Today I woke up on my girlfriend’s couch on Long Island. Tonight, I will be falling asleep to the gentle sway and dull vibration of the Queen Mary 2, somewhere on the dark Atlantic. It’s quite an… impressive ship. At fourteen decks tall, it’s far more imposing than I imagined it. My first thought upon seeing it up close was “Jesus Christ, that thing is floating?” As astonishing as it is from the shore, it’s even more amazing once on board.
Upon my first footsteps onto the boat, I was greeted immediately by music. A few steps further into my journey, I found a pianist, playing at a grand piano in the main lobby. The six-story main lobby. One of four grand pianos I came across during my preliminary investigation of the ship.
I found an art gallery, probably a few hundred paintings in number, all of which are to be auctioned off in the coming days. I discovered no less than ten fully stocked bars, four restaurants, several high-end retailers, and six pools. Nearly every vertical surface is covered in pearlwood. It feels elegant without feeling too extravagant.
Now that I’ve mentioned that, I feel so out of place here that it’s uncomfortable. It’s probably safe to assume that my classmates are some of the only people my age on the ship, aside from the crew. The service is scary: I was eating at the King’s Court (a 24 hour buffet style cafeteria) and I asked one of the crew where the tray return was. He looked at me as if I had two heads, so I repeated my question. He said in a very matter-of-fact-i-can’t-believe-you-asked-that-question tone, “Just leave your tray on the table and we’ll take it.” It’s tough to shake years of being indoctrinated to clean up after yourself.
Dinner was worse. As I was sitting down and reaching for my chair, I felt it being pushed into the backs of my knees. My waiter was pushing my chair in for me. Thoroughly freaked out, I proceeded to look around to see if this was the case for everyone. As I was looking around, the waiter was already on his way to my napkin, and placed it on my lap. What? My arms work!
In all the confusion that is this ship, I was able to find peace. Once the sun went down, everyone cleared out of the aft outside decks. I went to the very back of the ship, and there was nothing; just the wash of the ship, the wind in my ear and the reflection of the moon on the calm waters of the Atlantic. Another man, apparently seeking the same solitude as I, came out to the deck after I had been there a few minutes.
Regarding the view, I said “That’s somethin’.”
He replied “There’s nothing really quite like it. It’s unchanged, Magellan saw it, Columbus saw it, we’re seeing it.”
