At Sea… Again!

It’s not exactly “Haze Gray and Underway,” as it’s been 22 years since my last extended “at sea” period with the U.S. Navy, but it’s underway, nonetheless. I must admit it’s special to enjoy the vast expanses of the sea cruising at 20 knots without another ship in sight for days. The best are the sunsets; shockingly, I have not seen a sunrise, but alas, cruising on the Queen Mary 2 is a bit different than my days in the Navy yet similar in so many ways.

The similarities between the QM2 and the Navy’s capital ships are striking. The QM2 is the longest and largest passenger ship in the world when launched; it is over 1100 feet long and weighs nearly 150,000 tons, making it bigger than an aircraft carrier. The constant quiet vibration of the ship underway and the sea rushing by makes it feel like “home”! Like the Navy, the crew is organized to provide 24/7 hotel services and cruise at relatively high speeds for long periods of time. The hustle and bustle of the ship is evident in all aspects of operations – with food service, albeit more refined than that on a Navy ship, remaining impressive in its ability to serve what I am guessing to be more than 10,000 meals a day. The weather uncertainty is true for all at sea – after cruising NE off Newfoundland with sea/air temperatures of 48F/52, we turned East to avoid weather into the Gulf Stream, where the sea and air temperatures are back in the 60s. Last Sunday, we enjoyed a traditional non-denominational church service at sea, again bringing memories of my Navy days.

After reminiscing about my Navy days at sea, I admit there are many differences on board the QM2—and although it’s hard to admit, it’s kind of nice to let someone else drive! A friend sent me an old picture yesterday (below); you can compare that to life today enjoying a cup of joe on the balcony and be the judge. There are no “bells” on each half hour, repeating every four hours, to tell the time, nor are there the shrill of a bos’n’s whistle – the price for sailing with landlubbers! Absent also is the banging of the catapults and shriek of the arresting gear engine on a 90-minute cycle… but that perhaps is diminished by the presence of 28 sommeliers on board! HaHa! I suppose from a passenger’s perspective, my differences list would be quite long, but I digress and don’t want to bore you. Rest assured, differences or not, it’s really nice to be back at sea again.

Muscat, Oman

Dubai, UAE

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