In over 50 cruises I have taken in the last 30 years or so I have always tried to eschew the megaships in favor of smaller ones. Indeed cruising has changed in that time and yesterdays' ships just don't possess the amenities one expects today. My Travel Agent finally said "You really must sail on the QM2 if for no other reason than to say you've been on it" and I had to agree. The scheduled rendezvous of the QM2, QE2, and the new Queen Victoria in New York along with a 10 day Caribbean cruise seemed to be the perfect opportunity.

Psyching myself up for a "big ship" experience I headed to Brooklyn (NY) Cruise Ship Terminal. The drive there could be intimidating but the signage was pretty good once on the back streets of Brooklyn leading to the terminal. The terminal and adjacent parking seemed compact but fairly well laid out.

Embarkation went as well as could be expected. I have surely seen worse embarkations and I have seen better. Each passenger was handed a numbered card. As I had arrived way early check-in had not yet started so the number was used as for when to enter the check-in line and when to board. Even though I was in a Britannia cabin I was whisked into the Grill check-in line. There seemed to be some confusion and miscommunication among the shoreside check-in staff. There seemed to be no real order of "priority boarding" for Grill and Platinum World Club passengers but rather by the number assigned when you arrived at the terminal. Nonetheless I was happy to be aboard and in my cleaned and made up stateroom by 1:30 PM. No "waiting in public rooms until your stateroom is ready". Kudos to Cunard on that one! Read more