QE2 AND QM2 TANDEM CROSSING

PREFACE For those who are not cruisers, a little historical background would be in order. Since 1969 Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 has been the only passenger ship that has crossed the Atlantic on a regular schedule; crossing 795 times. She has also completed 21 World Cruises, sailed millions of miles, and painted grey, carried English troups during the 1982 Falkland War. She is touted as "The Most Famous Ship in the World", and the CEO of Carnival Cruise Line must have thought so too when the corporation purchased Cunard in 1998. Plans were begun almost immediately to construct a new, much larger ship, but still in the tradition of the QE2. This SHIP would become, for the time being, the largest, tallest ship afloat and would carry the name of another famous Cunard ship, the Queen Mary. (The Queen Mary today is an attraction/hotel in Long Beach, Cal.) Construction began 4 years ago. On completion the Queen Mary 2 was christened by Queen Elizabeth II, and she began her maiden voyage in January 2004.

Cousin Betty and I had been following the construction of the QM2 from the first public notice, so early in 2003, Betty, Bill and I reserved our cabins for April 25, 2004. This would be the tandem crossing of the QE2 and QM2. Two ships sailing in tandem out of New York, had not been done for sixty years, and will probably never be done again. It truly is a historical time, so said Commodore Ron Warwick, QM2's Captain.

PREPARATION April 24, 2004, Saturday: As we had sent our large cases ahead, we had only our carry-ons to worry about. We left our car at the Coach USA Terminal, and boarded for our 3 hour ride to Chicago's O'Hare. The famous Chicago hot dog kept our tummy contented, until our United flight departed at 6:05PM Our one and one-half hour flight passed quickly, and we arrived at Newark, New Jersey about 9:30PM. This had been TOO EASY!

TROUBLE-BIG TIME Finding a taxi was easy; finding our hotel was not! It's true! Taxi drivers do NOT speak English well, or understand it! Many of the New York streets are one-way, which added to the confusion. Problem #2 was our rooms at the Wellington were not ready! We enjoyed our 3 free meals, courtesy of the hotel; then there was "paper work"; then "the rooms were leaking". By this time, we knew and were told we had no rooms! "BUT not to worry", we were given $20 for a taxi, and we had rooms at a near-by Times Square Hotel, the Carter, all at the expense of the Wellintgton. This should have been a clue as to what was to come next! As I walked up the steps into the hotel, I had a strange premonition! The lobby of the Carter looked like it had been put together from a resale shop, and the people in charge were all Chinese. The bellman was an elderly Chinese in a uniform three sizes to big for him. All was in order, so tired and with missgivings we took the elevator to our floor. Our room looked like the lobby! Checking to see if the beds were clean, we fell into bed and asleep at about 1 AM. Tomorrow would be better!

"OUR SUITE" at the CARTER

This might give one an idea of the "luxury" we had at the Carter Hotel

April 25, 2004 EMBARKATION DAY We treated ourselves to breakfast at Don Sulas' at the nearby Westin Hotel, and then headed for Pier 92 and the QM2.

QE2 and QM2

photo courtesy of Sam Warwick Side by side the two Queens await their passengers for this historic crosssing.

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