The QM2 In St. Thomas, USVI

Sunday we visited our final port on this 12 day Queen Mary 2 holiday cruise. St. Thomas, one of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, is another of the important cruise ship deep water ports as well as an air travel hub. While is was a beautiful day in port, we elected to spend the day on board enjoying the facilities of our ship. Morning walks around deck 7, the teak-lined promenade deck, visits to the gym, fine dining and relaxing at the pool were the order of the day. In the late afternoon the ship departed St. Thomas with a festive sail-away party complete with passengers waving the UK flag as we left the harbor. Now we will make our way North over the next several days back into the chilly conditions in the North Atlantic. But first we'll have some on board fun as we celebrate the New Year!

A Windy Day In St. Maarten

On Saturday the Queen Mary 2 docked in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, a popular Caribbean port for shopping and a hub for air travel throughout the region. We were scheduled to take a fast boat to nearby St. Barth, our favorite island, however, the excursion was cancelled due to the weather. There were rain squalls on and off all day long, with unusually windy conditions. The ship's weather information listed the winds at 6 on the Beaufort scale, which means 25 to 31 miles per hour, a strong breeze with rough seas. Therefore, it was a day to spend on board the ship. We were docked near a beautiful five-masted sailing ship, and next to the Carnival Fascination, which departed into the mist during the early evening.

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.