Beautiful St. Lucia

Friday morning the Queen Mary 2 anchored off of St. Lucia, an island that Dan and I had not previously visited. We took a tender into port where we boarded a sleek catamaran for our morning cruise to the scenic Pitons, a pair of majestic peaks located about an hour by boat from Castries, the main town on the island. Weather conditions were really ideal, and we enjoyed viewing and photographing the scenery of this lush, mountainous Caribbean island. On the way to the Pitons we were treated to a rare sighting of a school of dolphins. After we photographed the Pitons the boat returned to town after a refreshing break for swimming in the crystal clear, warm waters. We decided to have lunch on the island at a restuarant called the Coal Pot, which is situated right on the water in a small harbor. St. Lucia is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited.

A Sunset Catamaran Sailing Adventure In Barbados

On Thursday Dan and I joined our friends Chad and Franklin for a delightful sunset sailing excursion in Barbados. We boarded the boat about an hour before sunset and enjoyed an open bar and and finger foods as the boat made its way out of the small harbor and headed North along the shore line. Mother nature did the rest by providing ideal conditions and a beautiful sunset.

QM2: A Trip To Nevis Island

Wednesday morning the Queen Mary 2 arrived at St. Kitt’s, the neighboring island to Nevis. Since we’d been to the larger island before, we signed up for a boat trip to Nevis. After about an hour we arrived at Charlestown, and were shown the local sights in a safari van. Chief among them were the building where Alexander Hamilton was born, which was subsequently turned into an assembly room and also the local history museum. The Episcopal church dated from 1690 and there were stone walls remaining of the former slave market. The economy of the island centered around sugar and the laborious, dangerous process of boiling the cane was cruel to the islanders until slavery was abolished. From the town our van took us to Montpelier Plantation, which had been the grandest sugar manor of them all. Today it’s a luxury hotel where Princess Diana stayed once upon a time. We saw the mill where the sugar cane was processed before we left the grounds. Finally, we had lunch at Pinney Beach, at the Lime Beach Bar. We were served a typical Caribbean meal of grouper filets, rice and beans, and coleslaw, all washed down with plenty of mild rum punch. Then Jim frolicked in the water while Dan observed the ocean, before we were transported back to our ship. -Dan

Photos From On Board The Queen Mary 2

We're traveling with our friends Chad and Franklin, who invited us to join them on this Queen Mary 2 voyage. Unlike most other cruise ships, the QM2 experience includes many unique on board activities such as a daily afternoon tea time with an orchestra and ballroom dancing, interesting lectures on a wide variety of topics, classical music concerts, and dress up cocktail hours and dinners with several formal attire evenings scheduled during the trip.

Holiday Fun On Board The Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2 is beautifully decorated for the holidays, and the Captain and crew created a fun holiday environment for all to enjoy. Santa landed on board the ship on Christmas morning bearing gifts for all of the children. Later in the day there was a classical guitar concert, later a lavish tea time in the beautiful Queen's Room ballroom, and finally a special menu for Christmas day dinner.

Merry Christmas From The Queen Mary 2!

Dan and I wish all of our loved ones and friends a very Merry Christmas. This morning we’re at sea for a third day en route to our first port, St. Kitts. We enjoyed a beautiful rainbow off the starboard side just before breakfast this morning. Yesterday the festivities on board included the passengers singing of carols in the Grand Foyer led by members of the crew. Earlier in the day we walked two miles around the promenade deck and then visited the gym for some stretching, weight lifting and cardio. We also attended an interesting lecture entitled “The World of State Ceremonial Music, UK,” presented by Lt. Col. Graham Jones, MBE, who was the former director of the Royal Guards bands. In the afternoon it was tea time in the Queen’s Room with delicious finger sandwiches and confections. The ship’s orchestra provided live music for ballroom dancing. Finally we joined our friends from Baltimore, Franklin and Chad, and the rest of our travel group for dinner in the beautiful Britannia Dining room.

On Board The Queen Mary 2

This is our fourth voyage on the magnificent QM2. We boarded on Saturday, December 22 after driving from Philadelphia to the Red Hook cruise ship terminal in Brooklyn, NY. Our friends Franklin and Chad, who live in Baltimore, invited us to join them on this cruise. We met them when we arrived in Brooklyn and we all went out to lunch at the surprisingly good Red Hook Lobster Pound restaurant before boarding the ship. The ship sailed Saturday evening and will take three days to arrive on Wednesday in St. Kitts, the first of five ports that we will visit on this cruise. Life on board the QM2 is different than on most cruise ships, as the Cunard company strives to maintain the atmosphere of a luxury liner from days past. During the day the ship offers a series of guest speakers on various topics. We enjoyed a presentation on Christopher Columbus on Sunday. In the evening there is a dress code in the restaurants and bars, and there will be three or four festive formal attire evenings during the 12 day duration of the cruise. Deck 7, the promenade deck, is a favorite of ours for walking. Three laps equal 1.1 miles. Our group from Pied Piper Travel dines together in the evenings so we have a set table arrangement. Our comfortable cabin, a sheltered balcony, affords lots of space for all of the extra clothing we brought along. The food quality is noticeably better on this voyage, which our friend Franklin attributes to a change in the head chef. Today, Christmas Eve, there will be some holiday festivities on board including the singing of Christmas carols in the grand foyer. -Jim

Holiday Tree