Americans In Umbria: Queen Mary2

Here I am again. I expected to be able to post from the QM2 but the computer situation was not the easiest in the world. That is and will be my only complaint about the crossing. As my sister, Sarah, said, when you are planning something as long as we planned this trip, it is easy to be disappointed. This was not the case for the four of us. We fell in love with the ship, the activities and the staff.

Here are some facts about the ship for those of you who are curious. It is owned by Cunard, a British company. It is 1100 feet long and goes about 28knots although the captain told us it could go up to 40 knots, which seemed to impress the male contingency. There are 2600 passengers, and the ship was sold out with a waiting list. There are 14 decks, an indoor and outdoor pool, a spa, a casino, a theater,and of course a dog kennel! It was commissioned in 2003 and refurbished in 2008. At the end of the crossing, I asked each person to come up with one word to describe the experience and we all said, "elegant." It was exactly as I had imagined.

Here we are leaving NYC. It was a beautiful New York day. As we passed Ellis Island, my sister and I were very emotional thinking of our grandparents who came from Italy to NYC so many years ago.

Our biggest surprise was the sentiment that we felt as we passed by the Statue of Liberty. My sister and I both cried and the guys were misty eyed. Symbols become the compass of our lives and passing the Statue summed up all that was and is wonderful in our country and all that I was leaving behind.

We didn't stay sad for long. There was a band playing and champagne was flowing.

This was the last of our good weather. After the first day, it was cold and gray, but we really didn't care because the inside of the ship was so magnificent.

This is the grand lobby that you see as you enter the ship. It is spectacular.