Day 0: Embarkation
On arriving at Southampton, we made our way to the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal, which, of course, confused Nat. It’s easily done.
“We’re booked aboard the Queen Mary, Craig, not the Queen Elizabeth. Actually, I think she’s gone out of service.”
Dad smiled and I rolled my eyes, then explained to Nat. “Yes, Nat. The Queen Mary 2 leaves from the Queen Elizabeth the Second Cruise Terminal. The Terminal is named for the Queen, not the ship, though the QE 2 also sailed from here until she left service. So, back then it was the Queen Elizabeth the Second Cruise Terminal for the QE 2. And the Queen Mary 2 is a liner, Natters, not a cruise ship, though she does do some cruises when she isn’t doing trans-Atlantic passages. There’s a difference…” I’m not sure that Nat also picked up on the difference between Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth being ‘the Second’ and the ship being Queen Elizabeth ‘Two’, just as our ship is Queen Mary ‘Two’ too, but some things shouldn’t need to be explained.
The Queen Mary 2 is a huge ship, looming over the Terminal like a giant blue and white whale. She looks awesome. We parked in the nearest car park and then headed over to the terminal with mum and dad helping with our luggage. Nat and I both had two suitcases: me because I’m going to be gone for a year and Nat because although he only flew over with one, he spent so much time shopping in London that he needed two cases for the journey back. That’s no problem, there’s no limit on the size, number or weight of cases we can take aboard the QM 2. We can take our hand luggage on board ourselves but the cases we need to drop off at a luggage point and they’ll magically make their way to our cabin.
It only took us a few minutes to hand over our luggage and then it was time to say goodbye to mum and dad before we made our way to the embarkation gate. Obviously, I got lots of hugs from mum and a pat on the back from dad, along with a reminder that when we are on board the ship, I have to do as Nat says. Cunard don’t do the ‘unaccompanied minor’ thing – every passenger either has to be an adult or have an adult travelling with and responsible for them. As Nat is 18, he’s allowed to be my ‘responsible adult’ – and he’s only been reminding me of it every ten minutes so far today! No problem: I get my own back by calling him “Rose” every time he does…
After a final hug from mum and Nat getting a handshake from dad and a playful warning to keep me under control, we finally turned around and made our way towards our designated check in desk. We’d been allocated an early check in time, 13:00, and there were only a few people ahead of us. Nat already had the boarding paperwork and our passports to hand.
“Good afternoon, Mr Bauer, Mr Wright,” smiled the lady on the desk as she read the boarding card Nat had printed off last night, “Welcome aboard the Queen Mary Two. Your cabin is ready for you. Just follow the line through passport control and then on through to the boarding point.”
Passport control only took a couple of minutes too, far faster than at an airport, and I let Nat enjoy his little power display when he handed over my passport as well as his own, just shrugging my shoulders to the guy at the desk and saying “He’s my minder.” Actually, it’s only Cunard who bother about the responsible adult thing and they have no say over the passport control.
Five minutes later we had walked up the gangplank – or rather, along the boarding bridge, just like at an airport, and stepped aboard the Queen Mary. It seemed like half the crew had been lined up to welcome us aboard! Well, not just us, everyone was getting the same treatment as we made our way into the big atrium area where the Purser and his staff were checking us in, handing out our dining cards and answering any questions we might have. Mum and dad have booked us a Britannia Balcony room and so that entitles us to use all the Britannia class restaurants and facilities. It’s a step up from the general class of cabins on board.
I followed on behind Nat as he sauntered confidently to a desk the moment it became free and placed our passports and boarding cards in front of the steward. “Nathan Bauer and Craig Wright, outbound to New York.”
“Welcome aboard, gentlemen,” smiled the steward as he glanced at the cards and then handed Nat two credit card style passes. Those are your Princess Grill cards; just use them to access all the facilities they entitle you to. Your suite is ready, up on Deck Ten. You can reach it most easily using the elevator over there, or for a more scenic experience, using the external elevator to the Observation Deck from Deck Seven up near the bow, then come down one deck. Once again, welcome on board.”
As we stepped away from the desk and headed over in the direction the steward had indicated for the external elevator, Nat glanced at our passes and then popped both the cards in his pocket rather than giving me mine. He’s really taking this ‘responsible adult’ thing a step further than he needs to. Maybe I should tell him I’ve got wind and need burping, then be sick down his back…
The lift to the Observation Deck from Deck Seven could easily be missed. It’s tucked in just alongside the forward superstructure with virtually nothing to indicate it’s there. You just step through an ordinary looking door in the bulkhead and find yourself in a small glass lift on the outside of the ship that gives you amazing views as it zips up towards the Observation Deck. The lift itself doesn’t stop at Deck Ten, our deck, but goes direct from Nine to the Observation Deck. There’s a stairway there back down to Deck Ten.
Nat smiled. “Deck Ten is pretty exclusive, Boots. We don’t want the riff-raff having easy access to it, or the noise from the elevator doors pinging all day and night.”
The Observation Deck is just under the bridge and from it we had amazing views over Southampton and the Cruise Terminal. It was still only just after 13:30 and the car park was still filling up, there being several hours to go before we are due to sail and with most passengers not yet even aboard. After a quick look around we followed the signs indoors and made our way to the internal staircase down towards our deck. As we passed through the doors to Deck Ten I noticed the sign on the bulkhead made no mention of Britania class cabins but Nat just breezed on through anyway, paused for a second to consult the number on his pass card, and then headed off about halfway down the passageway before stopping outside one of the rooms. Tucked into the door handle was an envelope addressed to Mr Bauer & Mr Wright. So, we’re obviously at the right cabin. Nat swiped his pass card and pushed the door open, allowing me to enter first. “Welcome to the Princess Suite, Boots,” he grinned.
“Princess Suite? We’re in Britannia Balcony, Rose.”
“No, we ain’t, Jack,” laughed Nat. “Remember yesterday when my mom called your mom, and they got all conspiratorial? Because your mom and pop had insisted on paying for the cabin, instead of us flying over, my folks insisted on upgrading us an extra birthday present for you. We’re travelling in a suite, as Grill passengers.”
I burst out laughing, the pulled Nat to me and planted a great big kiss on his cheek. “Well, you’re definitely the Princess, Nat…”
This Princess Suite is awesome. Our suitcases were already inside, neatly positioned in front of a wardrobe, and on the table in the sitting area was a bowl with a big bouquet of fresh flowers, a second full of fruit, a small plate of fancy chocolates and an ice bucket containing a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
As Nat picked up the envelope that had been waiting for us, I started to look around the suite. Time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted as they say. There’s a small corridor from the door into the suite, formed by the bathroom being off to one side there. As bathrooms go, it’s pretty big, even with a bath instead of a shower, and there’s also a walk-in dressing room – which is what I had mistaken for the door of a wardrobe. In the main suite area is a large double bed, with side tables, and a vanity desk or writing area off to one side of the bed. At the foot of the bed is a nice Ottoman couch, then a couple of comfy chairs surrounding the table with the flowers and stuff on. At the far end, big glass doors lead out on to a balcony with a pair of proper old fashioned teak steamer chairs, the sort that recline. It’s all decorated in cream with rich red and gold highlights, with all the trim like the mirrors, bedside lamps and even the phone being Art Deco styled. Miss Marple and Poirot would feel right at home here.
I was about to ask Nat what the letter in the envelope said when there was a gentle tap at the door. Nat, who was closer, stepped into the small corridor and opened the door, then came back inside followed by a steward who introduced himself as Crisanto, our ‘stateroom steward’. Apparently, passengers in Princess suites have a steward on call to do stuff like open the champagne bottle, replace the flowers and fruit and generally look after us. Next level up, the Queen Suite passengers, actually get a butler! I can already tell this is going to be a great trip.
On Crisanto’s recommendation, we left our unpacking until later and decided to make our way to the Grills Lounge where we could already be served lunch as the remainder of the passengers embarked and the ship made final preparations for departure. Lunch is informal and so we didn’t need to change out of our casual jackets into anything smarter. Before leaving our suite, I picked up the Ship’s Programme that had been left for us on the writing desk and Nat slipped a small card folder of deck plans into his jacket pocket. We’re going to need them.
* * *
I’m definitely going to have to memorise those deck plans! We set off for the Grill Lounge, down several decks and from our cabins, but after calling at our designated Lifeboat Muster station and running through the Emergency Drills there, we must have taken a wrong turning and instead ended up at The Steakhouse at the Verandah. That looked pretty appealing and so we went in, being quickly and politely ushered to a window table with a great view. On the waiter’s recommendation, we opted for the Bone-in Porterhouse for Two sharing plate, accompanied by fries and a Mediterranean salad. Nat ordered a glass of Chateau de Crouseilles red wine for himself, then smirked and added “And just a blueberry juice for the boy, he’s only seventeen.”
As the waiter smiled and went to bring our drinks, Nat giggled and said, “It’s no good protesting, Boots. They wouldn’t have served you alcohol anyway. We have to swipe our passes at the door and your age is on it. At least until we enter American waters, I can order alcohol but you have to stay teetotal. Technically speaking, I shouldn’t let you have any of that champagne that’s waiting back I our room.”
“Cabin, Nat,” I retorted.
“Suite, baby boy.”
“Careful, Princess Rose, your snout is looking pretty delicate right now.”
The waiter returned as we were both still trading insults and laughing, placing our drinks in front of us. Once the waiter had left, Nat leaned over and swapped the drinks around, giving me the wine and taking the blueberry juice for himself. I took a sip of the wine. It was okay, but nothing special. I’m not a big wine connoisseur but the stuff we had at Noah’s seemed way better. I guess it’s not on the wine list here. Maybe I should suggest to mum that she gets in touch with Cunard.
“A good pint of bitter would be better, Princess…”
Nat laughed as he flicked through the deck plans as we waited for the steak to arrive. “There’s actually a pub on board, Boots. They will serve beer there. I can have a pint of best bitter and you can have a packet of crisps and some lemonade…”
* * *
After finishing lunch – the steak was done to perfection – we returned to our suite, where Nat handed over my pass card as I unpacked my laptop from my hand luggage and plugged it in to charge up. I plan on uploading the Cunard app and following our progress across the Atlantic on a chart.
“It’ll get you almost anywhere, Boots,” said Nat as he passed me the card. “My parents planned on upgrading us to a Queen Suite, but those were all sold out for this voyage so we had to make do with a Princess Suite. Cunard did us a deal though, we get all the privileges of a Queen Suite so we can go in any restaurant or lounge on board, all the entertainments too. Basically, all we don’t get is the bigger cabin and a butler.”
There’s a card reader on my laptop so, when Nat wasn’t looking, I slipped the Cunard pass card in and then quickly sent an email to Will. When we left to go to the Observation Deck to watch the ship set sail, I left the laptop plugged in, the internet enabled – it’s included in a Queen’s Suite package – along with a list of open port numbers. Will will take things from there…
* * *
We have a rule in our family about ‘goodbyes.’ Because dad goes away so often, we don’t do long sentimental ‘goodbyes’. He’s coming back. No matter where he’s being posted to, no matter how dangerous it might be, he’s coming back. So, we don’t need to do ‘goodbyes’.
Today is no exception, even if it’s me that’s going away. Everybody else is lining the rails, waving to those left behind ashore, but mum and dad are long gone. Maybe even back in Boddington by now as the moment me and Nat stepped through the gate to the embarkation point they will have headed to the car and trundled off up the M27.
I’m not even really feeling sentimental about leaving England either. Wherever I go, England is with me. I don’t need to wave at the people ashore as we pass down Southampton Water, pass Calshot Castle, head out into the Solent, round Spithead on the Isle of Wight, turn west out towards the Atlantic. Nobody can take England away from me. It will always be part of me. What I am. But this coming year is my future. If it wasn’t cordoned off, I’d be down there on the bow, looking ahead, to my future in America. With Nat.
“What’s amusing you, Boots?”
“Sorry, Nat,” I giggled. “I was just thinking. Do you reckon we could slip down there to the bow? Stand right up on the stem like Jack and Rose?”
“Deefer,” laughed Nat as he took me in his arms, kissed the back of my neck. “Full ahead to America, Jack.”
* * *
After the Isle of Wight fell astern of us, Nat and I returned to our cabin. Well, suite, as I guess I should call it. The Cunard card had been ejected from my laptop and a simple, short email was waiting for me from Will.
“Sorted, bud.”
Outside, it was starting to go dark and shoreward the first lights were to be seen sparkling along the coast. Tomorrow, we won’t see any lights at all unless they are of passing ships. I closed the balcony doors and smiled at Nat. “What shall we do tonight, Natty?”
Nat smiled. “How about we just wander around the ship for a while, get our bearings? We can dine in the grill restaurants if you want to do formal, or go look for the pub if you want informal. There are a few other informal restaurants scattered around too. Or we can dine here in the suite, have food sent up from any restaurant we choose. “
“Good idea, Nat. let’s just wander round, get our bearings. Find the gym and pool for definite though. I’m not hungry, lunch was pretty filling. Maybe find the pub and have a snack later, leave the formal dinner until tomorrow?”
“Sure thing, bud.”
* * *
We’re pretty much at the top of the ship, so our recce comprised mainly of walking aft, going down one deck level, noting what we passed until we reached the stern, going down another level and walking forwards towards the bow, going down a deck level and walking aft again and so on until we reached the end of all the accessible decks. At that point we had noted where everything interesting was: the restaurants and bars, the planetarium, gym, pools, the golf driving range (I know, but Nat likes it), the cinemas, theatres, shops, library, internet café, business suite, basically everything we might need. After all that, we headed back to Deck 2 and The Golden Lion, the on-board pub. It was pretty busy, being accessible to all classes of passengers, but we soon found a vacant table and settled in to read the menu. We decided on sharing a platter of chicken wings and fries with salad. I jumped up to go and order and soon returned with two pints of bitter.
Nat frowned and quickly took his pass from his jacket pocket, checking that I hadn’t swapped them over. I hadn’t.
“How did you manage that, Boots?” asked Nat as he pocketed his pass. Your pass shouldn’t let you sign for anything alcoholic…”
I grinned. “Maybe not, Nat, but where there’s a Will, there’s a way. Cheers, bud.”
As I raised my glass to Nat I could see the cogs turning behind his eyes, hear the levers clicking into place, smell the rubber bands burning as the penny eventually dropped. Or maybe the cent in his case.
“Boots, you shouldn’t encourage Will to hack stuff. It’s got him into trouble before.”
“Nat, don’t fret. Will’s a White Hat, like Elizabeth. He doesn’t do bad stuff. Exactly the opposite. And today he’s just eased things along for us. I’m not going to get drunk and wreck the place. He’s just added a year to my age and ensured I can have a polite glass of wine with my meals…”
Nat’s smiling. He’s not going to fight me on this one. he knows when he’s beat. He’s raising his glass of bitter.
“To Will.”
* * *
After we’d munched down the chicken wings Nat smiled and drained the last dregs from his glass. “Another one, Boots?”
I thought for a moment, emptied my own glass, placed it down firmly on the table. Glanced at my watch. Like Nat, I’m wearing my Jaeger le Coutre Duoface. The watch Nat bought for me as a Christmas present. Nat’s wearing his too. They’re the right sort of watches to wear on the Queen Mary. It’s not quite 21:00.
“No, Nat, I’m done here. Let’s head back up to the suite. There’s a bottle of champagne waiting for us up there. And a nice comfy bed.”
Nat grinned. “With you on that, bud.”
“Let’s go, Princess Rose…”
