Five Things I Love about Cunard

Every cruise line has its own personality and appeals to different sorts of cruisers.

We call Carnival the "Party Ships." The main atrium through which we entered is also a bar which many passengers never leave. 'Nuff said.

Holland America is lovingly referred to as "the old farts' line." (Please don't misunderstand. We love HAL! We've got 106 cruise days with them so they must be doing something right! We feel young every time we board one of their "daam" ships.)

Princess is our "Goldilocks" cruise line--a good mix of everything so it's just about right.

Norwegian is sort of a stealth operation. I never recall much about the ships, just the ports we visited with them.

In the interests of full disclosure, we've also been on Costa, which has been permanently x'd from our list after the Concordia disaster. The now defunct American Hawaiian line has a special place in our hearts. We rounded the Islands for our 25th on that old  ship, one of the last cruises it made because the company went belly-up after 9-11. And our first cruise together was on the pint-sized Dolphin which I think is no longer running.

Some lines were not as good a fit for us as others, but we've found something to like on all our seafaring adventures. We were excited to try Cunard. Let me start with the things we love:

1. Smooth embarkation! As soon as one of Cunard's agents noticed Herkimer (my portable oxygen concentrator), we were guided to a special needs line where we zipped through the process and boarded before noon! 
2. Excellent music! We were treated to performances of classical guitar, and several pianists. A visiting ensemble of young artists (Green Spring) put on several concerts. Every lounge boasted its harpist or string trio or jazz pianist taking requests.
3. Exceptional ride! Normally I have to use a scopolamine patch to fight sea sickness. Not on the stable-as-my-living room QM2! Even on the one day the North Sea kicked up a ruckus and there were gale force winds, my insides were perfectly content.
4. Lectures and classes and planetariums, oh my! Whether it was the tongue-in-cheek "Vikings and How to Cure Them"  speaker, the visiting RAS astronomy professor, or the young lady who was a prima ballerina AND held a doctorate in quantum physics, the lecture series was exceptional. We thoroughly enjoyed our watercolor classes, did our best in the dance classes, and the planetarium at sea was a delightful novelty, especially when the visiting astronomer gave a live show of the night sky.
5. Outstanding service! Over time, we've come to expect to be treated like long-lost royalty on a cruise and the QM2 crew did not disappoint. Our cabin steward and dining servers were attentive, thoughtful, and always so pleasant. It's so hard to go back our normal, non-royal lives... 

We had a wonderful time on the QM2. Our 21 days were filled with moments I'll never forget. But I'll have to admit there were a few things we loved ... less on board.  

I'll share those in a few days.