Crossing the Atlantic on the QMII (eg the Toddler Titanic)

Readers of this blog need only scroll down to our very first entry to see how convinced we were about how much easier and more relaxing it would be to cross the Atlantic with two toddlers on a luxury cruise ship instead of (perish the thought!) a nine hour red eye flight. In my own defense, and before providing all the details, I will also refer you below to my previously articulated conviction that nothing on the trip would be quite what we were expecting. And how!

The Queen Mary II is, to say the least, a sight to behold and something that we will remember fondly for the rest of our lives (photos here). And I mean it. These ships – and I think a Cunard ship specifically – are something really unique. Yes, they provide a feeling of luxury and amazement. But they also provide this incredible sense that you are walking in the footsteps of history, of the golden age of Atlantic crossings, when a ship was the only real way to get from point A to point B. Part of that feeling is just knowing about those who crossed before, from the Titanic to the Britannia (the first of White Star’s ocean liners).

The designers of these vessels clearly do their work with an acute sense of the history as well, making the ships look like something out of movie as well. Grand, tasteful ballrooms that seat hundreds, teak decks and lounge chairs with thick green cushions everywhere, interior corridors that stretch for a quarter of a mile (making it hard to see one end from the other), huge windows with plush carpeting on one side and the grey, churning sea on the other, grand staircases, murals, stained glass ceilings…you get the idea. That sense of awe, amazement, novelty, and history is what we expected. Rob, especially, read several books on cruise ships, and Atlantic crossings specifically, because of his fascination with this incredible living tradition.

And there were a lot of other positives about the experience – the childcare was phenomenal, the staff throughout the ship extremely kind and helpful, and of course just the incredible novelty of the whole thing.

As usual, though, all was not what we expected. First, the idea that we could simply use the incredible kid activites and child care to afford ourselves a lot of free time was naïve in the extreme. Cory was having none of it, and it was unrealistic to think we would feel OK leaving them with caretakers for more than a couple of hours at a time. All told, I would say we had 6-8 hours on our own. And then there was the food. Ah, the food. Let’s just say that Rob and I are spoiled…irreversibly spoiled. We found the cuisine to be mediocre at best, with only a couple of exceptions (though the service was excellent – waiters timed our meals perfectly for the kids, matching our entrees with the kids’ desserts, etc).

In addition to shock and awe, the ship also could be described, as Rob so aptly put it, a lot like a Las Vegas casino. Frosted glass everywhere, the same floor plan floor after floor, and that feeling that you are basically in this huge, money printing factory. Even the people we met in the more luxurious levels felt the same.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, was our realization that we have left the South Orange bubble for a long time. Old people everywhere (yes Mom, as old as you!), most of them (except the Germans, for some reason) very nice, but definitely not our people. We were oddities, and I don’t think we felt that just out of insecurity. This was a crowd of people who like formal cruises, not New Jersey same sex families. Only six other toddlers on board, if that gives you any idea.

I have tons more to write, but it’s hard to get it all down in a timely manner. Suffice to say that we had a great time and are very glad we gave it a try – but I’m not sure we would go rushing back in anytime soon, and we felt some relief to be on our own after it was over. Disney cruises here we come!

I will finish this entry with a few cute anecdotes and memories from the trip:
- Cory coming into our room the first morning, saying “Daddy, why is this boat so bouncy?” We were blessed with an incredibly smooth crossing, but you could feel that we were on the water.
- Addy spending the first 2 hrs of the first day falling down every ten feet because of the gentle sway of the ship. She would get up with this bewildered look on her face, as if trying to understand why the same old walking or running routine wasn’t working so well any more.
- Cory and Addy wandering into the ship’s piano bar the first formal night and being coaxed into singing several Sound of Music Tunes for adoring crowds by the eccentric piano player (see pic below).

- Watching the kids handle themselves quite well their nights in the formal dining room. Equally gratifying was looking at the horror on the faces of the older German and Texas couples unfortunate enough ot have been assigned adjacent tables, but seeing the same couples warm up to the kids and comment on their good behavior by the last night.
- Going to a real afternoon tea with the kids and watching them drink from their own delicate tea cup.
- Drinking champagne by a window that framed the moon sparkling off the ocean outside after four consecutive foggy/overcast days
- The four of us swimming alone in the outside (heated pool) in 40-50 degree weather while horrified elderly people in the parka looked on from the decks above us. Watching the steam rise from the pool and hearing the kids shriek running from the pool to the warm shower stall was unforgettable. The indoor pool was dominated by a bunch of very cold and dour looking German women, so we had to seek alternative venues.
- Watching Cory at a late night dance and musical performance – Addy insisted on staying in the Play Zone with the other 4 kids to watch Shrek.
- Addy receiveing the “Friendliest and Most Talkative Non-Sleeper Award” from the staff of the Play Zone at the conclusion of the trip.