Atlantic Crossing: Day 7

September 9, 2008

I’ve just slept for 9 hours, discounting the time change, which certainly makes a day somewhat briefer! We’re on our last full day at sea. For those of you who want to get a better idea of the experience, go to Cunard.com and click on Queen Mary 2, then on “accommodations,” then on the highest category, “Queens Grill 1.” You can then take a video, hosted tour of the complete duplex and balcony.

There was lobster flambé last night, but that’s nothing you should do to a lobster, so we made a special order for a far tastier grilling. We had a light Bordeaux, a 1999 Cos D’etournel, from Saint Estophe. Maria and I then had a contest to see whether she could lose $200 in the casino faster than I could smoke a cigar (one of my favorites, a Cubano Partegas Numero Quatro) in the Churchill Room. It was about a tie, but she got to meet the denizens of the club.

One of them told us the dance performance was outstanding, so we left just in time to catch the 10:45 show in the theater. The troupe was amazing, easily the best entertainment of the trip.

I’ve had emails from the Haymarket Hotel concierge on meeting the limo at the dock. It takes about two hours to empty the ship, but we have “priority disembarkation,” which I believe means we’re simply thrown over the side. The ship docks at about 7 am, we leave at 8:15 after a civilized breakfast, we retrieve luggage, clear customs (immigration work is done on the ship during the voyage), and off we go. I’m actually going to have to work for a day and a half, and that’s a downer. But Maria reminds me, “What you do isn’t really work.” In other words, I’m a doctor but not the kind who helps people.

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