DAY 11: Anchors Aweigh!

All packed, ready to go and into the car for the short-ish drive to Southampton. The kids are really primed for the Queen Mary 2 and I am hoping that she will not disappoint them.

The line of cars to the boarding point on Dock 8 seems endless and moves slowly. We drive into a building like a hangar, draped with hundreds of Union Jacks and are directed to a spot to unload the car. We are tight on time to return the car to Avis, so we quickly unload and then Todd races off to find the car return way back at Dock 4. I am prepared to sit and picnic with the kids curbside while we wait. Before I know it, our suitcases are whisked away by uniformed attendants and sent ahead on board. The air is festive and pretentious and I am feeling a little awkward about feeding the kids their cheese sandwiches on the curb in this atmosphere. Somehow pulling out a bag of Doritos seems almost sacrilege. But they are hungry so we are nibbling discreetly like little mice. Then a nice family with McDonald’s bags comes and sits next to us and all is well. They are Canadian, have been living in England for three years on assignment with the military, are returning home overland and are also waiting for the dad to return from Avis. Of course Todd and the dad both run up together having shared a taxi from the car return. So we are off to a friendly and serendipitous start. (Todd’s note: When the Canada Dad learned I had been driving and Julia navigating for three days across England, he asked, “And you’re still married?!?” He said NavSat and GPS had saved his marriage, but Julia must be a much better navigator, as we never got lost.)

There are huge lines to check in but they pull those of us with kids out ahead and send us to the front. How VERY civilized! Just like Russia. The kids are about to burst with the anticipation of it all and I am really hoping that the Queen Mary will not disappoint them. Christopher asks as we board what class we are in. Sorry to inform you, babe, but we are in the lowest class. Shovel your own coal. The guys that drowned on the Titanic. But as we arrive in our rooms, he exclaims: “Wow! Third class on the Queen Mary 2 is like First Class on another ship!” Taking the kids on all those car ferries has prepped them well to appreciate how special this ship is. Andrew is thrilled that he no longer has to share a bunk with his sister.

One of the first things on board is the lifeboat drill. They have warned us ahead of time, but as the ship alarm sounds the kids fly into a total panic. We are still at the dock, and even if the ship were to sink, our cabin would still be well above the water line we tell them, but to no avail. Christopher will have at least three days’ worth of irrational fears after this exercise, but we know where the life jackets are and how to don them, anyway.

At 5 pm we drag the kids onto the chilly deck in order to see the departure.

This is it! The big moment! In my mind I imagine it from all the movies, the crowds lining the quay as they wave farewell. The champagne corks flying. The band playing. Only there is no band, and because of security reasons, there are about 3 people who work for port on the quay. Oh, Queen Mary, please do not disappoint me! It takes about half an hour for the thrusters to push us away from the dock and into the harbor. We have no tugs to help. And the progress is slow, but smooth. Then we are slowly gliding down the very long harbor out of Southampton. Then, at last the mighty ship whistle. It is the whistle from the original Queen Mary and it can be heard for nine miles. Three load blasts announce that we are finally underway. Those blasts resound deep in my heart and it takes my breath away. Through the harbor the sailboats and smaller ferries dance around the ship, like dolphins, people waving. Oh, she didn’t disappoint us! We are on the Queen Mary 2! The most elegant of ships sailing away on a transatlantic voyage and it is every single bit as exhilarating as I imagined.