Written by Art Petrosemolo
One of the real benefits of retiring is the ability to travel where and when you’d like. And, at Garden Spot Village, where you literally lock the door and leave and you do not have to worry about the house, travel is even simpler.
My wife Tina and I have always enjoyed cruising and got started in 1970 aboard the Leonardo DaVinci (Italian Lines) on a trip to the Caribbean where our cabin was so tiny it had bunk beds and only one person could be standing (really) in the cabin’s open space at a time. But it got us hooked and we have done lots of cruises ever since. We’ve explored diverse destinations including the Middle East, Antarctica, and recently Norway, for the second time.
Our first Norway cruise was on the Hurtigruten Ferry from Bergen to Tromso above the Arctic Circle and it was “spartan” but fun and had a huge lounge at the ship’s bow where you could sit all day (not too much else to do) as the ship threaded itself into the fjords to drop off and pick up mail and passengers as it headed leisurely north over five days.
We found Norway to be a special place and loved Tromso, nicknamed the Paris of the North for its sophistication and culture, and always hoped to return.
Tina is not a fan of flying anymore–even Business Class–and gave me the task in the spring of finding a cruise that departed and returned to New York City without going to Bermuda, the Caribbean or New England, where we have been several times.
My search brought me to the Cunard line, a luxury cruise line, now owned by Carnival Corporation that operates a half-dozen cruise lines and more than 100 ships. The gem of their fleet is the 20-year-old Queen Mary 2, the last of the great ocean liners. She went into service in 2004 to replace the Queen Elizabeth 2 on the New York to Southampton, England route and has the lines and the bones of the great ocean liners like the Normandie, France and the original Queen Mary, England. The QE 2 has made more than 400 Atlantic crossings in 20 years. Until the 1960s (start of jet age), trans-Atlantic ship travel was the preferred way to get from the United States to England and the European Continent. Although jet aircraft and non-stop flights from the U.S. to England and Europe pretty much ended this tradition, the QM2 has managed to carve out a niche where it continues these voyages and usually sails with some 2400 passengers year-round.
Cunard operates four “queen” ships including the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and the new Queen Anne besides the QM2 but their itineraries are pretty much cruise-oriented for short voyages or world cruises which QM2 also does for three to four months each year.
Tina and I had the privilege of taking a 12-day cruise on QM2 during her 2004 to the Caribbean inaugural season and enjoyed it but, for some reason, other than taking the Queen Elizabeth to the Baltic 10 years ago, hadn’t booked another cruise on her since choosing smaller ships usually not so much on their reputation but their destinations.
Well, the stars aligned for our bucket trip, our first since going to Antarctica in 2022, and we spent 26-days aboard QM2 in October-November from New York all the way to Tromso (above the Arctic Circle) and back, stopping in QM2’s home port of Southampton for re-provisioning after each Atlantic passage.
We were in a Britannia Cabin on the 13th deck (the same height as being 23 stories about the street) so we felt the ship’s motion pitch and roll more, but as the Captain said as we encountered Force 11 (65 mph) winds and HIGH seas two days into the voyage, “We’ve seen worse and this ship is built for this weather.” He was right but he probably should have added, “So hold on!”
This ocean liner seems to have hand rails everywhere so holding on wasn’t an issue. Tina’s knee was. Tina is six months out from a knee replacement and although the replacement is good, she still has residual nerve pain that keeps her on a cane and made navigating on board and off (whenever I could get her off with the weather conditions which was only twice and that included a trip to the shopping mall in Southampton), it was a challenge.
So, if you are thinking of a long cruise, here is some advice. First, pick the right ship that can take the conditions you are going to experience, so if it means an ocean crossing, I’d stay away from the new mega-ships which, in my opinion, are designed for port-to-port destinations that don’t take days and days to get to or face heavy seas.
Second, make sure the ship is large enough but not too large to have enough activities to keep you busy. Bingo isn’t a big thing in the QM2 but their live music (every place, all day, every day) and their lecture series is. On our return to New York, we were on aboard for their annual Literature Festival that included daily (and lots of them) speakers including authors and poets.
Third, check the reviews and read lots of them regarding service and food and what the accepted dress code is to suit your traveling style. On the QM2, I wore a tuxedo twice seven times on this trip and I’m OK with that. I own my own tuxedo and accessories. But many travelers who got on in Southampton were “casual” dressers and they were encouraged, on formal nights, to eat in the Kings Court buffet rather than the dining rooms. Some did, some didn’t…what can I say! Also after 6pm on the Cunard queens, men are asked to wear a shirt with a collar and trousers. You’d be surprised how many men didn’t have one or their understanding of trousers was jeans. Not the end of the world, but maybe the Queen Mary 2 wasn’t the right ship for them!
I actually brought work aboard and did a story on the hotel and beverage department and feeding 2400 passengers and 2000 crew members for Lancaster Farming and also did a story in Tromso on Norwegian horses for Mid-Atlantic Horse as well as this blog.
This was the longest ocean voyage for Tina and me by 10 days and although I thought we might get bored somewhere along the way, we didn’t. The food, service, entertainment (even the British comedian who also was a singer) was “first rate” as the Brits say. We will begin to look at our next cruise soon and probably will look hard at where the other Cunard Queens are going to in mid-2025.
Art and Tina Petrosemolo have been Garden Spot residents since December 2016 and were the first residents of Sycamore Springs. Tina, a retired high school chemistry teacher, stays busy in the community and serves as secretary of the Cottage Council and chairs the book cub, Art, a retired University administrator, is a writer, photographer and videographer for several area newspapers.