This cruise was a bucket list for my DH, as I prefer ports and warmer weather. He had hopes of all things British and the ship did not disappoint. He enjoyed high tea and great conversations with our fellow passengers, many who were from the UK. I enjoyed it as well, especially the Cunard Insight's talks. One speaker was a Forensic Medical Examiner and he was fantastic! Every day, there was a presentation from "The Greatest Generation Foundation", with war time veterans telling their stories. The first presentation was on D-Day with two veterans that had been there! To hear their account, not read it, but to hear it from their mouths, was a great experience. I also appreciated that Cunard records these events, as quite often, I would watch the recorded show in the comfort of our stateroom. Speaking of staterooms, we had a regular interior. The cabin was spacious and plenty of storage. We were on the 4th deck, midship. The food on board the ship was fabulous, no complaints. We had signed up for open seating, which we typically do on other lines. I was very surprised when a fellow passenger told me that the Gala night dinner did not have any space available! I called the reservation line and was provided an 8:45pm reservation. We tried to hold off that long, but at 8pm, we went to the Maitre'd. There was no problem in seating us. After that, I never made reservations. We usually went to dine at 7ish and were always seated, often with other fellow passengers. We found that our fellow diners were always dressed to impress. It was great to see everyone dressed in their finest on the two Gala nights.

Prior to our sailing, I had researched what to expect on board, and read on this site about the deteriorating condition of the ship. We found her to be in great shape! Inside, clean and spotless with fun art all around. I missed out on participating in the Scavenger Hunt, but I was provided with the list. It provided me with the excuse to explore every space on board, looking for the items on the list! Found all but one--if on board the ship, study the North America panel closely (outside of the Golden Lion Pub) as the artist decided to do something "cheeky", as our Entertainment Staff explained. As for the outside of the ship, I thought she looked fine. Our crossing included some bad weather, in rough seas. More than once, while I was sitting at the Golden Lion Pub, a wall of water hit the windows! Keep in mind, that this pub is on the 2nd deck. From others, I heard that was unusual, even at this time of the year. The Queen Mary 2 held her own and I was thankful that we were making the crossing on such as sturdy vessel. Embarkation was quite easy--our transport to Southhampton had us there an hour before the scheduled time, but this was not an issue and we were on board less than an hour after dropping off our bags. Disembarkation in NYC was a different story. We were scheduled for 920am time, but the line was so long, we sat in the lounge and waited. Luckily, we had no plans that afternoon and were not flying out until the following day. It was probably 1030ish by the time we were off the ship and clearing customs. We enjoyed the crossing, the friendly and wonderful crew, the delicious food, and of course, Queen Mary 2 herself!