By ROSIE WATERLAND
“Ronaaaaaaaallllldooooo!”
That was me, wailing – for days – after I disembarked the Queen Mary 2.
Ronaldo was our room’s butler, and I missed him. I was in a post-vacation slump.
All it took was five days on the QM2 to make me feel like I was a lady of leisure gliding across the high seas (and that I could now say things like ‘high seas’). And being back in my apartment, staring at my unmade bed and an empty fridge was a very harsh way to crash back to reality.
Like I said: “Ronaaaaaaaallllldooooo!”
The largest ship to ever visit Australia, the 345-metre-long Queen Mary 2 claims to combine a classic British heritage with a very large dose of nostalgia, opulence and style.
And boy do they deliver.
I had never really been interesting in cruising. I wasn’t even sure if ‘cruising’ was the word for it. (Is it?) So when I was told Cunard was sending my little sister Tayla and I on a cruise ship (or in this case, a Liner. The fancy ones are called Liners), I seriously thought it was going to be like The Love Boat (obviously my knowledge of cruising was very cliché).
But this was not The Love Boat. This was like Titanic, without, you know, the ending. (Again, I know, cliché – but how much detail does the average 26-year-old know about liners?)
Top Comments
I've always stated that going on a cruise would equal living hell for me. I get seasick and as my husband has a severe boat addiction we spend roughly 3 months of the year on our boat. Being stuck on a big ship for days seems terrible.
But after reading this post Rosie, I'm kinda keen...
My mother went on the Queen Mary but she continued on to South Africa.
Her only complaints were having to stay in Melbourne due to poor weather and the seasickness she felt when the ship played catch-up- which was out of the ship's control.
She loves cruising and I've only been once with her. There is a stigma attached since the majority of passengers are of the senior variety but local pacific cruises are much more family orientated.
I can't wait to go on one and put my son into the kids club while I sleep by the pool.