ONBOARD QUEEN MARY 2: NOVEMBER 21-29, 2008

My grateful thanks to the Lord God for inspiring two unamed donors to offer me the free ticket to travel on the Queen Mary 2 from New York to the Carribean islands of St. Kitts, Grenada, Bonaire and finally landing in Fort Lauderdale. The whole journey started from Canada on November 20 and ended on December 2, 2008.

God know how much I love travelling but this is the first free travelling I have been offered. This is my 5th cruise and I had travelled on the cruise from Singapore to Japan, the Mediterranean cruise from Majorica to Africa, Italy, France, Monaco and Spain, the Alaskan cruise from Vancouver, the Caribbean cruise from Miami to Bahamas, and now another Caribbean cruise from New York on the Queen Mary 2.

I had never written about the cruises nor any other travels around the world. The Hub Pages has given me a chance to record the trip. The Lord has given me a reason for this travel because I wish to bring more people to join the Hub Pages, and incidentally be aware of the articles (hubs) which I have written on Christianity. I had been praying for two weeks before the cruise started and had hope that God would bring the people. I had contacted 10 different people interested in the Hub Pages and I shall write about them later.

Welcome to Queen Mary 2 - the grandest, most magnificent ocean liner ever built. She's a true heir to the timeless elegance, legacy and inspiration of the great Cunard liners of legend. You'll notice it the moment you walk through her doors into her soaring Grand Lobby, and be awed from the first instance you experience the famous Cunard White Star ServiceSM.

Yet this sophisticated monarch also boasts the most modern luxuries and amenities - from the pampering services of the only Canyon Ranch SpaClub® on the seas to the fascinating Cultural Enrichment Programme led by prestigious experts. This regal royal must truly be seen to be believed - come live the adventure.

• Queen Mary 2 is the biggest and longest ocean liner ever built

• Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner offering regularly scheduled transatlantic service

8 Jan 2004 named by HM Queen Elizabeth II

12 Jan 2004 Departure on Maiden Voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale

Passengers - 2620

Topspeed - Approx. 30 knots (34.5 mph)

Crew - 1253

Estimated $800 million

The liner has 1,310 cabins - including four royal suites, six penthouses, 2,000 bathrooms and 3,000 telephones.

Art gallery, bookstore and souvenir shops, Canyon Ranch SpaClub with its 20,000 sq. foot health club, Computer Centre (21 computers), Casino, Image Gallery, 5 Swimming pools, Golden Lion Pub (authentic English pub), Planetarium, library, Mayfaif Shops, Royal Court Theatre, Sports Decks, The Play Zone (Children's Programme) and Champagne Bar.

Category Q1 Grand Duplex Decks: Deck 9, Deck 10

Description: The enormous Balmoral and Sandringham Duplex Suites include sweeping living quarters and an expansive balcony downstairs, a luxurious master bedroom upstairs, two marble baths with separate whirlpool tub and shower, a guest bathroom with shower, and private exercise equipment. Bedroom includes a King-size bed which may be converted to twin beds; expansive downstairs living room with separate dining area; sofas, dual height coffee table may be used for in-suite dining; separate bar; dressing room; walk-in closet space; powder room. Thoughtful amenities include robes with matching slippers, a hairdryer, refrigerator, sage, data port, direct dial phone, nightly turndown service and 24 hour room service, and an interactive TV system. The over-sized balconies in this category feature a glass enclosure below the hand rail to enjoy panoramic views even while lounging in your deck chair.

Our cabin has two separate beds. The closets are much bigger than what we encountered in previous cruises. The safe is also much bigger and so is the bathroom. I was surprised to see qtips and cotton balls provided as well.. Television is provided and chocolate wafers are left on the beds every night.

On every deck, there is a laundry room with two irons, two washing machines and two dryers. We only used the laundry room only once to iron out my Indian silk shawl for the formal wear on Ascot night.

My sister and I did not go to sleep till past midnight every night we were on board. Our dinner time was late and started at 8:30 pm. and after dinner, we adjourned either to the theatre to see a life show, go to the planetarium or go to some events.

There are 10 restaurants in all, a team of chefs that includes culinary advisor Daniel Boulud, one of the world's most famous chefs, and the celebrated Mediterranean and TV culinary luminary Todd English.

Britannia Restaurant - Main Dining Room The stunning 3-story Britannia Restaurant has a grand sweeping staircase that creates a dramatic showcase for those wishing to make the ultimate entrance. This opulent dining room fits the QM2 well.

My sister and I dined in the Britannica restaurant every night during the voyage and there were three nights where we must dress formally. In all the other cruises, there was only one night that we must wear formal dress.. One of the three nights was called "Ascot Night" and ladies had to wear "fancy hats". Though we bought some matching feathers to go with the hats on a shop on 5th Avenue, New York, I got cold feet and refused to wear the feathers on Ascot Night. The lady with the fanciest hat would win the prize. We stayed only a short time at the ballroom and we moved to another venue.

The food was delicious and we had quite a variety of choice to choose from. I had frog legs (apettizer) and the restaurant offered duck (Cunard) many times. All diners were offered a printout of the collection of menus from our waiters at the end of the journey. That was a nice gesture. There were a few birthday celebrations and finally, a group of couples celebrated their marriages of 42 and 45 years of marriage. The waiters sang "Happy Anniversay" and we congratulated the happy couples.

We met a couple of singing stars from Broadway, Carolyn and Stephen Elmore who sat at the table for two next to us. They were a very friendly couple and he even regaled us with a couple of songs which he sang on Broadway. We even joined in the singing at times.

Public Rooms QM2’s public and entertainment spaces are anchored by the stunning Queen's room, a spacious and famous venue that’s used for a variety of purposes ranging from afternoon tea to evening ballroom dancing. Other favorites include the Grand Lounge (home to the ship’s Broadway-style shows) and the massive library and bookshop, one of the largest at sea.

The English are well known for their afternoon tea. Tea was served from 3:30 pm till 4:00 p.m. in the Queen's room. We were served sandwiches, scones, butter, and other delicacies like small cakes by a host of waiters in gloves on three occasions.

One of the waitresses was a very pleasant Macedonian girl who was thrilled that we knew that Prince Philip was a Macedonian Prince and that his uncle was Earl Mountbatten. Previously she was a school teacher of young children before but life was hard in Macedonia and she became a waitress on the ship. She did not regret her decision and seemed to enjoy herself. We met quite a lot of interesting people on the liner.

ART GALLERY

We had the chance to talk to the auctioneer about the highest bid for a picture and he said the highest price paid was $124,000.00. Quite a hansome sum!

ILLUMINATIONS, Deck 3

Saturday, 22 November, 2008.

Attended Consultant Cardiolologist Dr. Clive Handler Lecture: "Wine, Women and Song - The Secrets of a Healthy Life".

Coincidence. I had lived in London, Highgate where Dr. Handler is attached to a hospital in Highgate. Had a chat with him before the lecture. I mentioned that Carl Marx was buried in Highgate cemetry.

THE CHART ROOM, Deck 3

Sunday, 23 November, 2008.

Violinist Doug Cameron Joked about his blue electric violin as the blue Stradivariius. He started playing "Fiddler on the Roof. Quite a versatile player.

ROYAL COURT THEATRE,

Tuesday, 25 November, 2008

Piano Enterainer David Howarth. He is one of UK's most exciting young pianist. From Bach to Boogie Woogie and Mozart to Mack the Knife. Rather talented.

ROYAL COURT THEATRE, Deck 3

Wednesday, 26 November, 2008

Vocalist Dorothy Bishop. Described as "Sarah Brightman meets Bette Midler!" She is a charmer with her classic tunes and hilarious comedy. Sang Carmen, Madam Butterfly, La Traviata. Very entertaining!

QUEEN ROOM, Deck 3

Thursday, 27 November, 2008

Thanksgiving Day Royal Ascot Ball from 9:45 pm to 12 am. After late night dinner, we dropped in, but only for a short period. I chickened out on wearing the feathers which we bought in New York on 5th Avenue. My companion bravely wore her purple, pink and yellow feathered hat. She received some appreciation.

COMPUTER CENTRE

We were at the computer room a couple of nights and also went to the library where there were a few computers. We had to clear our mail as we were about two weeks away from home. When I reached home, I had 140 emails waiting for me. I could only clear my mail from my yahoo site, but not on the other email address.

JACUZZI

I did not try out the jacuzzi, but my sister did and she complained that it was far too hot.

PASSING THROUGH THE CASINO

We do not gamble and so we did not try to gamble in the casino, but on one occasion as we passed through the casino,we heard a loud noise like metal clashing into metal. We stopped and saw an old lady swooping to collect tokens falling from the machine. We stopped fascinated to see how much she won. She won $40.00 and as she went to cash in, she told me to stand near the machine and not let anybody take the seat. That was her favourite machine to win money. She rewarded us with a quarter each as souvenir.

Believe it or not! On a different occasion, we again passed through the casino and there she was again and she won again. I would not be surprised that she came on board just to win some money. That was her pleasure!

Queen Mary 2 is:

• five times longer than Cunard's first ship, Britannia (230 ft.)
• 113 feet longer than the original Queen Mary
• more than twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall (550 ft.)
• 147 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (984 ft.)
• more than 3½ times as long as Westminster's Tower (Big Ben) is high (310 ft.)
• only 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building is tall (1248 ft.)
• more than three times as long as St. Paul's Cathedral is tall (366 ft.)
• as long as 41 double-decker London buses (31½ ft. each)
• Queen Mary 2's whistle is audible for 10 miles

More Interesting Facts:

• In 1839, Queen Victoria awarded Samuel Cunard the first ever licence to deliver mail across the Atlantic, proudly granting his steam ship the honoured title RMS (Royal Mail Steamer). In 2004 RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Queen Mary 2 was awarded this privileged title and continues to celebrate this golden heritage.

I have met 10 people who were interested in the HubPages.com from the time I left Toronto for New York until I returned from Fort Lauderdale. They are:

1. Parveen Karir - Public Health Nurse, City Hall (Toronto)

2. Benjamin - Business man (Tennessee) - grandfather Baptist Minister

3. Paul Barton - Internet instructor/lecturer (Princess liner) Vancouver

4. Jeffrey Chien - Computer - data entry (Taiwan)

5. Carolyn Marcell Elmore - singer, speech specialist, (Broadway)

6. Steve Elmore - singer (Broadway)

7. Tricia Henry - sales, daughter-in-law of Norrine Modeste - Church of God (Grenada) Loxton Mitchell - son

8. Wendy Mallandain - beautician (UK)

9. Huang, Korean medical student

10. Soledad - Peruvian architect (on trip back from Ft. Lauderdale) __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now at http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com. > >

I thank God for a very enjoyable trip from the start to the finish. The tour has given me a sense of pleasure as well as fulfilment as I have accomplished what I set out to do, and that is, to bring people to know God a little better. The trip should not deter anyone from enjoying the Queen Mary 2 as the charges vary from level to level of accommodation, and the price range varies to suit most people's pocket..

With God everything is possible. He has moved the hearts of two people to donate a free trip to me and at the same time bring some ten individuals interested in the HubPages.com to talk to me. Out of the ten individuals, only one sales lady from Grenada has heard of Hubpages.com. Not all are Christians but hopefully, all would learn more about the love of God.

7 HUBS in 7 GOOGLE FIRST PAGE within 1 MONTH under God

http://hubpages.com/hub/7hubs7googlefirstpageundergod