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Published: January 14th 2008
ME AND THE CAPTAIN
Getting all my ship stuff signed by the CaptainNEW YORK AND THE 3 QUEENS
Today, Monday, almost seems like I’m on the first of a couple bonus days on the QE2. Once we arrived in New York yesterday morning, about 600 passengers got off the ship as it was the end of the transatlantic voyage. This included most of the dyed-in-the wool ship buffs of which my 3 table mates were a part.
On Saturday night, we were lamenting the fact that cutbacks seem to be quite evident. Where was the caviar the last 7 days? We haven’t seen escargot and the only lobster had been a few odd pieces in a seafood pasta. One can’t blame the ship staff but maybe some nasty comment cards will get to the attention of the bean counters ashore. One tradition that was upheld, and done better than any ship I’ve ever been on, was the Baked Alaska parade. Outstanding !!!!!
The alarm clock went off promptly at 4:15 AM on Sunday morning. Hey, it isn’t every day that I sail under the Verazanno Bridge and past the Statue of Liberty, much less on the QE2. There must have been a couple hundred people on the aft decks, all
me on deck
a cold day in New York freezing our butts off in the temp of about 30 degrees with a wind chill as Ted Scull started the harbor commentary at 4:45 AM. By 6:00 AM, we were tied up at Pier 92 and by 8:30, I had cleared US immigration with my in-transit pass and was in a cab to the Waldorf Astoria to meet my friends Jim and Jill Lopilato who were boarding QUEEN VICTORIA later in the day. There was a nice brunch being served in the lobby restaurant of the hotel at the bargain price of only $95.00 per person, but we passed on that and went to the waffle house across the street!!!! By 1:00 PM, I was back on the ship, had a light lunch, took some outdoor pics (the temp had climbed to a nice, sunny 40 degrees) and decided it was time for a nap. At 5 PM, the blasting sound of boat-drill for new passengers ruined that wonderful nap, so it was almost time to get bundled up for the trip highlight….the meeting of the three QUEENS.
It seemed a bit warmer at 7 PM than it had at 4:45 AM as the QV slowly backed out of
her berth and we followed suit at 7:15 and headed down the Hudson River to a point off the Statue of Liberty. From the forward observation deck, I had a great view of of the well lit QUEEN VICTORIA and the QUEEN MARY 2 as we drew up almost alongside. The fireworks had been scheduled for 7:30, but it was closer to 8 PM when they started, which, unfortunately, was just about when the drizzle started. Hardly anyone went inside, tho, as the fireworks grew in intensity, the 3 ships seemingly gleaming brighter, the perfect music playing over the loudspeakers…..and everyone was getting soaking wet. Fortunately for me, it was just a few steps to get under the bridge wing! To say the whole thing was magic would be an understatement.
It’s now 10 AM on Monday and normally, with her great speed, the QE2 would be at Port Everglades, but because we are still sailing in tandem with the QUEEN VICTORIA, we are doing a stately 19.9 knots in order for the slower ship to keep up. It will take us one more night and we should be alongside at 6 AM on Wednesday morning.
Time to
shipboard
a view down the inside quarter deck go shopping to see if there is any more ship memorabilia I forgot to buy!!!!
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