What does one do on a seven day crossing? There are more things to do than we had time to do! On the eastbound crossing, we tried to do it all! We quickly learned that we needed to slow the pace a little and allow time to just be. Every evening our cabin steward left the "Daily Programme" that explained the next days activities. This helped us decide what we wanted to participate in.
We enjoyed eating all of our meals in the Britannia Dining Room. Of course, you could go to the King's Grill if you wanted a buffet. For us, buffets are dangerous. It's much better for us to have a sit down meal in the dining room. One of us has no control at buffets!
We typically began our day with breakfast and then headed back to our stateroom to get ready for our walk around the deck. Three times around the deck equals 1.1 miles. We usually walk 2 miles a day at home, but we were unable to keep that pace up on the ship. The North Atlantic can be very chilly/cold and quite windy. That makes for difficult walking. In spite of that we managed most days to walk around the deck 3 or 4 times.
After our walk we would attend one of the many lectures that were offered. On the first day we attended a photography class that was very helpful. We also learned about Art Deco at a lecture. The Queen Mary 2 is decorated in the Art Deco style. We attended several lectures concerning ocean liners and learned about the grand age of ocean liners as well as their part in World War II.
It was thrilling to learn that RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) had a group of six actors on board performing in the Royal Court and other places on the ship. We were privileged to see them perform two separate plays adapted from "Pride and Prejudice" and "Romeo and Juliet." Both performances were amazing. Some of them played more than one part. Such gifted artists!
One morning we were given a tour of the ship's galley--A spotless huge kitchen that presented beautiful meals to over 1200 per seating in the Britannia Dining Room every evening. There are two seatings and other alternative dining venues on board that the kitchen serves.
Grayden has worked for the Navy his whole career and was very glad that we were able to get a viewing of the bridge of the QM2. Lot's of technical stuff in there and no photos were allowed in the bridge viewing area.
During breakfast and lunch you can choose to eat at a table with other passengers or just the two of you. We did a little of both. It was interesting to chat with fellow passengers, but sometimes we just wanted to be alone.
One activity we enjoyed was going to the Planetarium. Each crossing offered 2 different shows that we enjoyed.
We spent some time in the Chart Room reading and relaxing and on sunny days we loved sitting on the teak deck lounges and gazing into the amazing ocean. Grayden spotted whales spouting and pointed them out to me! We also saw many fish and porpoises! This was when we were still over the Continental Shelf. The whale spoutings were in the very deep canyons of the Atlantic.
Afternoon tea was a must for me. Grayden happily went and we enjoyed the civility of this great affair. The stewards came out with their white gloved service of tea sandwiches, petit fours and the most delicious scones, clotted cream and jam. I'm now in withdrawal to all of these indulgences!
Dinner was always enjoyed at our table with interesting conversation. Afterwards we attended the evening's entertainment in the Royal Court. Wonderful musicians, comedians, vocalists or stage shows were enjoyed every night.
You could then go dancing in the Queen's Room or one of the other venues. Grayden and I usually went out to see what we could see outside on the Promenade deck--maybe the stars or the beautiful full moon! Then we usually headed to bed.
