Preparing for the Adventure

Last year I had a bit of a health issue that meant I couldn't fly for several months.  I was doing some business in Europe at the time and it made me wonder if you could actually use a boat as transatlantic transport these days.  Turns out you can.  Unlike air travel, there is only one cruise line that does the transatlantic crossing regularly and they have turned it into a luxury cruise experience.  I'm speaking of Cunard and the Queen Mary 2.  So long story short, I became well enough to fly, but I definitely got the urge to try this long lost mode of transportation.  So last week I booked it!  And I've never had such varied responses to any vacation.  Some think it's an interesting adventure while others think I'm absolutely nuts.  For me, finding out what it's like is part of the adventure.

I'm setting up this blog so that I can capture some of the thoughts and, hopefully, photos as the trip progresses.  I will leave Ottawa for London on May 8 and board the QM2 in Southampton around noon on May 10.  The departure time is 4:30, so we should be sailing into the sunset that night.  (Yes, I completely expect sunny weather the entire trip!).

For those interested, I picked a cabin on the port side (sunny on the westbound crossing) on the 11th deck, approximately in the red circle in the photo.

It has a glass balcony which should let in a lot of light (or rain if my weather prediction is wrong).  What I have read in my research is that the hull balconies (the little holes cut out of the white hull) are a bit better for the crossing as they are more sheltered making it a bit more usable.  But they seemed too dark for me so I decided to go up to the higher decks.

They also say that the best place to be to avoid the motion of the ship is lower and toward the middle.  I'm close enough to the middle but the height might cause some problems.  I will come loaded with gravol!

Today I got the final confirmation of my payment, so there's no turning back.  Will write more as the date approaches.