around the terminal because a Norwegian Cruise Line ship was using the same space for security clearance. We received our boarding documents and waited an hour or so in a crowded priority lounge area that served coffee and juice, but no cups. Other than these minor inconveniences, I prefer departing from the Manhattan pier. The actual boarding of the ship was fairly quick and uneventful. Two of our bags were already in the stateroom. By the time we went to lunch the other two had arrived. We met our room steward and butler who were both very pleasant and efficient throughout the crossing. They were both willing to help with whatever issues we had. In one case an emergency tailering situation. The butler always provided us with extra canapes each night that included shrimp cocktail.

The sail away down the Hudson was thrilling with the lights of the city as a backdrop. Read more