Across the Atlantic: The Voyage of a Lifetime

[Antony Cox]

As promised, here’s some piccies of our amazing journey across the Atlantic to New York (apologies if some of them seem too big; I’ve tried re-sizing them in Photobucket but for some reason only some of them shrunk).

Here we go……



I didn’t get an opportunity to take any photos of the QM2 exterior as the taxi drove us straight into the terminal at Southampton and only caught a glimpse of her from the rear. The terminal is right next to the quay and thus you can’t really see the ship in her entirety, but I must admit I did get butterflies during these brief seconds of seeing her up close and personal! However, these are two shots I took of her a year or so ago from the Hythe ferry.


It’s very difficult to portray a sense of the sheer size of QM2. She is, with one minor exception, the largest passenger ship ever built and in terms of tonnage, almost twice the size of the original Queen Mary and over three times the size of Titanic. Here’s a good shot I found on the net which shows how small people are in comparison:


As this photo shows, Southampton isn’t the most glamorous of places to depart from! The ugly looking thing behind us is a car transporter which actually followed us for a while soon after our departure. Although the sky was grey the rain managed to hold off. You can see a band playing on the banstand on the next deck down, and we all were enjoying a glass of bubbly waiting for the horn to sound signalling our departure.


Here’s me in our cabin before we departed looking very excited!


And Martin enjoying a glass from our complimentary bottle of bubbly (which we had no idea we’d get!).


This shot shows the Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth. For some strange reason we went clockwise around the Isle of Wight when the logical and shorter route was to go anti-clockwise down the top right hand corner of the island and thence to the English Channel. Mind you, we were fortunate to see some dolphins swimming the other way here, though they were too quick for us to get a shot of them!


I took loads of shots like this. I could sit for hours and watch the wake behind the ship; it was truly mesmerising, especially on days like this when we had some stunning weather.


Here’s another interesting shot taken through an aperture half way up a staircase at the stern. We were blessed with some beautiful weather, especially considering how unpredictable the North Atlantic can be even in the summer, and as you can see we actually got to sunbathe from time to time!


Here’s another great shot from the other end of the ship. Although it would have been great to re-enact the ‘I’m the king of the world!’ shot from Titanic, due to the high winds which can occur on the North Atlantic nobody is allowed to stand anywhere on the foredeck, never mind the prow. After a few days we had nothing but ocean around us for thousands of miles. It was a great feeling of both isolation and contentment, and really made you realise how small we are in terms of the size of the world around us.


Here’s a shot showing the funnel and one of the many satellite receiver thingys dotted around the top decks.

More piccies to follow!

[Dirk Gently]

Excellent pics Ant. Looks like you had great weather, better than we got in Italy anyway.

[Pip Madeley]

That is a truly stunning photo - makes me kinda want to go on a cruise myself!

[P-Bal]

The pillows look like big winkie-woo's.

xxxx

[Dirk Gently]

Ant, was the plastic sheet on your bed a special request? And did you remember the oil?

[Rob McCow]

Ooooo - that looks superb!

A very classy trip too, judging from Martin's pose with the champagne there



Hmm...



Watch out!

[Martin Penny]

That is a truly stunning photo - makes me kinda want to go on a cruise myself!

I was just thinking the same thing!
I was once stuck on a boat during a storm for 11 hours though, so I've been put off ever since.

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

Great pictures of the 'boat' Ant!!!

You will have to let Stephen (my youngest brother who is mad about ships) see these.

[Wayne]

Superb photos, Ant! Looks like you had a fab time.

[SiHart]

Wow! Those pictures are amazing. It really is quite a ship and I can see why you were really looking forward to this trip.

Si xx

[Antony Cox]

That is a truly stunning photo - makes me kinda want to go on a cruise myself!

It is isn't it? Everyone I've shown that too has said the same thing!

Thanks for resizing the pics, Pip!

[Antony Cox]

OK, next batch of pics.


On Transatlantic Crossings people are allowed to take their dogs and cats with them which travel in a kennel centre up top. This shot shows some of the dogs having a walk round in the sunshine with their owners.




Another couple of great shots which show the immensity of the ship and the glorious weather.


This is lit up at night just in case anyone forgets which ship theyre on!


One of the many endless corridors on cabin decks.


There were three formal nights on our crossing. Here were are dressed up to the nines one evening, though for some reason we both seem to be miserable!








On the morning we arrived in New York, we got up at 4am to experience the slow journey into the harbour. At the mouth of the river Hudson lies the Verrazano Narrows bridge which QM2 clears by only a matter of 4 meters or so. Heres a series of stills from the video I took showing our approach to the bridge, how close we were to the underside of the bridge and how the funnel cleared the underside by what seem like inches! Needless to say, at this point there was a huge round of applause by all the crowds gathered up top to watch the spectacle!




The next hour or so was one which neither of us will ever forget. Because the ship had to slow down considerably as we proceeded up the river toward NY harbour, it was almost completely silent other that the people around us chatting quietly. You couldnt even hear the ship moving through the water. All of a sudden though the blackness we could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, and then the Manahttan skyline loomed up beyond it. These shots were taken about half an hour later when it was staring to get lighter. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing truly magical. There were police helicopters buzzing around us overhead and other ships and boats passing us on each side. Then slowly we started to turn about and gently drift towards the Cruise Terminal at Brooklyn, something which took another hour or so due to the size of the ship and the delicacy of the manoeuvre.

I was so sad to have to disembark. It really had been the voyage of a lifetime and something which I just wanted to go on forever. But at least we had the excitement of New York to look forward to, some photos of which Ill post in the final instalment!

[Ralph]

Great pics Ant!

I hope to get some good ones of the States in one month!

[Dirk Gently]

Those are some superb pics Ant! You obviously had a great time.

The Manhattan skyline just doesn't look right these days does it?

[Antony Cox]

Heres the final selection



These are two shots taken from our hotel bedroom window


And this was our hotel (the one on the right) we were on the 54th floor!


The Chrysler Building


A fascinating shot showing a couple of yellow cabs and a manhole cover!


The good ol Statue of Liberty from up close


We also went to Ellis Island, which is where all the immigrants from overseas would arrive in the early 20th Century and be screened and vetted before being allowed (or not) into the country. There was a fascinating exhibition, including this model of one of the liners which sailed from Europe which was made by one of the immigrants who arrived on it (he built the model, not the real ship!)


This really tickled me. Youve heard of coffee bars, wine bars and juice bars? Well in New York they have a Rice Pudding bar where you can have all the flavors (note the American spelling ) of the rainbow. It could only happen in the USA! As I was taking the photograph, somebody walked up to me and said that part of the film 'Hitch' had been filmed inside the place, but I'm afraid I've never heard of the film!


We couldnt possibly go to New York without visiting the Empire State Building! I had read that it was best to go at night to get the best awe-inspiring views of the city, and this first shot confirms it!


And this shot shows just how small the cars looked from 86 floors up!


I took this shot of the very top of the building (as featured in Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks) but it didnt come out too well!

I must say we both liked New York a lot. Its very dirty compared with central London, but we felt a lot safer there than either of us had anticipated. If you ever get the opportunity to go then I would highly recommend it!

All-in-all it was a fantastic holiday, and one which we will never forget.

[Dirk Gently]

And again some very nice pictures Ant.

When are you planning to do it again?

[Antony Cox]

And again some very nice pictures Ant.

Thanks Tim!

When are you planning to do it again?

Are you trying to get rid of me?

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

They really are great pictures Ant.
The film 'Hitch' was a comedy starring Will Smith - I've never seen it though!!!

Most importantly which flavour rice pudding did you have? (just because the American's can't spell doesn't mean I'm going to let my standards slip)!!! - PS Sorry to any American PS members!!!

[Antony Cox]

Most importantly which flavour rice pudding did you have?

None! I don't like rice pudding so we didn't even go in the place. I just noticed it as we were walking along and it made me laugh so I took a photo!

[Dave Lewis]

A great thread with some wonderful pictures.

I'm glad you had such a lovely holiday, Ant.

[Paul Monk]

Sounds like a great holiday. I've always liked the idea of a cruise but its never appealled to Jody.

[Antony Cox]

A great thread with some wonderful pictures.

I'm glad you had such a lovely holiday, Ant.

Thanks, Dave!

I've always liked the idea of a cruise but its never appealled to Jody.

I can't speak for other cruise lines but Cunard offer a very refined and relaxed experience, but we were spoilt with QM2 as she's so large you never had to fight for space anywhere! You'd never have believed there were 2400 passengers and 1200 crew on board!

But a Transatlantic crossing is different to a normal cruise; there's 6 full days at sea with no ports of call along the way, so you're forced to relax and just enjoy the ride!

[Ralph]

The Manhattan skyline just doesn't look right these days does it?

I have to agree

Whenever I watch a movie featuring New York the twin towers are always boldly in view.

[BettyZygon]

Those are fantastic pictures. I've visited New York a couple of times but I don't have any pictures like that. The notion of tons of flavors of rice pudding is a bit underwhelming...

[Jeff]

You’ve heard of coffee bars, wine bars and juice bars? Well in New York they have a Rice Pudding bar where you can have all the flavors (note the American spelling ) of the rainbow. It could only happen in the USA!

In Vegas they have an oxygen bar, apparently. You pay to breathe pure oxygen (maybe even scented) from a tank with a breathing hose or something... I've never been to Vegas myself, but a friend who went there was telling me about it...