July Part 4: The QM2 & Our 10th Anniversary...

Wow - It was a whirlwind month...
The Royal Caribbean Allure Cruise, Time on Long Island, My 50th Birthday, James & Greg's 20th Anniversary and Now...Our 10th Anniversary and a Transatlantic Cruise on the Queen Mary 2!

I have to admit - this posting is not going to be as detailed as I had hoped. On the cruise I decided to keep an electronic journal daily, so I would be able to easily post everything we did - but as technology would have it - it is lost somewhere in cyberspace!
It's OK, all of the wonderful things we did, ate and drank are mostly still in memory (it's probably better this way - otherwise I would have probably bored you all to death).

The trip (and our anniversary) started the day before we even got on the boat...
Tom & I decided to get new/additional wedding bands for our 10th anniversary...
Take a look!

I Love you Tom!

 












The next step in our adventure was to get to Brooklyn and board the ship (thanks again - James & Greg).
Just to give everybody a little summary of our journey...

The QM2 is one of the nicest ships I have ever been on! I wasn't sure how I would handle being on the high seas for 7 days without seeing or stopping at any land/ports. I will admit - it is the most relaxing and fun way to get from the US to Europe! At the end of the cruise I wanted to stay on for another 7 days...
The QM2 (though a smaller boat than the RC Allure) was not lacking in things to do. Tom and I even took a watercolour class together - Tom is very talented!
The food was amazing, fantastic, delicious, etc... The ship itself was beyond elegant and the service impeccable. Our suite was magnificent and spacious with a terrace that I could grow a garden on. I was truly in awe!
I think picture will say more than I ever could so I will some of our favorites...

The Brooklyn Pier...

Tom & I  - pre-boarding...

 

An amazing cruise line...

...& an Amazing boat/ship!

We checked in and were immediately handed off to a redcap who brought us in the area for VIP waiting...but we didn't stop there...we were immediately brought through the doors, led onto the empty boat and to our suite! (everybody in the VIP room just looked at us as we went by). We were introduced to our cabin steward and his assistant - the redcap asked if we needed anything else and then left us to enjoy our suite and a virtually empty boat...
(Yes, I know it's a ship but I will be calling it a boat during this posting)

Our living room...

Our bedroom...

Our in-suite Dining room...

Our terrace - Tom already relaxing!

The Freedom Tower...

...and the Statue of Liberty!
Our in-port view from
our terrace!

Just Amazing!

A call from my brother Mike
before we left port...

A little suite-warming present
from Cunard...

Propeller Art... 

Our suite steward & assistant!

We found the smoking section
on the back of the boat...

...then did a self-guided
grand tour of the empty boat!

Main hall with magnificent art...

...1 of the 3 pools...empty!

Tom & The Freedom Tower

Tom & the Queen!

G32 - the Nightclub...

Tom on the G32 balcony...

The Queens Room...

...& a sunset from our dinner table!

The main stairwell...

The Vive Champagne Bar!

Our dining room - The Queens Grill!

James Bond  Night at the Casino!

As I said earlier the dining experience on the QM2 was truly outstanding! Here are a few photos:

Our table in the Queen's Grill...

...the view from our table!

Another fine wine...

...& dinner prepared table side!

Along with dining we also did a fair amount of enjoying the spirits! The QM2 was not shy of good Martinis!

Cheers!

Salute!

The Martini Self-portrait!

And No, we didn't just drink martinis
We had wine & champagne too!

These 2 gentlemen helped us with
our cocktail needs at the
Commodore's Lounge

As you can see, beyond making
good drinks - they were kinda
hams for the camera!

I know by now you are thinking all we did was eat and drink - close but not true!
As stated earlier, we took a watercolour class and let our creative-selves shine through...

Tom, Maggie and I
Maggie was a fun artistic instructor!

Tom hard at work...creating!

Well onto the the main reason for our QM2 getaway cruise - Tom's and my 10th Anniversary!
On that night we decided to have some of our favorite dishes from previous nights of the cruise.
We started with caviar and champagne in our suite...
Then we moved into the Queen's Grill for Oysters Rockefeller and Beef Wellington made table-side...
Then a fabulous Chocolate Mousse Cake...
The night was topped off with a trip to the casino for a little Blackjack and some Roulette!

A great way to celebrate!
And Thank You to George & Andy
for the lovely bottle of Dom Perignon
2003 - 10 years old! Perfect!

2003 Dom Perignon!

Osman preparing our dinner...

....an Amazing Beef Wellington!

Happy Anniversary Dessert!

...off to the the Empire Casino!

All dressed up for our
Special Evening!
And an Amazing evening
it was!

My Handsome Husband

...Our 10th Anniversary Photo!

A Wonderful Anniversary with my Wonderful Husband!
Thanks to him and the staff of Cunard for making it a GREAT DAY!


And Happy 10th Anniversary Tom!
May we celebrate many many more!









I will continue with just a few assorted photos from around the boat!

Stephen seeing us off in Brooklyn

Enjoying Martinis in the Cigar Bar

The main atrium...

Tom & the Queen!

Forward view...

Some on-board Artwork!

Daily presents from Cunard!

Signs you don't expect to see...

A little Bon Voyage Champs!

Under the Verrazano Bridge...

Arriving in Southampton England!

Disembarking the Mary....Sigh...

Thanks to everyone on the QM2 for making our trip
THE BEST!

Ok, well I think I have bored everybody to death by now!
We had a GREAT time and would suggest for anybody to do it!

Until the next posting....
We wish everybody lots of love and a great life!
Ciao for now -
Ron & Tom