Some things only happen in movies. Things like winning tickets to board a ship that is about to cross the Atlantic over a bet you just made. Going on that trip, dancing on the middle of the ocean, falling in love with strangers, and leaving your old life behind. We know that story, right?
Some things only happen in movies. Things like winning tickets to board a ship that is about to cross the Atlantic over a bet you just made. Going on that trip, dancing on the middle of the ocean, falling in love with strangers, and leaving your old life behind. We know that story, right?
Honestly, she has been in my life as long as I can remember. Now standing here in this place at this point in time it still feels like I´m dreaming. I know that I am not, because I have been there, I have done it – dreaming about her.
Dreaming about walking her decks, going out in her finest restaurants, putting on my best tuxedo, celebrating her gala evenings. This time it was real. I was here and this past week we travelled over 3000 miles across the North-Atlantic onboard the very last of her kind, the last Ocean Liner – Queen Mary 2.
I knew I had fallen for her ever since I saw the first picture in the book I was given when I was 5 years old. It was the year 2003 and her majesty RMS Queen Mary 2 had just started her service. It was the biggest, the most luxuries, and for me the most beautiful ship that was ever designed and build. With her roots going back to the Titanic and still being operated by the Cunard-White Star Line, I was fascinated by the great technological achievement and just as much by her heritage. Being convinced that someday she would take me to New York, and I would see the Statue of Liberty entering Hudson River Bay the same way millions of people experienced it, having crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the 19th and 20th century after almost a week onboard a ship of this kind.
“With a grade of 2.2 or better Jonas will be given a crossing with the QM2 from Southhampton to New York. Oct. 22nd 2008 J.Nürnberger”
I don´t know how many times I have tried to convince my dad that I was serious of wanting to cross the Atlantic onboard Queen Mary 2 – to be completely honest I´m not sure if he didn´t already knew I was serious all along. Nevertheless, I needed to make sure he was serious in promising me that he would take me someday. So our agreement was simple. Me, not always being motivated to give it my absolute all in school and him being the caring father he has always been, knowing to give my motivation a slight boost, we agreed on, that he would fulfill my childhood dream if I was able to graduate with an equal score or better than he was at his time. Setting the bar at 2,2 I had a goal, and we had a bet.
Years passing and Queen Mary 2 doing her best not to find an Iceberg somewhere on the way, it was finally graduation year. I was holding up quite well, but it came inevitable clear that things were going to be close. Luckily, I never lost track of what I had promised myself that night, almost 10 Years ago. So by exceeding expectations by the staggering number of 0.1, graduating with a score of 2.1 (grade inflation not taken into account), I finally held proof in my hands, that I was going to have a date. An arrangement I at this point had been waiting for almost 15 years. We were not in a hurry to get going. And with a pandemic mixing things up, it took another 5 years and one more graduation before we finally stepped on a train to take us to Hamburg where I knew she would be waiting.
Strolling around on Deck 7 I watched people doing the same thing I did. But there was something different than when we embarked 9 days ago in Germany. I didn´t realize it right away so I kept walking. It wasn’t until I reached the back of the ship that I noticed a smile on everybody’s face. Maybe it wasn´t really a smile but an expression of contentment with the eyes ever so slightly pinched and the corners of their mouth raised just a touch. It seemed like we were all nodding each other’s head, praising what we have just witnessed together.
I must say I almost missed it. I had no idea that the reason I fell in love with this ship in the first place was already onboard. Stephen Payne was only 37 years old when he was given the great task to design Queen Mary 2. And as he joined us in the Royal Court Theatre the first day at seas, I saw myself looking at a picture in my book almost 20 years ago, showing a man wearing a white helmet, smiling into the camera, the background showing his baby being afloat for the very first time. Still missing paint, but already being a proud liner. And as he sat next to us later that night, in the Commodore’s Lounge that he had placed at the front of the ship, elevated about 30 Meters above the water so you could see the tip of the ship following the trajectory of the waves, I felt the circle had closed.
I remember thinking before we set sailing that I would have all the time in the world on this ship, reading, walking around, socializing, doing more reading, trying not get bored basically. And to be fair it took me a couple days to get used to this new environment and to set up a routine for myself. But after the first two days it became clear that I would do best not to stress about anything that I would have wanted to do during my time and just go with whatever the day had to offer. And there was plenty.
Generally, our day would look something like this: Getting up at 8:00 o´clock to be ready for breakfast by 8:30 proofed difficult from time to time, depending on the night before. After finishing breakfast, we either went directly to the theater or the planetarium to see an interesting talk, like the one we witnessed out first day. Finishing in time for our daily round of Darts that had started as an event hosted by the ships entertainment staff but quickly developed its own dynamics turning into a group meeting at 11:30 every day of our crossing. After that we headed for lunch just so we could meet in the hot tub on Deck 11 around 2 with our newly friends we met in the club some night before. Headed well into the afternoon there was only limited time before the tea was served in the Queens Room at 3:30, the ships social hour and a great way to get in touch with other passengers. Having the early dinner time at 6 o´clock we then usually got ready for the night, having dinner in the ships main restaurant, where our servers Marlon and James took very good care of us.
Having about 2000 strangers trapped in an Irion cage, a floating nutshell, being only surrounded by water for a week, entering a “New World” at the end of its journey, has an interesting dynamic. Stepping onboard meant stepping into a different reality, into our only realty for the time of our travel really. This not being special enough, every piece of it shows its heritage and after James Cameron is full of myths, fueled by dreams and hope. You get to know each other, you experience everything together and after a while talking to strangers that were not really strangers anymore, celebrating this idea from the past meant everything. Knowing that at some point it would end we would all be strangers again.
Having gone through our daily routine it was it was finally time for the night everyone was looking forward to. The last gala evening a masquerader that was set to be a special one. Dandy Wellington had invited all his friends, a group of around 300 people onboard celebrating the great 20s by always dressing up appropriately, and the rest of the ship into the great Queens Room, a ball room being unmatched at seas. Joined by his Big Band he transformed the room into a party celebrating everything we had learned to love over the past days. Having the whole ship wearing their finest wardrobe, looking into this beautiful palace that happen to be floating somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean, I got a sense of what it must have been like in the golden age of the transatlantic service, and I felt connected to the stories that had taken place on such ships, with the heritage they still represent and the history that is ours. Dancing in the greatest ball room at seas without knowing any moves, floating across the Atlantic, trying to take in every part of it – conserving.
Now standing here at the back of the ship that has been with me all my life, I am feeling much appreciation to have been given the chance to fulfill my childhood dream. Everything it meant to me, every expectation I had were exceeded by what I experienced this week. Holding on to the wooden rail, feeling the wind in my face, making sure it felt real, the feeling struck me that my Queen had been waiting for me all those years, to provide me with the best she had to offer when I was finally ready to come aboard. I started to smile, feeling tears running down my cheeks.
She was the ship of my dreams, and she was – she really was
