From London to New York

It was the last day of August and my last day in the UK. It was with very mixed feelings that I departed from the lovely hotel in Mayfair where I had stayed several times and travelled by train from London to Southampton for the last time. 

However, another couple from my table on my first voyage on Queen Mary 2, who live in Southampton, most kindly picked me up from the station and took me to coffee and a chat before I boarded the ship for the second time. A few weeks before they had very generously picked me up from the ship ‘Navigator of the Seas’ when I returned from my cruise to the Baltic, and took me to coffee and then the station. It was great to catch up with them again. Being on my own as I am, it made me feel I had a very friendly farewell from England, rather than just slipping out unnoticed, and I really appreciated it.

The ship was like a familiar home, though this time my cabin was very near the front of the ship, so when we encountered rough seas for a couple of days, I felt quite unwell. 

On this seven-day trip across the Atlantic there are no shore excursions, of course. But the ship’s programme was just wonderful. 

I normally do not like watching comedians, as I find their so-called jokes quite crass. So I usually never go to shows that are presented by comedians. But on this occasion the description of his wide experience in show business intrigued me, so I went. I am so glad I did because I saw the most delightful comedian ever. No swearing, no mother-in-law jokes, no lewd comments . . . just very witty comments taking the Mickey out of all the nationalities represented in the audience, and yet in a gentle, kindly sort of way. He is Welsh, his name is Mike Doyle, and he is a great mimic and singer.  In a second session he was interviewed about his life by the entertainment director. He could not sit still in a formal interview seating arrangement but instead ‘bounced’ around the stage as he told one story after another. It turned out to be the most moving, heart-felt, sad and yet hilarious session I have ever attended.

I also went to two excellent lectures by the American Hon. Mark V. Rosenker. In the first he told of all the work that goes on behind the scenes as the representatives of the armed forces liaise been the forces and the president, and take care of his safety. He once was in command of all that and had a huge number of staff beneath him. In the second he spoke of his more recent work as the former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. In the US, this body is responsible for investigating accidents that occur in five different means of transportation - pipes (mainly transportation of gas), planes, marine vessels, trains and road vehicles - and making recommendations to try to ensure they never happen again. If you saw the film ‘Sully’, he was the Chairman of the Board investigating that incident, and claimed they did not treat Sully in the way portrayed in the movie. They were very respectful, he said. He also said the entire set of procedures was fully recorded and the record shows a different kind of encounter than the one shown in the film. 

In addition I saw a National Geographic  presentation of weather on different planets in the ship’s huge planetarium, and three magnificent classical concerts by the English concert pianist Simon Callaghan. 

There were some fashion shows and presentations on board that week too, as the theme of the voyage was ‘Transatlantic Fashion Week’, but I did not go to any. 

I cannot believe that yet again I have been extraordinarily lucky to have met some wonderful people at my table. Although we were only together for a week, we soon delighted in each other’s company. Sadly our week together went all too quickly, but we hope to remain in touch with one another. 

On our last day I got on the ship I got up at 4 am to see us coming into New York. The problem was it was blowing a gale on the top deck, and it was bitterly cold. The winds made my hands and cameras shake so much the photos I took did not work out, unfortunately.  The couple I show below were taken at 6.45 am from a lower deck, when the winds had finally died down.

By 7.30 am I was off the ship and on my way to see the ‘Big Apple’. I only had that day to explore it, so once I reached my hotel and deposited my luggage, I was off and running. I will tell you about that in my next post. 

The Southampton port, viewed from the ship.

Another view of the port at Southampton.

There were flowers everywhere; these were in the main lobby.
 

The curious title of the first lecture.

At the second lecture.

The inevitable farewell to the chefs. These were just some of them. 

On deck at 4.30 am as we were approaching New York. 

Above our heads. Soon there were hundreds of passengers lining the top deck. 

This was almost the closest we came to the Statue of Liberty, to my surprise. 

New York at dawn.