Atlantis Alumni

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Life onboard the QE2: Lobster Night In The Britannia Dining Room

The "Parade of Chefs," and the head Chef in the Britannia dinig room on board the Queen Mary 2 Friday evening.

The ocean calmed down, finally, Friday morning and the swells of the waves no longer reached 18 to 27 feet high. We were able to walk the outside deck for a short jaunt, after breakfast. One must say that traversing the Atlantic Ocean from Southampton, England to New York one gains new respect for the mariners of yesteryear and earlier centuries. After our walks, we started on some of the day’s many activities. There was a lecture on Brooklyn, called “New York’s Fast Rising Star.” The lecturer noted that anyone who lives in NYC pays from 30-40% of their salary on their dwelling. Dan left the Brooklyn lecture early to join those who wanted to tour the Galley. There, I found out that there are 160 chefs on board, under the Executive Chef, and that each Transatlantic Crossing requires 50 tons of fruits and vegis, 13 tons of fish & seafood, and 32,400 eggs, among many other requirements. Imagine how busy those hens are laying all those eggs! Friday afternoon’s attractions included a classical music concert and a lecture called “What we can learn from Near Death Experiences.” Then later in the afternoon we attended a cocktail party in the luxury bi-level private suite of Derek, the owner of the Pied Piper Company, who arranged this crossing. Friday evening was our final formal wear night of the cruise, so it was back into our tuxedos for lobster night in the main Britannia restaurant. While we have a full slate of activities planned for today, the trip is winding down and we look forward to the train ride home from Manhattan to Philadelphia on Sunday so we can again see Brad and Loki. --Dan .

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