Paul and I had never thought of taking a ship across the Atlantic ocean before but we had time to spare. Our van was making its way to England on a containership that would arrive days after us. We also had good recommendations from two of Paul’s siblings so, why not?

On arrival we were greeted and shown to our room with champagne and glasses courtesy of  the Captain. Our room is cozy enough with a nice large bed and a small balcony. We found the food to be delicious and with many options throughout the day. My favorite was breakfast in bed where you could order anything you wanted and it would arrive whenever you requested. Heaven!

Dressing up was a big part of the fun on The Queen Mary. You had two formal nights and the rest were dress casual. We loved getting all glamorous and it felt appropriate with the white glove treatment at dinner. Paul and I also took dance lessons during the day and were able to pull off two waltzes on the main dance floor.

Out of sheer luck, our voyage was a Blue Note Jazz crossing. Headliners were Gregory Porter and Dee Dee Bridgewater. The concerts were both fantastic but the real treat was to hear the intimate breakout performances around the ship. Dee Dee’s band enjoyed playing their own gig where she sat in of course. Our last evening was spent in the chart room enjoying band members and Gregory Porter even sitting in for a song.

I couldn’t resist the chance to sing and did karaoke one night in the Golden Lion Pub and I also signed up and performed in the Queens Room for guest talent show.

Besides the 36 hours of heavy swell and many of the passengers feeling sick (including Paul), the voyage is a big success. We loved the Canyon Ranch Spa where we spent most afternoons before dinner. The crew performed a “Thriller” dance show for Halloween and the chef’s carved some creative pumpkins.

The wooden deck on level 7 where you could walk or run around the whole of the ship. Intimate lounges, poetry, jazz, cheese any time day or night, comedy show, planetarium, lectures, there was never a shortage of things to do.