M204 - Southampton to New York

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11st 1.6lb (70.6kg/155.6lb)and 14.9% fat this morning - I am down to my cruising weight... 24hr buffet? Bring it on (and a bucket)!

And here is the cruise...

Our itinerary - Queen Mary 2 voyage M204

Lets get this straight - you are not ever going to get a better 7 nights at sea - unless your name is Abramovich.  A voyage on the QM2 is a work of theatre - go prepared to enjoy yourself and you will indeed.

My sister comes along - and at no extra charge - you pay for the cabin it seems (and you also pay and keep paying for extras all the time you are aboard - but be prepared for this and enjoy)

Only negatives - boarding (and disembarkation).

Of the two Southampton was the worst - helpful port staff told us that there were several ships all trying to board and leave at the same time - and the QM2 was not at its usual berth.  It took several hours of standing and shuffling - hot, stuffy and no food.  We struggled and for several elderly passengers it was all a bit too much.  All forgotten once we were on board - what a ship!

Cabin 6016 - a long way from the restaurant but perfect for the spa.  Directly under the promenade/jogging track - but no noise

View from out 'stateroom' - IKEA - note and remember this

The spa is very nice indeed - we signed up for the week

This is where Joce met George (Bush, Senior, yes - Mr President)

Spa advice - get yourself on late sitting for the evening meal, you do miss a bit of the entertainment but you get the spa pretty much to yourself after ~18:00 - just a few of the senior staff - which is, in itself interesting:

Advice from the resident* physio about getting the best stateroom without paying full price (you need to 'game' the reservation system) *resident as in came aboard in October 2011 and not gone ashore since - contract ends in New York in 6 days

Heated debate in the sauna between English guest lecturer (specialist subject - Eastern Europe pre- and post- the fall of the Berlin Wall) and lead dancer (Romanian, lived through the pre- and post- fall of the Berlin Wall times).  Me?  I was with the dancer - from what I have seen and experienced he was right on the nail and Mr Professor was talking out of his (unclad) a**e.

Testing the life boats - this one worked fine

Departure photos = yes that is a jacuzzi

meals - there were a lot of these - and all wonderful

And so to bed - you can have breakfast in your cabin but that would be missing the point...