We live in Vancouver and one night after too much wine drinking the Cunard Ad for Queen Elizabeth is coming to Vancouver showed up on my Ipad. I remember checking the itinerary and was amazed that when it left Vancouver we could sail all the way to NYC. This seemed like a very rare opportunity to come to New York the old fashioned way aboard a Cunard Liner and sail around the North American continent while doing so. I originally booked an ocean view in Britannia but the next morning when I realized what I had done I was a bit shocked at how much I had bit off. I also read some reviews and had some misgivings that I had booked us on an Old Geezer cruise. My wife and I talked it over and she said it doesnt matter what's going on onboard as we always do our own thing and we will have a great time no matter what.

After a couple months went by I realized 24 days is a substantial cruise and with a Panama Canal transit I should have got a balcony. I phoned Cunard and the lady informed me that there was only one balcony cabin left so I grabbed it. It was right at the front with the full metal enclosure below the railing which worked out great as it had a steel reinforcing girt halfway down giving us an extra shelf for our feet and drinks when enjoying the view.

Embarkation day came and I drove our luggage to Canada Place early in the am, this went very smoothly as they were surprisingly well organized and I would recommend this for Vancouver locals. We took the bus and Skytrain in the afternoon with just our hand luggage no problem. I followed the 3:00 pm schedule and was a bit dissapointed at how much running around and up and down between US customs and boarding lounge was involved, that could give some frailer passengers a good workout. Read more