This is another photo dump. In this dump, we show you different places around the Queen Mary 2 Ocean liner. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. We took the time to make sure that we put a photo caption to every photo. So be sure to look at all the pics! Today, Sunday, August 4, we complete our transatlantic journey and arrive in Southampton, England. We will be in London for just two days! Let’s see what we can accomplish in 48 hours!!
There is often a piano player in the Grand Lobby. If not a live piano player then the piano will “play” on its own.
If pictures could be smelled, this one would smell amazing!
We were able to score a sheltered balcony on the fourth deck. We were in cabin 4096. This room was assigned to us. It was located between stairways B and C. Just perfectly located in the middle of the ship! Usually we would “choose” the “wrong” stairway and end up putting in more steps! Now that we are at the end of this journey we finally feel as if we actually know where we are going!
On embarkation and the day before debarkation, this leather cover is placed over the bed to protect the bedding from the suitcases. The cabin steward took it off after our luggage was put away. Then on the day before the cruise is over he put it back on. It’s a subtle sign that your time of fun is almost over!
The desk area in the cabin. The electrical outlets are mostly British, but there are four US outlets as well.
The coffee and tea station in the cabin. Our room steward did an amazing job of keeping this filled throughout the day. We also had an ice bucket!
The couch, and doorway to the balcony. The table adjusts up and down.
The bathroom served its purpose. We didn’t need for anything. When you flush the toilet, it makes a loud swooshing sound like an airplane. We have both “reached” for the foot pedal to flush on multiple occasions as we would use the flush the toilet in the RV!
The restroom came complete with a Cunard line of shampoo, soap and lotion.
There is an absolute ton of storage and closet space in the cabin. Including a safe for your valuables, like the million dollars in cash that we were carrying with us.
I think our smiles in this photo speak 1000 words. This trip is a trip of a lifetime and we are extremely grateful to God for his blessings that we get to partake in it.
This shot is taken from deck eight. The dark glass area at the top is the Bridge of the ship. We were very fortunate to be able to be the first in line to sign up for a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship. Part of that was visiting the Bridge. It was insanely fun and informative.
Some people call these blades, the “Commodore cufflinks.” There are a total of six of them. They are actually individual spare propeller blades for the pods of the engine of the ship.
We are grateful that we didn’t have to use any of these. The lifeboats each carry 150 passengers and then there are life rafts that are reserved for the staff. During the tour, the tour guide joked that because we are paying guests, we get to go in the enclosed lifeboats with seats and heat while the staff has to go in the open air life crafts.
There is art all throughout the ship. We could make a post on Art alone and would never be able to include all the paintings and lithographs all around the ship. This is a lithograph of the Queen Elizabeth, this is a ship that Ken‘s parents came from Southampton to the United States on when they immigrated in 1955.
The Britannia dining room is the main dining room for Britannia class passengers. It is two levels. The top level is open seating where you can come at anytime during the dinner hour, the bottom area is for early seating at 6 o’clock or late seating at 8:30 PM. We chose the early seating and to sit at a table of four.
This is a giant tapestry that is hanging on the entryway to the main dining room.
Her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Some of the radar systems of the ship. Some were spinning all day, every day and others spun, especially during low visibility times. We had several days of extreme fog where the forward visibility was zero. At that point, it is required that the ship sound its horn every two minutes as a warning to other ships nearby. We also learned that there are microphones all around the exterior of the ship to pick up the sound of other boats, sounding their foghorn and then delivered up to the bridge so they can respond.
A shot of the sun from deck 13.
This is a shuffleboard area as well as a helicopter pick up point. During our journey, there was a emergency diversion to Lewisburg in Nova Scotia Canada. The helicopter didn’t actually land on the ship. It lowered a gurney down for the patient to be secured into and then was hoisted up into the helicopter. This was during a time of zero visibility.
Speaks for itself!
This is our view from our sheltered balcony cabin at night. It is pitch black. Nothing can be seen. Not even the water below. We have heard the star gazing is amazing in the Atlantic, but unfortunately the night time was too foggy for any stars to be seen.
We were on deck four. This is a photo taken at 5:30 in the morning as Ken got up to see the sunrise. No one else was up and this corridor goes on for 1000 feet! The fog was heavy so there was no sunrise to be seen! Ken managed to get a nap in before breakfast!
Every day at noon, one of the stewards comes in rings the ships bell three times just prior to the captain making his noon time announcement.
On Sunday, the captain holds a non-denominational Seaman’s service. It was very good. The captain is quite a character. He told stories of the Titanic and people who were important to the survival of others. He also told of a Catholic priest and a Protestant preacher who, until their last breath, were trying to save souls for Jesus Christ. It was really a very good service.
The Queen Mary 2 boasts the largest library at sea. This is just one shot. The library is located at the front of the ship on Deck 8 and has over 1000 books that can be borrowed throughout the journey. Chris read “Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe” by Jo Thomas while crossing the Atlantic!
We’re of course, grateful for these maps, which were scattered throughout every deck of the ship. It took us about six days to figure out which direction we needed to go every time we left our state room.
A life ring from the Queen Mary 2.
One of the pools with a hot tub at the aft of the ship. We tried out both of these! Life is too short not to! The pool water was warm and the hot tub perfect! Neither was every very crowded.
The Queen Mary 2 never stops sailing, except while in port for just a few hours. Therefore, the maintenance crew is constantly doing repairs and upgrades. This is just one shot of many of the maintenance crew painting around the ship. Because the ship spends most of its time in the north Atlantic Sea it really gets battered with weather.
A shot of a few of the life boats from above. And this shot you can see some rust beginning to appear on one of the vertical portions of the ship. It won’t be long before the maintenance crew is sanding that and painting it.
Just one of the many reliefs and pieces of art throughout this ship. In this particular one you might be able to find Homer Simpson.
There’s Homer!
The entry to the Britannia Dining Room. Note how large the tapestry is that was in a previous picture.
The ceiling of the main section of the Britannia Dining Room.
A cozy corner in the champagne bar.
Throughout the journey, there was a clay sculpture that was being designed artist, Douwe Blumberg. On the first day of the journey, everything was just a giant clump of clay. On the last day, the sculpture was still a work in progress as this ship is continuing on to Germany and Norway.
Chris spent some time down here on deck two sitting in front of the windows just a few feet above the sea, sea-gazing and working on the puzzles. Our dinner tablemates, Jen and Paul spent many hours doing much of the same. They have already been on Amazon to purchase 2 of the puzzles they were working on so that they can continue “puzzling” at home to remember their time on the Queen Mary 2!
An early-morning walk around deck 13.
We were fortunate to have two Catholic priests on board. They offered daily mass for anyone to attend. One was from Pennsylvania, the other from California.
A photo of the Corinthia lounge.
A photo of the Chart Room; another lounge on board.
More artwork in the main hallway and deck two.
The Queen Mary 2 boasts the tallest theater at sea. The theater holds more than 700 people and they put on some amazing performances throughout the week.
Another shot of the dining tables and the Britannia Dining Room.
Yet another shot of the dining tables in Britannia room.
This is taken from deck 10 looking aft. The balconies you see are considered “regular” balconies. Ours was a “sheltered” balcony, which was more of a cut out in the hull.
Looking down onto the Commodores Cufflinks from Deck 10.
Some portions of the ship have retained their vintage look.
This photo was taken from deck 10 looking up at the side of the bridge. If you look closely, you can see two glass openings in the floor of the bridge. The navigator uses these to dock the ship because they can’t see the side of the ship from the rest of the bridge.
That bunker you see on the right contains all of the lounge chair cushions.
Some of the seating area and artwork in the Kings Court dining room. The Kings Court was the area where the buffet was. It takes up most of the aft section of deck seven.
This is a shot of deck seven on the outside. It is unobstructed the entire way around the ship. If you walk around three times you will have walked 1.1 miles. During the day time this is a high traffic area.
This shot was taken early in the morning before anybody got to the pool.
If you look carefully at this photo, you have to realize that the photographer was extending their arm out over the ocean holding their phone. It is not a small miracle that the phone didn’t fall into the ocean! (The editor of this post is still shaking their head…)!
There is beautiful artwork at every staircase on every landing. There are four staircases and 20 elevators on the QM2.
One of the main elevator areas. See the clock on the wall?
G 32 is the nightclub on board. It gets its name from the whole number that was assigned to the ship during construction.
One of the tappers in one of the many lounges!
We thought this was a cool shot from deck two looking out into the sea.
The Queen’s Room is where the daily afternoon tea was held.
Every deck with cabins is also furnished with a free Launderette.
The Launderette is complete with washers, dryers, ironing boards, irons, and laundry soap sheets!!! All free! Now…getting a machine takes amazing timing! The laundry angels were watching over us this week!!! Chris met some ladies on embarkation day who were washing FABRIC!!! It turns out they were on this cruise to SEW!!! There were 12 ladies on this voyage to sew!!!
Samuel Cunard. The Cunard line was founded by Samuel in 1840. Today Cunard sails the only ocean liner in existence and is the longest running company maintaining the founders name.
Titanic style deck chairs!
Our sheltered balcony.
Sorry for Ken’s hand in the pic!
Finally a super clear day!! The north Atlantic weather is certainly unpredictable and most often not very sunny!
One of the many Wash Stations available on deck seven where the buffet is.
The Grand Lobby on deck two and three with a pianist playing at embarkation.
We needed to quickly grab this photo and the next one on embarkation day. The cabin, attendance and reception crew wear these bellhop uniforms, but only on the first day.
See the photo comment above.
Another shot of the grand staircase in the Grand Lobby with a beautiful floral arrangement in the middle. The lower deck you see is deck t wo the upper deck is deck three where all of the stores are.
