The Long Crossing

As promised, today we're posting some photos from around the ship. Considering she is carrying about 2,500 passengers according to the captain, there don't seem to be any crowds anywhere, even at the pools.


We came on board not really knowing what to expect. Some people had said that the 'crossing' experience is different from a regular cruise, just because of the uninterrupted length of time with no change of scenery. Some said that the onboard service would be different than we've come to expect on a ship; some even said they didn't think we'd like it. We have to say that we have been pleasantly surprised by our actual experience. Our Princess Grill suite is quite roomy and comfortable;

Our stateroom attendant, Ronald, has been very friendly and attentive, and all of the staff have been just great. We've been to the Queen's Grill Lounge a couple of times and chatted with Gyorgyi, the bartender from Budapest.

She's given us some good tips about the ship, especially the warning about the time changes. Most of the time, moves from one time zone to the next are done at midnight or 2:00 AM. Captain Wells had the time change moved to noon instead. Gyorgyi says that for most of the crew it is great, since their nights aren't being cut short for 5 days in a row, and their sleep patterns aren't interrupted. Same goes for the passengers – except that lunch service starts and ends at odd hours to incorporate the lost time and it is a bit confusing. And we all know that you can't get between cruise passengers and their food! We've only had the experience for one day so far, but we have noticed that having the day shortened instead of the night makes for an easier adjustment. We'll update you on that as we go along.

The lecture program so far has been interesting. We have a maritime historian talking about the great ocean liners, a former US ambassador talking about current events, and an astronomer who gave some lectures on the universe and the US space program. The astronomy is quite topical given that Monica has her 'Understanding the Universe' lecture DVDs along instead of a book. The QM2 has the only on-board planetarium at sea and we were looking forward to experiencing it – only it is broken and they don't know if it can be fixed before the end of the crossing.



In Illuminations

It has been rather nice, with two formal nights in a row, to see everyone dressed up, and keeping to the dress code throughout the evening. We weren't sure if that would be the case. Last night was our turn for the captain's welcome aboard cocktail party in the Queen's Room. It is quite a spectacular ballroom, the largest at sea (no surprise since Royal Caribbean isn't likely to need a ballroom as such and only RCI has bigger ships – but QM2 doesn't have an ice rink…)

Captain's reception in the Queen's Room

The next formal night will be the 'Evening at Ascot' theme. At the knitters' get-together Monica found out that there will be an opportunity to make hats to go with our outfits. If she decides to do it, we'll show you the final result…

Here are some more ship photos:

The Winter Garden

Grand Foyer

Veuve Cliquot Champagne Bar

The Pavilion pool and bar

Looking down over the terraced sun decks

Along the Promenade Deck as
we cruise at 21 knots

The Royal Court Theatre

Sir Samuel's coffee corner

Monica also managed to catch the end of the fruit and vegetable carving demonstration in the Winter Garden. Here are the final products – these guys sure are talented!

Today, Friday, we're having a lunch with the Cruise Critic members and dinner at Todd English. That means a repeat of yesterday's 3 miles around the Promenade Deck is on the agenda as well!