My First Cruising Experience
The Queen Mary 2 voyage was my first cruising experience. My husband and I generally avoided cruising vacations, choosing instead to visit cultural capitals in Europe and South America, and wine regions around the world. But the opportunity to sail on Cunard was too good to pass up. Having learned about their reputation for service and luxury, I was excited to experience it.Day 1- Embark in Hamburg
View from Queen Mary 2 as we left Hamburg. Our Norwegian adventure began in Hamburg, Germany. Our flight from the US arrived around 1pm in the afternoon, and we were met at the airport by our Cunard transfer service representative who promptly brought us to the port for our embarkation, which was smooth and easy.
Our luggage (labeled with the tags provided by Cunard prior to sailing) was whisked off to the ship and we checked in. When you check in, you are asked for credit card for your incidental expenses. Although your voyage fare includes all of your meals, coffee and tea, shore excursions, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are charged separately. You will be given an identification card which you use for identification when leaving and entering the ship as well as when charging expenses onboard.
We were tired from the long overnight flight from New Orleans to Hamburg, which included stops in Houston and Munich. But we were excited to be aboard.
Our free cruise was in an inside stateroom, so we didn't have the luxury of a balcony, but it was very comfortable. And when I realized how short the nighttime is in Norway, with sunset at around 11pm and sunrise at 4am, I was happy to have a dark room to sleep in!
Standard amenities provided us included a welcome bottle of champagne, our own bath with shower, robes and slippers, and an extremely comfortable bed.
After getting cleaned up from the trip, we made our way up to the Commodore Lounge on Deck 8, aft, where we enjoyed a glass of wine and a great view.
The dress code for dinner on informal nights is cocktail dress or stylish separates for ladies and a jacket for men (no shorts or jeans). On formal nights, men are required to wear ties and women were anything from cocktail dresses to evening gowns. One of the charms of being on one of these voyages is that everyone dresses nicely, and in our modern era where everything is so casual, it's nice to dress up. Of course, if you don't feel up to dressing up one night, you can dine in your stateroom or at the Kings Court, the ship's buffet service restaurant and lounge the adjoining Winter Garden lounge.
We enjoyed our dinners at the Britannia restaurant. Each night there are three to five options for each course including a starter, a salad, an entree and a dessert. There is also Canyon Ranch spa menu available if you would prefer to eat light. Wine is not included on the cruise, and we opted to purchase a wine package to allow us to have a nice bottle of wine with dinner at a savings of 15% over the list price. The wine list on board is very good, and I will be writing a blog on the wine options on the Queen Mary 2 in the near future.
