The Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2 is the last 6 day leg of our 105 day cruise. The rough seas are great to watch. We are taking the Great Circle Route and passed within 5 miles of where the Titanic went down.

We boarded on Tuesday and have really just kind of hunkered down for the last leg. We are spending time with various friends, skipping the ship parties in favor of meeting friends in cabins for drinks before dinner. We are not going to the dining room, but eating in the various alternative dining venues onboard so that we can eat with different friends from the QV. That part has been great.

Things haven't been going the best on here. They lost my main piece of luggage. I had packed the things I really need at home and on the Queen Mary 2 in one suitcase and they lost it. After 48 hours they announced that they found it in Southampton, which was much better than finding it on the Queen Victoria heading in the opposite direction. They say it will arrive in Florida, but I can't seem to get any proof from them that there even is a suitcase much less a tracking number.

They have charged us our tips for this leg even though it is included in the world cruise price and I have two pieces of documentation on that. They are very slow and don't seem to get anything done. I have been working on that problem for four days now. There is really no excuse for it. This is not just for us, but the other 350 World Cruisers aboard as well.

I also have a case of conjunctivitis in both eyes and had a bad sore throat. At least now I can leave the cabin without sunglasses, I am almost better. The throat is on the mend, too. It was one way I could really spook them at the purser's desk was to go down there and take off my sunglasses to talk to them! Ha!

We had heard so many great things about the QM2 (The Mary) and we just don't agree. To each his own I guess. The cabin size and storage are much better on this ship, but we don't care for the size of the ship or the public rooms. We really loved the Queen Victoria. Part of it may be the short time we are on here in comparison. It just doesn't seem worth it to really invest ourselves in a new ship. It's just transportation home, and it is great for that. I think the lost luggage, the poor service in getting anything done and the illness has really impacted on our view of the ship and probably isn't fair.

We are just getting rested up and getting organized to hit the ground running when we arrive back at the beach. It also helps that we have so many friends on board. That is one thing that has been so great about this trip.