Today Gardiner and I were invited to join a media tour on Cunard's Queen Mary 2, the only transatlantic ocean liner sailing the seas these days.
We arrived at Rockland's Harbor Park at 9:15 AM, and sat in the car for a moment, taking in the beautiful ocean view. My eyes immediately went to the massive cruise ship (1,132 feet long) in the distance.
We were there representing our media production company, Heavy Element, and gathering footage for our client PortShare Promise. @Gardiner and I swiftly unpacked our equipment from our hard case and waited with the rest of our small group of reporters and bloggers.
By 10:15, we were all ushered into the tender that would take us from the harbor to the Queen Mary 2. None of us wanting to miss a great shot, we all climbed to the open seating at the top of the boat and set sail.
The first thing I noticed was how much longer the tender ride was than I would have thought. Perhaps my perspective was off because my idea of boating is a nice paddle in a kayak… but I was not expecting it to be a twenty minute ride.
Not that I’m complaining at all.
There was so much beautiful scenery to look at (and capture). And the people in our group were all so lovely to spend time with. Among the media pool was a representative from the Maine Office of Tourism, a producer from the local ABC affiliate, a photojournalist from the Bangor Daily News, and our friend April from Camden Famous. Let’s just say we were in excellent company.
After making it to the ship, we were taken to the grand lobby to await our tour guide, Neil the entertainment director.
He arrived swiftly, bearing keychains made from the deck of the original Queen Mary for us to keep. He swept us all off our feet with his quick jokes and friendly demeanor.
Having never been on a cruise ship before, I couldn’t stop feeling like we were in a fine hotel. The tall pillars, the ornate elevators, the bright casino; it was hard to believe we were in a ship.
It probably helped that the Queen Mary 2 was so steady you couldn’t feel it rocking at all. During our tour, Gardiner asked Neil how this was possible and Neil explained that the ship was built to transit the Atlantic, and the answer lay somewhere in the shape of the hull.
I don’t really remember the fine details. I was too busy staring in awe at how beautiful the ship was.
Neil showed us the Golden Lion Pub, which boasted an authentic British experience. I never wanted to eat fish and chips so badly in my life.
Then we were taken to the Britannia Restaurant, an expansive Art Deco-themed eating space that made me feel like I was in the middle of a movie. The tables were all spaced out perfectly, each setting more inviting than the next. Neil took us up the sweeping staircases and gave us the opportunity for a quick photo-op in front of the giant tapestry on the wall.
Throughout the tour, I struggled to keep my jaw from dropping. Who would have thought one ship could house a movie theater AND a nightclub AND a ballroom AND a planetarium? And it was all so lovingly taken care of by the 1250+ crew members on board. Most impressive of all: we only got to visit a fraction of the amenities the ship had to offer.
Our tour concluded in the swanky Commodore Club where we were given drinks of our choice and hors d’oeuvres. Gardiner and I both drank water and snacked on coronation chicken, brie on crackers, and the best veggie dumplings either of us have ever had.
Captain Andrew Hall came out to meet our group. He shook hands with every one of us and answered any and all questions we had.
After asking Gardiner countless times if we could just move in here, I was utterly devastated to step off the cruise ship and back onto the tender. Our time on the ship was short, but very impactful.
Queen Mary 2, it’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later.
