It's a BIG boat!

The next leg of the journey was the one we had all been waiting for. It was time to board this big ol' boat!  This is the Queen Mary 2.

A few Wikipedia facts....

She is the largest and only major ocean liner built for the British Cunard Line since Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969, the vessel she succeeded as flagship of the Cunard Line. Queen Mary 2 was intended for routine crossings of the Atlantic Ocean, and was therefore designed differently from many other passenger ships. This included 40% more steel than a standard cruise ship and other high quality of materials. Queen Mary 2 has a maximum speed of just over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and a cruising speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph), much faster than a contemporary cruise ship. It is 1132 feet long, just over 3 football fields long.

The general ocean liner design makes it safer to travel in all kinds of weather, and she can handle large waves better than the average cruise ship. We talked to passengers who have been on the ship when there were huge waves, but luckily, we had a very non-eventful trip weather wise.

We went to check out our stateroom first. It's a very nice and tidy room. There's lots of storage, a desk, a "lounge" chair, and a bathroom. Our room is set up for four individuals - 2 lower singles, and 2 bunks that lower from the ceiling. Since there were three of us, we just had the one bunk down, of course. 

It took a couple hours to get out of the harbor. So we took lots of pictures and toured around the ship.

This is our dining table. Each evening we met at the same table and had the same wait staff.  It was fun to get to know them. We had a table that fit all 10 of us. Most people are put with fellow guests, which I'm sure is nice, but it was also nice to have a private table with a window.  Our main server was Eric from the Philippines. He has been working on the cruise ship for something like 18 years. He has a wife and children at home, but is only home a few months out of the year. Many of the dining staff have worked there for many many years, something I wouldn't have predicted before getting on the ship.

The dining room is two stories, and this is the atrium area that is open to both floors. This piece of art is actually a tapestry. I had to go up to it to tell - it looks like a painting. But it is made with fiber!

This is the entry to the ballroom and shows the thought put in to the design of the ship. It's very elegant.

Inside the ballroom:

The QM2 is the first cruise ship to have a planetarium. The screen is lowered from the ceiling, and they have daily programs about the stars, planets, etc. There were limited tickets available, and we managed to go just once. This room is also used as a lecture room and movie theatre.

And we toured the "the club" before things got rockin' and rollin' in there:

These are the port hole windows that line both sides of the ship. It's a nice place to sit and watch the sea, read a book, or play a game.

Here's Katie under the ship's name plate.

There are a number of pools on the ship. This is the indoor one. The kids spent a fair bit of time up here, but I didn't make it up there very often.

They have a band playing daily.

And ping pong tables!

This is the top deck. It's huge. This is where shuffleboard happens, as well as the ship "tennis court" and "golf shooting range". Is that what they're called? I can't remember. Oh yeah, driving range. Anyway, it's all in a netted area, of course, to keep it on the ship and prevent any injuries.

An exciting part of leaving the NY harbor is going under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The ship fits by just over 10 feet. Sheri and I staked out a great place to watch it in the front of the ship.

More of the Statue of Liberty. I was really happy to mark that off my bucket list.

Approaching the bridge.

This might be my favorite video of the whole trip. There was a group of kids near us as we went under the ship, and they were really not sure we were going to make it.

Another funny memory was standing up there the first time the ship blew its' big fog horn. It was a 'jump a mile, lose your dentures' kind of moment. SOOOO loud! And unexpected.

One of the adventures of a ship this size is finding your way around, and being lost and confused much of the first few days. It took a while to learn the tricks of knowing which side of the ship you were on, which stairwell you were in ,and the quickest way to navigate from one place to the other. Remember that 3 football field length? It was inevitable that one event was on the opposite side of where you are, or you needed to go to your room, which was a big trek across, up and around to get there. Add evening dress (and heels) to the mix and it was exhausting! lol! By the time we got off though, we were able to get around pretty efficiently, but there was definitely a learning curve for getting around!

Next up, life on the ship.  What do you DO all day??