Day One at Sea

The ship is extravagant. Opulent. Elegant.

When our cab dropped us at the terminal, our bags were immedately taken from us and we did not see them again until we arrived in our stateroom. We boarded with ease to the tasteful music of a live String Quartet. (Aside to Coders: You should look in to what it takes to get THAT gig!)

Once we found our room, we immediately headed to lunch in the King’s Court. This is a large cafeteria-style restaurant that serves food 24 hours a day. We patronized the Asian food section, ate our fill, and set off to explore.

We located the library, the gym, the theater, and the main restaurants, and then we hung out at the pool closest to our room until it was time for the emergency drill.

For the emergency drill, we had to grab our life vests from our room and head to our designated “Muster Station.” It was then that we learned that three of our life vests were assigned to Muster Station E, while one was assigned to Muster Station F. The staff allowed us to stay together for the drill, but informed us that we should ask our room steward to find another Station E life vest because if there was, indeed, an emergency, the person with the Muster Station F life vest would be separated from the rest of the family, and that would clearly NOT be our preference.

Nevertheless, the life vest situation sparked conversation about which member of our family would use the Muster Station F life vest if we had to abandon ship before the change was arranged. An interesting question to ponder, no doubt.

Following the emergency drill, the boat set sail.

There are no words to describe the spectrum of emotions that I felt standing on the deck of the Queen Mary 2 as she moved out of Brooklyn Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, under the bridge, and out into the open seas. Leaving American soil in such a majestic fashion felt appropriate, for in this way we could not overlook the profundity of the moment. It was a departure of the grandest kind, with the grandest people, for the grandest reason.

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