Day 99 QE2 revisited.

Today was one of astonishment and delight, but it did not start well!

This was the only day of this very long voyage that I felt “Cunard could have done better”. The leaflet posted recently to my cabin advertised an array of activities on board QE2, “Exclusively for guests of Queen Mary 2”. Bookings for the various events had to be made via e-mail by 16th April. The World Cruise Concierge booked on my behalf, a buffet lunch in QE2’s Lido for 12.30pm on 19th April. She strongly advised me to go early in the event of delay with transport; I gave myself 85 minutes for a 20 minute transfer time. No representatives of Cunard or QE2 were anywhere to be seen in the vast cruise terminal I had to walk through. I could see no sign of the shuttle bus, or any personnel outside. There was no obvious signage. I hired a taxi. The driver had no clue where to go, and I paid about £6.00 to get lost in a container terminal! I went back to QM2 to seek help from the Purser’s Office. They were as helpful and understanding as they could be. But even they were unable to tell me where the shuttle bus was either, nor were they successful locating any Cunard ground staff. They did try. Eventually, someone in charge in the terminal did make sure I was able to go straight to the QE2. I learned, later, that the shuttle buses were in a completely different location out of sight of the main entrance.

The rest of the day, however, was excellent. The QE2 is accessed via a huge futuristic glass fronted reception area, which houses a wonderful exhibition of items recovered from the ship. Around 6,000 books from QE2’s library have been recovered and are on show. A decent account of QE2 is documented on a series of exhibition panels, with accompanying photographs and images. This is similar to the Maritime Quest which runs throughout Queen Mary 2 and tells the entire history of the Cunard Line.

It became apparent that, while now open for business, QE2’s restoration is not yet complete. That didn’t matter; the opportunity to go aboard was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise. The areas that I did see were extremely well renovated and the accommodation was now of the highest standard of presentation. Everywhere was recognisable and a pleasure to see once again. I enjoyed my buffet lunch in the Mauretania Restaurant; the Lido was still “out of bounds” and the open decks were not yet available for public inspection. Nor was the Queens Room, despite a tea dance being advertised there. I have been told that the life tenders which appear to be dumped near by, are to be restored and re-fitted on board. QE2 looks in fabulous condition, superbly painted externally and with best possible renovation inside. I got to see the Mauretania Restaurant, Crystal Bar, Theatre, Golden Lion Pub, and Grand Lounge as well as the Midships Lobby. I was very well taken care of by the most attentive of personnel once inside the complex. I wish to thank all those I spoke to, or who served me, for making my time there an extremely happy one. I enjoyed myself very much indeed.

With luck, I will be able to appreciate the complete restoration in the not too distant future.

It’s very late; I will publish photographs very soon. Best wishes, David.