THIS IS AN EDITED, AUGMENTED, AND REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER VERSION (THAT IS, THE EARLIEST POST COMES FIRST) OF THE SEBASTIAN-AT-SEA BLOG THAT WE WROTE ABOUT OUR 12 DAY TRANSATLANTIC ROUNDTRIP ON QUEEN MARY 2 WITH OUR CAT, SEBASTIAN, FROM TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006, THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 2006.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 - Documentation, etc.

Left Bernardsville at 10:30 this morning and the limo got us to the new Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal around 11:45.  Breezed though checkin, then we were told that we had to wait for the chief Purser to come to do Sebastian's paperwork.  Twenty minutes, and two complaints, later Chief Purser Ruud Jansen showed up.

I showed him Sebastian's Vaccination Certificate.  "Is this all you have?", he asked.  "Well he's not leaving the ship.", said I, showing him our return ticket.  "Oh, then he doesn't need any documentation.  I'll call the kennel man.", said the Chief Purser.  Five minutes later, Robinson, the kennel man, arrived and we were on our way to the kennels.  (One addendum to "Breezed through checkin": the security folks insisted that Sebastian's carrier and cart, sans Sebastian, go through the X-ray machine. Happily the carrier with attached cart just fit in their machine, it was found not to contain any WMD, and Sebastian did not escape our frantic grip during that determination.)

Here's a picture of Sebastian and his new friend, Charly, taken while we were waiting for the CP, and just before a guard told me, "No pictures allowed in the terminal."

Here is Sebastian in his kennel. Actually, he and the others (five dogs, he's the only cat) are in double kennels because Robinson is letting them make the most of the 12 available single kennels. I'm writing this Tuesday midnight, actually Wednesday one AM because we have to set our clocks ahead one hour tonight, and I'll blog it Wednesday morning from one of the WiFi hotspots.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006 - Sleepy at sea

Here is Michael playing with Sebastian this morning. The kennels consists of two rooms, each about 8 by 15 feet. The first has the cages: six small ~(30x36x30) on top of six large ~ (40x36x30) inches, and the second, where we took this picture, is a mostly empty play area.

Sebastian's kennel mates are Keiko (whose cage is below Sebastian's and who makes it easy to believe that all dogs were originally wolves), Simon (brown dog, Keiko's housemate who still won't share his food with
him), Chicho (bulldog), Bella (dalmatian), and Guido (ungussied poodle).

There is also a gated deck area of 6x40 feet that we may take Sebastian out on when it's less windy and all the dogs are within.

We've had great weather, which the Captain says should last for another 36 hours, great for sleeping, which is what we spent most of today doing. Our cabin is 10051 on deck ten. It's on the starboard side about twelve paces forward of the B stairs/elevators. We walk to the D stairs/elevators, roughly 500 feet aft, to get to the kennels.

(June 12, 2006 addendum: Here's a welcome change from our Caribbean cruise in 2004 when we had that miraculous upgrade to a Q5 cabin. The Queens Grill Lounge that welcomed only Queens Grill passengers two years ago is now open to all Grill passengers. Samantha, who served us there most thoughtfully and cheerfully, said the change was made because "it was too quiet" before. I suspect that "too quiet" is a technical accounting term meaning "we're not selling enough drinks". )

Thursday, May 25, 2006 - No internet

The gods of internet-access-at-sea are not smiling. The "Wireless Network Connection Status" says I'm connected to the QM2 Internet Network with two out of five bars of signal strength; "View Wireless Networks" says I'm connected with five out of five bars signal strength; but, my browser says "can't find the server at sebastian-at-sea.blogspot.com". And the network I'm supposed to be connected to has yet to ask for my username and
password. I'll save this file in the hope of being able to blog tomorrow.

Today was a gray, cloudy day but not at all gloomy. Temperature 55F, breezy, with the ship rolling very slightly and pitching even less. We spent most of the day in the library, resting, at lunch (a great fettucini), resting, and at dinner (venison for Michael, lobster thermidor for me). Sebastian is
fine, apprehensive only when being carried over five dogs to the room where he can be with just us. Tomorrow at 11:30AM he'll have his official Cunard picture taken.

The Captain announced this morning that at 2PM we would be 35 miles north of the Titanic. He also mentioned that there were 3000 meters of water under the QM2's keel (the best place for all that water, I think).

Saturday, May 27, 2006 - Photos and Fixes

Yesterday was Official Photograph day at the kennel. Here's a picture of Sabastian in his QM2 finery while waiting his turn and one I took of the group: Keiko, Simon, Bella, Chicho, Guido, and Sebastian (funny, I only know the name of one of the humans) and of the photographer's right elbow.

Last night a man introduced himself to us in the Princess Grill after dinner to ask about Sebastian. He and his wife had seen us with Sebastian in the passenger terminal and were thinking about taking their own pets along next time. He also said that they both needed what he called a "kitty fix"; today he came to see what the kennels were like and visited with Sebastian, who enjoyed the extra attention.

Rainy weather today, but not too cold (around 58F) and breezes but no gales. Right now (it's early afternoon Saturday) the ship is some 600 miles north of the Azores and just over 900 miles from Southampton. We booked a Stonehenge and Salisbury tour for Monday.

The pet photos that the ship's photographer took yesterday are prominently displayed in the "Images" gallery on deck 3L. Deck 3L consists of the Images Photo Gallery on the port side and the Art Gallery on the starboard side. These galleries allow you walk between stairway C and stairway D on deck 3 without disturbing the thousand folks who may be dining in the Britannia Restaurant at the time, and they give Cunard two additional venues for selling stuff at high prices. Anyway, we bought three of Sebastian for $27.50 each before another pet owner reminded us that the web site promised free photos (or at least one free photo) as one of the kennel perks. So I'll return to Images later, receipt in hand, for a refund (I hope).

We will really miss our table mates on the way back as they are only going one way. We are sitting with two couples, one from D.C. and the other from Colorado. We are enjoying each others mealtime company so much that we are usually the last ones to leave the restaurant. Hope we are as lucky on the return.

Fog has engulfed us this late afternoon. This sea is calm, what little of it you can see before the world becomes all gray. The ship sounds its fog horn often, an impressive note if you're on deck, but barely audible in our cabin. We thought that the animals would be startled by the fog horn, but they ignore it.

Sebastian does jump at the noon blare; it was the only time that he faced into the wind, and toward the photographer, yesterday. The dogs seem to love the wind. I guess they think the ship is a giant car with this huge window for them to stick their heads out of.

Here's a picture I want to title "Don't believe everything you read on the wall ". We don't care what Cunard says, we believe the legend.

Sunday, May 28, 2006 - Stonehenge, Salisbury, Sebastian

Our excursion to Stonehenge and Salisbury started a half hour late, but auspiciously nonetheless, because our guide was named Penny. She was delighted and surprised that the name existed in the US. The bus left dockside at 9:10AM and arrived at Stonehenge an hour later. There's a car park there now across the highway from the stones, then a tunnel under the road. You can't go right up to the stones anymore (too many people were chipping away their own souvenirs) which is too bad, but, then again, now you can take pictures of it unencrusted with tourists. It was a partly cloudy morning, with rain threatening, maybe 60F but with a strong enough wind that the wind chill temperature must have been no higher than 45. Here's a picture of Michael trying not to freeze.

Salisbury is twenty-five minutes from Stonehenge on the road back toward Southampton. One of England's several Avon rivers runs through it ("avon" is an old word for water, we were told). This one is home to more swans than we had ever seen at once before.

We opted to spend all our time there visiting the cathedral with Penny as our guide. The cathedral is notable for having the tallest spire in England, some 400 feet, and for having been built in the comparatively short span of 38 years, starting in 1220. I especially liked the stained glass.

We had by this time passed through some charming villages and countryside and saw some authentic thatched roofed houses, one under repair by a thatcher. These roofs last about 60 years! We looked in the windows of some realtors at the ads for houses in the area--costs even higher than NJ--California prices! Also, gas is about a pound per liter which comes to something like $7.50 a gallon, that makes $3 something seem not so bad.

We were back on board around 4PM, zipping though the terminal thanks to having been provided with a magical document called an "Intransit Pass". Some were delayed getting to their cabins and had a long wait for their luggage because an hour after we left the ship this morning the sprinklers on Deck 11 at Stairway B went off, soaking several flights of stairs and knocking out all the B elevators. The elevators were back in service by 7PM, but hours later they're still running vacuum cleaners over the damp carpeting to help them dry. As well equipped as the ship is, it has no jet dryers a la NASCAR. Met two of our new table mates, Dudley and Lesley, who live in the Southampton area and have travelled extensively in the US and seem very nice.

Robinson, the kennel man, had told us that Sebastian would have the company of two small dogs going home. Guess what? The dogs never showed, so Sebastian now has more square feet of cabin space to himself than we do!

We have had the most remarkable good luck in table mates. Last time we were at a table for four with two somewhat older than us folks who were amiable but with whom we had few interests in common; also, they didn't show up for very many meals. Their cabin was far from the dining room and they got lost a lot (no joke).

This time it was Michael's idea to ask for a table for six, figuring to improve our odds for better matches. We hit the jackpot.

Last week we dined with Judy and Tom from CO springs (she's a musician and music teacher, he works for Oracle) and with Mimi and Art from the DC area and Florida (they're into publishing newsletters for government folks, I think). They were roughly a half generation younger than us (at least than me, Paul) and, except for music, we didn't talk much about anybody's work. Nearly total, and very lively, agreement on the best movies, plays, and people (and the worst politicians) of the last umpteen years. Just great company. Judy and Tom are now enjoying London before flying home (too bad about the flying). Mimi and Art are taking a river cruise in Germany before rooting for the USA in the World Cup for as long as the team survives (three games minimum). Thanks for the good times, bless you all.

Our tablemates for the return crossing are Lesley and Dudley whose home is near Southampton. They have been frequent visitors to the US; actually, they've seen much more of the place than we have. Tonight Isabel and Fred joined us; they live in Bergen County, New Jersey, and nothing could be better than that, except maybe next door in Bernardsville.

More tomorrow, I type slowly and now I've used up tonight's extra hour.

(June 12, 2006 addendum: Tuesday, May 30, Captain Christopher Rynd's cocktail reception for Grillers. As we approached the entrance to the Queen's Room a smiling hostess told one and all that the Captain would not be shaking hands tonight because there had been an outbreak of Norovirus in the south of England during the past few days and he wasn't taking any chances with anybody no matter how nicely they were dressed. (Not her words, of course, but that was the emphasis.)

I told Captain Rynd that my only regret was that I would not be on board for the reception next week as I had been for last
week's. "Gets better every time, doesn't it?", said the Captain.
Yes, it certainly does.

Norovirus is a nasty intestinal bug that seems to love to travel by sea. See http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html for the queasy details of recent outbreaks. We noticed new precautions from day one in Brooklyn, where the first document we were faced with after passing security was a questionnaire asking if we had been vomiting or had diarrhea recently. (What on earth happens to the poor souls who answer "Yes"?) There are signs everywhere reminding you to wash your hands, the soap dispensers in the washrooms have been supplemented with industrial strength disinfectant dispensers, there are boxes of Monk-style wipes by every PC in the library and on the counters in the Kings Court.

0531 Emergency evacuation of livestock ...

In case you were wondering but were too shy to ask, Sebastian did not participate in the life boat drill, neither did the life boats. In fact, they don't even call it a life boat drill; it's called an Emergency Station Muster drill. Muster Stations are where the passengers go and wait while (whilst?) the crew figures out what the emergency is and what to do about it. Life boats and rafts (the ship has lots and lots of 25-person Zodiacs) are a last resort. Maybe a next-to-last resort, because crew members also demonstated the safest way to enter the water (without really doing so).

The kennel is well equiped with animal friendly life jackets in four or five different sizes from extra large down to Sebastian size. We had Sebastian try on his life jacket this morning, didn't bother him a bit. Here are photos of Sebastian jacketed, the kennel's escape plan, and Sebastian with Robinson, who is spoiling him rotten.

This morning we attended the Oxford lecture by Dr. David Grylls titled "'Divided by a common language?' British and American English." He thinks that the well known 'Divided by ...' quote was always more witty than true. Gave a well organized and interesting talk including some new (to me anyway) observations on this well worn topic. For example, the American at Oxford saying: "I know the differences in how we speak English. We say "elevator", you say "lift". Our cars have "windshields", yours have "windscreens". We have "gasoline", you call it "coffee". And what common American English word is unknown to virtually all Britons? It's "bleachers".

Interestingly, it was a strange term to Dudley and Lesley who have traveled widely in the US. Alas, they are too young to have sat in the cheap seats at the Polo Grounds (my team) or the original Yankee Stadium (Michael's), but we did our best to explain the concept.

The Queen Mary 2 computer center is called Cunard ConneXions.
It's on Deck 2 aft of the A stairs and consists of five classrooms and two rooms with a couple of dozen self-service computers for internet access. They charge $0.50 a minute or you can buy discount packages ranging from $13.50 for a half hour (5% off) to $479.95 for 32 hours (50% off). I've just started my third, and probably last, 2 hour package at $47.95 each (20% off).

If all you want to do is send/receive email you can do that from the TV in your cabin or from any of the self-service computers in ConneXions or in the Library, which has at least six, usually all busy. You must use the CUNARDMAIL address that comes with your ticket and the charge is a flat $1.50 for each send or receive from your cabin, ConneXions, or Library. Attachments may be opened only from a ConneXions computer, and printed at $0.50 per page. No USB connections and no hard drives allowed "for reasons of security".

The internet access charges start only after you login, not when your laptop connects to the QM2 Internet Network, which happens automatically at each WiFi hotspot. There are lots of those: ConneXions, Library, most of the bars, Winter Garden (a huge midships lounge area), nightclub, Queens Grill lounge, Queens Room ballroom, etc. There are also some "luke-warm" spots in the halls near the hotspots. Our cabin is three decks above a corner of the Winter Garden and once I was able to read my home email on my laptop in our cabin. My favorite spot is in the starboard hall just aft of ConneXions, it has tables for four along a wall of huge windows just 20 feet above the water. Great view of the ocean rushing by and close to the most helpful and super patient Laura and Mitch at the ConneXions desk.

Right now (Friday, 3:20PM ship time) the internet link to the ship is down, and has been all day. Something wrong with a land portion of the link, the service provider has told the ship.
CUNARDMAIL still works because that uses the Cunard corporate link.

We had lunch in the Golden Lion Pub today. Plowman's lunch (cheeses, ham, relish, bread, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce) for Michael, fish and chips (guess what, plus mushy peas) for me.
All good, fish couldn't have been fresher, but I was astonished that the chips looked as though they could have come from the Golden Arches.

We're going to play with Sebastian for a while now. As you can see from the picture I took this morning, he looks great. Tonight is the last formal dress dinner. I'll take pictures of our table to post tomorrow.

6:10PM Good news is that I can login to the QM2 network from our cabin, bad news is that the internet link is still down.

Sunday June 4, 2006 - We're home

Left the kennel at 8:00AM; got in the car at 8:50; home at 10:00. Details later after some catch up posts. Internet access was
very flaky the last two days and Cunard refunded most of my
last prepay.

06/12/2006 addendum:
Thanks to Sebastian, we could leave the ship whenever we wanted after 8AM and we thought that would be a great advantage in beating the rush to locate baggage and get
through customs. Didn't happen quite that way because Cunard was throwing people off the ship as fast as they could. No
more 45 minutes between the folks on each deck leaving; it
was 20 minutes at most because, we think, they were
scheduled to leave at 4PM for a charter cruise to the Bahamas. Thanks to Robinson, who came down with us wheeling Sebastian's carrier, we still came out ahead, literally. He found
a porter with a luggage cart (there seemed to be a number of porters and a number of luggage carts, but seldom were they conjoined), removed us from the long "US Citizens" customs line, and directed us to one of the two empty customs stations labeled "CREW". At 8:20 we were at the curb phoning Anthony's Limo to please come get us before the 9:30 scheduled time. We reached Sal, our driver, at Newark Airport (sorry,
now it's Newark Liberty Airport) and 30 minutes later he reached us. And then he got us home 30 minutes before I
would have.

Final thoughts - End of Blog

Monday, June 05, 2006

Michael's on-board mealtime regimen of eating only half of each course works. And she announced that with an exultant shout
of "one-half pound!" from her scale this Monday morning. I strayed more to two thirds sized portions, but I skipped all rolls and pastries and my weight didn't change. Neither did Sebastian's, cats are smart that way.

We had few entirely sunny days. Most days were either foggy and cloudy in the morning with some clearing later or foggy, cloudy, and rainy all day. It was never very cold, between 53F and 60F. It was often very windy on deck, especially on Deck
12 by the kennels. The wind usually came from the west, northwest, or north at between 15 to 25 knots. West bound when you add the ship's speed of 24 knots to the wind speed you will understand why my first suggestion for kennel improvement is to add an entrance from inside. With one brief exception we never experienced rough seas; waves were classified as slight or moderate (sea states 3 and 4). The exception was early last Thursday morning (between 4 and 5AM June 1) when the ship passed through a front. The rolling and pitching didn't wake us, but we both happened to get up during the rough hour to - well, never mind. When we got back into bed it felt like a baby being rocked and we went right back to sleep.

Also there were some foggy times (both ways) with the fog
horn going off every two minutes. In our cabin it sounded like
a distant bellow, easy to sleep through. The steel of Decks 10 through 13 was between us and the funnel mounted fog horn. To the passengers in balcony cabins on Deck 12, with mostly air between them and the horn, it must have been very different.

By the way, to the hotel staff on the ship we were guests who occupied staterooms; to the ships officers we were passengers in cabins.

What really made the difference on this trip, why we enjoyed it more than the Caribbean cruise two years ago, was the mealtime company at table. Delightful conversation with interesting people, and all of varied ages, backgrounds, etc. I'm sure there must have been many topics we could have argued about, but nobody wasted any time trying to find them.

06/12/2006 addendum:
We ate all our meals in the Princess Grill and loved everything. Selection, quality, and presentation were all excellent. The cold soups were Michael's favorite; some of those, the ones with fruit, could have held their own as desserts. Very few repeats in the westbound menus of eastbound items. And, after the last dinner of each crossing, the wait staff gave us copies of all the dinner menus as souvenirs. (We specifically asked for menus last time and never got them.)

Service in the Princess Grill was very good, but a few annoyances short of perfect. For example, our first wine waiter remembered the wine we had ordered (but not finished) the meal before, where we had been seated then,

but not us, exactly. When we arrived for the next meal we found that she had already served our bottle to others who had arrived before us and occupied our former places at table.
Another night she just plain forgot which wine we had ordered the night before. These were nits, I know. More serious was a dinner during the return crossing when the entire wait staff forgot to serve the entrees for all six of us at table. Dudley and Lesley were the first to realize that we were all conversing way too much and eating way too little. After they informed the maitre d', our entrees appeared (smothered in apologies) and later the table was treated to contrition- sized brandies.

One disappointment. I brought along a star chart and my new binoculars in hopes of seeing the Milky Way, etc. at sea. The Milky Way hasn't been visible in the Northeast since I was a teenager. I even dreamed of a chance to see the green flash (look it up). Alas, it was too cloudy, both ways. (There's another American/British English difference: we have "clouds", which come and go; they have "cloud", an all encompassing gloomy greyness.)