A transatlantic crossing on the ‘Queen Mary 2’ – an elegant alternative for travel to London

Shortly after Hurricane Harvey hit my hometown on Aug. 25, 2017, I decided to leave Austin, where I had gone to ride out the storm, and returned home to check my house and get clothes, before continuing with my plans to join my brother Charles and his wife, Jean, for a transatlantic crossing on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, departing Sept. 7.

It turned out to be good therapy for me, since there was little water supply and no electricity at home and my friends had scattered following the storm.

The ship

We boarded the ship at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Cunard (Valencia, CA; 800/728-6273, www.cunard.com) was having computer problems, so getting checked in was a hassle, but once we were on board, I could see the opulence of this ship. 

My cabin was next to the Britannia dining room on Deck 3. Cunard had added a number of single-person cabins, so I was able to sail for around $2,000 without having to pay a single supplement for a 2-person cabin. 

The area was very quiet, with six single cabins in my section and, on Deck 2, nine additional cabins for singles. 

I had two enormous, oval-shaped windows that were almost floor to ceiling. Also, since the cabin had been recently fitted, all the fixtures in the bathroom were new. 

Getting acquainted with the ship, I found the fitness center, and, after a day, my brother and I discovered the lovely pool on Deck 12. 

One caveat when sailing with Cunard — the dress code is more formal than that of other cruise lines. To get to the fitness center, I had to wear slacks over my usual fitness shorts. There was no dressing room, so I had to slip out of the slacks in the restroom, then slip them back on to walk the length of the ship. 

To swim, I would go fully dressed to the pool, but there was a nice dressing room available there. 

I usually travel with only one 22-inch bag, but because I needed something formal to wear for this trip, I took two bags that size. Both informal and formal nights were included in the itinerary, though, to Cunard, informal meant “cocktail” dress. I was able to get by with packing a black knit dress and a long black knit skirt, with two tops to go with the skirt and also a pair of black sandals. A white silk stole completed my outfit.

The dining room offered excellent food served in style. 

Having never been on a transatlantic cruise, I missed the shore excursions and ports, so at the end of our week-long cruise, I was ready to get off the ship in Southampton, England. Unfortunately, on the last day I came down with what we suspected might be norovirus and was quarantined. I ordered room service and spent the evening in my cabin, and the next morning I was OK and able to disembark. 

Since Cunard had Immigration officials on board to review and stamp passengers’ passports at their leisure during the cruise, disembarkation meant simply walking off the ship.

On to London

From Southampton, Charles, Jean and I took the ship’s coach ($70 per person) to London. The trip to Victoria Station took about two hours, then we took a taxi to the London House Hotel in Kensington (81, Kensington Gardens Square; phone 44 2072 431 810). 

This lovely hotel is composed of five Georgian houses on a leafy square just a half block from Queensway, the Bayswater Tube station and plenty of restaurants. This was our second visit to this hotel.

My room cost about $160 a night, and we stayed four nights. Breakfast was a bargain for about $9. The full Continental breakfast consisted of ham, cheese, boiled eggs and lots of other things. 

We bought the Oyster card (about $26 for two days), which got us around on the Underground to visit Marks & Spencer and Kew Gardens. On the day of our visit to Kew, Sept. 15, an incendiary package was found that morning on the Tube, but it was on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line, not the line to Kew.

Charles and I had been to this botanical garden a number of times before but not for several years. We enjoyed the elevated treetop walkway, and Charles especially enjoyed seeing the crab apples and other apple varieties in the rosaceae area. 

The next day we went to Selfridges, at my sister-in-law’s request. (Jean had followed the show “Mr. Selfridge” on PBS.) Then we visited Hamleys, a toy store that has been in business for more than 100 years. 

That day we had tickets to the matinee performance of “Matilda” at the Cambridge Theatre. I’ve never seen so many excited, dressed-up children! It was a wonderful musical. 

We finished off the day with a pub supper of fish-and-chips and a pint. So English!

On our last day in London, we rode the hop-on/hop-off bus (£32, or $43, per person). Jean wanted to see the Parliament, Big Ben and all the favorites again. The bus tour included a free Thames cruise, which was great for getting photos of the London Eye, London’s giant Ferris wheel, and all the bridges from Big Ben down to the Tower of London. 

We flew home to Dallas on Air Canada, changing planes in Toronto. This is a very satisfactory airline; we had bulkhead seats in coach with plenty of legroom. However, our one-way tickets, which each cost $1,720, were almost as expensive as the round trip would have been. 

At the end of it all, it was time for me to go home and face the hurricane damage, but at least it was with happy memories of my extended “evacuation.”