I slept well and felt rested when the alarm went off at 6 am. We had to get the 7 am shuttle from the hotel back to the airport. Santo had had more difficulty sleeping. He felt so much better than the night before but still tired.

         At the airport, my wheelchair was waiting as we got off the shuttle bus. Since we already had our boarding passes, we went straight to the gate, again traveling what seemed like several miles to get there. With our 15-Euro vouchers, we each were able to get a Greek yogurt, coffee, and a bottle of water for our breakfast. Perfect.

         When it came time to board, I wanted to talk but Santo insisted I get in the wheelchair. It was a good thing I did because there were two special assistance people looking for me. They had one of the motorized carts and were going to take us to a special van that would drive us directly to the plane. I wondered if this service could have saved us last night, if a van could have taken us from the plane to B22. This time we were last to board, but we were just fine after the  VIP treatment.

         At Hamburg airport, we sailed through customs and got a cab directly to Steinwerder Cruise Center. Hamburg is huge with massive construction everywhere. Lots of big buildings, high rises, lots of traffic, but also many trees and green spaces. We cross the bridge over the Elba River and several over some of Hamburg’s many canals. I was able to converse some with our driver in German. He called himself a Volga German. I later found out from Emmy that this is person descended from ethnic Germans who were invited by Catherine the Great of Russia to settle along the Volga River in the late 1700s. It took us an hour to get to Steinwerder where the majestic Queen Mary awaited us.

         We first dropped of our bags, then headed into the terminal. There were few peope in line, so we sailed through and were on the boat in no time. After checking in at our muster station, a strict requirement, we headed to our stateroom, 5138.

         The room was the same as last time but with a reversed configuration. King size bed, love seat, desk, bathroom, and pale wood cabinets with plenty of room for all our stuff. We unpacked and were settled very quickly. Then it was on to our first drink in one of Queen Mary’s many lounges. We chose the Chart Room, a nautical themed room with dark blue leather chairs and light brown loveseats. We chose one of these and our zero beers and toasted to our second Queen Mary cruise. We also raised a glass to Alison and Maurice, who had been with us the last time. We truly missed them, but were glad that at least we would be able to spend time with them after the cruise.

         We went back to the room to change for dinner, then headed to the main dining room, Brittania. The room, in tones of burgundy and gold, is two-stories high in the middle, with balcony seating on the second level. We had requested to be assigned to a table of 6 and wondered who our dinner mates would be. Our table was on the main floor, in the middle of the room, directly beneath a two-story wall hanging: a hand-woven tapestry with the image of the Queen Mary leaving New York Harbor. Two of the six seats were occupied when we arrived at the table.

         We greeted the two women sitting there. They responded with a nod. Only one added a smile. We added the customary “How are you?” They responded that they were fine. No question in return. Hmmmm. This was going to be a challenge. After some silence, Santo asked, “Have you sailed on the Queen Mary before?” The one who hadn’t smiled told us that they had been on some shorter cruises on the Queen Mary. That gave us the opportunity to talk about our first voyage. Then we got to the where-are-you-froms, and found out that they were originally from Yorkshire, but now live in the Midlands. When we found out they were sisters, Santo has who the boss was. The one who had smiled looked like she wanted to answer, the other looked annoyed by the question. Then Smile sheepishly said, “I think I am.” Somehow I think not.

         At that moment, our other table mates arrived. They were a German couple. She looked pleasant but shy, he was smiling and more gregarious. He spoke English quite well while she didn’t which I think accounts for her seeming shyness. I’ve been in that position of being the only person at a table who can barely understand the language being spoken and it does throw you off your game. Conversation flowed more freely after their arrival. I used a bit of my German, sometimes helping him to translate for his wife, but mostly we spoke in English.

         As they spoke more, the sisters’ accents reminded me of old Monty Python skits. Smile even looked like Terry Jones when he played middle-aged, rather frumpy British women, including the stereotypical bad teeth. The sister only spoke reluctantly, and it seemed like a strain for her to try sound pleasant. Interesting characters.

         The whole dinner I kept thinking it was awkward that none of us had learned each other’s names, so I finally said, “I think we should do introductions. I’m Debra.” Then I looked at Smile who was sitting next to me. Somehow it made her giggle to be asked. “I’m Karen,” she said, then gesturing with her right hand, “and this is my sister Linda.” Maybe she is the boss. The German couple were Michael and Sabine. I told Sabine I thought it was a lovely name, and she smiled shyly.

         The dinner itself was good, but I would not say it was exceptional. I enjoyed a pate appetizer, Caesar salad, a cod dish, and chose the rum raisin ice cream for dessert, remembering my dessert at the Shelbourne in Dublin. It did not live up to that exquisiteness.

         After our little group broke up, Santo and I went outside on the deck and sat in some deck chairs. We were still in the channel between Hamburg and the North Sea, with lots of industrial buildings lining the shore. Despite the backdrop, the sunset was already promising to be spectacular as slashes of peach and orange started to spread out along the horizon line. For a time we stood at the rail watching the sun slowly sink and the colors darken. Then we walked to the front of ship and took a position portside behind a plexiglass window which protected us from the wind as the sun made its final descent. Several people lined the rail in front of us, the wind whipping their hair and clothes. One woman wore a simple white dress with a leather belt. Even though I only saw her from behind, she had a certain elegance about her, exuding a romantic air. I later ran into her on the elevator and told her we had seen her on deck and that she looked like Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember. She smiled, thanked me, and told me I had made her day.

After the sunset, we went inside to try to catch some of the show in the theater. I was supposed to be pianist performing the works of artists such as Elton John, Billy Joel, and Stevie Wonder. We knew from last time that the theater could be hard to find, and indeed we got ourselves rather lost. Finally, we saw someone on a server’s uniform. “Excuse me, we’re looking for the theater.” He raised one finger in the air and smiled. “Ah,” he answered, “come with me.” He then led us to a nearby door hidden in the wall–a back entrance to the theater, and snuck us in. We sat in the back to listen. The performer was dressed in a bright orange-red suit and had a flamboyant style. He was more showman than musician, trying to be funny but missing the mark. Too cheesy for us so we ducked back out the way we came in.

We than headed to the Carinthia, my favorite lounge. It spans the width of the ship on Deck 7, the promenade deck. The colors are all gentle and genteel hues of blue and beige. The chairs and loveseats are all low, giving the space a very open and comfortable feel. The performers were a female singer and  a male singer/guitarist. The show was a tribute to Carole King and James Taylor. They were quite good and we loved the music. I discovered a new favorite drink: elderflower tonic. The menu included a list of tonic mixers in four flavors: elderflower, Indian, light, and Mediterranean. Perhaps I’ll have to try the others, but I can’t image they could beat the elderflower. Remembering Carinthia from our last voyage, I felt like I was home, yet more relaxed than I ever am when I’m actually home. A wonderful first day on the QM2.

         Back in our cabin, we had settled ourselves in bed, ready for a good night’s sleep, when Santo got up to go look at the stars. What he saw instead was an incredible lightning show. He called me to come look. The sky was pitch black, and the lighting was not bolts coming down from the sky, but an intense light along the horizon line that spread out in both directions. I watched for a while then went back to bed. But Santo stayed to continue to watch the show and told me the strikes became even more frequent later in the night, only seconds apart.

         So night fell on Day Three.