Miles of carpeting have been replaced during QE2’s last major overhaul. Most of it in a funny purple/red color that can be best described as rather overpowering. But, this is QE2 and she has a style of her own! Which passenger ship nowadays features a synagogue, florist shop, garage, two indoor pools, a kennel (accommodating three cats, two dogs and one parrot on this transatlantic voyage) and a complete bookshop? OK, the sightlines in the Grand Lounge are not very good, the cheaper cabins might look a little tired and there’s no eight-deck high atrium with glass elevators. But QE2 doesn’t need funky gadgets – she is an ocean liner first and foremost!

After changing for dinner we meet up in the beautiful circular Midships Lobby on Two Deck and proceed to the Caronia Restaurant. The advantage of dining in the Caronia Restaurant vs. the Mauretania Restaurant is the fact that the Caronia operates on an open-sitting basis. You can come for dinner anytime between 6.45pm and 9.00pm. We arrive at the Caronia around 8.00 pm and are welcomed by the friendly Maitre d’ and shown to our tables. The restaurant received a complete makeover during the ship’s last refit and now boasts wood paneling, crystal chandeliers and very nice classic looking furniture. Our nice German and Italian waitresses introduce themselves and present us with the dinner menu. We feel utterly glamorous. But then something goes wrong.

We have to hail the Wine Steward in order to secure a bottle of wine with dinner. The $32 bottle of Chardonnay is excellent, but our Steward forgets to fill a glass and runs off before we can say "Chardonnay", leaving one of us 'wineless'. My chilled blackberry soup is very good, but some of my friends find the garlic soup rather "starched".  The waitress comes and asks if we would like more of these yummie cheese rolls. We say yes. She promises to bring them right away. They never appear. The same thing happens with the salad. We order our salads together with the main course - and are still waiting for them as you read this. At our other table, coffee and petit fours arrived before dessert, and the Polish waitress can't stop yelling at her equally Polish colleague. In Polish, of course!

Now all of these things can be considered "minor incidents" - and I would never dream of mentioning them so extensively if it wasn't for the fact that Cunard keeps referring to "impeccable Cunard White Star Service". We might have experienced White Star service, but it sure wasn't impeccable! Perhaps it was due to the fact that this was the first night out, which of course is always a little chaotic. But when I compare this experience to my previous trip on QE2, I must say that dining room service (and food) hasn't improved. And that's an understatement. 

After dinner we proceed to the Grand Lounge, where we easily find a good spot to watch the Welcome Aboard Show. We're still debating whether the hour-long monologue interrupted by two very short "commercial breaks" (i.e. a dance couple and a singer) can be interpreted as a "show", but I guess it sets the tone for the entertainment on this voyage. It's clear that people don't travel on QE2 to see feather-clad girls trying to evade laser beams and pyrotechnics at the stomping beat of yet another Las Vegas hit.  So it is with great pleasure that the Cruise Director introduces us to 'lovely' Maureen from the Library, Knut from the Card Room ("Hello, I'm from Norway and you can play backgammon with me") and Helga who is in charge of all German-speaking passengers ("Guten Tag und Wilkommen an Bord").

We leave the Grand Lounge prematurely and head for the Yacht Club, where we are in for some serious Party Time! The Yacht Club's excellent band "Opus" plays old-time cruise favorites and we are having a great time on the dance floor. The band's break is used to run to The Lido to LOOK at the Midnight Buffet. Of course we manage to end up sitting at a table with a plate in front of us munching away on some nocturnal goodies. After this midnight snack Mayke, Loes, Teun Wim and I call it a night.  I fall asleep to the faint sound of the mist horn sounding every five minutes or so, while QE2 speeds through the night at 27 knots, gently rolling as only a LINER can.  Meanwhile, Ilona, Janneke, Adrie and Demis manage to keep the Yacht Club open until 3am!

The next morning I wake up to the sound of the bow thrusters. When I look outside, I see that we are just tying up in the IJmuiden locks. Weather is dreadful; misty and damp. But even the bad weather hasn't hindered a number of people to drive up to the locks and look at our magnificent ship. While the ship navigates the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam, we enjoy a substantial breakfast in The Lido and make our last rounds before it is time to disembark. QE2 docks at precisely 10am at the desolate CERES Terminal, as her huge draft doesn't permit her to dock at the regular Passenger Terminal.  From the quayside we finally have a good look at the ocean liner that we called "home" for just one night. We felt like it was "our" ship, and isn't that what it's all about?